Strong Women

Hello again.  I’m a big fan of Donna Grossman and That Girl Knitz.  Her work is unique, creative and very fun.  Be sure to check out her website, you'll find a link below. Donna invited me to write a guest blog, I’m happy to oblige.  Bear with me, I’m feeling fanciful today.

Strong women.  They rock, they lead, they inspire.  A few of my personal favorites:  Mae West, Clare Boothe Luce, Eleanor Roosevelt, Katharine Graham, Beryl Markham, Freya Stark.  There are hundreds of thousands of them.  Many are known to the world, others are known quietly — only to their families.  I look for them in movies, in books, in my own life and I learn.

Strong women show up in my photography.  I see them on the street, I glimpse them in old buildings.  Hidden in plain sight, their messages to me are written on their faces and carved into the architecture of their bodies.

Flower Tattoo

 I took this shot while trekking across San Francisco on foot — the best way to travel with a camera in hand.  An oasis in a landscape bereft of beauty, she was painted by the talented female artistic team of Alynn-Mags, in brilliant, bold color.  Peaceful and determined, I imagine she’ll unfold long, graceful legs and step off that wall to rule the world.  She reminds me to breathe and stay centered.

Vintage Mermaid

This mermaid caryatid, perched just off the Florida shoreline, supports a carved stone barge with purpose and grace.  Embracing whatever comes, waves or wild weather, you can see she’s not a whiner. When she’s busy with other projects, she arranges for dolphin pals to “stand in”.   She inspires me to ask for what I need…and to take up swimming again.

Deco Lines

Art Deco.  An era when women shrugged off all those heavy layers of Victorian clothes and played with abandon.  The sculptor of this piece may think he has our muse clutching a phallic symbol of urban strength on her left, but here’s my take on it:  she’s fully embracing her masculine side (yin and yang you know) while remaining utterly feminine and holding wings to soar as well.  She encourages me to accept all aspects of myself.

You’ll find more strong women when you visit my shop.  These images and many more may be found in my Urban Art and Architectural Detail Shop Sections located on the upper left side of my home page, Shop Sections make shopping quick and easy.  Links Links and More Links:  

My Shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/ninedragons

That Girl Knitz:  http://www.thatgirlknitz.com

Thanks for dropping by,

E. England

Do You See What I See?

Photography is a blast — totally fun.  Why else would I do it?  It’s also widely open to interpretation by each viewer - as is all art.   I’ve been pondering that lately, so I thought I’d tip-toe out of my comfort zone and onto a tiny little ledge to personally share what I see in this photo, taken one day in the city.

Here’s the photo.

It’s an old, city wall with a clump of ivy hanging over it and a large, orange graffiti scrawl across the lower right side.  Based on an unsolicited critique (by a fellow photographer!) of another of my photos, some may see this as nothing more than a “casual snapshot”.  Look a little longer, there are some interesting things going on. Here’s what I see.

Our brains like balance, which is provided nicely here by four loosely color-blocked quadrants:  Green/grey, grey/pink, white and orange.  The rusting “chair rail” that cuts almost diagonally across the image creates a tidy top and bottom.  It’s trimmed with a heavily inked line of black across the top, adding depth and movement from left to right.  The two darkly rusted strips of metal that run vertically up the wall draw the eye upwards, adding more movement and a corseted structure.  

There’s more.  The heavy scrawl of vivid orange graffiti acts to anchor or ground the image while the cascade of deep green ivy provides (again) that comforting balance.  The black “@“ sign, or encircled ‘e’ to the left of the ivy feels vaguely hieroglyphic and I think about the level of importance future cultures may bestow on the Graffiti we are leaving behind.  There’s also a metaphorical balancing in the naturally wild, organic growth of ivy and the urban-wild scrawl of spray paint “growing” across the lower wall.  I could go on, but I'll show mercy and stop here.

Each viewer will see something different, or nothing at all, but I promise you, the longer you look, the more you’ll see.   Wondering what to do with a photo like this?  Frame it in basic black or in pale wood, adding urban “edge” to a Wall Grouping or ask for a deckled (torn) edge and float it in a plexiglass frame for a sleek, modern and thoroughly original living room focal point.  Oh, and feel free to use my crazy art interpretation at your next uber-sophisticated cocktail party!

Test your own Art Critic skills here — one pro didn’t do so well (neither did I):

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenlewis/quiz-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-modern-art-and-art

All the best,

Elizabeth

Here’s a link to my shop:

www.ninedragons.etsy.com

Here’s a link to more Urban Art:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ninedragons?section_id=12963822

Say Goodbye -- The Great Graffiti Controversy

Life is so very interesting.  Several weeks ago, I wrote about using architectural detail as a theme for my photography.  I’d planned this post as a sort of Part II -- to ramble a bit about the beauty and diversity of Street Art, Urban Art, Graffiti and Mural Art.  I’ll still do that, but I’ll be heading in a little different direction, because of something that occurred yesterday...  

