This coming Friday is my gallery opening at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. My gallery will be on display in the downstairs exhibition hall. If because of work or you are out of town feel free and stop in anytime. It runs now through August 19, 2017. More information can be found on my artist facebook page as well as pertinent information for the gallery (https://www.facebook.com/BrianKrecikVisualArtist/)
While working for an insurance company in a career as a web application engineer I had the fortune to visit Zurich, Switzerland. While this was a business trip we were allowed a week of travel allowing us to see the countryside, meet the people, enjoy the food, and to take in the scenery. While I no longer code for a living professionally, this was an interesting part of my life as I came to appreciate time and how, while working 60 – 80 hour weeks, one can quickly find time passing them by ever so quickly. It was at this time that I decided all those years ago back in 2000 to go back to school. While I made a few attempts both at my MBA in business and my Masters in Computer Science none of them really felt like they were for me. I have always found myself attracted to art, nature, and have strong beliefs in doing something that makes both a difference and that can help others.
Six years ago I decided to leave the world of web application development. It was perhaps one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever had to make. Over the more than thirteen years that I worked for some fantastic companies providing solutions to clients and business units and offering e-commerce solutions. While the passion was there to solve complex concepts and offer solutions, I found myself riding the desk chugging code out and not being part of the world around me. It is people, culture, art, and science that inspires me and a disconnect was forming from my world as a programmer and the world around me. To get that back I knew I needed to make some changes by doing something for myself and for my family.
Back in 2015, I was approached by Danielle McClelland from the Buskirk-Chumley theater for an advertising and promotional piece that would help showcase the signature drinks during the contest. I met Danielle at a local art council meeting held hosted by our local city government. She pitched to me the idea real quickly and I was promised more details. Over the next couple weeks I contacted the three bars and the bartenders – Emmie O’Connor from the Malibu Grill, Andrew Wind from the Uptown Cafe and Nick Matio from C3 Bloomington.
In today’s world of always connected, always on of the digitized world it is no surprise that digital imagery at the consumer level has once more bled into the realm normally reserved for the “professional”. In a field where it was normally prohibitively expensive and only available to those willing to invest a lot of time and money into their craft, people’s access to digital cameras has helped to open the world of photography to a whole new demographic that wouldn’t normally have access to or use of the medium. This coupled with the integration of camera phones and social networking websites, the openness and availability of images has made it accessible to virtually anyone able to afford a cell phone.
From time to time I like to share artists whose work in various genres I find visually stunning and inspirational. Rather than share their work on my website that I personally consider appropriation of their work and in turn less about the artists and more about me, I instead will provide for you, the reader, links to their website and gallery where their work is on display.
Inshallah, by Dima Gavrysh is a mesmerizing series of images, not purely for the content and what they depict, rather it is how they are visually unified as a series throughout that makes them unique. Visually one can see the hand of the artist as they compose images that create a series of textures and light that visually hold the viewers senses long after being viewed. To see the series be sure to head over to Pictura Gallery or the artists website for a visual treat.
Inshallah (“God willing” in Arabic) is a project that explores the Soviet and American occupations of Afghanistan. It draws upon my childhood fantasies that romanticize the military and intertwines with my past and present personal conflicts. I create a dark fairytale filled with my fears and dreams, based on my fascination with the army’s strength and order, set on the front lines of what has become America’s longest-running war in history. Mesmerized by the complexity of the Afghan chaos, I strive to better comprehend my personal relationship to these wars: two empires, two mentalities, same battlefield, twelve years apart.
Enjoy!
Brian Krecik
This summer has been an interesting one. Besides the huge amount of rain we have been getting here in Indiana I have had the pleasure to work with a fantastic group of students at Indiana University. Earlier this year I was approached with a challenge – to create a series of art imagery for an organization that was setting up under the TEDx branding. Because of licensing there were hoops that they had to navigate to get agreement from the University. Many of their problems centered around the use of IU or Indiana Universities name in their branding as it infringed on the name of the University. Fortunately the The first wife of IU, Michael McRobbie’s wife, Laurie Burns, stepped in and helped smooth over any concerns.
Once I had the blessing of licensing the next step was understanding what their expectations were, as simply providing stock art was possible, though I much preferred to have a driven concept to carry through the entire series. Ari Stoner, my liaison with TEDx Indiana University, stated that he loved my landscape imagery and would like me to develop a concept for their website. In addition, he also asked that I create the portraits of the five team members.
As I am working without a large studio I found this later request a bit of a challenge. To solve this I had to find a place where I could set up that was close for everyone and offered space to shoot. I considered perhaps renting studio space or setting up in my my small studio that I occasionally use for portraits. In the end I was able to set up at the Carmichael Center who I have to personally thank for being so accommodating.
