Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Responding to Art: Language and Place on the Edge


Image by Mark R. Knox, KnoxworX Multimedia
I looked to her for definition. The artificial. The perfect. She redefined delicacy when she found her place in nature, in images around my home. She held my own rough image, magnified, enlivened, so that I only wanted to close my eyes in front of the mirror, hoping for smoother lines. Fragile, younger then, I looked to her, to art, to the place of light. I look still. And sometimes the light peeks out, around the trees, above the moist and fragrant ground. It begs reflection, tells me to seek other forms of beauty. Look to the whole, it says, redefine.

This image is one of my father's "Mannequin Series". Each piece within the series stars the same mannequin--sometimes pieces of her. She is often photographed in natural scenes or against gritty backgrounds. She creates smooth, gentle lines, always in contrast to the enviornment. In this piece, I like the juxtaposition between the artificial perfection of her hands as they hold up a fragile, mirrored orb and the dark, textural beauty of the forest. I wrote this to examine the juxtaposition as well as my own definition of beauty in art.


More about Language and Place on the Edge here: http://michelleelvy.wordpress.com/

8 comments:

  1. wonderful interpretation of your father's unique and stunning image of an image within it.

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  2. there is something almost Coptic and old-worldly about both the image, which fascinates me, and the prose here..mysterious and captivating. very cool.

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  3. fascinating photograph, and your interpretation lends it even more layers. i love this collaboration, you honor your father as he honors you. peace...

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  4. Thanks, Linda, Michael. It was a great piece to work with. I'm lucky to have grown up with art around me; it keeps me writing.

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  5. This piece really captivates me. I just love how you move in one swift paragraph from 'define' to 'redefine' -- and how this makes me look and re-look at the image and words all over again. From light to shadow, from fragments to whole. I keep doing that, keep seeing it anew. Thanks so much for this great addition to this month's Blog Carnival!

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  6. Thank you, Michelle. It's such a great group. I'm really enjoying the work you've selected. :)

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  7. amazing image, and your reflection is so interesting. very glad you joined. i just added your blog to the contributor blog roll: http://languageplace.blogspot.com/

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