When and Where are Nude Trees Okay?
(how a photograph of a blurry tree ended up in a bank’s vault)
Photographer Rick Gustafson frequently uses in-camera motion blur to create photographs that, at times, are not so much of things but of feelings. Fields of color and pattern may hint at the thing they “are” but one’s imagination is free to see or feel something else. Sometimes Rick’s photographs have a dreamy, other-worldly quality.
One day while making photographs for his series A Walk in the Forest there came a point when Rick started seeing rather sensual forms within the relationships of various tree “parts” and a new series called Maude’s Delight came into being. Rick first showed a collection of these images in the C Street Hall Gallery in Eureka earlier this summer. Most recently a couple of them found their way into the Redwood Camera Club’s show in the lobby of a U S Bank. The photo entitled Stepping Out (shown above) was removed from the wall and placed in the Bank’s vault after someone complained about its depiction of “nudity.”
We all know if one is displaying art of a controversial nature that time and place are appropriate things to consider and displaying erotic art in a bank during regular banking hours is not going to fly. It’s really quite easy to accept that a bank is going to have different standards than an art gallery. The trouble of course is that deciding what is appropriate is rather subjective and sometimes there is not a mutual understanding. Sometimes a photograph of a blurry tree displayed upside down and resembling the human form will get you kicked out of a show.
Rick’s photography has been shown at the Upstairs Art Gallery as well as the Morris Graves Museum of Art. His complete portfolio can be seen by visiting his website: www.rickgustafson.com.
Six of his photos from the series of Maude’s Delight are currently on display at Eureka Art and Frame at 1636 F street, Eureka, CA.
Rick Gustafson
Fine Art Photography
Weddings & Portraits
This exhibit is a special collection of photographs during Sept. 09 for the Bayside Post Office Gallery. These photographs are a representation of four portfolios plus a wedding photo and an outdoor portrait.
From left to right on this wall (east) the following series are represented;
Maude’s Delight is an intimate study of trees using impressionist “in camera” photographic techniques. Images in this series have gained the label of “Nude Trees”. The image exhibited here is titled “The Wedding Tree”. There are six images of this series on display at Eureka Art and Frame.
Seascapes portfolio are images primarily of the California North Coast and Oregon. The photo exhibited here is titled “Lost Coast”. As a native Californian who has enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific Ocean and the California coastline, Seascapes represent the experience of a lifespan.
A Walk in the Forest is the most popular of the four series represented in this exhibition. This broader study of tress and forests are also photographed with “in camera” impressionist techniques. Ink pigment prints from this series have won juried show awards at Humboldt Arts Council and Redwood Art Association annual exhibitions. Images in this series are available as limited edition prints and are represented by the Meridian Fine Art Gallery of Arcata. The photograph exhibited here is “Oregon Coast Park”
Wedding & Portrait pictures are enjoyable and allow interaction with people and their pets. These are samples of recent commissioned work.
Entry wall (west) next to door:
Finding Direction is a collection of spontaneous impressionist and fine art photographic abstractions. Most of the images in this series are those that find the photographer and inspire the passion of the craft. The image “Tulip Hill” is of a compost pile and exemplifies the use of impressionist “in camera” photographic techniques
Left by Rick Gustafson Fine Art Photography on September 1st, 2009