Quinn Mehler - Artist post

Isabel Magowan
Isabel Magowan is a photographer from Manhattan. She grew up as a ballerina and her main inspiration for her work is Swan Lake, but not in a way that you would expect. As a child Isabel would often visit her grandmother's house. There was a lake by her house that she would go swimming in . One day she and her friend went swimming in the lake only to be violently attacked by swans. She remembers this vividly and uses it as her driving force in her work. She captures the dark underbelly of girlhood and growing up.

Her pictures are so wonderful to look at because of are so captivating and real. I feel that each picture is authentic and unposed (even though it is). Most of her pictures are in a domestic setting, which invites the view into their private home. The lighting in the 3rd picture is just enchanting. It is so soft and delicate, just like the mother and daughter's relationship in the picture. There's something about the young girls right hand that is so limp and vulnerable.

This photoseries in one of my favorites. It's about girlhood and youth. I was instantly entranced when I read an article about her.. I felt her pictures were something I could strongly relate to because childhood is dreamlike to me since I didn't have the most ideal one myself. I still cling to my stuffed animals and people think that it's weird sometimes, but how can you be sad when you see their smiling animal faces? This is definitely a topic that I am interested in pursuing for my final project as it is very different from concepts I typically make work about.