Atelier

Atelier 33 | Marc Goldring

Posted on March 11, 2021

In this highlight of the Atelier 33 exhibition, we interviewed Marc Goldring about his current collection, Vision of Trees. Marc’s work, on view in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021, documents the sculptural forms of trees and the stories that theses ancient beings can tell.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

© Marc Goldring – Two Trees

I walk around Jamaica Pond just about every day and generally walk past an amazing beech trees and two glorious sycamore trees. I have dozens of shots of both of those trees and I’ve been honing my ability to capture what I see in them. Most of my work tends toward abstraction – enigmatic images where you need to look long and hard to understand what you’re looking at. The image called “Two Trees” was the first time I really was able to create an image that worked in that way. After that, with the impetus of Atelier, I worked to flesh out a series, some of which are more narrative and portrait-like than my work usually is.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic?

I’m still interested in the same sort of images that always attracted me but I have so much more time to work that I’m spending a lot more time shooting and processing. The other shift is that I don’t print as much – jpegs are the name of the game more often than not. Thing is, you can get away with a lot more with an image on a screen as opposed to paper! So I think it’s made me be a bit more adventurous in my post-processing.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I find these ancient trees inspiring. They live slow lives which I imagine allows for greater intention and reflection, at least it would for me, if I could slow down! I would like people to look more carefully at trees, at the ways in which our human lives intersect and interact with trees and the rest of the natural world.

MG - tree by the river — **How has your inspiration for photography changed throughout your life changed as your surroundings changed?**

I started out shooting to supplement the narrative reports I wrote on my consulting projects, working with arts organizations. Mostly people shots and the odd interesting perspective to make the reports less dense with words.
It’s only been 4-5 years since I stopped consulting, that I’ve really focused on themes and series of images that work together as a group. Much more challenging, more fun!

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I have several on-going projects, one of which is this portfolio of trees. I also am working on a series of shots of my grandson with whom I hope, once again, I will get to spend a great deal of time with. Beyond that, who knows!

Find more of Marc Goldring‘s work on his website and on his Facebook.

Atelier 33 | Jeanne Widmer

Posted on March 10, 2021

Jeanne Widmer created her series Dejaview as a part of the Atelier 33 exhibition, currently showing in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021. Jeanne’s collection shows the common occurrence of precious, natural spaces being encroached on by and destroyed by man-made structures. To learn more about Dejaview, we asked Jeanne some questions.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

When I started shooting for this series, I focused on those first two images–“Rose Colored Facade” and “Triplets”– trying to capture the geometric aspects of the brick buildings and manicured trees in dramatic light. It was early fall with full foliage, and after a summer drought. But then before dawn one rainy morning in October I explored an access road on the other side of what I came to see as the wetland and I was struck by the carelessness of the development– broken trees, ripped out foliage, and pavement. So #3 “How Did the Shore Become Paved” became the impetus for further photo exploration. I studied maps of the city and discovered the relatively small area was an established (and supposedly protected) wetland. All of the subsequent photos were an effort to dramatize that reality.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

Last spring my behavior was relatively similar: being careful, socializing little, and walking daily. Then I found myself shooting on my daily walks, finding distance photography somewhat mundane at the time, and began experimenting with abstract macros, which I really enjoyed. That became my Atelier 32 project and I really feel it would not have happened without the Pandemic ironically. This past fall, inspired by a Landscaping class with Bill Franson, I began arbitrarily taking photos at the office park. When the Atelier 33 began, I continued to expand my exploration. The Atelier definitely was a great motivator and supporter.

How do people’s attitudes versus their actions towards nature influence the way you represent nature in your work?

Especially throughout this pandemic, how many photos of sunsets, sunrises or grassy knolls have others sent you? Many more than usual has been my experience, always accompanied with how peaceful it is to be in those locations at this turbulent time. We all love nature. But our environment has been harmed by people’s carelessness over and over when it comes to commercial development or money to be made. That duality is a major problem of our age.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I entitled this series “Dejaview” because we have seen this happen everywhere. Shortly after looking at my photos last fall, a photographer friend of mine told me she visited a shopping mall and noted a wetland which abutted the parking lot. She said she would not have noticed it before seeing my photos. I hope people become more aware of new developments and, especially if they have any connection to city or town government decision makers (I am a Town Meeting Member and we vote on zoning), they will stress the need to preserve our precious environment.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I have returned to photographing people in the pandemic. I am not sure where it will take me but it has been fun. Both my masters and doctoral degrees have centered around understanding individuals and motivations and the complex and subtle emotions that underlie our experiences. Those are playing a big part in this project.

