found art – Page 7

Today’s Pic: The Hidden Art of Renovation

July 31, 2015 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Cement floor with spray paint guides for electricians and engineers. Midtown Manhattan corporate renovation project.

If you look closely, way cool images just emerge from the floor.

I’m pretty sure the temperature reached close to 8000 degrees in New York this week. The sweat poured off my brow, and my hair stuck stubbornly to my neck. I hated life. Then, on a tour of a construction site in a skyscraper I’ll be working on in midtown Manhattan, I looked down and found reason to smile.

Spray painted markings used to communicate placement of electrical wiring and other conduits that keep a corporate machine on the grid. They could have been rough sketches for a Hieronymus Bosch painting, some secret codes from a tech convention, or a faraway glimpse into the cosmos.

In any case, these images were just waiting to be found; I’m glad they found me. Because suddenly, the brutal heat gave me a break, and I got inspired from the simple act of observation.

Red Light Rauschenberg

August 31, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1) Grab shot on Olympic and Bundy, Los Angeles

Let traffic serve as your muse

Next time you’re stuck in one of our city’s nightmarish jams, take advantage of the unplanned stop. The wait at the stubborn red light just might provide an opportunity for a grab shot worth keeping. I’ve always been a fan of Rauschenberg’s “combine paintings,” and lately I keep seeing quirky versions of them right through my windshield. From tractor trailers to local pool guy trucks, I always find exciting shapes, lines and textures. They make fantastic photographic compositions (Pic #1) — with little or no planning.

(Pic #2) Grab shot in downtown Santa Barbara

The stoplight strategy works for sweet architectural encounters too. (Pics #2, 3, 4) All of these were shot out the window on the way to or in Santa Barbara while waiting for the light to change. Today’s sprawling urban landscape just begs to be captured – and you don’t need extravagant light kits or 10-thousand dollar lenses — just a willingness to conquer the congestion with a fresh look at exactly what’s in front of you.

(Pic #3) Santa Barbara second story. Photo by Josh Kaplan

(Pic #4) Subtle wall wash, Malibu, Cali. Photo by Josh Kaplan

Today’s Pic: Chaos Can Be A Beautiful Thing

July 31, 2014 by Lonnie Lardner

(Pic #1): Treasure on a Truck

On a recent excursion from Los Angeles to San Diego, I drove by what appeared to be a chaotic payload of pure junk. But after closer examination, it turned out to be a very sweet visual treat. I begged my husband to slow down so I could grab the iPhone and shoot the fleeting work of art. (Pic #1)

I’ll never know who the driver was, but I applaud his ingenuity and sense of order. It appears he mathematically calculated a space for everything – thereby creating his own pure act of “organized chaos.”

(Pic #2): “Number 8” oil and enamel on canvas by Jackson Pollock

Chaos on Canvas:

In fine art, especially in emotional abstract expressionism, successful disorder is often considered a “happy accident.”

Jackson Pollock embraced this kind of spontaneity in his work. He is best known for the paintings that look more like haphazard splatters than literal representations of everyday life.

One of Pollock’s contemporaries, Willem de Kooning believed that Pollock brought chaos to the world of painting “so that a new painting could be born out of the chaos he created.”

I can’t imagine my southbound trucker had the same intention, but at least I get to showcase his unintentional, anonymous work of art on the worldwide web.