I went walking in the woods the other day, and I was delighted by the beautiful light for photographing that I encountered on this mild November day. I’m gathering source images for a Fall chapter in my ongoing series entitled Tangled, and I’m not sure if any of these will work, but I was pleased to capture them on my walk. I’m amazed at all the colors I observed even in the midst of the stark, bleak death always associated with this time of year.
Thinking about making a move…
Recently I updated my photography website and removed all commercial related content leaving mollyjarboe.com dedicated solely to my fine art work. I’m thinking about starting a separate site dedicated to portrait and event photography and making more than a passive go at this kind of work on the side. Here’s an example of a portrait I took of a little friend of mine named Aksel. I’m trying out a new logo too.
About my new project, Tangled
It’s been a while since my last post and the main reason for this is that I’ve been busy making new work. This is a good thing, so I’m not feeling too terribly bad about falling behind on my blogs. But it’s about time for an update, so I thought I’d share some of the work.
My new photo project is entitled Tangled and it’s now up as part of a two person show with Maria Pabico LaRodonda at Studio Hart in Buffalo. Here are three images from the project followed by my artist statement. I’m really excited about the new work and It’s already expanding in new directions. I’ll have a solo show in October at The Backroom @ Hardware too. More news to follow…
See more images from Tangled and other projects at mollyjarboe.com
Tangled is set in wooded areas where the natural landscape is photographed, then digitally altered. Fantastically lit thickets and felled branches serve as backdrops to a cast of characters that seem to possess clues to secrets existing just beyond view. No specific story line is spelled out, leaving the viewer free to wonder about and imagine a narrative of his or her own.
For me as the artist, Tangled represents the most recent chapter in an obsessive retelling of a story from my past about a child who has lost her favorite toy. She imagines the toy has come to life and she longs to go out into the world in search of it. Tangled gets its inspiration from various children’s books and fairy tales, and seeks to awaken in its viewer the kind of unquestioning sense of adventure that can thrive in the imaginations of children.
Across my body of work I consistently explore themes of loss, memory, imagination and dreams. Photography can freeze and eternalize what would be fleeting moments in time, but there is no mechanism for this in dreams. We rely on memory. The moments and scenes represented in my work exist in a mysterious space somewhere between the real and the imagined. There is no way to photograph dreams.
MJ
Grant Street Adventure: Chuchifrito Hut
We live on Grant and Lafayette above Sweet_ness 7 Cafe on Buffalo’s West side. We moved here from the Elmwood Village almost two years ago and even though it’s only a 15 minute walk between the two vastly different Neighborhoods, we still feel like we’re braving a new frontier. Unlike the Elmwood Village, 
which is for the most part thriving as we speak, the West Side is just getting its legs back after years of spiraling decline. One surprising source for the slow but undeniable revitalization is a burgeoning immigrant population which has contributed to new business growth in countless ways. Once known as a thriving Italian neighborhood, the West Side has become enriched by the arrival of newcomers from Puerto Rico, Somalia, Sudan, Burma, and many other places in the world.
Recently we enjoyed a very different kind of lunch for us from the Cuchifrito Hut, a Puerto Rican food stand right across from our apartment. Smoked pork with fried plantains and rice with pigeon peas. We had enough meat left over to fashion pulled pork sandwiches for dinner later on. We sautéed some onions, added the pork all chopped up, BBQ sauce, served it on buns dressed with coleslaw from Wegmans deli and pickles. We served Island Beans on the side, also from Wegmans deli. A perfect solution for two meals on a day that was too hot to cook – inside that is. Take a look at that pig!!
Omaha Sprouts
I sent my niece, Aydan in Omaha this not so typical postcard from Uncommon Goods. It’s a postgarden. – “You just pop open your card, water the base, and sprinkle its packet over the diorama. In just a few days, you’ll have unruly sprouts of “Lepidium sativum” (that’s watercress) furling through the paper arches of your mini botanical garden.”
Below are some pictures of the postgarden from UncommonGoods.com and some that Aydan sent me to show me how her postgarden is is coming along. Her mother sent the last image when Aydan was away. It’s growing very fast.
