photographer
Blue Chalk worked with National Geographic Photographer and North Face athlete Cory Richards to create a promotional piece to demonstrate the scope of his work and the passion and athleticism that accompanies him in the field. A Tribute to Discomfort brings the viewer through Cory’s stunning work, his unique sense of humor, and his quest to create photographs that relate a common humanity.
Amsterdam-based artist Berndnaut Smilde is best known for his fantastical Nimbus series, in which individual clouds appear to magically float in empty rooms. The haunting images portray the airy nimbuses drifting through gorgeous Rococo rooms, Gothic cathedrals, and abandoned factories, evoking a sense of mysticism or supernatural presence.
Carefully controlling the temperature and humidity in a room, Smilde uses a fog machine to produce the ethereal clouds that remain suspended in the air for only a fleeting moment. Although the nimbuses are visible for just a few seconds, their ephemeral existences are made permanent through photography. These works center on an impermanent state of being between construction and deconstruction, as the dreamy clouds appear and vanish in the blink of an eye.
Smilde’s latest exhibition Antipode will be on display at the Ronchini Gallery in London until June 14. The show will feature the artist’s stunning multidisciplinary works that synthesize photography, installation, performance, and sculpture. The exhibition title Antipode is a geographical term that refers to parts of the earth diametrically opposite each other, echoing Smilde’s focus on duality in his artwork.
Laura Plageman (USA) - Response
Laura Plageman is an artist and educator who lives and works in Oakland, CA. Her images explore the relationships between the process of image making, photographic truth and distortion, and the representation of landscape. She is interested in making pictures that examine the natural world as a scene of mystery, beauty, and constant change - transformed both by human presence and by its own design:
“In th series Response, I am responding to photographs both as representations and tangible objects. Through physically altering enlarged prints and then re-photographing the results, I create works that oscillate between image and object, photography and sculpture, landscape and still life. While they may appear illusory, the resulting pictures are documents of actual events and are thus as authentic as the original representational images contained within.
My process unfolds through observation and experimentation – I let the image and its materiality dictate its direction. Playing with paper and with light in unplanned and organic ways, I look for new ways to perceive the space, form, and context of my subjects. In some works, large pieces of the original image are torn out while in others, smaller parts are more subtly altered. I use a large format view camera throughout my process so I can control perspective and record as much detail as possible. Whether focused on a ripped paper edge or a nesting bird, I hope to reach a place where picture elements interact and merge in unpredictable and expressive ways.”
© All images courtesy the artist
[more Laura Plageman | artist found at Juxtapoz]