Lauren Camp
When you first wrote your poetry it was to accompany your art work. Can you explain how this worked?
Early on, exhibitors of my artwork asked for 50-word “blurbs” to accompany the works. I had been a magazine editor and knew how to write clearly about my processes, but the effort and end result felt dull. Gradually, the blurbs became more poetic, and these writings became important to each project. No piece was complete until I had written the poem.
Now, I separate the two – writing poems for certain subjects and creating artwork for others.
You now work with jazz and experimental musicians, can you tell us about that?
‘Just Swing’ ©2001, threadwork on dyed and layered silk, cotton, lame and ultrasuede, 50” x 41”
I have had a number of chances to read with musicians in front of an audience. With the combination of their sounds, it becomes thrilling to hear my poems become something fuller, something that moves.
Jazz has long been an inspiration for me. I was first introduced to jazz as an adult, and began to want to shape it, creatively. This was how my fiber art series, “The Fabric of Jazz,” came to be. I began with a desire to visualize the vivid sounds of seminal jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong in fabric and thread. For 12 years, I continued creating portraits of musicians and their instruments.
Each piece required great research into the musician’s life, but also into his or her music. It was a chance to self-study, to listen, to travel back in history — quite an education for me. After I had made two portraits, I knew I wanted to do a whole series and that I wanted them to travel. In 2000, “The Fabric of Jazz” began a four-year tour of the United States. It was on exhibit in 10 museums and art centres. Thousands and thousands of people experienced these portraits, and saw the colours and shapes of each sound the way I see hear them.
When the series began travelling, I pulled back from creating any more jazz works, but I missed that extensive study of the music. The logical next step for me was to interact more with the music itself. I got involved in my local public radio station as a disc jockey, and began broadcasting jazz each week, mixing different eras and melodies together. Ten years later, I still air jazz with poetry and world music on a show entitled “Audio Saucepan.” The show energizes me, and keeps me very much attached to music.
I also write poems about jazz musicians. Here’s the beginning of a poem called “Satchmo’s Mouth”:
‘So Black and Blue” ©1997, threadwork on layered cotton, 50” x 48”
In the collection of Mack Avenue Records, Detroit. MI
Satchmo I said can I crawl inside your mouth the temple, the tempo of grunting sunlight dry gravel self against self the gritty timbre of time
Several of my jazz portraits have gone into intriguing collections. Mack Avenue Records, a Detroit-based jazz label, owns two of the works. Art in Embassies, a program through the U.S. Department of State, has twice requested works from the series. My portrait of Benny Goodman is in the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine right now, and four prints are permanently housed in the embassy in Bamako, Mali.
Can you share with us some of your art processes?
My art processes vary widely. Every choice I make is based on the end result I see in my mind. Recipes elude and frustrate me, so when I dye fabric, I do it without exact need, and am delighted by what results — shoving it neatly on my shelves until the right occasion to use it comes along. My current work often immerses me in detail and repetition, and usually some mathematical patterning or determination of spatial considerations. Any process is reasonable to me – though crazy to others – because I am moving toward a specific vision.
Even though I haven’t been creating jazz works lately, I think all my work has movement and rhythm. That’s the goal, and I move exhaustively toward it again and again.
My signature Zoneone Arts question – what are the most important design elements?
Space, depth and patience.
Books by Lauren Camp
This Business of Wisdom
Published by West End Press in 2010
Website: www.laurencamp.com
Lauren Camp USA,
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June 2012
Jane Annois
How would you describe your own pottery style?
I work in two styles: in raku, originally a Japanese firing technique but adapted to modern equipment and desired results. These pieces are more sculptural or decorative where I explore surface textures, contrast of colour and play with form.
The second style is “terre vernissee”, French tableware using traditional honey, green and blue glazes. These pieces are intended for everyday use and reflect the colours and style of the south of France.
What art qualifications do you have? How did you decide to become a potter?
