by Anna Cox | Jan 22, 2014 | FEATURE, You Are Juxt
Abstracting the Essence: A Conversation with Kristine by Crystal Labbato
There is little more satisfying about participating in a mobile photography community than the joy felt while watching the way a favorite photographer explores and re-explores their own private corner of the universe. Even better still is when that relentless pursuit of seeing continuously produces images that at once soothe and exhilarate the senses.Kristine Norlander (@kristinenor) is one of these photographers.
Kristine often describes her mobile photos as “daily sketches.” Indeed there is something to this in the sense that she has developed a very personal vocabulary to describe the whats and wheres and hows of the way she sees. Her photographs have the ability to tell entire stories in a single breath. She is able to capture all of the feelings of expansiveness and complexity in her environment, exquisitely reducing them to their most essential elements in a visual expression which is uniquely her own.- Crystal
Crystal: Will you share with us how you first became interested in mobile photography?
Kristine: A friend of mine showed me the app about two years ago, and my first thought was that this was a perfect place to collect everyday sketches of things that caught my eye. After a while I noticed that it was not only about collecting pretty stuff, but also receiving inspiration in different ways of seeing from other IGers all over the world. And then – I was kinda hooked. My ways of sharing pictures developed from shooting pretty things into a new way of communicating; expressing emotions and telling stories in my own visual language
Crystal: What is your usual process for creating one of your elegant mobile sketches?
Kristine: For me, mobile photography is basically about seeing. Looking at your surroundings with a different eye, finding beauty in the transformation of things as you place them into a new context. I shoot a lot – beauty is everywhere. And then the process continues as I edit; picking up pictures in Snapseed and check out what kind of cropping that works. What feels good. Straighten, tune – and I got this habit of desaturating the images, I guess. Colors tend to be too loud. Maybe a round in VSCOcam to see if it brings out some more quality. And that is basically it. Sometimes it is fun to play with different editing apps – like Decim8 and Woodcamera, but I tend to go back to my basic tools; Snapseed and VSCOcam.
Crystal: I feel like you draw inspiration from many sources, music, art, and especially the beauty and love in your life. Are there any particular themes or individuals influencing you especially right now?
Kristine: Inspiration like you say – is everywhere. Of course there are some kind of themes that I often find pleasure playing with; simple lines, empty spaces, shadowplay, reflections, wallportraits, transparency and so on… A theme I love to play with right now is the thing that is most common in this country during wintertime; the color white. How I can build images based on shades of white is really inspiring. And as far as individuals are inspiring me; posting and interacting on IG is all about being inspired by the perspective from users. I learn a lot from that
Crystal: The word “style” can sometimes be a limiting word… but I definitely see a distinct visual language in your photos, and ongoing themes that you revisit over time. What are the sorts of things you like to look for in your photographs? Do you have a favorite subject you like to explore?
Kristine: Well, I guess my visual language has been shaped by different aspects. I used to be a potter – made vessels and sculptures in clay – always in search of the perfect shape and texture. It was a powerful passion. The same passion is there when I shoot pictures; looking for shapes, surfaces and textures – the pure kinds. Perfection. Simplicity. Beauty
I have also been working as a teacher in visual arts in high school for over 15 years now. Teaching about subjects like composition for so long has brainwashed me, I guess. I am a sucker for compositions, loving the process of framing and balancing.
And I love abstract and minimal art; the idea of reaching towards some kind of basic, sublime truth. I love working with emptiness in my images. Something about quietness and how it allows associations to be noticed.
On Instagram, sharing pictures is much about communication. And I like the idea that other people can relate to my pictures in terms of their own memories, feelings or pictures seen. I think I really like the idea that we are all a bunch of sensitive people out there. And we all reach towards each other – wanting to know about ways to see and explore this life. And the visual language shared goes a bit deeper than words sometimes. I think we learn a lot by looking at our shared stories
Crystal: I know you share photos on EyeEm as well as IG. Sometimes IG seems to me very heavily influenced by American culture and trends. Will you talk a little bit about the landscape and culture of your beautiful homeland of Norway and how your environment shapes the images you make?
Kristine: Of course, as for many Norwegians, nature is a big inspiration for me too. Being outdoors, exploring deep woods or high mountains, being by the coast in summertime or go skiing in some big, white space during winter. We love that, and – we shoot it. Those pleasures along with the clean, Scandinavian design-style seems to influence the visual language of many Scandinavian IGers with me (for example @paldyb @elinlia @sannalin @ragnhildsvisuelle @dennishjelmstrom C: You have brought mobile photography to your classroom. What do your students come away with after a photowalk?
