Craigie Horsfield

Craigie Horsfield

by | 2 Jan 2019

 

Craigie Horsfield (born 1949 in Cambridge) is an English photographer. In 1996 he was nominated for the annual Turner Prize.

Horsfield described his work (photographs of the environments and people around him) as, “intimate in scale but its ambition is, uncomfortable as I find it, towards an epic dimension, to describe the history of our century, and the centuries beyond, the seething extent of the human condition.” He often prints the photographs many years after they were first taken, bringing into contrast memory and the present reality.

His work was shown in Documenta XI, Kassel in 2002 and the Whitney Biennial in 2003.

He lives and works in London and New York.

This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.

“One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich”

“One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich”

by | 2 Jan 2019

– Chris Marker shooting his documentary on Andrei Tarkovsky “One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich”, released in 1999.-

 The film combines clips from Tarkovsky’s films with footage of Tarkovsky on the set of his last film The Sacrifice and on his deathbed, during the final stage of his battle with cancer. The film mostly relies on images, with only sparse commentary, and concentrates mainly on giving insight into Tarkovsky’s work and philosophy and on exploring the intersections between his private life and his work. The film starts with a scene from Tarkovsky first film Ivan’s Childhood and ends with a parallel scene from his last film The Sacrifice. It shows the reunion of Tarkovsky with his son Andrei Jr., who had been allowed to leave the Soviet Union only after Tarkovsky was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

source wikipedia

Let’s talk about you – Sascha Windolph

Let’s talk about you – Sascha Windolph

by | 2 Jan 2019

Sascha welcome to my “home”, thank you very much for

agreeing to take part in this new column of my blog.

 Through this i want to get to know the artists that i appreciate

most and i would like that they share with me their thoughts,

worries, as well as an overview of a few aspects of interest in

their life.

Just a casual conversation between friends.

 I met you as an administrator of the Kiosk of Democracy blog,

where you displayed a part of my photography work.

However it excites me to know who is the man Sascha in his

daily life, to discover who he is when he logs off from his blog

and social media. Do you enjoy cinema, do you listen to music,

what are the things that calm you?

 

– In the morning I get up and greet the day. Every day is far-reaching. The light welcomes me. I move. I am expectant. I’m interested in looking at the world every day. The sound of life. My own heartbeat. My pulse. People experience. Discover art. I try to do everything with passion. In all, I try to find the magic and also the deep abyss, the sadness, the joy, the love. Embrace life and immerse yourself in it. Dissolve resistance with the longing and intensity of art.

I give my verve for the art. For the existence. I believe in transforming life with art. And in a broad sense, as Joseph Beuys said, every human being is an artist. And everything is design. And the life things are like an immense fantastic cosmos. The poetry in it i would like to help bring forth and to act vehemently gentle.

When I leave the apartment I go to my regular cafe. It’s called Panama. I dwell in it. Have a CoucouClaamChino (Cappuchino) and read the newspaper. Sometimes it comes to surprising stories. I watch the people in front of the cafe. After that, I go to my various jobs. Always free. No permanent employment. Maybe I’m a vagabond.

Leaving my apartment I go to my studio to work on new pictures and characters.After I pick up my son Aljoscha (he was born in 2009) from the hoard. I’m with my son two days a week and weekends together.

– As I’ve seen in your page realist feuer kunst Sculpture and Painting are your favorites. Will you take me on a trip from the start of your work until today?

I have a feeling and I’m gonna go ahead and say that you prefer probably painting; am I wrong? Just tell me.

 

 

– My art is very sculptural and graphic. I like to model with my hands. Bring existing things into new forms. Engaging the whole body, working contemplatively with all your senses. To be in deep oblivion to meet the core. Full of momentum and grounded at the same time. In great concern and in great openness. In violent turmoil and in wonderful confidence.

Break the circle and close the circle. Lost and entrusted. Breathe and exhale.

 

 

– One of your works that I love is this. It touches me and excites me,talk to me a little about that.

– This painting. A couple, an ensemble. Being together. To defy the rigors of reality. United to be a family. Manifest love. In solidarity. Cohesion. This very much determines the content of my art. The couple painting is a symbol. A symbol for that a human being is not lost alone in this world. That two individual persons or a group are a hopeful union. The Couple mean beyond your own individuality, you come to a deeper understanding of everything.

 

– I would also like to talk about your first and last project,sculpture

or painting it does’t matter.How much did your approach

change,from your very start up to nowadays. If it has changed

at all!

– My first exhibition was in 1990 on the Greek island of Naxos in the village of Apiranthos.I was touched by this possibility. I would like to come back to Greece with my own art. And also with the kiosk for which i work daily. For which i live for. In 1990, with the first exhibition, I had worked on poems by Jakovos Papadopoulos and I showed my work in the school of the village.

Since it has already meant a lot for me to bring it into relationships. And today with the patchwork kiosk of democracy. It is like a total work of art for me. A community artwork. This is very important to me. The single artwork,  photograph,  film in context with other works of other artists. A hymn of creative forces that need no domination and no violence.

