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| Lauren Semivan Image from metrotimes.com |
I have to admit, Lauren Semivan's work is pretty compelling. I'm a high-contrast black and white junkie, so this sort of photography really appeals to my tastes. In general, though, I feel somehow offended when people enter the frame. Especially the blurry ones. Blurry people really turn me off to photography. But look at this.
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| "Still Life with Fox and Lemons" by Lauren Semivan Image from bonnibenrubi.com |
This here is a direct reference to the vanitas painting style of the Dutch Baroque period. And I really love the Dutch Baroque. I'm nutty for all those half-dead flowers.
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| "Still Life with Fruit and Insects" by Rachael Ruysch Image from dpcdsb.com |
They're called memento mori, reminders of the inevitability of death. They can be anything from cracked-open shells to rotten fruit to a very un-subtle human skull. The symbolism in those works is rich. "Still Life with Fox and Lemons" is the only one of the works featured online that I really love for this reason, but that and the high contrast grayscale was enough for me to feel a special connection with Lauren. It's like we're both Lawrentians or something.
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| "May" by Lauren Semivan Image from bonnibenrubi.com |
Works like "May" definitely have some non-human movement in them. One of the signs of a brilliant composition is implied movement (blurry people don't count). The twigs and branches in "May" did grow that way, moving slowing into position, but that movement is still there, as long as the photo can be seen. As for the drapery, I don't know how she does it. Trial and error? A good eye? Even the drapery moves in the still images, and I respect that. Without the human form in Lauren's work, the set that she showed us is spot on, meeting my standards for a photographer's body of work.
Interesting that you have a strong connection to her artwork. You mentioned earlier in class (during the experimental video) that you are a believer of existentialism. Do you think you could interpret a meaning of that in her work? I agree with you as well on the high contrast. It seemed as if it was a trademark of her work, but it worked so well with her compositions.
ReplyDeleteJo, I'm really happy that you elaborate on momento mori in Dutch Baroque still life paintings. Nothing like a symbolic reminder of death for wealthy art patrons. Most of the objects in Semivan's work are old or decaying and the high contrast lighting and odd motion quality creates an eerie psychological sensation. I also am struggling to understand how she is able to set us her compositions so that they appear the way that they do. Some of the objects seem to take on lives of their own and I am not sure how.
ReplyDeleteJo,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that you were able to find the connection between Lauren's piece "Still Life with Fox and Lemons" and the piece "Still Life with Fruit and Insects" by Rachael Ruysch from the Dutch baroque period. That is a connection that I definitely would not have seen, having had very little exposure to art history. It was really fascinating for me to directly see both of these works next to one another and to see how different styles of art from the past are relevant and influential in contemporary art. Whether we are conscious of it or not, this relationship between the old and the new exists and it is very important to recognize it and talk about, so thank you for your thoughtful analysis.