Kristine: That is an interesting theme, really. I am writing my masterdegree in arts and crafts these days – about how to use mobile photography as a creative tool. Mainly I write about my experience making my own work using IG as a case. But I also get to test it on some of my students. One of the subjects I teach is media design; where photography is a big theme. Traditionally the pupils use DSLR´s to shoot in school, but using their smartphones tends to change their ways of seeing. It´s more like sketching, which again tend to be more personal. The smartphone is basically a part of their body. They are used to shoot pictures, and post on IG – (aged 16-19 yrs) but when used in a context where I as a teacher give them simple subjects or themes to look for or work with, it makes them think a little different. And that is my goal. I give them something about which editing apps they should try and how they work, and I show them different IGer-artists. The wide range of possibilities and expressions that can be found out there. I try to give them inspiration, and to show them IG can be used to show so much more than pouty lips and party-pics.
So – before a photowalk, I give them different themes to look for. And then I use the account @ig_nvgs to post the themes as tags that they use on their pictures, and I highlight some of their work on that page 
Crystal: Recently you brought some of your photographs out of the phone and exhibited in a group gallery show. What was that experience like for you
Kristine: That was a big honor and a great experience. It was the first time I have shown my phonepics as something else than pixels on a screen. And of course talking to real people about our pictures without touching a screen is pretty awesome sometimes!
// IG // EyeEm //
by Anna Cox | Dec 31, 2013 | FEATURE
12 months.
365 days.
8,760 hours.
525,600 minutes.
31,556,926 seconds.
41 photographers.
1 collective.
Infinite possibilities.
Out of 365 days of infinite possibilities in the past year we have each chosen one moment to share with you. This year was no different from the last in that it had it’s share of joy and pain but through the laughter and tears we grew as artists and as humans. We are looking forward to another year of creativity and growth within the mobile community. The connectedness of this community will continue to inspire us to stretch ourselves creatively and emotionally. Here is to 2013!- Anna
“Shine Down”. It’s my favorite because the photo was taken spontaneously just as the subject turned to look up towards the sky, which just so happened to include a flash of vibrant rays from the morning sun. Aside from the square crop, the only edit I made was adding a black and white filter which drenched out the flat colors that surrounded him and offered a dramatic, extraterrestrial composition. – Nicholas
My family goes up once every couple years for a Christmas tree to the Olympic Mountains outside of Quilcene, Washington. It is a long, sometimes treacherous unmarked logging road that leads up to Bon Jon Pass where you can find trees that are an appropriate size for use as a Christmas tree. Depending on the year, the weather can bring in snow or ice that makes trip up, and especially down, a heart stopping experience. The snow can be great with the kids for sledding and playing in, but after the trip down, unsure if your truck will slide of the mountainside, there is a mutual feeling among the parents: “I don’t think I want to do that again”! Luckily this year the snow hadn’t arrived yet, so we had clear roads to the top. There were gorgeous views of fog rolling over the tops of the mountains and looking out towards the interior waters of the Puget Sound. One of the fun traditions we have with friends, is to have a small fire for keeping warm, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. In this image, we are putting out the fire at the end of the trip with water. The kids thought it funny to run through the steam and smoke from the dying fire. I loved the thick mysterious cloud it made around them on the edge of the road looking out over the treetops growing below the steep drop off. – Shaun
Untitled by Marie Matthews
“While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die” Leonardo da Vinci by Rebecca
Life is a journey that always confronted by choices.. What we choose on this life is determine how our life goes.. Again, life is a journey, a remarkably journey.. A journey that let us do everything what we want about our life.. The most important about this journey is creating memories, memories with others that can be remembered for a long time.. And to set a final goal, be a better person at the end of our life.. Lets leave the past and go for another better future.- Fahmi
You can leave him behind but he wont leave you. (from the series LafletcherTV) – Fletch
This is the last image in the series, it was a last minute decision to make this image, it was originally planned to finish on the previous image. However, once I was done I knew that it needed more and this is what I came up with. It was also a turning point for me and I knew what kind of work I wanted to focus on from then on.
This past year I traveled to NYC for the first time, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. After days and nights of riding in crowded subway cars, finding this one empty during the morning commute felt surreal. I was alone and probably should have been creeped out – instead I felt lucky to start my day in this quiet little oasis beneath the city that never sleeps… – Rachel
Untitled by Kristen
My favorite shot of the year was taken when we went to France in September. This was in the beautiful small town of Honfleur. I was captivated by this boat the entire time and have several shots of it. This picture is special to me because it was a wonderful trip, my first overseas, the town (and this boat) was enchanting and it was my first successful night shot.- Holly
“musing.” by Todd
I found this small tin of light bulbs at my grandmothers house in a pantry drawer. I love shooting small objects and enjoy the challenge of finding different backgrounds. I had a clear vision for how I wanted this image to look compositionally, and this is one of the rare instances where everything just fell into place.
