Nicole Abbett

In just a few days I am headed to Philly for the SPE (Society for Photographic Education) National Conference. This will be my first SPE conference and I can’t wait! If you’re a photography student and haven’t heard of SPE or want more info, check them out here.

Andreas Gursky is a German artist who creates these amazing color photographic landscapes. He is drawn to large, man-made spaces which remind me of certain aspects of my abandoned building series. While they are totally opposite of my work as they are full of life and movement, they still emphasize a kind of distance relevant to my work. Check out this great article that was featured in New York Magazine here.

For my next project I will be recreating famous paintings. The first person that came to mind was Diego Velazquez. I have always loved his Las Meninas painting. While working on my other photographic series of the abandoned spaces I went to a cigar factory and I think this would be the perfect place to recreate this painting into a photograph. My only concern is time. I’m not sure if I would be able to gather all of the props and schedule a date with the people needed to pull this off.

Another artist I admire is Johannes Vermeer. His paintings, The Geographer, The Astronomer, and Delft workshop, Allegory of Painting stand out to me the most. I am interested in using myself in the images. I have been wanting to do a series of self-portraits and this could be the perfect opportunity.

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I came across photographer Jessica Ingram who is deeply inspired by people. One series she has is called Hilltop High in which she documented the lives of high school girls before and after their pregnacies. Another series she is currently working on is titled A Civil Rights Memorial.

My current project deals with recreating historic moments in history. I have chosen to recreate Guinness Book of World Records feats. Some of them are so ridiculous like the lady who has eaten over 50,000 Hostess cupcakes! She eats one for breakfast, one for lunch, eats a normal dinner, and then has one before she goes to bed. Reading the story made me want one, but they were definitely not how I remembered them to be as a child. They were way too sweet for my liking! I am going to continue to research the records and find the ones I am most interested in. One that stands out to me now is of a man who has the world’s longest mustache. On February 29, 2004, Badamsinh Juwansinh’s mustache was measured to be 12.5 feet long. Juwansinh has not cut his mustache for 22 years!

Here are the images I created using miniatures as a reflection of my first childhood memory. Enjoy!

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