You can see Jeanne Widmer’s full Dejaview collection on the Atelier website.

Atelier 33 | Bonnie Newman

Posted on March 9, 2021

Bonnie Newman‘s collection Impressions: Cape Cod is showing in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021, as a part of the Atelier 33 exhibition. To learn more about her abstract visions of Cape Cod’s landscapes, we asked her a few questions.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

I started experimenting with ICM (intentional camera movement) last spring, as a way to “capture the spirit” of landscapes and help me see familiar places differently and more powerfully. I knew I wanted to explore the “dreaminess” of ICM for the Atelier project.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

My photography has blossomed during COVID. I could wander alone
with my camera for hours at a time and connect with my environment
in new ways. The Atelier provided the venue to push myself more
deeply in this direction I was already heading.

How does your process for shooting landscape scenes influence the final pieces?

I have chosen places that speak to me, and love shooting in the early morning light. I’ve shot literally hundreds of photos utilizing ICM, and have chosen a very select few that capture the spirit I am seeking.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I hope to share the serenity and the ephemeral nature of beautiful
environments and encourage people to see landscape in a new way.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I hope to continue shooting landscapes in ways that help us to see our natural world differently—using both ICM and multiple exposures. I also am considering utilizing these same techniques with close-ups of natural elements, such as leaves or plants.

Visit Bonnie Newman‘s website to see more of her work.

Atelier 33 | Jim Turner

Posted on March 8, 2021

Jim Turner‘s collection Seeing in Threes is on display in the Griffin Main Gallery as a part of the Atelier 33 exhibition, open until March 26, 2021. We wanted to learn more about Jim’s innovative and insightful way of representing nature, so we asked him a few questions.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

One of the exercises we did in the early part of the Atelier was a “conversation” with another artist where we explored someone else’s artistic approach then created our own work as inspired by theirs. I chose Brigitte Carnochan as my artist to explore. I have always admired her work and I share her appreciation of the beauty of the natural world and of the intricate patterns and detail found in nature. One of the things she talks about is slowing the viewer down so that they can appreciate the beauty in an image in more detail. A method she has used to accomplish this is to divide images into triptychs so the viewer can appreciate each panel on its own in addition to as a part of a cohesive whole. As I applied this idea to some of my own photographs I was immediately struck by how much I felt that certain images were significantly enhanced by converting them into triptychs. Two of these early attempts, “Daffodils” and “Maple Leaves” were the impetus to make a series of botanical triptychs my project for the Atelier.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

Unfortunately, like most of us, my options for photography have been very limited since the beginning of the pandemic. I seldom go much further than our own backyard or local gardens. The Atelier was a lifesaver, it kept me focused and allowed me to interact regularly with other like-minded and supportive photographers.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I hope that viewers will be surprised and pleased, as I am, by the hidden beauty in what we often regard as everyday things.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I would like to continue to expand my series of botanical triptychs while I’m waiting for the inspiration for my next project.

To see more of Jim Turner’s work, visit his Instagram, @Jim_Turner_Photos.

Atelier 33 | Lisa Cassell Arms

Posted on March 6, 2021

Lisa Cassell-Arms’ collection Aide Memoir (An Aid to Memory) is currently on view in the Griffin Main Gallery as a part of the Atelier 33 exhibition, open until March 26, 2021. Lisa’s Atelier work centers around the curious truth of gardens and the way they can be a source of reflection and comfort for its visitors. To learn more about her process of creating Aide Memoir, we asked Lisa a few questions.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

For me, the Atelier has been a game changer. Pre-Covid, I was creating photos and working very much on my own. Ironically, it was the lockdown itself that allowed me to participate remotely in the Atelier. I don’t live in MA, so under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have been able to take part. The benefit of working through projects with feedback from our instructor Meg, along with sharing perspectives and ideas with others in the Atelier was invaluable and will propel me forward.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I hope that viewers will take a few moments to imagine themselves in the quiet, early dawn of the garden, and allow a kind of free-association as they take in the shapes, shadows and clipped forms. And then let their gaze wander to the edges where the mood shifts and where the path may be harder to discern.

