Florence Rooftops by Aart Groothuis

Artist Statement

The complicated magic of Florence seen from above.

About the Artist

There are so many famous photographers who set the direction and tone that describes the photography we have today. My two heroes are the American photographer Ansel Adams and the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Adams showed the power of black and white photography with his amazing images of Yosemite National Park in America.  His images reflect his profound ability to capture what he saw before him. Cartier-Bresson, street photographer amongst other things, worked in the streets of Paris, France. His  evocative work is driven by his concept of the ‘decisive moment’ in making the image. His work taught us to press the shutter at just the right moment.

Since that time photography has evolved from the large format glass plate negatives of Adams, to the roll film used by Cartier-Bresson, to the present era of digital photography. In this digital age exhibition I have included images from a number of countries and of different subjects.  They were all printed in my studio.

I trust that Adams and Cartier-Bresson would find favour with my work.

The works in this exhibition cover a number of years and are taken in parts of the world that are important to me.

I trust that the images you see here do their subjects justice.

The Exhibition

There is half a lifetime between my first very simple and limited camera and the images in the ‘Other Worlds’ exhibition at the Humble House gallery. In the meantime I have learnt a lot about the worlds that I have lived in and travelled to and the best camera and the best camera settings to use to suit those many different occasions.

Other Worlds’ includes images from those countries and locations. I have selected the 16 images in the exhibition because I feel that these display both the location, the photography and the printing employed to create the works you see on the walls of the exhibition.

Then there is the choice of colour or black and white. Having grown up on black and white film processing and now, in the colour digital age, there are still images that look more appealing in black and white. You will find these in the exhibition, plus those that are in colour.

In a wonderful way ‘Other Worlds’ hangs comfortably amongst the exquisite antiquarian Chinese furniture and artifacts at the Humble House gallery.