For many of us in the United States celebrating Thanksgiving today, I only found it fitting to share our conversation with Elizabeth Fleming, whose work focuses on family.
Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself
Elizabeth Fleming: I live with my husband James and our two daughters Edie and June, who are six and three, in New Jersey. We were in Brooklyn for a good long while, and then after Edie was born we decided we wanted a house and a yard and the whole suburban lifestyle, so we relocated and have never looked back. The move really made my current body of work "Life is a series of small moments" possible--it's so much about home, our surroundings, and these interior spaces that are particular to where we're living. I don't think I could have created these pictures in our one-bedroom condo on a city street. I'm currently home with my girls; two days a week they go off with our babysitter, and are in school until mid-afternoon. During those hours I try to cram in as much as possible: working on my art, keeping up with my blog Tethered, running errands, getting the house in order, and a number of other tasks (along with my fair share of procrastinating). It's sometimes a precarious balance, but I'm constantly grateful that I have this amazing home life, and then am able to engage my intellectual and artistic impulses through my photography.
NP: How did you discover photography?
EF: My parents bought me my first camera when I was about 10; I still have the contact sheets from my first photo shoot--I was very into double-exposures and overly dramatic setups. There's an image of me putting my hand through my dad's head, and some shots of the moon above a lit window. It was all in black-and-white and I have no idea where my parents got the film developed or printed. But before that I had always considered myself an artist--I loved to draw and paint when I was little, and photography simply felt like an extension of my creative expression. My parents have always been very encouraging; I can't remember if I asked for the camera or they gave it to me thinking I would enjoy it, but either way they treated photography as another art form, and helped to facilitate my love of making pictures, in whatever medium I chose.
NP: Where do you find inspiration?
EF: My main inspiration comes from my daily life. I find that I'm constantly looking and observing; small things like dishes in the sink or how the light fills a room can set my mind spinning. I really try to notice and see with conscious attention what's around me. And my family of course is an enormous influence--my daughters provide so much of the impetus for my image-making. They're my muses. Beyond that, every day I read my roster of photography blogs--they lead me to new work, much of which I find stirs me to want to continue producing. I'm also an avid reader, and I find that certain writers can really spark ideas and get that wonderful itchy creative feeling flowing in my veins.
NP: How do your projects come about?
EF: I work from a very intuitive place. Often ideas will flood into my head, almost fully formed, and then I mull over them and tweak them internally. So much of my work takes place in my mind before I begin to outwardly express my concepts. By the same token, on numerous occasions I'll simply be struck by a scene and grab my camera and begin shooting. But I think all of the mental pondering that goes on beforehand then informs how I take my pictures. It's a combination of intellectual thought and this instinctual drive, which is motivated by the passion I feel for creating. And certainly with my children they are so much the focus of my life that it feels very natural for me to want to try to capture the emotional landscape of how I see them and our surroundings, and try to convey this sense of motherhood and my desire to freeze time in a visual format.
NP: What’s next?
EF: I'll go on submitting as much as I can without neglecting my art-making, and will continue as always with my shooting and writing via my blog. My long-term goals are to have a solo show and to produce a limited-edition book. One gratifying thing about my future is that my family is my constant, and I can look forward to being there to capture the changes that my girls will go through in the years to come.
See more of Elizabeth Fleming's work at www.elizabethfleming.com and be sure to keep updated on her writing at Tethered. Happy Holidays!
Showing posts with label Elizabeth Fleming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elizabeth Fleming. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Graphic Intersections
from The Exposure Project:
from graphic intersections © Jane Tam
Graphic Intersections is a collaborative project loosely based on the old Surrealist and Dadaist game The Exquisite Corpse. Designed to unite disparate artists in an interconnected photographic relay of images inspired by one another, this project strives to emphasize a system of response entirely rooted in unmediated visual reaction.
The first photographer made a photograph, which was subsequently forwarded to the second in line. The 2nd then, based solely on their own visual, emotional, intellectual or philosophical response, in turn made photographs in artistic reaction to the one they were given. The artists involved were not given any written material to accompany the photograph, nor did they know whose image they were responding to. This was designed to propagate chance, or as the Surrealist’s put it, exploit “the mystique of accident.”
Ultimately, Graphic Intersections to challenge the bounds of sequential, narrative imagery, while simultaneously fostering stronger lines of artistic affiliation.
Graphic Intersections brings together images by:
Ben Alper, Anastasia Cazabon, Thomas Damgaard, Scott Eiden, Grant Ernhart, Jon Feinstein, Elizabeth Fleming, Alan George, Hee Jin Kang, Drew Kelly, Michael Marcelle, Chris Mottalini, Ed Panar, Bradley Peters, Cara Phillips, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Irina Rozovsky, Brea Souders, Jane Tam and Grant Willing
Friday, October 16, 2009
Upcoming: Unseen - Elizabeth Flemming & Others
© Elizabeth Fleming/courtesy Ruben Natal-San Miguel
Unseen
Curated by Ruben Natal San -Miguel
Ruben Scott Gallery
111 Front Street
Suite #204
Brooklyn (DUMBO), New York
October 22-November 21, 2009
Opening Reception: October 22, 6:30 -9:30 PM
UNseen: A Photographers Salon
"Unseen is an introduction to some of New York’s most promising, hard working, and creative minds in the photography field whose bold ideas, themes, and techniques work to transcend the history of photographic art.
