Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Honey Bunches of Photos

Blake Little, is an american celebrity photographer. He recently started a project called 'Preservation' where honey is poured over his subjects. It appears that each individual is encased in amber like a prehistoric mosquito. What I find fascinating is how he created a way to smooth out any imperfections in the human body. While glazed in honey, one can only see the more pronounced features of each subject. It dulls subtle wrinkles or large pores and creates a completely smooth preserved image of human beauty.



What I feel is very creative is the fact that Little was able to see that honey being this sticky desert-esque substance had the potential to add grace and beauty to any individual.

Little's motivation for the project was to create a medium that would show the "sculptural nature of the human body regardless of its shape, size, or form". In total about 900 jugs filled with five pounds of honey were used for the project. He decided to name the project 'Preservation' because of the way his participants looked like they were preserved in amber.
blake little preservation honey covered humans
Little we be publishing his fourth book with the images he has taken during his 'Preservation' project. 'Preservation' will be at the Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles from March 7th to April 18th.

blake little preservation honey covered humans

4 comments:

  1. Wow this is so great! My brother is a photographer so I know that it really takes a lot of post production and editing to make a person look flawless. It also is difficult to capture movement. I think this is such a great way to create the glossy preservation perspective! Blake Little really thought of a very new and creative way to capture images and movement. In the first and second pictures I love that the honey allows for moment to be extended and preserved for a longer amount of time for the photographer to be able to capture this movement. I also love the reflection that that the honey has.
    This really shows that a creative have the ability to use materials that wouldn't normally be used for a situation and make it something new!
    Thanks for sharing this Mark!

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  2. I think it's interesting that he feels the subjects looked preserved, or static. To me, the honey adds movement. In the still pictures, I get a feeling of the subjects being in constant motion.
    It relates back to our class discussion that creative things are not easily interpreted, because a variety of interpretations are possible. Also, my different feelings about the pictures show that creative people and their work is often misunderstood.
    I would love to see more of this set to see if I always see motion with the honey, or if it is specific to the pictures you chose to share.

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  3. These are incredible! I am constantly trying to learn more about the art of photography and it is absolutely fascinating to me how individuals can completely transform real life objects through the use of common items and their lenses. The honey almost adds a wax-like feel to these subjects, as if they have been immortalized in that form and refined with the amber glow of the sugary substance.

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  4. At first I was just very confused, but I really liked your analysis that it covers any imperfections the people may have. Not only does the honey actually make it impossible to see them, I think the fact that these people (and that dog) are covered in honey draws peoples eyes and thoughts away from the more human aspects of the subjects. I really like the "preservation" view too; it definitely does look like these subjects are encased in amber, as if they had been fossilized millions of years ago. I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge art projects that I find silly (besides contemporary art like this piece

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XKaeeNiZpck/TPhujeq1HpI/AAAAAAAABpA/wCc6-OVtR40/s1600/2010-11-28_16-19-41_75+%25281%2529.jpg

    - That is plain dumb in my opinion...)

    Anyway, thanks for opening my eyes to the creative capabilities of those with eyes for what I cannot see!

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