Thursday, January 14, 2010

surface



*P.S. Addendum at the end*

This Thursday Theme - Surface - immediately said to me "water" and it was only later that I began to think about all the other things it might mean. Which is possibly rather odd, its certainly quite specific and maybe Freud would have had something to say about it.

Odd or not, its probably related to my numerous photos of water - something I could photograph almost endlessly.

I saw an exhibition in London last year of work by Roni Horn, an artist from Iceland. Among my favourite pieces was a series of large photos of the Thames, annotated with witty, whimsical, serious, fascinating, historical, personal comments - some relating to the history of the river and happened or might have happened on or below its surface, some of them about the nature of water. Like this - the water photos will enlarge if you click on them, though unfortunately you can't read the comments. Unless your eyesight is seriously better than 20/20. And theres a bit more about the series here.

Her work really connected with the fascination water has for me - the way its surface reacts to the light reflecting or absorbing it, the way it reveals and conceals what is beneath the surface, the way it looks so solid and weighty and so light and evanescent.


So, um, I think maybe this has ended up being more about water than about surfaces but hey ho, I don't mind if you don't mind.

And here are some water surfaces







































So, lets hope the Thursday Theme isn't "Water" any time soon....



P.S.
Addendum
After all your very nice comments about my photos, I'll be making some greeting cards with prints of these and they will be available for sale soon on made4aid - all proceeds for the next month or so are going to relief work in Haiti.

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wot's the blazes is in that last pic? Looks like a bit of clothing, it does...but really water shots always did have a calming efect on me, heh. Good take, lettuce!

Jasmine said...

What beautiful pictures. I love the one with the rocks. I will have to see what i can conjur up today to enter for TT.

Brian Miller said...

you know...i could get lost in those pics all day. so soothing to look at how the water plays witht he reflections...happy tt!

Kat Mortensen said...

Like you, Lettuce, I could endlesslly gaze upon the surface of water, so if water does come up soon, I won't have any problem with that. (Especially if you have more shots like these.)

Kat Mortensen said...

They do actually transform when you open them up, don't they? The third one reminds me of the knot-holes in wood. Really cool!

Kat Mortensen said...

There's a Monet in that seventh one and five looks like tin foil. (That's enough from me!)

The Clever Pup said...

These are really great. There was a book out a couple of years ago remembering when the surface of the Thames changed to ice.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

wonderful take on the theme. this collection of photos are so meditative and inspiring... I can imagine each of them blown up (maybe not quite the size of monet's waterlilies) and hanging in some prestigious gallery....

there is so much happening below and on the suface....

Lynne said...

Hard to choose a fav, Letty! But if I had to it would be the third photo with all the goldeny warmth and the last photo. The last one is surely an abstract painting and not a reflection. Hard to tell what it is reflecting ... flag poles ... a few ripples look like footprints ...

Oh, please tell us what it is!!!!!

Giulia said...

These are gorgeous, Letty. I also enjoyed the link to Roni Horn's photographs. Thanks.

Joy Keaton said...

First thing that came to mind for me was also water. Hmmmm. Your photos make me miss the beaches of Mexico.

Betsy Brock said...

Love the water pictures! I agree the surface of water is very intriguing...a whole other world underneath that we can't see!

Wings1295 said...

Love the pics. And I think TT has already covered water, last year! :)

Gary said...

How refreshing. I simply adore the water - being in it, listening to it, tasting it, viewing it, everything. I want to dip into your photos for a bit. I'll get back to you when I resurface. xoxo

Gary said...
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Gary said...
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ArtSparker said...

It's lovely on the water
To hear the music play

- from an old song which Steeleye Span did.

Sometimes water looks like music, not punk rock though. As here -

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

Each photo is captivating in its own rite! WHO would guess that all these shots of simple water could be so diverse?

Stephanie said...

What beautiful photos. I love water photos.

Skip Simpson said...

Gorgeous photos! Great take on the theme!

Dumdad said...

Hey, I don't mind at all - I'm a water sign. Stunning photos.

Anonymous said...

What lovely surfaces:) I enjoyed the photos very much!

JeffScape said...

I love surfaces of water. I watch a lot of animated films and play a lot of video games, and I'm always distressed when the "water" doesn't quite look right.

Which is probably why I like Finding Nemo so much.

Tom said...

all great pics, really liked the last one...which one is of warm warm salt water, water i can float in and forget about this winter we've got on?

tut-tut said...

MIND! absolutely fantastic. You know, I was thinking about that representation of the artist's work table you posted last year (?) sometime, with the drips and drops and splatters intentional and beautifully done.

Roy said...

Great reflection shots! Well done.

e said...

Absolutely brilliant, Lettuce! I think you could be a professional photographer...These are incredible.

Ronda Laveen said...

Those surfaces look like treasure. Mesmerizing!

Michael said...

If it's water you'll have to recycle then!

You have such great photos here. We forget that wwater is rarely blue at all bu tth ecolour of that around it. those golden surfaces are my favourite. Incredible. Thankyou for this very good post. i really enjoyed looking through it all.

Lizzie said...

I have to admit, when I first stepped on here and read the first line about water, I was like noooooo. hahaha :) BUT...I love the photos as you capture it's beauty and remind me what we so often miss when we don't take the time to look around. Thank you.

Chick said...

I could stare for hours at these photos...I'm pulling myself away now : )

lettuce said...

thanks everyone for your really nice comments. I did wonder if this was really just too many water pics - but I'm glad you've enjoyed them. I'm going to make some greeting cards with prints of these - will be available on made4aid soon.

kat, no, do go on... :-)

Lynne, you're right, it was flag poles with little flags and pennants - on one of the London docks just across the Thames from me.

Tom, I think the answer to that would be...... none of them!

Tut-tut, I often think of that exhibition. I did love that table.

Baino said...

Gorgeous. I'm captivated by water also and wish I lived nearer the ocean. Is the last one a fluke or did you photoshop it? Amazing. Sorry I'm so late catching up! Weekend's here! Yayay!

Dreamhaven said...

That last photo reminds me of a dance club I went to in my teens.
They would pour some kind of viscous liquid on glass over a light source and focous it on a wall. If you were tripping, it was very disturbing,lol.

Barbara said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pics. Let me know when the cards are for sale.

It would be cool to put them all together in a collage or a quilt, don't you think?

lettuce said...

hi hells - no, it wasn't photoshopped. Well, poss a bit of sharpening, but nothing else. It was just the way the water caught the buildings and flat poles, and little pink pennants. You're not as late as me, i've not done my blog-rounds yet!
YAY indeed for weekends.

that sounds seriously disorientating Dreamhaven. And hello!

Barbara, I will do. A collage would be interesting, they are all so very different.

Shammickite said...

Wow, gorgeous, I love them all. Not much water around here to photograph at the moment as it's all ice.

Betty said...

Too many water pics?? Impossible. Beautiful post - and yes, that Roni Horn exhibition really was good, wasn't it? x

Gladys said...

Beautiful pictures but now I have to go pee...too much water :)

Megan said...

I'll be getting those prints. Give me 10 days or so until next payday.

Gorgeous.

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