THE ART OF TIMELESSNESS- Curator Lisa Gizara > FIRST PLACE: M. Alexander Weber
FIRST PLACE: M. Alexander Weber
MOVEMENT 5 by M. Alexander Weber
FIRST PLACE WINNER
(Click here for larger view)
FIRST PLACE WINNER
(Click here for larger view)
Curator Lisa Gizara: "Beauty is the moment when time vanishes and eternity arises.” Amit Ray
When I scrolled through the exhibition pages, M. Alexander Weber's images really took my breath away. And time did seem to stand still, yet I could hear the splashing of the waves and the rhythm of the tides as I Iooked at Weber's work.
The groupings were also very well done,
compositionally exquisite. The triptychs possess an abstract realism - I know that is oxymoronic- but it is true.
There is nothing as timeless as nature, and his photos perfectly captured this theme. Thank you for sharing your vision."
Gizara's question for Weber: "What inspires you and catches your attention when you are out shooting and why?"
Weber responds to Gizara's questions. He says, "For this new series, Water / / Light, I found myself attracted, and inspired by exactly that.
Water and light; and their dynamic natural interaction. I was living in Iceland at the time that I began this series. The sweeping expanse of beautiful nature there is absolutely breathtaking and has, at this point, been photographed extensively.
I began this series in winter, which in Iceland is very dark. At the hight of winter there are only 3hrs of daylight, and that is often overcast. I remember it was one of the rare days when the sun was shining brightly. I went to a park not far from where I was living which had a beautiful river and several small waterfalls in it, and was struck by the simple beauty of the falling water being illuminated by the light.
As I moved in closer, I began to notice the amazing patterns of movement caught by the hight speed shutter of my camera. It is very easy to make a beautiful image of a waterfall, perhaps with a slow shutter to blur the movement of the rapidly falling water. However, I have found, that sometimes when you slow down, and look closer, there is an even greater, more sublime beauty, right by your feet."
Weber delves deeper: "The topic of this series - Water and Light - examines the fundamental building blocks of life, their raw power, beautiful symmetry, and variety of textures.
In this new series of triptychs, natural elements serve as the pallet for abstract expressionist compositions.
These pieces consist of transitory moments captured in various remote locations throughout Iceland.
The focus is on the minuté, the most basic aspects of life, rather than on the grand vistas surrounding these moments.
From hundreds of frames captured in each location, the artist carefully selects and manipulates individual frames into a unified whole, which showcase the subtly beauty of natural form.
The compositions operate in the same fashion as the canvases of Abstract Expressionist painters of the 1970s, seemingly drawing order out of chaos.
While the finished compositions operate in an expressionistic style, they are profoundly modern in their approach to the subject."
The artist was inspired by the work of Harold Edgartons' early explorations of freezing motion. Each still frame is a high speed capture at a thousandth of a second, fixing formations and patterns of water normally not visible to the human eye.
Alex was raised in Germany and moved to the United States at the age of 11. He received his BFA from the Art Institute of Boston with a focus on alternative photographic process.
After working in the New England art world and having several exhibitions, he moved to Los Angeles to work as gallery director at Gallery Luisotti, in Los Angeles.
His work there with American New Topographics photographers and European students of Bernd and Hilda Becher would go on to inform his own future works.
Returning to New York to pursue commercial photography he worked with clients ranging from MoMA to top restaurants, boutique hotels, and emerging musicians. He would eventually take a position as Steve Aoki's tour photographer, traveling the world with the famous Dj and documenting his exploits.
His travels eventually brought him to Iceland where he fell in love with the dramatic beauty of its volcanic landscape.
The abstract photographic series, Water / / Light was born during this time, influenced by the drastic fluctuation of light in the far northern latitude, as well as the abundance of drastic and diverse water sources.
Since then he has been pursuing this series throughout his travels and turning his focus to more political landscapes of water.
His work was recently included in Saatchi Arts The Other Art Fair in NYC, with upcoming shows in Berlin, Miami and Los Angeles in 2018.
malexanderweber.com
saatchiart.com/malexanderweber
ADDITIONAL REVIEWS BY OUR CURATORS:
Jane Szabo writes, "I have to admit, views of the ocean - pretty waves with nice sunsets, are getting pretty tiresome to see for me.
What I appreciate about this triptych is the level of abstraction.
More like a Jackson Pollack gestural painting than photo realism, the images give you a sense of the force and magnitude of the power of the tides. Kudos to Alexander Weber for seeing an all too familiar view in a new light." http://www.janeszabophotography.com
Adam Finkelston writes, "M. Alexander Weber's piece, "Movement 5", has a wonderfully balanced composition, even as the lines and shapes pulse, foam and froth between the white borders.
To see all of Weber's entries go to Exhibition #2
When I scrolled through the exhibition pages, M. Alexander Weber's images really took my breath away. And time did seem to stand still, yet I could hear the splashing of the waves and the rhythm of the tides as I Iooked at Weber's work.
The groupings were also very well done,
compositionally exquisite. The triptychs possess an abstract realism - I know that is oxymoronic- but it is true.
