What Whitney says - JOHN GRANT

Whitney Strickler is Migration’s current intern. She is a 4^th year art history student at the University of Virginia. To give you a refreshing voice on this blog, Laura and I asked Whitney to review some shows currently up in Charlottesville. Many thanks to Whitney, for these thoughtful reviews.

John Grant - Along the Garden Path @ McGuffey Art Center

After seeing a sampling of John Grant’s recent works at Migration’s photography invitational this past winter, it was interesting to see a large collection of his photos of flowers, fruits and vegetables on display at the McGuffey Art Center. Grant has been experimenting with materials to print his digital photographs on, and I am particularly intrigued by those he prints on sheets of aluminum. One image at the McGuffey exhibit, "Radishes", reflects light as you move past it giving the red color of the vegetables tonal variation and a 3D quality that is not found in the photos printed on paper. I know it is an extremely difficult medium to print on but the effect created by the metal on the image is fascinating. The canvas material also provides a unique perspective on the photographic subjects; the flowers in these works have a softness and serenity that is lost in the sharpness of the metal works. Each medium contributes to the photograph with its own distinctive qualities.

One piece in particular caught my eye; it is entitled "Mystical Rose" and shows a single rose encased in a faint glass bulb. The image is reminiscent to me of the rose from "Beauty and the Beast." The faint outline of the bulb around the flower gives it the sense of being untouchable, preserved in timeless beauty. The flower shows minor flaws: a slender tear in one petal, a few petals have begun to slightly droop at the edges. The rose represents flawed beauty but its imperfections make it only more mystical and unattainable to the viewer. Grant’s simple, direct, and organic approach to photography provides insight into the beauty available for viewing everyday ‘along the garden path.’