Insta-Con | Connie Imboden

connieimboden

#WayBackWednesday • In my adult life, I've only

#WayBackWednesday
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In my adult life, I've only ever created one self-portrait, which was back in 1990 in my very earliest explorations into working with mirrors. I had just started to experiment with scratching, scarring, and de-silvering the surface of the mirror to disrupt its smooth, reflective surface, transforming subjects in front of and behind it.
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Many years earlier, as a young student at @marylandinstitutecollegeofart in the early 1970's, self-portraits were my primary subject matter. The same hands-on, anomalous spirit within drove me to cut, scrape, and even scotch-tape my negatives to transform otherwise straightforward self-portraits into expressions of the true identity I felt hidden beneath layers of social masks. While at the time I had no intention of creating such statements, the power of hindsight has made clear that they were revelations of my veiled insecurities, and my desire to conceal my true self.
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#fineartphotography #photography #throughthelens #fineart #transformation

I am consistently taken aback by the connections t

I am consistently taken aback by the connections that keep revealing themselves between my images and the work of Edvard Munch. Sometimes they are straightforward, and other times they create a link that is almost more of a reinterpretation, although no less direct. The merging of the figures in Munch’s “Kiss” from 1897 next to the literal merging of the figures in Untitled # 08-20-21-402 is a great example, and took my breath away when I discovered it.
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#munch #edvardmunch #admiration #inspiration #influence #photography #painting @edvard_munch_art @munchmuseet.no

Through the looking glass: video footage from a sh

Through the looking glass: video footage from a shoot back in 2016, when I was photographing Carl in the mirrors and incorporating color through large pieces of cloth and fabric in the background…
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#videofromtheshoot #fineart #fineartphotography #photography #behindthescenes #behindthescenesphotoshoot #photoshoot

Rodin “The Shade”, 1840-1917, and Untitled # 4

Rodin “The Shade”, 1840-1917, and Untitled # 4-24-12-012 (2012)
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I’ve really enjoyed discovering unintended connections with my images and that of artists whose work I admire. After sharing some of these and receiving so many insightful suggestions, I was inspired to browse the portfolio and see if there were any more I may have missed. I found this one striking, and is a connection I’d never realized until seeing it in conjunction with the sculpture by Rodin.

Untitled # 10-29-21-484 • Updated links in the b

Untitled # 10-29-21-484
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Updated links in the bio, check out all the latest in the Portfolio!
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#photography #throughthelens #fineart #transformation

LAST CALL!! Visual Illusions, Level 1, with @nordp

Something a little Halloween appropriate, and to s

Something a little Halloween appropriate, and to share my love for the work of Edvard Munch…
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There are many artists that I have been interested in, several artists that I admire, but only a couple have penetrated my psyche and become as much a part of me as my DNA. Munch, is one of those.
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This comparison is from a collection of images looking at the correlation between his paintings and my images, you can read more on “Edvard Munch & Me”, on the blog at
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http://connieimboden.com/2020/02/edvard-munch-me
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Have a safe and scary #Halloween, stay creepy!! 😉😱
#munch #edvardmunch #admiration #inspiration #influence #photography #painting @edvard_munch_art @munchmuseet.no

Another glimpse of connections through the years,

Another glimpse of connections through the years, this one 26 years apart. Untitled # 3757, 1991 on the left, and Untitled # 05-01-17-819, 2017 on the right
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#blackandwhitephotography #fineartphotography #photo #photography #photographer #thenandnow

In Untitled # 06-10-09-189, the model's face is su

In Untitled # 06-10-09-189, the model's face is submerged (seen on the right side) and lit by an underwater strobe, a light fast and bright enough to render it sharp despite a very slow shutter speed. The face on the left side is his reflection on the surface of the water, as seen from underneath. The shutter speed is so slow and the exposure is so long that the warm light above the water manages to illuminate the body just barely below the surface. You can see how the strobe has sharpened the right side of his face that is submerged in the water, making it both sharp and much bluer in hue. The slower shutter speed blurs the motion of the model, my camera, and the subtle movement of the water. It appears as a soft flame between the figures, and I love the effect.
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Illusions are visual puzzles that stop the unconscious or automatic processing of visual information, having the potential to wake us up, at least momentarily, from a casual viewing of our world. Beginning November 3rd, I'll be leading another course through NORDphotography: Visual Illusions, Level 1. We'll be working with the nature of illusions through assignments, discussions, and critiques as a means to create images that may not always be what they seem at first glance. For more info and to see former students work, head to the Workshops page on my website at connieimboden.com!