Untitled by John
I had a photowalk with my awesome friends in Taipei. A great experience for me to have a photowalk with them. They all have different points of view. It was most amazing time of 2013.- Hayami
Olive surveying White Clay Creek – David
This image sums up happiness. It’s one of my favorite places to go with my favorite dog. I’m sure this was taken after a long jaunt through the woods, cooling off in the creek.
Something in a quiet wilderness speaks volumes to me.
Tracey Sings by Sam
I rather enjoy hipster hunting. Merciful soul that I am, I use a camera instead of an elephant gun. I caught this pair preparing to graze at LA’s Nickel Diner (repeat after me: maple bacon donuts) and came to feel that the scene was a cool analog for the modern version of LA: the diner and its classic touches, the young, modern clientele and their disaffected body language, a sense of repurposed history and inevitable modernity. I’ve spent an uncouth amount of time looking at this photo and I still dig it, which isn’t the norm for me.-Ryan V.
Crossing, Midtown, NYC– By Matt
A river runs through it’. I shot it whilst visiting a friend in London in the summer. I liked how Tower Bridge was peeking through the gap in the buildings and that the stream lead my eye to it.- Joanna
It had been three months since my father’s massive stroke. Three months since everything changed. The fog was unquestionably apropos, putting a film over everything that had been real. Reflections on the water only doubled the abstraction. My father sat in the car with a poker face more effective than he’d ever had playing cards, while I crouched and reached and twisted trying to get the best angle; trying to feel the familiar, to no avail- Jen LP
This photo is from a trip earlier this year to beautiful Venice in Italy, where I passed this tiny souvenir shop. The lady stood there in her little enclosure looking down to her smart phone. She didn’t notice that I stopped right before her and made the capture. I like it because of the contrasts of the confined space and her mind being completely elsewhere, free.- Christina
Untitled by Andres
Thieves by Joel
In April of this year an event occurred that shook my local community and the international community as well. The Boston marathon bombings brought the city to it’s knees. I live about 30 min south of the city and was a direct witness to the strength and courage of the local authorities as they shut down the city and brought the terrorists to justice. The coming days, weeks, months showed the resiliency of the city of Boston. “Boston Strong” was the phrase seen and heard everywhere you’d go. I was in the city for a wedding a mere two days after the suspects were apprehended. If I didn’t know differently, I would have thought it was just a typical Boston Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the authorities and the trust the community has in them, life went on almost without missing a beat. The image I chose here was shot on a cold day in early November of 2013. This police officer was working a routine construction detail that consisted of just standing in one spot for many hours and making sure no pedestrians entered the construction zone. When the time came, it was these men and women that I have to thank for being able to walk around and enjoy the city. The shot was taken quickly and discreetly, snapping as I pretended to be listening to a call and walked past him. I couldn’t believe how well the photo turned out when I reviewed it. It was almost as if it fate had a hand in it. So, as a tribute and thank you to the Boston authorities, this is my favorite photo (titled, “Boston’s Strong”) of the 2013.- Josh St. Germain
2013 has been a fantastic rollercoaster of a year for me. Looking back at the photo’s I have taken this year there are several that stand out from the crowd although the one I have chosen here has special significance to me.
‘Walking with a Purpose’ was taken in the UK seaside town of Tenby, in Wales. As a child we holidayed here for ten years in a row. Year after year, the same week, the same hotel, the same faces. Most of the time it rained so we spent many days at the cinema which bizarrely only opened when the weather was wet. This year I returned, this time with my own children. For me it involved a lot of reminiscing and visiting of old haunts.
One of those haunts was the cinema which sadly I found was in the process of being demolished to make way for a new and modern hotel. On one of my early morning walks I sat opposite the scaffolding clad building and remembered the happy times spent there. The sun was low in the sky, the shadows long, there was a freshness in the air and I wanted to capture a scene of this special building before it was gone forever.
