Finders Keepers
When I explore with my camera I really have no idea what I am looking for. But when I see it, I recognize it. Here are 20 photos, taken with an open mind from a recent trip to Europe.
Innsbruck, Austria: At first glance I see street art. Then I notice I have been fooled by advertising masquerading as street art. Still, I like it.
Innsbruck, Austria: On a dingy railway underpass I am impressed by this abstract composed of ripped posters and graffiti. Certainly beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
A huge poster – the spirit of Innsbruck…
…and the setting for it…
Verona, Italy: A very small car takes my fancy.
Desenzano, Italy: Sorry, Sandro Botticelli, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this.
Desenzano, Italy: An Aussie on an Italian street. (Actually it’s Matthew.)
Desenzano, Italy: I am moved by this piece of prose pasted on the outside of a church wall.
Desenzano, Italy: A roasting hot Sunday, an art stall in the local markets. I would like to think the cyclist is looking at the art however she is studying her phone. (Yes, this is out of focus on purpose.)
On a wall in Ivrea. This town was once Olivetti’s operations base – hence the typewriter!
Geneva, Switzerland: An eye-catching window display employing the use of the complementary colours of yellow and violet.
Geneva, Switzerland: Looking into the window of a Caran d’Ache boutique. Divine!
Geneva, Switzerland: Juxtaposition of shapes and textures on a wall.
Geneva, Switzerland: Warning – (curious) guard dog.
Chamonix Mont Blanc, French alps: a rook jumps from his perch into nothingness. Air and snow.
Chamonix Mont Blanc, France: Soft toys on display and soft dogs to lure you in.
Furkapass, Switzerland: Motoring sedately on a Sunday afternoon.
Approaching Munich, Germany: Shapes as we flash by on the autobahn while listening to “Autobahn” by Kraftwerk playing on the car stereo. (Fantastic!)
Freising, Germany: a haunting image on a signpost.
Freising, Germany: I don’t know what this says but I am drawn to it anyway.
I search out images when I walk with my camera. When I find them, I make them my own. Some will become drawings. Finders keepers.
It always fascinates me to see what other artists photograph, how they see, and what catches their eye. I love that you see what others miss, the beauty in the everyday things people pass a thousand times and don’t really see! I can’t wait to see what you do with these images!
Thanks Cous, for the moment I won’t be doing anything with them as I have the Paris work to finish and then exhibit. But after that, we’ll see.
I too take photos of what many would regard as strange things. Artists seem to have an eye for things which are “different”. It’s wonderful that we have digital photography and don’t have to worry how many photos we take. I especially loved the last photo “Entruempelungen”. I studied German at uni and still enjoy reading German. I hadn’t seen this word before but it appears to mean clearing out stuff that you don’t need any more. “Out of the old, make new. Even the fifties are modern again. Everything in life deserves a second chance.” Looking forward to seeing how you incorporate this into a drawing.
Thanks so much for the explanation of the last photo, Paula. I particularly like the sentiment that everything in life deserves a second chance.
Wonderful wonderful images, Julie! Like the commentary too……fascinating collection of memories.
Thanks Joy, I must say I also took lots of more traditional sorts of photos; beautiful scenery and the like – but for fascination and oddity, the quirky ones are the winners.
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos , Julie , I love your fresh and original eye ! Am suffering travel envy !! Love , Judy .
Judy, you can’t have travel envy as you were traveling not so long before I was. I look forward to telling you some stories when we next get together.
👍💜
What a great sampler! I found myself going ‘Oooh!!’ to several of them. Some I can see developing into your drawings (or elements of them) and others just stand alone. The out-of-focus street signs are reminiscent of Jeffery Smart, the toy shop with dogs outside offers an interesting quirkiness which could be exploited, and I appreciated the commentary on hipsters, in English, not to mention the bird in mid-hop. I love too many of them to keep picking individuals out, but suffice to say I enjoy your eye!
Oh yes, I loved the commentary on ‘hypsters’ as well. I only noticed the big poster, it was Matt who pointed out the full scene. I thought a lot about Jeffery Smart’s art while I was in Europe. Europe is one big Jeffrey Smart location, especially Italy.
There was also some Nazi street art in Germany. I photographed it but didn’t want to poison my post with it, so deleted it. If I had posted it, it would have been to point out the undercurrent still prevails in some places. I was always on the look out for oddities. On the whole, I saw surprisingly little street art. I wonder if it is on the decline?
That’s interesting isn’t it, both the fact that there is still Nazi street art, but also less of it in general. Do you think it was to do with where you were? It seems to be intense in certain areas in Melbourne and London, but much less here in Sydney. I’m sure there could be a lot of theories about that! So Europe was Jeffery Smart territory – that makes sense doesn’t it, in that he lived for so many years in Italy, I guess it simply seeped into his work.