visionary: maryann webster

Shallow Edge of the Gene Pool

Maryann Webster creates artwork that is visually stunning yet haunting in its portrayal of an often conflicted and problematic human relationship with nature.

Webster describes her work as a means of addressing a personal concern for the fragility of nature, both on the human scale, particularly in the struggle with mortality, and on a larger scale with an ecological system in turmoil.  Referencing the underlying theme in her 2007 exhibition entitled Aquagenesis, Webster alludes to water as the "source of all life as well as a metaphor for dreams and the subconscious self."  The body of work in the exhibition unified this theme, both creating a powerful spiritual and physical link between the human body and water, while posing thought-provoking questions about humanity's relationship with nature.

Shallow Edge of the Gene Pool and Mutant Tide Pool address the potential impact genetic modification can have on precarious ecosystems. Webster was influenced by research in which scientists were able to splice genes of a flounder on to those of tomato plants in order to make the tomatoes more resistant to cold. Another study found that the pollen of genetically modified corn was killing monarch butterfly larvae, as well as migrating and changing other native species of corn. Webster's images explore the bizarre possibilities of merging plant and animal species and the potentially irreversible damage genetic engineering could have on the natural world.

Mutant Tidal Pool

Webster's fascination with water, and the textures and surfaces of the natural environment led her to research Bernard Palissy's late renaissance ceramic nature forms. Palissy created basins reminiscent of tide pools, simulating the illusion of water using ceramic glazes and glass. Palissy's work embodied a rediscovery of nature, featuring plants and animals faithfully cast from ponds and estuaries, and vitrified in clay and glass. For Webster, this style seemed to be ripe for creating a contemporary reinterpretation about the current precarious condition of nature and the effects of the environment on all life. At a cursory glance, Webster's basins have the appearance and aesthetic appeal of original Palissy basins, but on closer observation, disturbing mutations of plant life and sea creatures emerge. Palissy's work was intended to portray nature in a pure, idealised form, while Webster's basins portray the effects of environmental damage due to human carelessness.

Platter [above], last quarter of 16th century, School of Bernard Palissy (French, 1510–1589) — detail [below]

:maryann webster flickr

:julien kedryna

playtime

:dianamurphynyc

homage: milton glaser

Less is not necessarily more.

Being a child of modernism I have heard this mantra all my life. Less is more.

One morning upon awakening I realized that it was total nonsense, it is an absurd proposition and also fairly meaningless. But it sounds great because it contains within it a paradox that is resistant to understanding. But it simply does not obtain when you think about the visual of the history of the world.

If you look at a Persian rug, you cannot say that less is more because you realize that every part of that rug, every change of color, every shift in form is absolutely essential for its aesthetic success. You cannot prove to me that a solid blue rug is in any way superior. That also goes for the work of Gaudi, Persian miniatures, art nouveau and everything else.

However, I have an alternative to the proposition that I believe is more appropriate. ‘Just enough is more.”

        — MILTON GLASER

(super)moon over manhattan

Universe.  We need your help.



:image steve hess

amy stevens: obsessive absurdity and joy

Amy Stevens’s Confections series started when she turned 30.  She was having a go at baking birthday cakes for herself — 30 cakes, to match the birthday — and photographing them.  That was the premise of the project.

In 2002, when Amy began her baking journey, Martha Stewart was a big deal and the whole DIY concept was exploding.  Amy was intrigued by the notion that "you can make something beautiful, too" and she aspired to it.  So she ordered a cake decorating kit and charged forward, but it all went wrong.  Amy came to realize that her cakes were not going to look like the spectaculars she'd hoped to emulate.  She decided the whole effort would be much better if the cakes were made, photographed and shared in their exuberantly imperfect state — funny, wonky, over-the-top — glorifying their unconventional appearance to bring out their beauty.

:amy stevens confections

summer magic

During a quiet night in rural Japan, photographer Tsuneaki Hiramatsu discovered a field and a forest aglow in a strange green light.  Upon closer inspection, Hiramatsu saw thousands of fireflies illuminating the brush and the trees beyond.  Fortunately for us, Hiramatsu had his Nikon handy, and captured a series of stills that expose the fireflies in all their natural glory.

To make an image where you see hundreds, if not thousands, of small firefly lights, Hiratmatsu uses time-lapse photography, taking several continuous exposures and then combining those exposures in post-production.

But wait, there's more...
The Lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera.  They are winged beetles, commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey.  The fireflies in Hiramatsu's images are the genji-botaru or Genji firefly.  Fireflies produce a "cold light," with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies.  This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green or pale red – with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.  You come here for the math.  I know.




:via digital photo

nicole dextras: ephemeral fashion

For the past six years, Nicole Dextras has taken the native plants of the Pacific Northwest and turned them into elaborate dresses she calls "weedrobes."


Dextras’s art is made out of things found in nature: ice, grass, flowers and leaves. As such, they melt, crack, rot, disintegrate and return to their original composite elements. The dresses are beautiful, but Dextras has more than a pretty picture in mind. Her plant-based apparel is designed to confront important environmental concerns.