Taken with Oggl and the combination of Jane lens and BlackKeys Supergrain, I love the contrast between the light and dark and the way the three bands in the image work together. The top third provides a backdrop of chaotic scaffolding. The bottom third provides a dark foreground which frames the passing gentleman and his shadow set against the plain backdrop of the site fencing.- Andy Butler
Photography to me is the act of freezing time, freezing a moment, something precious and then being able to keep it for ever and cherish it. London is where I live, its liveliness and beautiful architecture provides me with plenty of inspiration every day! I took this photo because I had this image in my mind of someone sitting there in a solitary and pensive mood. A almost a year ago I signed up for a wonderful online mobile photography workshop by Sion Fullana and Anton Kawasaki, and as homework they gave me a few tasks to complete so I thought it was the right time to experiment and see if I could create what I was imagining. Hence, I decided to go to Parliament Hill, in Hampstead Heath, a stunning park in London with amazing views of the city from high above, and I found a bench, but it was empty… The weather was perfect, there were these gloomy clouds hovering around, however I had to fill the bench with the perfect character, so I decided to hang around there. I waited and waited for almost an hour, a few people sat there but I wasn’t really inspired by them, then he arrived and his looks and the hat draw my attention. I knew he was the right one. I still waited for a bit, he then pulled the pipe out and started smoking and I started snapping! I took a couple of shots and then the two crows flew, luckily I managed to capture them too! What I found interesting about this scene was the quite and peaceful feel that it gives me, you can see the city far away and the dark, gloomy clouds, he is pondering and is completely taken by his thoughts and the birds are flying away. The world has just stopped, one frame that tells me so much. That’s why I quite love this photograph. – Dilshad
“You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” – Bridgette Shima
It was a windy, sunny afternoon in Seattle and SuperM and I met a friend downtown. She took us to her office rooftop where we watched the ferries, cars and people from up above.
SuperM felt so free among the tall buildings, running around in the open space. The wind blew and the reeds swayed. Then, at that moment the sun kissed his skin and everything around him. It was picture perfect.
This image is also featured in “love” – a book dedicated to our dear friend, Ale, who lost his battle to cancer this year. This photo is dear and close to my heart.
‘Can you hear me? By Paula Gardener
“Honey, I’m a Big Boy Now” by Jen Bracewell
Image by Nat Maddon
This Hipstamatic shot of tourists taking pictures of the Taj Mahal on their mobile phone was the perfect modern moment in front of an ancient World Wonder. It’s my favorite image of 2013- Jen Pollack Bianco
Image by Raffaele of The Minimals
Till Death by Mike Hill
This is my favorite of the year. Take in Pont L’Eveque, France in September. It was a memorable trip with @musiccityace and @jvdt. This picture is of the door of a 1,000 year old church. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and seeing it again always takes me back to that place. – Dave
I met god in Valley View by Anna
“Guaranteed Unlimited For Life” New York City, August 2013 by BP
In Closing
So I get the chance to close out the last article of the year with the great contributors of We Are Juxt from around the world. I’ve written to these mobile photographers more than a few times already talking about how great they are and how wonderful they are for the community of mobile photography. It is within their DNA as creatives to make sure that this art form doesn’t stay stagnant on any of the social platforms but that it comes to life amongst all the relationships built on those platforms, here onto the We Are Juxt site.
This year we hit 1000+ articles. Many of which were interviews with amazing creatives like yourselves. This community exists because of you. You have your contribution and carry your own piece of We Are Juxt as well as any of the other promoters of mobile photography in your pocket. You have the whole world in your pocket.
This year we all have experienced many good and bad things in life. The camera phone in your pocket helped document that. You also helped in sharing your stories here. We had articles about love, death, new life, new chapters, newly found passions, great opportunities…the gamut. We wouldn’t expect any different in 2014.
From us here at We Are Juxt, we wish you and yours a very safe, passionate, healthy, creative, and prosperous new year.
Happy New Year! Cheers into 2014!
Let’s Have Fun! – BP
by Anna Cox | Dec 19, 2013 | Anna Cox
Finding My Sanity with Smart Cam by Anna Cox
I am standing in the middle of a battle zone. A handful of parents are jamming their kids into tights, tutus, sweater vests and bow ties. The kids are screaming, clawing their way out of patent leather shoes and page boy hats. The parents are pleading, begging, and often times bribing their kids to just stand still. All too often the phrase, “if you will just put this on and take a picture, I will get you a toy, ice cream, a trip to disney world, and maybe I will even throw in a pony” is heard around me. I am pretty sure my eighteen month old is swinging from the lights, throwing wrapped boxes from the prop closet at the little girl in the tutu. My ten year old is pulling on my hand and tugging at the collar of his shirt. I feel totally panicked when I hear the photographer, that can’t be out of training pants, call our name. I round up my boys, suck in my breath, and walk towards what feels like a firing squad. I cannot describe the next twenty minutes save for the fact that I am pretty sure my boys employed guerrilla tactics and both the photographer and I now have PTSD.
Welcome to the world of photo taking with kids.
