[KELP JOURNAL] This is your second time on The Wave. Welcome back! Last time we talked in general about your photography and many other accomplishments. This time, I wanted to chat specifically a bit more about your art. These series of photos feel transportive. I love how great art can act as a portal to another time or place. Do you think that is a vital function of modern art to help usher us away from reality for a bit?
[KJ HANNAH GREENBERG] Or, perhaps, to help us embrace reality. Our fast lives predispose us to being oblivious to the wonders around us. Maybe, both; take us out of electronic mode and return us/make us aware of existent beauty.
[KJ] The mood in these photos feels vastly different than the previous series you submitted to The Wave. The colors are brighter, making the scenes inviting. Feels a bit like capturing a summer day in a still. Was this intentional?
[KJHG] The two series were taken on different beaches during different seasons, so the lighting is necessary different. To boot, as I age, what’s principle to me shifts. Even the passage of six months or a year alters my point of view.
[KJ] Another interesting connection in this series is the boats, specifically the masts. The masts in the photos create lines that draw the eye upward creating movement and a subconscious uplifting emotion. How often does the angle of shot factor into your framing?
[KJHG] BH, more than four decades ago, as a university student, I took Elements of Design. I enrolled during the summer so that I could devote entire days to that course’s assignments. Because I was a Technical (Science) Writing and Editing major, I was required to learn about layout. However, I was given approval for substituting the Art Department course for a more theory-based one.
I remain grateful that I was granted that permission. During that course, four graduate students, another undergrad, and myself were immersed in the concepts of color, line, space (negative and positive), shape, value (gradations of color), form, and texture.
I learned so much! Because we were tasked with elements, not ends, we were safe to take risks and were able to stretch. Personally, I tried many techniques and materials that were new to me (e.g., after using acrylics in that class, I never returned to oils. Albeit I also increasingly used watercolors [with rice paper] and Indian inks). Ultimately, I experimented so much that my “final” covered all the walls in one of the school’s galleries.
Accordingly, the juxtaposition of horizontal figures with vertical lines in the harbor photos reflects some of the constructs I learned that summer. I’m so glad I took that course.
[KJ] I noticed that there is a difference in my mood in photographs with a larger proportion of foreground/middle ground than background. For instance, in your photographs, the middle ground with the tables makes me feel like I am sitting there at a neighboring table or going to be there soon. But in the photos of the marina with the sky that doesn’t seem to end, it makes me feel like I want to be out there on the water, not walking on the dock. For you, how does proportion of the elements in the landscape play into your shooting?
[KJHG] It depends. Ashkelon has known and continues to know war. Hubby and I visited during a time of peace. Hopefully, any yearning created by my images is a yearning to reach for positive possibilities.
Mostly, my photography consists of landscapes or of closeups of flora. My paintings, both actual and digital, though, tend to be vibrant and abstract. My glasswork and ceramics, too, are often colorful. For the most part, my visual art tends to embody hope, joy, and thankfulness. Contrariwise, my books (see: kjhannahgreenberg.net), sometimes depict individual or social hardships.
