The artist that I was inspired by in this series was Josephine Sacabo. She does a number of interesting photos using a variety of techniques including photogravure, shooting through fabric, and using mirrors. Her work is inspired by poetry and many of her pictures she feels are visual representations of the written word. I really liked the way she used fabric in her shots and I sought to emulate this in my work. Every photo is shot through fabric of some sort with varied distances from the camera/subject. I experimented with this technique using different fabrics and also threw in a few of my own, experimenting with long exposures (10th photo) and light painting (1st photo). I also really liked a few of her photos in which the subject is seen through a mirror. I did the same in the 6th of my images. Because her work in inspired by poetry, it seemed that there was an underlying story behind her photos. Viewing the photos myself, I couldn't help but try and interpret what that story might be. I really liked this aspect and decided to do the same thing in my work. I came up with a basic story of a man and a woman in love, but then the man dies and she is left alone. Alternatively, the story could be that the man leaves her, or perhaps he is unfaithful. I imagine one could come up with more scenarios. The subjects in the pictures were my wife and I as well as a cameo by our son Jacob, but they are supposed to represent a nameless couple. I was additionally inspired by a second artist, William Goodwin, that I stumbled upon within the UNM Photo Lab Website, and took from his work in my 7th photo. I had a lot of fun making these photos and put a lot of hard work and late nights into them. I hope you enjoy!!!
By the way... sparklers and smoke detectors are not friends, just in case you didn't know that already!!!
Check out Josephine Sacabo's stuff here!!! --> http://www.josephinesacabo.org
...And here --> http://josephinesacabo.com
I really admire how much work you put into this--it shows! the fourth and seventh images are probably my favorite. I think your use of fabric in front of the lens was most effective in those as well as the last photo. I also really like the composition of the picture with the mirror and how it's balanced with the rose.
ReplyDeleteI really like these pictures a lot, and after hearing how long it took to take some of them, it's pretty impressive. I especially love the last one, and I knew right away that he was supposed to be dead because I have a similar picture hanging in my house. My dad died when I was younger, so we have a spiritual picture hanging in our dining room with Jesus looking over the family, so this was a really moving picture for me and I think you did a great job getting that effect. I also like the picture with the mirror, it did remind me of Beauty and the Beast, but it's a very beautiful picture. You spent a lot of time on this project, and it shows.
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