What, in theory, should be so easy is usually a dreaded task. I mean, all we have to do is buy a reindeer sweater, gel their hair down, stuff them in said sweater and drive to the studio right…?
Riiiiiiiight.
If you are anything like me, with kids anything like mine, just the thought of pictures makes your heart race and your jaw clench. I am not a drinking woman but the thought of pictures makes me want to grab a shot glass. So how do we take the stress out of photo taking? How do we look back at each photo of Christmas or Thanksgiving and think, ” man, that was a good holiday!” instead of thinking that your children are little dictators?
This year I decided I was going to take the pressure off and find a better way to take photos of my children.
What I found when I started this project is that I had a set of expectations for my boys that were not derived in reality. Love their hearts, they tried to be good and they were, but not to the impossible standard I had set for them. I cannot stress this point enough. The photos you end up with once you remove the expectations will mean more 10 years down the road than photos that do not reflect who your child was at the time.
After multiple shoots with my own children and clients, I have compiled a survival guide for parents like me that want to take the stress out of pictures. The best part? You don’t need a fancy camera or equipment you just need your Nokia Lumia, Smart Cam, or the native phone camera and you are set. For this article I am going to focus on Nokia Smart Cam and introduce you to some of its features that will come in handy while photographing children.[ Keep in mind though that the Smart Cam shots do not save in high resolution but do save in 5 MP so editing needs to be kept minimal. If you want a photo that you can edit and print larger than 8×10 you will need to use the native camera that saves in a higher resolution. ] I use this app mainly for close up portraiture and not wide shots as the pixel sampling causes break down in the image quicker.
First, let’s get to know the Smart Cam so we know what to expect during and after the shoot.
When using Smart Cam, you will focus on your subject and click the shutter button. The app only shoots in manual mode but you can play with the focus some. The lens depth that sets this phone apart from the others is still applicable within the app. Once you have depressed the shutter,it will take a series of 10 shots in rapid succession. Make sure to steady the phone on something while it is taking the series of shots or they will be blurry. The rapid fire shots are terrific for the ever changing faces of kids. I would catch a range of expressions, which came in quite handy with the Change Faces feature in post-processing. Another bonus to this camera is that you can shoot and it automatically saves the series of shots so you can look at them later. You do not have to sit there and fiddle with the app while you are in the middle of taking photos.
When you are ready to process your shots open the photo in Smart Cam. You can do this one of two ways. One, open it by clicking on the underlined title underneath the photo or click on the 3 dots and select it from the menu. Alternately, you can access the photos through the camera itself by touching the box with your photo in it.
This will open the photo the camera has decided is “best” from the series of photos that were captured. By double clicking on this photo you are able to swipe sideways to see all 10 shots and save from there if you find one you like before venturing into the other features.
In app features:
Best Shot: the nominated best shot of the series. This may or may not be the right shot. Click through all your images in the series before deciding on the shot or shots you want to keep. Save shots by touching the save button at the bottom of the screen.
Action Shot: use the series of 10 shots to create an action sequence. Add or take away from the photo by touching the white dots on the bottom of the screen. This feature compiles the series into one photo. The above is not a good example but as it is not my focus it will do.
Motion Focus: add blur to your shots while maintaining a focused subject. You can turn the blur high or low using the odometer button .
Change Faces: Swap out the face from another shot in the series
Remove Moving Objects: one step tap on the screen to remove moving objects
For this article I took advantage of the 2.5 second series of shots, change faces, and removing moving objects the most so I will focus on those features.
Having a series of shots to choose from is a great thing for a couple reasons. One, they are taken so quickly that the subject doesn’t have an exorbitant amount of time to move around so it makes swapping faces easier if needed. Children’s expressions change so quickly that it is easy to miss the shot you are trying to get. It wasn’t my purpose to get smiley photos but more so capture the true personalities of the children. It also allowed for small changes in expressions while maintaining the same background.
To use the Change Faces feature within Smart Cam scroll down to the screen that says Change Faces and tap the screen to get to the editing screen. A box will appear around the face of your subject. Double tap it to bring up the series of faces to choose from to replace the original. Keep in mind when you are trading faces that the position of the subject must be the same otherwise you will end up with a character that looks like it was taken from a child’s flip book. This is where having a rapid succession of shots really helps. The subject usually will not move very far therefore making it easier to swap faces seamlessly.
I also found the the feature to remove moving objects helpful in a few shots. It was an easy short cut compared to other editing apps i have used in the past. The background behind the subject was filled in flawlessly and easily.
You have to love a brotherly photo bomb but with the remove objects feature its so easy to remove the motion and tweak the photograph in one click.
Notice also that you can change the position of parts of my subject after I removed the photo bomb by touching the minus sign. Notice the arm and leg placement in the last two photographs.
