Category: Photo Art

Photo Art

In which we search for the heart of the wood…

heartwood2

“As symbol, or as the structuring of symbols, art can render intelligible — or at least visible, at least discussible — those wilderness regions which philosophy has abandoned and those hazardous terrains where science’s tools do not fit. I mean the rim of knowledge where language falters; and I mean all those areas of human experience, feeling, and thought about which we care so much and know so little: the meaning of all we see before us, of our love for each other, and the forms of freedom in time, and power, and destiny, and all whereof we imagine: grace, perfection, beauty, and the passage of all materials to thoughts, and of all ideas to forms.”
― Annie Dillard, Living by Fiction

Photo Art

Hope

img_4398adj1asq1b

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Howard Zinn

Photo Art

Small World

Insects and other small critters are among my favorite things to photograph. I looked out the door the other morning and spied an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper on my front stoop. Reviewing the photos I took of it inspired me to share some of my other favorite shots of those who are part of the small world.

You can find more of my photography in my Flickr photostream.

Ant tending what I believe is an aphid farm. Yes, some ants do farm aphids as a ready source of food.Ant Tending Aphids

Continue reading “Small World” →

General, Photo Art

Still Life

StillLife1

I ran across an article not too long ago that talked about people who are happier living alone. These are not people who hate other people. They have close friendships. They even have intimate, sometimes romantic, relationships. But at the end of the day, they prefer to go home to their own little corner of the world, to embrace solitude. I am one of those people.

Continue reading “Still Life” →

Photo Art

Women in Art I

One of the things I like to do when visiting museums, galleries and other places where art is on display is to take photos of art pieces where women are the primary subjects. I find it interesting to see how different artists have portrayed women. These images are all of paintings and posters at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, FL. I cropped them to remove frames and other extraneous details so that the focus is on the women. It’s always interesting to note how most of the earlier art pieces were created by men and to ask ourselves how the male perspective has served to shape our vision of women in art. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way but more as another observation about the patriarchal nature of our history and culture.

Absinthe Robette by Henri Privat-Livemont – 1896

IMG_1934adj_resize

Continue reading “Women in Art I” →