asterisms

 

Gabriel Orozco "Asterisms" ~ Guggenheim Museum, New York

"Comprising thousands of items of detritus mexican-born artist gabriel orozco gathered from two sites - a playing field near his new york home, and a protected coastal biosphere in baja california sur, mexico -'asterisms' presents to the viewer, the ever-present tension between nature and our contemporary society, emphasizing themes suggested by orozco's oeuvre from the traces of erosion to poetic encounters with mundane materials." READ >>

Zara Pfeifer

Zara Pfeifer captures the beauty in subtlety. Whether it be a dappled shard of light falling through a window or the idiosyncrasies of a friend, she observes the ephemeral moments with an eye to detail. Hailing from Cologne, Zara, an architecture student and photographer, spends much of her time between Berlin and Vienna. Zara creates photographs that are undercut with this constant flux, movement and juxtaposition between urban and country environments, that result in works that express her fascination with space and composition. I love the soft hues of the resulting images, as well as the way in which Zara cleverly mediates between the spontaneous, intimate and unfamiliar creating work that is simultaneously honest, intriguing and alluring. 

Zara kindly answered several questions that really gauge an insight into her creative process and inspirations ~

Where did your love of photography originate?

My interest developed over the past years, when I discovered photography as an inner need and tool to handle my emotions in everyday life. An important incident was when my father gave me his old analogue Minolta on our trip through Morocco for Christmas 2010.

What is it about a person or object that catches your eye and stirs you to take a photograph?

When I am curious about a person, I like watching their gestures, how they move and talk, proud moments or little insecurities. I love when I get an insight from somebody that is real and honest. In urban context, I am interested how people adapt to their living spaces and in the gap between planned and used architecture. Sometimes it is just a form that I am attracted to, from its pure aesthetics, colors or interesting context.

What are you inspired by, with and without camera in hand?

I am inspired by unfamiliarity and when I am in movement. I am deeply inspired by good talks with my friends, by interesting personalities, unusual approaches to life and how people handle their lives and feelings.

Is there any particular place or person you would love to photograph?

My two uncles who live in the deep Austrian woods. They have built up a wonderful cottage and I admire how they live.

Are there any photographers, filmmakers or artists’ work that you particularly like?

Just to name a few, I like the art work of Tacita Dean, Anna Maria Maiolino, Gordon Matta-Clark, the architecture of Lacaton & Vassal, the photography of Viviane Sassen, Jürgen Teller, Wolfgang Tillmans, William Eggleston and of my dear friends Paul Pibernig, Linda Hemmersbach and Peter Jaunig.

Are you working on any projects currently?

I am working on my Master Thesis in Architecture, which is going to be a photographic profile on the Affordable Architecture in Berlin. Recently I started focusing on the intersection between architecture, photography and self-publishing. 

Zara's FLICKR + BLOG

psych flowers

Scanned some flowers ~~~~~~~~~

There is something weirdly entrancing and beautiful about these images; perhaps the off kilter compositions or the fact that dried out petals, leaves,wilting hydrangea and roses (of which there are always a plenty hanging around in my mother's floristry studio) are given a new otherworldly lease of life through the spectral colours and psychedelic blurs. Must try with other materials as the background - wool, fabric, plastic, handmade papers...

the beauty of science

"I realized that I had the microscopic equivalent of a cubist painting, art and science never seemed closer."

These are scans from a book I picked up at the car boot entitled SUPER VISION: A NEW VIEW OF NATURE by Ivan Amato. I spied its neon cover poking out of a box, quickly flicked through and figured it would make amazing collage material. Reading it later on however, I discovered it's the epitome of my current love of the fusion of both art and science. The imagery in the book ranges from the subatomic scans of crystals (#1), metals, minerals and materials, the visualization of molecular reactions, microscopic images of plants and cells to close up views of adhesive tape (#4) and bamboo (#3); beautifully psychedelic, otherworldly and kaleidoscopic.

"When the image is so abstract that it refers to no particular scale of size, it enters the domain of modern science almost directly, for science itself images abstractions as forms of analysis. Thus many pictures of some scientific value resemble the work of abstract artists during many epochs of art." 

Nature's glorious penchant for order: "everyday ornament, say a fine pot or fabric, may be repeated in multiple, male a style of a single impetus. Science too deals in multiples: Stars and blossoms, the unending system of integers, the barrage of particle and photon, the sound trains of air vibration."

I never thought that the words DIGITAL, PRINT, and SCIENCE would ever be in my vocabulary collectively (I'm a vinyl > downloads, monochrome > colour, art > science classes gal) Couple these words with ART however and I get extremely excited. Just IMAGINE any of these as prints on material / fabric / dresses / jumpers ~ INSANE.

"Nature exhibits both symmetry and chaos, and from time to time either or both of these characteristics can lead to images on every dimensional scale whose value transcends the scientific interpretation of physical phenomena and extends into the realms of art and aesthetics." YES

'is it possible to be a revolutionary and like flowers?'

Camille Henrot, 'Est-il possible d'être révolutionnaire et d'aimer les fleurs', 2012

i·ke·ba·na /ikəˈbänə/ : The art of Japanese flower arrangement, with formal display according to strict rules.

~ This project is a translation of an entire library into ikebana. According to Japanese tradition, ikebana was originally created to “console the soul”. The form of a piece of ikebana, its colours and the choice of flowers used constitutes a form of language. The function of consoling and language – two aspects shared by books and flowers – are the starting point.

So each piece of ikebana represents the works chosen by the artist following a principle of translation the rules of which have been reinvented, using the evocative power of the Latin and common names of the flowers, the names designed for their commercial exploitation, their pharmacological power or even the history of their travels. Hence the ikebana piece that pays homage to the Discours sur le colonialism [Essay on Colonialism] is made up of a palm tree branch (alma armata) and an upturned tulip (Tulip retroflexa).

The thoughts produced by literature, philosophy or anthropology are an integral part of our daily lives. But, in some ways, they are also “decorative objects”, in this context meaning that they create a frame, a stimulating and comforting environment, just as a library can be. 

From books to flowers, the project highlights our prejudices about what is offensive or inoffensive, about what belongs to the arts of the intellect and to those of the everyday. ~

"The young artist initiates herself into the culture of the ikebana and offers the Palais de Tokyo an ephemeral and delicate work, at once graphic and literary. Each ikebana is partnered with a quote or famous book title, which is like a translation in flowery language ... By combining the collection of flowers and bibliophilic, the artist develops thoughts about the language that overcome the traditional dichotomy between intellectual art and decorative art." via aqnb