Like knowing Planets – these Eyes have it

‘Llama’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

These close photos of animal eyeballs by Suren Manvelyan, a photographer born in Armenia in 1976, examine a world that touches us every day, pulling our focus to the matter of our lives; water, tissue, fibre and the easy wonder we often cultivate in material abstraction.  The photographs bridge documentary photography to the art of abstraction, serving as a reminder that abstraction has a starting point always somewhere – in this case the natural world.

Gone is the comfortable place from which the viewer might connect to a photograph, a voyeuristic plane made possible by the distance the camera provides. The experience of viewing the photographs creep to an encounter, a hypnotic staring contest  where time is  suspended without winner or loser.  Here, the experience of viewing each photograph mirrors the medium and process itself, a camera trained without yield on it’s subject.

‘Lark’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

The glassy globes are worlds of their own – animals from the land, sky and sea are featured in Mr. Manvelyan’s series ‘Animal Eyes’.  The form is familiar – a distinctly bordered convex shape with a bullseye at center – drawing us to ponder what goes on inside this other being, at this meeting.  The shiny surfaces and complex colours read like magically perplexing marbles, in the place of the improbably delicate organs we know them to be.

Scientific photography, where the subject matter is portrayed under a macro lens to artistic abstraction,  often invites us to view the subject with a sense of impartiality, visually recording a state of being with no obvious narrative.  A water droplet appears like an alien landscape, microscopic molecules mirror the patterns of the universe.  Scientific photography often removes tension from the relationship between ourselves, the subjective viewers, and the object portrayed in the photograph.  Where scientific photographs can create an otherworldly place, the photographs which make up the series ‘Animal Eyes’ act like a stop sign.  Their appearance invites a familiar dynamic, eyes locking with the expectation of connection –  upon which we are abruptly interrupted, instantly becoming fixed by the  startling effect of the photograph, it’s gaze, and our own.

‘Gecko Tokay’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

 Suren Manvelyan and his work is found at www.SurenManvelyan.com, on Behance and Facebook.

Mr. Manvelyan has shown his work in many esteemed publications, including National Geographic. He plays five instruments including guitar, cello and piano, and holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics, with a speciality in Quantam Chaos.

‘Cow’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

‘Hippo’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

 

‘Gecko Eublepharis’ a photograph by Suren Manvelyan

 

via, with thanks.

 

SOLAR SCULPTURES + THEIR PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENT – ‘TRACE HEAVENS’ BY JAMES NIZAM

‘Shard of Light’ an archival pigment photo on fiber paper, ed. of 5, 2AP, 48″x60″/30″x36″, 2011

 

Trace Heavens’ is photographic series by Canadian artist James Nizam, large scale photographs capture sculptures created by a momentary and highly controlled beam of daylight, resulting from Mr. Nizam’s work cutting or perforating shapes into the exterior wall of darkened spaces.  The resulting series ‘Trace Heavens’, was created 2011-2013, and is comprised of eight archival pigment photographs, each limited in edition.

Precisely placed mirrors within the installations reflect one beam of sunlight from one point to the next, creating luminous three dimensional shapes delineated by the moving light.  For a period of about five minutes, defined by the movement of the sun, Mr. Nizam photographs these ephemeral ‘structures’ over multiple exposures.  The introduction of a floating dust particulate, where each particle of this synthetic fog in the path of light is illuminated, lends greater density to the form and its presence in the photograph.  These forms are referred to by Mr. Nizam as ‘Thought Forms’.

‘Thought Form (Cube)’ an archival pigment photo on fiber paper, ed. of 5, 2AP, 30″x36″/40″x50″, 2011

 

innate tension borne of many pluralities emerge in the work; movement is checked by stillness, darkness is moved by light, space strikes the opaque, and in these ‘Thought Forms’ the balance of symmetry is intentionally and dynamically offset,  illusion and perception are surprised, as our understanding of the work develops, by the gravity of physical law. What was perhaps understood be a hanging light bulb, on examination, is not.  What appears to be dangerously fragile is not.  What appears to be a tribute to technological advance is far removed from that frontier; it is instead a return to an ancient practice of careful observation, underpinned by the certainty of ritual.

 

‘Cube (Deconstruction)’ an archival pigment photo on fiber paper, ed. of 5, 2AP, 12 1/2″x 15”, 2011

Nizam’s inventive work  incorporates his great interest in solar architecture, an ancient and obscure architectural practice. Examples include the passage mounds in the Boyne Valley of Ireland and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs in Rome, architectural structures which consider solar alignment in their design, using sunlight as a tool of temporal measurement and spectral effect.   Mr. Nizam spent months in his studio and on site planning construction and executing his sunlit tracings, considering the movement of the sun and how best to capture them.

The ‘Trace Heavens’ series challenges photographic technique and acuity in performance, requiring repeated exposures to one large format negative at the same time of day, over the course of days.  In this way, the momentary nature of performance is the granted power to endure by emphatic use of the photographic medium.  The ‘Trace Heavens’ series is a meeting of several ideological and aesthetic movements, including the visual patterning of Reductionism and Geometric Abstraction, the contrast and simplicity of Minimalism, and the spectral experiential qualities of the Light and Space Movement, though innovation moves Mr. Nizam through these artistic touchstones.

‘Trace Heavens’ was exhibited Vancouver in 2012, at Birch Libralato Toronto and the Yukon Art Center in 2013. James Nizam, born 1977 in Bedfordshire, England holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia, 2002. Mr. Nizam has shown work internationally, and in 2013 was commissioned to create an installation for the Luis Vuitton Boutique, Toronto. James Nizam resides in both Berlin and Vancouver and is represented by Christophe Guye Zurich, and Birch Libralato Toronto.

