The State Fair
My husband and I recently took our three boys to the Oklahoma State Fair to experience the food, rides and animals (in that order). Despite an incredibly busy and exhausting day, I was able to snag an hour alone to enter one of my favorite realms – the art gallery. This underappreciated building is a hidden gem, housing primarily student (or entirely student?) two- and three-dimensional art.
Photography
I scanned the drawings, sculptures and graphic art, but what really captured my attention were the photos.
I’ve always appreciated photography and even dabbled in it a bit (via a college class and my own experimentation), but I find that over time I often fall into the same uninspired rut. The rut is me unable to decide what to photograph as I search for some elusive subject.
Monkey Bars
The beauty of photography is that it takes a three dimensional object or space and morphsit into a two-dimensional image, translating form into shape. With a simple click, instantly a landscape becomes a conglomeration of curves and angles. You’d think that the loss of a dimension would be mean simplification, but often the opposite is true.
Ordinary…or Not?
Bottles
The photos that inspired me the most were the ones with the simplest of subjects – things I see every day, things so ordinary they could never be art – or could they? I love these four in particular because they are things I pass by regularly and never recognized as art. A lamp cord. Playground equipment. A merchandise-filled grocery cart. If someone can find art in places so mundane, it leaves me no excuse. I don’t have to travel to a scenic location or organize a photo shoot.
Jungle Gym
Getting to see exhibits like this reminds me that art is all around us – everywhere. I just have to allow my eyes to see it. And it gives me a little kick in the bum that tells me to get back into the game and start doing something – sometimes making art is hard work, after all (and sometimes it’s just incredibly fun).
I’d love to hear your own findings. In what unexpected places have you discovered art?
It’s when someone captures something simple in an interesting way that I really like a photo.
Yes, I agree. The lamp cord is my favorite.
Over the years I have collected many story books written for children. Often, the really good books have remarkable illustrations. You wouldn’t think a book written for child would be well illustrated, but some are very well illustrated. I like Eric Carl’s work. Audrey Wood is another very talented illustrator.
My daughter Kimera has made a hobby of photography. She entered a picture in the state fair this year. I really enjoyed walking through the building and looking at all of the photos.
That’s cool. What was the subject? I may have seen it. Did she win anything?
No, but this was her first year to enter, and she only entered one photo in one category. Next year she will enter more. Her photo was a Galveston sunset.
The ordinary often captures my imagination when I have a camera with me. The monkey bars made me very happy. 🙂 Several years ago I took a picture of a water spigot that, to my surprise, everyone loved. One person remarked that he liked the picture because it reminded him of his childhood and the countless water spigots he’d seen. I almost didn’t take the shot because I thought it was a silly thing to photograph, though I found its form beautiful. I’m glad now that I did! I think some of my best photographs are composed of very ordinary items. 🙂
Yes, and I love your army men photo series, Amanda! I may do one of those myself sometime. 🙂