Artist of the Week: Saul Leiter

Sign Painter, 1954

Saul Leiter was an American photographer who was associated the New York School. I am a huge fan of his work as well as his other peers from this time in the art world. Although I am a fan of his early works from the 1940s and 1950s, I am most interested in his color photographs from the late 1950s and 60s. He shows his viewers how to see beauty from a different perspective - not in the sense of Diane Arbus but in the sense that one can find beauty even on what some would find a daily activity or even just an "ugly" day. He draws the eye of the viewer into his work by focusing on subjects that seem so simple, mundane and ugly but at the same time are so beautiful. This beauty if emphasized by the way Leiter presents his subjects and is key to his artwork. A great example of this are the two following photos:

Snow, 1960

Through Boards, 1957

I find Saul's work to be painterly like and his work often brings a smile to my face. He initially became famous for his black and whites in the 1940s and early 1950s and thus here is an example.

Joanna, 1947

You can find several great monographs on Saul Leiter's work at www.amazon.com.

fashion can be art

dear proenza schouler - you are one of the reasons why i work so hard to do well in life.

Artist of the Week: Bae Joon Sung

The Costume of a Painter, 2008

I was first introduced to Bae Joon Sung's work when I saw him in an exhibit during a trip to Seoul, Korea in December of 2008. I was reminded of him recently when I visited the Saatchi Gallery in London last month. His work is very interesting. Although you cannot see it in the above photo, the images of people in this photo are actually holograms, so as you walk by the painting the individuals in this painting go from clothed to naked, or clothed in one outfit to another outfit. I find his use of holograms to be genius and very entertaining. The holograms add depth to his otherwise somewhat 2 dimensional paintings and increases the level of excitement associated with his work. I am sad to say there is not much information on Bae Joon Sung on the internet but you can find his work and of many other talented Korean artists in this book that gives great incite into modern day Korean art.

The Costume of a Painter, 2008

In the above image, you can kind of get the feeling of how Bae Joon Sung's holograms work.

The Costume of a Painter, 2006

"What cannot be taught is the feeling for light..it is how light lies on the face that you as an artist must capture. Nor can one be taught how to grasp the personality of the sitter." - Felix Nadar

A wonderful quote on photography by one of the world's earliest successful photographers.. Felix Nadar..

Below is a photo taken by Nadar of the amazing Gustave Courbet, a man who changed the world of art by pushing the limits and inspiring others.