iPhoneography
Available
MilfordWired
Creating art gives me the opportunity to truly see. As an artist, I do not casually observe my surroundings nor take them for granted, but rather view the world as a creator and architect of my own artistic vision. I have never been interested in simplification-on the contrary it’s the complexities and how I see them that drives me to spend countless hours on a drawing. My interest in photography augments this process with creative jolts that have become increasingly vital to my artistic process.
These works have much more in common with abstraction then the “real” place that exists. These broken worn roads are a spring board for composition, texture and color. What is beauty? does it have to be grandiose such as the Grand Canon or could it be under my feet where I’m standing. This micro world that we see but never look at has interested me for a long time, a draughtsman (graphite artist) this has been a recurring theme for years.
Michigan road series I (Rocks on the Road) was a journey of 300 hours through ever pebble of a simple fissure in a surface of a road, splendor in its texture and composition, and most of all it complex array of random paten’s and the challenge to capture all this with a pencil. The seven photos have the same theme but are very different process more akin to a poem if the drawing would be a novel. These are snippets of interest, recognition and taking the photo with the ever present idea of abstraction being the catalyst. To me these works are not about roads at all, no political or social agenda they are about the perception of beauty in the most unexpected of places, one we drive over every day. Some see “real” images in abstraction, I see abstraction in “real” images.
It’s strange I get the erroneous comments such as “anyone can do an abstraction” (far from the truth) in this case did the garbage can do the abstraction? No it’s the one who recognizes the potential in color texture and composition and has the foresight to place it on the artistic pedestal. An odd thing is no one asks, “what is it supposed to be” if you painted it that’s what some would say – we can enjoy accidents in nature but we expect a narrative from artists or a “copy” of something observed, a painting can be just like this is – color texture and composition…and freedom of expression. IMHO
Pipe Trip
The iPhone has given me not only a new creative outlet but a very important augmentation for my drawings. Working on a drawing for up to 1,800 hours, where the concepts and creativity peek early on in the process, has often left me feeling a bit frustrated for months. Even in the middle of drawing, my creative thoughts co-mingle with the technical side of drawing, impacting the process. If I compare a drawing to the writing of a novel, my photo work is akin to poetry. Photos are a moment, a whim, a feeling a truly right-now moment, and without the constant companionship of the iPhone these images would never have been documented and, possibly, they might never have been seen. The “ 1000 Day Project”, where I took and titled a photo every day for a thousand days, gave me the chance to come to terms with my love of abstraction and to explore and develop my interest in the urban landscape, in how nature takes back, and so much more. Additionally, the limitations of lo-fi photography have forced me to be very creative and find techniques that would heighten the work. The whole feel of these photos would tell a different story if I used my ‘professional” camera, which I rarely carry any more. Drawing is still my major muse, but as an artist the creative potential open to me with the iPhone is a truly a wonderful find that will be part of my process from now on.
All these photos are for sale although i limit any single image to just five, to keep it a bit seclusive....Email me at arminmersmann@hotmail.com for prices, availability and size.
