CCLaP

(Click the above image to see a larger [700-pixel] version.)

I'm happy to announce that CCLaP has its newest Fellow; it's Chicago-based visual artist and fashion designer Brian Heiser. Brian and I met at a local cafe where he works, through mutual friends of ours; I'm a big fan of his work, and am sure you will be as well. Don't forget, Brian has his own category page here at the site now, a central page where you'll be able to find all the latest news and work by him; he also has his own RSS feed, for those who would like to get the latest from him delivered in real time. This is a benefit we give to all Fellows, in fact, along with free admission to all our live events (or copies of our first ten books, for those who live out of town); those who are interested can click here to learn all the details.

I asked Brian if he would give us a few thoughts on the subject of art and creativity; here's what he had to say...

"Art is visual, something different, abstract, or unharmed. To define yourself as an artist is somewhat indifferent; everyone is an artist in and of themselves. It's the people who see things in an obscure way, making an environment look completely different in which no one else could see makes them specific in that understanding. People everyday say that they themselves are artists, but when in fact they are just replications of what someone else did, but I guess that could be defined as art as well. I don't want to pronounce myself in those limited terms, but I want my visual ideas to be out there for people to view. What I see in the world is raw and the naturalness thereof can be beautiful, through that I am inspired and use it to an advantage. I appreciate small simple things and with that my inspiration flows. I have no prerequisites to show for, all I have is myself. Simply look, take in, like or dislike. But in the end remember we are all the same, just some see things a little differently and through that art is made."

Well put! Brian's donated quite a bit of work to CCLaP, by the way, over 20 photographs altogether; we'll be slowly getting that work posted here to the site over the next few months. Thanks again for joining, Brian, and I hope you enjoy your Fellow experience.

Today's photograph is the first one we've exhibited by new Fellow Brian Heiser (bio, category page, RSS feed). This is one of over 50 photographs that Brian has donated the publishing rights to, and I'm not sure why I picked this particular one as the first; perhaps because it combines so many of the things about Brian's work overall that I like...

--A great sense of formalism, not only in composition but in gray tones;
--A twist towards the surreal, with unique lighting effects that invoke the Victorian Age;
--And a tight focus on subject matter, concentrating mostly on images that are inherently interesting.

Plus, I love that he just candidly took this photo on a contemporary Chicago sidewalk one day, yet looks like it could be a still from a 50-year-old French New Wave flick. That says a lot not only about Chicago, I think, but of Brian's skills as a photographer; you can look forward to a lot more over the coming months.

Please note that this photo's title merely reflects CCLaP's numbering system for Brian's work, and was not deliberately chosen by Brian as this image's name. To see a larger (700-pixel) version, please click on the smaller image above.

By the way, I thought there was something fishy about Brian's original self-portrait! I thought maybe it was just a much older photo of himself, from before I knew him; but then after editing the rest of his submissions, realize that he'd simply mislabeled one of them as his pick for his bio. The one above is actually Brian, which as friends can attest looks much more like him than the last one; it's been replaced in his official bio here as well. As before, click on that smaller image if you'd like to see a larger one. Sorry for the confusion, Brian!