This is the occupation the very busy and talented Neville Trickett listed on his blogger profile - 'keeping out of trouble'. If only we all kept out of trouble with this much style, wit and industriousness. I followed his eclectic saint verde digest and now have visited the new Saint Verde Chronicles where you can watch a video about his engaging enterprise. The images here are from his Flickr photo sets - the first from his studio and the following ones are of various collections found in different sets listed here.
set: dead botanicals
set: Pollen
set: Ernest Haekel
set: Philip Taaffe
The particular sets I chose here are somewhat related in terms of the thread of botanical themes ... however there are another 48(?) sets to look at.. plus the images on the digest contain compelling material as well!
I must mention I have posted on Philip Taaffe in May here and you will find his website and studio viewings if you scroll down to the website listings on the bottom right hand side.
14 comments:
These are beautiful, Sophie. I'm reminded of Nicola Moss's wprk.
Wow - these are great! I love the 'pollen'.
Now I must go and check the other 48!!!
Thanks :-)
@Sophie Munns - thank you for your thoughtful response. I must say, I do have family come over and make comment on the little things, these things that I speak of, ones that gush over a nicely wrapped present, and others that care about the things that I might blog or read about. Then there are others, who I might make some homemade cookies for and tie them up pretty with string and a sweet little handmade card who will scoff down the cookies and throw away the packaging without even a blink of an eye. It is these things that I wish I had blogged about, so at least I could have remember the original thought and beauty. But now am I just going to far?? hahaha
Thanks for the comment Susan!
The other sets of images are well worth a look too.
It was wonderful to meet Nicola a few months ago for the very reason of connecting with another artist with a love of botanical forms.Through research I am finding more and more artists the world over working with ideas that connect back to nature, botany, zoology, and other topical ways art and science intersect. Its no accident that scientists are looking so heavily into fields like biomimicry at the same time artists are thinking about the implication of "progress" on the natural world that they have long responded to and more recently come to realise can no longer be taken for granted.
A few years back I was prompted to reinvestigate Paul Klee's writing by NZ abstract painter Liz Coats - www.lizcoats.orconhosting.net.nz - who's work and writing on Art I'd come across in the 90's and been very taken with.I was lucky to have her visit my studio in 2006 and discuss the work which was preoccupying me - micro/macro abstracted forms, with several strands of interest. Heady stuff, the cause of much consternation as I tried to work my way through the teeming ideas. Discussing her work and thoughtful responses to mine allowed me to slowly re-examine it with a renewed sense of purpose.
I had kept returning to Paul Klee's The Nature of Nature- Vol 2 since being given this book as a gift many years before by a perceptive friend who saw in my interests and concerns as an artist a natural connection to the potent thinking from Klee's exhaustingly thorough work...curiously also an artist whom I chose to research on as a 20 year art student in some depth.
In Newcastle I became aquainted with Anthroposophy (and Biodynamics) which also lead me to look again at Kandinsky and particularly Klee as both artists were known to be working with the ideas of Steiner who worked extensively with ideas from Geothe. I made studies in ink from Blossfeldt's photographic works in 2003 without fully appreciating the connection to Klee here either. HaekeI is referenced by Klee as well. I often find I am drawn to an artist I find much later has a kinship to Klee - not necessarily obvious either. David Rankin I read recently list Klee as an important influence. Inga Dalrymple, who's work I have posted on a few days ago quotes Klee on her website.
Its that lineage of ideas that fascinates me...from the earliest times certain motifs travel with one, and show up again and again. The magic is in the revelation - slowly , slowly - that makes sense of the perrenial love of a motif, an element. When sitting in the Seed Lab this week examining the pods from which I was extracting seeds I was reminded of how as a child I had this compulsion to pry open seed pods, grasses, nuts...all kinds of growing things to see what I would find.
To move beyond the illustrative into the abstract came early and easily, but to make complex conceptual understandings apparent in my work has been a slow journey indeed, with disruptions and shifts brought on in unexpected ways. Unlike other artists who may find their voice quite early and produce authoritative visual works complete with intelligent commentary I am definitely a very, very slow blooming species who may or may not realise what is the mysterious push coming from within. I have learnt to be somewhat at peace with this idea of not managing to bring ideas to manifestation in the way I would hope for...but i must say trying is very deeply engaging and satisfying!
I must talk with Nicola about this lineage thing and her experience of that. Thankyou Susan for prompting such potent thoughts this morning...
Sophie
Dragon fly,
I hope you found some of the other sets just as captivating. They are wonderfully well put together!
cheers,
Sophie
Hi Renee (Art 4 friends),
Its all about dialogue for me...some people are curious, responsive and ask questions...others go on their merry way.
And you never know what will capture someone's attention...that must not be forgotten.
Some culture have elaborate rituals for everything visual...think of the Japanese.
I has an art lecturer who discussed this very thing at great length with me one day when I was about 22. Its always stayed with me!
best,
Sophie
Ooh ~ these are great finds! I particulary like Pollen also!
Hope you have agreat weekend, see you next week!
Hi Chrissy,
Definitely food for thought this microscopic realm!
Enjoy Sydney,
see you soon,
S
Hi I just found you thru Egmont's blog and reallly like your blog. thanks for the new link to Saint Verde Chronicles, I will take a peak!
Hello 'La Dolce Vita',
thanks for visiting. You may enjoy visitng the Saint Verde Digest as well!
best,
Sophie
i love the compulsive aspect - i find it calming.
Yes, I know what you mean Em. I think you would like his Digest blog too!
S
Yes, neville is pretty amazing. How he groups different photos together making one cohesive group fasinates me. He is definitely a talented man...
Very clever indeed Janis.
Its great to see a mind at work that will (in his digest blog) go bravely forward making the most amazing visual links.
curious indeed!
S
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