What images inspire you?

There have been many passing thoughts since I lasted posted a blog entry, and I wondered if anyone would have been interested. One of the most thought-provoking ideas, I think, is what inspires an artist in their day-to-day living: their home, family, the world around them, museums, other artist's work, media, animals, cooking, gardening, philosophy, science...

The photo above is an extreme closeup, from an article on the web 'Fractal Food'.

If you get National Geographic's 'photo of the month' in your email, you might have noticed a great short video 'Pattern Recognition'. If you missed it, check it out here, it's only about a minute long, but packed with visual inspiration!

A highlight of the NCECA conference (National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts, I think) for me is the slide presentation of the demonstrating artists. After a day or two of seeing a person presenting their technical expertise, their working methods, the nuts and bolts of their work, we see them all tidied up, onstage, with a wonderful powerpoint presentation of their completed work, past and present, the world that inspires them, and the 'why' of what they do, so successfully. We even get a glimpse of the times they are unsure of their path, and what got them out of it. This is always a huge boost for me - not that I equate myself with an established artist, but that anyone dealing with creative issues has these 'bumps' in the road, which seem like major obstacles at the time.

I was watching 2 wonderful documentaries on the Ovation channel recently. One was on the photographer Sally Mann. She was very controversial during the 1980's (not sure of the year) when her book 'Immediate Family' was published. It featured nude photographs of her three children, and started a huge public uproar about whether it could be considered child pornography. I even remember a local Montclair grandmother getting into trouble when picking up photographs from her local Moto photo (I think), who turned her in for taking nude photos of her grandchildren. Anyway, Sally Mann discusses this controversy. She felt that she had been looking so long for inspiration for her work, and very suddenly saw that the beauty of the world was right in her own backyard, swimming in the water, playing dress up, and getting a swollen eye from a bug bite. The nudity was just a fact of daily live in the country. Her intense visual reporting of all these details is beyond a retelling, but more of an invitation into a very private world. She wants us to see what she sees. It's a great film.

The other documentary was called 'Matisse and Picasso', and it dealt with the lifelong friendship and rivalry between two geniuses. Picasso had a painting of Matisse's that he held onto all his life, and one of his final self-portraits pictured him wearing one of Matisse's peasant blouses. And Matisse, lucky enough to have a Russian patron buying a number of his works, immediately then steered him in the direction of Picasso. This film was a great look into their friendship, with wonderful footage. 

My favorite clip was of Picasso forming a bird out of a clay pot, fresh off of the wheel, flipped sideways. And you can catch a glimpse of the potter at the wheel, over his shoulder, looking on in fascination, as he continues to turn the wheel and work. I would love to download this clip, but I think it may be a copyright infringement. So, if you get the Ovation channel, look for the documentary. It has wonderful old footage. If I can get a still from the movie, I'll include in the future - it's choice!

bye for now, Ellen Mulligan