Alumni Museum Photograph

 

 

 

Marie Gagnon (Class of '96)

"My Studio" Set, 1-4

 

 

 

I picked this set of photographs because they seemed to be quite different than anything else I had seen in the museum. These four works are black and white photographs of artist and UNH alum, Marie Gagnon's home studio. The top left photo is of her various tools used to paint. The top right displays various glass bottles as well as the window to her studio.The bottom left features a stacks of her art books. And lastly, the bottom right is a close up, focused photo of her palette knife. 

 

The top left photograph features Marie's painting tools in action, including a water cup, palette, paintbrushes and paper towels. I enjoyed looking at this photo because there were many objects to look at. The composition of the photograph allowed me to float around the subjects fluidly. This particular photo is the reason I chose to write about the whole set. I loved the idea of photographing other art. The first thing that came to mind when I saw this photo was "art within art". I believe Marie, like myself, enjoyed the idea of a creativity overflow.

 

To the right on the top is the photograph of the bottles on a table. I enjoyed this one the most because of the relationship with the glass of the bottles and the glass of the window. The two seem to compliment each other. Likewise, the contrast between the darker bottle and the lighter bottle really draws the eye to the subject matter. The distance of the subjects is also a big factor in the overall reception of the photograph, it leaves viewers with an almost eerie, mysterious feeling.

 

The last two bottom photographs are both close up to their subjects. The stack of books on the left side are a wonderful representation of contrast. The dark shadow from the books contrast well with the light coming in from the window. The bottom right photograph has a more focused subject matter. It is clear that Marie found the balance of the palette knife intriguing. The shadow the knife leaves on the table is subtle but does draw the eye from the base of the knife to the top of the table's surface.