Pictorialism

Pictorialism is essentially editing a photo to look like another piece of art like a painting or drawing. It can be done physically with real paint on a picture or digitally with filters. I was inspired by one of the stories within Letters to a Young Artist. Elizabeth Murray talks about her memories of walking through museums and being re-inspired for her own work. She reminds artists to remember where they came from and what they want to achieve. She encourages financial success while staying true to ones art. I wanted my photograph to be a symbolistic “painting” that might inspire someone in a museum. I let my creativity flow and focused on nature and a small aspect of fashion. I approached this project like I do for most of my paintings nowadays: listening to low-fi music without words and just letting what happens happen. I experimented with where to place the manequin, then saw flowers, and decided to put them together. For me, it symbolized the beauty within fashion and within our own minds. I used the mannequin in place of a person to change the feeling of the picture. Anyone can put themselves in it. And I edited it to look more like a feeling than a photograph. I was able to accomplish this on Sunday afternoon in the middle of the day when light was shining through the window in our entryway.