Photographic Gems of Our Times From The Web Julie Blackmon: "Homegrown"

[Jerome Marot]

Photographer Julie Blackmon captures the craziness of everyday family life in her latest photo series 'Homegrown'. Being the oldest of nine children herself, there's both a fictional as well as auto-biographical element in her photographs. Inspired by Dutch paintings from the 17th century, the house is always full of children and by looking at the pictures, there is always something new to discover. From overly sentimental and saccharine to some darker moods, Blackmon's work which is also displayed in various galleries can be summarized with the words of her NYC's gallery site: "Hair may grow, logos updated, furniture replaced: things change, yet childhood remains touchingly, hilariously, much the same."

(Image and text from Ignant.de.)

 

[Asher Kelman]

Thanks for bringing to us Julie Blackmon, a remarkably talented photographic artist.

This picture you have chosen is simply constructed by riveting our attention. as the child hurtles in the air!

Interestingly, there's a lot of chopping off of forms - shadows, the child to the left and the adult, each more than we'd likely have chosen. However the "half of power line" is so strong that we are suffieny satisfied that all is balanced and consistent.

It is both well done and somewhat disturbing as her infant seems frightened, (but that could simply be a sampling error in photographing the face of a babbling child).

Still, this photographer is almost in the class of Loretta Lux in using children as tools for her creations. Lux is technically on a very high plane and the children seem to be used as models, with no hint of sensuality we'd expect only from adults. Likely as not, more than a few will take umbridge at any suggestion that Blackmon is any way beyond the bounds of innocence, with the "defense" that she takes what she sees. Actually, her published body of work shows that almost all her pictures of her children are indeed very carefully staged, so all nuances are intentional. But this is work to please herself as both an artist and a mother, so, in the end, her own judgement must cover us too and , trusting her, in the end, we have no residual angst. Most of her technical expertise is in setting up and lighting the images, it seems as opposed to Lux whose post processing is intricate, imagined as well as Grimm's Fairy Tales and executed as if by a Flemish painter of old! Blackmon's, picture of children on a sofa is one such picture that originally drew my sense of caution. The little girl on the right has been posed, I was originally moved to conclude, in a revealing pose. Her dress has been raised to reveal a naked thigh and no hint of underwear.

Even hints of constructed eroticism using children as models is fraught with risks. At least the totally nude pictures of children taken by Jock Sturges, as far as I have discovered, do not show anything but innocence. There's not even a suggestion of planned eroticism. However, he was arrested and faced prosecution, although, thank goodness, totally vindicated!

But in the end, this artist is strong, imaginative and the totality of her work challenges us to celebrate what's around us, day in, day out! One does not need to go far to find subjects to throw light on!

Thanks again for this super link!

Asher

 

[Jerome Marot]

Maybe that single picture was poorly chosen to represent the work. Both Loretta Lux and Jock Sturges portrait the children, alone. Julie Blackmon documents family life. I don't think that documenting family life can be constructed to be exploitative of the infant.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Maybe that single picture was poorly chosen to represent the work. Both Loretta Lux and Jock Sturges portrait the children, alone. Julie Blackmon documents family life. I don't think that documenting family life can be constructed to be exploitative of the infant.

This picture you've chosen is so rich, as she assembles wonderful elements to make a riveting and colorful composition about family backyard fun!

A great choice, Jerome.

?

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

Julie Blackman: Stock Tank

2015​

Here the extent of Julie's industry and imagination can be seen in this wonderful endeavor! She uses diverse elements of nature, industrial tar surface and her children to build her composition. It's simple, lighthearted, yet good solid and memorable photographic work and an homage to the backyard fun in going up!

Asher

 

[Maggie Terlecki]

Jerome,
I finally had a chance last evening to look through her portfolio properly. I really enjoyed discovering this artist. Her mixture of using both modern and retro elements in her images really carries with it that some things never change because children change everything that was perhaps planned to be a certain way but they themselves change very little.

They bring life, chaos, unpredictability, humor, mess and happiness. They take that perfect home and turn it upside down with barbie dolls on the window sills and cushions pillows on the floor.

Many photos of children playing, with mom zoned out - reading magazine, or dealing with supper or chatting with friends about their latest book they've read; Zoned out but still close-by.

Many of the photographs have elements suggesting danger, like water and electrical cords, baby by the pool, dangerous pesticides, pills. I laughed when I saw the boy with a plastic bag on his head, because I remember doing that and getting chided for it. ha! But life was much like that. When I was a kid, a neighbor boy had his eye shot with a bb gun from a girl that lived down the street. You would never see that today, but it was like that. Parents wanting to protect their kids from pests would literally spray them with huge clouds of dangerous chemicals.

As the the image 'Chaise', I didn't think that the little girl on the chaise was meant to be salacious at all. If she were wearing slacks, she would have sat in the same manner. It may come off that way because she's at that tipping point between being a child and a teen. That said, I've seen plenty online where young kids (mostly girls and a great many of them 7-8 years old) imitating singers moves and trying to be sexy just like them. For me, though, this was not such a moment. It felt truly innocent.

It was a joy to see kids being kids. There is a shot of a little girl, completely exhausted from playing. Her shoes are strewn about, the barbies are done with, she's dismantled the pillows on the couch where, then she drew a picture of a little girl with a marker. Her hair all spread out, she lays on the floor, totally wiped out and looks like a little angel with a smile on her face. What a moment.

