Julie Blackmon: domestic vacations

Julie Blackmon was born in 1966, in Springfield, Missouri, the oldest of nine siblings. She says that she draws inspiration from Dutch and Flemish painting, especially from Jan Steen, a Dutch 18th century painter, known for his representations of daily life situations. She wanted to do the same with her own family: her children, sisters and sisters' children.

I would stare at each of the pictures for hours - the bigger the chaos of people, objects, movements, the better - and vaguely recognize in myself the pleasure that I have, in museums and books of art, before paintings full of details, but only by reading her biography did I confirm that nothing was random.

Julie Blackmon's portfolios arose, ocasionally, throughout the last few years, at the photoeye website, where a third one has recently appeared, along with the news of the recent publication of a book.

There are at least two types of approach in this work: non-staged photographs as well as staged. The latter are more common in the third and most recent set, where there is picture that loosely resembles the Adams Family. I believe, though, that most pictures are a hybrid.

My favourite is, without a doubt, this one:

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