michael kenna

‘Quarried’ Style

May 4, 2021 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

Michael Kenna’s style inspires me. I’ve seen his framed prints for sale in books, online and in galleries. The most amazing for me was an exhibition curated by Chris Beetles in the Huxley Gallery in 2012. Kenna’s art form is his photographic printing of interesting arrangements and patterns found in the natural landscapes. His art is all about tones. Nearly always absent are people. He nearly always works without any form of digital assistance. His analogue world is one of film, chemicals and paper. There’s a continuity that runs throughout his oevre.

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‘Quarried’ Memory

May 3, 2021 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

The granite that forms Dalkey Hill was very close to where large amounts of rock were needed for construction in the early 1800s. The granite itself was located so close to the surface that it be could be quarried easily. And today, these strip-quarried exposures still being described by geology students in annual field trips, something I also did during my undergraduate years. It’s a place within public transport reach of several universities where keen observers can peer into the interior of a granitic pluton.

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‘Quarried’ Arrangements

May 2, 2021 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

My idea for Quarried could be described as a series of exploded views of the one scene, mirroring the way the rock itself was excavated. The harbour in Dun Laoghaire, for example, needed to be visible since the gap in which it would appear was what it was made from. The two harbour piers and that of the South Bull Wall were made from the now absent prominence, a hill that was once higher than anything that survives today. The South Bull was also

The three visible harbour piers were made from the now absent prominence.

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‘Quarried’ Invention

May 1, 2021 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

I had an idea, a simple concept and like photography itself, it took years to be realised. My concept was that one photograph could be interrogated to reveal many stories, each distinct from the main image. Like a book has chapters, and chapters have paragraphs and sentences, the fractal potential of the image could be explored. It wasn’t dissimilar to creating and analysing geological cross sections with geophysical data, something I was involved with for most of my career. I like a challenge but creating Quarried, the April chapbook, turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated.

*Quarried* covers
Available now from Bracket Books Ireland at outlets like FabHappy or WalkingCommentary.

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Quarried Posted

April 30, 2021 by Simon Robinson 1 Comment

‘Landscape photographer Michael Kenna said that he tries to ‘invite viewers into the frame to imagine, experience, sit awhile, meditate, be calm and quiet for some moments, before returning to their busy activities.’

The legend for *Quarried*
Available now from Bracket Books Ireland at outlets like FabHappy or WalkingCommentary.

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Monochrome Choice

January 4, 2021 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

No matter what I read or see of the great monochrome photographers, whether it be Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or Michael Kenna or Edward Steichen or perhaps Donn McCullin or Vivian Maier, I don’t seem to learn enough to be satisfied with my own efforts. These people are some of the greatest proponents of their arts but sometimes their superb work undermines rather than inspires. I think these are normal but sometimes very frustrating limits on our aspirations. As I was taught when I had motorcycle racing aspirations, if you see someone in your mirror that wasn’t there last time you looked, give way, because they are better than you.

Foreground West Pier Dun Laoghaire.
Background decommissioned Pigeon House.

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michael kenna

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