What is the significance of documenting both the cultivated and the wild or natural space?

I’m interested in the contrast between cultivated space, where human presence (and control) on the landscape is evident, and where we have historically retreated for comfort and healing; and the wild space beyond the edges of the garden, where human presence fades and nature is unbounded. Placing them side by side invites a contemplation of two very different natural spaces.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

The project I’m working on currently is a series of merged landscape images, inspired by antique stereoscope cards. The aged cards have a slightly unreal quality that has always intrigued me. In my series, I pair landscape images that I’ve shot in different parts of the world, at different times, so that when placed together, they enter into a conversation with one another. The visual dialogue between forms suggests a new, hybrid land.

For more of Lisa Cassell-Arms’ work, visit her website and her Instagram, @SeasonsInVermont.

Atelier 33 | Amir Viskin

Posted on March 5, 2021

In this highlight of the At elier 33 exhibition, we take a closer look at the work of Amir Viskin. His series, Ephemeral Abstractions is currently on view in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021. Drawing inspiration from natural aspects of everyday life, Amir’s work reflects a new appreciation for the world around us in these unprecedented times. We asked Amir a few questions for some insight into his collection.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

One of the images that was an impetus for this series is “untitled – ice, frost, leaf.” During the fall I experimented with Macro photography, in an effort to photograph ephemeral elements (ice, frost…), and use them to construct abstract images evocative of imaginary landscapes. This led to a series of abstract compositions in which I also used symmetry and superposition.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

I am first and foremost an outdoor photographer. The pandemic forced me to look for creative opportunities indoors or close to home. That meant finding small objects (stones, ice cubes, milkweed pods), or using Macro photography to get close (frost on a leaf, dew on a spiderweb). The Atelier was a welcoming, safe space in which to create, share ideas with my other talented colleagues and overcome the challenges of isolation.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I hope that they view my images as an opportunity to reflect on the shifting meaning of permanence, of what lasts and what disappears, and what is important in this new “normal.”

What did you discover about yourself and your surroundings through the art of abstracting reality?

I became more aware of the beauty of small and ephemeral objects, and their ability to open an internal conversation on the meaning of time and space.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I plan to continue using light, abstraction of composition as tools to explore the challenges we face as we begin to process the meaning of our collective experience this past year.

You can see more of Amir Viskin’s work on his website.

Atelier 33 | Angela Douglas-Ramsey

Posted on March 4, 2021

Angela Douglas-Ramsey‘s collection Carbon Copy is currently on display as a part of the Atelier 33 exhibition in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021. Interested to know more about her deeply personal project of photographing her relationship with her daughter, we asked her a few questions.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

The image that is the foundation of my project is called “Looking Forward.” It embodies everything the project is about. My daughter is coming into the adult world as I watch. It is bittersweet. This project is ongoing. My goal is to continue it until she leaves for college. The Atelier helped me expand the way I photographed this project. My daughter and I do a daily “call and response.” It is a funny and meaningful visual conversation with a preteen and her mother.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

Oh my gosh, yes, so much. I started creating self portraits and working on my thoughtful work. As a documentary photographer, when the pandemic hit, I had no more projects. I had to reinvent myself. The spring was a very trying time for me and photography gave me a purpose. I feel lucky to have gotten the last spot in the Atelier. The class has taught me so much. I see photography is a different way. Meg has been a great teacher. I have been challenged with each assignment and enjoy the challenges.

How has this project brought you closer to your daughter? Did you find yourself photographing your family in a different way than you did prior to the pandemic?

Yes. We go on photo walks together and giggle a lot during our portrait sessions. I could create an entire zine of our funny outtakes. Pre-Covid, I only documented my family. Now, I pose and use more of a narrative approach to tell stories within my family.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

I hope the viewers see the relationship between a mother and a daughter. I hope they see the love and see the pull. The pull that my daughter is slowly starting to do.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I will continue to work on my long term projects. I have a new motivation for all of them. I am also working on a new self portrait project. I am still very much in the research phases and look forward to creating images in the coming months.

For more of Angela Douglas-Ramsey’s work, visit her and her Instagram, @AngelaDouglasPhoto.