Actually i try to connect three different art enterprises. There is the KünstlerLaden – ArtistsInvite. This was an artspace really free and without a jury. Then the Kiosk of Democracy. In the time from it start in 2012 the Kiosk made some little exhibitions. Next,the documenta in Kassel in a students “Periptero” artspace. Then at last the Camera Artista. A place for the KünstlerLaden – ArtistsInvite and for the Kiosk of Democracy. Expanded by a library, a collection of works of art, an archive of catalogs, with a scholarship for an atelier, a coffee and tea shop. International and local.

 

– As I mentioned above, you are the administrator of the blog

Kiosk of Democracy where you display the work of many artists

from different chapters of art.

It is clear to me that you are very much fond of photography;

and I wonder:Does Sascha photograph? 

– There are a lot of photographs on the kiosk. Photographs are like painting. Full of light and reflection. I myself work with photographs, but I am not an avowed photographer.

 

– A final question which interests me in particular and I would like

your opinion on it:

You are a person of social media and an artist.

“Likes” dictate things,so do you think social media can have an

effect on artist work?

 Rembrandt once said that you become an artist when you stop

being concerned about the acceptance of your art.

In our times can an artist have the power to be unaffected?

– Yes, I think it is possible to be very untouched by the rush of time. Of course, the environment has an influence on every human being. There is no escape to a desert island. I think it is possible, despite all the conquest and pressure, to have a virginity that is full of truthfulness.

– Thank you very much Sascha for this conversation and for the

opportunity that you gave me to know better the man behind the

Kiosk.

 

 

http://kioskderdemokratie.blogspot.gr/

https://www.facebook.com/realistfeuerkunst/

https://chanarie69.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/chanarie69

Let’s talk about you – Winding Numbers

Let’s talk about you – Winding Numbers

by | 30 Dec 2018

Hello Larry, I met you on the Tumblr platform where you manage two blogs. To start,tell me a few things about yourself. Just the things you feel like sharing, of course.

I’m retired after spending a few years in the military and then many years as an educator.

I have a strong interest in art and the humanities and as well as science (especially the hard sciences like physics, biology, and mathematics), and I enjoy other areas such as behavioral psychology and philosophy. I love all kinds of music but especially the electronic and experimental styles. Before its demise, I was involved in the Netlabel music scene writing reviews and liner notes for a short period a few years ago

Let’s talk about your two blogs. Winding Numbers, where other artists’ reposts take place and Winding Numbers-Unwind where you present your own work . There is a clear difference between the two. Your technique is interesting and different. Tell me, do you consider it photography or a different form of art?

I follow a lot of talented “original photographers” on Tumblr, but I can’t put myself in their category.  Even though I use my own photographs in creating the images, the amount of digital manipulation, layering, and filtering that is used in creating them usually removes any semblance to reality. I couldn’t classify my images on WindingNumbers-Unwind as photography in the sense of being of the traditional, modern, or even post-modern styles. There is often more randomness than planning that goes into creating my images; I guess I would call it abstract stochastic art.

From what internal needs does this technique emerge and what do you want to express?

I place my work on Flickr too, and a user their suggested that my images express anger because so many of them are dark in nature.  I don’t really feel anger, but I am disillusioned with many of the happenings in the world – especially the hate and corruptness that I see and that is often amplified in the news and social media.  So I’m sure that some of my art hints at this discontentment. On the other hand, many of my images reflect my love of the sciences especially quantum theory, information theory, and randomness (such as chaos theory).

Describe to me if you want the whole process. From the initial “shot” to the final result. How much time do you need to work on it on the computer?

I usually start with a single photograph and then use the open-source digital editing software GIMP to create various layers and textures which are then blended and further processed and deconstructed.  Sometimes I have a plan, but more often than not I let randomness dictate what happens. There’s a lot of experimentation and trial-and-error involved. Some images are created in a couple of hours and others I work on sporadically over a period of several days.  Honestly, the images that seem to get the most likes/favorites are the ones that were created quickly and without much planning.

I also see only black-and-white pictures, have you tested your technique in color?

I love monochrome and dark, grainy pictures. I’ve only used color in few images. At the present I plan to stick with black-and-white.

 

For me and many others, photography is the art of truthful and plausible depiction of reality with simultaneous transformation of content,have you ever tried to photograph like that?

To me what you’re describing here is what I see and admire on your Tumblr blog and personal website. I can’t say that I’ve tried that style of photographic art, but it’s something to consider for the future.

 

Let’s get to your other blog where you mostly republish other artists. With which criteria do you make the selection of these artists?

I have about two- dozen or so Tumblr users that I follow almost daily and republish their work (along with about a dozen on Flickr). I especially love sharing landscapes, portraits, and abstract art. I’ll reblog just about anything that catches my eye although I do my best to stay clear of anything is blatantly demeaning, pornographic or violent. What I enjoy most is discovering and sharing new art that has been ignored or overlooked. Maintaining this blog is becoming more challenging because of the volume of art that is published on Tumblr, so I’m finding that I have to narrow my focus and ignore many images that I would like to share. This digital overload is going to more and more of a problem to contend with.

Under the influence of the social media, different forms of art have become very popular to the public. What is your opinion on this affinity?

