Olivia Parker unknown date, 1941-Present
Olivia Parker is an American photographer born in 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from Wellesley college in 1963 with a degree in art history. She originally began her career as a painter but by 1973 she switched to photography. Throughout Parker's life as a photographer she experimented with a variety of camera formats and colors. In 1995 she transitioned to digital photography and found new ways to make photos. Her most recent work is to capture what her husband's mind was going through during Alzheimers, in her photography. At the moment Parker has over a hundred exhibits in the United States and abroad, her work is showcased in many major, private museum collections.
Parker's photography uses a lot of shadow work to occupy empty space. She often has one object that is the focal point, while the rest is darkened or blurred. She tends to switch between unsaturated photos and photos with color. Parker's photography solely consists of still life either taken digitally or through a polaroid. She uses natural light to take her photographs that include both natural and man-made objects.
Parker had many inspirations for her photographs such as the history of science, the natural world, toys and games. Her photographs are known for being simple and elegant yet being capable of evoking strong memories and feelings upon looking at the photographs. Parker often expressed wanting to invite viewers to explore the wonders of the natural world with her through her work. She wanted her images to capture her fascination with the never ending wonders of nature. She wanted her photos to encourage us to imagine the world around us and look at in from a deeper prospective.
Olivia Parker was inspired by many people such as Paul Gaugin, Martin Johnson Heade, Robert Rauschenberg, and Lemuel Wilmarth. Gaugin and Parker shared a common interest in pondering the meaning of human existence. Heade was an American painter who painted many forms of nature, him and Parker share their common love for the outside and nature as a whole. Rauschenberg and Parker both work with still life objects in their pieces which is probably why Parker was inspired by his work. Lastly, Wilmarth was an American painter who did many works with peaches. Parker incorporated this into her work as many of her still life's were with fruit, most commonly apples.
Source 1: Olivia Parker's best photograph: an early warning of Alzheimer'sThe Delicate Intimacy of Olivia Parker's Photography
artandobject.com
Source 2: https://www.artandobject.com › news › delicate-intima...
The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com › artanddesign › jun › oliv...
Olivia Parker | International Photography Hall of Fame
source 3: international Photography Hall of Fame and Museumhttps://iphf.org › Inductees
Original Crumpled |
Emulated
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Original Shells |
Emulated The Legacy of the Still Life in Olivia Parker’s Exploratory Photography | Artsy |
Original Radishes |
Emulated The Legacy of the Still Life in Olivia Parker’s Exploratory Photography | Artsy |