To talk knowledgeably about the focus of photographer Liz Obert’s recent artistic practice is to delve into still life and art history.
A quick refresher: Still life is a genre of art that captures inanimate objects, often fruit and other food along with flowers and man-made items. These items are composed in a deliberate way, often using placement and lighting to evoke a mood or tell a story.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, artists — most prominently in the Netherlands and Spain — painted still lifes as commentary on consumption, greed, the impermanence of life and the emptiness of material possessions. The Dutch called these works “vanitas,” while the Spanish called them “bodegónes.”
Now, back to Obert: The New Mexican artist’s current project, American Bodegónes, continues the tradition, juxtaposing whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and meats with more modern foods such as cans of Spam, chicken nuggets and gummy bears.
The effect is unmistakable: Through her photographs, Obert is bringing the message of the Dutch and Spanish giants into our present time, modernizing their message of overconsumption by highlighting the fast-food age and offering an opportunity to reflect on our culture of consumerism and the fleeting nature of existence.
“Although these images have an element of humor by elevating the mundane, such as Starbucks and Burger King,” she says, “the message is serious.”
Obert grew up in New Orleans, where she “always created art” she says, and she learned to love photography while in school at the College of Santa Fe. After some time in New York, she settled in the Portland area, where she taught as an art professor at Linfield College for 18 years before moving into food photography during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I taught myself how to do the tabletop photography and studio lighting” she says, “and then I rediscovered the old masterpiece still lifes and started working on these series.” (Before American Bodegónes, Obert did a similar series called Vanitas.)
Soon, she’ll return to Oregon for her residency at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture, where she is looking forward to exploring how the food chain has evolved, how the food we eat has adapted to that evolution, and how we as humans adapt to all the above.
“I’m really excited to set up a studio on the ranch and just kind of see what’s lying around out there to put in the photographs,” she says. “I think there’s a great opportunity there to show how it’s possible to eat food right off the ranch as opposed to it going to a laboratory or factory and becoming something that’s quite unrecognizable.”
She continues: “Right now, I go to the grocery store for a lot of the subjects of my photography. Whereas on a working ranch, who knows what I’m going to find there?”
Liz Obert will give an artist talk, “Momento Mori,” on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 6-7 p.m. at The Ranch. Attendees will hear about the history of vanitas and bodegónes and get a peek at Obert’s process. There is no registration fee.
Obert will also participate in the Studio Tour alongside fellow residents Donna Kaz and Erika Bolstad on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 5-6:30 p.m. at The Ranch.
