Now and Zen

Tricycle Magazine recently published a noteworthy article on why the relationship between Zen and art is neither as simple nor as obvious as the cliche of "Zen and the Art of [insert any topic]" implies.

"We know, equally, that Leonardo da Vinci was operating within a Christian context, but the fact that he painted The Last Supper doesn’t inspire us to value his art primarily for some abstracted notion of Christianity."

Read more here.

My first stereoscope card.....

Created as 6x4" image from a single digital photograph for easy printing at any photo lab. The intent is to place the print in a folded #10 envelope and insert into the stereoscope's card carrier. (Vintage stereoscope cards measure about 7 x 3.5".)


Download a free, print-quality resolution PDF here: http://sabeanphotos.webs.com/vinnie_stereo.pdf.

Don't have a Holmes-type stereoscope? Try the old "Magic Eye" method: just stare at the PDF and cross your eyes.

More "Up Close and Personal"

It freaks my hubby out a little when I tell him that I see him in this much detail when I look at him... but I really do!

New B/W Series: Abandoned Antique Car

While shooting in the woods behind my apartment today, I came across an abandoned antique car:





Following are some rough edits of pix I shot. Note that they are heavily influenced by the work I've been doing with "K" recently. (See previous post.) While I loved the rust color on the original color photos, I found these worked better as black-and-white images:

















[Note that when I said I was "shooting" behind my apartment, I meant ***with my camera***. I am not responsible for any of the bullet holes in the car.]

Photoshopping with K

Posting from the Portsmouth Public Library. Here are a few preview shots of the talented K's work:







And just to show that art is all around us, here's the first image from the CD (image of the film edge):



Stay tuned to see which images will be available for sale in May at the AoR Auction....

How the Blind Can Experience Photography

I recently received an e-mail from the NH Art Association, promoting an upcoming "Art Beyond Vision" exhibit. The e-mail talked about the textured paintings, fiber arts pieces, sculptures, etc. which would be on display. Conspicuously missing was photography, for what most people would consider to be obvious reasons. This made me wonder how/whether a blind person could experience photography (including mine).

While there are several web sites on "blind photography," they all tend to focus on how the blind can create photographs and how the "just give them some equipment and unleash them" procedure stretches our preconceptions about the artistic process. (Especially as a sighted person would likely have to curate the resultant prints and determine whether they were any "good.") However, there was very little information online as to how a blind person may be able to experience a photographic print taken by themselves or someone else.

However, I was then lucky enough to stumble upon Italy's Alinari National Museum of Photography, which hosts a special installation of relief interpretations of photographs to allow the blind to ‘see’ 20 selected artworks with their fingertips. The tactile images are displayed along with the corresponding originals, so that both sighted and unsighted people can experience these photographic works. This means that while the blind can touch the images, the sighted can also think about how the blind ‘see’ the images.

The original prints were turned into 3-d art with the help of an Italian print house specializing in Braille.

To learn more, click here and here.

Here's to hoping the technology becomes so mainstream and affordable that any photographer can create simultaneous two- and three-dimensional works.