More about James Nizam at jamesnizam.com.  All photographs are the property of Birch Libralato.

Via  – with thanks.

 

 

 

Pretty Bones

The Martyr Valerius 

Paul Koudounaris is Los Angeles based photographer and author, presenting images of spectacularly decorated skeletons thought to be the former bodies of  Saints and Martyrs, dated from Medieval Europe.  News came in 1578 that thousands of skeletons, bare of decoration, had been discovered in deep catacombs under Rome.

The skeletons became reliquaries- dressed, jeweled and installed for presentation and worship in chapels along the Pilgrimage Route in German speaking Europe.  The Christian Pilgrims of Medieval Europe traveled the Pilgrimage route, traditionally walking barefoot from their homes to Santiago de Compostela, in the Northwest of Spain, purported to house the remains of St. James.

Many modern Christians make the trip to Santiago de Compostela today.

Until the 10th century, Christian Pilgrimages traveled to sites in Jerusalem associated to the life and death of Jesus Christ, after which time war prevented travel to the area.  Other Christian Pilgrimage routes became popularized, spreading like a web across Western Europe.  These routes found their way to Churches built where religious events had taken place, or which included Shrines that housed items of remarkable religious history.

St Felix, Sursee, Switzerland

Churches and Chapels throughout Europe would vie to secure a particularly important reliquary in the hope of helping to anchor the interest of the passing Christian Pilgrims.  What was thought to be the shroud of Christ,  the finger bones of the Mother Mary or the splendid skeleton of a loved martyr would create a must see and must worship spectacular.  The installation of these relics gave cause for the Christian Pilgrims to pause in these Churches and communities, spending time and money, creating an early type of  ‘destination marketing’.

It is estimated that in current times, “More than 200 million people go on pilgrimage every year – sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, and some leave home for many months.”  This number compiles religious pilgrimages across faith, worldwide.

Deodatus Skull finished additionally with wax and pigment, as well as gold and jewels.  

More about Photographer Paul Koudounaris here.  His book, Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, is available for more information and spectacular imagery.

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Adventures in Imagination

Amber Wheeler is Mom, and an adventurous one, without doubt.

This was seen at  http://imgur.com/a/1j83r#KvS4dfD – an  album titled ‘My Son’.

via Demilked

Beastie Boy Mike D. designs Wallpaper

Mike D. of the New York Rap Super Group, Beastie Boys, designed this wallpaper in collaboration with Revolver NY, and produced by Flavor Paper.

Flavor Paper tells us:  “Brooklyn Toile captures many angles of life in the King’s borough from Coney Island to Hasidic Jews to Notorious B.I.G., the design covers many of the aspects of daily life dealing with subways and pigeons in a poetic way.”

The wallpaper is inspired by French and English toile patterns.  These repeated patterns traditionally depict quaint and pastoral themes. Images of people lounging or working float next to scraggly trees, forgotten ponds, and huts in need of a new roof.  The patterns were initially inspired by chintz fabrics imported from India, where repeated floral patterns were woven into cloth.  The Irish used etched copper plates to print on fabric or paper, a practice popularized by the French and English, used in upholstery and on other decorative surfaces.

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The Future is Now ! Recreational Submarines

“The Seabreacher represents a dramatic breakthrough in recreational boating” ,

This amazing machine operates more like an aircraft, with three axis steering controlled by a control stick.  This unusual steering, like a video game joy stick, allows for swinging carves, deep diving and  jumping clear of the water. It can hit speeds up to 55MPH, and is purported to cost about 65K.

Each machine is custom made, with your choice of paint.  Noisy, flashy and fast.

Built by Innespace Productions, which appears to be located in California, the company was founded by two men from New Zealand in 1997.

Their website show dealers in Asia, Australia, Malta, Russia and Dubai, and explains that these beauties are approved for sale by the US Coast Guard.

These inventors also have created this toy:  http://www.jetovator.com/

Wonder Years – The Gift of Aging – Photographs by Jan Langer

Photographs of 100 year old people, by Czech photographer  Jan Langer  – in the project ‘Faces of Century’ .

The above photo is taken from a hard hitting video, put together on the website Dogva.com, edited from Jan Langer’s work.

In the words of Photographer Jan Langer :

“Photographs show portraits of one hundred years old Czechs. Nowadays, there are over 700. In fifty years their number will reach 14,000. How these people see their life after such a period? The majority of those I approached agree that with advancing age life is faster; until, at last, the life will pass in a moment. Time is shrinking, as are the faces of the elders. I wondered what changes and what remains on a human face and in a human mind in such a long time, and in such a short while in relative terms. I wondered how much loneliness of the old age weighs, and what memories stay in 100-year-old mind.

This set of comparative photos (of archive portraits from the family album and contemporary portraits from the present time) explores the similarities and the differences in appearance and in physiognomy. The characteristics of personality change throughout life but it seems as if individual nature remains rooted in the abyss of time.

The pairs of photographs are accompanied by brief facts from the people’s physical and psychic world.”

via DeMilked

HalfDrag by Leland Bobbe

Miss Fame

These two photographs are taken from  ‘HalfDrag’, a fabulous & beautiful portrait series by NY Photographer Bobbe LeLand.

Both fierce and vulnerable, these models inspire a brave love – to love oneself.

His website:  Leland Bobbe

Crystal Demure

Skeletons in the Closet – Night at the Museum

A photograph taken by Klaus Pichler, exploring the basement, after the Museum had closed.

http://www.kpic.at/

Photograph by Klaus Pichler, stuffed bear enroute behind the museum scenes….

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Michael Zimmerer’s Disappearing Horizon

The White Horizon Series – Photographs by Michael Zimmerer

http://www.michaelgzimmerer.com/title.html

The White Horizon Series by Michael Zimmerer

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