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Jane Trotter’s Contemporary Abstract Photography

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Exposed #20: Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Spoiler Alert!  In my 'Exposed' series of articles I reveal some of the secrets behind how I created my images.  If you don't want to know how I made 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road' stop reading now!

'Follow the Yellow Brick Road' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

I must confess, I’m a sucker when it comes to colourful patterns. I think I’m attracted to the challenge of creating order and coherency out of what could be disarray and mayhem. Perhaps that makes me a bit of a control freak, but frankly, when it comes to my photography, I think I probably am!

You can’t really get more orderly than ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ – three panels, all the same, three primary colours, all aligning.

Original source image for ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’

It started out very simply with three folded pieces of paper. I remember the sun was streaming in through a window in my piano studio and there was a patch of bright sunlight on the carpet. I arranged the pieces of paper on the floor so there was an interplay of shadows, but also, so there were plenty of opposing angles with the folds.

After cropping out the unnecessary and distracting edges, and enhancing the colours, I was left with “what next?” As an image by itself, it was interesting enough, but I felt a lot more could be accomplished with some creative playing.

Changing the orientation made all the difference. I could start to see the potential for a pathway leading upwards. They yellow paper really stood out and provided the inspiration for the title.

'Follow the Yellow Brick Road' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

A couple of years went by, and, for some reason which I’ve long forgotten, I went back into the ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ folder on my computer. I decided to try out some different crops and, simplifying the elements even further, chose a very restricted format containing just two colours.

Deciding I liked the blue and yellow selection better, I set about the same process of flipping and rotating the three images until I came up with something I liked.

'Paper Stairway' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

‘Paper Stairway’ was the result. Interestingly, one of my friends pointed out that you can only move up and down the blue stairs.

As it turns out, there was yet more to discover with these little two-colour crops – the base image for ‘Yellow Brick’ just kept on giving! Preparing to write this blog post saw me delve into ‘Yellow Brick’s’ folder again and I was reacquainted with my mini selections.

Now I was really determined to push the boat out – I decided to challenge myself and create a larger multi-panel piece which would include both the blue and yellow, and the green and yellow images. With reckless ambition and a rush of blood to the head, I was determined to have nine panels – an enneaptych (and yes, I did have to look that up!)

After much playing about, which I actually really do enjoy, I created ‘Ascension Blue’.

'Ascension Blue' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

Like ‘Paper Stairway’, these Escher-inspired stairs also coalesce around the blue steps in the middle panels.

Humble pieces of paper have proved to be fertile ground for my triptychs. If you’d like to explore further and see a variety of ‘paper’ triptychs please check out:

'Cascade' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

‘Cascade’

'Back in the Fold' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

‘Back in the Fold’

 

'Mystique' and 'Astral Plane' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

‘Mystique’ and ‘Astral Plane’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Trotter - Creator of Abstracted RealityJane Trotter is an abstract photographer living in Dunedin, New Zealand. Reimagining everyday objects found around the home, Jane transforms them into colourful and dramatic pieces of contemporary art. Her Fine Art Prints are available in sizes A4 to A1.

“Music is the ultimate teacher” Wassily Kandinsky

Abstract Artist Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) is generally credited as the pioneer of Abstract Art. For this visionary and influential painter and art theorist, colour and music shared an inseparable and profound bond.

Kandinsky recounts an extraordinary visual reaction he experienced while attending a performance of Wagner’s opera ‘Lohengrin’ – “I saw all my colours in spirit, before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me”.

In fact, the influence of music inhabits most of Kandinsky’s artwork. In his ground-breaking 1912 Treatise ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’, Kandinsky espouses the deep interconnectedness of colour, shape, form, music, art, spirituality and the soul.

 

Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions

Exploring the connection between art and music even further, Kandinsky went so far as to give generic titles to his abstract paintings based on musical terminology. ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’ outlines his three basic classifications:

Impressions – “A direct impression of outward nature, expressed in purely artistic form”

Impression 'Autumn' 1908 - Wassily Kandinsky

Impression ‘Autumn’ 1908

Improvisations – “A largely unconscious, spontaneous expression in inner character, the non-material nature”

Improvisation 'Deluge' 1913 - Wassily Kandinsky

Improvisation ‘Deluge’ 1913

 

Improvisation 'Dreamy' 1913 - Wassily Kandinsky

Improvisation ‘Dreamy’ 1913

Compositions – “An expression of a slowly formed inner feeling, which comes to utterance only after long maturing. In this, reason, consciousness, purpose, play an overwhelming part. But of the calculation nothing appears, only the feeling”

Composition VIII 1926 - Wassily Kandinsky

Composition VIII 1926

Composition IV 1911 - Wassily Kandinsky

Composition IV 1911

Kandinsky painted a collection of 10 ‘Compositions’ between 1907 and 1939. Unfortunately, the first three of these large-scale works were destroyed in the second world war, but from what remains of sketches and photographs at the time, art historians can piece together the concept of an overarching sequence of paintings which were intended to be the musical equivalent of a cycle of ‘Symphonies’.

The ‘Improvisations’ have variously been described as less immense, more dramatic – perhaps more akin to a ‘Concerto’.

While the ‘Impressions’ may have a less musical title, several of them were apparently specifically written in response to hearing particular pieces of music.

