The Circus is a Whacky World, How I Love it!
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| The Contortionist |
I feel at home in the world of archetypes and hidden messages. I love puzzles and late night Mystery Theater. Perhaps this explains why I am drawn to and photograph certain motifs over and over again. Art from as early as 3,000 BC has been imbued with symbols and allegories that helped pass down stories and customs. Romans, as seen in my earlier blog "Of Gods and Goddesses", perfected the use of secular allegorical symbols. And even during the height of the Renaissance through the 18th century, allegorical paintings were the modus operandi. Modern Art discarded the use of iconographic objects, except in the case of my very favorite periods of creativity: Dada, Cubism and Pop Art which employed the use of modern culture to stand in for the ancient symbols that had been utilized for centuries.
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| The Clown |
As a photographer, amusement parks, circuses and local carnivals are such a hot bed of cultural archetypes, its hard not to capture the sense of timelessness that seems to permeate them. For me, the sign of a great photograph is that it IS timeless, that it surpasses present day iconography, that it transcends the particular time it was taken in and contains an ancient knowledge that is know to us all. That sounds like a tall order but when you study art, there are pieces that contain these elements and for me truly stand "the test of time". As Albert Einstein said "the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion". Perhaps illusions are really our universal consciousness that we are drawn to and entertained by.
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| The Animal Trainer |
The circus is a particular treasure trove of allegory and archetypes which resonate with me. I have over the years produced several series of portraits exploring the allegories of various circus acts in my studio and on location. The colors, sounds, shapes and characters that fill a circus speaks to me on a very deep level. Carl Jung would have described it as part of my innate collective unconscious. The elements of luck, surprise, mystery, danger and suspense attract me. When I escape into this colorful world of sights and sounds, I am soothed. It's almost as if I am used to a circus type atmosphere and actually excel in a bizarre, fast paced environment.
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| The Strongman |
This set of characters presented here in this blog, were provided with a little stage on which to perform in front of original circus canvas backdrops that were painted back in the 1920's. The soft focus makes the images feel like a dream or distant memory. I selected each cast member carefully, knowing that their inner personality would shine through, and shine they did! Setting a stage for those who love to perform makes my job as a photographer extremely easy and extremely enjoyable. It is my job therefor, to properly set the stage and produce a story for them to follow. It was with great pleasure that I created this series and to share them with you for the first time is my honor.
One can almost hear the steam calliope whistling at the end of the parade...
This is not just a treasure pulled from the archives but a walk down memory lane... and the first time I have ever seen other images from this series. Too cool.
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