Innocent Portraits

What does these images mean to you? Are these innocent children portraying their image of our society? Seen here is part of a series of children's portrait, "The Birthday Party" from Vee Speers, who was inspired by an imaginary birthday party and the way children express their creativity. Her concept began with her three daughters playing dress up at home which lead to Vee's curiosity in capturing the childhood's imagination.

Vee Speers is from Australia living in Paris.  Her art has been exhibited and published globally. She is currently inaugurating the Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm on May 20 with Annie Liebovitz and Joel Peter Witkins.  Check out the website to view additional photographs of series.

Different Perspective

We view art to explore and question the aesthetics and their meaning. This is a great example to study. Levi Van Veluw crafted these interesting series of self-portraits by using his face as a canvas, then photographed himself. It began as an experiment with different mediums which developed into a concept. Levi quoted, "The expressionless, and almost universal face, allows the viewer to project himself onto the work." Although this series is not about self-portrait but the study of materials, colors and textures, using his body as an object for his self expression and to invoke thought and reaction from the viewers.

Levi Van Veluw graduated cum laude from the ArtEZ' Art School in Arnhem, Netherlands. His artwork has been displayed internationally, and he is the winner of the Photographer of the Year Award from the International Photography Awards.

Flawless Imperfection

There is something intriguing about these photographs. Is it because the subjects look artificial? or is it because the images are flawless? Winning the International Photography Award in the past two consecutive years, Oleg Dou brings us these fine art photographs. Oleg strikes a statement with his art by promoting individuality, unlike the subjects in his photographs with porcelain skin and the lack of eyebrows and eyelashes, presenting them as unnatural.

Growing up in Moscow, Oleg was surrounded by creative artists. He did not become serious in the field of art until his exploration of design which lead him to photography. His work has traveled the globe, displaying at art galleries throughout the world.

No Rain But Light

Since I met my friend, who is a lighting director, I have a higher level of appreciation to lighting design. I am enlighten by the amount of time and effort it takes to light a single scene on film, the calculations, gels, filters, focusing, hokum, etc. Lighting is important everywhere we go. Cause without light, what would we see?

When I saw Steven Haulenbeek's Cumulus Light Canopy, I thought to myself, "That is brilliant!" Taking photographer's translucent umbrellas to defuse the light in order to create ambient lighting. According to Steven, "The object is recontextualized to create playful light rather than reference the dark and dreary day." In fact, he turned the umbrellas upside down to create a bright cloud-like form. This effect soften the light but still illuminate the room.

Steven Haulenbeek graduated from the School of Arts Institute of Chicago with a MFA. He is currently working on two public installations, Word of Faith day care center near Augusta, Georgia, and Children's Museum in Florida.

Steven is a designer and an artist, who is known to repurpose objects in order to create something new. He stated, "I am interested in the unconventional solutions to conventional problems." Go to his website to view additional work from Steven Haulenbeek.

Clay By Nature

These figurines caught my attention, and I want one. Upon my search, this art is created by a Taiwanese ceramic artist, Shao Ting-Ju. The ceramics are part of Shao's installation, which is displayed globally, bringing us the concept of human nature in relationship with existence, religion, and politics. Her statements are deep and detailed which reflects the same nature of her process and approach to ceramics as each individual pieces are handmade to look similar, yet they are unique.  These clay figures represents the human figure, as the birds represents mother nature.

Shao is an award winning artist, traveling the world to share her vision, as well as being a committee consultant and juror for international ceramic competitions.  You could access this link for an in-depth artist statement about her concept. 

Unconventional Snow Globes

When you think of a snow globe, you think of Santa Claus, a Princess, or a Castle in the sky, trapped in a glass where only your imagination could wish it alive.  When you look closely at these snow globes, you will quickly learn that they are not dream-like but a disturbing ironic drama.  Each snow globe has a fascinating story of their own, or as Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz describe it, "strange situations you might encounter in a dream more than a reality." 

Walter and Paloma are a couple who started sharing a studio.  Slowly, they started collaborating and combining skills.  They would meet during lunch and dinner to discuss about the concepts of their project, then Walter would work on the sets, while Paloma capture the story with photography.  Their artwork is currently displayed at John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which ends May 31.  If you are unable to attend, you could purchase their hardcover book "Travelers" with original short story by Jonathan Lethem.