#ThrowbackThursday: BEAUTIFUL feature in @plethora

#ThrowbackThursday: BEAUTIFUL feature in @plethora_magazine
back in September 2018 for their 7th issue, and just in time for #photobookweek Thanks again, Plethora!!
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#Repost @plethora_magazine with @get.repost
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Friday the 5th of October, we are hosting a talk at Photobook Week, Aarhus in collaboration with the Verpan flagship store. Swing by Vestergade 8 at 17.30 if you are in town. #photobookweek #verpan #plethoramagazine #connieimboden #issue7

Untitled # 3573, 1990

Untitled # 3573, 1990

More recent work… • Catch all the latest at ht

More recent work…
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Catch all the latest at http://connieimboden.com/portfolio

Haven’t posted one of these in a while… Lookin

Haven’t posted one of these in a while…
Looking at connections between old & new work. 21 years apart, on the left is Untitled #3572, 1990, and on the right is Untitled #9-27-11-0057, 2011

I often talk about the unexpected psychological as

I often talk about the unexpected psychological aspects that emerge in an artists work when working intuitively. In some of these recent images, I feel a sort of melodic, lyrical expression, and some of the shapes resemble musical instruments.
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What makes this all the more interesting to me is that, like so many other people, I had developed a pandemic pastime: learning to play classical guitar. With the majority of 2020 spent under strict quarantine, I started a daily practice, which I continue to this day. I hadn't thought of this connection until much later, of course, but what do you think?
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Do these images feel musical, do the forms make you think of instruments?

This wonderful portrait of me was created by the b

This wonderful portrait of me was created by the beautiful and gifted @bonnieschupp . Bonnie was a friend, photographer, writer, and teacher. The art world and cultural community in #bmore suffered a great loss when she died earlier this year due to pancreatic cancer. After her passing, her husband David delivered a print of this striking image. For me, it resounds because it is still true to Bonnie’s unique vision while incorporating aspects of my own work, with a sort of nod to the materials I work with.
Thank you Bonnie, for this portrait, and for all of your gracious gifts and contributions to the community and art world.

Today, Sept 28th, happens to be my birthday (🥳)

Today, Sept 28th, happens to be my birthday (🥳), and it felt appropriate to look back on some old images I created as a young, insecure outsider struggling with identity issues.
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This image is one of many self-portraits I made as a young student at @marylandinstitutecollegeofart , and reveal expressions of my desire at the time to hide my true self, to conceal what I feared to be dark secrets behind the veil of a mask. I was, of course, unaware of it at the time- it has taken many years to fully grasp the meaning behind these images and understand their significance.
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As I look back today, although I no longer deal with the same issues I dealt with as the younger version of myself, I can’t deny that they had a significant impact on who I am and the work I’ve created over the past 30+ years. The theme of the mask has been a consistent and recurring one in many of my images. And I love it. I believe it is one of the most powerful elements of art-making: to share the most complex encounters of life, the physical as well as the psychological. It is a way of sharing our experiences, of connecting us with one another, of understanding one another, understanding ourselves, and sharing the experience of our mutual humanity.

UPDATE! I’m still getting wonderful suggestions

UPDATE! I’m still getting wonderful suggestions on comparisons to the gesture and form in this latest image, and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw this: Michelangelo’s hidden self-portrait with Saint Bartholomew in the his masterpiece fresco in the Sistine Chapel!
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#fineart #visualillusions #michelangelo #arthistory

Here is an image I made a few months back that has

Here is an image I made a few months back that has provoked many complex associations for me - perhaps most obviously that with the KKK hood. As I looked into the use of "pointy hats", I found them to have a long and varied history, ranging from a status symbol of wealth in the middle ages, to dark mysticism and connections to magic and ritual. My research was fascinating, and I summarized my findings in this blog post:
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http://connieimboden.com/2021/09/disturbing-pointy-hats
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#visualillusion #photography #incameraillusions #fineart #illusions #pointyhats #associations

I LOVED the responses everyone suggested when I as

I LOVED the responses everyone suggested when I asked what this image is reminiscent of in art history! All of them were wonderful, and many were so striking I had to share them in a blog post. Here are some of my favorites, swipe ➡️ to see them side-by-side, and check out the link below for my thoughts on these fabulous connections!
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https://connieimboden.com/2021/08/resemblances-in-latest-work
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#visualillusion #photography #incameraillusions #fineart

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