photo-eye Gallery is thrilled to announce two new images by Julie Blackmon, Lot for Sale and Peggy's Beauty Shop. Blackmon's fantastic and surreal tableaux comment on the contemporary American family while referencing a 19th Century Flemish aesthetic. Both new photo-montages are indicative of Blackmon's signature style with their combination of narrative elements, intricately detailed compositions and a sly sense of humor. photo-eye reached out to Julie Blackmon about the inspirations behind her first new pieces for 2015.
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| Lot for Sale, 2015 – Julie Blackmon |
Lot for Sale
"This is a field that I've created several scenes on. Something about it keeps drawing me back — the way the road disappears on the horizon, and the open sky. It's been for sale for some time, and every time I'm out there shooting, I consider the possibilities of where I'd build a house (if I owned it), what direction it would face, the view, etc. So I decided to make that the narrative. There's something so timeless and instinctive about the need to settle the land and imagine the possibilities of what it can become."
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| Peggy's Beauty Shop, 2015 – Julie Blackmon |
Peggy's Beauty Shop
"For over forty years in downtown Springfield (on the old Route 66), this has been operated and run by the same woman (Peggy). The vintage signage is what first drew me to it, but what ended up making me love the place, was the fact that it's still happening. The walker out front belonged to one of her clients inside (who arrived midway into our shoot) and several other customers came and went while we were there. None of them could have been any younger than 90. Seeing this, I felt a sort of reverence for this little slice of American beauty shop culture that will be forever gone very, very soon, and an awe and respect for the fact they were still going strong, after all these years, giving it everything they had."—Julie Blackmon
Read recent interviews and more about Julie Blackmon
See all of Julie Blackmon's most recent work
For more information and to purchase prints please contact Gallery Director Anne Kelly at 505-988-5152 ext 202 or anne@photoeye.com