The qualifications came after the decision to become a potter. I was always interested in pottery, making things with my hands, the practical and creative nature of pottery, and subsequently the history, cultural differences and the science behind pottery. I was already working as a potter when I decided that if I wanted to pursue it further professionally, and learn more about the processes, I needed a qualification.
I studied for a Graduate Diploma in Ceramic Design at Monash University in 1988/89. With ceramics I never stop learning. I attend workshops by my favourite artists, attend conferences and have learnt a lot from my involvement and work with the French ceramic artists.
Explain about your time in France where you learnt you craft?
I went to France in 1997 to work in a pottery studio and visit other ceramic artists. I was a French teacher in secondary schools in Melbourne, then taught English as a Second Language part time and worked as a potter part time. I went to France to use and improve my French and discover the French ceramics scene.
I spent a month working in a studio with artist Sylvie Deverchere in Bourgogne, throwing, decorating and learning how it works in France. I was able to meet many ceramic artists not only in Bourgogne, but also at La Borne, a ceramics centre in the middle of France, in Provence and the Rhone Alpes. I assisted at several ‘marches de potiers’ where I was inspired to begin a similar event in Melbourne. Since forming these friendships I have returned annually to France, to visit the potters, participate in the marche de potiers and eventually exhibit in galleries in France.
Pottery workshop at Cliousclat, Isabelle decorating.
Is there an artist who has influenced you?
There are several artists who have influenced me. In the raku technique and style it would be South Australian artist Jeff Mincham who pushed the boundaries with raku, creating large forms with intriguing textures. The other raku artist is Frank Boyden from USA, who introduced me to the technique of terra sigillata in raku, which instantly struck a chord and I have been pursuing it ever since. Jeff Mincham also said to me once, that ceramics enabled him to travel the world, sharing his knowledge, meeting some wonderful people and sharing his common interest. This has also inspired me and I have been fortunate to have had similar experiences.
With terre vernissee, my French friends Yves Gaget and Jean Jacques Dubernard from the Rhone Alpes ,have influenced and taught me a lot about the techniques. Jean Nicolas Gerard has inspired me in his freedom and strength of his work.
Participating in raku workshop at La Grange Dimiere with Fran Brunet
Explain how your knowledge of French culture, and the people has developed into tours of France where you network with French artists? Tell of several special moments that you have had during one of your tours?
I have always been a Francophile, majoring in French at University, spending a year in France before beginning a career as a French teacher.
I began taking Australian ceramic artists to France to visit ceramics studios, potters markets, and rural areas. This has taken off as the beginnings of a cultural exchange, which continues strongly today.
Pots drying in the sun at Cliousclat
Having participated in many French potters markets in the years leading up to the tours, I had met potters from all over France, and visited some of the most spectacular parts of France. During these markets, I stayed at the local potters homes, shared meals and enjoyed their company. The tours allow me revisit and maintain the contacts with all these people, introduce them to the Australians and vice versa.
The tours are quite personal where we are welcomed into artists’ homes.
Visiting the pottery studio and showroom of Jean and Catherine Mercion
Each time I go to France, I take time to visit new areas, take part in new events, and explore further options.
Many who have come with me, wished to return again but visit different regions of France
![Where we stay on the lavender farm in the Drome [June 2012]](https://zoneonearts.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/jane-annois-lavender-farm-drome.jpg) |  |
Where we stay on the lavender farm | Poppies at Sault, Provence |
I have diversified to run tours with a music focus, going to the wonderful summer music festivals in France, particularly Jazz at Vienne; wine- visiting the Beaujolais, Bourgogne and Alsace regions; art- taking a professional artist as tutor, a mix of exploring the background of various French artists/museums/galleries and hands on painting and drawing, in Provence, the Dordogne, the Loire Valley and in Brittany [4 tours]; a gourmet tour with a French chef, gardens etc. However all the tours enjoy local cuisine and wines, artists, rural villages. I now have some people returning for their fourth tour.
