Welcome to no. 65 in our series Poignant Pics, where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about “Study for an Encaustic Workshop ” by Diane Fenster.

Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.
― Stella Adler

A long time ago, in a universe that seems a million miles away from the world of 2020, I was a digital imaging student here in Hawai'i. At the time, digital imaging, digital photo, inkjet prints, and digital anything…was not considered "real" art here. Because, you know, "the computer makes it for you." Traditional media was the idol to which all standards were held. It took 14 or so years before that mindset changed here. (Now we see a similar situation, replace the words "digital art" with "NFT." However, I will not take up that debate with this writing. I'm still tired from 10 years plus of fighting for digital and another few for fighting for mobile as "real" photo.) 

My discovery of Diane Fenster in the late 90s/early 00s was before the web became our go-to source of information. As a student, I relentlessly visited my local bookstores to pour over books and magazines that included digital work. That is how I found out about Diane's work. I also belonged to an organization for us outcasts (i.e., artists working with digital tools). One of the members had traveled to SF and purchased a box set of digital imagery created by Diane, based on her series "Hide and Seek." The member brought it to the next meeting. It was the first time I saw her work in person, and I was overjoyed. Would I still gravitate to it today? I'm not sure. Styles change, and both Fenster's work and my tastes evolved. My favorite project of Diane's is The Secrets of the Magdalena Laundries, a photographic installation with sound she created in 2000. Fast-forward many years; lo and behold, I find that we are both interacting in some of the same Facebook groups. I was still a fan. Lord knows, she probably friended me to get me to stop writing "Huge fan of Diane Fenster" after every post she or someone else made of her work in Facebook groups.

This image floated through my Facebook timeline a few months ago, and I was immediately smitten. I love the mixed media, the tissue paper, and the messiness. The wax is balled up and crinkled in places. There are tears, ridges, small pieces of text. The image catches me and makes me wonder what is happening with the women. Diane told me, "My series all have a concept and intent behind them. But this image was a spontaneous creation that grew out of the workshop. Sometimes it's good to work without a preconceived direction. That can lead to an image that touches people. I've gotten a lot of comments about this piece over the years. I had laser-printed some of the images from my Ghost Stories series to use as subject material for the workshop; I included some tissue paper dress patterns. It is a study. There's value in that too."

I hope you enjoy this image as much as I do.

Artist Bio

I am a self-taught artist working with photography and photo-montage. My art first received notice during the era of early experimentations with digital imaging and has been called an important voice in the development of a true digital aesthetic. I view myself as an alchemist, using digital, alternative process, and traditional photographic tools to delve into fundamental human issues. My work is literary and emotional, full of symbolism and multiple layers of meaning. My images have appeared in numerous publications on photography digital art. I've been a guest lecturer at many seminars and conferences, internationally exhibited and a part of museum, corporate and private collections. My work appears in #ICP CONCERNED, International Center of Photography, the APERTURE monograph METAMORPHOSES: PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE, WOMEN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY published by MIT press, and ART IN THE DIGITAL AGE edited by Bruce Wands, School of Visual Art, NYC and other publications.

Recent honors include: 2021 publication in DIFFUSION X, OneTwelve Publishers, 2020 publication in ALLABOUTPHOTO magazine, Black and White issue. A portfolio of work from A LONG HISTORY OF DARK SLEEP is included in this issue.  2020 BEST OF QUARANTINE, FLOAT Magazine. An image from A LONG HISTORY OF DARK SLEEP included in this online exhibition.Shortlist for the Conceptual Category, KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO Award for my series A Long History of Dark Sleep. Gold and Silver Awards, Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) 2020, Gold Award, Bay Area Month of Photography 2020, Honorable Mention in the Fine Art Portrait category Moscow Photo Awards (MIFA) 2020, Silver Award Bay Area Month of Photography 2019, Silver Award, Tokyo International Foto Awards. Honorable Mentions 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, and 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards. 2018 Pollux Awards, Finalist in the Fine Art and Digital Manipulation categories. Received Honorable Mentions in the 9th Pollux Awards, and the 2018 Moscow Photo Awards.

More of her work can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/dianefenster/

Author Bio

Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.