Ellen Jantzen

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Ellen Jantzen follow American, born 1964

Lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Projects/Portfolios

Losing Reality; Reality of Loss

Introduction

How does one experience loss? What does loss look like?

Catastrophic losses usually have a face; think war photos, photos from the World Trade Center, crashes of various sorts but I am interested in personal loss.

I have always been interested in alternate states of reality, the meaning of dreams, what becomes of our spirits after death (and before birth). We all deal with "loss" in some form, loss of friends, home, youth, and the ultimate loss, loss of life. Death transforms us; reality shifts, but to what?

I am intrigued with how a person adapts to losses in their lives; how they are absorbed by events and changed; how they experience loss. Do dreams influence the experience of loss? Are dreams real? I set about to address these issues through a photographic photosynthesis in this body of work; choosing photography as the medium to help me reveal reality while at the same time transform that reality to reflect loss.

In these images, I have placed my husband (Michael) in various environments where a loss of some sort has recently occurred. Some of the losses were very specific and personal and some were of a general, universal nature reflected in an inner state of anguish and eventual acceptance.

Transplanting Reality; Transforming Nature

Introduction

The natural world can be experienced on many levels, from the reality of a mountain to the ethereal essence of living beings. Trees, specifically, have always played a major role in my appreciation of nature. Trees produce the oxygen needed for our breath; we provide carbon dioxide for the trees…. a lovely symbiosis.

Forests and trees have also played a prominent role in many folktales and legends and have been given deep and sacred meanings. They are seen as powerful symbols of growth, decay and resurrection. But, with the depletion of forests and the resulting impact on humankind, how we respond will determine our future.

In this series I am addressing my concerns by transplanting replica trees into the natural world. These trees take the form of a constructed likeness or of a ghostly apparition. One is artificial, the other a spirit form; both represent the transformation of nature.

Transplanting Reality; Transcending Nature

Introduction

This is a continuation and transfiguring of my Transplanting Reality; Transforming Nature series.

Forests and trees have played a prominent role in many folktales and legends and have been given deep and sacred meanings. They are seen as powerful symbols of growth, decay and resurrection. I am responding by striving to make visual the ephemeral nature of sacred, spiritual realms.

In this series, I am transplanting replica trees into the natural world then creating ethereal forms that blend with and supplant the natural environment. One is artificial, the other a spirit form; both represent the transcendence of nature.

Disturbing The Spirits

Place of Departure

Introduction

(Disturbing the Spirits, part 2)

I was working on my series, "Disturbing The Spirits" when my father suddenly died*. Place of Departure is the work I have done since…..

I feel that my life has fundamentally changed; but sometimes all seems the same. Where did my father go? What does a life mean after it leaves it's body? Does the life-force rise and connect the terrestrial with the celestial or does it evaporate into thin air?

These are the questions I am grappling with as I begin my new series; hopefully I will find my way to an understanding.

6 months later my mother passed away also. The space between my father's death and my mother's was filled with this work.

In process.......

Coming Into Focus

Unity of Time and Place

Galleries

Bruno David Gallery, Clayton, MO, United States
Qlick Editions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Susan Spiritus Gallery, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Statements

Artist Statement
I create art by altering/manipulating photos I took of staged assemblages of subjects, objects and landscapes.

My images are reconstructed on the computer and are both true and false…. There is an ambiguity that allows the viewer space to project their own imaginings and meaning to my images.

My handiwork is readily apparent: something was synthesized, staged, constructed or performed.

I am not a photographer per se, but an artist who deploys photography in my creative process.

Process Statement
I am actively involved in creating two-dimensional imagery using my computer and photography software. I stage assemblages of a variety of subjects or objects, either man-made or of a natural nature. I take digital photographs of these set-ups then using my computer, I layer, re-color, and manipulate to visualize and strengthen my concept.
Working digitally with my computer allows me to see in new ways; it allows me to be surprised by the outcome and the possibilities.

Biography

Ellen Jantzen was born and raised in St. Louis Missouri but moved to California with her husband, Michael to pursue studies.
She now lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Website

ellenjantzen.com

Contact

For print inquiries, please contact any of the fine galleries below.

Bruno David Gallery, Clayton, MO, United States
Qlick Editions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Susan Spiritus Gallery, Newport Beach, CA, United States

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