It’s been a month since my last column and I have missed writing. I was struggling with a few health issues that made the kind of concentration it takes to do this column difficult. I hope I can concentrate today. At least my transition back to writing is made a bit easier by the wonderful new exhibition at the Palais Orleans Gallery. Again, curator Morgana Nagorski sought out two artists to form a collaboration around a central theme. The artists this time are Jessica Belmer and Corinne Helendale, both of whom have been featured in this column in the past.. For this exhibition, they took the collaboration to new levels, building the sets together, making the poses together, shooting the scenes together so that they worked in unison throughout the creative process from conception to realization. The theme for their exhibit is The Splendor of Desire. The exhibit continues at Palais Orleans until September 23rd.
Capitulation
The artists wrote a statement to explain how their collaboration worked:
Solicitation
What I find so striking about these pictures from The Splendor of Desire show is their rich, painterly complexity. The rich colors, the inky blacks, the saturated colors, the brilliant lighting and the complex composition make me thing of Caravaggio or any number of Renaissance artists who brought light onto the canvas.
Primal Scream by ✿ Lily ✿ is one of those pictures that just take my breath away. The lighting is amazing and with the overlay adding color to the sky it becomes a work of art. You can see the rule of thirds in play with the water meeting the grass at the shore along the horizontal third which is ablaze with light. It’s simply stunning.
I love this picture from Lily000 Gartner for SL Yummies. I like the sweet whimsy of her styling and the lovely choice of lighting that enriches the setting.
I love this photo from Serene Fairy for slTransfusion. Our eyes like diagonals and triangles and she is very cleverly giving them to us with her body and the street light and the shadows. It’s beautifully done and the lighting emphasizes the shapes . I love the bright pops of yellow and white that make this such a lively and exciting photo.
I think Chic Aeon’s choice of lighting in this picture for Chic at Phil’s Place is pure genius. Such a huge, vibrantly yellow sun is a bold choice – and so risky, so it’s wonderful to see it pay off. Her composition, with the headpiece almost forming the boundary of the sun and sky is another brilliant touch.
They say the devil is in the details, but so is genius. Take this photo by Hugo Zelle, It’s the details that tell the story. From the whiskey on the dresser and in his glass, the smoking cigarette, the towels and lotion and steam rising from the tub, there are so many little things that are employed to add context. We know where this story is going and it’s steamy.
Di Hoorenbeek’s photo for Modavia Fashion Marketing is stunning. Look at the lighting graze her back and the tops of her thighs. The cast of purple lighting on the shoes and shadows! It’s just breathtaking. I think she used projectors – and did it perfectly.
I love this photo from Ravenelle Zugzwang. Again, the lighting makes this photo. The composition is lovely with the subject looking into the frame and that wild and bold head of hair placed for maximum impact. There’s a dreaminess suggested by the use of depth of field to blur elements like the flowers in the face. Meanwhile, every strand of hair is in sharp focus. The title is Waiting for the plant to rez. We’ve all been there.
This from Stephy Maldor for Pas Assez is another piece of brilliant storytelling. The mood is captured with her glasses carelessly tossed to the side and her pose, expressing her heartbreak and pain. I love the sepia tone that gives it a temporal context and then the little details like the lotion and perfume on the dresser. It’s exciting and fresh and so complete.