robin schwartz' artist's statement about creating photos with her daughter:
(satine, i hope one day you and i can create like this):
Statement
Amelia’s World
My
photographs are drawn from real journeys undertaken with my daughter,
Amelia. I am driven to depict relationships with animals but the
photographs are not documents; they are evidence of the invented worlds
that we explore and the fables we enact together. Photography gives us
the opportunity to access our dreams, to discover the extraordinary.
Animals
and interspecies relationships have always been an important part of my
work. The animals in my photographs are not represented as beasts or
nobility but as part of our everyday world. My first monograph, a
series of primates at home with humans, guided me to the places of my
own childhood fantasies.
I photograph myself with animals
through Amelia. I am an only child who has an only child. Each of us
has a strong fantasy world. Amelia and I play out our eccentricities in
worlds where she and animals not only co-exist, but also interact.
Animals are not props in my photographs and they are not photo-shopped
in. The world that my daughter and I explore is one where the line
between human and animal overlaps or is blurred.
An artist
photographing her child can invite ridicule, but getting personal with
my projects has always been both my need and my edge. This project
evolves with my daughter’s maturing personality and aptitude. Amelia is
my priority, my muse, my co-conspirator, my tormentor and my bliss.
Collaborating with Amelia, I am able to go to any place in time.
*
... the photos speak for themselves:
Carriage House Waterfalls
Tower
Feeding Flats
Touch
Investigation
Feathers
you're welcome deene! you deserve it it was a great photo!
Posted by: charleystar | October 03, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Just wanted to say thankyou for the kind comments on my photo contest entry (#2) at MeRa's blog. Thank you so much for your vote.
Posted by: Deene Souza | October 03, 2008 at 09:54 PM
i loved them immediately and thought of Owen and Ella. I knew my kids could relate since they adore animals and love photos (like me). ella is 3-she is my natural ham. Owen is 5-he is my quiet movie star-like you would see in the "silent" films:) satine is too cute!
Posted by: kelley chapman | October 01, 2008 at 12:26 PM
thanks kelley! i don't know how old your kids are or how many, but i just loved how she described her daughter as a 'collaborator' and 'co-conspirator" in the process, totally respecting the contributions her daughter could add to the creative process. lovely.
xxo
Posted by: charleystar | October 01, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Thank you for sharing, Meegs. I looked up Robin on the web and viewed her journey through life with her daughter. I became nostalgic and remorseful....nostalgic remembering my own naturalistic journey with my child Nahchey in Northern California; remorseful because I did not contiune that journey...thank you. This helped complete my day with fond memories and hope for the future. Love you. MK
Posted by: MK | October 01, 2008 at 08:28 AM
amazing images-my kids loved them.
Posted by: kelley chapman | October 01, 2008 at 04:53 AM