Kitchen Still Life #8 c. 1978

Jan Groover made this photograph, Kitchen Still Life #8, by arranging kitchen objects. Can you see how the light catches on the surfaces and edges? I wonder what it was like for Groover to make this image. Maybe she felt like she was having a conversation with the objects, moving them around, listening to what they had to say? I know that, when I'm making a painting, I can get lost in the process of arranging shapes and colors. I think about the push and pull of the different elements, how one mark can change everything. The way the polka dot fabric interacts with the metallic objects makes me think of other artists who were interested in the everyday, like Giorgio Morandi. And like those guys, Groover uses humble subjects to invite us to consider the world around us. Ultimately, for me, painting and photography are about embracing uncertainty and finding new ways of seeing.