Kelsey Sullivan - Photographer Paragraphs

Shirana Shahbazi-Monstera, Kunsthalle Bern

              Shirana Shahbzi is a photographer who was born in Iran, studied in Germany, and now resides in Switzerland. Shirana photographs a variety of subjects such as landscapes, portraits, and still life. What brings all of her work under one roof is the fact that they are extremely colorful and oftentimes focus on geometric shapes. An interesting aspect about Shirana’s colorful, abstract photographs is that she does not use modern editing tools. Instead, Shirana photographs different geometric shapes in in different angles and with varying lighting. Some of her work includes the same objects photographed in different ways to see a different perspective, color, or texture. When presenting her work, Shirana will place pieces in varying orders so her audience can view her art in different perspectives. Additionally, Shirana has recently moved into producing her art in larger forms such as billboards. Also, she reproduces her photographs in different mediums including hand-knotted carpets. Shirana has a colorful, abstract take on photography that has led her creations to be displayed in galleries all over the world.

Petra Collins - Discharge

              Petra Collins, a young artist from Canada, got her start with photography when she was in high school and quickly grew a following online in her home country. Since then, Petra has gone on to study at the Ontario College of Arts and Design while working on various projects, many of which focus on feminism. Petra is a modern artist with a strong focus on social media and how women are portrayed in media. Despite her modern focus, Petra prefers to film exclusively in 35mm film to give her photographs a retro vibe. When she is not photographing, Petra also modeled for companies such as Calvin Klein and Vogue. For her own photographs, Petra focuses on females and usually finds other artists and popular Instagram users to model for her pictures. Collins’ work is very reflective of her experiences and the society she has grown up in. After her own photograph was removed from the internet because if did not meet beauty standard, Petra sought out to photograph girls in a light media rarely shows them in. Her photographs are often soft, fuzzy colors, but show enough detail to show the realities of what it is like to grow up as a young female in the modern age.  

Aaron Stern - I Woke Up in My Clothes

              Aaron Stern is a photographer who currently lives in New York City and whose art depicts everyday parts of life that are often overlooked. Aaron work often includes poetry to accompany his photographs and he has been published in works such as Vogue and the New York Times. The focus of Stern’s work includes often includes landscapes or still life, but occasionally features people, just not in a city setting. Aaron primarily uses 35mm and medium-format film. Using this film provides a nostalgic feel to his photographs, but there is occasionally modern tragedy such as Stern’s pictures from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Aaron has a knack for catching parts of life that would appear ordinary at first, but he can capture something as simple as a chair or train station and give it a story. Aaron photographs in a variety of locations, giving his work a sense of wanderlust. Additionally, Aaron has done music photography and photographs utilizing reflections, but still manages to capture a scene in a unique way.