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FINAL DAYS TO ENTER AAP MAGAZINE B&W: PUBLICATION AND $1,000 CASH PRIZES
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Paul Brouns
Paul Brouns
Paul Brouns

Paul Brouns

Country: The Netherlands

I am a Dutch photographing artist that lives and works in Almere (near Amsterdam). I was born in 1967 in a small village in the South of the Netherlands. In 1990 I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Tilburg (NL) in painting, drawing and photography. In the 1990's photography was still an analogue process and not having a darkroom of my own, in those early decades I was busy painting, because I wanted to work with colours and that was the most direct way to do this. However after the development of digital photography all of this started to change. By now my camera and the computer have gradually become my main tools for creation. Rhythm, color and geometry have always been important in my work and for this architecture has proven to be an ideal subject. As a photographer I am attracted by the abstract, rhythmic expression of buildings. It is my aim to captivate the viewers by feasts of dancing shadows, sunlit reflections or colour combinations. I hope that through my work they will learn to appreciate and enjoy the visual music that surrounds us.

The Music of Architecture
My motto "the music of architecture" stands for the artistic desire to communicate the abstract beauty of buildings. In the abstraction I see an important parallel with instrumental music. Terms like rhythm, composition, texture, scale and colour can be used to describe the feeling of my work, but it also can be applied to describe music. I try to visualise the sensation of a building as purely as possible: many images show façades that are completely frontal and fill the entire composition, so the rhythm and shallow depth of the building surface plays the main role. This ongoing series is called "Urban Tapestries".
In other works the perspective depth and its converging lines play an important role. A third element is using my photographic elements to create a new reality. What unites these different elements is my desire to express myself through images that are all about the fascination with colour and rhythm.
 

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Emmanuelle Becker
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Sam Heydt
United States
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Sam Heydt (born April 20, 1986) is an American social practice and recycled media artist born/raised in New York City. She has lived/worked in Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Athens, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Reykjavík, Udaipur and Vienna [current]. As a published author, producer and lifelong social activist and environmentalist, Heydt has undertaken a range of altruistic, non­-profit work and anchors her practice in advocacy. Through her unique manner of expression, she illustrates a world exploited beyond use and increasingly reduced to a bottom line. Esteemed as one of the pioneers of the recycled media movement, she works across different media- film, video, installation, photography, sculpture, sound and text and employs a range of materials, often reinventing and trespassing their associative use. Marrying images of destruction with portrayals of the American Dream, her work confronts the disillusionment of our time with the ecological and existential nightmare it is responsible for. Heydt's work has been shown in galleries, museums, art fairs and film festivals worldwide. Statement The edge is closer than we think, but illusion won't free us from reality, even as the sustained narrative of tabloids becomes history and the myth of progress continues to perpetuate inequality. As the natural world is liquidated and substituted with an artificial one, public discourse is being defined by even narrower bandwidths Our time is marked by mass extinction, product fetishism, diminishing resources, and patented seeds. The skeletons of old factories serve as caveats for a world exploited beyond use, a world increasingly reduced to a bottom line. Dissidence is drowned out by the white noise of the media, which holds the social psyche captive in with the empty promises it proposes for the future it truncates. Working across different media- film, video, installation, photography, sculpture, sound and text, Heydt presents an abstract proposition for a world on the periphery of history, one that not only appears haunted by the ghosts of the past, but built on it. Conflating time and place, her layered imagery collides, merges and disrupts logical relationships between occurrences. Through adding and subtracting meaning by combining images of destruction with portrayals of the virtues born from the American Dream, Heydt confronts the disillusionment of our time with the ecological and existential nightmare it is responsible for.
Aljohara Jeje
European
1962
Aljohara Jeje can be described as a distinguished and versatile artist with a rich background in product design, art photography, and medieval artistry techniques. She demonstrates a dedication to lifelong learning through her diverse educational pursuits, including courses in Art History, Comparative Religions, and Ethics. Aljohara's passion for the arts is evident in her continuous exploration and mastery of various artistic disciplines. Aljohara’s practice delves into the exploration of societal and cultural dynamics, drawing inspiration from historical contexts and contemporary shifts. Her work is deeply rooted in storytelling, using visual narratives to convey intricate layers of meaning, engaging deeply with history, culture, and contemporary challenges, inviting viewers to reflect on the complexities of the human experience. Her artistic voice is unique, stemming from her keen observations of her surroundings. She has the ability to translate these observations into art, making her a versatile artist. With sensitivity and a critical eye, her art practice is a multidimensional exploration of societal issues, using a variety of visual techniques and mediums to convey her messages. Aljohara’s name and award-winning works are increasingly well-known and commissioned in and outside the region due to her wide range of expertly crafted fine art. Notable accolades such as recognition from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture, her 'Allard Photography Prize for International Integrity' and shortlisting by prestigious institutions like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are fine examples. Beyond her artistic achievements, Aljohara is actively engaged in enriching cultural discourse, through workshops, talks, publications, and participating in international forums, demonstrating her steadfast dedication to fostering communication through the arts. AAP Magazine AAP Magazine 38 Women
Lilian Caruana
United States
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