PERSONAL BACKGROUND:
Jan Groover was born April 24, 1943 in Plainfield, New Jersey. At Pratt institute in New York City, she studied painting from 1961-1965 and later at Ohio State. It wasn’t until 1971 that she turned her attention towards photography. In 1973, she permanently moved to New York City. In 1978, she permanently focused her work on still life photography and and produced work that is well-known today. Her work with still-lifes of silverware in the late 70’s was some of her most famous work.
STYLE:
Jan Groover was mainly a still-life photographer. She experimented with space and illusion in her work. Her work was influenced by many 14th and 15th century painters as well as Paul Cézanne and Giorgio Morandi. Her work was most famous because she was able to take everyday objects and turn them into a piece of artwork. An article in New York Times credited her for elevating photography from its second-class status in the art world.
PHILOSOPHY:
Jan Groover’s goal in her photography was to turn simple objects into masterpieces. She did this by playing with the light and space in her photos. She once said, “I had some wild concept that you could change space — which you can.” Also, her work was in support of feminism. For example, her most famous work of silverware portrayed the issue of how women are thought to be in the kitchen cooking and cleaning instead of men.
INFLUENCES:
Jan Groover has influenced me by making me much more mindful of light and space. If you become a master of these two things, you can produce amazing work. Also, she has taught me that you don’t need an extremely complicated setup to produce great work. In example, some of her work was done in a kitchen sink. Finally, she showed me that you photography should symbolize something deeper than you can see at first sight.
SOURCES:
All images from: http://www.artnet.com/artists/jan-groover/past-auction-result
Jan Groover was born April 24, 1943 in Plainfield, New Jersey. At Pratt institute in New York City, she studied painting from 1961-1965 and later at Ohio State. It wasn’t until 1971 that she turned her attention towards photography. In 1973, she permanently moved to New York City. In 1978, she permanently focused her work on still life photography and and produced work that is well-known today. Her work with still-lifes of silverware in the late 70’s was some of her most famous work.
STYLE:
Jan Groover was mainly a still-life photographer. She experimented with space and illusion in her work. Her work was influenced by many 14th and 15th century painters as well as Paul Cézanne and Giorgio Morandi. Her work was most famous because she was able to take everyday objects and turn them into a piece of artwork. An article in New York Times credited her for elevating photography from its second-class status in the art world.
PHILOSOPHY:
Jan Groover’s goal in her photography was to turn simple objects into masterpieces. She did this by playing with the light and space in her photos. She once said, “I had some wild concept that you could change space — which you can.” Also, her work was in support of feminism. For example, her most famous work of silverware portrayed the issue of how women are thought to be in the kitchen cooking and cleaning instead of men.
INFLUENCES:
Jan Groover has influenced me by making me much more mindful of light and space. If you become a master of these two things, you can produce amazing work. Also, she has taught me that you don’t need an extremely complicated setup to produce great work. In example, some of her work was done in a kitchen sink. Finally, she showed me that you photography should symbolize something deeper than you can see at first sight.
SOURCES:
All images from: http://www.artnet.com/artists/jan-groover/past-auction-result
COMPARE & CONTRAST:
I thought that my images were very similar to Jan Groover’s images overall. For the first image of the pears, when I went to edit it I actually liked it more with the vibrant color of the pears showing so I decided to keep the color. Her image was a little bit darker, but I liked a little bit more light so I kept it more bright. For the second image that I took of the silverware , I think that the lighting matches up with Jan Groover’s lighting. I also think that my image was better than hers, because hers is a little blurry. Finally, for the last image of the peaches, the distinct difference in our photos is the clarity. My photo was much more clear than hers because of the new technology that has developed. Overall, I think that the main difference in her and my photos is the clarity because of the technology that has developed since her career in photography.
PERSONAL ARTIST STATEMENT:
For my image of pears, I am trying to capture vibrance and beauty. I love all of the color in nature, and I think that the pears represent natural beauty. For my image of silverware, I really focused on the reflection of light off of the silverware. I also wanted to make the silverware arranged in an interesting way that makes you think and wonder when you look at it. Finally, I think that my image of peaches represents all of the great things in the world. All you have to do is explore and there are so many interesting things to be found in any place on the earth.
OTHER RESOURCES:
http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500037194
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Groover
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/arts/design/jan-groover-postmodern-photographer-dies-at-68.html
I thought that my images were very similar to Jan Groover’s images overall. For the first image of the pears, when I went to edit it I actually liked it more with the vibrant color of the pears showing so I decided to keep the color. Her image was a little bit darker, but I liked a little bit more light so I kept it more bright. For the second image that I took of the silverware , I think that the lighting matches up with Jan Groover’s lighting. I also think that my image was better than hers, because hers is a little blurry. Finally, for the last image of the peaches, the distinct difference in our photos is the clarity. My photo was much more clear than hers because of the new technology that has developed. Overall, I think that the main difference in her and my photos is the clarity because of the technology that has developed since her career in photography.
PERSONAL ARTIST STATEMENT:
For my image of pears, I am trying to capture vibrance and beauty. I love all of the color in nature, and I think that the pears represent natural beauty. For my image of silverware, I really focused on the reflection of light off of the silverware. I also wanted to make the silverware arranged in an interesting way that makes you think and wonder when you look at it. Finally, I think that my image of peaches represents all of the great things in the world. All you have to do is explore and there are so many interesting things to be found in any place on the earth.
OTHER RESOURCES:
http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500037194
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Groover
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/arts/design/jan-groover-postmodern-photographer-dies-at-68.html