France Scully Osterman
France Scully Osterman
USA
Practice: Photographer
Movement/Style: Vintage processes, Portraits
I discovered the work of France Scully Osterman watching ‘A&A Portrait 2011’ series on YouTube and was taken by the photographer’s excitement toward her work practices, eye for beauty and composition and enthusiasm. In the video, Osterman takes the viewer through the collodion process, from preparing plates through to hanging finished works. It was interesting seeing the process and approach to the work from the photographer’s perspective and I was greatly inspired in the way Osterman presented the finished pieces. So much so that I have experimented with splitting/creating polyptych displays of my own images for my Invent, define, destruct series. Although Osterman’s style is very different from my own, there are cross overs in practice in her vision, enthusiasm, application of vintage technology and methodology. Osterman’s eyes smile when she talks about photography and her work. There is a lot to be said about that in itself.
A&A Portraits (2011) France Scully Osterman (screenshot)
France Scully Osterman, Daydream , 2001
Relevance to practice
Alternative printing, Large format, Analogue, Composition, Design
Keywords
France Scully Osterman, Wet plate, Collodion, Large format photography, Community of practice
References
123marketstreet 2011, A&A Portrait – France Scully Osterman, online video, YouTube, viewed 3 May 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfcfVVsz4xc&feature=youtu.be>
Scully Osterman, F 2001, Daydream, photograph, viewed 13 May 2020, <http://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/france-scully-osterman>
Minor White
Minor White
1908–1976
USA
Practice: Photography
Movement/Style: Contemporary art, Photography
Although many consider White to be an abstract photographer, the environmentalist and Buddhist was primarily a landscape photographer. White blurred the lines of reality while combining his emotional and spiritual connections with nature and environment with his unique vision and approach in his work. Thought-provoking with vast scope for interpretation, I am attracted to the beauty, serenity and textures of White’s exposures and the courage and conviction of the artist as he pushes against boundaries in his expression and image-making. Relationship to practice is in White’s persistence to push boundaries and think outside the box in the narrative of his work. Bold and hauntingly beautiful with seemingly endless possibilities for interpretation, White is fearless and unapologetic in the images he makes.
Minor White, Nature Abstract, 1963
Quotes
If all your life means to you is water running over rocks, then photograph it, but I want to create something that would not have existed without me. — Minor White (Graf, M 2016)
Relevance to practice
Large format, Abstraction, Black and white, Contemporary, Texture, Tone, Composition
Keywords
Minor White, Contemporary art, Photography, Texture, Tone, Abstraction, Alternative view, Composition, Film, Analogue, Black and white, Community of practice
References
Artnet n.d., Minor White, viewed 11 May 2020, <http://www.artnet.com/artists/minor-white/>
Graf, M 2016, ‘Art from the Moment’, Notes from the Woods, blog post, 20 March, viewed 2 June 2020, <https://www.grafphoto.com/2016/03/20/art-from-the-moment/>
White, M 1963, Nature Abstract, photograph, viewed 2 June 2020, <https://collections.artsmia.org/art/115964/nature-abstract-minor-white>