May 17, 2018
The Dutch photographer Hellen van Meene creates scenarios that resemble in some ways some of the old Dutch masters’ paintings. The light is natural, the scenery detailed and yet timeless, there is always a mysterious element and the portraits tell stories.
She actively searches for young girls/women that trigger her curiosity and does the same with potential locations, often knocking on strangers’ doors to ask if she can use a particular room or building. She then combines her models with other living creatures or special props with sometimes almost mystical results. (Click on the arrow in the photo spread to see 12 representative images.)
She works from the ground up, carefully choreographing every last detail to achieve moody, sometimes disconcerting portraits.
A different team is working from the ground up to provide opportunities to underserved populations of young aspiring artists in Portland.
http://fromthegrounduppdx.wixsite.com/fromthegroundup/young-women-s-residency-program
Katherine Murphy Lewis, her colleagues and visiting artists offer workshops that prepare for acting, playwriting and other creative outlets in group sessions that are financially underwritten by the fairy godmother of Portland’s art scene, the incomparable Ronnie LaCroute who, in my book, is generosity personified. Which counts double in a city that is not exactly famous for individual generosity towards the arts, if you ask me.
I was able to provide some needed headshots for this term’s participants in the workshop, also in natural light, but no props needed. The women themselves were striking enough.
In times where art in all of its expressions is cut from curricula due to economic pressures, small independent endeavors like FTGU become ever more important to reach a clientele with otherwise little access to tools of learning the trade. We all are the beneficiaries – the stories and talent emerging from workshops like this just might contain seeds for change.
