TRANSIENT ART - A Genre of Fine Art Photography

I make photographic images by opening heart and mind to their naturally wakeful state—a vivid, raw, intimate experience—like licking honey from a razor blade. Choice of subject is guided by what Brad Wise calls the hidden energies within ordinary objects. I have found that extraordinary and ordinary are simply different points of view. .

I have been inspired by a line from Rilke's poem THE WAY IN: Whoever you are, some evening take a step out of your house, which you know so well, enormous space is near........ So, perhaps infinite space is right in the midst of our day-to-day life. At the same time, nothing special....very ordinary. But then, familiarity gives way to shock and awe as we come eye to eye with life's inconceivable spaciousness and vastness. Still we wonder--is this nonsense, clarity, fantasy, or the true nature of reality?

The viewer brings his or her own experience and sentiments to the viewing. Their world view then collides with art and artist, resulting in resonance, annoyance, recognition, excitement, or boredom. Or, as my young friends say, It is what it is and It's all good.

Transient Art refers to the fact that everything changes--you cannot go back to the same stream, person, or object and make the same photograph. Even a moment later the light and subject have changed. My favorite subjects are ice, water, and other liquids. Their ever-changing states--and transitions, for example, of ice freezing and melting--have never lost their grip on my imagination.

A photograph captures a MOMENT--too brief to see. Within the moment is a FLASH--color, form, or movement--always different, always extraordinary. A photograph FREEZES the moment. Ice, light, and water move, morph, flash, and change. Little pieces of paint take on a life of their own, suddenly exploding, colors streaming everywhere--CLICK--and then, they are gone forever. It is at once so breathtaking, heartbreaking, and compelling that I have missed more than a shot or two -- this is the world and wonder of Transient Art.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

From 1972-74 I studied photography at the University of Connecticut School of Fine Art. David Kelly taught me what makes a picture deserve the label "photographic art". Next, Siegfried Halus taught me about personal vision and artistic integrity. I began exhibiting in 1972, at a Matrix Gallery group show. Later that year, I was awarded a purchase prize by jury chair (and one of my photographic heroes) Paul Caponigro. Other influences were Minor White, Wynn Bullock, Edward Weston, Duane Michaels, and Jerry Uelsmann. I worked solely with black and white film.

In 1974 I began a career in clinical psychology, which I continue today. From 1979 onward, I explored other artistic media--paint, chalk pastel, pencil, and collage--but my photography was limited to "snapshots"--kids growing up and life passing by.

In 2006, I returned to serious photography. Older, but surely no wiser, I went over to the dark side of color digital. Since then I have created new photographs every day, experiencing a palpable and treasured insistence to do so. Current inspirations include Ellen Jantzen and Elena Kalis. My work has been purchased internationally by fashion designers, interior designers, music industry performers and producers, and private collectors. I also exhibit at galleries in the USA.

To see more of my work, please go to cliffbriggie.com.

To purchase, my work, please email me at cbriggie@comcast.net