Michelle Casey at Nancy Halpin’s “Out of the Window – Photographic Impressions” Exhibit at Centrepointe Gallery, Ottawa, ON, November 2012
Love at First Blur…
Like so many great photographer friends I know, on the outside, Nancy Halpin is a quiet, unassuming soul. On the inside, however, she has amazing visions brewing! Currently in the process of reviving her career as a fine arts photographer after spending time away from the medium raising her family, Halpin now has an exhibition on at the City of Ottawa’s Centrepointe Gallery. It was only last year that I first discovered her work at Memories Cafe, a favourite haunt of mine. There, her photo of a young woman holding a luminous pink umbrella walking over a bridge: “Memories of Florence” caught my eye. Gesturing to the photo I said to my husband, “One day that piece will be mine! Puzzled, he looked at me and said: “I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s kinda blurry.” To which I replied: “Why, that’s the very reason I want it!” I love the visual language of the blur in Halpin’s photo; it evokes memory so beautifully as well as giving it a wonderful painterly edge. Through these romantic elements, I found myself immersed in a dream world. As well, seeing as it’s the closest I’ll ever get to Italy, I definitely wanted a piece of this fleeting moment to call my own…
Nancy Halpin's "Memories of Florence" caught my eye last year...
Nancy Halpin's work is located on both the upper and lower levels of the Centrepointe Gallery
Painting Landscapes with her Camera…
Many are unaware that the nineteenth-century Impressionist painters turned to inspiration from the camera to help them capture and render what was invisible to the naked eye in the real world. Their focus on the play and movement of light on the landscape was inspired by then-current photographs as well as new scientific theories related to vision/eye sight. Moved by these discoveries, artists such as Claude Monet created his infamous hazy/blurry visions of the French countryside. Inspired by the Impressionist painters before her, today Nancy Halpin paints landscapes with her camera. In a similar spirit, traveling the highways of Ontario and Quebec, she immortalizes our own Canadian landscape. Taking photos from a moving vehicle with her camera set at a slow shutter speed, she produces blurred images which she further alters using digital software. By enhancing their movement, colour and contrast she in turn emphasizes certain line qualities, patterns, textures as well as imbues her images with richer-than-life hues. In naming her pieces, her poetic use of titles such as “Feather Flurry” and “Venetian Glass” underscores their amazing surface qualities which mimic: feathers, fabric, embroidery, glass, painting, pastel and even etching! Underneath their stunning veneer, her images: “Ghost Trees”, “Natural Symphony” and “Dreams of Red” call to mind other-worldly, idyllic and dream-like spaces. Harkening movement, Halpin’s titles:” Fly Away”; “Shattered Greens” and “Ablaze” also evoke their dynamic qualities. As a lover of textures, I found it difficult to tear myself away from the precious surface qualities and jewel-like tones of her images. Through her exhibition “Out of the Window: Photographic Impressions”, Halpin’s brilliant photographic vision captures fleeting, fluid, fugitive landscapes in a manner that’s absolutely fascinating to behold! I highly recommend a real or virtual tour of her work; I must confess, however, seeing them in person really does them much more justice. For those of you who can’t make it, I’ve included a few detailed views of her photographs above. See Nancy Halpin’s website for more on her work. If you’re in town, be sure to visit her exhibition which runs through to November 28, 2012 at the Centrepointe Gallery.
Texture detail of Nancy Halpin's "Venetian Glass" (left) and "Standing Still" (right)
Texture detail of Nancy Halpin's "Still of Night" (left) and "Ghost Trees" (right)
The Blur Reader Challenge!
Some imagine the role of photography/photographer as having to produce the truth and nothing but the truth so to speak, but the technical language of the camera can allow us to express so much more as photographers and other artists, particularly painters, have discovered since its birth in the late nineteenth century. Like Monet and others, their experiments have stretched the possibilities of visual language so much so that photographers like Nancy Halpin are inspired to play with them by transforming her photos into painting-like hybrids and more! The movement away from fixating on the realistic qualities of the photograph is what makes photography so exciting to me. As a collage/mixed media artist, I’m always on the lookout for images through which photographers are re-presenting their subject matter in innovative ways… this in turn never fails to inspire my own work and technique… and it can inspire yours as well! If you have an SLR camera, like Halpin, try playing with the shutter speed. If you don’t have one, scan your analogue or digital photos and try manipulating their qualities through digital imaging software such as Photoshop using the Image (Adjustments) or Filter menus. Here you can play with the “Layers” menu as well choosing to blur a layer in an image you create. No access to a camera or software? Try collaging with beeswax to create beautifully blurred and textured surfaces on top of your mixed media art work. I’d love to see what your future experiments yield and will happily share mine with you! If you have any further suggestions, I’d like to hear your ideas, too.
Many thanks to Nancy Halpin for discussing her work and techniques with me; providing me with detailed shots of her pieces as well as giving me permission to photograph her work. Nancy, you’re such an inspiration – I can’t wait to see what you do next!
Other Related Links:
Characteristics of Impressionsim
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