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Jan Groover – The formalist who celebrates life

Jan Groover was born in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1943. Ms. Groover pursued an education in art, receiving her BFA in painting in 1965, from the Pratt Institute in New York, and later received her Master of Art Education from The Ohio State University in 1969. After teaching art in high school and then at the University of Hartford in the early 1970s, he turned to photography. Although she experimented with a variety of styles and visions, she is perhaps best known for her still life images of common objects, kitchen utensils, plants, but taking the images of herself with vibrant colors and larger foregrounds than usual. lifetime. She received grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mrs. Groover enjoyed a wide variety of artistic expressions. The larger-than-life images of her photography found expression in platinum-palladium printing, exaggerated images with brilliant color and luminosity. She liked to write and published “Pure invention: the still life of the tablein 1990. He also taught at the State University of New York College before moving to France, where he now lives.

We don’t know exactly what brought Ms. Groover from a formal art career to photography. She is quoted as saying, “With photography I didn’t have to make things up, everything was already there.”

I was originally drawn to Ms. Groover’s photographs for their vibrant color and larger-than-life images. In her life, there is a marked departure from photographs depicting movement, time, speed, and color to what is perhaps best known for simple, everyday objects found in the home. One review says that she “turned to her kitchen sink” for new ideas. Many of her photos feature kitchen utensils, knives, forks, and other items found around the home, such as bowls, plates, or houseplants.

His photographs were taken with a 4×5 view camera. The photographs of him highlighted and illustrated his influence and obedience to formalism. A favorite photograph of mine, “Entitled1979. JG #95.2′”, it has a combination of shapes, curves and lines that is almost hypnotic and yet when I first looked at it it was easy for my imagination to see so much else. I see shells and ancient ruins and wares of a Roman triumph. Perhaps this is an expression of Mrs. Groover’s alignment with formalism. Any way may captivate.

Does any form have rewarding qualities? Does any shape have special details when we take the time to observe? The image above accentuates the silver, and yet we see the tarnish turn into iridescence and reflected glare.

“According to Groover, the meaning of the objects doesn’t matter; only the shape, the texture, and the form that falls into a particular space is important.”

What a wonderful tribute to a female photographer and a tribute to her art. Her ability to share and see the enlightening quality in the simplest things speaks volumes about her vision. When reviewing Ms. Groover’s work, it’s easy to confuse some of her photographs with prints of hers. The photographs of her possess some of the ‘larger than life’ color and detail… of a print that was privileged with additional editing. According to one writer, “Groover makes pictures that are interesting not so much because of the things they show us as because of how they show us these things.”

Ms. Grover’s artwork can be easily found on many websites, but the images referenced in this article can be viewed at:

http://www.janetbordeninc.com/artists/Groover

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