Atelier 33 | Julia Arstorp

Posted on March 3, 2021

In this highlight of the Atelier 33 exhibition, we interviewed Julia Arstorp about her collection Invisible Threads, on display in the Griffin Main Gallery until March 26, 2021. This series captures the deeply personal moments shared between the artist and her daughter while revisiting memories from her family’s past.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

I would say it’s the image of my daughter wearing a fur coat that belonged to my mother from the early 60’s. I very much feel this project was a collaborative effort with my daughter. I love how that photograph has the imprint of three generations and results in such a joyful image.

How has your photography changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? Has the Atelier been a motivator to persevere through these trying times?

Before COVID I never took self portraits but with social distancing I had to
place myself in front of the camera which, at first, was uncomfortable.
Ultimately, I found that it added to the project and brought me a different
perspective on my work. I also found that focusing on a project about
family history helped to anchor me during these stressful times. And yes,
the Atelier was a key motivator to keep me on track.

How has your Atelier work helped you to keep the family tradition alive of passing down stories to each generation?

I grew up on stories told by my grandmother and mother. And while clearing out my mother’s house, we found boxes that held pieces of my family history – everything form scrapbooks and letters to my great grandfathers spectacles and my great grandmothers wedding dress. This project allowed me the time to work on a body of work about these family memories and stories and, equally important, share the process with my daughter.

I hope my work speaks to the connections and identity we find through childhood memories and family stories. The blending of past and present that helps us see we’re part of an ongoing story.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I really see myself as both a photographer and a printer. I’ll continue working on new prints – mostly platinum palladium and cyanotype. I’ll also continue documenting the neighborhood and small knit community my family has lived in these past 30 years and continue focusing on family stories.

Visit Julia Arstorp’s website and check out her Instagram, @JuliaArstorp to see more of her work.

Atelier 32 | Shelby Meyerhoff

Posted on September 25, 2020

We close out our Atelier 32 artist series with Shelby Meyerhoff. Shelby’s series Paper Playroom is her newest work created during the pandemic, and now on the walls during the Griffin’s Atelier 32 exhibition. We are thrilled to have Shelby as a member of our Griffin artist community showcasing her work here at the Atelier. We are also pleased to announce her upcoming exhibition in October at our satellite venue, Griffin @ WinCam. Her Zoomorphics exhibition will open on September 28th and run through November 5th, 2020. We talked to this prolific multidisciplinary artist about Paper Playroom and how the Atelier is an incubator for creativity.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

When the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Boston, I started taking care of my toddler daughter Moxie for much of the workday. Before COVID, my artistic practice had been to paint intricate designs on my own face and body, and then photograph myself. The whole process required hours of uninterrupted time. It had been my plan to do a new face and body painting series over the course of the spring Atelier. But with Moxie by my side, I knew I’d need to find a different way of making art.

One afternoon, we painted with washable paints and cheap printer paper, which crumpled as it dried. Looking at the peaks and valleys, illuminated by the sunlight streaming into the playroom, I was inspired to create sculptures out of ordinary paper products.

I took this photograph, “A Song to the Wind,” early in the semester. I was struck by the liveliness of this image, and the way the paper bag looked almost like a classical sculptural medium. Seeing this piqued my curiosity about the possibilities of paper.

Over the weeks that followed, I experimented with other ways of photographing the sculptures I was making. In particular, I tried backgrounds with loud patterns and bold colors, which were speaking to me at the time, but didn’t ultimately work well for this series.

Towards the end of the program, I circled back to the approach shown in “A Song to the Wind,” limiting the backgrounds for the series to blacks and greys. With fewer competing elements, the emphasis of the images was on light and form. It was a simple and elegant approach, but sometimes those can be the most daunting to undertake. I don’t think I would have arrived there without the encouragement of our instructor Meg Birnbaum and our Atelier group, who gave thoughtful feedback on every iteration of this project.

How has Atelier helped you hone your vision as an artist?

The Atelier was the perfect space to experiment with different ideas for how the project could go. Meg gave excellent feedback at every step in the process – not only during the regular class meetings, but also throughout the summer as further questions arose.

I was also blown away by the talent and experience of my classmates. Seeing their weekly submissions made me want to bring my very best work to class. And every week they were able to identify what was working well in my photographs and where I needed to improve, always in the spirit of helping me make the series stronger.

