<
Back to Paintings
< Previous Next >
Norman Kulkin - Painted Photograph - A Woman in front of a Graffiti Wall
נורמן קולקין - צילום ציור - גרפיטי
The Los-Angeles based artist Norman Kulkin is a well known contemporary photographer distinguished by his unique collage works and the use of photographic snapshots as art. I like very much Kulkin's rich series of Mosaic Collages where each work is comprised of numerous pieces of enigmatic fractures of photographs organized in harmony around a female face part such as a mouth or an eye. A more recent series of his collages is called the Typographic Series in which Kulkins covers old and vintage vernacular photographs with strange and quite detached texts which he types directly onto found snapshots, telling stories in the voices of the subjects of the images, or just clippings from the daily news. I also like Kulkin's interesting photograms (camera-less photographs) which he made using snapshots as a paper negative and are quite mysterious.
Norman Kulkin was born in Czechoslovakia in 1946 and became an American citizen at the age of 4. He studied photography in UCLA and collaborated with some of the great American photographers such as: Edmund Teske, Leland Rice, John Divola, Patrick Nagatani and Robert Heineken. Kulkin works were exhibited in influential galleries in California and are part of important museums and private collections. Surprisingly, Kulkin spent about a year in Israel (1971-72) and took an energetic part in the activities of the exceptional The 3rd Eye art group in Tel-Aviv. He was known as the "documenter" and contributed from his great talent and international professional experience to the art of this local group.
The subject of this beautiful painted photograph (dated 1972) is Doli Sisso, a young and very pretty model who was part of the The Third Eye group and an intriguing artist on her own. Doli arrived to Tel-Aviv at the late 60s and integrated into the bohemian life of the city. No doubt that her astonishing good looks played a role - Kulkin always had a good eye for good looking women - this beautiful painted photograph is the outcome of the encounter between Doli and Kulkin. The picture was taken by Kulkin in 1971 in a yard of one of the old houses of Tel-Aviv. On the wall in the background you can see Doli's graffiti drawings - a figure of a young girl, a few childish writings on the wall and a sketch of a broken heart - you are invited to zoom. Kulkin added the colorful water color brush strokes.
Norman Kulkin
Norman Kulkin's signature on the right-bottom of the painted photograph.
הצלם והאמן האמריקאי נורמן קולקין Norman Kulkin הגיע לישראל ב-1971 והתחבר די מהר לקבוצת האמנים התל-אביבית העין השלישית שהקיפה את ז'אק מורי קתמור. קולקין, בן ה 24 ,שניחן כבר אז בעין בוחנת ובגישה "מתמזגת" vernacular לצילום, לאמנות וכנראה גם לחיים בכלל, התלווה לחברי הקבוצה בפעילויותיהם האמנותיות, השתמש בכשרונו ובמקצועיותו לתעד אירועים אלה ואחרים בחיי הקבוצה ואף השתתף בהפקת הגליון הראשון (וגם האחרון) של עיתון העין השלישית שנקרא "סטריפ". קתמור וחבורתו שהיו די מרוכזים בעצמם, קראו לו "המתעד" והעניקו לו את התואר MAGIC מסיבות השמורות עימהם וקולקין, מצידו, זרם עם כולם.
המפגש של קולקין עם
דולי
סיסו, דוגמנית צעירה ותוססת שהגיעה לתל-אביב מן הקריות והשתלבה בחבורה הבוהמיינית
של קתמור, הוליד את התמונה המופלאה שלפניכם. דולי המדהימה ביופיה שהייתה בעלת חוש אסתטי
אדיר, ניצבת ליד קיר של מבנה בתל-אביב של פעם שעליו שרבטה בגזיר פחם דמות ילדה-בובה,
לב מאוהב ומשולש שווה צלעות! בטיח שעל הקיר חרוטות המילים: ל"ג בעמר ל"ג בעמר - האם
כבתה המדורה שבליבה?
Size of painting: 9.4" x 7.1" - 24 cm x 18 cm -
9.4 in x 7.1 in
Type of frame: Back made of solid wood - the painting is under glass coupled
with 4 metal clips
Painting technique: Painted photograph
Origin: Israel
Date: 1972
Signature: "Kulkin 1972 TA" - signed in English by the artist on the right-bottom
of the painting.
Price: Call
References:
The Third Eye - Premiere Issue of the "Strip" Magazine
- 1972
Jacques Mori-Katmor and the 3d Eye Israeli Art Group
"Half Nude Woman" - Jacques Katmor - Ink Painting
© Dan Levy - Art Pane Home of Original Paintings and Sculptures
< Back to Paintings
< Previous Next >