Tree of Life

Nature is always an inspiration of mine.  I love being outdoors, hiking and enjoying plants and animals.  This image was taken at Crowders mountain last week.  I loved the feel of the light coming through the leaves of this tree as I walked along the path - it felt very spiritual to me.

Dreams

Forest of Forks

Project #4, “Dreams” is a surreal photo project, inspired by artist Sarolta Ban, a photo manipulator from Budapest.  (See previous post about her.)  I have taken everyday images and placed them in unordinary situations, playing with color and size. The end result are images that could only be found in my imagination...

I'd like to expand on this for my final portfolio, adding more images that tell stories for the viewer to interpret...

Fairytale

Carol Golemboski's "Life of the Party"

Carol Golemboski's Life of the Party, 2003

Both recent photo exhibitions in UNCC’s art galleries were very interesting. However, I was drawn more towards Carol Golemboski’s ‘Psychometry’ showing. I was especially drawn to her piece “Life of the Party,” a toned silver-gelatin print created in 2003.

This black and white piece shows an image of what appears to be an old board game. There is a donkey (jackass) in the center of the board on a spinner. His feet point to numbers that are circling the board. At the top of the image is the message “The Player Must Perform Whatever Stunt is Imposed Upon Her.” Written at the bottom is “Life of the Party.” The four corners of the board show illustrations of dares or stunts. I’m assuming that there is a stunt associated with every number. The background behind the board is very dark with a repetition of the white stars found in the circle of the board. The phrase “Ha Ha!” is also repeated throughout the background in various fonts and sizes.

The donkey (or jackass) has long been a symbol of ignorance. In the sense of the game I think it represents having “stupid” fun. You may jokingly call a friend a jackass for doing something stupid or playing a joke on you. The game itself calls upon players to do stupid stunts. The old-fashioned look of the game coupled with the stars and scratches also implies a sense of time.

To me this image refers to life and how one may go through life trying to entertain and impress others. By making others laugh or submitting to peer pressure one can become more popular. But in reality one may just make him/herself look like a jackass. It could also imply the fact that you never know what acts or stunts you are going to be called upon to do in life – ones that could potentially make you look like a jackass.

After reading Golemboski’s bio and description of ‘Psychometry’ I believe this image has to do with the anxiety of the unknowable. According to Golemboski psychometry refers to the pseudo-science of "object reading," the purported psychic ability to divine the history of objects through physical contact. We do not know everyone’s past or the acts one may have done – we do not know what acts we ourselves will have to do in life. By looking at this object of the past, the board game, we can only infer that someone tried to have fun.

Sarolta Bán

My next project will be inspired by Sarolta Bán.  She is a surreal photographer/photo manipulator from Budapest.  She takes ordinary objects and puts them in unordinary ways to give them personality - the images seem to tell a story and the artist is happy with viewers making up their own meaning of this story.  Many of her images depict objects that are larger than real life.  For example the image to the right depicts crows that are larger than the man.  The crows almost seem to be mocking the poor old man, but the man seems to ignore them and continue walking.  (To see more on Sarolta Bán go to www.saroltaban.com.)

Surreal Journey

I feel Project 3 was a success for me.  I really enjoyed making the panoramic image and then making it surreal.  In-fact I am totally in love with surreal right now and I plan for my next project to be surreal also.  Here are some details of my final Project 3 (A Surreal Journey - "Bad Mood A' Rising").  In the HTML version you can move around the image in a circle and click the window to move to the next person's project.  The original background images were from Crowders Mt. while the added elements were from pictures I took at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden last year.  My concept was of a good dream or mood about to take a bad turn into a nightmare symbolized by the dark smoke/clouds rising from the window.  This also plays on the idea that you would normally see positive beauty outside the window, but instead stare into a pair of evil eyes.

Crowders Mountain

My next project started at Crowders Mountain Park on a beautiful day.  This picture was taken after a strenuous hike to the top of Kings Pinnacle.  The shape of the rocks at the edge reminds me of a window...a window onto the world...

Stay tuned for my surreal panoramic project...

Cool/Warm Project

Live and Dream (Cool on Warm)

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."  This quote by James Dean is one of my favorites.  You hope to live a long life, but you never really know how much time you have in this world until it's too late.  This was a harsh reality for my friend who suffered from a ruptured brain aneurysm just two years ago.  She is extremely happy to still be alive.  One in 15 people in the United States will develop a brain aneurysm during their lifetime.  Many do not know they have a brain aneurysm until it ruptures.  A ruptured brain aneurysm can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage and death.  My friend has considered herself lucky.

Dream and Live (Warm on Cool)

These images depict my friend's struggles, realities, and new-found look on life.  I wanted to give a dream-like surreal quality in Dream and Live.  She ponders about life and thinks of what she is happy to still have, including her son.  Live and Dream depicts more of the harsh-realities of her situation.  Although she is lucky to be alive, she did still suffer some damage.  She has trouble with short-term memory and reading.  She also has more brain aneurysms that are closely monitored in-case of more ruptures.  These realities have become a part of life for her and she can only live a healthy lifestyle and hope for the best.

For more information on brain aneurysms go to www.brainaneurysm.com or www.bafound.org.