Thoughts on Chris Steele-Perkins 'Japan Suite'

Chris Steele-Perkins at L A Noble Gallery

Curating the current exhibition was a pleasure as working with Chris is a breeze - his friendly professional nature & efficiency make for a gallerist's dream.

In the recent review in TimeOut Nina Caplan really understood the curatorial choices of the exhibition & gave us 4 stars! 

The exhibition has been extended to 1st Feb 2014.

His talk was popular we did it twice! During the course of the talk one statement stood out for me: 

'I'm very aware of formalistic methods of photography - that is - the grammar. To stretch the analogy - if you don't get the grammar right the sentence doesn't make any sense.'

What a fabulous way to describe something that is almost risqué these days, 'formalistic methods'. Music to my ears hearing a great photographer avoiding the flowery artspeak in favour of honesty, bliss…

It takes me back to good old fashioned things like colour wheels, perspective, structure. These are not things to be shunned but celebrated & used as a foundation - as a tool belt if you will - to have on hand, leaving your imagination to run free & achieve the visual heights you are aiming for. Surely you would not expect a mechanic to fix a car without first knowing how to use a wrench? This foundation shines through in all of Chris Steele-Perkins work as his skill set is in place so that he can concentrate on the image at hand without hinderance. 

These skills come through beautifully when his work is paired up or grouped together, letting themes, compositional choices & contrasts bounce off each other. When I was planning which work to include from the huge plethora of images Chris has taken in Japan I began to start this pairing up & thinking about how the emphasis could be amplified in doing so. 

As you can see I did a long list then physically narrowed it down with scaled images. I also noted if it was a landscape or portrait format, the themes which arose & from that set about giving a balanced overview of the work showing Japan & all its delightful contradictions. 

©Chris Steele-Perkins images taken to give an idea 

of the hang only - colours not true to life.

The hang rises & falls with works at differing heights to draw the eye up, down, make you stand back or lean in closer. If an audience has to work a little bit the experience is much more engaging. It is easy to to see bad curt ion but good curation takes a lot of thought. It should go unnoticed by the untrained eye & be enjoyable for the visitor. Sometimes too clever is just that & leaves the viewer cold & non the wiser for it. I aim to see people leave a show more informed than when they arrived. As a result I also benefit from their perceptive comments & ideas about the show which I can use for later exhibits.  

Architecture, landscape, old & new , people, tradition, Western influences, leisure, Fuji, people of all ages, absurdity, pop culture, spiritual, comic & serene. This was the ample pallet I had to play with. 

The same beautiful shapes appear in both rural & urban landscapes. I was thrilled by the response to this work. It shows a maturity of gaze, taken over a long period of time, un-rushed, thorough & considered. It is far too tempting to try & finish a project before you are truly complete by setting a strict timeline. Some things build up over years. With this show 16 years of visits to Japan are present. As Chris returns to Japan over the coming I'm sure it will continue to be a joy to photograph. He will keep doing many other projects, yet Japan will continue to be an inspiration. Come & see what you think.

Japan Suite by Chris Steele-Perkins is currently displayed at L A Noble Gallery till 1 Feb 2014. For more info go to this link. Link to Japan 400 here also.

Signed copies of FUJI are available at the gallery for £35 

(The book is out of print)

Also I must mention the great Miranda Gavin & her delectable blog The Roaming Eye which featured the gallery & upcoming competition & current show. This is a great plethora of info in one place & well work a peek! 

Deborah Baker speaks!

Ariel View of the woodland garden

The block with planting 

On the 22nd of October when Deborah Baker came to talk about her work & the progression towards her current practice alongside images of the garden which has inspired the series 'In Paradiso' which is currently on display at L A Noble Gallery.

Hearing the artist describe their experiences is always eye opening for me as I have a less formal relationship & discuss their work in the present tense with them most of the time & look forward rather than back. What was extraordinary was the way in which coupled with her words we could see the way in which her work has altered over a long period from black & white, to figurative to a more fractured aesthetic. Just like her woodland garden her work has been 'cultivated' over many years. She approaches each plant individually looking at texture & form then harmonises it with another - balancing the colour & light through many layers.

Light is the key to her work, using images taken at the same time day & same the time of year so that the tones & colours compliment each other appearing more natural as each image is layered & edited. Editing is the key to her work, with many images paired back afterwards to give the composition the perfect balance of positive & negative space. 

