Flickr as Art Gallery
April 30, 2006
One of the things I love about all the new technology that allows people to quickly and easily share their talents with people on the Web is discovering new artists. These are people that if they just had their own website I might not find, but because they upload images of their work to sites like Flickr, I stumble across them. Social media sites like Flickr really do have the ability to broaden social networks and introduce you to people and artwork you’d never meet otherwise.
Just by logging into Flickr, I have found several photographers and artists whose work I love and am planning to buy prints or originals (if I’m feeling wealthy that day). Flickr is more than just a way to upload those pictures you take on your camera phone and share them with mom. It’s really the ultimate digital art gallery. It very much harkens back to the original dream of the Internet: a great vast space where arts, culture, and science could flourish. What’s funny is how true that’s becoming.
I find that when I need a little break at work, I can just surf over to Flickr and explore. It’s really relaxing and inspiring. I can always find something to refresh my brain. There is an idea Flickr has called “interestingness.” It’s not the most beautiful or perfect photographs, but rather the most interesting. Seems like very wabisabi concept to me, and the photos that land in this area are really quite astonishing.
I’m constantly inspired by the work of the people I see on Flickr. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of it is also just snapshots people are taking. My pictures are hardly inspiring, but it’s still great fun to share. And, I have to admit — I’m really hoping to buy prints or originals from some of these artists when I have my next batch of art-buying funds available!
Here are a few of my favorite artists on Flickr. All of them have kindly given me permission to use their work on this site for this article.
Artist: Jennifer Esperanza
Title: Marisa’s Lotus Back
This image is from a collection Ms. Esperanza calls “It’s all the Goddess to Me”. All of the images are gorgeous, lush, charged images. They are directly feminine or suggestively so, like this one of a papaya. I can’t remember how I stumbled across her work the first time. I often type random words in to see what comes up.
Artist: Magic Fly PaulaTitle: petals book1925
Paula was one of the first artists I came across on Flickr. Actually her work is one of the first things I marked as a favorite. I would never have discovered this Portuguese artist, if not for Flickr. I love the mystical quality of her work. I also am a big fan of mixed media, so that’s another draw for me. She also does incredible alterted photography. The images are just haunting. Be sure to check out her “Star Diary,” which is the first work of hers I discovered.
Artist: Imapix / Nature Man
Title: Ampleness*
Damn this guy can take a picture. All of his work is just filled with light and life. I just don’t take pictures like this — and I’m glad someone can. Every photo just draws you right in. I just love the one titled Ampleness. It’s just the most perfect scene, and yet just the tiniest bit sad.
I think that’s what I like about all of these is the hint of sadness. It’s a moment captured, but the moment will change the second the picture is taken. So it’s so great that someone was able to capture that moment to express it for the rest of us.
Artist: Alida SaxonTitle: The Lasting Winter
This woman’s work just floors me. I found her when I was looking for pictures of pomegranates. She not only did an amazing painting of a pomegranate, but also used that same image to illustrate her process — which was really interesting. She also has a set of the four seasons, which I just love. I find the texture of her work really apealling. Something about it just rings for me. I find The Lasting Winter to be rather haunting. It really captures that moment just before spring where you just want the cold to go away.
By the way, you can check out my other favorites on Flickr and you can see the ones we’ve chosen for our headers by going to the photo credits page.
Technorati Tags: flickr, art, gallery, artists, exploring, wabisabi, beauty, impermanence, moments
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