Loving Cup

After staying up all night, the evening of July 4th, in the early morning hours I took this image. It was slightly accidental, yet it was the best photo I took the whole trip. It is excessively feminine, as it reminds me of female genitalia… Does it not? The color red just adds a fiery intensity that works exceptionally well, in my opinion. Very Georgia O’Keeffe, which I’m ecstatic about, as she is one of my many heroes. I respect all women quite a bit, however, there are a few select women in history, that have a very special place in my heart. Georgia O’Keeffe is one of them. I used to be in a somewhat “teacher/pupil”  intimate relationship with one of my old friends and mentor a few years ago. The intimacy ended up ruining the friendship in the end, and during that time I struggled with losing both my mentor and my friend; while also preparing for a show in New York. It was an odd polarization to be experiencing. At a bar one night, a friend of mine reminded me, “You outgrew your mentor. Even Georgia O’Keeffe outgrew her mentor.” As a photographer, I was and am aware of the love affair and mentorship that happened between Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Alfred was a photographer, he photographed Georgia often. But, eventually she did outgrow him, and went on to make some of her best work, on her own. I respect her fiercely for this very reason. Whenever I struggle with letting go, I think about her.  

Burning Bush at the End of Summer

I don’t have a lot to say about this image, other then it was taken at the studio where my partner and I made rag paper and cyanotypes last year. I believe this image was shot at the tail end of summer. The crimson and purple complement one another so well, with just the right amount of yellow peaking through the background. I always thought the leaf in which is the point of focus, looked like a star.

Red is the color of extremes. It’s the color of passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood – energy and primal life forces – and most of red’s symbolism today arises from its powerful associations in the past.

Red is also a magical and religious color. It symbolized super-human heroism to the Greeks and is the color of the Christian crucifixion. Red was almost as rare and as expensive as purple in ancient days – a fact that may explain its magic and power. Paradoxically, today’s intense red dyes come from crushed insects (the lac beetle and the cochineal).

I enjoy color theory quite a bit, I have an impeccable eye for color within my work as well. The human eye is really something incredible. I’ll edit a photo one day and think the color balance is spot on and walk away, yet when I revisit the same image in a day or so, it”l have lets say, a yellow cast. No one person perceives to same hue of any color when looking through different sets of eyes… So our perception of the world we see is like a dream, but only the brain is awake. Therefore, there is a frame around that perception. This disappears when we are sleeping cause the brain lacks that structure. There are no boundaries, no constrictions. i find it very fascinating.

Spider Plant and I

In an attempt to shed some light into my blog and break away from the serious nature of the representation of my self-portraits, I felt the need to revisit my Impossible Series images. It has been quite some time since I posted one. I chose the spider plant image due to the reference I made about the Black Widow spider in my last post. My brain makes weird connections, I know this. I figured it would give me the chance to talk about my plans for presentation for this work. It will eventually end up in a a handmade photo book, mounted on handmade 100% cotton rag paper. And, since most of my Impossible Series is of plant matter, there will be plant matter in the paper I make. I will then scan it and make it available in zine format, both digitally and for sale in hard copy. My partner and I are planning on making some paper real soon. We need a new mould and deckle first… When that occurs I will probably be sharing some of that process with you as well. Making paper is truly a beautiful process.

I have managed to keep this spider plant alive for over ten years. I got it at a garage sale eleven years ago. This isn’t really saying that much, considering that spider plants are extremely resilient. It takes a lot to kill them. There is a parallel between myself and my spider plant. I have not had the easiest life, yet have managed to survive every trial and tribulation that has been in my way. It has made me stronger, wiser and overall a better human being. I have no regrets, for what I have been through has shaped the person I am today. In fact, I am extremely grateful. I have a greater appreciation for people in my life and the moments we make together because of it all.

Another thing I adore about the spider plant is the fact that they produce babies. They sprout tiny spider plants that can be cut off and transplanted into pots and given away to people, if you so wish. So not only is it resilient, it is also giving. Most plants are, but spider plants are extremely easy to transplant. And, sharing is caring as my kindergarden teacher taught me.

 

 

 

Vintage Selfie

In addition to the self-portraits I have been making over the last several months, I also have been shooting a lot of Impossible Project film; I will be publishing a zine of my Impossible Series within the next few months. I stumbled upon this image while scanning my Impossible images so they can be displayed on my new website; which should be live in the next four weeks, and I thought it was well suited with what I have been sharing. It also got me thinking about the “selfie” vs. the self-portrait. In a society where selfies are everywhere, literally, everywhere, what separates the two? If you think back to the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, Polaroid cameras were the iPhone’s and Android’s of today. However, the term “selfie” as we know it today; amongst many working photographers and art enthusiasts alike, is somewhat frowned upon. Is it simply because cellphones are a digital tool? Or is it more of a nuisance than anything else because we are constantly bombarded with that “selfie face”?

Both Robert Maplethorpe and Andy Warhol used Polaroids as a medium for self-portraiture and the work is revered by most. Is it because these images were taken with an “analog” format? And furthermore, in 50 years will our modern day selfie be as revered as the work of both Maplethorpe and Warhol? I personally prefer to not take selfies, yet I will snap one with my Polaroid. This separation fascinates me merely because, it is so pretentiously hippocratic. Art itself is both pretentious and hippocratic, so it is no surprise that many enthusiasts feel the way they feel about selfies. Artists contradict the culture in which we reside all the time. I find it funny, its only a perpetuation of what has been happening all along.

 

The Impossible Series: Longing for Spring

As I sit at my desk, going through work that will be featured on my new website (which should be live within the next eight weeks), I began to think about the process of freezing and thawing; winter and spring. There is something powerful about dormancy. The act of going into hibernation or “underground” is somewhat like death. Yet we constantly reemerge like the magnolia tree every spring, ready to take it all on again.

Re-branding is like the magnolia tree. It was worth the long wait to find the perfect design fit, as I am thrilled for what’s next. It is forcing me to reevaluate my work from a whole new perspective, seeing patterns and connections that I never saw before. It’s a rather exciting process; reinvention. As people, we do it almost everyday! I look forward to sharing it all with you.