Chateau Pommard
The tours go to the Rhone Alpes, Drome, Provence, Camargue, Dordogne, Loire Valley, Borgogne, Alsace, Languedoc, Cote d’Azur, Brittany and more.
As the tours are small, [max 8 people] we are able to be spontaneous, and take advantage of local events and surprises.
During the recent fete de la musique, the evening of the summer solstice where there are free music performances in the streets all over France, Jacques Long, husband of ceramic sculptor Brigitte Long, played guitar and sang the blues with fellow singer Elisa and band. I then asked Jacques and Elisa if they would perform for our Australian group. The special moment was our wonderful evening at Brigitte and Jacques’ house, a private performance, we all brought food and wine, just loved the music, all joining in at the end.
Music tour: Jazz at The Facteur Cheval: Robyn McKelle [June 2012]
Another special moment happened when we visited Montelimar, initially for its nougat, but then discovered the museum of contemporary art. One of our group was admiring a painting when the artist passed and struck up a conversation. He invited us to his solo exhibition in the countryside. After a few twists and turns, we came upon a Roman aqueduct carrying water to what was once a silk factory, of which there were many in the area during the 17th and 18th centuries. This ancient building, remarkable for its architecture, housed his exhibition and that of another sculptor. Again a privileged experience, in an extraordinary environment.
Explain some of the similarities and differences between pottery in France and Australia.
We are all individual artists, each working in our own studio. The French say that we are free from the history and tradition, which can underpin and influence their work, that we are not restricted in any way. However the French artists may be informed by their history in their initial studies, but generally use the medium of ceramics to express themselves freely. As Australians we still look towards Europe and Asia for inspiration from ceramic history, and often follow similar trends and styles. Many regions of France do have distinctive styles derived from local clay deposits, traditions in kiln firing etc, but contemporary ceramic artists both French and Australian have moved beyond regional specifics to reflect concepts rather than location.
The main difference between the two countries is that the French are professional potters. They do not have a second job. Their sole income is from ceramics. Most have a “salle d’expo” or gallery showroom attached to their studio. Their sales come from the potters markets, galleries and their home gallery. In Australia there are very few who can make a living from ceramics alone. Most have a second job – often teaching.
Having said that the French are finding it much harder since the economic crisis, and may be forced into restructuring their work life.
Pottery studio of Isabelle Gatineau at Pelussin
Explain about the pottery expo, how it came about and how we can become involved?
The French could not believe that we did not have a potters market in Australia. It is an essential part of being a potter in France. It is a showcase for not only the public but for galleries and commissions. It is an opportunity for networking and socializing for a solitary occupation.
It provides a major percentage of a potter’s income. Work is selected and must be of the highest standard. Therefore it raises the quality each time, as it is difficult to be accepted. It is like the Olympics of the pottery world.
Jane at the Pottery Expo at Federation Square, Melbourne Australia, December 2011.
Yves Gaget and Jean Marc Plantier came to Australia in 2001 to help me get the first Pottery Expo off the ground. While in France I learnt the do’s and don’ts of the market. First it must be a Pottery Only event. High quality, exhibition standard. Beautiful natural setting where the public will come, free entry. Educational component. Clay hands on activities. Food. And so on …….
Also your favourite galleries in Melbourne and a gallery/ies in France that you recommend?
In Melbourne, I explore Fitzroy and Collingwood galleries. Potier in South Melbourne, Lighfactory in Eltham.
In Paris Galerie Helene Poree near Odeon and La Celestine in rue St Paul, le Marais, Nadia B in Dieulefit in the Drome.
What does success mean to you?
Being able to live my desired lifestyle; to be able to share the best of France with others, and introduce new experiences; To make a difference. It is a thrill when people say that the trips have changed their lives.
