“A photograph is a moment in time from a compilation of experiences I had in my personal life; you can have it too if you stop and look at the world around you.”
In a time of immense anxiety, fear, sadness, and panic, Jamie Beck, an American photographer living in France, was determined to make the most of the recently mandated COVID-19 lockdown. When the pandemic made its way to her rural residence in Provence, all of Beck’s scheduled work came to an abrupt stop. Not knowing how to fill her days, she set out to capture a photograph every day of lockdown, however long that may continue. France entered lockdown on March 14, 2020 marking the day of her first image, a beautiful portrait of arranged red and pink flowers.
Her project set in action, Beck decided to upload the photos to her instagram and use the hashtag #IsolationCreation on each post. With the support of her husband, she began to print and sell her work. A fraction of the sales from this project would then be donated to the Foundation for Contemporary Art’s COVID 19 Emergency Grants Fund. Her creativity in a time that seemed hopeless launched her into overnight fame, and as the lockdown dragged on many more people looked to her for a bright spot in their long, monotonous days. Finally, on May 12, the lockdown protocols were lifted marking the 60th image in her newly produced collection.
I learned of Beck’s lockdown art through my mom who had become an avid subscriber to the daily doses of beauty on her instagram feed. Quarantine was claustrophobic, lonely, and at times seemingly hopeless which is why these photos spoke to her as they did to so many others around the globe. My mom ended up purchasing “day 1”. For her, this photo represented unity and an unwavering strength that got our family through those, so commonly noted, unprecedented times. Beck’s incredible work has resonated with people around the world as these daily photos represent something unique to each individual. Maybe this day reminds you of a loved one, the date of a postponed wedding, a birthday, or just serves as a reminder to keep dreaming.
“I felt an urge to dance with creativity”
Before the pandemic, Beck was acknowledged as an expert in the field; working for Armani, Chanel, and Oscar de la Renta, but the lockdown forced her to change her focus of inspiration. She now needed to look inside her own home and find beauty worth capturing. Her expertise in photography had prevented her from pushing the bounds of the field. The pandemic prompted her to turn her attention inward, and to stay creative even if locked inside. She took the limitations lockdown placed on her and used them to expand her creative thinking. Beck notes the way these restrictions influenced her work saying, "The series is bound by constraints, defined by them, but it is through limitations that I discovered a world of splendor".
What sets Beck apart is her willingness to have an open mind during these circumstances. Her innate openness to experience allowed her to see this lockdown for more than it was; a chance for her to showcase beauty and clearly focus on the purity of the moment. In multiple interviews discussing her creative process, Beck always points out that she never had a plan, “As I gazed each morning outside my window pane, I was forced to be completely open to what that day had to offer and how I was going to capture it through photography”.
#IsolationCreationPartDeux
On October 30th France mandated the second lockdown of the year. Without skipping a beat, Beck continued her project but this time with an adjusted hashtag. For this followup season, Beck was challenged to look deeper at all the invisible things trapped within the walls of her home that were begging to be photographed. Regardless of the situation, Beck’s determination continued to bring about inspiring images. I specifically found inspiration in day 69, November 7, the day America elected its first female vice-president. I breathed a sigh of relief, I felt proud, I knew it was a great day for the world, and her image of golden roses beautifully captured all of my emotions surrounding this day.
Jamie Beck created 107 days worth of images spanning the long 107 days spent in isolation. Her project sparked creativity around the world. Now her hashtags have been used by more than 300,000 people to tag their own quarantine creativity. She has raised over $20,000 for struggling artists and shipped images to over 65 countries worldwide. Beck inspired others to find creativity in anything as shown by her use of “an old poster board as a flag, [her] body to create shadows, and a pot lid as a reflector”. Beck unapologetically let her imagination run wild, allowing her to commit to the creative process however unconventional her methods may have been. Her passion is infectious and her message is clear that the pursuit of creativity should never be abandoned even in the most uncertain times.
I have linked her website, instagram and interviews below. I highly encourage you all to browse her work and find a day that speaks to you.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiebeck.co/?hl=en
Website: https://jamiebeck.co/collections/isolationcreation-gallery-exhibition
Sources:
https://www.marthastewart.com/7837240/jamie-beck-isolation-creation-coronavirus-project
https://womencreate.com/what/jamie-beck/
https://jamiebeck.co/collections/isolationcreation-gallery-exhibition
It is incredible to see the art that has come out of the lockdown periods during COVID and how these constraints breed creativity. It's so interesting to see how Beck inspired her own creative movement here through social media. I really admire how her photographs look like paintings, and how much emotion she manages to capture through these snapshots.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meghan about how amazing it is for an artist such as Jamie Beck to take the constraints suddenly put on the community as inspiration for a whole new line of work. Like the dichotomies of personality that we talked about in class, Jamie was able to take a new inspiration from the change of the expansive outside world to the constraints of lockdown. It was also amazing to hear that, when the lockdowns were re-established, Jamie didn't simply continue to line of work, but took it as an opportunity to explore deeper into the works meaning, because innovation is constant and can never be the same twice.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing! I hadn’t seen this artist before, and I love the photographs you showcased here. It’s really interesting to see how different creative people coped with self-isolation and lockdowns, and it’s clear this artist’s creativity flourished when she was forced to turn inward for inspiration and content.
ReplyDeleteI also love doing photography myself, and I feel that I have almost had similar feelings towards my art as this creative during the pandemic. I find it interesting how she had to see the lockdown from a different lens and was able to make something beautiful.
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