I almost never shoot prepared subjects like this, but I wanted to make sure that everything is in good working order before taking the 4×5 field camera out into the world again. I was looking around the house for something to shoot, and realized that I’ve never done a bowl of fruit before. I make no claims as the the artfulness of this image, but at least everything is in focus and it’s exposed properly. That’s got to count for something, doesn’t it?
I happened to catch a recent episode of Art in the 21st Century on PBS the other day, and who should pop up but Hiroshi Sugimoto. Sugimoto was in his studio taking pictures of fossils, using only natural light and what looked to be an 8×10 camera. It got me thinking, so I went to the shelf and pulled out my copy of “Conceptual Forms“, which contains some very striking work. I’ve often thought of still life as static and a bit boring (and my bowl of fruit isn’t adding anything to the genre), but Sugimoto’s constructions are monumental. Perfectly lit, they look more like Frank Gehry’s buildings than small plaster models.
It took a few minutes, but I eventually put two and two together. I have so little time to go out and take pictures. I have practically unlimited time and resources to stay in the house and take pictures. My apartment actually gets pretty good light in the mornings. Now that I’ve gotten the bowl of fruit out of the way, maybe I’ll find something a bit more interesting to shoot.
Related: While I’m on the subject of still life, Don Hamerman’s edition on 20×200 is pretty striking as well. I like the juxtaposition of the color image next to the black and white one, and the textures are just amazing. I would love to own both of these, if I only had room in my house for more art.
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