Artist – J. Felice Boucher

Critic – Griffin Museum of Photography

Statement

The body of work “Wabi Sabi” is the earliest work of these images. It came about because of my interest in perfection and how the Japanese view and honor imperfection. “Wabi-sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete .”*

The majority of people do not have symmetrical faces . So I began creating a new person by cutting and flipping the image so that I was using the same side of my model’s face for both sides which created a new person. However, in some of the images I started adding something that was not perfect or symmetrical.

The next body of work depicted in the slide show here are from “Deified.” These are my most recent work and are images created from a hodgepodge of interests; my love of light, design, graphics, faces, painting, etc. So created each image after being moved for different reasons; by the beautiful face of teller at a bank and asked her if she would model for me (Goddess), and then I ended up photographing her sister (Blue Scarf), or loving the wall paper made up of maps in an old sea captain’s house in Harpswell, Maine (The Map Room), or loving the profile of an amazing waitress I met at a restaurant (Artist’s Muse), or the grace of my son’s friends daughter (The Quiet Girl ), or the mysteriously beautiful woman who was the girlfriend of my neighbor (Cardinal Sin), or the quiet observing personality of my granddaughter (Blue Bird). So each time moved by something, somewhere, someone.

I named this body of work “Deified” because the women in the images have been transformed from mere mortals to goddess-like beings or deities…making them divine. I create these images for myself; my place of quiet…my form of mediating.

The last body of work shown here is “Animals.” These images followed “Wabi Sabi” and came about after reading a book on death and dying; Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. I wanted to create images of beauty and death.

felice at feliceboucher dot com
Brunswick , ME

* wikipedia

J. Felice Boucher CV

Select Recent Exhibitions & Publications & Awards

2016: Professional Photographers of America “International Diamond Photographer of

the Year”

2016: Canon Par Excellent Select Award ( One photographer in the country is chosen by

~International Canon to receive a $6000 camera)

2015: Professional Photographers of America “New England Photographer of the Year”

2016, 2015, 2014: Maine Professional Photographers Assoc. “Photographer of the Year”

2015: Professional Photographers of America, North East District, Highest Scoring Print

1Case, 1″ + 2″” Places in Portraits

2014: Professional Photographers of America, North East District, Highest Scoring Print,

only score of 100, “Canon Par Excellence Award” (Awarded $5000 of equipment)

2014 : Still Point Gallery, “Best of Show” Summer Issue

2014: Professional Women Photographers 39’• Anniversary Juried Show NY

2014: Professional Photographers of America, International Print Competition 2nd Place – portraits

2013: Professional Photographers of American Platinum Award

2012: Pace Galleries, F[Yeburg Academy, “Strangers & Others” Group Show

2012: March B+W Magazine, Special Color Juried Edition

2012: San Francisco International Photograph Juried Exhibit (only 40 images chosen

Internationally)

2012 : PhotoPiace, Middlebury, VT, “Poetic Objects” Juried Photography Show

2011: Professional Women Photographers 36th Anniversary Juried Show

2011: Photographers Master Cup, 5th Annual Photography International Awards

Education:

Professional Photographers of America; Masters, Craftsman, Certified

Maine College of Art; BFA