Barbara Bogart - Photography

Statement

As a photographer, Barbara finds beauty and wonder in the overlooked and the underfoot elements of the everyday world.  Some of her images are pure abstracts of color, texture, and form.  Others are simple compositions that evoke a mood of quiet reflection, explore an unexpected scene, or capture a surprising moment.  Her most recent series of images, “Close to Home,” features scenes in and around Wyoming and the Intermountain West that reveal the essence of what it’s like to live in this part of the world.

The overarching intention of her images is to invite viewers to look more closely at the world around them.  This is in line with her mantra, adopted from poet Mary Oliver:  "Pay attention.  Be amazed.  Tell about it."

Bio

Born and raised in California, Barbara lived in the South and the Midwest before discovering that Wyoming was her true home.  She has lived here since 1991.

An academic by training and profession, Barbara came late to the art party.  Although she made photographs with her Brownie camera as a young teenager, experimented in college with an Olympus half-frame camera, and used a Pentax in her professional life, her first serious foray into photography as an art form came in 2010, when she took a class from a gifted photographer and inspirational teacher.  Since then, she has taken numerous photography classes covering a range of topics and techniques to develop her own distinct style.

Why is your art unique

My images invite the viewer into that moment, to experience something of what I felt when I made them – delight, surprise, recognition, wonder – and to draw their own meaning from what they see.