Cow & Thistle Art - June 5, 2010

Farm Livestock and Thistles/Grasses Transmogrified
These are three in a series of experimental images of cows and sheep, based on photos I took in Petaluma, with thistles and grasses in the foreground. The process I used is below.

0.) Defined Concept: I wanted to do something different with landscapes and more rural subject matter. The idea was that we no longer see or recognize the animals in these images -- just like most of us really don't see where our food comes from anymore. Our foods are very nicely packaged and advertised, so we see the images of food, but not the source(s). At the same time, we don't really know what our food is ingesting either.

1.) Picked Styles: Take images with animals and plants, from the human-modified country landscape (farms in Sonoma). The concept I had in mind was Farm Security Administration (FSA) meets Adam Fuss + Andy Warhol -- or something like that.

2.) Cropped a small piece of the image and brought it into iPhoto to edit. 


3.) Added 1960s/vintage/alternative art-look to remove some of the context and familiarity of cows or sheep or other animals in this landscape; and vignetted most of these images. The idea was that we no longer see or recognize the animals - just like most of us really don't see where our food comes from anymore. Our foods are very nicely packaged and advertised, so we see the images of food, but not the source(s).

4.) Results: some bizarre and interesting images, based on imaginings about livestock and plant foods.

Note: I chose one source photo to edit for each image; I did not combine any images together.

Chocolate Che - June 5, 2010

In the Style of Vik Muniz - Chocolate Portrait of Che Guevara

Vik Muniz's paintings he did with chocolate syrup (and one he did of revolutionary Che Guevara using beans) inspired me to do a painting of Che using melted dark chocolate.  Steps I followed to make this chocolate Che were as follows:

1.) First I located an image of Alberto Korda's famous (cropped) photo of Che Guevara on the Web, to use as a visual reference to make a chocolate sketch. (Right)

2.) The pieces of chocolate I was using to draw a sketch kept melting in my hand. So, I tried pushing around the melted chocolate with my fingers, and quickly realized I needed something that would make finer lines. So, I switched to a small paintbrush and a toothpick.

3.) Once I completed a chocolate painting that looked somewhat like the original image, I took a digital photo of the painting; brought the image into iPhoto and desaturated it a little (to make it look more like Korda's photo); and posted it here (Below, Right).

Things I learned: The melted chocolate starts looking not so great after a few days. I'd kept the painting for a few days so I could keep working on parts I didn't like. But, his Che's chocolate beard started to look pretty scruffy. I can see why Muniz used chocolate syrup instead.

Postscript: 10 years later, I retrieved the original chocolate painted image. And it looked surprisingly good/intact.

Jan Groover Kitchen Arrangements

Styled Kitchenscapes

Jan Groover's kitchen still lives look quite formal, and more like abstract works of art than warm inviting scenes associated with domestic life.

The following are photos I took in my kitchen, one of my favorite places in the house, that reminded me of Groover's kitchen arrangements. Although I'm sure the shot with the lemons and eggshells on flower petals is not "serious" enough.

Jan Groover was also known for her knowledge of color techniques. So, I've included different levels of color saturation. I also tried to capture the reflected color of the bright red-pink rose petals -- in a stainless steel sink, but the color reflections were fairly muted.

In the Style of Lorna Simpson

Cat Feet
Photographer Lorna Simpson cropped her photos of black women so they appear headless.  We see torsos, and in other shots -- their backs. Removing parts of a person does something to dehumanize them, which was likely the point in Simmons's work. Here I've tried the same thing with my cat. Not quite the same political message; but an interesting exercise, nonetheless.

I decided to pair this with a picture of paw prints. It seemed like a good match. Although in Simpson's pictures, her subjects seem like they're been deprived even of the ability to make an impression, a  figurative footprint, or an impact in life.

Inspired by Laurie Simmons, David Levinthal

Mr. Potato Head, Night Escapade

Photographers Laurie Simmons and David Levinthal often use doll and toy figures in their images.  This is an emulation of their work. I've used a small, harsh (LED) light to give the impression of a deer (or in this case potato) caught in the headlights, at night. Perhaps Mr. Potato Head is looking for his relatives in the Lay's bag in the kitchen.