I love imagery in the home, its an important element that can’t be forgotten and a wonderful opportunity to really personalize your space and fill it with meaning. It seems many of my posts on tEot tend to lean towards filling your home with art. Recently I added a post about Etsy Seller Erin Tyner for her interesting depictions of little people in ethereal landscapes. I would like to state for the record that I’m not a photographer nor am I an expert in anything really. But I was impressed with what she had for sale in her Etsy shop. I’ve been interested in macro photography and have my eye out for images like hers and I want to use this post to explore that journey and to illustrate my path to this aesthetic.
As an Art History student at UNCG, Andres Serrano was a point of study and his acclaimed piece: Piss Christ was something that we touched on lightly in the History of Photography class. This image spoke to me. I spent a short time as a Development Intern for SECCA (South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art). It was through that experience that somehow I came to learn of the controversy that surrounded a 1989 traveling exhibit organized by SECCA and partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts…. There was a Congressional outrage at the subject matter and it came to question what vision Tax Payers were contributing their money towards when an artist photographed a small plastic crucifix immersed in his own urine.
I can’t personally deny the beauty of this image. We won’t delve into it any further than that… but I will say that it set the tone for an aesthetic that I’m not yet over. Fast forward……… Years out of college and feeling perhaps an era away from idealism – I rest myself in enjoying art more for its aesthetic value (love a reference here and then – but Bible-Belt outrage is no longer a requirement to get me hyped up). Now its more about my surroundings…. what will make my day to day life more enjoyable. I stumbled upon Etsy in late 2005 – a few images – photographs of Toy soldiers caught my eye. Can’t remember the artist, didn’t buy the prints… but the point – was that I felt inspired and I took that with me. I’m a DIY wannabe so I bought some toy soldiers to try my hand at some macro photography. I took them to work (a web studio full of photographers. My friend Eva Gronenthal , who writes for the blog – Parallels through Image took interest and we shared a few other artists that we both enjoyed. I still check out her blog). So instead of getting together with someone and learning how to properly emulate this macro style – I ended up pairing up with my photographer friend Bregan and launching them over the cubicle to the new guy with Shock and Awe tactic. How quickly I forgot why I ever bought them in the first place.
Bregan introduced me to another photographer to check out: David Levinthal . His depictions of toys and miniatures span subjects from Hollywood Glamour, to Hitler, to Blackface Memorabilia. For me, the image below evokes an Edward Hopper feeling.
Recently I’ve done some more searching for images that speak to this fun aesthetic in a different way. I’ve found some interest in an artist, Naoki Honjo. Study this image below. It looks like a Miniature – but this craziness is real. Honjo has a few tricks up his sleeve for creating these images (aerial, large format, tilt shift, narrow focus) – but what strikes me is that b/c of this the human brain perceives the image as a miniature set. What? Awesome.
So just this week, aforementioned friend Bregan surprises me and shows me some photographs that she took just recently of some gems from her toy chest. Look at this and tell me its not beauty. She’s sending over the files now so I can get them printed in large scale and soon they will be hanging on my newly painted purple wall. :) I’m so in love.
Conclusion:
I just wanted to share a little glimpse into how and why imagery can translate into a choice that you make for your home. An unabashed approach to filling your space with imagery that means something to you will have positive results no matter how hot your wall color is or how many duckets you dropped on your sleek sofa.
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