Virginia Segur has been part of the Tracy art community for many years. I first learned about her when I saw one of her painted chairs at the Tracy Art League's Expressions show. The chair was a favorite among the young students who visited the Expressions show on field trips. When I visited Virginia, I was awed by the attention to color and pattern in her home. From the vibrant blue accents at the front porch to the striking greens of her living room to the rich reds of her family room, Virginia's home is a feast for the eyes. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Her home reflects her artwork, which is filled with vibrant color and meticulous patterns created through "embellishment." Virginia has what I consider to be a "curated" home. You feel as if you are walking through a gallery designed to showcase her art. I have encountered this feeling with other artists in the community. Some other notable homes are those of Del Park and Henrietta Sparkman. Above: Del Park in his home. Below: Living room of Sparkman, which also features works by other artists
I'm not sure that Virginia would agree with this statement, but when I'm with her, I feel like everything and everyone is beautiful. She looks for beauty and seeks to embody it in her work and her home.
0 Comments
People continue to debate the question: What is Art? One of the great things is that the question will likely never be answered. As art techniques, movements, and media change, the question will continue to be asked whether the works produced in these new styles and media are actually art. Although photography has existed for almost two hundred years, there is still some debate about whether photography is art. There is always the question of whether a particular image is "Art". However, I get frustrated when general art competitions exclude photography or when artists who work in other media make generalizations that photography is not art. My personal belief is that a work should be judged by the same artistic standards regardless of the medium used to create it. Things have become even more complicated with the growth of digital art. As someone who makes images in photoshop from composites of photographs and found images, I'm often not sure how to enter my work in competitions. I write all of this as an introduction to my post about Cash Bryan because it's important to me that he be seen as a natural part of my project photographing artists. Cash is an artist who uses photography to create portraits. I feel like I should include more photographers in my project. However, I haven't quite figured out how to make that work. Much of a photographer's time is spent in editing on a computer and that doesn't make for interesting photos - or I haven't figured out how to make that look interesting! Plus, I am intimidated by the idea of taking photographs of people who are experienced photographers themselves. I often don't get my photos right "in camera" and fix things later in photoshop. I chose to photograph Cash because he creates beautiful work and requires the use of other people in his photoshoots. I thought it would add interest to my photos to include the model. The challenge turned out to be my inability to use artificial lighting. I didn't want to introduce light into the setting because Cash was creating his own flash and natural light arrangements to make the proper lighting for his photos. In the end, I only got a couple good shots that included the model. However, the shoot was lots of fun. A challenge of portraiture is the relationship between the artist and the model. Those who create portraits through paint or other non-photographic media can either work from a photo or ask their models to stay still for long periods of time. That is kind of an expectation if you are sitting for a non-photographic portrait. An artist making a photographic portrait - especially if you are working with regular person and not a model - doesn't really get that time. People expect you to be able to move quickly to get the "shot." Plus, you are sometimes expected to talk with the subject, make them comfortable, build a relationship with them that allows their personality to come through in the photograph. Cash is really good at building rapport with his subjects and making them feel comfortable, which has enabled him to take photos of people living on the street or who aren't looking to be photographed. He's noted that his recent need to use a scooter may have helped him be seen as more approachable by people who would have otherwise steered clear of a tall man with a camera. He had a long career as a professional wedding and newspaper photographer. His fine art work tends to focus on people whom he considers "characters" - those who might not generally be the subject of portraits. His 2019 show, "Public Personalities," appeared at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts and featured portraits and street photography that Cash has created over his forty-year career. Part of the fun of this photoshoot with Cash was watching and hearing him interact with his model. Ron Pepperman is a long-time Tracy resident who has made helping older people his mission. Ron recruited Cash to assist people in need with heating and AC issues (another of Cash's talents), and that's how they became good friends. Ron definitely qualifies as a "character" and has a very expressive face. Unfortunately for our community, he is moving out-of-state to be with family. I think Cash also qualifies as a character and has an interesting face! I'm looking forward to another photo shoot where I can use the light I need and take more posed photos of him.
I was fortunate to be able to continue my work with Caleb Dowdell. He is a busy student who recently moved from Modesto Junior College to San Jose State to pursue his artistic training as a Studio Arts major. My goal was to get a more formal portrait of him that would do justice to his effort to bring light to people through his art. He was very gracious and brought several of his paintings to my house so we could experiment with my new studio lights. Somehow he had chosen the perfect color to wear - purple - for the photos without any direction from me. Above: Caleb Dowdell with Luke 4:18, oil on canvas, 36" x 48" Caleb created the painting above, called Enough to bring attention to the abuse of women. Below: Joy I think Caleb looks like a serious artist in these photos and his works show really well. However, Caleb is very nice and always smiling and laughing. He is a joy to work with and very patient. At the time I was photographing him and this painting, I didn't realize the title was Joy (although the painting does convey that emotion). I'm glad we made sure to get a version with him smiling! Above: The Cozy Ducks on Hidden Lake, oil on canvas, 36" x 48"
One of things that I find so interesting about The Cozy Ducks on Hidden Lake is how much the work changed over time. If you want to see an earlier version of it, you can go to my prior blog post about Caleb. I have to say that I couldn't see what Caleb was trying to achieve when I photographed him painting during that earlier outdoor shoot. He talked about his technique and the layering of colors, but I didn't really get it at the time. Now I can see why the earlier version looked the way it did. Caleb had to have a vision of what he wanted to achieve in the end to build up the various layers until he arrived at the wonderful painting above. |
Archives
April 2022
AuthorTiffanie Heben is a photographer who has been inspired by the artists in her community |