جولي بلاكمون
朱莉布莱克蒙
ג’ולי בלקמון
ジュリー・ブラックモン
Джули Блэкмон

Book Club

source: adfphoto

La obra artística se funda en un sin fin de justificaciones heterogéneas, plurales y variadas. Creer que toda ella nace de la mera inspiración o intuición es tan absurdo como creer que no existe relación entre la política y la economía, por poner un ejemplo actual y muy a ras de suelo. De una parte, durante décadas o, tal vez, desde siempre, algunos fotógrafos/as han desarrollado su obra impregnados de la obra de otros artistas y al influjo de su manera de expresar su visión de la realidad. Ello no quiere decir que su obra no sea atractiva, interesante o magnífica, sino que simplemente se funda en la interpretación o ascendencia que, sobre ellos, tiene otra obra.De otra parte, la propia experiencia vital personal suele constituir, también, la poderosa obsesión generadora de la propia obra, como si constituyese un espejo en el que mirarse, una y otra vez, a la búsqueda de una respuesta que parece oculta.Julie Blackmon (1966, Springfield, Missouri) dspliega en su última obra, Day Tripping, estos dos caminos creativos esenciales. De un lado, como la mayor de nueve hermanos, traslada su intensa vida familiar y sus recuerdos de infancia a las imágenes que nos muestra y, de otro, no oculta su admiración por el pintor francés Balthus y especialmente por la obra de éste la Rue Blathus. De estas dos inspiraciones, Blackmon, construye todo un universo de existencias personales que aparecen suspendidas en el tiempo y congeladas en su propio mundo, como a la espera de una orden que haga precipitar el desarrollo de los acontecimientos.
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source: frootnl

Naar eigen zeggen wordt de fotograaf Julie Blackmon in haar werk hevig beinvloed door Nederlandse en Vlaamse schilders uit de zeventiende eeuw. En inderdaad, wanneer je door je wimpers naar haar foto’s kijkt, lijkt het alsof je naar de schilderijen van het alledaagse leven van Peter Bruegel en Adriaen van Ostade zit te kijken. Bovenal zijn haar uiterst zorgvuldig geconstrueerde werken van het leven van alledag een lust voor het oog.
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source: beachbungalow8blogspot

Today, I am thankful for all of the super creative friends that I have who inspire me, spark creative ideas in me and pass along the best finds ever. Most recently, one of my favorite friends sent me a link to photographer, Julie Blackmon’s website, merely suggesting that I might be interested in her work.

Ever since, I’ve had her website up, utterly enchanted and enrapt by her stunning portraiture work. I can look at each of these, forever. Every time I look at one again, I see something – a facial expression, a small detail- that completely draws me in, telling unraveling the story just a bit more.

When I first took a look, what immediately attracted me was the deep, deep color that seemed to go on and on. The word ‘saturated’ comes to mind. The next thing was the beautiful, mid-western antique architecture and landscape used as the backdrop for modern furnishings, clothing and activities. It’s all so wonderful, I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. So, as my friend did for me, I do for you.

The Dutch proverb “a Jan Steen household” originated in the 17th century and is used today to refer to a home in disarray, full of rowdy children and boisterous family gatherings. The paintings of Steen, along with those of other Dutch and Flemish genre painters, helped inspire this body of work. I am the oldest of nine children and now the mother of three. As Steen’s personal narratives of family life depicted nearly 400 yrs. ago, the conflation of art and life is an area I have explored in photographing the everyday life of my family and the lives of my sisters and their families at home. These images are both fictional and auto-biographical, and reflect not only our lives today and as children growing up in a large family, but also move beyond the documentary to explore the fantastic elements of our everyday lives, both imagined and real.

The stress, the chaos, and the need to simultaneously escape and connect are issue that I investigate in this body of work. We live in a culture where we are both “child centered” and “self-obsessed.” The struggle between living in the moment versus escaping to another reality is intense since these two opposites strive to dominate. Caught in the swirl of soccer practices, play dates, work, and trying to find our way in our “make-over” culture, we must still create the space to find ourselves. The expectations of family life have never been more at odds with each other. These issues, as well as the relationship between the domestic landscape of the past and present, are issues I have explored in these photographs. I believe there are moments that can be found throughout any given day that bring sanctuary. It is in finding these moments amidst the stress of the everyday that my life as a mother parallels my work as an artist, and where the dynamics of family life throughout time seem remarkably unchanged. As an artist and as a mother, I believe life’s most poignant moments come from the ability to fuse fantasy and reality: to see the mythic amidst the chaos. Julie Blackmon