I feel successful if I can spend summer in France doing all the things that I love and then summer in Australia. In between trips I can work in my ceramic studio and prepare the Pottery Expos.
My signature Zoneone Arts, question – what are the most important design elements? Please answer this question.
Harmony of surface and form. The contrast of texture and smoothness. Tactility. In a functional piece, it would be functionality and form. Simplicity, harmony of decoration/glaze with form. Balance.
How do you see your art evolving?
I am currently working collaboratively with two artists, I see my work as becoming more sculptural, preparing the surface for line drawings, developing textural surfaces.
The other style “Terre Vernissee” I would like to develop more in France, working alongside some of the French ceramic artists in this field. Ideally I would like to immerse myself for a few months and allow myself to experiment with techniques I have learnt. Who knows?
Inside Fondation Maeght, Vence
www.potteryexpo.com
www.zestefrenchtours.com
Jane Annois, Victoria, Australia,
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August, 2012
Corrie Allegro
My signature Zoneone Arts question – what are the most important design elements?
A combination of design elements come together in this genre of books to create a visual and tactile experience for the reader. The play of interaction with 2 dimensional elements into 3 dimensions by turning a page, pulling a tab, even moving into time and sound becomes magical for old and young.
Here design is using words, graphic illustrations, different printing techniques and assorted paper stocks to create in mass publications or in very small limited editions beautiful books. And, which at the final stage are put together by hand through folding and glueing little bits of paper into books that can and have lasted hundreds of years.
In our growing digital age the illustrated 'book keeps reinventing itself.
What started you on the collecting of Movable & Pop-Up books?
My wife Nancy and I were taking an extended world trip in the late '70s and as a book enthusiast as reader and a graphic designer for profession I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas.
In London I came across a cheap pop-up book on dinosaurs and thought this is different and can I use it for work. It has opened a whole new field of study and 34 years later a consuming hobby has evolved into a history of 'movable' books dating from 1797 to the present.
Do you still have your very first pop-up book?
Yes. But there are many, many others!
Where do you keep your books?
They are in a room on bookshelves to the ceiling on three sides with some shelves behind glass.
How do you protect your collection? eg archival paper
The antiquarian books and a few one-offs are housed in mylar acid free sleeves.
I keep sunlight and heat at bay! But hey, I'm not paranoid...
What book is still elusive?
The hunt and gathering can and does take patience and money.
There are always books from the past and current artists to chase.
Tell us about a place you have visited because of your collection?
Over the years I have been lucky to meet artists and paper engineers around the world working and creating books of beauty.
In 2010 I gave a talk in Portland, Oregon at the Movable Book Society, (3 day conference held every two years). And yes, I thought I was different but there quite a lot of unusual book people.
Tell us about your current favourite paper engineer and why?
In a small field of only a couple of dozen professional paper engineers in the world there are many favourites. There's Kees Moerbeek in Holland, Robert Sabuda, Matthew Reinhart, David Carter, Andy Barron and Bruce Foster in the US.
David Pelham, Ron van der Meer, Corina Fletcher and others in Europe...and I have to aknowledge the creators from the past. These and may more give their own magic and unlimited imagination to create a printed book that at the end is hand made.
Website: www.allegrobookcollection.typepad.com
Helen Smith
My signature Zoneone Arts question – what are the most important design elements?
A number of design elements come together to make a real work of art. To name just some which are important to me - colour, harmony and balance.
Can you tell us about the value you have had from being a volunteer guide at both the NGV and ATW?
When I began as a Voluntary Guide at the N.G.V. in 1969 the Director, Eric Westbrook, told us he saw the Guides as a link between the collection and the public. With this in mind it has been a great pleasure to welcome people to the Gallery and show them some of the treasures in the wonderful collection in the N.G.V. This is equally true in guiding at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, that is, introducing visitors to the art of tapestry, especially the contemporary Australian tapestries woven here in Melbourne.
Tell us what we as the audience should do to help a guide make a tour extra special?
