Francesca Woodman, 9/10

Untitled, New York, 1980.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

...

Francesca Woodman, 8/10

Untitled, New York, 1979-80.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

Another great composition where empty space and parts of a body are stimulating my imagination.

Francesca Woodman, 7/10

Untitled, Rome, 1977-78.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

Another thing I like about her work is the format. Most of the pictures are around 20x25 cm.

I think, small format increases the feeling of intimacy.

Francesca Woodman, 6/10

Angel series, Providence, Rhode Island, 1977.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

I remember the first time I saw the work of Francesca Woodman in 2001. I was fascinated. Looking at the pictures I imagined a fifty year old woman, with a long and mature photographic background. I was completely wrong! I couldn't believe she started at thirteen with her first self-portrait and until she died in 1981 (at the age of 22), produced an extraordinary body of work (around 800 pictures). So young and such a mature and coherent body of work!

Francesca Woodman, 5/10

On Being an Angel, Providence, Rhode Island, 1977.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

I love this composition ... the camera on the left, the black umbrella in the right corner and the overexposed body surrounding the empty space in the middle ... This is not what I would call an academic composition. No rules, great picture.

Francesca Woodman, 4/10

Then at one point I did not need to translate the notes;
they went directly to my hands, Providence, Rhode Island, 1976.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

Another great image ... the body, between the wall and the wallpaper, trying to merge with the flat environment and at the same time giving volume to the space.

Francesca Woodman, 3/10

House #4, Providence, Rhode Island, 1976.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

Looking at the pictures of Francesca Woodman, I am always fascinated by the very particular relationship between body and space. In this picture, aligning the frame on the vertical mark of the chimney decoration gives us a strange perception of space.

Francesca Woodman, 2/10

Untitled, Boulder, Colorado, 1976.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

I love the fragile body merging with the roots ... becoming part of the tree.

Francesca Woodman, 1/10

For this new series of "My Favourite Ten" I'd like to introduce you to the work of Francesca Woodman.

My goal here is not to write an essay about her, there are people out there who already did this and probably better than I ever will. I just want to show you a few pictures which I hope will make you curious about the rest of her work.

Self-Portrait at Thirteen, Boulder, Colorado, 1976.

© The Estate of Francesca Woodman Courtesy George and Betty Woodman.

Born in 1958 in Denver, Francesca Woodman started taking pictures at the age of 13. The picture above is part of the "Early Work", it is probably one of her first self-portraits. She was thirteen.

New York Sensations, 10/10

Here is already the last picture of the "New York Sensations" series.

I was waiting for my return flight when I saw the beautiful light on the seats of Newark Liberty Airport.

New York Sensations, 9/10

I like doing pictures of other people taking pictures.

At first sight, the dark foreground and blurry background don't give us very much information about the place. It could be any big city in the world. But looking closer, the building on the screen of the small digital camera in the foreground gives us all the information we need to identify the location.

Inspiration From Outside, PressPausePlay

Today I want to introduce "Inspiration From Outside", a new category on "My Favourite Ten".

It's about inspiring stuff I Listen, Read and Watch.

PressPausePlay, is a great documentary every creative should watch.

It's about how the digital revolution has influenced creativity, opening the door to unlimited opportunities by democratizing the access to technology. Today everyone is a photographer, a film maker, a writer, a musician ... More people are doing more art in more ways than ever before.

But does democratized culture mean better art?

PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.

New York Sensations, 8/10

Another composition based on straight lines disturbed by the roundness of the bike wheels and a beautiful evening light.

New York Sensations, 7/10

At first sight the composition of this almost monochromatic picture is based on graphical elements, the green lines crossing in the camera area, the glass bricks... 

But what I like most about this picture is the way the shadow of the camera protection box disturbs the previously mentionned graphical elements.

New York Sensations, 6/10

Somewhere in the streets of NY. I love the light in this picture. The flowers turning towards the sun seem to pop out of the dark and grey environment.

New York Sensations, 5/10

Another set of textures in a very academic composition.

I like the "robot face" of the standpipe.