This was the final shot and while it isn’t a shot I will pursue any further I did think it was a great opportunity to flex the muscles of the app. I’ve said it before but I will say it again. This feature was SO easy to use. The Smart Camera suit really is a fabulous tool to perform basic maintenance on a photo in a few easy steps.
So the survival guide? Here it is in a few easy steps.
- Forget what you want your kids to do and capture their personalities instead. It may not be a cookie cutter holiday photo but odds are you will love a photo where your kid is actually acting like your kid and not a martian. Your kids will take their cues from you most likely. If you are relaxed and having fun then they will be relaxed.
- Find easy to use tools that will help and not hinder your shoot. Practice before hand so you are well versed with your weapon of choice once the real shooting begins.
- Find a spot with a lot of character to let the kids roam around in. My favorite shots are the ones that I didn’t have to say stand there, try this, or I will buy you a pony if you will just smile.
- Take your time. Make sure you have left enough time for the kids to get comfortable in whatever place you have chosen to take their photo. Remember this isn’t a one shot deal. You can take your kids out anytime for a shoot.
- Be confident in yourself and have fun with your crew. They are, after all, the reason the photos are so important.
A big thanks goes out to my crew in Texas! I love you all and will miss you immensely.
by Anna Cox | Nov 19, 2013 | Community, The Minimals, You Are Juxt
Interview written by Raffa one of The Minimals
R: Tell me about the project “You cannot call it love” and AIDOS
TB: The project is an idea of 23 women, all known writers. We come together to create a book of short stories that speak about love but also about no-love. Because it often happens that what we believe love is not really love, remaining trapped in a situation of violence, physicaland psychological. It’s important for adults to reflect on the feelings and it’s important also help the youngsters to distinguish their emotions,because they will be the men and women of tomorrow.
Violence against women has ancient origins, but it is becoming increasingly popular, we need to start thinking about possible solutions. We believe that talk about love is the only real solutionagainst violence.
But love is not just something to talk about, it must be above all a factand that’s why we decided to donate the proceeds of the book toAIDOS, a no-profit organization that helps children who are victims ofviolence in Burkina Faso.
R: What about other initiatives proposed by AIDOS?
TB: AIDOS works to support women in the southern hemisphere. Its main purpose is the protection of women’s rights and the improvement of their living conditions: Promoting female entrepreneurship in Tanzania,Education Fund in Afghanistan, Women’s Health Center in Syria (just to name a few). The rest can be found at: www.aidos.it
R: Why IG to promote a book?
TB: Because we not only want to promote a book, we especially want to spread the idea that violence can be defeated. Art has the power toopen your mind and to give birth to new ideas. I believe that art can give us new eyes to see the world. And I also believe that through art wecan better understand the emotions and try to live them in the most beautiful way. Because art is beauty. I especially love writing, it’s myjob, but I also love photography. I always thought that these two formsof art are made to go together, united. Thanks to IG my idea mayfinally be realized. I’m so glad.
R: Parlami del progetto “Chiamarlo amore non si può” e dell’AIDOS
TB: Il progetto nasce dall’idea di 23 donne, tutte scrittrici già note. Ci siamo riunite per creare un libro di racconti in cui si parla dell’amore ma anche del non-amore. Perché spesso succede che scambiamo per amore ciò che amore non è, rimanendo intrappolati in una situazione di violenza, fisica e psicologica. E’ importante per noi adulti riflettere sui sentimenti ed è fondamentale anche aiutare i giovanissimi a distinguere le proprie emozioni, perché loro saranno gli uomini e le donne di domani.
La violenza sulle donne ha origini antiche, ma si sta diffondendo sempre più, occorre iniziare a riflettere sulle possibili soluzioni. Parlare d’amore è l’unica vera soluzione, secondo noi, contro la violenza.
Ma l’amore non è soltanto qualcosa di cui parlare, deve essere soprattutto un fatto concreto ed è per questo che abbiamo deciso di devolvere il ricavato del libro all’AIDOS, una Onlus che aiuta le bambine vittime di violenza in Burkina Faso.
R: Che altre iniziative ha proposto l’AIDOS?
TB: Si tratta di una ONLUS, un’associazione senza fine di lucro che opera a sostegno delle donne del Sud del mondo per la tutela dei loro diritti e il miglioramento delle condizioni di vita.I suoi progetti sono tanti. Promozione imprenditoria femminile in Tanzania, Fondo per l’istruzione in Afghanistan, Centro salute delle donne in Siria… solo per citarne alcuni. Il resto lo trovate su: www.aidos.it
R: Perché IG per promuovere un libro?
