Your Lens
My friend and I were sitting in my studio a few months ago, and I was telling her how fascinating it is for me to listen to people’s responses to my work.
I hear things like, “What is it supposed to be? Is it happy or sad? I see an alligator. I see birds flying. I see flowers. A sailboat! Is that right?”
The beauty of abstract art is there is no right or wrong. No rules. No limitations. No particular things you’re supposed to see and an infinite number of things you could see if you wanted to.
The colors, textures, scale, and movement of each piece are not only intended to uplift your spirits, push your boundaries and awaken your curiosities, but they also have the power to mirror your moods and reflect back to you your own unique perspectives.
As my friend and I continued our conversation, we thought…
Wouldn’t it be cool to invite different people into my studio and have them each capture the lens through which they see my work?!
And over the following month, that’s exactly what I did!
I invited ten different people, on ten separate occasions, into my workspace to capture their unique experience of my art and my studio.
These people ranged in age from three years old to 93 years old. There were students and women and men of different professions. Some were artists themselves (in fashion, photography, film, etc.), and some had no background in art whatsoever. Some I had never met prior, and some of them knew me very well.
They each had a camera in hand and were given the simple instructions, “Capture what you see...”
The photos curated below showcases their unique perspectives of my work and my workspace…
I was present when most of these people were capturing their experience and it was incredibly interesting to observe!
Some of the people wanted me to be in the photos. Some wanted to be in photos, themselves, and others wanted to be behind the camera, only. Some asked me lots of questions and some barely spoke. There were individuals who came and left within 20 minutes and others who stayed for over three hours. In the end, some presented me with a very tailored representation of their experience (no more than five photos) and others wanted me to see their experience in a full, unedited way (hundreds and hundreds of photos).
Certain pieces of art or aspects of my studio were captured by almost everyone. While, at the same time, each person was drawn to things that no one else was drawn to and captured things that no one else captured. These were aspects of my art or my studio that I had forgotten about, never noticed, or never really appreciated before.
And as I watched how the eye line of a three-year-old had a massive influence over what she saw and captured compared to the eye line of an adult, I thought…
“Wow, there are so many factors that have an influence on the lens through which we see life.”
The entire experience was refreshing and inspiring and has had me reflecting more, asking myself questions like…
What is influencing this perspective?
Could I see this through a new lens?
Could I see this through a kinder lens?
Could I be informed and inspired more through the lens of people who are different than me?
Is there more to appreciate here if I was willing to shift my perspective?
And what I’m learning is that life is more similar to abstract art than realism in that our moods and perspectives have a massive influence over what we see.
With that being said, may we all become more aware of the power of our perspectives to positively impact our individual lives and the world, at large.
If you’re intrigued by any of the pieces these ten individuals gravitated to and captured, please don't hesitate to be in touch. You’ll find a few of them all showcased below.
Cheers,
“when I saw that painting of Jessica’s it inspired my creation.”