I felt safe bringing experimental work to class, but at the same time, I moved faster towards a completed series than I would have expected, because of the quality of our weekly conversations.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

I’m looking forward to finding out! One of the strengths of the Atelier program is that it takes students all the way through the lifecycle of a project: trying out various possibilities, honing the work into a series and developing the series further, and then producing, marketing, and showing the work. Now that our show is up, I’m excited to begin experimenting again this fall.

I’ll start by picking up paper again, folding and twisting, and seeing where that leads. I’m also interested in doing more painting. And I’m curious if I can find a successful way to combine painting, sculpture, and photography in a new body of work.

At the same time, this fall also marks the culmination of my series of photographs created through face and body painting. The solo show for my Zoomorphics series is opening at the Griffin’s WinCAM gallery on September 28. I am thrilled about the opportunity to show and discuss that work, and it will be all the more fun to do so while in the midst of creating something new.

Join us on October 1st at 7pm Eastern for an engaging conversation with Shelby about creativity and Zoomorphics.

About Shelby Meyerhoff –

Shelby Meyerhoff is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Boston area. She works with a variety of media, including photography, painting, sculpture, and body art, often combining multiple techniques to create her images. Meyerhoff’s work has been exhibited at venues across the country, including the Griffin Museum of Photography (MA), the Mosesian Center for the Arts (MA), the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (GA), and the LH Horton Jr. Gallery at San Joaquin Delta College (CA). Her Zoomorphics series has also been featured in UU World, the national magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

She has studied visual arts at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the New England School of Photography, and MassArt. Before becoming a fine artist, Meyerhoff worked in nonprofit communications, promoting environmental initiatives.

To see more of Shelby Meyerhoff‘s work, log onto her website. Find her on Instagram at @shelbymeyerhoff

Atelier 32 | Simone Brogini

Posted on September 24, 2020

In today’s highlight of our Atelier 32 exhibition, we look at the work of Simone Brogini, featured here and tonight in our Artist Talk in conversation with Miren Etcheverry and Conrad Gees. Join us for a discussion about creativity in a pandemic, learning online, and the creativity that can come from life under a new normal. In order for us to learn more about Simone’s creativity, we asked him a few questions.

Which of these images was the impetus for this series? How did it inform how you completed the series?

As the pandemic kept us all home, I was looking at my empty street with no activity from us or our neighbors. I wanted to capture this emptiness and I started to photograph the homes around us. At first I just took images from my camera showing the surrounding neighborhood. Then, as we were living in isolation it was almost like being in a bubble, so I started to experiment taking the same kind of images through an empty glass. I was intrigued by the results and liked the rounded vision that represents the new world seen from within this imaginary bubble. From then I started to represents in the same way our life as a family living in this imaginary bubble, so I introduced moment of our life from inside our home such as smart working, remote school learning, moment of fun, and fear to get out even wearing a mask.

What do you hope we as viewers take away from viewing your work?

We are living in this weird moment of our life with a worldwide pandemic which changed our reality. This imaginary bubble wants to represent the emptiness and the silence we have been living in for so long. No noise on the street, no cars, no children screaming, parks were empty. The images want to represent this but also passing from the fear of getting out of the house wearing masks, to the hope of being able to get back to our normal life soon. This hope is represented from the images showing some color of nature and looking at blossoming flowers.

How the Atelier has helped you hone your vision as an artist?

I have been taking images for a long time but probably have never seen them from a fine art point of view. This happened through the classes and the feedbacks I received from Meg and my other colleagues who pushed me to step out from my comfort zone and experiment with something different. In fact, my first attempt to a project was to photograph the emptiness of our cities with B&W images. I really liked those images, but I received comments of being a theme already seen. From then I started to work with a new mindset using some ideas I had through the class assignment, which was the abstract theme when I started to shoot through a glass. It was a complete change, but pointed me into the right direction.

Tell us what is next for you creatively.

For my next step, I am certainly using what I have learned with the Atelier, which is to identify a project and stick with it. I don’t know yet what this next project will be for me, have few ideas but are not yet defined. For sure I will retrying from taking random images not linked to a defined project or not linked into any type of stories I would like to tell. The Atelier had surely taught me how to see through my camera in a different way.

You can see more of Simone Brogini‘s work on his website. Find him on Instagram at @simonebrogini

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