eBay Trapdoor #003: Still life that inspires & even...a snack (don't get excited it's stupid)
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High Thought is an intimate infusion of (high) thoughts that are a mixture of frivolous and (sometimes) profound if Iβm lucky. Written with consideration for those interested in the creative process, art in general, or personal peek behind the curtain into a particularly chaotic brain room.
(The best experience is on the website or the app, in my opinion!)
πΈ Good morning/afternoon/evening, depending on where you are in the world. : )
Jus riffinβ in the kitchen (freestyle snack)
To start things off really, really strong, I wanted to include a photograph of a freestyle snack I made the other night. I took a cracker, spread a tiny bit of honey on it to act as a glue, shaved of little bits of shallot onto it followed by a sprinkle of feta, drizzled some Portuguese olive oil (a holiday gift from a client), then topped it with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Readers, it was fun and it gave me this absolutely sick photo. I love to freestyle!
And now, itβs been a long time. I want to revisit the my Vintage Picture archive with you in the form of another eBay Trapdoor1.
Vintage Trapdoor #003: Pot Noodle (Year Unknown)
This photo feels both vintage and contemporary to me. Almost contemporary in how vintage it is. The product so clinically shot on an inky black background, the lighting and falloff. What was this shot for? I bought it from a newspaper archive, but what was the story?
The photo is a perfect mix of is it fine art or is it just trying to show this product objectively?
I think it is the lack of obvious answer here is what compelled me to make it part of my collection.
Sometimes a simple picture of a simple thing really hits. Sometimes a simple picture of a complicated thing really hits. My mind leaps two of classic photographers Barbara Kasten and Jan Groover. Both are photographers who I admire for their ability to, for lack of a better phrase, make something out of nothing. Still life geniuses in very different ways.
Jan Groover
When I think of Jan Groover, I think of cutlery. Never have I seen a more interesting pile of forks than in Grooverβs photos.
Look at this.
Sublime! The tones, the aaaalmost monochrome color, the scratches in the metal. It looks like a painting. Funny that as photographers, we often revere photographs which look like paintings. Itβs like we have a a built-in inferiority complex but itβs true. I canβt help it. I wanna see this printed taller than me and I wanna see those little scratches 12β long. Something out of nothing!
The highlights cut through the shadows so hard and are somehow silky at the same time. You can tell she was just having fun. And you know what? Iβm having fun too.
These colors. I could see her making some great editorial still lifes for The New York Times Magazine or The New Yorkerβ¦
Barbara Kasten
Barbara Kastenβs work is so different but similar in that she has ability to transform a bunch of shapes and reflections into something so beautiful.
Particularly her huge polaroids from βConstructsβ:
How perfectly 80s it is too. The sharp lines, the reflections, the dark and light.
I love seeing photos of artists making things. Itβs a reminder of how silly it can appear from the outside looking in and at the same time how necessary it is for artists to make what they make.
A more recent work:
Kasten is currently 88 according to Wikipedia. I think itβs pretty cool that she was making this work in her late 70s. How boss, how kooky.
Anyway, I could jump down another rabbit hole thinking about about Groover and femininity, βwomenβs workβ (labor), and artists who use the kitchen or domestic space as a theme. I think Iβve gotta call it before the next tangent starts but Martha Roslerβs Semiotics of the Kitchen comes to mind. And this video still is just too good to pass up:
If you have a second, itβs a great piece.
Wait wait wait. Before I go. Martha Rosler, 80 years old as of this writing, has a SICK website:
Yeah itβs very web 1.0 but this look is cominβ back around. Absolutely sick, absolutely clean. Iβm taking notes!
Youβre a brave soul for making it here. I thank you for it.
Have a good week, freaks! π
Cait πΈ
If you like this Substack, feel free to share with those who you think may also enjoy it. Love you all. : )
What is High Thought?
π General idea behind High Thought here.
*or*
π Past editions in the (small) archive.
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πΈ @flowersfullservice & @caitoppermann
Please see previous editions of eBay Trapdoor below: