Artwork by Natasha Bacca is going international! Carnations on Branches will be exhibited at La Fototeca, a Contemporary Photography Center in Guatemala City, later this year.
This month's blog posts:
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If you have questions or comments I would love to hear them. Much love to you all! ♥ Natasha
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I love trades! I have traded my artwork for many things, and recently I traded my artwork for a photo shoot of my dog, Syan. In February, I saw a post on Facebook that referenced Pauline Zonneveld's photographic work titled "Good Old Dog" in which she "seeks to capture your senior dog’s special beauty and the lifetime of friendship, comfort, love and sacrifice you have shared." I was excited to find Pauline is in Portland, OR where I also reside part-time, and I emailed her immediate offering my beautiful 13-year-old dog as a model. Pauline explained the amount she charges per photo shoot, and I asked if she would take an art trade instead which she agreed to. I don't think Syan enjoyed the photo shoot, but I am pleased with the results. The 3 photos I received of Syan: The 2 images Pauline selected prints of: Color Field 2.2, 10" x 10", 2012. Originally created for Arizona State University. Read more about this piece here. Color Field 1, 10" x 14", 2010. Thank you for viewing!
If you have questions or comments I would love to hear them. Much love to you all! ♥ Natasha I have always known I would explore black & white artworks someday. I am not as interested in black & white as color. I LOVE color, and it is such a dominant element in my artwork. Color is also a lot more challenging! So creating black & white artworks is easier, but not as interesting. I was most excited to explore black & white because, unlike color, there is ample light while working. I thought this would allow me to better document my process; however, documenting my process is difficult while actually executing it. These black & white explorations were prompted by a recent conversation with my friend, art lover and collector, Bill Rhoades. Additionally, I was out of my favorite size of color paper. But most importantly, I found this dead bird outside my studio door, and I thought s/he would make a good subject for my 1st black & white artworks.
These are not my 1st black & white photo-artworks ever. Like most photographers I began exploring the darkroom 1st with black & white. These are the 1st black & white artworks I have made with my patented process. The very 1st piece: I just guessed on exposure time. The dots below the bird is dirt that came from it when I moved it. I like this piece best: It has better composition with more tones and depth. Detail of above piece: I quickly tried of the bird as s/he was too stiff to manipulate. Some branches only pieces: And I quickly tired of black & white entirely, though I very much enjoyed the new exploration. Black & white requires different paper and chemicals than color work, so I invested enough in this exploration to continue it... eventually... for now I am back to color. :) Thank you for viewing! If you have questions or comments I would love to hear them. Much love to you all! ♥ Natasha Memento Mori 2012 unique chromogenic photogram 90" x 90" (3 30" x 90" panels) Artist's Statement: Memento Mori is a Latin phrase that translates to "Remember your mortality." The Memento is an artistic theme dating back to antiquity, and it refers to a genre of artworks that vary widely but which share a common purpose: to remind people of their mortality. More than a work of art, Memento Mori acts as a catalyst for the human imagination to engage with questions surrounding the nature of life and death; on the mortal constraints of all people, and the finite, fragile boundaries of the human body. The tree of life has been used as a symbol by all branches of human knowing. It emerges in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies; it concedes a mysterious reality alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet, and provides a metaphor for our common, evolutionary ancestry. The tree exhibits a transitory beauty, an ephemeral symbol of mortality that engages the Earth as a living medium, and illustrates the passage of time. The triptych structure of Memento Mori deepens the symbolism of the tree itself— branches reaching to the sky, roots plunging deep in the earth, and a trunk planted firmly in between. The tree dwells in three worlds and offers a fragile link between heaven, earth, and underworld. Uniting above and below, the passage of growth and decay, the tree takes on the appearance of death in the winter, only to sprout new branches with the return of spring. In this way, the tree is a symbol of resurrection, a potent medium erupting from unbroken terrains, flourishing in open air, and falling into dark geographies once more. Memento Mori acquires a moralizing purpose—the prospect of death serves to emphasize the emptiness and fleetingness of earthly pleasures, luxuries, and achievements, and thus serves as an invitation to focus one's thoughts on the fragility of existence and the prospect of the afterlife. Memento Mori reveals the multifaceted nature of the death-rebirth mystery and serves to illuminate the human life cycle. Viewers of Memento Mori are invited to contemplate life and death from multiple points of view. The tree image is a living Memento Mori. Its purpose is to remind the viewer that death is an unavoidable part of life, something to be prepared for at all times. But the image of the tree also reminds us of something startling and important: life is meaningful, temporary, and sacred. This artwork was funded by a grant from The Celebration Foundation. It will be exhibited at Blackfish Gallery in Portland, OR in 2014. I am looking for a location to exhibit this piece before and after its exhibition at Blackfish Gallery. If you have any ideas please let me know. Purchase a print here. Thank you for viewing! If you have questions or comments I would love to hear them. Much love to you all! ♥ Natasha |
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I am an artist working with light, combining contemporary & archaic processes to push the bounds of conventional photography. Archives
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