Chivalry Towards Ladies, C-Print 33″x 30″, 2007

Swedish-born Chris Anthony combines a 4 x 5 camera, a scanner and Photoshop to create a haunting and disconcerting world where violence is forever lurking in the shadows. Although Anthony works primarily as commercial and music photographer, he made these eerily atmospheric portraits for a personal project. “This was part of a series of 27 images called Victims and Avengers,” says Anthony, “It deals with domestic violence and the repercussions for women and children who have been abused. It also relates to that moment when there is a final straw — when the victims take matters into their own hands.”

The Parker Palm Springs (Bethany) Clothing: Glaza MakeUp: Melanie Manson Hair: Boogie

Staff at American Photo state: Anthony’s photographs combine these themes with a painterly, 19th-century aesthetic. The 24×60-inch prints were shown at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California, in early 2007; another individual show will run there from January 26 through February 16. His work has earned critical accolades, including a 2007 Lucie Award nomination. Anthony shot these images in 4×5 but says that scans were digitally stitched together as composites before they were output on an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 inkjet printer. “The compositing came out of necessity, because sometimes I would have the set in one place and the actors in the other,” Anthony explains. “Most of the models are actually film actors I know here in Los Angeles.”

A former film and video director, Anthony has shot commercial work for clients including Sony PlayStation 3 and the bands My Chemical Romance and Modest Mouse. He sometimes uses a Mamiya medium-format camera with a digital back, but he prefers to work in large format on film. “I love the slow, methodical approach,” he says. “I’ve been buying really old lenses — like from the turn of the century — and using them with my 5×7 and 8×10 cameras. Everything old is new again.”

More of Chris Anthony’s beautiful, macabre and thought-provoking series of photographs can be seen after the jump. more…

Headache

stop… whispering. Beautiful words, tear my brains….

Mario Sanchez Nevado (pseudonym of Aegis) is an digital artist born in Murcia (Spain), who creates some impressive photo-manipulated artwork. His art is a lush combination of traditional and digital drawing, vectorial art and photographs. This is dark and surreal imagery, combined with conceptual themes as Mario works within many diverse styles and genres. Equally integrated is his use of digital softwares: Photoshop, Corel Painter, Marinates Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Dreamweaver - all contribute to the completed designs.

Absent Minded

Hidden Front

See more of Mario Sanchez’s fantastic imagery after the jump. more…

Capriccio, 2nd for Transfigurations, a collaboration by Richard Bram and Sylvia Willkens © 2007

Concerned, 2nd for Transfigurations, a collaboration by Richard Bram and Sylvia Willkens © 2007

Isabel Trio, 3rd for Transfigurations, a collaboration by Richard Bram and Sylvia Willkens © 2007

Isabel Trio, 1st for Transfigurations, a collaboration by Richard Bram and Sylvia Willkens © 2007

Over a period of two years from 2000 to 2002, street photographer Richard Bram and painter Silvia Willkens of Mainz, Germany, collaboratively worked on a (Renaissance-inspired) series of portraits that play with the history of portraiture, the interaction of painting and photography, and a dazzling sense of flattened picture planes that shudder with hall of mirrors delights.

And, in a related piece of magic, take this extraordinary tour of 500 years of female portraiture by Philip Scott Johnson:

RICHARD BRAM. PHOTOGRAPHER
iN-PUBLiC | Richard Bram
NETCELLS : Public Zone : RICHARD BRAM
Galerie - Silvia Willkens

Like many artists of their generation, English brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman allude to an incredible amount historical reference in their work. This is particularly evident in a series (aptly) named “Hell” (1999–2000), of which portrays an apocalyptic vision of hell on Earth as war, Nazi atrocities, concentration camps, and mass executions with thousands of miniature figures taken apart and put together again. These were arranged in nine glass cases laid out in the shape of a swastika and later destroyed by the artists. Dinos Chapman is reported to have shrugged off the loss, saying, “We will just make it again… It is only art.”

See more from this series after the jump more…

Retratos Vitoriano - em homenagem à Ray Caesar.

Helenbar is a Model and very talented designer from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Through a series of self-portraits she transforms herself into digitally manipulated forms of surreality. Her treatment of images is always amazingly sensitive and subtle. Beyond the technique, she works on the basic questions of language; understanding hierarchies and specific values of each area, thus constructing references and context. Many of her works play homage to various fictional characters, one in particular that springs to mind is the fascinating photographic interpretation of Alice in Wonderland series she accomplished, based on original work of Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, 1865.

Her influences in her life and works range from writers to an interesting mix of artists, these include: George Meliés, Ingemar Bergman, David Cronemberg, David Linch, Roman Polanski, Neil Jordan, Tim Burton and artists as Gilbert and George, Andy Warhol, Pierre et Gilles, Ray Caesar, Mark Ryden, Jeff Koons, Nan Goldin and Joel Peter Witkin.

Natureza Morta 2006

Geisha 2005

Be sure to check out all of her portfolio at Helenbar.com. Follow the jump to see a selection of her fantastic images. more…

The series of images is a cerebral exploration of sensuality involving lifeless forms coming to life - David Fields on ‘pleasures of the flesh’

New York based photographer David Field centers his work around the fundamentals of both concept and composition in the creation of surrealistic, attention grabbing ‘out-of-this-world’ imagery. He uses a variety of photoshop techniques (mainly manipulation and composition) in all his complex imagery. Each image often takes him months to complete, using an illustrators thought process to slowly build up layer by layer.

You can view David Field’s portfolio here.