ARTIST'S STATEMENT
| I believe that a good photograph is not about what you
shoot, it's about how you
shoot. It isn't about what you see, it's about how you see. |
About the Florals
Flowers
are, by design, seducers. They exist to perpetuate their own species. Blossoms
are their reproductive structures. Anchored to the plant, a flower cannot go
off in search of a pollinator. Instead, it must attract the attention of a pollinator
and entice it to make contact. The bold physicality of a flower – its sculptural
form, its unique color palette, its delicious scent – is
something we usually appreciate from a distance. Only rarely do we thrust our
nose right down into a flower to sniff and stare.
I first began shooting flowers casually, several years ago, in an attempt
to hone my camera skills. I chose flowers because they were readily available – and
static. Soon I found myself totally engaged by my subjects.
I brought my camera closer and closer, attempting to experience
the plant's "monumentality" much as an insect might.
When
I select a flower to shoot, I don't pay much attention to its color. Sculptural
form is my primary consideration, along with the quality of light and how it
interacts with the bloom. I am not interested in creating “pleasing illustrations” of
flowers or plants. Instead, I strive to reveal them as I experienced them in
space and time.
About
the Architecture
I am
no student of modern architecture, but I am certainly an admirer. My travels
have taken me to some remarkable urban environments. Hiroshi Hara's Station Complex
in Kyoto, Japan, and his Umeda Sky Building in Osaka provided an immeasurably
rich experience, as did Johann Otto von Spreckelsen's Grande Arche at La Défense
in Paris, France.
However, it was never my mission to objectively "document" these
monumental structures. That would be, I think, almost impossible. Instead I've
carefully recorded what I've seen through my own lens – and through my own sensibility.
In that respect, my approach is similar to that of the botanical photography
insofar as I am primarily interested in form, light and composition. However,
I particularly enjoy the ambiguity of space and scale that occurs in the presence
of these huge, reflective facades. When I capture one magical moment of the fluid
interplay of reflected light and shadow, sky and clouds, human beings and adjacent
structures, then I know I've created a unique photograph.
– Virginia Saunders
Please direct all inquiries to the artist/ photographer, Virginia
Saunders. |
