Vindauga

France has lately had a hard time of it, so hard in fact that it is currently cheaper to fly to Paris than across the US. This last fact is to me a massive temptation. If only there were less responsibilities, and Paris Photo had not already ended yesterday. So instead I bide my time looking through the online catalog, constantly opening the links to galleries in new tabs, and slowly working back through the galleries in turn being impressed by the lists of amazing photographers they represent and awed by the work of artist with which I am not familiar.

One of the artists whose work I can’t stop sifting through is Erwin Olaf, who I discovered through Flatland Gallery. From his biography it is evident that he has been working successfully for many years, and I have just failed to notice him. But in case there are others like me let me make some overly simple comparisons to other photographers with whom I am familiar. He has some movie still images that seem to be somewhere between Gregory Crewdson and Cindy Sherman, but he also has some images in the series “Ten Tables” that remind me of Jan Saudek but more modern. My comparisons alone should indicate how impressed I am with his work. Not only does his work emulate other images I like, but he also pushes in a direction I feel art and photography will and should be moving.

Another direction or trend, which I feel like I am seeing is toward acceptance and greater utilization of composite images, such as the prize winner at Paris Photo, Anthony Goicolea’s piece “Ghost Ship.”