Personal Background - Paulette Tavormina was born in 1949 in Rockville Centre, New York. She is a widely known American photographer. Her passion for photography began in the 1980s when a New York magazine asked her to photograph a visiting celebrity. Shortly after that, Tavormina took an introductory class at the International Center of Photography in New York. She then moved to Sante Fe, New Mexico and took classes in black and white photography and darkroom technique. She became a commercial photographer, photographing historical Indian pottery and Navajo jewelry. She currently works and lives in New York City.
Style - Tavormina’s images possess the style of 17th century still life painters. They represent “Old Master” imagery. Her photographs often have a main theme such as fruit or flowers or even color. She photographs many of her images with a black background as to bring out the bright pops of color in the objects being photographed. She chooses to photograph like objects together, such as flowers and butterflies, or fish and meat, or lemons and pomegranates.
Philosophy - Her photographs are mainly inspired by 17th century artists. She chooses to photograph fruit, animals, plants, flowers, and many other objects that she stages. Her staging technique comes from being a prop food specialist for many Hollywood films. She became inspired by Old Masters artist from the 17th century. She gets inspiration from Farmers Markets around New York City as well.
Influence - Tavormina gets many of her influences from Farmers Markets around New York City as well as being influenced by artists from the 17th century. She influences me in my work by photographing different types of objects and genres. She also stick to a theme of photographing everything on a black canvas with a black background. Her artwork is inspired by the imperfections of flowers, fruit, and plants at Farmers Markets. She is inspired by different shapes and types of things and decides to document that and that is what influences me in my work.
Style - Tavormina’s images possess the style of 17th century still life painters. They represent “Old Master” imagery. Her photographs often have a main theme such as fruit or flowers or even color. She photographs many of her images with a black background as to bring out the bright pops of color in the objects being photographed. She chooses to photograph like objects together, such as flowers and butterflies, or fish and meat, or lemons and pomegranates.
Philosophy - Her photographs are mainly inspired by 17th century artists. She chooses to photograph fruit, animals, plants, flowers, and many other objects that she stages. Her staging technique comes from being a prop food specialist for many Hollywood films. She became inspired by Old Masters artist from the 17th century. She gets inspiration from Farmers Markets around New York City as well.
Influence - Tavormina gets many of her influences from Farmers Markets around New York City as well as being influenced by artists from the 17th century. She influences me in my work by photographing different types of objects and genres. She also stick to a theme of photographing everything on a black canvas with a black background. Her artwork is inspired by the imperfections of flowers, fruit, and plants at Farmers Markets. She is inspired by different shapes and types of things and decides to document that and that is what influences me in my work.
Compare and Contrast - The first image I chose to recreate was titled “Orchard Apples”, I named mine “Bunched Up”. It was hard to get the same amount of apples that the photographer used as well as the black background. The second image was titled “Strawberries”, I named mine “Blended”. It was hard to recreate the background of the photo as well as the surface that the strawberries were placed on. The third and final photo I chose to recreate was titled “Lemons and Peony”, I titled mine “Zestful”. It was hard to recreate the bowl that was used as well as the all black background.
Personal Artist Statement - My first image titled “Bunched Up” is a picture of apples in a wooden bowl with some greenery around them. I tried to capture the bright red of the apples as well as the black background. My second image titled “Blended” is of strawberries with a pink peony in front. I tried to capture the mixture of colors as well as the leading lines that the bowl creates. My third and final image is titled “Zestful” and it captures lemons in a white glass bowl. I tried to capture the depth of the image as well as the background.