Carl, I really like the way the colors work together in this, and the light fixture in the window. The composition unsettles me a bit with the vertical verticals and tilted horizontals. It reminds me some of Saul Leiter.
Thanks, Edd. Interesting you bring up Leiter. A nearby gallery (which carries my work) recently showed vintage color prints by Leiter, from Kodachrome shot back in the 50s and 60s. There was a very distinct "look" to them which was of course largely Leiter's unique vision, but there were other elements as well. Kodachrome of course has a definite signature, but also the subjects themselves were different from today, because there were almost no plastics in use. Signs were painted, or printed with non-synthetic inks. Clothes were wool or cotton or linen. These materials were both richer and more subtle in color and general appearance than today's molded plastics, synthetic dyes, and polyester materials.
Something about this storefront's once-garish but now-faded paint scheme is very rich. It may really resonate with that particular aspect of Leiter's pictures, and I'll certainly take any comparison as a compliment.
Besides the fine colors - you are definitely right, these are not the present's but the past's colors - the light was what fascinated me: that lone ceiling lamp, dark, but the reflection of daylight on the background created a somewhat (subjectively) ghostly atmosphere.
Keesville, New York
3 comments:
Carl, I really like the way the colors work together in this, and the light fixture in the window. The composition unsettles me a bit with the vertical verticals and tilted horizontals. It reminds me some of Saul Leiter.
Thanks, Edd. Interesting you bring up Leiter. A nearby gallery (which carries my work) recently showed vintage color prints by Leiter, from Kodachrome shot back in the 50s and 60s. There was a very distinct "look" to them which was of course largely Leiter's unique vision, but there were other elements as well. Kodachrome of course has a definite signature, but also the subjects themselves were different from today, because there were almost no plastics in use. Signs were painted, or printed with non-synthetic inks. Clothes were wool or cotton or linen. These materials were both richer and more subtle in color and general appearance than today's molded plastics, synthetic dyes, and polyester materials.
Something about this storefront's once-garish but now-faded paint scheme is very rich. It may really resonate with that particular aspect of Leiter's pictures, and I'll certainly take any comparison as a compliment.
Besides the fine colors - you are definitely right, these are not the present's but the past's colors - the light was what fascinated me: that lone ceiling lamp, dark, but the reflection of daylight on the background created a somewhat (subjectively) ghostly atmosphere.
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