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Sunday, January 09, 2011

Filed under: Market Served •Fine Art •Technique •

Beauty in Decay

Chris Meyer | 01/09

Artists make the most of a crumbling world.

In a post-industrial world, scenes of urban and industrial decay is the new wabi sabi: “nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect” (Richard Powell). And perhaps nowhere in the US is decay more evident than areas of Detroit. As a result, Detroit has become a rich source of inspiration for photojournalists.

imageFor example: While in Amsterdam last summer, we stumbled upon a gallery that was hosting an arresting photo exhibit by Andrew Moore. If you did not get a chance to see this exhibit in person, the images are also contained on his web site and in his book Detroit Disassembled (available on Amazon, pictured at right).

imageMore recently, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have taken on the subject. Their web site shares some poignant images from their new book The Ruins of Detroit (currently available in Europe; US distribution promised soon - cover and current Amazon link pictured at right).

imageIf wide-angle Detroit decay isn’t your cup of tea, then get closer, no matter where you are: Some artists such as Washington-based LuAnn Ostergaard are creating luscious pieces that start as close-up images “captured from urban entropy, mostly weathered metal panels and scarred surfaces.” An example of her work titled Rivercrest is pictured at right; you can view more of her work on her web site or Facebook page.

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In a similar vein is Richard Nickel Jr’s photos of North Brother Island in New York. If you like some organics mixed in with your urban decay, this is the site to visit:

http://kingstonlounge.blogspot.com/2011/01/north-brother-island-riverside-hospital.html

Posted by Chris Meyer  on  01/15  at  08:35 PM

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The Object

Chris Meyer | 10/05- 08:29 AM

One of most recent works was the cause of serious soul-searching over the nature of my art.

Ever have one of those pieces that you put in a drawer for a couple of years, pulling it out periodically only to shove it back in because your head wasn’t in the right space yet to deal with it? That’s the underlying story behind this piece, The Object. In this case, it wasn’t just the image I was having trouble with - it was also the text I decided to attach to the image to give it a story. But sometimes, you just have to challenge yourself.

In this article, I want to share both the technical details of how this piece came together, as well as my internal conversation over the nature of abstract art and how it relates to photography.

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Seeking to Understand

Chris Meyer | 08/20- 08:06 PM

My process for creating a mixed media piece about knowledge systems.

It’s been awhile since I walked through the creation of one of art pieces that started life as a photograph, so I thought I’d pick one of my favorites: Seeking to Understand. Although it was created a couple of years ago just after I moved to New Mexcio, the process is similar to that of many of my current works.

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