TB: In realtà non si tratta solo di promuovere un libro, si tratta soprattutto di diffondere l’idea che la violenza può essere sconfitta. L’arte ha il potere di aprire la mente e di accendere nuove riflessioni e nuovi modi di vedere il mondo. E credo che attraverso l’arte si possano comprendere meglio le emozioni, per provare a viverle nel modo più bello. Perché l’arte è bellezza. Amo in particolare la scrittura, è il mio mestiere, ma adoro anche la fotografia. Ho sempre pensato che queste due forme d’arte sono fatte per procedere insieme, unite. Grazie a IG questa mia idea può finalmente realizzarsi. Ne sono davvero felice.
To take part in the contest tag your photos to #ChiamarloAmore until the 21st of November
R. Tiziana Bruno is a writer, sociologist and teacher. She is a member of ICWA (Italian Children’s Writers Association). She has published her books in Italy, in the United States and Spain. Website:www.rosatiziana.com
R.Tiziana Bruno è scrittrice, sociologa e insegnante. Fa parte dell’ICWA (Italian Children’s Writers Associations). Ha pubblicato i suoi libri in Italia, USA e Spagna. Sito web: www.rosatiziana.com
by Anna Cox | Nov 14, 2013 | Anna Cox, Featured Articles
The Moment of Goodness: The Art of Stickrust by Anna Cox
Like many of us, my interest in art goes past photography. In fact, in college I studied oil painting and still to this day paint on a regular basis. I guess you could say that painting is my first love and all of my other ventures stem from that love. When I stumbled upon Stickrust a couple weeks ago I was instantly moved and dug into his work. His work is guttural and raw and each one spoke to a soft part of me. As I moved through his feed, I was drawn to how open and friendly he was with all of the people who commented on his feed. When I approached him for an interview I had planned to play up the sharing side of his work to help it fit into We Are Juxt but I found out quickly that the creating and instagram are married within his process. He wouldn’t do one without the other, so really, as far as mobile photography goes for Stickrust it is a tool, an enabler, and source of encouragement. – Anna
Stickrust: I really only started painting two years ago. My undergraduate degree was in art and illustration, but I stopped making any artwork for fifteen years. So really, I guess I took a fifteen year break.
A:Was it hard to come back or did you know exactly what you were going to do?
Stickrust: Starting again was a total accident.
There wasn’t a plan that I was going to start. Truthfully, it was one of those moments in life where everything falls apart and changes. I was left asking myself, “What is left?” The answer was painting. It is hard to explain, I just knew it was time to start painting again.
A:I totally understand what you mean. I feel like art is very cyclical creatively and there are just times you slide into a new genre or medium because that is where you are supposed to be at the moment.
Stickrust: I hadn’t painted in so long that the beginning was really a process of remembering. My whole goal in the beginning was to get back to where I was fifteen years ago. Day after day, I practiced. I truly wasn’t planning on showing anyone.
The sharing on Instagram was a total accident. I thought instagram was just for people sharing photos of kids, food, and pets. I really just started posting because I was bored. Amazingly, sharing on instagram turned into this incredibly great thing.
A: I agree! I was blown away with the community on IG and other sharing sites once I got into it.
Stickrust: I never have had an online experience that is as positive as IG. This was the first time I actually feel connected to people online. In the beginning, when a few people would “like” a painting I posted – it was so encouraging to me.
The pattern of how I work is quantity.
In one sitting I will make 5-7 paintings. After a few months on IG, I began posting the images live as I was making them. The instant feedback I received was simply amazing for me. It is such a rush to have people responding to a work I just finished. Having this open channel of communication has been especially motivating to create a habit of working, creating, and sharing.
In the truest sense, I am practicing. I am doing it and doing it and every so often something small changes within the process. There have been these waves of growth week after week over the past two years.
A:So we know you work by quantity, could you share your process with us if possible? I think that is what caught me in the beginning.
Stickrust: The process itself is simple.
I have a piece of plexiglass and black acrylic ink. I put my hand in the ink and draw on the plexiglass and then transfer it to a piece of paper. All my work begins in this way as a monoprint. I cannot imagine doing it any other way.
I do not have a lot of control over how the end product looks. I like that. I want to be surprised. When everything is working as it should, it feels like the process is not entirely under my control. At the heart of it, for me, is the balance of control and uncontrolled expression.
Once I pull the paper off the plexiglass, I start deciding whether I like it. If I like it, I leave it as is. Other times I go back in and add color or small line work. I usually do this with my hands. But I also drag color on top using things like a clipboard. I also will use pastels for the small line work.
