A Few Words
About Encounters
By Patrick
Stull
Rarely does one have the
opportunity to see imagery coupled with prose that elevate the visual and
cerebral experience. Encounters is that, a collection of
imagery created and compiled over the last 15 years to inspire and challenge
the observer while always empowering the subject. A portion of the portfolio
presents something more than a photographic image. Here the imagery is
developed into contemplative art pieces of the surreal genre, where the viewer
is transported into the depths of their own psyche challenging them to see
something new.
Another
element in this body of work reflects on the power of art and its ability to
expedite connections with something primal, subliminal, about who and what we
are as humans. I attempt to communicate using multiple visual and philosophical
dimensions. Photographers capture the moment, hoping you will see what they
see. Encounters operates in multiple
disciplines: the realm of the surreal, blatant reality and the abstract. I have
designed and created the postures and elements in the imagery to exemplify my
views of women, the power and erotic nature of the human body, society and,
most of all, my love for art.
In Encounters, you will encounter 232 pages
of fine art prints that include real and unique images of the human body,
original drawings and photographic art. All of this is orchestrated to express
and offer you a unique artistic and humanistic experience. Seldom does one have
an opportunity to experience this kind of composition. I wish you an exciting
and unique experience.
Encounters is
dedicated to:
To the human body, a magnificent creation from
the once singularity and the bowels of the earth.
To those that seek, through their actions, a more
humane and just world.
To those that exercise restraint in the face of
violence.
To those that cry out when the innocent creature
is cruelly butchered for our vanity and entertainment.
To those that refuse to stay quiet when women
and children are the recipients of violence.
American
artist Patrick Stull has spent the last eighteen years mostly creating imagery
about the lives of women. He searches for what lies beneath the surface of his
subjects, empowering each one he encounters. He has recently ventured into the
realm of surrealism, creating powerful imagery that reflects on our humanity
while dealing with the meaning and power of art.
Stull
say's, "My work has allowed me to venture past the camera into the realm
of a humanist, an artistic life, delving into the intellectual, a more cerebral
life experience, creating what I call 'connectivism.'"
His
ongoing work is based in large-scale digital photography accompanied by
sculpture/body casts, composition art, painting, poetry/prose and drawings.
His art is then integrated, collectively, into exhibitions to provide the
viewer a once in a lifetime experience. The presentation of the work is
delivered to the viewer in a unique and emotionally powerful way.
Stull,
71, a self-taught artist, works in many artistic disciplines. Educated at San
Diego State University
with degrees in psychology, economics and philosophy during the 1960’s, amidst
the backdrop of the counter-culture revolution and the Viet Nam War, where his
social consciousness and political views were shaped. Stull emerged from a
Catholic Irish/German family, one of five children where work, discipline and
religion took precedence over emotional expressions of the self – a different
kind of loving environment. Being a husband of thirty-plus years and father to
two has taught him the power of kindness, love and commitment.
His latest
book is the fine art photography book, Encounters.
Visit his website at www.patrickstull.com.
With photography at its base,
Stull offers a nuanced explication of his encounters to allow the viewer
an opportunity to form a relationship with
his art. While
looking within ourselves, exploring our own feelings, he hopes that he will inspire greater
humaneness in response
to his art.
ENCOUNTERS is the second
in a series of six large-format books in which artist, photographer and author, Patrick Stull
explores a wide
range of experiences. Using light and
the physical body,
the written word and his artistry he creates imagery
that examines aspects
of the lives of women.
Compiled over
the last 18 years, the images in ENCOUNTERS, Stull
says, are meant
to “inspire and challenge the observer while always empowering the subject.”
Stull brings
a powerful sense
of the surreal and the spiritual to his work
as he plots a course
along the many paths
of the human experience. His imagery runs
from the ghostly
and ephemeral to the flowing and fiery.
As much as he concentrates on the human
form, Stull never
forgets to focus
on the humanity
of his subjects. His
choice of the coffee-table style
book format draws
the viewer into
an experience both
intimate and universal.
Stull’s first
book in his series, titled
EVOLVE, was published in 2006. A third book,
titled HIDDEN DIMENSIONS, is completed and awaiting publication. Future titles
in the series
include DHARMA, BEING
DIFFERENT, and YOGA, A
HEALING MOMENT.
Stull hopes
that his readers
come away from the book with “a love for art and a respect
for the female
who gives us life
and challenges us to be better human beings.
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