The audience can help to make a good tour by showing real interest and enthusiasm. This may be by asking questions and/or sharing views and ideas about works seen on the tour.
Can you explain the process that the ATW goes through to make a tapestry?
Making a tapestry:
This begins with receiving a commission and having a detailed discussion between client, artist and weavers. A firm quotation giving cost and completion date is supplied, and once the quotation is accepted, the weaving begins.
For further insight, one can access greater detail re the process of making a tapestry by going to the A.T.W. website and following the links. Or go straight to www.austapestry.com.au/faqs/the-process
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is when people say "I must come to the Gallery more often" (the N.G.V.), or at the A.T.W. "I'll never look at a tapestry the same way again."
What is your favourite tapestry and why?
Robert Ingpen AO, ‘Games Children Play', Royal Childrens Hospital, 2009
It is hard to pick one favourite tapestry, as the A.T.W. has created so many wonderful ones (over 400) in collaboration with so many marvellous artists. However, I can say a particular favourite is 'The games children play' designed by Robert Ingpen AO, and made to hang in the new Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. It is such a cheerful, lively picture, full of colour, movement and energy.
Can you recommend books that you have helped you understand Australian Art so well?
There are a great many good books on Australian art and artists. To name just four, they are 'Australian Painting' by Bernard Smith, and 'Dreamings, the Art of Aboriginal Australia' edited by Peter Sutton, 'Artist's Tapestries' by Sue Walker, and 'Contemporary Australian Tapestries', a publication of the Australian Tapestry Workshop, are last two are invaluable in learning about the work of the A.T.W.
Website: www.austapestry.com.au
Cresside Collette
My signature Zoneone Arts question – what are the most important design elements?
I trained originally as a Graphic Designer but from an early age I drew and painted. It just seemed to be a natural part of my life. When I was a teenager I started making large wall hangings - embroidering and appliquéing fabrics onto hessian backings. It seemed an inevitable step to want to create the whole fabric and learning to weave tapestry gave me those skills.
The most important design elements to me are colour, line, tone and shape. Tapestry gives you the added bonus of texture and complete colour saturation as the weave absorbs rather than reflects light.
I feel fortunate to have had a long career as a tapestry artist- exhibiting my own work, studying, and teaching the technique to others. I can't imagine my life without it.
Can you tell us about the importance of the time you spent in Edinburgh doing post Graduate studies?
I was awarded an Overseas Study Grant by the Crafts Board of the Australia Council in 1979 to study at Edinburgh College of Art in the only tapestry department within an art school at that time. I had spent four years as a production weaver at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop (now ATW) honing my weaving skills and conforming to the strict regime of excellence that being a workshop weaver demands.
My teachers in Edinburgh, Maureen Hodge and Fiona Mathison, opened my eyes to the expressive qualities of the medium and to conceiving work as an artist who was willing to take visual and technical risks to produce interesting tapestry.
Explain about your time at Bundanon in NSW?
In 1990, whilst a weaver at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, I wove a tapestry based on one of Arthur Boyd’s Shoalhaven landscape paintings, gaining a strangely intimate knowledge of its features.
Consequently, being resident at Bundanon became, for me, a very special experience, seeing first hand the places that had inspired his art. However, I had to make these landscapes my own and to imprint my personal stamp of observation on them.
Responding to the openness, vividness of colour and sheer beauty of the surrounding bush I started to work “en plein air” with a small frame propped on my knees, weaving the scene before me directly onto the warp without any preparatory sketches. This is a very immediate way of working in tapestry — normally a very painstaking process — with aesthetic decisions being made constantly with the changing patterns of sunlight and passing clouds. The endless choices gave an exciting fluidity to the exercise, giving the pieces a fresh vitality in their reflection of light, colour and atmosphere. As far as I know this technique had not been adopted by other weavers.
My experience at Bundanon has led to working "en plein air" in many interesting locations including Sri Lanka and France.