Life with children means more than just this though as children bring us the greatest joys and also the greatest pain, greatest pride and greatest worry. I thought this collection was more about the little moments, mundane and quite everyday and in that, I think she achieved it very well. Many of her composites have glaring technical problems with light and shadows but she's easily forgiven for some moments of sheer brilliance.

Thank you for introducing me to her work. I really love her work.

Maggie

 

[Asher Kelman]

Maggie,

Your evaluation is insightful. That some of the assembly in Photoshop is less than technically superb is part of a trend in visual arts, including film, where the fingerprints of the methodology are not necessarily skillfully hidden. Sometimes, that mismatching rises to the extent of crudeness, but not here. Rather it takes a discerning curator's eye to detect Julie's work pattern. I have seen huge prints in major galleries that are so poorly executed that I wonder how they have the chutzpah to even show them! But there's some sense of "political correctness, that we don't call this out and complain.

To me, as you have suggested, this photographer has her own voice that's novel and developed enough to allow her work to shine despite the cracks we find in the assembly.

Her work to me is like getting a mug of great bespoke British Tea in a small village, delivered in a mug with a fragment of a tea leaf on the rim! That very fault attests to its genuineness and the character of the tea-maker!

Asher

 

[Jerome Marot]

Jerome,
I finally had a chance last evening to look through her portfolio properly. I really enjoyed discovering this artist. Her mixture of using both modern and retro elements in her images really carries with it that some things never change because children change everything that was perhaps planned to be a certain way but they themselves change very little.

They bring life, chaos, unpredictability, humor, mess and happiness. They take that perfect home and turn it upside down with barbie dolls on the window sills and cushions pillows on the floor.

Many photos of children playing, with mom zoned out - reading magazine, or dealing with supper or chatting with friends about their latest book they've read; Zoned out but still close-by.

Many of the photographs have elements suggesting danger, like water and electrical cords, baby by the pool, dangerous pesticides, pills. I laughed when I saw the boy with a plastic bag on his head, because I remember doing that and getting chided for it. ha! But life was much like that. When I was a kid, a neighbor boy had his eye shot with a bb gun from a girl that lived down the street. You would never see that today, but it was like that. Parents wanting to protect their kids from pests would literally spray them with huge clouds of dangerous chemicals.

As the the image 'Chaise', I didn't think that the little girl on the chaise was meant to be salacious at all. If she were wearing slacks, she would have sat in the same manner. It may come off that way because she's at that tipping point between being a child and a teen. That said, I've seen plenty online where young kids (mostly girls and a great many of them 7-8 years old) imitating singers moves and trying to be sexy just like them. For me, though, this was not such a moment. It felt truly innocent.

It was a joy to see kids being kids. There is a shot of a little girl, completely exhausted from playing. Her shoes are strewn about, the barbies are done with, she's dismantled the pillows on the couch where, then she drew a picture of a little girl with a marker. Her hair all spread out, she lays on the floor, totally wiped out and looks like a little angel with a smile on her face. What a moment.

Life with children means more than just this though as children bring us the greatest joys and also the greatest pain, greatest pride and greatest worry. I thought this collection was more about the little moments, mundane and quite everyday and in that, I think she achieved it very well. Many of her composites have glaring technical problems with light and shadows but she's easily forgiven for some moments of sheer brilliance.

Thank you for introducing me to her work. I really love her work.
:-(
Maggie

Thank you, Maggie. I am glad you took the time to look at her work.

As to the image titled "chaise", which I'll include below, it is completely beyond me how it can be constructed as salacious. Really.

I think the shot of "a little girl, completely exhausted from playing" is this one:

 

[Maggie Terlecki]

Yes, Jerome, it is exactly that image. I truly love it.. She's even got some cookies on her chest. Simply splendid.

 

[Maggie Terlecki]

Maggie,

Your evaluation is insightful. That some of the assembly in Photoshop is less than technically superb is part of a trend in visual arts, including film, where the fingerprints of the methodology are not necessarily skillfully hidden. Sometimes, that mismatching rises to the extent of crudeness, but not here. Rather it takes a discerning curator's eye to detect Julie's work pattern. I have seen huge prints in major galleries that are so poorly executed that I wonder how they have the chutzpah to even show them! But there's some sense of "political correctness, that we don't call this out and complain.

To me, as you have suggested, this photographer has her own voice that's novel and developed enough to allow her work to shine despite the cracks we find in the assembly.

Her work to me is like getting a mug of great bespoke British Tea in a small village, delivered in a mug with a fragment of a tea leaf on the rim! That very fault attests to its genuineness and the character of the tea-maker!

Asher

Yes, Asher, I really connected with this photographer and her work. It felt fresh yet not foreign to me. It invites me to linger and find all the little secrets. I have looked at her other galleries too, but not as much as this one but I will as I know I will find plenty of treasures within.

Maggie

 

[Jarmo Juntunen]

Now here's certainly an artist who takes family and kids photography beyond family and kids photography! Thank you Jerome, I really enjoy her work.

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Asher,

It is both well done and somewhat disturbing as her infant seems frightened . . .

We can take comfort in the fact that the child was almost certainly safe on the studio floor when shot. Perhaps she was frightened by the photographer making a scary face to her for that purpose.

Best regards,

Doug