Blue Spheres

Beginning with scraps of paper and found imagery, Bill Armstrong created colorful collages which he then photographs with the focus ring on his camera lens placed on infinity. The resultant images are a wonderful hybrid of media (collage and photography) that seamlessly meld original and found imagery, while teasing the boundary between representation and abstraction.

Unifying a broad range of diverse imagery, a common theme of Armstrong’s Infinity series is to depict photographically the idea of the spirit — often regarded at something unable to be seen. Drawing from a variety of belief systems from around the globe, the artist’s groupings reference a range of sources — from Western ideas of the celestial or heavenly (as in the Blue Spheres) and common notions of ghosts and apparitions, to African concepts of “evil spirits” and Eastern mandalas and Buddha.

Apparition

The mysterious and powerful images in this body of work capture fleeting “visitations” from the spirit world — visions as they might appear in dreams or heightened states of wakefulness. The photographs are made using Armstrong’s unique process of re-working found images and photographing them extremely out of focus. In this case, the original source materials are reproductions of Roman sculpture shot with the camera lens set at infinity.

The meanings underpinning Apparition radiate in a number of directions. While many of the images are dark, ghoulish visions, others are hopeful spiritual presences. For Armstrong, the ghosts of ancient Rome represent particularly appropriate messengers for our time, as we contemplate the fate of our own empire.

Masks & Skulls

Beginning with scraps of paper and found imagery, Bill Armstrong created colorful collages which he then photographs with the focus ring on his camera lens placed on infinity. The resultant images are a wonderful hybrid of media (collage and photography) that seamlessly meld original and found imagery, while teasing the boundary between representation and abstraction.

Unifying a broad range of diverse imagery, a common theme of Armstrong’s Infinity series is to depict photographically the idea of the spirit — often regarded at something unable to be seen. Drawing from a variety of belief systems from around the globe, the artist’s groupings reference a range of sources — from Western ideas of the celestial or heavenly and common notions of ghosts and apparitions, to African concepts of “evil spirits” and Eastern mandalas and Buddha.

Kathy’s Beauty Nook

Growing up in a small town in northern Massachusetts, John Arsenault spent a great deal of time during his childhood in his Aunt Kathy’s hair salon. Opened in the late 1960s, Kathy’s Beauty Nook has catered to three generations of women, most of whom now range from 60 to 96 years of age. Arsenault enjoyed the upbeat, bustling environment of the beauty parlor, and it was there that his aunt first recognized and later encouraged her nephew’s exceptional creativity. Now in his thirties, Arsenault has spent the past two years returning periodically to Haverhill, Massachusetts in order to photograph his aunt and her colorful clientele. Aside from shooting just clippers, curlers, and blue-tinted coiffures, Arsenault is documenting a tight-knit community of women who have shared the majority of their lives with one another. While the photographs are gorgeously crafted and often very funny, there is a notable sensitivity, too, as the artist’s subjects are also the people of his personal life.

Figures

Beginning with scraps of paper and found imagery, Bill Armstrong created colorful collages which he then photographs with the focus ring on his camera lens placed on infinity. The resultant images are a wonderful hybrid of media (collage and photography) that seamlessly meld original and found imagery, while teasing the boundary between representation and abstraction.

Unifying a broad range of diverse imagery, a common theme of Armstrong’s Infinity series is to depict photographically the idea of the spirit — often regarded at something unable to be seen. Drawing from a variety of belief systems from around the globe, the artist’s groupings reference a range of sources — from Western ideas of the celestial or heavenly and common notions of ghosts and apparitions (as in Figures), to African concepts of “evil spirits” and Eastern mandalas and Buddha.