Belle Osipow
Altered Polaroids
Š 2015 Los Angeles, CA
This collection of images forms part of my tribute to my mother, the artist Belle Osipow (1916-2015). As an artist myself, I found my mother’s unflagging creative spirit a lifelong inspiration, and now I have inherited a vast quantity of her creative work—75 years worth of paintings, prints (silk-screens, lithographs, etchings), enamel on copper objects, ceramics, papier maché figurines, collages, photographs, political cartoons (made during WW2), greeting cards, newsletters, magazine illustrations, exhibition announcements and articles. Given the opportunity to reflect and appreciate, I set out to preserve many of my favorite pieces. The ability to manipulate the emulsion of a Polaroid photograph before it hardened perfectly suited my mother’s delight in tactile engagement with her art. These images, selected from hundreds, were made from 1981 to 1985, and show off her playfulness, her interest in color and form, and her always keen observation of the world around her.
Lisa Bloomfield
Belle Osipow, 1982
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Lisa Bloomfield, 1982
35