For as far back as anyone alive or otherwise can recall in the world of Fine Art, framing artwork was a pretty standard thing to do. Framing your artwork was also a means of bridging the differences within your home and your artwork, as a cohesive means of bringing the two together. With modern luxury real estate sharing cleaner lines and architecture being even more and more minimalistic, for the first time in history the tides may truly be changing with regard to framing Fine Art.
Long regarded by collectors as having a clean and minimalistic aesthetic, Fine Art Photography truly is the largest and fastest section of growth in the Fine Art world! With all the sophistication of a painting and arguably just as much if not more emotion and feeling, Fine Art Photography bridges that gap quickly and efficiently. Fast forward to Lucite, recess mounted Limited Edition reproductions and you truly have the perfect blend of Fine Art and technology for even the most discerning of Fine Art Collectors.
Photography is a medium which transcends interpretation. It is nice to be able to see a setting as it was in nature and know that the moment was a moment that was real. However, with that said there are many complex emotions within a simple moment which still leaves one with ample opportunity to reflect and see deeply within.
Bringing a Fine Art Photograph into your home is much like opening a window into your wall, as a means of seeing into another world. Photography, unlike a traditional painting is taking real, earthly moments and making them real in your home. There is the ability to interpret the moment for what it is or the opportunity to take what you see and wonder what it is to place yourself within that moment. Fine Art Photography is a means to take adventures to real places which have the healing power to calm one’s soul and bring a mediative state into its own sense of being.
As long as I can remember I was drawn to photography, long before I committed to myself that I was no longer going to paint oil on canvass, I was drawn more closely to photography. I think it was how the reality of a moment captured in such a raw way that my best effort to bring it back to life always failed to evoke the power and magnificence of the actual moment that had occurred. Ever since these formative days, I always looked at photography as a means to look into the depths of one’s soul and pull out those emotions, captured as mountains, tree’s, lakes, rivers and the ocean. These moments in my mind’s eye were not meant to only be bounded to the confines of a frame but to be cleared of that common and overly observed guideline as a simple oversight of one’s ability to see beyond the frame and into the image for what it brings in the form of spiritual reprieve.
Frames are obviously a good option for those who enjoy sticking with tradition and especially for those with more of a classic décor. Don’t get me wrong, I believe a beautiful hand-crafted molding still has its place in a collector’s home without a doubt. This is more of a reminder that we are now in a new era of Fine Art medium reproduction. With this brilliant new medium, we are no longer required to remain within convention, and this is where the beauty of imagination can come into play. For many centuries it was often thought that a room had artwork in it as a sign of wealth and opulence. While this is often still the case today, Fine Art is a means to bring parts of a home together in a cohesive manner to direct the actual aesthetic of that home’s aura. This way of delegating Fine Art has never been so prominent as it is now. Many opulent homes of an older guard have actual art galleries within them, much the same as a wine room or a theater room; However, now Fine Art is seen as the measure by how you feel in a home as we merge further into a time where people are choosing to enjoy their works of art as a manner of self-expression and means of relaxation.
Going away are the times where Fine Art graced a wall simply to be looked at because of the artist alone. While this is a classic and well-loved manner of art collection, we are seeing many more people falling in love with Fine Art for what joy and emotion it brings them in the form of expressive freedom and raw emotion. It has long been my opinion that art is to be enjoyed not simply seen. Artwork that is acquired simply as an irreplicable moment in an artist’s life that is past, only upon the merit of what another might think of it versus the true, unfiltered love of the artwork is becoming a bygone era.
Ultimately with so many changes occurring in how people view Fine Art and Limited Editions, we are seeing a new guard. With ultra-modern homes and designers really paying attention to the importance of aesthetic details, Fine Art Photography has really been taking a center stage within the realm of authentic, emotionally fulfilling home decors. A place where frames are no longer seen as necessary and a place where artwork is seen for the beauty and joy that it provides in the form of the collector experience. Speaking of collector experience, this is truly at the root of why I decided to write a piece on Framed Fine Art Photography. It is not simply the essence of framed vs. unframed that strikes a chord within me. This topic is bringing about something that I see as a movement that is simply here to stay with regard to seeing many more Fine Art Photographs leave my gallery unframed these days.
I believe with so many people wanting to see a relation in what they want to feel in their homes, people are being drawn into places within Fine Art Photography that are real connections. It is not good enough to simply purchase artworks for the name of an artist alone, it is more of a desire to connect with the artwork and feel what makes the moment real within the collector. Fine Art Photography has a way of connecting the viewer in a way that engages a very youthful magic, something deep within us that allows us to travel back in time to a place we once were. Maybe it was an old tree that a childhood rope swing hung from or that quiet pond that Papa took you to for your first fish. Maybe it was a sunset, walking along the beach where you asked the love of your life to marry you or simply a serene moment where you feel most at peace. You see, I like to think of Fine Art Photography as a window into your past, as a means to interpret your experiences in a way that is real and heartfelt. Moments such as the ones described above are not necessarily meant to be experienced as a traditional piece of art how people interpreted Fine Art in the past. My Fine Art Photography is meant to be experienced as a window into the moment, a way of experiencing the artwork and feeling it versus simply seeing it hanging on a wall and trying to decide what it is or how it makes you feel. The world abounds in places that conjure up every imaginable emotion and feeling we could possibly experience. As such it has been my life’s ambition and work to bring these very feelings alive within the places that I capture in my Photographic Artworks. If you feel, then I have a very good idea that you will love Photography in your home as well!
With all of this in mind, I feel that framing your artwork is entirely up to you and truly whatever suits your ambitions in dressing your home in new artworks in the way that you choose. The true reasoning behind this topic is simply from a place of building awareness behind a movement within this niche of Fine Art that we have been seeing grow quickly over the last decade with our collectors. A large majority of our collectors are simply opting to enjoy their Fine Art Photographs as recess mounts without traditional frames. This movement is something that truly departs from tradition and really is gaining momentum in a way that I have never seen within Fine Art in over three decades! I am excited to see where the future lay for the art world and honored to be a part of such an exhilarating and beautiful means of translating the world into beautiful works of art in which we feel and love within our hearts.