PORTALS INTO BEAUTY OF BUENOS AIRES: MICHAEL EASTMAN
BUENOS AIRES SOUTHERN LIGHT -- MICHAEL EASTMAN
The doors, windows, hallways of 18th & 19th century buildings in Buenos Aires are amazing openings to behold. Ornate and grand in the style of Belle Époque Paris, we see them in fresh perspective in fine art photographer Michael Eastman’s latest series, “Buenos Aires Southern Light.”
Eastman, who is known for his award-winning large format architectural photos, often of historic buildings that have fallen into disrepair, delights us once again in his depictions of Argentina’s capital city. His richly colored images showcase the golden era, both in memory and in contemporaneous contrast.
Buenos Aires was quite prosperous in the late 1800s and early 1900s -- one if the world’s top 10 economies. The city was considered, at the time, to be the “Paris of South America.” Once posh opulence is now somewhat faded and worn -- it is both a sad testament and a victory that these buildings still stand strong through it all.
Eastman’s Buenos Aires photos are an extension of his iconic style, showing off elegant, empty neoclassical interiors, with no signs of current life, no actual humanity -- only its traces. His images tell stories through the architectural and decorative details, showing the arc of life in the city, once lavishly enjoyed, then suffered through economic and political hardships.
“Generally, interiors fascinate me most. Like book covers that never really tell you much about what’s inside, it is the same with architecture. The façade can be quite deceptive, in fact. It is the interior of a place, the art on the walls, the condition of the surfaces, the objects, the color, the personal mementos that all begin to tell a story about who lives there.”
Interestingly, each photo highlights an opening as a focal point -- both physical and metaphorical, with Eastman conjuring magic with light -- a blue glow in a doorway, a golden radiance emanating from a stage entrance, a glimmering window into another time.
Eastman was born in St. Louis, Missouri and studied at the University of Wisconsin. He is a self-taught photographer who became inspired by Edward Weston and Ansel Adams and, while his subject matter is typically quite different, their influence is clear in his works.
Eastman has documented interiors in Havana, Paris, Rome, New Orleans and other cities over the last fifty years.
Eastman is the recipient numerous prestigious awards. His work is in numerous private and public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. His publications include Havana (Prestel, 2011), Vanishing America (Rizzoli, 2008), and Horses (Knopf, 2003). Eastman currently lives and works in St. Louis.
Eastman is represented by Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York and Zurich and Michael Hoppen Gallery, London.
Read more about Opening Beauty all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.
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