When I am not painting I am an acupuncturist and massage therapist I use my hands all day. The directness of using my hands when painting feels so natural to me. Brushes will too distant, like an abstraction. I like the pigments on my hands.
I mean really, if I had a superpower, I would want to pigments to come directly out of my hands.
A: So from what I gather your style is free flowing and gestural and changes from time to time. Do you have anything to add to that?
Stickrust: I think the better ones are the ones that are more actualized, more “real”.
To me that “realness” is what is interesting. Not visual realness. Not a rendered realness. But a “real” quality of spirit. I want faces to hold a degree of spirit and light.
The faces I like best are hovering in a moment of transformation – an internal moment of change, insight and power.
I really hope I capture that and that it comes across.
There are definitely bad days where I am just grumpy, and they look angry or sad but when it is working well within the strokes there is something bigger.
A: The day I found you I looked through a ton of your work and the one thing that struck me and seemed to be a reoccurring theme with your portraits is the exploding eyeball. Can you explain the symbolism behind that?
Stickrust: To me, it really is a kind of spirit – a manifestation of personal power. I think about it as a light or a glowingness. The eyes in my paintings are an expression of power and wonder and change.
I am really interested in the moment when people see themselves in a bigger, more wonderful, more powerful way.
That moment, when it is happening is a difficult moment to embrace.
It can be hard and scary and painful. But that moment is also beautiful and full of power. I think that is the experience being expressed in the eyes… and really, in all of my work.
Peoples eyes are so super expressive. In Chinese medicine, there is this thing called “the shen”. It is the person’s spirit and emotional state. You can see it in the eyes and face. We all have this. We all have that light coming out.
A: Are you drawn to one thing more than other?
Stickrust: The faces are the main thing and then everything else has grown out of that. I did flowers for a while and now the birds. I did an elephant recently. Now I am working on more four legged creatures. I feel like the faces will always be the foundation from which everything else builds.
A: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Stickrust: Truthfully, the work. The work is what is what inspires me.
Without sounding all Buddhist/meditative, if i can get out of the way of my brain… I feel like if i can just get out of the way, the work will create itself. That is why I work in quantity. If I make a bunch of images my brain gets bored and then the good ones happen.
What’s exciting to me is when I get done and I have no idea how I created the piece. There are four or five pieces that I don’t even know how I made it. I look at them I do not see my hand in them at all. Those are the ones that I am inspired by. That is what inspires me.
A:Tell me how instagram and sharing across sites has changed the way you work
Stickrust: Out of all the questions, this one is the most important to me to explain. This was never something I planned. There is no separation between sharing on IG and my artwork. It wasn’t like I was painting first and then I started sharing it. I started painting and sharing at the same time. The work was born on IG.
I wouldn’t be painting without the community I have on instagram. None of this work would exist. It is a symbiotic relationship. The sharing and my work are not separate. Posting is more like the DNA of the whole thing. I don’t think I would be painting the way I am or at all without instagram.
People have been so nice to me. They were the motivating fuel to the engine. I am incredibly grateful and thankful to anyone who has ever followed me. I never thought people would follow me and my work. It is such a gift. I really wish I could buy them all dinner.
I share everything, good or bad, on IG and let people follow my process of growth and change. I try not to be precious about the work. I try to show the warts, the growth, the dead ends, shifts, and changes.
A:Thats fantastic! I love the way you described the relationship between your work and IG. It is really interesting to see how one is dependant on the other. I don’t think I have come across an artist that shares in the way you do.
Stickrust: The paintings evolved with my Instagram friends. Not just my paintings, my whole identity as an artist has grown because of the people encouraging me on Instagram.
I try to say it as often as I can. I am truly thankful to all the people who look at my work. For the longest time, I didn’t do anything. It is just astounding to me pay attention.
A: I think it is always astounding when people respond to something that means a lot to you. But it seems for you, that this goes hand in hand. You paint because they respond, and they respond because you paint.
Stickrust: I don’t know that I have the right words… so much of the fuel for me working and painting has been the sharing on Instagram.
One of the aspects I hope that comes across is a bigger story about work and growth.
It isn’t like I woke up making these paintings. It was night after night. I am not magical, this is work. I do this, and I do this, and I do this. I try to show that part.
I try not to censor that process. I will post images I like and images I truly dislike. I do not only want to post the “good” ones. I post all of them.
The “bad” ones are the ones I learn from. I have posted images I hate and then if people respond positively I have to ask myself, “Ok. What am not seeing?” It is interesting. It gives me whispers of directions to explore.
That feedback is crazy amazing.
My life is entirely different because of the kindness of my IG friends. I am tremendously grateful.
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