Julie Blackmon

Bleek

The Dutch proverb “a Jan Steen household” originated in the 17th century and is used today to refer to a home in disarray, full of rowdy children and boisterous family gatherings. The paintings of Steen, along with those of other Dutch and Flemish genre painters, helped inspire this body of work. I am the oldest of nine children and now the mother of three. As Steen’s personal narratives of family life depicted nearly 400 years ago, the conflation of art and life is an area I have explored in photographing the everyday life of my family and the lives of my sisters and their families at home. These images are both fictional and auto-biographical, and reflect not only our lives today and as children growing up in a large family, but also move beyond the documentary to explore the fantastic elements of our everyday lives, both imagined and real.

The stress, the chaos, and the need to simultaneously escape and connect are issues that I investigate in this body of work. We live in a culture where we are both “child-centered” and “self-obsessed.” The struggle between living in the moment versus escaping to another reality is intense since these two opposites strive to dominate. Caught in the swirl of soccer practices, play dates, work, and trying to find our way in our “make-over” culture, we must still create the space to find ourselves. The expectations of family life have never been more at odds with each other. These issues, as well as the relationship between the domestic landscape of the past and present, are issues I have explored in these photographs. I believe there are moments that can be found throughout any given day that bring sanctuary. It is in finding these moments amidst the stress of the everyday that my life as a mother parallels my work as an artist, and where the dynamics of family life throughout time seem remarkably unchanged. As an artist and as a mother, I believe life’s most poignant moments come from the ability to fuse fantasy and reality: to see the mythic amidst the chaos.

All images prior to 2011 are available in various sizes. Square format pieces are available as 22 x 22" and 32 x 32" pigment prints made in editions of 25 and 10, respectively. Horizontal images are available as 22 x 29", 32 x 42" and 40 x 53" pigments prints made in editions of 25, 10 and 5, respectively. Pieces range in price from $3100 to $10,000, depending on size and availability.

All images from 2011 through 2015 are available as 22 x 29", 32 x 42" and 40 x 53" pigments prints made in editions of 15, 10 and 5, respectively. Pieces range in price from $3500 to $10,000, depending on size and availability.

All images from 2016 to present (including Laying Out, 2015 & Pool, 2015) are available as 22 x 29", 32 x 42" and 40 x 53" pigments prints made in editions of 10, 7 and 5, respectively. Pieces range in price from $4000 to $11,000, depending on size and availability.

Please call: (312) 266-2350 for prices of specific pieces.
Prices are print only unless otherwise indicated.