Adam Krause, a third generation Holocaust survivor, creates portraits of Neo Nazis. Nicola Kast, A German, explores and deconstructs German History. Cara Phillips Singular Beauty is a haunting social critique on modern surgical rooms while Phil Toledano’s portraits of plastic surgery patients is a classic aftermath of the surreal. Portrait work by Chad States, Natasha Gornik, Eric McNatt, Richard Renaldi, Bon Duke, and Ryan Pfluger examine the notions of self and the other. Leah Oates and Megan Cump visit serene, painterly landscapes while Nadine Rovner sends us back to retro the seventies through feel and color. Elizabeth Fleming examines the simplicity of the moment in a child’s world, Clayton Cotterell documents his brother now serving in the US military, and Alex Leme searches random urban settings.
As an Art Collector, I address the challenge that most art lovers constantly face… the search of new art and the issues of acquiring work for small spaces. By using the salon style for this show I demonstrate different themes and techniques, presented in a very traditional manner, that work within a confined space. Space should not limit your desire for collecting…the sky is the limit!"
Ruben Natal-San Miguel
Art Collector and UNSEEN curator
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Book Release: Issue 4 of The Exposure Project!
Cover of Issue 4 of The Exposure Project Book
You can find the edition details below:
The Exposure Project Book - Issue 4
Includes photographs by Chris Bentley, Rona Chang, Daniel Farnum, Elizabeth Fleming, Lee Gainer, Matthew Genitempo, Inka Lindergård & Niclas Holmström, Natascha Libbert, Bradley Peters, Carlo Van de Roer, Daniel Shea, Manuel Vazquez, Jens Windolf, Susan Worsham and Bahar Yurukoglu
With an essay by Brian Ulrich, "Myths and Realities, Photography Moves Into the 21st Century"
Regular Edition
70 pages, Softcover
Edition of 100
8 x 10 in.
$45
Special Edition
70 pages, Hardcover
Edition of 25
8 x 10 in.
$100
The special edition also includes two signed and numbered 8.5 x 11 prints.
Download a preview of the work inside the book.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Exposure Project Book to be released in July!
You can find the edition details below:
The Exposure Project Book - Issue 4
July 2009
Includes photographs by Chris Bentley, Rona Chang, Daniel Farnum, Elizabeth Fleming, Lee Gainer, Matthew Genitempo, Inka Lindergård & Niclas Holmström, Natascha Libbert, Bradley Peters, Carlo Van de Roer, Daniel Shea, Manuel Vazquez, Jens Windolf, Susan Worsham and Bahar Yurukoglu
With an essay by Brian Ulrich
Regular Edition
70 pages, Softcover
Edition of 100
8 x 10 in.
$45
Special Edition
70 pages, Hardcover
Edition of 25
8 x 10 in.
$100
The special edition will also include two signed and numbered 8.5 x 11 prints.
Download a sneak preview of the work inside the book.
Download the Press Release.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Exposure Project Issue 4 Artists Announced!
Looking Back, Shanghai, China. from Moving Forward, Standing Still © Rona Chang
Ben Alper of the Exposure Project has just announced the artists in Issue 4 of their book series. Our very own, Rona Chang, was selected among the other 15 great artists! Congratulations to all!
Here are the artists:
Chris Bentley
Rona Chang
Daniel Farnum
Elizabeth Fleming
Lee Gainer
Matthew Genitempo
Inka Lindergård & Niclas Holmström
Natascha Libbert
Bradley Peters
Carlo Van De Roer
Daniel Shea
Manuel Vazquez
Jens Windolf
Susan Worsham
Bahar Yurukoglu
Monday, November 10, 2008
WAASENAAR no.1
The first issue of WAASENAAR brought to us by Noel Rodo-Vankeulen of We Can't Paint is out now. It's packed with talent.
Solo Shows:
Julia Baum, Alexander Binder, Gustav Gustafsson, Michael Bühler-Rose, Misha de Ridder, and Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann
and Domesticity Redux, a group show with photographs by:
Ben Alper, Matthew Crowther, Stefanie Fiore, Elizabeth Fleming, Lee Gainer, Erin Nelson, Donald Rasmussen, Justin James Reed, Sean Stewart, Helen Stuhr-Rommereim, Tribble & Mancenido, and Paris Visone.
Additionally, there is an interview with Lina Scheynius by Johanna Reed.
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