1st Place Winner: Thomas Nelson (USA). The statement from totally paralized artist, who uses blinking to create his artwork, Thomas Nelson's website: “We live in a time in which advances in computer technology are creating exciting new opportunities for thousands of people who experience debilitating paralysis from disease and injury each year. No longer does physical disability have to mean a life of isolation and despair. Today, even the most severely disabled of us are using computers equipped with assistive technology to communicate with the people we encounter in our daily lives, stay connected with family and friends, manage our personal affairs, work, create, and attend school…”
Thomas Nelson was diagnosed with ALS. He couldn’t walk, he used a chair. His arms became weak and he couldn’t work as a professional musician any more. He wrote and with the help of friends self published a music instruction book. He couldn’t operate a keyboard, and he did the writing with speech recognition software. When he lost the ability to speak, he started using his current system which involves a small infrared sensor that clips to his glasses and responds to tiny facial movements…
Two years ago, Thomas Nelson discovered digital art, his new passion. “While my drawings may appear simplistic to some,” he said, “I believe in the universal truth that less is more and that much can be said with a few simple lines...”
Thomas Nelson was born in El Centro, California. “My formative years were spent in
northwest Colorado. It was there that I began drawing,” he said to the NeoPopRealism Journal. “My artistic inspiration came from Mad Magazine and Pogo. For the bulk of my time there, however, I studied girls, cars, having fun, and an emerging art form called rock and roll.” He was rescued from a wasted life of excessive merriment by the Vietnam War. “After that highly regrettable experience I used the G.I. Bill to earn a masters degree in psychology from Illinois State University,” Thomas continues. “For the next 27 years I taught psychology to under graduates during the day and performed with the folk pop trio the Flying DRito Brothers nights and weekends.” When he was completely paralyzed, he was in desperate need of a creative outlet, it was digital art…
Today, Thomas Nelson not starting any long-term projects. He “figures any day above ground is a good day.” In the short run, he’d like to earn enough from his art and writing to rent a place of his own and purchase an accessible cargo van to haul his art to the shows and exhibitions.
“Artwork of Thomas Nelson is simple as truth and beautiful in its simplicity. It was created by artist in a state of total paralyzing. But no matter how difficult and complicated today Thomas’ life is, his work carries the innovative and artistic spirit and energy of inspiration…” Juror Nadia Russ said. Visit Thomas Nelson website at http://www.blinkingartist.com/home , contact artist: through his website form at http://www.blinkingartist.com/mbr_contact.php
2nd Place Winner: Talieh Vafamehr (IRAN) was born in 1985 in Tehran. She studied mathematics at high school but she loved painting and continued her education in painting at Sooreh University of Tehran. She graduated from Sooreh University summer, 2009.
Even as a child, Talieh Vafamehr saw the painting as a way to express her feelings and ideas about different issues in life. “I remember that my room was like a little painting exhibition!” She said to the NeoPopRealism Journal. “Art is the best and complete way for me to reach the self knowledge, so I prefer it to any other occupations. My personal life and my society inspire me more than anything else. The life experiences have the great influence on my works, sometimes my feelings about some events reflect in my painting…” Talieh Vafamehr said that most of the NeoPopRealism canons are the special dreams of many people and the aims of most of us. But about number 4, she thinks anyone is free to believe in any ideology or philosophy. But Talieh thinks that any extremist ideology can be destructive.
“Society and politics appear in different ways in artists life. Some artists may withdraw and give up their artistic activity once they face with obstacles. But others trying to find a suitable solutions. Political strategies also affect publishing of art works, but persistence and keenness of artist help to continue produce. Dogmatic thinking can affect everything and tragic subjects or Critical themes would be seen more in artist’s artworks to challenge it. I face special events, news or opinions in my society. And as a result, these parameters have developed sad, timid, hopeful or chill characters in my paintings. When I experience some social events, positive or negative, personal or general, they fillip me unconsciously to find the new issues for painting, and it deepens my thought and makes my mind more active. Then, I can find special tone for my work…”
Social and human interactions help Talieh to achieve new possibilities for creating her art works. This process enhances creativity. She thinks that artist can change society; “in turn, society can make groundwork for artist too. Artistic existence is a reciprocal inseparable relation between artist and society.”
To the question “what is your ideal of the perfect society?” Thaieh said: “I don’t believe in utopia but society whose culture of conversation and exchanging ideas has formed in it definitely will be an improved society, where people can live in peace and feel liberty and security. This society respects all humans regardless of their race, color or religion.”
