Dear Reader…
I am excited to share with you my
book, Encounters. My goal for you is
that you connect intimately to the unique imagery and are inspired by your own
thoughts and reactions to my photography and prose. Hopefully they speak to you
about our humanity, women and the human condition.
Many of the images are a
convergence between reality, the surreal and the subconscious, where you might
deepen your understanding of your own nature. Viewers of Encounters see many things in my imagery, aside from the reality of
the photograph itself. They see social norms being violated and their
relationship to women, art and themselves being exposed. I am at a loss at
times to explain or see what they see. No matter, that’s the power of art. It
brings to the surface emotions that are dormant and can help you understand
more about yourself in your reactions.
As you
turn the pages you will see women in many walks of life – photographs of them
and you will read about their lives. Sometimes I provide you imagery without
text. I do this so you can appreciate the image without distractions. The woman
with the full body tattoo is one of my encounters about which I try to say
little. I especially love the dancers and the images where I applied an earthly
element to the body, such as clay, paint and powder. This marriage of flesh and
material speaks to our artistic and animal nature.
I
created Encounters to share my love
of photography, the written word and the female form. The book is a labor of
love – a letter to all from which I hope to inspire motivation toward a greater
sense of our humanity – in thought and in our daily actions toward one and
other. With the greatest respect, please enjoy.
About the Author
American
artist Patrick Stull has spent the last eighteen years mostly creating imagery
about the lives of women. He searches for what lies beneath the surface of his
subjects, empowering each one he encounters. He has recently ventured into the
realm of surrealism, creating powerful imagery that reflects on our humanity
while dealing with the meaning and power of art.
Stull
say's, "My work has allowed me to venture past the camera into the realm
of a humanist, an artistic life, delving into the intellectual, a more cerebral
life experience, creating what I call 'connectivism.'"
His
ongoing work is based in large-scale digital photography accompanied by
sculpture/body casts, composition art, painting, poetry/prose and drawings.
His art is then integrated, collectively, into exhibitions to provide the
viewer a once in a lifetime experience. The presentation of the work is
delivered to the viewer in a unique and emotionally powerful way.
Stull,
71, a self-taught artist, works in many artistic disciplines. Educated at San
Diego State University
with degrees in psychology, economics and philosophy during the 1960’s, amidst
the backdrop of the counter-culture revolution and the Viet Nam War, where his
social consciousness and political views were shaped. Stull emerged from a
Catholic Irish/German family, one of five children where work, discipline and
religion took precedence over emotional expressions of the self – a different
kind of loving environment. Being a husband of thirty-plus years and father to
two has taught him the power of kindness, love and commitment.
His latest
book is the fine art photography book, Encounters.
Visit his website at www.patrickstull.com.
BOOK BLURB:
With photography at its base,
Stull offers a nuanced explication of his encounters to allow the viewer
an opportunity to form a relationship with
his art. While
looking within ourselves, exploring our own feelings, he hopes that he will inspire greater
humaneness in response
to his art.
ENCOUNTERS is the second
in a series of six large-format books in which artist, photographer and author, Patrick Stull
explores a wide
range of experiences. Using light and
the physical body,
the written word and his artistry he creates imagery
that examines aspects
of the lives of women.
Compiled over
the last 18 years, the images in ENCOUNTERS, Stull
says, are meant
to “inspire and challenge the observer while always empowering the subject.”
Stull brings
a powerful sense
of the surreal and the spiritual to his work
as he plots a course
along the many paths
of the human experience. His imagery runs
from the ghostly
and ephemeral to the flowing and fiery.
As much as he concentrates on the human
form, Stull never
forgets to focus
on the humanity
of his subjects. His
choice of the coffee-table style
book format draws
the viewer into
an experience both
intimate and universal.
Stull’s first
book in his series, titled
EVOLVE, was published in 2006. A third book,
titled HIDDEN DIMENSIONS, is completed and awaiting publication. Future titles
in the series
include DHARMA, BEING
DIFFERENT, and YOGA, A
HEALING MOMENT.
Stull hopes
that his readers
come away from the book with “a love for art and a respect
for the female
who gives us life
and challenges us to be better human beings.
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