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  • M_Kloth-FineARt004.jpg
  • M_Kloth-FineARt005.jpg
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  • Okay, let's get this out of the way from the start - graffiti can be beautiful or it can be ugly but it is almost always a crime.  People create graffiti for any of a number of reasons.  My Urban Abstract series should not be considered as a support of property damage nor should it be considered my approval of any particular message.  I create these images because it provides a framework for me to appreciate color, form, and texture. If the graffiti did not exist, I might instead do my own painting on various surfaces but somehow photographing the existing graffiti seems more authentic to me.
    M_Kloth-Urban_Abstract-2335.jpg
  • I hope you enjoyed this gallery.  <br />
<br />
It is worth pointing out that I'm hardly the first person to include graffiti in their photography portfolio.  Walker Evans, famous for his work with the Farm Security Administration back in the time of the Great Depression, later did some graffiti photographs in New York.  His work is the one that inspired my own series.  The images in this series were mostly created with a 180 mm macro lens.  This allows me to get very close and include only small parts of an over all design.  When printed out at full resolution, these fragments of the whole would be many times larger than they are as part of the original graffiti design.  This is done so that the images are more a reflection of my own artistic sensibilities than they are of copying someone else's design.
    M_Kloth-Urban_Abstract-2325.jpg
  • Somehow it seems much worse to me to see the graffiti on natural surfaces like stone or plants (some people even paint their graffiti on saguaros).
    M_Kloth-8316.jpg
  • It interests me how these graffiti artists are able to keep such good separation between colors.  In this image, I like the shapes but also have to wonder how long the painter had to wait between coats for the finished design.
    M_Kloth-Urban_Abstract-2308.jpg
  • The colors here show multiple re-paintings of a fence to cover layers of graffiti.  When I saw the layers, I immediately thought of the work of Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko.
    M_Kloth-8349.jpg
  • This image is about a repetition of shape.  I'd have preferred that the black circle had been done with the purple instead but then again, the graffiti wasn't created with my design in mind.
    M_Kloth-Urban_Abstract-2312.jpg
  • I'll often include familiar shapes in an image if they are present in the overall graffiti painting.  Things like arrows offer conceptual meaning that can be taken advantage of when key wording (the tool to make the images easier to search for on the internet).
    M_Kloth-9514.jpg
  • Again, this series isn't necessarily about graffiti.  I like the texture and the contrast between the yellow paint and the wall color revealed by the flaking.
    M_Kloth-8319.jpg
  • Graffiti on the tail side of the rattlesnake bridge
    M_Kloth_Love_8332.jpg
  • The Urban Abstract series isn't strictly about graffiti but it is most always about decay.  I liked the shape of this peeling plaster overlay and the contrast provided by the dark shadows.
    M_Kloth-Urban_Abstract-2338.jpg
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Michael Kloth

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