C&T Publications 50 States of Art - 2015 | Page 50

Matthew Blum - Minnesota blumwurks/blo͞omwərks/•n. the bringer of emotion through art. v. the never-ending search for the thought provoking, the beautiful, the inspirational. Matthew Blum, the creator of blumwurks, was born in Ohio in 1974. Over the last few years, Matthew has worked predominantly with photography, but always looks for time to create images with graphite, acrylics and digital software. Whatever the medium, he pays close attention to detail and composition, while ensuring the conveyance of his idea or feeling. His body of work emphasizes the cohesion or disparity of nature and humanity. In doing so, the art of titling and adding accompanying words, at times, may take just as long to complete as the image itself. His goal remains constant...to see things differently and express that vision to the onlooker. "Where the artistic media may change over time.....the artist changes a thousand times a day.” Web Site: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/matthew-blum.html Here is my piece. It is called Danger. A cold and still December afternoon in Duluth, Minnesota. Light was fading, but I wanted to get a shot of this iconic landmark. The vastness of the lake disappearing into the overcast sky stirred feelings of fear and vulnerability, which is why the “Danger” sign on the lighthouse became the title and my idea for post processing. I wished to create a vintage “old photo” style. Desaturated colors, areas of wear all pointing to the idea that "we are all vulnerable to what the world presents to us….it is how we respond to it that is important. A midst the danger and darkness, how bright is our inner beacon?” The Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light is located at the Duluth Ship Canal. It, along with the South Breakwater Inner Light, form range lights used to navigate the ships into the canal and under the famous Aerial Lift Bridge. It was first lit in 1874. Quick Notes: On November 12th, 1872, “The Storm King, the Most Terrible Storm Ever Known on Lake Superior!” (according to headlines in the November 16th issue of the Duluth Minnesotian newspaper) caused major damage to the breakwater and a number of sailing vessels were destroyed or badly broken, including the Sweetheart, the Francis Palms and the schooner Alice Craig. At the time there were two ships in the harbor making rescue attempts, the propeller St. Paul and the tug Bob Anderson. News accounts state the the captain of the Bob Anderson acted in a cowardly manner and abandoned his ship, leaving the crew to help the St. Paul and her captain with trying to complete rescues. The May 6h, 1874 issue of the Duluth Minnesotian newspaper printed a notice to mariners that the new light-house would be sending a fixed white light beacon beginning on June 1st. On May 30th an update was printed reporting that the lights and other apparatus had not yet been received, and further, the fixed white light was being replaced with a fixed red light, and therefore mariners needed to approach with caution. 45