CERTAIN PLACES- Curator Karen Klinedinst > First Place: Alysia Macaulay
First Place: Alysia Macaulay
CRUTCHES by Alysia Macaulay
FIRST PLACE WINNER
(Click on image for larger view)
FIRST PLACE WINNER
(Click on image for larger view)
Curator Karen Klinedinst says, "What a treat to spend time with all the submissions for Certain Places! It was exciting to see the different interpretations of this theme. Alysia Macaulay really made my job difficult—I was really torn between 2 of her submissions for 1st Place. But, I finally settled on her image “Crutches.”
Klinedinst asks Alysia Macaulay: "Your image takes us to an intimate place, with details and clues that tell a story. Could you tell us how this image came to be, and the story behind it??
Klinedinst asks Alysia Macaulay: "Your image takes us to an intimate place, with details and clues that tell a story. Could you tell us how this image came to be, and the story behind it??
Alysia Macaulay: "The image "Crutches" is from a body of work I created titled Night Light. Intrigued by the voyeuristic and, at times, unsettling ambiance light creates at night, I began this series as an exploration of different light sources at night and how they can affects our perception of an image and the story it tells. In particular, I focused on the mystery and mystique this light created within the context of my family.
It was summertime on Shelter Island when "Crutches" came to be. My daughter had injured her foot, and her summer of horseback riding and winning blue ribbons was thwarted. I was checking in on her before retiring for the night, and came upon this scene. Her flashlight, still on from reading at bedtime, created a magical shadow play throughout her room. Our puppy at her feet, ever present to comfort and keep her safe, she was ensconced in a warm hue of pink, as if a part of a dream.
Many thanks to Karen for this honor."
Curator Douglas Stockdale's review of the winning image, "Crutches is a poignant moment capturing the tender interaction between a girl and what might be her pet that appears to be engulfed in mystery; the overall blueness of the room with a brilliant white light radiating from the middle of the composition. The colors evoke an amount of emotional symbolism; blue for sadness, as in the condition of her subject with the bandage wrap and now needing to use crutches and the bright white light emulating hope, perhaps for the future. Nicely seen and captured."
Douglas Stockdale
Artist, Educator & Mentor
Editor and founder, The PhotoBook Journal
Review consultant, LensCulture
www.douglasstockdale.comthephotobook.wordpress.comwww.lensculture.com/dstockdale
Curator Jane Szabo's review of the winning image, "A good image tells a story. A great image leaves room for the viewer to expand the story and use their imagination to understand the content. Alicia Macaulay's image, "Crutches," is a wonderful photo with obvious content, that also leaves plenty of room for the imagination. The lighting and dramatic shadows are as powerful as the subject. This is not just a story of a broken leg, but a story of childhood. Time spent in bed, both in boredom, and in wonder; the patient casting light to create fantastical star patterns, and even a horse, onto the ceiling while passing the time. The shadows, one must note, are behind the child, and we must wonder if they are an unnoticed mystery, seemingly keeping guard on the child below.
Alysia Macaulay says of her work submitted, "I have focused on the power and mystique this light creates within the context of my family.
Taking an active role in each image, the light source is not only an integral part of the story, in many instances it is the subject itself.
The two opposing elements in this body of work, what the light reveals and what the absence of light conceals, are created by a single source, night light."
Alysia Macaulay is a fine art photographer living in Boston, Massachusetts.
Inspired by the power of an image, and the story it can tell, her photographs depict the subtle, poignant moments that occur within her family life, particularly in times of great challenge.
Her work has appeared in numerous group shows, as well as, solo exhibitions at Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York City and The Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston.
Alysia is represented by 555 Gallery in Boston.
See Macaulay's other 2 submissions at this link:
http://www.laphotocurator.com/certain-places-curator-karen-klinedinst/exhibition-1/1
www.alysiamacaulay.com
Curator Douglas Stockdale's review of the winning image, "Crutches is a poignant moment capturing the tender interaction between a girl and what might be her pet that appears to be engulfed in mystery; the overall blueness of the room with a brilliant white light radiating from the middle of the composition. The colors evoke an amount of emotional symbolism; blue for sadness, as in the condition of her subject with the bandage wrap and now needing to use crutches and the bright white light emulating hope, perhaps for the future. Nicely seen and captured."
Douglas Stockdale
Artist, Educator & Mentor
Editor and founder, The PhotoBook Journal
Review consultant, LensCulture
www.douglasstockdale.comthephotobook.wordpress.comwww.lensculture.com/dstockdale
Curator Jody Miller's review of the winning image,"The sheer number of stories told within this photograph is amazing. The various shadows cast on the wall, the light source in the bed, the purple color...then you notice the crutches and the broken leg and cast. I love photos that ask more questions than they answer. This is a captivating and eloquent statement."
www.jodymillerphoto.comCurator Jane Szabo's review of the winning image, "A good image tells a story. A great image leaves room for the viewer to expand the story and use their imagination to understand the content. Alicia Macaulay's image, "Crutches," is a wonderful photo with obvious content, that also leaves plenty of room for the imagination. The lighting and dramatic shadows are as powerful as the subject. This is not just a story of a broken leg, but a story of childhood. Time spent in bed, both in boredom, and in wonder; the patient casting light to create fantastical star patterns, and even a horse, onto the ceiling while passing the time. The shadows, one must note, are behind the child, and we must wonder if they are an unnoticed mystery, seemingly keeping guard on the child below.
Jane Szabo
www.janeszabophotography.com
www.janeszabophotography.com
Alysia Macaulay says of her work submitted, "I have focused on the power and mystique this light creates within the context of my family.
Taking an active role in each image, the light source is not only an integral part of the story, in many instances it is the subject itself.
The two opposing elements in this body of work, what the light reveals and what the absence of light conceals, are created by a single source, night light."
Alysia Macaulay is a fine art photographer living in Boston, Massachusetts.
Inspired by the power of an image, and the story it can tell, her photographs depict the subtle, poignant moments that occur within her family life, particularly in times of great challenge.
Her work has appeared in numerous group shows, as well as, solo exhibitions at Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York City and The Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston.
Alysia is represented by 555 Gallery in Boston.
See Macaulay's other 2 submissions at this link:
http://www.laphotocurator.com/certain-places-curator-karen-klinedinst/exhibition-1/1
www.alysiamacaulay.com