What does success mean to you?
Doing something I love on a daily basis.
What is your favourite tapestry and why?
The Lady and the Unicorn Suite at the Musee du Moyen Age in Paris because it constitutes the creative and technical peak of Mediaeval tapestry. Woven in Brussels in the 15th C. it is exquisite in its fineness of weave and intricate detail depicting courtly costumes and flora and fauna in six charming tableaux. Five of the tapestries allude to the five senses and the sixth to the rejection of material possessions in favour of true love.
You show at exhibitions – why do you see exhibiting as important to your career?
As a visual artist exhibiting your work is the only way it can be seen, appreciated or purchased.
Website: www.cressidecollette.com
David Leaser
Tell us about your visit to the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens in California and how it lead you to travel to South America?
After completing the photographic essay, Tropical Gardens of Hawaii, I spent a day at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in California. The Huntington was featuring an exhibit of paintings from Frederic Church, one of my favourite 19th century artists. When I left the exhibit, I went into the affinity bookstore they had set up and I saw my book, “Palm Trees: A Story in Photographs.” It made me think, “why not go to South America and see if I can retrace Frederic Church’s footsteps and photograph the sites he had painted.” So, I hopped on a plane and went to Ecuador, where I spent about two weeks in the Amazon and then in the Andes.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden outside Miami, Florida.
You said that you were “struck by the tiniest flowers on the rainforest floor”. Can you expand on this statement?
You know, most people were taken by the raucous parrots, giant tree sloths and the like, but I started to turn my attention to the overlooked parts of the rainforest. I was first fascinated with the leafcutter ants, but then I started looking at these tiny flowers that we had been stepping upon. At such a small scale, they seemed insignificant, but each small flower contained its own ecosystem for the small insects and reptiles.
Senecio - this is the size of a thumb nail.
I had an epiphany: Why not show viewers the most intricate, intimate workings of the tiniest of flowers and elevate their status. When I returned to Los Angeles, I set up a studio to photograph flowers – some of them smaller than your fingernail – and then enlarge them enormously to show them to people in a way they have never seen them before.
I struggled for a long time to master the technique, but through much trial and error, I figured it out. In fact, my technique was just featured by Nikon in their quarterly magazine. The issue is Fall 2012 Edition of Nikon World.
David Leaser , with Nikon macro setup.
When we look at images like “Rococo” it is not only the flower but the black background that transports us back to the Flemish School and 1500’s is this your intention?
You picked up on that! Yes, I have always appreciated the works of botanical artists like Ambrosius Bosschaert and Rachel Ruysch and the way they isolated their botanical subjects against a black background. I’ve taken in a step further and decontextualized them even more so you are really drawn into the complexity of the flower with no distraction. I’ve been told by art critics the work is very modern because of the black backgrounds, but actually it is a return to style of the Flemish school. I think the work is equally at home in a modern setting as it is in a traditional one.
Rococo.
Do you always use either black or white backgrounds. How do you decide?
I belabor every aspect of these works, including the backgrounds, and it really depends on the flower.
I am trying to give these flowers a “Hollywood portrait” treatment, so I test the flowers against multiple colors. Some look amazing against white, and others against black. Each flower really makes the call.
Fuchsia The Queen Paphiopedium Orchid
Most of your floral photographs are done in your studio. Can you explain (very simply) your technique?
I developed a process that combines macro photography with some revolutionary equipment and software, some of which was used by NASA on Mars. Most of my images are actually composites of multiple photographs of the same flower, each with a different focal point. I then sandwich the images together to create a highly detailed image. I can then selectively de-focus certain areas to direct your eye where I think it should go, typically to the most interesting part of the flower. My studio looks like a mini studio you would find for glamour photography, with light boxes, high powered strobes and seamless backgrounds.
Fortnight Lily.
Where do you get your flowers from, especially the exotic ones?
