Poignant Pics no. 93: On Marcy Juran's "Early Wonder Beets"
“But always, to her, red and green cabbages were to be jade and burgundy, chrysoprase and porphyry. Life has no weapons against a woman like that.”
Early Wonder Beets
Enticed by a childhood immersed in the fragrant tapestry of her parents' garden, Marcy Juran's artistic journey took root at the tender age of six, when her father made her a garden of her own. In so doing, he sowed the seeds of a lifelong obsession. But Juran inherited more than a love for gardening from her parents; as she planted and harvested, she took in the form and color. Many years later, she brings that to her hand-colored series of fruits and vegetables. Where others might see food, Juran considers the depth of color and subjects for portraits.
These beets captivated me the first time I saw the image pass by my Facebook timeline. They jumped off the page and grabbed me. The color was so luscious and glowing that I wanted to bathe in it.
However, there is more to Juran's passionate imagery than simple form and color. Of the beets, Juran told me, "These hand-colored photographs are ripe with memories. The earthy beets evoke the scent of borscht lingering in the air of my grandmother's kitchen, a tangible link to generations of my family." Juran's work tenderly preserves these familial connections; she infuses her plant portraits with a resonance that transcends time and space. The viewer can almost inhale the earthy aroma and feel the familial whispers of a grandmother's cherished recipes.
Bravo Marcy! I look forward to seeing more of this passionate portraiture.
Artist Bio
Marcy Juran is a visual artist living in Westport Connecticut, who combines personal narratives with the natural environs of her native New England. Exploring myth, memory and family relationships, her images are often layered, incorporating hand coloring, drawing, leafing, and wax. Her work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the MMPA, Soho Photo, Rhode Island Center for Photography, SE Center for Photography, and A. Smith Gallery, and has been shown in Fraction, Lenscratch and Don’t Take Pictures. Awards include the Julia Margaret Cameron award.
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 and a BA from the University of Hawai’i.