Artist 4: the ethereal landscape photography of Todd Hido
After looking at a few photo-188 blogs, it would seem to me that Todd Hido's work is pretty popular amongst the class, and its no wonder why; the tasteful and emotive use of color and the painterly nature of Hido's photographs work to create cinematic and ethereal images, with a dream-like quality to them. The following images are all from his
Landscapes series, although the dates are unknown to me. I'm going to try and find a book or two of his at the library, and will attempt to update this blog with pertinent information.
After his obviously careful and considerate compositional skills and choice of subject matter (suggesting the artist's keen and observant nature), I
really appreciate Hido's use of the rainy/wet windshield in many of his
Landscape photographs; they add to the impressionistic quality that his photography often has.
Tom E. Hinson, Cleveland Museum of Art curator of photography has stated that Hido's Landscape and Urban photography "reveal(s) isolation and anonymity in contemporary suburbia. Eerily lit rooms and suddenly abandoned homes increase the effect of loneliness and loss."
True - most people in the class were drawn to this work! Could be a first that has happened!
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting too - could it be that us here in the desert romanticize moisture & dreary days? We don't have much fog or mist here....it would be nearly impossible to make this type of work with the same sense of moisture here.
But there is a really strong sense of loneliness and isolation - as the quote you included suggests - which is definitely a feeling probably most in the United States (at least) can relate to - and the subject matter is fairly universal.
thanks
I love the wet windshield in many of these. The loneliness in his landscapes remind me of the loneliness and loss you feel when your first grieving the loss of a loved one. Its like walking down many of these bare roads that he photographs, Lonely and grey.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are melancholy. Yet in this melancholy there is a comfort. It is as if you exhale and just live in the depths of these moments. The best phrase I recall to describe this feeling if from a native american writer. I think it was from the book "Fools Crow" by james welch. He coins a phrase "A happiness that sleeps with sadness." yes for me that is it. Not devastate despair, but rather the type of despair that connects us and yet is ok with our isolation. Perhaps the moisture is what connects us. Some cellular recall to evolutionary past where we swam deep in the primordial sea.
ReplyDelete