Photomontage as a medium for storytelling
Kaisa sometimes makes photomontages to tell the story of a special species or place. It can be a time-consuming process (we may have to wait months or a year to photograph a needed subject) and she doesn’t get the chance to make many of them.
"Renewal" part 3 of a triptydch of "Death, Absorption, Renewal" by Kaisa Breeden
“Photomontage can say much more than the proverbial thousand words. Among the great inventions of the twentieth century, and still in its swaddling clothes, photomontage provides opportunities that have yet to be fully exploited.
Photomontage is illustration by association, by juxtaposition, by subtlety. It collapses time and pulls extraneous elements together—an ideal instrument for storytelling and for the visualisation of complex ideas.”
—Paul Rand, “From Lascaux to Brooklyn”, 1996
“Photomontage gives me the chance to thoroughly explore a subject in all its phases and nuances. I can combine different angles and viewpoints, growth stages, cycles, colours, textures, changing light and parts of the surroundings. Sometimes I include text. All these different elements, I hope, come together in a natural harmony.
When something ‘grabs’ me, I see it very clearly as a finished montage. I then go about gathering or taking note of all the material I need to realise the final montage. I might be able to see it in my head, but Stan can’t. Sometimes I’ll be directing him to take a picture of this or that and he’ll patiently oblige me, even though he might be quite bemused with it all; until he sees the finished piece.
When I’m struck by the story of a species or place, it comes to me in a rapid tumble of images, snapshots of feelings overlaid upon each other. I can’t possibly describe something like that to someone who can’t see it. Photomontage lets me reveal what goes on in my imagination and so give it form. It speaks for me in a way I cannot otherwise.”—Kaisa Breeden
"Sanctum", a photomontage by Kaisa Breeden
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”—Einstein
The Art of Biodiversity
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- How Kaisa learned PhotoshopI learned Photoshop the way John Paul Caponigro taught it in his fabulous book, Adobe Photoshop Master Class. When I picked that up 10+ years ago, I was very intimidated. This was no quick-slap Learn-Photoshop-the-easy-way book. But there was no other book like it: by an artist, for artists.… Read the rest […]
- Kaisa’s iPhoneography on Digital Photography SchoolKaisa’s work was featured in Digital Photography School’s top 10 iPhoneographers by Misho Baranovic. … Read the rest […]
- Kaisa, Stan and their iPhone on ABC ArtsAn article about our explorations with iPhoneography, Rainforest Country and Wildflower Country is up on the ABC Arts site. Check it out! Leave a comment, have a rant… … Read the rest […]
- Close calls with nature and an iPhoneKaisa has fallen in love with iPhoneography. She’s only had it a couple of months, but they are inseparable. Kaisa and the snake—no; Kaisa and the iPhone, we mean. So now we span one extreme to the other: high end and lo-fi photography.… Read the rest […]
