fotoplay: on the horizon 1

The first two pieces for the Fotoplay Invitational have arrived, and I have to say that I can’t imagine a more poetically perfect initiation for this new project. The “stained glass windows” above and below were created by two sisters from Maryland, who by now seem to have mastered their medium. The window above, created by 9-year-old Tara, features quite the expressive rainbow, and my goodness, Tara has added a door in the center. Now there’s a metaphor…

The next window was created by 5-year-old Lila. I love how the rainbow’s center fills the space like the setting (or rising) sun. In looking at these works, I couldn’t help but picture these girls, working side-by-side, focusing on same idea of a rainbow. I wonder who first voiced the idea out loud. Maybe there was an argument about who could make a rainbow. Or maybe the idea for the rainbow was spoken, but without ownership. I’m reminded of a rainbow-focused class that came about one afternoon in my ArtLab Studio at CMCA. One young artist did speak her rainbow-making intention out loud, and then all, literally all of the other children began making rainbows. But by the time the works were completed, the idea of a rainbow is really all that the was shared. Where we see the hand and the heart of the artist is in the miniscule details that distinguish the physical piece. Every decision that was made in the process of making the work is there in the final piece. Every tiny conscious or subconscious decision, solidified like a fossil. So that when we look at a work of art, when we really stop to take it in, we see these fossils, and we marvel at how much specific and unique information they hold…

As I wrote in an earlier post, the Fotoplay Invitational will include works by a small group of friends who created work for my December Fotoplay project. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next on the horizon…