PATTERNS AND TONES

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season! Patterns and Tones will be back in February 2018, just in time to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. All my best to you and yours, Julie Green December 23, 2017

"Zen Sun Shadows No. 1" 2017 Like undulating waves on the surface of a body of water, these stylized sun shadows were composed to emulate nature. Zen gardens started in Kyoto, Japan in the 14th century to imitate the essence of nature and to give the viewer (originally for the head monk of a Buddhist monastery) a view to meditate on. Carefully constructed, the dry landscapes represent water in the meticulusly raked gravel and are usually dotted with three to five rock "islands" giving the "water" a place to radiate out from. I was fortunate to visit the famous 15th century Ryoan-ji Temple garden in Kyoto years ago. I was struck by its simplicity and after meditating on its pristine landscape, felt a very deep sense tranquility and relaxation by its orderly structure. I know many artists who have been drawn to represent their experience at the garden through their work. John Cage was inspired to compose a series of works called "Ryoanji " ...

"Down the Garden Stairs No. 1" 2017 from the Sun Shadow Series  I have always fought against the two dimensionality of photography. I was always trying to expand space within the constructs of the very nature of the medium. But in this Sun Shadow series I've been working on, I've actually embraced it and have been working on ways to actually flatten out perspective within the photograph. In "Down the Garden Stairs" I began looking once again at how graphic hard edge shadows created in the midday sun refract against the linear steps below. Removing color from these images, it flattens the image plane out even more to create a dialogue between just the shapes and the space they occupy. I am continually in awe of  Ruth Bernhard 's 1930 photograph " Lifesavers ", where the objects are transformed by the space and light in which they are arranged. But it's the discovery of the unexpected in the image that rings my bell, especially when...

"Getty Sun Shadows No. 1" 2017 The light at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles at sunset is spectacular. High on the hilltop of the Santa Monica Mountains in Brentwood, its unobstructed light filters across its expansive travertine plazas and courtyards. The interplay between interior and exterior spaces was expertly choreographed by architect Richard Meier . My fascination with light and shadow continues in this newest installation in my Sun Shadow series. Julie Green December 2, 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 2" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 3" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 4" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 5" 2017