As i heard in a recent lecture on the brain and art…….. "An image or piece of art isn’t completed until its been viewed"
I'm going through lots of work (in preparation to finally edit...really edit first time ever)...... when i came across this image and a question about it from a non photographer, which i love, and my answer......
it really was quite revelatory to my thinking... and being as a photographer... helps me to hone in on my own work and what makes me tick, what matters to me and the connection of the various , often sometimes seemingly incongruous parts of my work
Question:
Is there an intended meaning behind your photos (which are excellent btw), or is it intended to be open to interpretation? Or is it just the visual aesthetics that you are after? (The skin color matching the pew/bench color) (And why are you taking pictures in what seems
to be a church?)
Me:
love your inquisatory mind.. always did.. initially i am drawn by my gut.. my visual acuity to different elements. but to something that speaks to me on various levels.. mood.. tenor.. moment.. always visual juxtapositions.. color.. hues.. or lack there off.. more elemental… yes it's a church in brazil.. i went in, and after some time there was drawn to this particular woman. i took several photos of her.. her face telling.. she was lost in prayer.. had tremendous strength in her .. defiance.. struggle.. in the end the photo i chose was of her from the back... love the kerchief.. the color yes of her dress and skin tone exacting to the pew.. the bone and shine of her skin. the bra strap.. her bent in total submission and connection to her prayer and faith..
images are meant in my minds eye to be provocative on some level..…. with the subject, pieces of myself revealed .... and then mb with those that view them…
what, how you interpret them is Always up to you…
but i love catching the eye of a non artist.. those that dont immerse in art or photography and wanting to embrace and understand more... often our audience is for those similar to us... same pull towards it.... i like the idea of pulling in people who shy away.. dont ask questions.. but want to understand more... so so good to me
Looking Forward, Honoring the Past
this facebook question.. what's on your mind.... well here is what i'm thinking about........
I forget October is Breast Cancer awareness month. i don't think a lot about the year and a half i struggled with treatment and isolation..... it's tough.. and so i just don’t linger there....
i more focus on the person who faced something life threatening.. put one step in front of the other.. tried quite often to kill myself and others with humor and humility.. but more importantly it's who i have become in spite of it.. and what are some of the good things it taught me.. about myself.. the world... others...totally life changing.....
so thank you to all those people and you know who you are who showed me what i'm made of and stood by me when the world looked bleak.. i don't forget the experience or anyone.. i never will.... i just am choosing to look forward and to honor the past
Send Some Good JuJu
UPDATE for all those kind enough to ask..
They(my son, gf and two dogs) are Evacuated from their home and livlihood.... strong winds. fire.. very very close to their home. the whole area of Santa Rosa etc.. on the move
its terribly worrisome.. trying to stay strong.. and while not a religious person at all praying they get this under containment
so please.. good juju please out there.. he is safe. but im still in tears.. looking to find my hard core strength today... bc they will be fine either way.. and i hope the same for all in the path of this hot terrorizing flame of destruction..
love you peeps
A Beautiful Old Maine Face
As i head back to maine.. i think about a beautiful old face.. the smile... as he walks down a country road.. where i spot him and practically propel myself out of a moving car.. driven to him like a magnet...
one can imagine the years lived.. what history is carried within..... oh the stories and memories he could share...
The Skies Opened up in All Their Glory
the skies opened up in all their glory tonite over the southern Utah skies...
it’s been nothing less than sheer peace here... the vibration of mother earth.... the silence and formations of rock and sand, mixed with ancestral history.. no one in sight in a vast landscape that seems to go on forever....... gods country
feeling ever so grateful for this moment in time.. where so much has been going wrong in our world.. but in this moment everything feels so right.... i just want to hold onto this sacred time.. where everything seems to have meaning..
The Womb
i'm usually the one taking these kind of photos....but sometimes you just got to jump in.(literally) .be the muse and have someone else shoot you..... so thank you so so much my compadre’ and travel partner for colloborating with me so much on this journey
Betrayal
When They See Us... on Netflix...
A must see / this series on the Central Park Five....
I saw the documentary years ago, but this dramatic portrayal, is so painful to watch, creates such anger, betrayal and distrust..
the only minuscule redeeming thing is that they were Acquitted of all charges..(but it should have NEVER happened), and got some compensation.. but what can ever compensate for the life lost, the brutality and criminality on the part of the poilice, investigators..and prosectors...NOTHING!!! dispicable.....
And all the mothers , fathers,brothers and sisters, grandparents that helped nourish , and provide to the best of their ability loving homes, promises of futures.. families torn apart, left in disarray and anguish
and while it is 20 years later... we are on a backward slide..or maybe we never really progressed as much as we believed..... so much has not changed with the racial profiling of black men and youth..
Reforms to our criminal justice system should be an imperative for all
Eating out the Insides
when i was a little girl... my mother meticulously cut away the crusts of my sandwiches because she knew i would always eat out the insides, where the bread was soft and plump with tuna or peanut and jelly and leave the crust behind, just like this... on the edge of the plate
something about seeing this familiar image drew me right in.. initially i think it was the table cloth and plate making it more of a visual feast..just like the insides of a sandwich...the obvious tasty palatable part.... but what resonated was the crust left behind... .. to a repeated childhood memory 50+ years ago..
as an adult i look at it now.....symbolic of one of lifes many lessons.....that which we dont want to see or deal with..... the left overs....what’s left behind..... someone eating out the good of something.... the easy part...the insides... something more accessible... and yet what might be harder ..less tangible..taking more effort...and therefore more difficult to swallow... left over..........
what i know... is that it’s easy to enjoy and feast on all the good parts life has to offer.. but it’s often the mountains we climb... the seasons we must get through.. lifes curve balls that make us stronger...wiser.. more compassionate and decent.. we learn empathy... and develop character.......
