Saturday, February 28, 2009

Stephen Althouse, Photographer of the Day

Stephen Althouse is a photographer that I've blogged about before when I was researching graduate school professors.  His work is best described on his website :  "Althouse collects or makes objects that relate to significant life events. Experiences and interactions with other people, which are founded upon the extreme positive or negative attributes of humankind, often serve as catalysts for his visual expression of life. He combines found or fabricated objects into cryptic assemblages and then photographs the assemblages onto large format film. He now scans his film, subtly enhancing and modifying his images on the computer in preparation for large scale digital archival printing. Lacing his images with visual autobiographical narrative themes that recur and criss-cross throughout his images, Althouse creates a unique enigmatic visual language of personal symbols and metaphors."

From his Tools & Shrouds series:

Shoe, 2006

Bridle, 2003

Bridle detail

I can't get over how perfect this detail shot is.  I used to work on a horse farm and this image captures the actual way an old, used bridle feels.  

Clamps, 2003

I think these two clamp images work beautifully together.  

Clamps & Shroud, 2003

Rake I, 2003

From the Shrouds series:

Chartres, 2002

Dart, 2001

Mask VI, 1999

These photos are gorgeous- the crisp, sharp details are completely seductive.  And I adore his subject matter.  I think this comes heavily from the fact that he and I were both raised in rural Pennsylvania and many of his subjects display that.  The textures add a lot to that as well.  

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