Artist Profile: Laurie Lipton

The moving images of television and films have made people forget the power of the static image. I like moving images too, but I’ve never found them to be any more compelling than the so-called non moving image. I say so-called because to me, the static image can have tremendous movement and impact. It all depends on the skill of the artist. Hanging out in an art museum is every bit as satisfying as watching a film, if not more so.

A few years ago while surfing the net, I accidentally stumbled upon the art of Laurie Lipton and she immediately became one of my favorites. I was deeply affected by her work. Her images are startling and disturbing, and the more I stared at them, the more absorbed I became. I’ve always been attracted to dark stuff, and Laurie’s work is about as dark as it gets, yet her art is filled with an undeniable sense of humor. Laurie always makes me smile.

Using pencil and charcoal, Laurie creates some of the most intricately detailed images I’ve ever seen. I particularly love that she works primarily in black and white. It’s unfortunate that many people have little appreciation for black and white images. They view black and white as the absence of something… namely color. However, I would argue that black and white isn’t the absence of anything; it’s just something else altogether. Personally, I prefer the black and white image. For one thing thing, it removes me from reality and plunges me into a kind of dream state.