a lovely full moon of inspiration

I heart full moons. so much. they are great days to take on the unordinary and also promote the extraordinary. Philip had an opening last night in San Francisco for a group show with a total of 5 emerging artists. It was held at the California Institute for Integral Studies and sponsored by the McKinley Art Solutions who does the artwork for the W hotels-which we so love. It was nice to see his new work out in the world, out of the studio, and in a beautiful space. There were also some other fabulous pieces of art, another photographer in particular just blew our minds!

His name is Gordon Beebe and he does these elaborate photo shoots and then merges the photos together to create a landscape of the mind. Surrealism meets modern technology....

Gordon Beebe, "Now Playing", 2006, Inkjet Print

This was one of my favorite pieces shown by him. I just love the detail and thoughtfulness that went in to creating this piece. It really emphasizes the nature of the human mind to just race and race and that movie that gets looped inside our heads, playing until it drives us a bit insane! Philip and I both had the chance to talk with him about his work and how elaborate his studio set up gets, the billions of shots he takes and then the cutting and pasting of images together before printing.

What Philip and Beebe are both doing is subverting the way people view photographs by making them about places inside the mind rather than places we visit and document. You cannot help but wonder where or how the images were taken, but that is not what striking about them. It is the way they make you feel. The way your senses respond. There are many of Philip's pieces that are haunting, nostalgic, deeply dark, almost sinister, yet the longer you stay with it the more hopeful you feel because you are not there or maybe you are, or at least have been. There is always a light that comes in to rescue you.

Philip Ringler, "The Great Depression", 2008, Silver Gelatin Print, 60 x 40 inches

The thing that really struck me last night was the amount of intimacy that artists have with their process and how artists view other artist work much differently that those who have never spent time with art. We stare longer and take in what is before us. We notice the way colors play with one another and how shapes either flow in harmony or create visual barriers for the eye. We see all of the subtle things that can only emerge with time and true observation. So many times people just glance at artwork. I feel that abstract art and photography suffer from this more than other media because many people do not "get" abstract art (or thought) and people are trained to see a photograph in a very face value sort of way. Landscape, portrait, fashion shoot, snapshot, etc etc.

The full moon is a great time to harness creative energy. I felt very comfortable with the group of people who attended the opening. (If you aren't familiar with art openings, they tend to lean more to the awkward side of things, at least for us.) I felt very grateful to have so many friends and family come out to support my talented husband. After a few days of crabbiness, I needed to be around art in a supportive environment. I was so filled with creative consciousness that I went home and worked on some mother's day gift projects!

art is good.