Sharon Core
A selection of Sharon Core photographs are currently on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, as a part of Art Remix, a new series at the museum that juxtaposes contemporary and historical works of art.
In her Early American series, contemporary photographer Sharon Core pays homage to the exquisite still lifes by nineteenth-century American painter Raphaelle Peale. Core's photographs interpret Peale's work and are loosely based on printed reproductions of his paintings. The photographer painstakingly re-created each tableau, hunting down period-appropriate tableware and growing the featured produce herself. Even the photographic process she used is traditional, absent any digital technology.
The simplicity of Core's subject and the delicacy of her compositions belie the advance planning necessary for the success of her photographs. Originally trained as a painter, Core is familiar with the use of the photograph as source material for a painting. She reverses this tradition by using Peale's paintings as a reference for her photographs. Early American: Tea, Cakes, and Sherry is a wonderful complement to the MIA's Peale painting Still Life with Fruit, Cakes, and Wine. Both in terms of subject matter and technique, Core's photographs are beautiful modern riffs on Peale's historic paintings.