There is nothing as timeless as nature, and his photos perfectly captured this theme. Thank you for sharing your vision."
Gizara's question for Weber: "What inspires you and catches your attention when you are out shooting and why?"
Weber responds to Gizara's questions. He says, "For this new series, Water / / Light, I found myself attracted, and inspired by exactly that.
Water and light; and their dynamic natural interaction. I was living in Iceland at the time that I began this series. The sweeping expanse of beautiful nature there is absolutely breathtaking and has, at this point, been photographed extensively.
I began this series in winter, which in Iceland is very dark. At the hight of winter there are only 3hrs of daylight, and that is often overcast. I remember it was one of the rare days when the sun was shining brightly. I went to a park not far from where I was living which had a beautiful river and several small waterfalls in it, and was struck by the simple beauty of the falling water being illuminated by the light.
As I moved in closer, I began to notice the amazing patterns of movement caught by the hight speed shutter of my camera. It is very easy to make a beautiful image of a waterfall, perhaps with a slow shutter to blur the movement of the rapidly falling water. However, I have found, that sometimes when you slow down, and look closer, there is an even greater, more sublime beauty, right by your feet."
Weber delves deeper: "The topic of this series - Water and Light - examines the fundamental building blocks of life, their raw power, beautiful symmetry, and variety of textures.
In this new series of triptychs, natural elements serve as the pallet for abstract expressionist compositions.
These pieces consist of transitory moments captured in various remote locations throughout Iceland.
The focus is on the minuté, the most basic aspects of life, rather than on the grand vistas surrounding these moments.
From hundreds of frames captured in each location, the artist carefully selects and manipulates individual frames into a unified whole, which showcase the subtly beauty of natural form.
The compositions operate in the same fashion as the canvases of Abstract Expressionist painters of the 1970s, seemingly drawing order out of chaos.
While the finished compositions operate in an expressionistic style, they are profoundly modern in their approach to the subject."
The artist was inspired by the work of Harold Edgartons' early explorations of freezing motion. Each still frame is a high speed capture at a thousandth of a second, fixing formations and patterns of water normally not visible to the human eye.
Alex was raised in Germany and moved to the United States at the age of 11. He received his BFA from the Art Institute of Boston with a focus on alternative photographic process.
After working in the New England art world and having several exhibitions, he moved to Los Angeles to work as gallery director at Gallery Luisotti, in Los Angeles.
His work there with American New Topographics photographers and European students of Bernd and Hilda Becher would go on to inform his own future works.
Returning to New York to pursue commercial photography he worked with clients ranging from MoMA to top restaurants, boutique hotels, and emerging musicians. He would eventually take a position as Steve Aoki's tour photographer, traveling the world with the famous Dj and documenting his exploits.
His travels eventually brought him to Iceland where he fell in love with the dramatic beauty of its volcanic landscape.
The abstract photographic series, Water / / Light was born during this time, influenced by the drastic fluctuation of light in the far northern latitude, as well as the abundance of drastic and diverse water sources.
Since then he has been pursuing this series throughout his travels and turning his focus to more political landscapes of water.
His work was recently included in Saatchi Arts The Other Art Fair in NYC, with upcoming shows in Berlin, Miami and Los Angeles in 2018.
malexanderweber.com
saatchiart.com/malexanderweber
ADDITIONAL REVIEWS BY OUR CURATORS:
Jane Szabo writes, "I have to admit, views of the ocean - pretty waves with nice sunsets, are getting pretty tiresome to see for me.
What I appreciate about this triptych is the level of abstraction.
More like a Jackson Pollack gestural painting than photo realism, the images give you a sense of the force and magnitude of the power of the tides. Kudos to Alexander Weber for seeing an all too familiar view in a new light." http://www.janeszabophotography.com
Adam Finkelston writes, "M. Alexander Weber's piece, "Movement 5", has a wonderfully balanced composition, even as the lines and shapes pulse, foam and froth between the white borders.
The image perfectly addresses the theme of "The Art of Timelessness". It is timeless in its subject matter; the ocean (or water) being a classic symbol of both immutability and evolution.
The triptych format gives us a sense of narrative or the movement of time, contrasted with the freezing of time by the fast shutter speed. It has a strong connection, in my mind, to the art of Japan and the Pacific Islands.
Those artists revered the ocean and seeing the relationship between Weber's piece and those depictions of time as history brings us back to the beginnings of art making. "
(Publisher/The Hand Magazine) www.thehandmagazine.com
www.adamfinkelstonphotography.com
--------------------------------------------------The triptych format gives us a sense of narrative or the movement of time, contrasted with the freezing of time by the fast shutter speed. It has a strong connection, in my mind, to the art of Japan and the Pacific Islands.
Those artists revered the ocean and seeing the relationship between Weber's piece and those depictions of time as history brings us back to the beginnings of art making. "
(Publisher/The Hand Magazine) www.thehandmagazine.com
www.adamfinkelstonphotography.com
To see all of Weber's entries go to Exhibition #2
