November 14, 2007 at 3:50 am · Filed under 28 what I wear
I think I was supposed to write this for next week - BUT I AM SO EXCITED!
For a girl who loves her shoes and clothes (just ask my poor bedmate woken up at midnight and a bit by a hysterical me because the moths were eating my clothes…) this theme is a dream come true.
How many mothers have told their children to make sure they have nice underwear on just in case? ::Flickr Joy ::
Be a Voyeur (Just be aware, there’s a naked bottom in there, too!). Change your perspective….
Fashion photography would not be what it is without the creative genius of Richard Avedon. Now where do I find two elephants to match my best frock?
David Lachapelle is incredible at creating nonsensical scenes and playing, having fun. Challenging ideas of what fashion (and art) can be.
The Harajuku kids and the photographer that captures their look so well are inspirational, to say the least.
And it goes on… You are what you wear - so let’s see who you are.
August 13, 2007 at 6:53 am · Filed under 25 Pattern
:: Print and pattern to challenge your idea of what a pattern really is :: Henna Painting on the skin :: Patterns and Shadows 1 to open your eyes looking down :: Hairy Water Close Up Patterns that don’t exist to the naked eye :: Patterns and Shadows 2 What can you transfer to your skin without leaving a mark? ::
Hi - These are ideas to get the creative juices pumping. I’m only including 5 so you aren’t overwhelmed, but please check them out - some are incredible!!!!
Urbanites are amazing. One would think that in a metropolis of thousands/millions of people it would be impossible to not be connected to the people around you.
But it isn’t.
Increasingly depression is on the rise and part of its root is that people don’t feel a part of anything. When babies are born, there isn’t a community rallying around the new mother with meals, advice, childcare for older siblings. Somehow we lost something in gaining a million neighbours.
Yet at the same time we gained the benefits of the knowledge of artists around us, diversity in ideas and the opportunity to partake in a variety of different activities that smaller enclaves of people may not have the opportunity to experience.
My mama has always said that something has to give, what do you think?
April 20, 2007 at 5:09 am · Filed under 21 the body
This week I have a birthday. Another number, another year.
There’s a brilliant line in a book by Suzanne Spunner called “Running up a dress” which comments on looking in the mirror with your mother and realising that the young face has somehow aged, without you looking. This is a sentiment that I didn’t believe in when I first heard it (at the ripe old age where I knew everything, yes, that was 13) and always thought that I would notice my mother changing, I mean she’s right in front of me, I still see her everyday - how could I not notice?
And then one day I looked at her and realised that somehow she had changed. The once permed hair was leaner and there was less of it, her eyes were cloudier than they had been, her skin had more lines on it than before… How could I have missed these things?
The body ages in mysterious ways, it isn’t a straight line. It jumps and darts and some days you’re 21, others, well… we’ve all had those days. Yet, and I’m not being trite here - really, the most beautiful person of any age is who they are and how they wear it. Being confident in who you are and being proud of the person in your skin that is what makes a person beautiful.
And I’m beginning to believe that numbers, well they lie.
April 9, 2007 at 7:56 pm · Filed under 21 the body
Y’all are super talented and creative souls. I have been astounded by some of the beautiful photos you’ve taken over the week!
More ideas:
Showing us the bits you can’t see - Under your neck, Behind your knees, the back of your neck, the view from above, the soles of your feet, the back of your elbow, your back….
Shooting through fabric, through glass, in reflective surfaces…
Approximately 0.64% of the world’s population is employed as an artist, at any one time.
Artists are amazing people, I imagine that for many of us at SPC being employed as an artist would be almost equivalent to winning the lottery - being able to do something that you are passionate about and be paid for it!
There is another interesting group of people in the world and up to 20% of them are employed artists at some point in their lives. These people have an interest in aesthetics that could be viewed as different to most people, an ability to perhaps see the details around them a little clearer than most. These people also see themselves differently to the way people perceive them, they have a disorder called Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder occurs when a person perceives themselves as having a flaw within themselves/not being whole and having a severe aggravation towards it which may lead to an obsession or point where they try to self correct their fault. For example having ears that are slightly larger than average may lead to a person obsessing about them or being unable to go into public for fear of retribution. To the average person, the ears are probably not all that large to start off with.
There’s a bit of a hubbub in the crazy (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) psychiatric professionals community about where the disorder comes from and why the members of this special group of people are so drawn to creative outlets. Some say that it is because they have a heightened awareness of the aesthetics of the world, others say they perceive them differently, others say that it is because they are artists they can find fault easier…. questions and answers - round and round.
I just say, good for you artists, you find a way to share your vision of the world and take my breath away. Every Single Day.
When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a person. When I look around, I see people. It’s sometimes so hard to imagine the people around me not being there and the concept of there being a soul and an afterlife is comforting. It doesn’t take away from the fact that when I see people, that’s all they are. A couple of limbs, a head, a body, snivelling, snotty, noisy creatures.
The second the colour drains away from the image though, through black and white, it’s like a lightbulb goes off: I see the world differently. The world does seem more soulful, as if there’s more mystery, a secret just waiting to be told. Details that would somehow be lost if there was colour around.
Is this why black and white photography is on its way back “In”? In a time where we are constantly bombarded with images and messages in our cars, homes, schools, magazines - Buy/sell/need more sex/be skinnier/have more muscles/increase your penis size - is it that hard to believe that we all need to appreciate the small things in life and see something larger than ourselves and consumerism. An associate of mine one day spoke about her experiences living in Germany as a child; when the wall came down and advertising became prevalent in East Germany, people would buy objects because the television extoled their virtues - they weren’t used to being critical about advertising. Living our whole lives surrounded by mass produced marketing in order to induce us to part with our hard earned cash, we have become cynical and untrusting without even meaning to.
Is it that hard to believe that we need to believe in something larger than this whirlwind life and black and white photography forces us to look for that something? To look beyond the snivelling exterior and see something more? Or in the words of some intelligent ananoymous person:
“If you’re photographing in color you show the color of their clothes - if you use black and white, you will show the color of their soul.”
My resolution is this (And now it’s on public record!):
To report in every week with my usual cynical glee reporting on psychology, themes, people and all the things in between.
I find with resolutions - every one starts with good intentions and as my wise daddy says “THe road to hell is also paved with good intentions.” Some pop psychologist from somewhere has the idea that you need to ease yourself into new patterns of behaviour. If you’re starting something new and fall over, it’s okay. It’s not something worth beating yourself up about, but pick yourself up, try again and learn the things that trigger a fall.
May the year treat you well and you achieve your resolutions - one step at a time!
November 13, 2006 at 2:25 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
So what is Glam?
It was a movement in the 1970’s music scene - most famously portrayed by David Bowie. Sequins, Lame, Big hair, Big make-up.
Think Studio 54, Warhol, Lou Reed (circa 70’s and 80’s), Bowie, T-Rex, Twisted Sisters. Overdone and, well there is no other word except glam. Glam is Glam.
It has moved on since then to the most common abbreviation for “glamourous” - sexy, done-up, out-of-the-ordinary. Glam is beautiful, amazing and extraordinary.
