Can the art inspire positive change? This week the UK parliament has declared a state of ‘Climate Emergency‘ as a response to widely held public protests catalyzed by the Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg. It is interesting to note that protesters held images by Gideon Mendel from the ‘Drowning World’ series he has made over the…
Category: Art Criticism
SPILL by @BeltraStudio
When we think about the history of iconic events that created a shock in the public mind that influenced the development of environmental ideas several key moments come to mind. The Three Mile Nuclear Accident (1979), Bhopal (1984), Chernobyl (1986), Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989), Kuwait Oil Fires (1991), Fukushima (2011). One of those disasters…
Robert Delpire @rencontresarles
Last year, the great French publisher, Robert Delpire (1926-2017), passed away at the age of 91. To celebrate the life and achievements of this extraordinary publisher the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival hosts a spectacular exhibition: https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/746/robert-delpire-photo-poche Famously known for inventing the ‘Photo Poche‘ book format, a small format photographic album, Delpire published many iconic photobooks…
Photographic gaze @MuseumModernArt
My photographic gaze is searching for three most important elements: the special light, the distinct atmosphere and a significant detail. I am particularly attracted to various manifestations of colour in the real world, and have devoted considerable attention to the colour theories from Chevreul to John Gage. I am inspired by a wealth of tradition…
Fashion Photography @Voguemagazine
The opening paragraphs of Eugenie Shinkle’s book ‘Fashion as Photograph’ assert that ‘photographic images play a key role in defining global fashion culture and in charting its discursive space. They are seen by many as the driving force behind the fashion system, with cultural pundits and industry creatives heralding the photograph as fashion’s ‘ultimate signifier’…
How to Write about Contemporary Art @gilda_williams
Aimed at contemporary artists, this book explores multiple forms: short news article, press release, auction catalogue entry, exhibition review, a book review or a magazine article. Art writing is often considered a low level job in the gallery world, however writers often are struggling to find the compelling words o translate the actual experience of…
Andre Derain @CentrePompidou
The grand exhibition of Andre Derain at Centre Pompidou in Paris is a landmark show the scale of which has not been seen since the 1994-1995 exhibition at the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Derain had a profound influence on me as a painter and is a constant source of inspiration for…
Photography as an ‘Environmental Practice’ @MuseumModernArt
Photographs in essence depict the effects of reflected light falling from the fragments of reality. Villem Flusser, considering the images a form of ‘mediations between the world and the human beings’, defends the view that photography is the most important human invention since the introduction of linear writing. Photographs are not real, in the sense…
The East and West of Fauvism
Two great masters of the twentieth century: Henri Matisse and Martiros Sarian, are probably the most outstanding colourists I know. They do not just use, apply or combine colour, they breath it and live it. The effect of such a passion – exquisite joy of the viewer and pleasure of the senses. The two painters led very different…
Burning Ice @capefarewell
In 2003, 2004 and 2005 three consecutive expeditions to the extreme Arctic featuring photographers, sculptors, scientists and educators sailed among the icebergs to bring to the world a message of our changing climate. The resulting book, ‘Burning Ice: Art and Climate Change’, produced by the lens-based artist, David Buckland, is a testimony to those expeditions…
Where am I now?
In my practice I am using photography to communicate in visual ways the important environmental ideas that benefit from using the photographic approach. I am focusing on environmental landscapes, travel imagery and fine art works that could enhance our understanding of the ecosystems through the use of ‘Goethean science’, i.e. more focused appreciation of the…
Burtinsky @EdwardBurtynsky: OIL
Given the current state of the world with CO2 emissions concentration at 407.96 ppm (Maua Loa Observatory), over half of the world’s biodiversity lost in the last 40 years (Living Planet index declined 58% between 1970 and 2012 according to WWF Living Planet Report) and 8 mln tonnes of plastic waste entering the oceans every…
Eco Art Gallery 