by We went to the New Britain Museum of American Art to see the Ansel Adams and Shaker exhibits, but instead were blown away by the wonderful “Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders!” exhibit, which is running March 31, 2023 – September 03, 2023.
Walter Wick is a Connecticut native and the artist behind the photography on the I SPY and Can You See What I See series of books. The photography is highly stylized, so much so that a viewer might not realize that the pictures are indeed edited photographs and not paintings. Wick arranges detailed 3-D models, and playing on perspective, focused lighting, and photo editing is able to produce mesmerizing and whimsical images.
The exhibit had many models on display, paired with their resulting image, and they were absolutely fascinating to see. We happened to be there before a talk Wick was giving, and though we were not able to score last minute tickets, he was wandering around the exhibit talking with visitors about the pictures and his techniques. The exhibit was overall wondrous and joyful, and highly recommended.
…where perspective clearly changes things a lot…
…and the final photograph is another level entirely.
Here is the model (so detailed!) from Can You See What I See? On A Scary Street…
…to the final image.
One more…Jolly Roger model from Can You See What I See? Treasure Ship…
To the final image:
I love Walter Wick! I didn’t realize that for his books he made these lifesize models, but saw his work at the Eric Carle museum and was totally wowed.
The models were so interesting, but it’s clear there’s a lot of photo editing taking place, too. It was delightful!