digital photography: composition with window

composition with window(2012, own work)

i commented a little on the digital photography revolution earlier on this blog (see the posts labeled digital photography). although it is still laborious enough, at least now i can achieve full-colour photos in much the way i want them to be. i'm not overly ambitious as a photographer, but the medium is rich and i love to take pictures and transform them into something `more'.

some years ago i spent quite some time on a photographers' forum (now closed) and what surprised me was the general disdain for the use of photoshop. as a visual artist, i guess my perspective is a bit freer. i see photoshop as one of the many tools which i can use in achieving a certain image. and in my opinion, (photo)realism is vastly overrated.

we artists can (and therefore often should) explore new worlds. we don't all have to be revolutionaries, but why keep on producing same old same old imagery year after year after year? granted, new imagery takes time and effort. but new windows on our world is our business, as far as i can see...

in this work, abstract composition plays the central role of course. a cooperative tension between figuration and abstraction often meets what i'm searching for.

i quote from a digital photography revolution post:

Not only will this result in a massively larger quantity of good work being produced but, I suspect, a huge difference in the type of work produced. The idea that photography could finally enter the same century as painting in terms of philosophical outlook rather than lagging a hundred years behind excites me greatly. The influx of trained visual artists into photography can only be a good thing.

again drawings (3): pregnancy, child wish

child wish ii (own work, 2011, 30 x 18 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


sleeping expecting woman (own work, 2011, 40 x 50 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


woman overwhelmed by pregnancy desire (own work, 2011, 20 x 30 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)

much of society's obsession with sex i understand through the simple fact that as a species we need to reproduce. this need does however in my eyes have many components that do not squarely fall into the category of sex. many of us have a psychologically deeply rooted child wish, i presume. and the (un)fulfilment  of that wish is a major issue for most of us.

again drawings (2): notre dame des anges and hans holbein

notre dame des anges, hand on heart (own work, 2012, 30 x 21 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


notre dame des anges in blue dress (own work, 2012, 30 x 21 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


woman texting on the bed at night (own work, 2011, 30 x 21 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)

what could be an artist's motivation to draw, in such quantities too? being an artist used to be a living :-), which raises the possibility that drawing is a money scheme :-). there are those who like to demystify the great artists of the past in this way. one of those great artists in my eyes is hans holbein the younger. i have never seen any work of his which did not cause me to pause in my tracks. the drawing below was made in 1526, but looks as fresh and poignant as if made today.

the strikingly demure pose, the colouring, well everything really...goes to show that drawing is not a money scheme but a deep inner compulsion to express, to portray, to touch upon the world especially also in the non-visible layers, through visual means.



hans holbein the younger, portrait of anna meyer (1526)

and what about letting yourself be portrayed in this fashion? does that not show deep respect for the artist?

again drawings (1)

woman in orange unrest (own work, 2010-2012, 21 x 30 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


mother and child threatened by circumstances (own work, 2008-2010, 15 x 22 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)


dog on the road (own work, 2008-2011, 30 x 21 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)

this type of posting apparently does not add to an art blog's quality, in some people's eyes. the artist should put her/himself in the position of the audience, and then magically `make it happen' for them, by being ever so interesting as a person etc.

oh well, fame is overrated anyway. but it would be nice to have some more links to this blog, so that the images will be better findable. that is one of the goals, i have to admit: i'd like the images posted here to be seen by interested people anywhere on the planet.

`normal' violence

when i found the victim under a street lamp, there was little i could do (own work, 2012, 24 x 30 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)

the daily `normal' violence in our society is something i find hard to bear. i remember reading some story by a russian writer (turgenev? chekhov? i really don't recall) in which the main character is shocked by seeing someone receive a fist blow on the street. `in this modern day, in this 19th century, how could it be possible?´, the character thinks (or something similar).

reading this passage, i found it more shocking to see that actually we have become far more violent since then. today, i sometimes have to switch channels because some movie or tv series depicts horrible violence in a very graphic way. and what about the gaming industry?

but let alone the graphic visualisations, it seems we accept a disheartening level of violence in our day-to-day life. a fist blow on the street doesn't quite begin to cover it. is george steiner right, when he says our civilization is past its prime?

beautyberry

beautyberry (2012, own work, detail)

exhibition in galerie studiekunst

you are of course cordially invited! on show are recent paintings and sculptures, and over 250 drawings (1982-2012) in showcases. more info on my website.