SELF-PORTRAIT
As the work week winds up, you’ve probably got a lot on your mind. Anticipating the weekend can make the hours go slower. We promise we won’t tell that you’re sneaking a peek at the internet to pass the time. In fact, we’ll introduce you to a great artist who also has a lot on her mind too.
There isn’t much in the world that can capture the feeling of being happily lost in the world of books. The journey to worlds we may never see is one that can start at any age. Simply picking up a book opens us up to new ideas and makes us a part of stories more grand than the universe we know. It’s hard to capture the years of wonder lining our bookshelves. That, however, hasn’t stopped a brilliant Canada-based photographer from trying, and making parts of that sensation wonderful and real.
Joel Robison, also known as boywonder (a user name we’re pretty fond of), creates some wonder of his own with photos based around the world of books. He explores both the comfort of reading and the worlds books open up for their readers. Paper dragons, whales that travel through pages, and worlds imbued with the magic created by books are only a few of the sights to see in the boy wonder’s photography. His self-portraits are at once cozy and mystifying. Tea cups and books welcome the viewer into a world just ever so slightly different for our own. In some pictures, Robison is tiny and the world is big. They capture how vast and engulfing some story worlds are--how small we are when peeking into worlds that are not our own, worlds that may not exist.
Aakash Nihalani is an artist famous for working with just tape. From a simple, singular, resource, he creates beautiful and intricate pieces that stand out against urban backdrops. Even his simple pieces show us parts of New York City, his home, we would not normally see. With tape, he creates shapes and visuals within ordinary objects and places that are normally just waiting under the surface of our imaginations.
Normally, Nihalani simply takes photographs of his pieces alone on sidewalks or on walls or with a crowd of curious bystanders. In his new series, tentatively titled Once Upon a Wall, he becomes a part of the art. My Modern Met recently had the opportunity to talk with Nihalani about his new self-portrait project. Of the sudden change he said:
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