To the question “If you would be in a power, how you would improve the world?“ Talieh Vafamehr said: “I’d try to find some direct ways to people’s hearts, so that maybe they would tend to peace and humanity. Our soul is so valuable gift, whatever it becomes stronger; more good results for us and our world will make. Sociology and psychology science help people to achieve this purpose better. Also, I use these words of Mahatma Gandhi to complete my answer - he said: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world.""
Also, Talieh said that if she can open new window to viewer’s mind through her art, she has done a significant work. Art is the enormous power.
“Art works of Talieh Vafamehr carry artistic flavor of 21st century and reflect its problems and concerns. Often sad, they contain the hope and power to change the world to a better place,” Juror Nadia Russ said.
Find more of Talieh Vafamehr artwork and contact her at http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/t/talieh/
3rd Place Winner: Francine Douaihy (USA) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and studied art (B.S. Degree) at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA and a Masters degree in art education from the University of Scranton. She has also done graduate work at Rutgers University and Penn State University. After teaching art for 33 years in the Scranton Public School system, she retired in 2004 and instantaneously began photography full time. “My inspiration in life is to live each day to the fullest
and explore the profound relationship between art and man, Also, to connect my view of the world through art and transmit that view to my fellow earthlings internationally,” she said to the NeoPopRealism Journal. “When I take a photo, in that nano second of taking the picture, I want my eye and brain to see the scene, then transmit that scene to the viewer, freezing that moment. Its miraculous, transcending and magical!”
One of goals for her photos, she said, is to show our world from a different perspective - tiny, mundane, everyday sights that maybe most people don’t even notice and then showing them as artistic images. “A crack in a New York City sidewalk or a fading, peeling poster on a NYC wall, a broken window with mud slung on its panes, a neon sign that glows the word "OPEN"- all these have huge artistic implications for me,” she said. “Art is everywhere. Art is life. It will be here long after we are gone.“
Another goal of Francine is to travel throughout the world and again transmit to people throughout the world, places they might not necessarily ever travel. She said: “I can show to people a vignette of a day in a London park (“Margot’s World“), the modern architecture of The National Gallery of Canada, the one of a kind Canadian sunset, or the simple beauty of a 1600s Moravian town in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...“ Recently, Francine won a Gold medal in Color Magazines for Fine Art Photography Single Image Competition 2010. There were 15 gold medals awarded out of over 2000 images. Her photograph "Rainy Sunday in New York" depicts a mysterious, dark, awesome yet melancholy metropolis. It is a unmanipulated and raw shot - the background is a fuzzy, faded view of the Empire State Building in the distance.
Francine would like to spread her art around the globe, in magazines and exhibitions. Her dream is to visit and live in different countries throughout the world to study different cultures, life and architecture, and capture the daily images through her camera lens.
“In her nostalgic photography “Margot’s World,” Francine Douaihy successfully explores relationships between simple but fascinating nature of England and person - Margot, who escaped from the civilization’s urban streets,” juror Nadia Russ said.
Find more of Francine Douaihy work at http://http://www.francinedouaihyphotos.com/ and contact her through her web site.
Honorable Mention - Per Siwmark (Sweden) was born in Malmö, and studying in Malmö and Lund (Sweden). He decided to be a sculptor because he likes the feeling and to work in 3D, he said. Per’s inspirations come from the ancient history and mythology, he is influenced by art of ancient times and modern design. His goal is to show his sculpture internationally, and to keep finding new techniques for creating his artworks. Per Siwmark said: “Already now my work is unique but I want to take it even further… My biggest dream is to rebuild Pompeii at MOMA.” His next creative project is to build sculptures for the next year show in Rome. Per said to the NeoPopRealism Journal, “I will create sculptures based on the Roman epic poem “The Aeneis” by Virgil. During 2011 I will exhibit my work in Sweden, Italy, USA, Belgium and Finland.” Per Siwmark lives and works as a full time sculptor in a small town called Bjärred, 20 km north of Malmö, Sweden.
“Artwork TYNDAREUS by Per Siwmark invites viewer to the fascinating past, with images of greatest old masters. This journey can be both inspirational and motivational…” Juror Nadia Russ said.
Find more about Per Siwmark and his contact information in his web site at http://www.siwmark.com/.
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