New York Sensations, 4/10

I was walking in Meatpacking District and looked up to a building when I saw these green-cyan reflections in the clouds. Surprised, I watched the clouds for a while before I decided to make a picture. I was quite sure this strange color reflection wouldn't show up. But I was wrong...

New York Sensations, 3/10

I don't really know why but I have a good feeling about the scene here. I'd rather imagine a reunion drink than a sad drink. The colors going from light brown to grey and the textures, from the dirty background to the clean paper, give me the sensation the bottles pop out.

New York Sensations, 2/10

Schiller's Liquor Bar, somewhere in New York. The light and mirror reflections give the place a great atmosphere.

New York Sensations, 1/10

When I visit a city I always take pictures.
But when I look at those pictures, most of the time they don't really show the place. For me it's not about representing reality but trying to domesticate its beauty.

Portraits, 10/10

This self-portrait is the third picture of the "Family Portrait" tryptich.
Another exemple of giving a sensation of someone instead of showing the physical characteristics.
It also ends the "My Favourite Ten - Portrait Series".

Portraits, 9/10

This is the second picture of the "Family Portrait" tryptich.
I love this picture! Here is the story ...
E. was watching TV. I came into the room to pick up something and saw her in this position with her eyes wide open. I grabbed my camera which was by chance in the same room, measured the light and took one picture.  I remember E. saying: "Daddy go away, I can't see the television anymore".
The whole thing only took a few seconds and gave this very structured picture.
The funny thing is that even if I took the picture spontaneously, it doesn't look spontaneous.
It looks posed and prepared, everything is in a specific place, clean and aligned.

Portraits, 8/10

This picture is the first of a tryptich called "Family Portrait".
I like the idea of portrait as a representation of someone's personality without really showing the person.
This arm holding a book in the bedroom light is quite graceful isn't it ? ...
Even if you don't see the person physically, it gives you a sensation of what she might be.

Portraits, 7/10

I like the strange composition of this picture. You can only see bits and pieces ... of the palm trees, the sky, the person... Having only the head in the lower right corner is not something you would usually do to take a picture of someone. Nevertheless, sometimes unconventional composition gives a nice result.
When I look at this kind of picture, I try to imagine what the complete scene looked like...

Portraits, 6/10

I love square format photography, especially for portraits.
In this case, shooting against the light gave the picture a nice warm and vaporous atmosphere.
All the colors come out in the same gamut.

Portraits, 5/10

This image is more about the light.
I like how the soft light on the face emphasises the daydreaming state of the subject.

Portraits, 4/10

I can't tell you why but I always liked those pictures taken from the back. It gives another kind of information, leaving space to our imagination ...

Portraits, 3/10

Like yesterday's portrait, this one is also a spontaneous shot. I like the composition. She is looking outside while the dog is looking inside...

Portraits, 2/10

This is one of my favourite portraits. I know that it looks prepared but believe me, it is completely spontaneous. I clearly remember that day. Our friend invited us for a diner but we arrived a little early. She was still preparing herself, so we just helped with a few things in the kitchen. After a moment, I picked up my camera and took a few pictures...
This picture is a great combination of "a powerful subject" and "being in the right place at the right moment". If we had been on time, I would never have been able to shoot this great portrait.
Thank you C. 

Portraits, 1/10

For the third series of "My Favourite Ten" I want to show you a few portraits.

Portrait has always been something very difficult for me because I need to feel a kind of connection to the subject or situation. Sometimes it goes very fast and sometimes I'm just unable to make it happen. In the following pictures I'll show you some very different approaches, sometimes it's the light, the color, the composition, the strength of the subject or just the right place at the right moment...

I the following picture, the combination of soft light and polaroid film gives me a timeless sensation.

The picture could have been shot last week or 25 years ago...

The water series, 10/10

Here is already the last picture of "My Favourite Ten - Water Series".
This one is from last year in the same period, crossing the North Sea channel to England to visit some friends.

The water series, 9/10

Somewhere in the Venice Giardini during the Art Biennale...
I love the brown-yellow autumn colors, from the leaves to the water reflecting the sky.