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s t u d i o | p h o t o g r a p h s b y K i m K a u f f m a n | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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i l l u m i t o n e s , volume 1 to brighten with light + quality or character of sound or color
Abstraction has attracted me throughout my photographic practice and is the thread that unites diverse bodies of work. Principles of composition that many artists utilize––line and form, light and shadow, symmetry, repetition, movement, balance, foreground and background––come to the fore as I create non-representational images.
Through abstraction I discover essential forms within my subjects. These forms are innately linked to how we see, organize and understand our world. The photographs I make reveal little about the particulars of the subject; they are more about creating a doorway for contemplation, asking viewers to move within themselves, the photographs, or both.
In Illumitones I continue my ongoing exploration of abstraction in photography. As my desire is for the resulting images to be more about what the work becomes than what it is “of”, I have chosen to use only one object. I am interested in the ambiguity that abstract images can create. Ambiguity and its possibility for individual interpretation lead me to several more questions: How much information does an image need to be successful? How much will the viewers fill in on their own? Where is the balance struck?
I have employed two new techniques developed in other photographic projects in the creation of these images. They allow me to explore abstraction in different ways. I work with a flatbed scanner rather than a camera and lens to create foundation images. These become building blocks as I combine them to create photo-collages that result in my final compositions. I construct the images as I go, working in many ways as a painter might. For Illumitones I have chosen titles that borrow terminology from other art forms: poetry, literature, dance and music. The cross-pollination from other genres is an appropriate pairing with these images that are more about the act of art-making than about a specific subject. Art forms other than my own inspire, challenge and inform my own work. I want to acknowledge their influence. |
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volumes
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artist statements
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