My interest in art expanded exponentially after becoming acquainted with Tumblr (and now Flickr) a few years ago.  My knowledge of art was very limited and myopic prior to this. For me it’s opened up a whole new world. The problem we face now is digital overload.  Each day I’m more and more overwhelmed by the amount and variety of art that is published here, so it’s been necessary to narrow my focus and pick and choose what I like and what I share more carefully. I worry that this digital overload could hurt platforms such as Tumblr and Flickr in the long run – time will tell.

 

Larry, thank you very much for what you shared with me!

https://windingnumbers-unwind.tumblr.com/

https://windingnumbers.tumblr.com/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/146449457@N03/

The world of interior / Henri Matisse

The world of interior / Henri Matisse

by | 30 Dec 2018

“The environment creates the object. I spent my entire life working in front of the same objects that gave me a sense of reality, turning my mind to all that these objects had been through for me and with me .”

Henri Matisse

Matisse liked to be surrounded in everyday life by furniture and objects, which constantly renew his inspiration, and which may become the main subject of his paintings and drawings. Some of them are faithfull companions.For him, the object, artistic or useful, is a pretext for researches on the line, the shape and the color, in his methodic process to the ever greater simplification to find the “sign” and the brightness in his works. Furthermore,

the artist gives them a personality and considers them as actors with a singular character and a particular story that he staged in different compositions.Through objects, as in the rest of his work, Matisse was seeking the purest expression of his view of the world around him. Objects were used as part of this process, enabling the artist to explore different coloured and graphic facets, in an approach that fostered constant, vibrant change and development in his style. The objects form a repertoire of shapes and colours the painter would dip into depending on the requirements of his compositions. Matisse gives the object a crucial role to play: ” Objects are actors: good actors can perform in ten different plays, an object can perform a different role in ten different paintings.” A single object may therefore be transformed in a series of colourful, graphic variations on a same theme.

Hélène Adant, Palette d’objets, Villa Le Rêve, Vence, 1946, photography Coll. Photo library of the documentation center, Matisse museum, Nice Photo : Centre Pompidou, Paris, Mnam/Cci, Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Fund Hélène Adant

 

From his very first painting, Still Life with Books (1890), Matisse always saw objects as standalone subjects, to the point that they were transformed into the protagonists of art that attempted to transmit emotion:

“copies don’t interest me […] what’s important is the object’s relationship to the artist, the artist’s personality, the artist’s skill in structuring his feelings and emotions”.

The artist considered the chosen objects as loyal witnesses to a sense of curiosity, a period, a style of art, a friendship, and he displayed a great attentiveness to and interest in them. Some acted as veritable studio companions.Some objects are particularly significant, such as the Rococo chair he bought in Nice in 1942.

“I’ve been looking for a new object for months. I don’t know what… I’m looking for something to grab me. ” “I have finally found the object I’ve been looking for for a year now. It’s a Baroque Venetian chair in varnished silver. Enamel-like. […] When I saw it in an antique dealer’s a few weeks ago, I was shaken. It is spectacular, I’m obsessed with it. I shall slowly make my way back with it in the summer. ”

This Rococo chair became the primary protagonist in many paintings. Its arabesque lines bring it to life. Its harmonious pose, slightly outside the frame, turns it into a truly exceptional model.

venetian-armchair-with-fruits-1942!PinterestLarge.jpg

Searching for source materials, Matisse traveled extensively and gathered works from China, Egypt, Morocco, Java, Tangiers, the Congo, Europe, and elsewhere. He had eclectic tastes and could find beauty and inspiration just as easily in a silver chocolate pot as a disproportionate statuette.

 

Chocolate pot. French. 19th–early 20th century. Silver and wood. Private collection.

When Henri Matisse married Amélie Noellie Parayre in January 1898 the couple received a beautiful silver chocolate pot as a wedding present from the French artist Albert Marquet. Many of Matisse’s still lifes of this period feature the silver pot.

This version of chocolate pot was bought by Pablo Picasso

 

Vase, artist unknown, Andalusia, Spain (early 20th century), blown glass (Ancienne collection Henri Matisse, former collection of Henri Matisse, Musée Matisse, Nice. Bequest of Madame Henri Matisse, 1960. Photo by François Fernandez, image courtesy Musée Matisse / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Matisse found this vase on his 1910 trip to Andalusia. No doubt the artist took pleasure in the vase’s sinuous curves, half-moon handles, and bulbous hips that bring to mind a stoutly woman. It is the central figure in his painting “Vase of Flowers” (1924).

Matisse was essentially a studio painter his entire career (except,curiously enough,for his seminal break-through during the summer of 1905 and his Morocco trips).Even in Tahiti he painted indoors.But whether indoors or just outside his home ,he made everything a studio.

 

I will end my short research on Matisse’s objects and his interior, with a photo that moved me .In this photo ,Henri Matisse observes a ceramic vase by Pablo Picasso and this moment is captured by Henri Cartier Bresson .And i’m thinking, how can such a small room fit so much art.. And that inspires me..

 

source

http://www.musee-matisse-nice.org/

www.theguardian.com

https://pro.magnumphotos.com

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