Impression III 'Concert' 1911 - Wassily Kandinsky

Impression III ‘Concert’ 1911

Perhaps this painting was inspired by a concert Kandinsky attended? When I look at the work, I can easily image the hustle and bustle of concert-goers filing into a large auditorium, the vibrant colours giving a sense of urgency and anticipation. Maybe it’s because I play the piano, but to me, the large, black, almost triangular shaped block of colour suggests the lid of a grand piano.

 

Synesthesia

Kandinsky’s extraordinary ability to simultaneously experience music and colour so vividly (which he described at the opera performance) comes from the neurological phenomenon called synesthesia.

Kandinsky with one of his large-scale works

From the Greek syn meaning ‘join’ and aesthesis meaning ‘perception’, individuals experiencing synesthesia will have one sensory input involuntarily stimulate a second sensory pathway. For example, when someone hears a cat meow, they may experience the taste of an apple. In Kandinsky’s case, he saw colours when he heard music, and experienced sound when he painted.

Composition VII 1913 - Wassily Kandinsky

Composition VII 1913

Michael T. H. Sadler, the translator of Kandinsky’s ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’, states in his introduction to the book, “Kandinsky is painting music. That is to say, he has broken down the barrier between music and painting, and has isolated the pure emotion which, for want of a better name, we call the artistic emotion.”

 

A Personal Note

The more I’ve investigated Kandinsky’s paintings, the more I’ve come to like them, even though many appear challenging and sometimes difficult to understand. But perhaps that’s the point. The less you try to ‘understand’ and ‘rationalise’, the more you ‘see’; not from a representational or pictorial viewpoint, but ‘instinctively’ and ’emotionally’.

Embracing the endless interplay of colours, tracing the developing shapes and patterns and absorbing the entire canvas as one dynamic entity is incredibly rewarding.

Out of all of Kandinsky’s works, I would have to say, this is probably my favourite, ‘Yellow – Red – Blue’ painted in 1925.

'Yellow - Red - Blue' 1925 - Wassily Kandinsky

‘Yellow – Red – Blue’ 1925

Jane Trotter - Creator of Abstracted RealityJane Trotter is an abstract photographer living in Dunedin, New Zealand. Reimagining everyday objects found around the home, Jane transforms them into colourful and dramatic pieces of contemporary art. Her Fine Art Prints are available in sizes A4 to A1.

Exposed #19: Encoiled

Spoiler Alert!  In my 'Exposed' series of articles I reveal some of the secrets behind how I created my images.  If you don't want to know how I made 'Encoiled' stop reading now!

Encoiled - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

There are two household chores I really dislike – cleaning the shower and doing the vacuuming. I suppose on the plus side, while I’m traversing the house, pushing the head backwards and forwards across the carpet, it gives my mind an opportunity to wander.

On one of these excursions, I began to take notice of the swaying hose with its multiple ridges and curving flexibility. “How could I put this to good use?” I mused. That fleeting thought set in motion several days’ worth of revision, experimentation and manipulation to photograph my stubbornly difficult vacuum hose.

First Attempts

My first attempts left much to be desired. I knew I wanted to present something simple, focusing on basic form and clarity of design. However, this proved to be much more difficult than I initially anticipated.

In this early shot, I’d managed to incorporate the idea of contrasting curves, and there was a little differentiation in colour, but that was about it.

Here, the composition and focus weren’t up to much, but I did like the little splash of colour along the ridges.

With this image, I was starting to get closer to what I wanted – more definition along the hose ridges and greater warmth of colour. By this stage, I’d moved the coiled hose up on top of our kitchen table (I’d tried it in several other locations around the house, but the lighting never seemed to be just right).

The light above the table was relatively strong and had an appealing golden hue. With the assistance of a black piece of card, I discovered I could accentuate the shadows within the ridges to help provide a feeling of depth and substance. So, camera in one hand, and card in the other, I persevered.

Slowly, but surely, things were starting to come together as I began to refine how I could create and control the colours.

Success!

After multiple attempts on several different days, I finally got a shot I was happy with.

The source image for ‘Encoiled’

Through what was a lengthy process, I’d learnt how best to utilise the black card and how to manhandle the hose into stark, contrasting and opposing shapes.

'Encoiled' - Abstract Art by Jane Trotter

‘Encoiled’ – the final version

In the end, I decided to flip the image horizontally as I felt, compositionally, this new orientation worked better. A little judicious cropping off the bottom and the usual basic enhancements completed the final presentation.

Perseverance is the Key

Pursuing this image felt, at times, like I was stalking an elusive big game creature – while I knew the majestic beast was hidden somewhere, I couldn’t quite distinguish its features through the undergrowth. But with perseverance and determination (and I’ll admit, a good degree of pride that I wasn’t going to let myself be defeated by a vacuum cleaner hose!) I got there in the end.

When it comes to matters of photography – persistence is a virtue!

Jane Trotter - Creator of Abstracted RealityJane Trotter is an abstract photographer living in Dunedin, New Zealand. Reimagining everyday objects found around the home, Jane transforms them into colourful and dramatic pieces of contemporary art. Her Fine Art Prints are available in sizes A4 to A1.
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