Prunusky - seeing the layers develop, the complexity becomes apparent
©Deborah Baker 

When I first saw Deborah's work this is what struck me. When learning to draw or paint the use of negative space is essential to show the importance relationships between objects to be as important as the objects when composing a still life for example. Working with shapes & forms coupled with light & shade so much can alter as a work progresses. Without these considerations an image can lack depth or visual interest. Cutting away is often as key to an image as adding something to it. Baker understands this. Her intricate photographs are more akin to lacework than collage, the gaps revealing the forms rather than the other way around. 

©Deborah Baker

Looking back at Baker's work prior to In Paradiso you can see how her use of figurative elements within space transition throughout her work towards her current practice. In the series  Ghosts Baker combines her own photography with snapshots of past & present generations of her family. In the example above she coloured the figures from a black & white photograph & added architecture & context. By paying careful attention to detail - colour, form, tonal range - without overtly making the image completely convincing as a straight photograph she creates an ethereal aesthetic. In doing so Baker literally breathes life into past generations, allowing them to interact with present ones. Plants, trees & architecture alongside these relatives provide the perfect metaphor for the cycle of growth,  renewal, decay & death. So began the connection with plants & the metamorphosis of them within her photography...

©Deborah Baker

The immediate landscape around Deborah provided great comfort & solace when her late brother was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. The two come together here in her photographs as the figures become more ghost-like as layered foliage entwines with the past, present & future. Baker's own family history narrates whilst seeping into the collective unconscious of her viewers own family memories...

In printmaking after running a plate through a press it is usual to print a 'ghost' by repeating to press the plate a second or third time. The ghost is a much fainter version of the image on the plate, this is also used to layer one print on top of another. Baker's 'ghost' may be more literal, but they also have a  connection to the physical reference of the original object - in her case a photograph - as well as ethereal notions of the afterlife.

Her garden was the perfect space to grieve & contemplate. Our need for a record of loved ones helps us to remember them & leave an imprint in the physical world as well as our inner thoughts. Baker's images do this. As In Paradiso developed as the garden grew she recorded the growth of her plants, shrubs & trees just as one would with children. As they grew they changed & in recording this transition the material available to 'layer' her imagery is limitless as seasons come & go & the maturity of the garden alters continuously.  

  

 Japanese Kanji for Ma (interval or space)

Negative space in Japanese culture is known as 'ma' the pause in between other structures is seen as being just as important. The hollow in a tree can be a space of spiritual contemplation, & as I have mentioned before in the book In Praise of Shadows the weight of such spaces can also accentuate the light & solid forms that surround us. The Kanji itself illustrates the aesthetic harmony of space beautifully. 

When planting a garden negative space is an optimum consideration as the seasons come & go some plants die back & others flourish or remain in altered forms. Pre-supposing where these spaces will be & what can fill or be revealed through these spaces can dramatically change ones experience & enjoyment of the garden. Baker constructs er images just as she does her own land, with care & forethought. 

Raouliexigu ©Deborah Baker

When I saw Raouliexigu for the first time my instant reaction was of a place I knew in my minds eye, a painting by Seurat called Study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. This pointillist masterpiece relies on the spaces in between the figures to accentuate the rigidity & placement of them. Each figure could as well be a tree & the grass the light that passes in between. Strangely, the fractured detail creates a more solid & almost heavy feel to the work as if the people within it are rooted to the spot never to move again, as if finding the perfect place in which they should always be. 

Study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884

Georges Seurat (French, 1859–1891) Oil on canvas

Just so you can see the red border is part of the painting...

The painting bound in its frame alters the way in which we view it - despite the red edges of the image which heightens the intensity of the reds (warm tones) in the work against the green & purple (cool tones). Branches, leaves, shadows & flowers all perform the same spell upon the eye in a more subliminal way in Deborah Baker's work. By leaving the photographs 'frameless' (they are mounted on aluminium, with perspex face mounting) the eye s allowed to extend beyond the edge of the image thus integrating it into the environment on a more organic level. I am really enjoying watching audiences come into the gallery & instantly relaxing when they look at the work. Shoulders drop, expressions soften, the magic takes hold. You must see them for yourself to see if you agree with me.

In Paradiso by Deborah Baker is on at L A Noble Gallery till 6pm Saturday November 16 - don't miss it. More work will be displayed next Autumn Sept - November at The William Morris Gallery (Museum of the Year 2013) . It is a long time to wait. I am sure there will be new images by then to compare with the ones currently on display, so don't miss it!