Art is for Free
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By Kahlia Litzow
“Here are the keys”. I couldn’t believe how easy and pleasant it was to have my own studio space for three weeks. No expectations, no rules. Just free art. With this sense of freedom I entered the space with no clear plans. I had $20 to my name and decided to save that for lunch rather than spend my dying dollars on props or hire equipment for once. I wanted the environment to inspire ideas and shape a project. And that it did.
The outcome of my photographs resemble a Hitchcock Film. Mainly due to the incredible lighting at night. Art for free allowed me to explore absolute creativity by harnessing all the resources around me. For one scene I foraged for candles, a spotlight and a small torch and placed them in the bath tub with the shower curtain pulled across (see photo example). My darling and patient model and I scoured the room for something to leverage the torch. And there it was, a cake of soap. Another scene I used car headlights to cast shadows through the windows. The effect was very interesting. I then used the same effect of the headlights beaming through the grass and bushes casting direct shadows over my model on the porch.
This opportunity coincided with NEIS and really opened my eyes to free creative resources. Even if it’s a cake of soap. Thank you for the keys Jugglers!