CHAMPAGNE, PLEASE
hold the pie
‘Tis the season of the pumpkin. And because I live in the Great Smoky Mountains, it is also the season of the over-saturated photograph. So many people come to the region to see the over-the-top leaf colors, that local photographers want to give them a piece of that color to take home with them. For me, I’m okay the the decay of it all. Dropping leaves will give way to a brown and gray-dappled stick forest that will soon be frosted with snow and infused with crisp air. You can have the pumpkins & neon trees, thanks.
I am not alone though. The work of this month’s artist proves that someone sees growth in the very structure of it all, not just in the window-dressing of color. The work is black and white, but the presence of color is unmistakeably present.
ArtAndArtDeadlines.com is proud to claim Anna Agoston as this month’s Featured Artist. This work spotlights nature’s abundance and ceaseless growth. These images are representative on the surface, but leave the viewer with an abstract notion of structure. Just stunning…
Anna Agoston is resident of Brooklyn, New York, but she was born and raised in Paris, France. Always passionate about art, she qualified as an architect DPLG (government-certification) at the Ecole d’Architecture Paris Malaquais, and went on to earn the M.Arch.II degree in architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design
While at Harvard, Agoston studied fine art photography under Professor Jim Dow of the Department of Visual and Environmental studies, and photographed her first series, “Dorm.”
In October 2013, Anna made her lifelong passion, fine art photography, her main professional occupation.
Are you self-taught or formally instructed as a photographer? I am a self-taught artist. I went to architecture school. I did take a couple of classes in photography, but I learned most of what I do at home and on my own.”
Will you talk about your process? Do you go out and look for material to photograph, or are you strictly an opportunist? “I am always on the lookout for my subjects. I walk around looking at plants and studying them. When I find a subject, I take pictures, and often go back the next day to take more. I often discover what it is that I love about my subject while taking the picture. Untitled #46 (pictured left) is an example of a subject of which I took hundreds of photographs before getting the right shot.”
Why does your work focus on nature? Why not faces, animals or even architectural elements. That’s a great question! In March 2013, I was laid off from a stressful and time-consuming job. Buds, stems and leafs were sprouting. And it was as though I had never seen spring before! I needed to somehow contain this new excitement in my art.
“As I took photographs I started to understand just what it was that I loved in my newly-identified subject. I loved the shapes, the textures, and the fact that natural elements evoked human behaviors.”
Most artists have something to say—something they are trying to get across to viewers. You have stated that you “want them to see and feel things independently”. Can you tell me why?
“I believe I have a lot to say.”
“But I choose to say it with the image and without the use of a title. I believe that words channel people’s perception, and I want people to see and feel things without being influenced.”
What style or school of art do you think work fits into? I think of my work as abstract, because there is a departure from reality. I take photographs of living elements found in nature, but I distill certain aspects of the element. The distilled or abstracted is what I show to the viewer.”
Is there any artist, living or dead, that has most influenced your work? Constantin Brâncuși’s work was about the idea, and the essence of things. He distilled the essence from the environment.”
What if your favorite food? After all, it IS a food-themed blog? I love a thin slice of toasted rye, with a little butter, a sliver of smoked salmon and lemon. Add champagne and it’s simply perfect!” Oh, this sounds delightful!
How about snack foods? “I don’t snack.” Um, okay. I never know what to say other than, “Really? Why? That makes me so sad.”
What’s coming up next for you? I have my twelfth juried group show this year coming up at the Vivid Solutions Gallery from November 7 to December 19, 2014. I am excited as the exhibition will take place during FotoWeek DC. The exhibition will feature two of my photographs as well as my self-published book ‘Untitled Vol.1’.”
Thank you, Anna, for seeing growth even in decay.
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