In Her Dreams: Stroboscopic Photography By Kalliope Amorphous

The Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 25/04/2012 08:35 Updated: 25/04/2012 08:35

US photographer Kalliope Amorphous is in total control of her work: both the protagonist in her visual stories as well as the creator.

“I realised that being the subject, photographer and stylist offered me a level of complete creative freedom that I couldn’t have otherwise,” she told HuffPost UK.

Her latest series, In Dreams, part of a larger collection entitled Studies In Time, makes use of stroboscopic photography to freeze successive actions in a single frame, in order to capture a sequence.

Thomas Eakins was one of the first to use stroboscopy in the late 19th century, with Gjon Mili later credited as the pioneer in the 1940s. Photographers use either flashes or have to mechanically interrupt the shot.

“The process has an element of fleetingness to it which can’t be recreated. And not only can it capture successive movements, but it creates distortions and a painterly effect with certain settings," Amorphous explains.

“I use a digital camera, but I am interested in exploring obscure in-camera methods to capture unique images rather than relying on digital post processing effects. I especially enjoy experimenting with more antiquated methods.”

In Dreams has been featured mostly in fashion-oriented publications since its release.

“I am intrigued by the ways conceptual and fashion work are intersecting in the art world right now,” she says, “so I am happy when I find my images inadvertently appearing in bits of that crossover.”

What do you think of the stroboscopic style?

View In Dreams in the gallery below:

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PHOTO: Kalliope Amorphous

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US photographer Kalliope Amorphous is in total control of her work: both the protagonist in her visual stories as well as the creator. “I realised that being the subject, photographer and stylis...
US photographer Kalliope Amorphous is in total control of her work: both the protagonist in her visual stories as well as the creator. “I realised that being the subject, photographer and stylis...
 
 
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02:16 AM on 05/09/2012
interesting take from the ola manana comment ... i wonder if he or she has seen that Maya Deren / Hamid film Meshes of Afternoon from 1943 ... it is online... I am studying dream genre in my PhD program this semester... really weird and warm and delighful to look at dreams ... i thought this photographer was kinda inspiring personally ... aesthetically .... what do you want from her ? next time she'll write you The Naked and the Dead ....

hey, but what about Tarkofsky's ultimate sequence in Nostalghia ....? that's some great .... chilling and devastating and fabulous imagery ....... he was a monster of the camera, alas, gone too soon ...

RIP Maurice Sendak today ..... all best and G-d speed forever .... in your boat ...
03:44 AM on 05/03/2012
Stroboscopic photography is a cool effect. I doubt it has much to do with what dreams look like though. I can not speak for the artist, but stylized, ghost like photography is not what my dreams look like. After documenting hundreds of my own dreams, I find it hard to believe that dreams mainly encompass good looking wraith like women with flowing hair. Fashion has nothing to do with dreams. Thankfully when we sleep we can let go of self consciousness. I find this artwork is too cliche and lacking in symbolism to actually have anything to do with dreams. I had a dream this afternoon during a nap. The dream was visually vivid ,( There was a brick house with a driveway on the side. Parked on the driveway was a hearse with a little cart hooked to the back. The hearse was for a very old lady, who appeared walking behind the hearse. She was was clearly alive and seemed to be in good health. She had a very angular pointed face and dressed in all black. It was understood that she was supposed to die, on a certain time so her funeral could fit into someone's schedule. She seemed sad, but resigned. ) Here is an actual dream. If people would actually observe their dreams they would notice settings, objects, and most likely very odd characters.
Although I can not say that the artist did not "dream"of these images. I would bet five bucks that she didn't.