As for the art, I took a nudge from what they were looking for – energy and movement. This concept for me translated into by dragging the shutter where possible to show movement through a space and creating a sense of presence. This for me was important for it offered a unique chance to offer the viewer a sense of being present in the image and sensing time moving even though we tend to experience time linearly, moment to moment. The unique chance to see or experience a segment of time as a distinct segment that is lost once it occurs helps to further grow that sense of presence. To prevent redundancy I chose variations on lighting, angles, and was selective as to what image I would include people. What was important here was that I allowed myself the flexibility to evolve the series while keeping the shutter slow.
Having worked around campus in the past I knew this wouldn’t be finished in an hour or a day. Obstacles that I found myself navigating included construction, students working on projects and even construction equipment. In all I estimate the 6 landscape images took between thirty to forty hours to wrap. In the end, what we were left with were a series that met or exceeded the expectations of the client.
For the landscape images I planned a series of five images. A sixth image that was planned had to be abandoned due to construction. Trees that were recently planted, and newly lampposts that transected the horizontal plane split the scene into too many distracting planes that took away from what was once a very unique water sculpture in front of the School of Music. Instead, I opted to use stock photography for the school of music image that I had composed several years earlier.
I do have to comment that sometimes the best intentions can go awry. With the case of the music school the updated landscaping effectively hid the main feature in front of the school – the fountain. This was a huge disappointment as the morning light was gorgeous and the clouds in the background were phenomenal. This is an example of where sometimes one simply needs to walk away. Seen above (in order) are IU’s Sample Gates, Kelly School of Business, Auditorium, Franklin Hall, IMU Student Union, IMU Biddle Hotel, and School of Music.
For the series of five images, seen to the right, I wanted to approach this series with lighting from the side using grids to prevent light spill. This allowed me the ability to balance the shadow and highlight’s in such a way as to provide good separation from the background and enhance the depth of field. For my main key lighting I used a five foot hexagonal soft box to create soft lighting that wrapped around the subjects. Pictured, from left to right, is Ben Brattain, Daniel Morgan, Alex Peacock, Ari Stoner, and Dmitry Simakov.
For the series of five images, seen to the right, I wanted to approach this series with lighting from the side using grids to prevent light spill. This allowed me the ability to balance the shadow and highlight’s in such a way as to provide good separation from the background and enhance the depth of field. For my main key lighting I used a five foot hexagonal soft box to create soft lighting that wrapped around the subjects. Pictured, from left to right, is Ben Brattain, Daniel Morgan, Alex Peacock, Ari Stoner, and Dmitry Simakov.
The results of a photo shoot from The Crazy Horse that ran in Bloom Magazine’s Distinctly Bloomington and is running in this next years edition of Visit Bloomington. All of this was done in part due to the wonderfully gracious and beautiful Crazy Horse ladies that tend bar and help manage this fine organization and the wonderfully talented Patrick Siney that pulled the advertisement together.
This was a fantastic chance to work directly with the staff on site while the bar was still open. While there, my assistant and I had to set up soft boxes, strobes, meter the lights, and work over the din of a game that was on at the time all while our gracious models were served free drinks. The shoot itself started off with the food so that we could have this arranged before we started in with our models.
It was a tough shoot to pull together as we were in a dimly lit room with little room to navigate. At times I had considered photographing and simply layering the image but in the end I am glad that we worked the shots the way we did. The warm glow of the copper bar really adds a unique color to the image that draws the eyes.
Off in the wings were the managers and servers that were watching while I and Patrick discussed how the food looked and arranged the scene, first with a drink infused with basil, next came the beer. In the end it was a blast creating still life images with another artist as the push/pull from our own creative perspectives really added volumes to the final work.
Exceptional food, one of the largest choices of beer in Bloomington, an impressive selection of alcohol, and service that simply can’t be beat. Why wouldn’t you want to hang out and grab a bite to eat at the Crazy Horse Emporium.
A colleague of mine, Caroline Thompson, recently put me to task on a challenge. The challenge was to create a black and white image, post this to social media, and challenge a fellow artist/friend to do the same. Perhaps in some small way this is to help promote and ask other to take part in creating art in a medium that is accessible to all – our phones. Well, unfortunately my phone was out of commission as it was recharging yet I did not let this hold me back (nor should it you, the reader.) If you only have a phone, or small point and shoot camera, or perhaps a dslr get out and share your vision with others and tell a bit about what inspired you to create the image.
The following image was one that I felt a deep connection with. Now in my mid 40’s I find myself torn between two worlds – the one I remember from my youth where I reveled in near perfect vision and the one in which I now live. Gone are the days of reading without a care as today I find it a challenge. It is the following image that I am sharing as it is a reminder that life isn’t about being perfect. Rather it is about acknowledging that each of us at one point in our lives need help. Yet it takes awareness and willingness to reach out and ask for it to make change happen. With that, I present my image, Vision-less.
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