Write some more of those poems
he said dreamily
I love your poems, they are very beautiful…
So here is one
For You.
*****
I love how you always find the
Laughter
In the midst of life’s hardest situations
Always a playful story to be spun
That brings the
Light
back in.
What god have you descended from
to make You be
so Wise?
I’m inspired by the comparison portraits above from today’s NPR article, “For Modern Poets, a “Likeness” Could Evolve” (based on the current show at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.)
Same person, different perspectives.
Here’s Langston Hughes as a bellhop (with much soul), and as a professional, business-like writer. These images were both made in the same year.
Marianne Moore is young, romantically lighted. Almost 20 years later we have a different experience of her life in her clear, I-see-you gaze, posed in front of elephants.
A thought provoking reminder to those of us who take portraits –
How do you “see” (experience/feel/understand) the person?
What do you consciously include in the image?
Are you evoking your preferred expressions, or do you allow the subject’s natural expression to come through?
And if you’re the one looking –
“Who” are you being encouraged to see?
What qualities are there – and what may be left out?
Interesting in the article: insights re the dynamics of artists and their agents deciding what persona to be presented to the world, more examples of portraits that have changed dramatically as the person evolves (see Allen Ginsberg), featured poets reading their work…
(Camila Domonoske and Angela Evanciei, “For Modern Poets, a “Likeness” Could Evolve,” on the new exhibit, “Poetic Likeness: Modern American Poets“ (see wonderful website) in the National Portrait Gallery,Washington, D.C.)
The picture above is of a bookstore in Porto, Portugal – truly a book lover’s version of the “stairway to heaven.” I discovered it in the article “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores of the World” by Emily Temple – a tantalizing appetizer of images and locations for the traveling reader.
What a wonderful photo tour this would be to plan around! I love the variety of spaces, feeling which would be most inspiring to me to read in, buy books, or just immerse myself in the inspired architecture and design.
I’ve been to one of these bookstores – Atlantis Books, in Santorini, Greece. In 2004, after a month of roaming the wilds of Crete and other less known islands, shooting constantly, speaking basic Greek, and living in many different realities, I treated myself to a stay in magical Oia, Santorini. Wandering at sunset, I found this tiny, eclectic bookstore perched on the edge of a cliff. How lovely and with a sense of coming home did it feel to discover on a shelf the familiar name of my friend Hans-Michael Koetzle and his wonderful book “Icons, I & II” (now republished as “50 Photo Icons: The Story Behind the Picture” ) and to have a warm and interesting conversation with the creative bookstore owners.
Immersing oneself in books, bookstores, the friendships that result – May we have the opportunity to experience them all!
Just finished reading/absorbing this book from cover to cover…
“Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Houses: Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu”
I had intended to just browse while eating breakfast – and then I was totally hooked. The photographs are beautiful, the detail of information is impressive, but most wonderful is the way the two authors have created a perspective and told a fascinating story that I have not seen or heard before.
This is more than a picture book of Georgia O’Keeffe’s homes. It is a reflection of the unfolding of a life, creative and personal, and tells/shows quite beautifully how building a home and furnishing it can support, enrich and align with a person’s being.
The test and images flow gracefully as we see O’Keeffe’s views from her home, placement of windows, and minimalist furnishings, and then see the images she painted from her inspirational setting. Many quotes from her letters are included, and the author’s knowledge of what was happening at the time in Georgia’s personal and professional life deepens the story told.
Generous attention has also been paid to Maria Chabot, whose talent and work were crucial to the restoring the home in Abiquiu, and who was an amazing woman herself. Examples: Ms. Chabot was an advocate for Native Americans, renting buses so they could bring their art to sell in Santa Fe, then founded the immensely successful Santa Fe Indian Market, AND managed a major ranch for 20 years, AND fit in Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1800s home renovation/rebuilding, creating, recommending, and decision-making from a distance as O’Keeffe was in New York most of the time!)
A wonderful reading, sharing, visioning experience. Enjoy…
The Inner Path of Photography 