Hartman Creative Arts

I mentioned I’ve been reading and looking at the old masters quite a bit lately. My most recent obsession is with Arnold Newman. Thanks to Joerg Colberg’s post about Five Decades I picked up a used copy on Amazon and I’ve been taking it in by degrees.

Newman’s photograph of Alfried Krupp is the one that drew me in, and as I’m studying his work there are so many iconic images that I’ve seen over the years that I now know are his. Picasso, Stravinsky and a grand piano, even the quintessential image of Ansel Adams adorned in an apron working at his studio… all Newman.

Speaking of Stravinsky and Newman… as awesome as the shot of Igor at the piano is, I like this photograph even more. The tiled floor immediately makes me think of chess, and the way he’s studying the score in front of him is as if he’s working out a move to checkmate his opponent.

I see more books of Newman’s work in my immediate future.

Something I’ve wanted to do for awhile on my old blog was to post about images or artists that resonated with me. The format at BHN wasn’t conducive to that, but now it seems appropriate.

This image by Chris Steele-Perkins came across my feed reader this morning and the more I look at it and digest, the more I love it. The colors are wonderful, almost as if the subject is standing in a fire. And the brow wipe further contributes to the idea of heat. I’m not sure if any of my alternate interpretation was intended by the photographer, but that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it? It’s a mirrored lens through which we view ourselves.

Sumo has always fascinated me. I’ve always loved individual combat sports. I wrestled in high school, and in recent years have developed a strong affinity for MMA. But Sumo is another class altogether. There’s a purity in the sport that doesn’t exist in other places. The ritual, the dedication of the athletes, the whole drama and spectacle of a basho… it must be an incredible thing to witness giant men slamming into each other with the force of steam locomotives.

See more of Chris Steele-Perkins work at Magnum or visit his own site here.

I like wildlife photography, but even the better stuff doesn’t often move me. Haha.nu featured some photographs today by a photographer named Steve Bloom that are probably the best I’ve ever seen.

The Snow Monkey shots are incredible but everything on his site is nearly perfect.