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Mary Anne Mitchell
Altered States
The waves are crashing and the lone figure is approaching, is he friend or foe? The girl appears to be washed ashore; is she asleep, just resting, or worse? The young man is entangled in the net or is he…?
This work documents the world in a manner that transforms the subject into something quite different from reality. The work depicts situations, often mysterious, which draw the viewer into a narrative. The subject often appears isolated in a strange or surreal setting. These depictions sometimes seem like an overlooked moment in our peripheral vision. Other times they feel like they are visions from a whimsical imagination. In each piece, the artist invites the observer into her curious world. They evoke ambiguous moods and each viewer’s response to them will be tempered by their own experiences.
Bio
Mary Anne Mitchell is a freelance photographer in Atlanta, GA. All of the artwork is shot on film and printed by the artist.
Related links
Good on you Mary Anne. Greetings from Rome–GA
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I love #23, 21, 16, 14, 09, they are so great.
The film look is wonderful – those pictures make me always think, if we are loosing something by going digital. Good to see them.
For a moment, I thought you had captured Jesus walking upon the water, but then discovered it was a just a blissful moment.
And a blissful, wonderful, essay – the kind that makes me wish that I could be 18 again, starting all over as a photographer.
Methinks you are a genius.
Now, don’t get a fat head.
Poetry.
Beautiful!
Congratulations
“….i’ve heard the mermaids singing, each to each.”
1, 3, 4, 6, 15, 18 and ALL THAT WHITE in 22….and the magnificent body of kudzu:
actually, for me, the story here is the Kudzu…and it’s watery net of limbs…dried up beneath the tongue of the southern sun, split wide open in a key of white….
the more ‘understandable’ pics left me wanting their spines to be broken….
and in fairy tales, things get broken, and for me, so should photographs….
some beautiful lyricism…and some too-literal-dreams….
i want this story to wreck havock, visually….some pics are there, let all that grain disintegrate into a body of life…
hope that makes sense…
congrats
cheers
bob
..
Mary Anne
Congratulations
I love these images. There is a purity and innocence and exhuberence here. Yes, Frostfrog, I see youth and joy and possibility.
Thomas, yes some of these images scream “film”, however I hope the actual prints look better than these scans with their blocked up darks and burned out whites.
Love 1,18,9,21,23.
double thumbs up
Triple thumbs up!
I like some of the images but feel that the series is a sort of mish-mash of ‘considered’
images and some grab shots that don’t really fit together for me.
I may be wrong in this assessment but that’s how it appears to me.
As well, the tonality of most pieces doesn’t draw me in.
Highlights and white areas are blasted out and darks are plugged up and heavy.
I feel there is missing information in the middle areas and might help make the
images more complete is some of this tone is revealed.
Nothing wrong with dark and heavy or bright and light but there seems to be intent missing.
Bob Black is a good example of someone who often presents his work printed with heavy,consuming blacks
but there is a mood he is trying to set and not just contrasty for the sake of contrast. Maybe ?
But Bob can speak for himself on this point.
I’ve really enjoyed this essay it’s the sort of work which grabs my attention straight away, it’s far from perfect with all those blown highlights and blocked up blacks; but what the hell if that is what you are happy with – great!. I urgently needed yesterday to be carried away by some mysterious essay and set free in some parallel world, free from a lot of rubbish which lately has been suffocating my creativity and life in general and your essay managed it so I’m quite grateful for this moment of peace!!
I suppose the reason I’m far more interested in this essay than the Chinese one is because one of my favourite photographers is Keith Carter and his style seems to be imbued here. I must say the images which stand out as favourites for me are images 14, 16 – even though the blown highlights very nearly kill it, 18 and 23. Although I have to agree with Mark there seems to be some grab shots that just don’t fit in, maybe they are just the sort of photos which grown on you little by little.
Thanks so much for all your comments! I appreciate all of them!
To Bob, I do understand and want you to write my next artist statement!
To Frostfrog, Sofia, Thomas, Pomoro (yay GA), Vivik, Panos, Gordon and Paul. Wow…I am humbled!
To Mtomalty and Paul thanks for your input…I do like some blown out areas as you can see but do always find that my scans are never quite like my prints…I would love to show you in person if ever you are in Atlanta!
Thanks again to everyone!
Best,
Mary Anne
these images make me giddy and quake me in the loins-damn serious here-is that mary anne and us have total freedom to do what we want in our own brain/image/darkroom(PS). its like a power and feeling of no one knows but me, I can create/take this idea(s) any direction i want-you can’t make/tell me a damn thing i have to do-child like. at 60, just now starting, or like dorothy, I had it all along.
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Beautiful dreamlike escapism, magical.
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