For years and years, the controversy over graffiti was “those damn kids” with their spray paint; defacing property, contributing to Urban blight and the general “moral corruption” of society.  Writing that made me chuckle out loud, but I can recall my parents and their friends saying things exactly like that.

If you read my blog, you’ll know I was raised up nice and healthy in the Midwest --  Kansas to be exact -- with room to roam and the freedom to do it.  But I’ve been a city dweller now for a majority of my years and life in the city has shown me clearly that the definition of beauty is not the narrow, confined standard proscribed by society -- rather it is huge, unlimited -- sky high.  It’s whatever we want it to be and it is constantly evolving.

When I travel with my camera, I nearly always choose a city where I can unpack my bags and roam on foot finding “my” coffee shop, “my” bookstore and “my” local bar to hang in as I begin exploring.  Traveling on foot allows me to see who’s out on the streets with me, what they’re doing, what clothes they’re styling, how they maintain their homes, their trash, where they play, their music scene - it also lets me feel virtuously healthy burning a multitude of calories as I walk.  Wandering around on foot also allows me to see so many of the details that disappear in a blur breezing along in a taxicab.  Cherubs, lions, the face of a native american unexpectedly carved over a doorway and weird, wild, wonderful graffiti of all kinds.

Graffiti as an art form has evolved from the repeated signature scrawl of a name or “tag” and morphed into full fledged mural art by talented artists and biting political commentary like that of the now famous - or infamous - Banksy.  The determination of graffiti artists hasn’t changed over the years, but their work has matured, becoming much more detailed and complex - very possibly because they don’t have to paint it on the run any longer.  Graffiti - and street art have come to be appreciated as “real art” and its “ownership’ is being fought over on an international level including in auction houses. 

Because it can disappear or be completely defaced in a moment, I’m drawn to document graffiti and mural art with my camera.  While San Francisco, unlike the majority of U.S. cities, seems to embrace the work of its graffiti artists, here in Philly, it’s still painted over by city workers almost as soon as it’s painted...no matter how lovely. 

When you take an interest in photography, you are drawn toward what the photographer has seen in any given moment in time.  That moment - just like a snowflake - will never be recreated or captured identically again -- no matter what the subject.  The light will never be exactly the same, another photographer will “see” the same view very differently, a month of sunshine will fade the pigment, each camera will capture the moment just “this much” differently - making it unique.

This is the place where I was going to talk about using graffiti and mural photography as a unique way to bring contemporary art and the feel of the city into your home or office,  because I was feeling rather pleased with my little unofficial, one-woman Street Art - Graffiti Art - Mural Art Preservation Program.  Instead, today I am preparing to pull some of my favorite images from my shop.  

A San Francisco mural artist contacted me yesterday and asked me to remove my photographs of his work.  It’s disappointing for a number of reasons -- chief among them?  I was excited to share this art. The flip side though, whether legal, illegal or debatable is that I would be leaving a fellow artist feeling like his work had been stolen and that seems in poor taste...at the very least.

Conversation went back and forth a few times, I asked advice from several different sources to consolidate my thinking.  Closing in pretty quickly on the undeniable fact that I would obviously remove my photos featuring his work as requested.  Something had me unsettled and a little on edge though.  It took me awhile, but I finally worked it out in the wee hours.  The artist is convinced I willingly meant to do him harm.  There seems to be no way to convince him otherwise -- he is certain I am evil.  My offer to contribute proceeds to a Youth Mural Program or Mural Preservation Group of his choice were viewed as disingenuous, stated with harsh words.

I’m that person who happily holds doors open for young and old alike, shovels half the block when it snows because so many of my neighbors are older or in ill health and “blesses” total strangers when they sneeze in public.  Am I Mother Theresa?  Definitely not.  Can I be thoughtless?  Oh yeah.  Being seen as the devil incarnate definitely bugged me though and I spent far too much time trying to explain myself and my intentions to someone who will never hear me.  The poor man is just trying to protect his interests after all and that must be one tough job considering his work is outside in an alley -- in an area known for graffiti.  Good grief - head shaking - laughing fondly at self in a Christopher Robin sort of way.

Street art has come a long way from its public nuisance, in your face, spray paint scrawled roots.  It is now fine art -- exactly the point I was trying to make when I started writing this.  Protected, copyrighted, guarded carefully as if safe within museum walls.  Ironic, isn’t it?  This may be the last time you see several of these images...unless you plan a trip to San Francisco’s Mission District to see one of the most concentrated collections of amazing graffiti art murals...in person.  Just don’t take your camera!

E. England

www.ninedragons.etsy.com

The fabulous top mural was obviously created by the very cool Zio Zeigler, the stunning middle mural is by the wildly talented team of Alynn-Mag. More information may be found on these artists in my Etsy Shop.  Come visit.