Open to Interpretation
The comment I heard most often regarding my work was “the image tells a story” but I was never sure what story it was telling. When I started to ask I realized that people had their own wildly different interpretations of the images.
Open to Interpretation was the name of my first solo exhibit. There were 12 images and 24 different stories and poems. Friends wrote some of the stories and some were written by people I had never met before the exhibition opening.
I found the interaction between the image and text combined in such a way that the two of them together were greater than either of them independently. At first I just thought it was an interesting twist to an exhibition but found the words added another dimension to the work – allowing me to rediscover the image in ways that I had never imagined.
I’m a tactile person. I love having something to touch and hold. I love books. Beautifully designed and produced books. I find there to be physical connection with the work that doesn’t exist when viewing images hanging on the wall. It feels more intimate with a lasting appeal.
I’m also an entrepreneur and find myself creating arts based programs and events. Somewhere, somehow I’ve always wanted to be part of a creative publishing service. This juried book competition was born of that first solo exhibition – an opportunity for photographers, writers and poets to collaborate and be part of something bigger than themselves.
Over the course of several years a series of 4 books were published: Water’s Edge, Intimate Landscape, Fading Light and Love + Lust. Each began with a call for entry for photographs based on a theme and a response from two writers per image.
Hardcover, 92 pages, 10.5 x 11 inches
32 color images: 64 interpretations
ISBN: 978-0-9848064-0-9
Available
32 color images: 64 interpretations
ISBN: 978-0-9848064-1-6
Hardcover, 96 pages, 10.5 x 11 inches
32 color images: 64 interpretations
ISBN: 978-0-9848064-2-3
Hardcover, 96 pages, 10.5 x 11 inches
31 color images: 62 interpretations
ISBN: 978-0-9848064-3-0
Critical Acclaim
The influence words have on photographs, and vice versa, is of perpetual fascination to those who love the dance of meaning inherent in both types of writing–that is, with letters and with light. To witness them together, as in Open to Interpretation’s entrancing first volume, Water’s Edge, is a unique thrill. I am excited to be part of this project as a juror, and am looking forward to my own dialogue with the photographs submitted under the wonderfully open-ended topic, Fading Light.
George Slade, Photography Curator and Writer, re:photographica
I have always loved writing that responds to art and was especially looking forward to a collection that concentrated on photography, prose, and poetry. I wasn’t disappointed! Water’s Edge, the first in the Open to Interpretation series, is a breath-taking collection, and, having mused one of the photographs into a poem, I appreciate how much creative energy connects its images and words.
Joyce Sutphen, MN Poet Laureate
It has been with great anticipation that I’ve awaited your first collaborative publication. I was not disappointed! This is such a fantastic project. I am fascinated with how people “see” and this feeds right into my exploration of that topic. Look forward to following the contests and future purchases. Well done!
Phyllis Duncan, Book Lover
The very idea of combining award-winning photography with original writing for each piece is exciting. Every page presents a fresh and unique exploration, expanding our perspective and challenging our patterns of interpretation. Intimate Landscape opens us up to experience the world around us on many new levels. What more could one ask from a book?
Laurie Harper, AuthorBiz.com
Excerpts from that first exhibition
651-246-1831
info@ClareONeill.com
Clare O’Neill is a Minneapolis based artist whose work is created by slowly building up a surface with multiple layers—using bold brush strokes and playful drips to create backgrounds full of gesture, spontaneity, and motion. Her work is large, so the photographs are printed on tissue paper in multiple pieces, and then carefully embedded into the layers of hot beeswax.