Blumen

My first Photobook.

Scroll down - #BlumenARCO

Blumen Photobook Cover

Design: Cecilia de Jorge

Altea I

Print available in 15x10cm / 15x20cm & 20x30cm Photographic Paper RC - 40x30cm & 50x70

Irene IV

Print available in 15x10cm / 15x20cm & 20x30cm Photographic Paper RC - 40x30cm & 50x70

Blumen Photobook Cover

Design: Cecilia de Jorge

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This Photobook is a tribute to all the women of my life. It's a project aimed to combine photography and essay writing. I work in collaboration with talented writers and poets.

In one of my recent texts about Irene Cruz's photography, the one attached to the exposition Aus heiterem Himmel, that took place in the autumn of 2013 in Berlin, I dare to write about the artistic activity of this young photographer: “Salvador Dalí, in his both lucid and outrageous madness, bragged about his particular naturalism when he pointed out. I do my paintings barefooted, I like to feel the ground beneath my two feet. Irene Cruz always photographs barefooted, is barefooted when she feels the damp ground, she creates barefooted because she likes to fly over the nature by the witching hour from late sunset to early dusk. Flying, flowing, living and jumping. To fall down heavily on the real ground once again; so as to feel beneath her feet the moisture of the mist that is not naturalist anymore because it has turned into Romantic poetry”.

Now I come to fully affirm such an extreme metaphor. Since Irene keeps on photographing barefooted, literally and metaphorically speaking. She works barefooted, that is how she feels the passion of witnessing far more better; and she photographs her models barefooted too so that they could feel the dampness of the ground and fly off- free and ethereal- towards a poetic universe that the author creates surrounded by that half-light which seems to be trapped in that magical moment when darkness and clarity are fighting a bloody battle to death.

In addition, she works barefooted in a figurative sense, because of her appetite for risk and her constant necessity of taking on new and surprising challenges, as the one that we could see in this appetizing book. A book which encodes “brainy” diptychs, in which Irene reflects her “heartfeel” landscapes, and then she puts both of them face to face- within a thrilling expresionist dialogue- with the pictures of her most beloved friends, dressing their own clothes, hiding their faces and their identities in order to become genuine photographic vital doubles...

Photography is, indeed, a look to the world. To take a photo is to witness reality from a different viewpoint. To watch and monitor what is being watched as anyone else would ever do. And also looking for new realities within her artistic epiphany. That is the truth. Nevertheless, photographs are never a mere reflection of the world... it is much more than that: it is a terribly complex process that goes from the vision to the observation. From that point, it goes to the author's thoughts, who creates, illuminates, intuits, waits, shoots, develops... in this graceful and everlasting loop, she manages to get the sequence started once again: watching, observing, thinking and making the viewer think, while he wonders expectant, since the world reflected by the photographs has little in common with the world that he has seen before; and this so because it is another world, another reality; indeed it is different. Furthermore, it is totally unthinkable until it becomes “that photograph”.

The photography just as any other beau art is a chisel (maybe it is a hammer too) which with the artist moulds materials so that the resulting pictures could “speak”, “say something”, “propose” and “move”. Irene's photographs are moving because of their unachievable beauty, because of their great simplicity, at the same time, and paradoxically, because of their endless visual designs that they reveal, because of the great amount of temptations that are proposed. Temptations and proposals that were already written in the depths of the landscapes and inside the models, even before that magical moment when the shutter is activated.

The value of Irene Cruz's photographic work has been appreciated in many forums and it stands out for its strength and coherence. Nonetheless at this very moment- in this complex book- we would notice a new artistic horizon in her personal development as an artist. It is in her personal development where Irene opens a new path just as subtle as stark: the wish of walking while sharing the beauty of the inventing act. Probably we take photos not only because we want to show the others our way to see the world, but also because we want people to love us and we want the future viewer of our art work to share with us the joy of creating. The extraordinary French photographer, Robert Doisneau, that with so much success and elegance loved the Parisian night and made so many others love it too, pointed out in that regard: While I was taking a photo, I always enjoyed to think about showing the photograph to my friends, so as to have fun watching it all of us together. Irene not only enjoys showing her photography to her friends. For this new project she has also involved her friends in the creative activity from the very beginning. She has introduced them in her landscapes, she has dressed them as she dresses herself, she has compelled them to look like her... but, at the same time, he has invited them to live and enjoy with her the happiness of this creative moment. In addition, she has compelled them to plunge into the most private depths of the game of creation. (...)

Eduardo Rodríguez Merchán

Professor at the Complutense University (Madrid)

En Español

#BlumenARCO

Photographs by Irene Cruz

Blumen serie, 2013

Exhibition of 48 photographs of 10x15cm each.

Glued with adhesive tape (in other words, it does not leave a spot, it does not damage the wall)

Signed vintage copies.

Free price.Madrid/IFEMA. Pavilions 7 and 9. Public rest room.

February the 19th from 13:00h till you want.

Hello!

You are invited to look at Blumen's photographic installation realized in 2013 by the artist Irene Cruz. You can acquire any of these photographs for free if you want to. In return, we ask to to share the photograph, accompanied by a brief comment, in any of the social networks that you may make use of, Twitter above all, with the hashtag #BlumenARCO

In these photographs Irene Cruz, who is used to self-representation, has invited other women to her creative game. Thanks to this invitation, the artist divides herself into subject (photographer) and object (those models who act as Irene). Two women, both the artist and the model, keeping in mind that the latter could be any of us, are introduced in an emotional landscape full of meaning and metaphors.

#BlumenARCO has been installed in the most intimate corner that we have been able to find in a public space. The artistic observation is practically an involuntary act, on the contrary, the acquisition of one of these photographies is a conscious act.Questioning the main value of art generates a new reading that goes beyond the economic value: observation . In addition, this project “aims” to involve both the audience of this art fair and the users of social networks.

Thanks to all of you who may want to join this project!

Irene Cruz in collaboration with Emma Trinidad

News about #BlumenARCO installation:

- Plataforma PAC

- Contemporaneidades

- Cultura Suicida

- La mirada de Polifemo

- DDR PhotoArtGallery

- Baldosas Rojas

- Nicola Mariani's Blog

- Absoult Network

- Irene Cruz's Blog