I am fortunate to live in Southern California, where we can grow most anything. And we have the Los Angeles Flower Mart, which houses more than a city block’s worth of flower vendors. I make regular trecks to the flower mart and spend hours looking for the perfect flowers. But that only goes so far. We also have a greenhouse in our back yard to grow exotics. My wife and I pour through mail-order catalogs and plant hundreds of rare flowers each year. You’d be surprised to know that often the ones that seem like winners do not photograph well, and others we thought were too plain show up beautifully in photographs. They’re a lot like people, I guess.
Masquerade.
What type of camera do you use?
I use digital Nikon cameras, lenses and flash units exclusively. I find Nikon equipment to be rugged and easy to use, and their lenses are unmatched for sharpness. I am presently using a Nikon D3X body with Nikon macro lenses. I also use Nikon’s Close up Lighting System and Elinchrom strobe lights. To capture these images, you need to introduce an enormous amount of light, which can sometimes cause the flowers to wilt!
Many of the prints go beyond floral, to pattern. Do you manipulate the plant to gain this?
No. Although I am not striving for photo journalism, I’ve found I really need to do very little with the actual flowers to create a great image, aside from laboring over how to position them in front of the camera. I intentionally pick flowers which do have a unique structure, and then photograph from many angles. My image, Tiger’s Eye, is a perfect example. I had photographed it multiple times in a standard pose and it looked very average. Then I decided to look right into the flower the way a hummingbird or bee would. The result is a flower image that staircases you to the center because of its unusual patterns.
Miyazaki – Toad Lily.
The printing of your photographs come in different formats, Collector’s edition prints and smaller Silver Editions, can you explain about these?
Every aspect of my work is archival and museum quality, down to the media and framing materials I use. The Collector’s and Silver Editions are printed on archival canvas with archival inks by, what I believe to be, the best art canvas printing house in the United States. By printing on canvas, the viewer can see the image without the interference of a pane of glass. I also offer these images on archival paper and also in a unique format using specially treated aluminum, where the image is actually infused right into the metal. It’s a modern take on the Daguerreotype. My work is only available in limited editions to help protect their value for collectors.
In simple terms can you explain what dettagli process is?
An art critic in New York called my work dettagli because it captures detail like you’ve never seen before. You can literally see grains of pollen on the stamens of a hibiscus and the hairs on the stems of an orchid. The process really starts with my initial photography, which is extremely sharp. Then, by stacking together multiple images that are sharp in different areas, I can achieve an image with complete sharpness from corner to corner. But the reproduction must be flawless. My canvasses are the highest quality, and they are coated with gesso to make them smooth and luminous. The pigment is applied and the image is them coated with a UV coating to add a bit of depth. Finally, I intentionally frame images with black backgrounds with black frames to draw your eye to the centre of the canvas, creating a stronger sense of depth.
Exhibition details
My work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.
Tigers Eye
Tiger’s Eye was selected to appear at the London Art Biennale at the Chelsea Old Town Hall in January 2013. Eleven images are in the permanent collection of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in California. The Nightflowers collection was awarded a silver medal at the International Photography Awards. More than 8,000 submissions from 90 countries competed in the Awards, the largest to date. The work was juried to be featured in Architectural Digest’s exclusive home design show.
Gallery details
The work can be viewed in my online gallery at http://davidleaser.com/ where a list of art galleries featuring the work is also posted.
Contact details
DAVID LEASER FINE ART
12021 Wilshire Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90025 USA
Email: david@davidleaser.com
Publication details
My work has been featured in major publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Nikon World and Architectural Digest. I have also authored four books featuring my photography, including two photographic essays, “Palm Trees: A Story in Photographs,” and “Tropical Gardens of Hawaii.”
“I recommend Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens in California, to anyone going to LA.
This is a must visit.” Deborah Blakeley
Website: http://www.huntington.org
David Leaser, Los Angeles, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, December, 2012