Monday, October 18, 2010

10.18.10 : Artist Entry : Mark Laita

For over 20 years, advertising agencies worldwide have asked Mark Laita to bring his expertise, problem-solving abilities and signature style to their most important campaigns. His clean, colorful graphic product photography has earned him a reputation for award-winning work for clients such as Adidas. BMW. Van Cleef and Arpels and IBM. Based in Los Angeles since 1986. Mark also maintains a studio in New York City. His grace, wit and straightforward manner provide for a relaxed and efficient working environment. Mark's still life photography has been featured in campaigns for clients as diverse as Sony, Budweiser. Mini Cooper and Apple Computer's iMacs and iPods. His work has been recognized year after year by Communication Arts. Archive. Graphis, the One Show and the Kelly Awards.


Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles began representing Mark with a show of his fine art prints in September of 2006. The United Postal Service featured Mark's flower images in a series of postage stamps in 2007.


“The angles and the lighting and the backgrounds — to me they’re very similar to my still-life work. I’m taking something that exists, whether it’s a leaf or a fish or a flower or a shell or whatever, but basically they are things that are just sitting there. Or I find an auto mechanic somewhere and I think, ‘Wow, this is an interesting person.’ And I ask if I can take his picture, and perhaps do it in a similar way that I would do a flower or some other still life I’ve done. To me, they’re identical.”

Hutson, Rich. "Mark Laita: Beauty--Plain and Simple." PhotoMedia Magazine Online. 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .


"There are such endnotes for perhaps a third of the photographs, and they’re fascinating. They indicate that Laita, when he takes the time to listen to his subjects, is able to craft deceptively emotive scenes that gesture at something larger than themselves"

Silverman, Jacob. "Equal Before the Lens." The Second Pass. 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
.

The thing I found interesting about Mark Laita's work, is that in these images the viewer cannot tell that these images are in cages. In contrast to my own work, I am photographing cages. The fact that you cannot tell that these animals are in cages is impressive and elegant. I hope to achieve the same type of effect by photographing the cages themselves.

Mark Laita
Article/Interview
Gallery

No comments:

Post a Comment