"I've had an ongoing interest in environmental art, and working in the theater as a clothes designer opened me up to the idea that the way people dress affects their psychology," Dextras says. "I want these dresses to open a dialogue to people about where their clothes come from."

On frames woven from flexible boughs, Dextras layers sturdy plant materials, such as yucca and eucalyptus leaves, stitched to the frames with hawthorn ‘pins’. Professional actors bring the costumes to life, improvising on themes of nature, such as Jordi Sancho’s memorable Eco-man or Nita Bowerman’s “Ivy” from the 2009 Invasive Species Show. The costumes are brought to Dextras’s back yard where the process of disintegration begins.









Dextras's studio is located on Granville Island in Vancouver BC. The artist divides her time between her art practice, teaching, casting editions for local artists and volunteering for art organizations such as the BC Book Arts Guild and the Artists and Artisans of Granville Island.

Dextras has meticulously photographed all her pieces and the performances, on view at her flickr stream and on her website.





:nicole dextras, weedrobes summer series; artist statement; shop

saturday fare: the metropolitan

Taking multiple detail shots of works of art satisfies me on several levels — not the least of which is that I can make my own postcards for later study and recall.* I've found (have you?) that museums no longer deliver on the extensive-variety-of-exhibition-postcards front. This makes me cranky, since I'm a compulsive postcard collector from way back. My solution has been to stop the moaning, just deal with it already and do it myself.

Case in point: Several years ago (four? ten? whatever), I took these photos of the Tomb Effigy of Elizabeth Boott Duveneck at the Met. I've seen the sculpture many, many times on Met visits — and I've photographed it before as well — but this time, I wanted to move in and capture a sense of the rich patina and the artistry of the folds and deep relief. And so? And then? Well?

Me likey. Me not grumpy anymore. And for you, my dearest darlings, repros of these and many other swoond images (card-size, wall-size and in-betweens) will soon be available to order online.

About the artwork: After the death of Elizabeth Boott Duveneck (1846-1888), her bereaved husband, the painter Frank Duveneck, modeled a funerary monument with the guidance of the Cincinnati sculptor Clement J. Barnhorn. Reminiscent of Gothic and Renaissance gisant (recumbent) tomb effigies, the figure reclines peacefully, arms folded over her chest. The palm branch stretching nearly the entire length of her body symbolizes Christian victory over death. The original bronze is on Elizabeth Duveneck's grave in the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori, the Protestant cemetery on the outskirts of Florence.



* Many thanks to all of you who have inquired about prints, cards and large-scale reproductions(!) of my photos. I've responded to most of you individually, but I want to make sure you know that you'll soon be able to place orders online. As ever, thanks for your visits and support. Mwah! and again, Mmmwah!!






:tomb effigy of elizabeth boot duveneck, 1891; this cast, 1927; gilt bronze; the metropolitan museum of art, new york city

frozen fruit

To quote the Cowardly Lion: Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?











:images diana, groundhog day on ice

check out groupings of my upsized photos here at beautimuse

here comes the sun

The depth of color and shadow produced by sidelong sunrise light (featured here) is endlessly fascinating to me.

(And, lest we forget, sunset light has its own special mojo. But it's sunrise's turn today. Thank you.)





:image diana murphy

snow divide

This afternoon in Riverside Park.









:image diana murphy, new york city

1-Jan-65


The kings will lose your old address.
No star will flare up to impress.
The ear may yield, under duress,
to blizzards’ nagging roar.
The shadows falling off your back,
you’d snuff the candle, hit the sack,
for calendars more nights can pack
than there are candles for.

What is this? Sadness? Yes, perhaps.
A little tune that never stops.
One knows by heart its downs and ups.
May it be played on par
with things to come, with one’s eclipse,
as gratefulness of eyes and lips
for what occasionally keeps
them trained on something far.

And staring up where no cloud drifts
because your sock’s devoid of gifts
you’ll understand this thrift: it fits
your age; it’s not a slight.
It is too late for some breakthrough,
for miracles, for Santa’s crew.
And suddenly you’ll realize that you
yourself are a gift outright.

- Joseph Brodsky
(translated from the Russian by the author)

Brodsky wrote this poem while in internal exile in Norenskaia, in the Arkhangelsk region of northern Russia. In the Soviet Union,
New Year’s celebrations came to be seen as a substitute for Christmas. This translation was found among his papers.





:image diana murphy, new york city

joyful, merry, happy to you and yours

:image diana

the warm-up

:image boston globe

il passaporto

The annual New Yorker Passport to the Arts weekend in mid-November provides ample photo ops. This year was no exception. Here's one of my images from our day out: a (very) young art student flanked by two Christopher Griffith prints. Sweet.

Somehow, someday, somewhere I'll post a full series of photos from the Passport weekend — and I'll get around to the myriad other photo projects that are waiting in the queue (isn't that what 2011 is for, people?).



P.S. Alexander Gronsky's show, The Edge, is on view at Aperture through January 11, 2011. Totally worth a visit.






:image diana

I took this shot last summer at Great Escape.


Oh, the irony.





:image diana