O’Keeffe Inspired Irises

My first encounter with Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork was in elementary school, where our quirky, all-black-wearing art teacher, Mrs. Dearborn, would display O’Keeffe’s desert work to us as inspiration. I was probably 7-years-old, and needless to say, I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand Mrs. Dearborn’s love of New Mexico’s landscapes, nor the cow skull that sat atop her desk (that we sometimes drew in class). I mean, how could I — I was seven. I had never been to the desert. I had never seen a real cow. Suburban New Jersey was hardly the place a kid could find an appreciation for Georgia O’Keeffe.

But alas, how does that bring me to these iris photographs? Well, many of O’Keeffe’s works were intimate paintings of flowers. I use the word “intimate” for these images often felt very sensual and sexual to the viewer — which isn’t surprising considering flowers are the reproductive organs of plants (gardener here!). I didn’t think of these things when I took out my camera, but I always let the flowers tell me their story through shape, color, and light. As I sat at my desk to edit, I immediately thought of Georgia O’Keeffe. A certain yellow reminded me of one of her flower paintings, while the arching of a petal felt like a composition she had made. So, the more I went through these photographs, the more I saw life imitating art. And thus, accidentally or not, these photographs remind me of Georgia’s paintings. Which, given her acclaim in a male-dominated art world, seems to be a pretty good place to begin.

I took these photographs on my first outing during quarantine when the weather began to warm, and the outdoors were more inviting than ever. I took my time, let the flowers tell me their stories, and show me their shapes. That’s often how I approach photography, almost documentary style, waiting for the beauty to reveal itself to me. From over seven-hundred photos of varying angles, changing light, and different flowers, these are the images I chose to keep. I hope they encourage you to look a little closer when you next see a flower because while their beauty is fleeting, time stops while you enjoy all they have to offer. Flowers can be mesmerizing, calming, and fluid in their colors and shades — things I think Georgia O’Keeffe knew long before me.

See the whole collection of photographs below!