Saturday, November 20, 2010

The World is a Canvas


Wandering the back alleys of Burano, I found this. Sometimes I wonder, do the people who leave these things out, for me to see, know what they are doing? Do they see what I see in them? The fusion of textures, the contrasts, the repetition of color? Sometimes I think they do, and I am lucky enough to see it with them. Sometimes I think no, this may just be a chair someone set here, to sit outside their house on a summer evening. I wonder.

This morning I picked up Eric Booth's book, The Everday Work of Art, for the first time in a long while. Here is something I read on this topic:
The moment we see that the world we inhabit is not just a sequence of hard, dead surfaces with fixed absolutes, but that it also can be seen "as if" it contains many non-logical truths, many mysteries, we head into a better future. The "as if" transforms artifacts into live media for the work of art.
I don't quite know if that makes sense outside of the context of the book, but I see it in this photo. This chair, in this location can be a place to sit, or it can be seen as a work of art. How do you see the world?

16 comments:

  1. funnily enough we have just had breakfast in a cafe and I found myself focusing not on the food but on the salt and the flower in a jar as a work of art and wished I had my camera with me.

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  2. I can't imagine seeing the world as a sequence of hard, dead surfaces with fixed absolutes! It sounds dreadful. I find myself more and more these days looking at textures, shapes, arrangements and this is all because I picked up a camera and started taking photographs.

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  3. It took a long time, but I am finally beginning to see scenes such as this. It opens up a whole new world.

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  4. I love this photo, Kat. I've just spent the last 40 minutes or so catching up with all the posts I've missed this month. I wish I had the time to comment on all of them, but know I enjoy your thought-provoking writing and beautiful photography.

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  5. I get it, Katrina! Glad that you do, too - it makes life richer. Keep enjoying your journey :).

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  6. Great photo! I love the composition!

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  7. How amazing, I was just looking at photos of Burano last night. Looks like such a beautiful place.

    Great composition.

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  8. When I saw this thumbnail at Darcy's, I thought, oooh I would like to live there. What a beautiful shot. I think your quote makes perfect sense. I love seeing the world in a way that takes it from the ordinary to the extra ordinary. My camera allows me to do that.
    Dana

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  9. This is simply beautiful and oh so intriguing Kat! Your composition is perfect and I love the simplicity of the photo in general.

    I think the quote is perfect here.

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  10. beautiful. I notice these sorts of things and you really wonder if anyone else does (C:

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  11. i think the world is differnet seen through the eye of an artist, whether a painter, singer, photographer...all the world becomes a canvas. Thanks for the thoughts!

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  12. What fun to explore the streets of Italy! Love the textures in the image too!

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  13. Oh, I just love this kind of street shot. Beautiful color and different textures.

    Erika B

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  14. Oh, I love finding little private corners like this... This is lovely!

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What's your view of the world? I love to hear yours too!

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