Kijk naar moeders handen: ze houden je vast en ze wassen je voetjes. De bijna alledaagse tederheid uit het bekende werk van Mary Cassat. (1844-1926)

"In The Child’s Bath, that physical mirroring happens between generations too. Both mother and child’s heads are tilted down toward the basin of water. As the mother seems to lightly squeeze the child’s right foot, the child mimics that pressure on its thigh, and as the mother wraps her arm onto the daughter’s right side, so too does the daughter grasp her mother, as though in unison." (Kathie White Artnet news)

Jessica Todd Harper uses portraiture to explore the subtle tensions within daily family interactions and the complexity of human relationships. Her work is grounded in art historical tradition, but with a psychological undercurrent that marks its modernity. A silver medalist in the Prix de la Photographie in Paris (2014), she was an Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition prizewinner (2016) and selected that same year for the Taylor Wessing Portrait competition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Her work will be significantly represented in Kinship, opening at the Smithosonian's National Portrait Gallery in late 2022, and running until 2024. Harper has published two prize-winning books of photography, Interior Exposure(2008) and The Home Stage (2014) (both Damiani Editore). Damiani’s third book of her work, Here, is due out in late 2022. (bio op website)

"What I love about 17th-century Dutch painting - specifically Vermeer- is how he brings a sense of import and worth to portraits of regular people in their homes. This was very different from the saints, gods, and kings that were more commonly the subjects of artistic masterpieces (think, for example, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling). In Here, I am trying to show that transcendent moments are embedded in day-to-day life."

Je zou het ‘een glans’ over alledaagse dingen, mensen, gebeurtenissen kunnen noemen. Niet de flits van een ‘snapshot’, maar de vertraging ervan, het samenbundelen van misschien wel twintig snapshots van dezelfde handeling in één beeld waarin alles op zijn plaats valt. Niet gepland, maar bijna ‘gekregen’. Zoals ze zei in ‘The Guardian’ van 12 oktober:

‘I like the fact that this isn’t perfectly arranged. There’s the masking tape behind the eggs, the streamer hanging off the flowers, my son’s bright socks – all these elements preserve the veracity of the scene’

The kids in this photo are three of my four children. It was taken in 2017 in the hall of our home in Merion Station, outside Philadelphia. I keep my camera and tripod under the couch in the living room so they’re always available. It was the day after Easter. The children had just come home from school and were reading in the hall. What I like is that these three individuals are occupied in their own worlds. As parents, when we’re photographing children, we have a tendency to get them to line up, have them look at the camera and smile. Here, it’s not about them being cute or part of a family, though. It’s about them in their own private spaces, their own minds.

The child who’s reading a book seems oblivious to me taking a picture. The one studying a map is very engaged in that. The way my daughter is cocking her head to the side and looking curiously – it’s almost like she’s studying the viewer, rather than the viewer studying her. There’s a sense of individuality that I find interesting. (Uit The Guardian 12 okt interview by Graeme Green--Steun de Guardian!)

De manier waarop wij ‘beelden maken’ is grondig veranderd. Tussen het maken en het bekijken zijn er soms maar enkele seconden. Was de maker de eeuwige afwezige, op hedendaagse foto’s is hij/zij niet meer weg te branden. Het vraagt enige gewenning om opnieuw te leren kijken, om je gevoeligheid voor licht en tonaliteit eigen te maken. En er is hoe dan ook je intuïtie. Zijzelf zegt daarover:

I am a synesthete: someone whose senses are cross-wired.  Abstract things like letters and numbers, feelings and music–all these things are experienced in color for me. I grew up thinking everyone experienced the world like that but apparently it’s rare.  That said, from what I understand, many synesthetes are artists–Kandinsky, for example. In any case, yes, color is important, but not in a way I consciously think about – it’s pretty intuitive. 

Kom terug...

'Kom terug.'
Als ik die woorden eens zó zacht kon zeggen
dat niemand ze kon horen, dat niemand zelfs kon denken
dat ik ze dacht...

en als iemand dan terug zou zeggen
of desnoods alleen maar terug zou denken
op een ochtend:
'Ja.'

Toon Tellegen
uit: Over liefde en niets anders
Querido Amsterdam 1997

I try to use available light when I can. Sometimes, people happen to be in beautiful light and I then get my camera out but often I note when the light is good in a particular spot and then I plan to bring models into that spot. I use a tripod for both long exposure shots (which are sometimes necessary for natural light) and for self-portraits. I keep a set of lights around for when there is no natural light. I use the people at hand- the book is a mix of family and friends.

Bezoek de website van Jessica Tod Harper:

https://www.jessicatoddharper.com/

https://www.all-about-photo.com/photo-articles/photo-article/1243/exclusive-interview-with-jessica-todd-harper-about-her-book-here