In photography, the circle of confusion determines the depth of field, the part of an image that is acceptably sharp.
Helms Bakery District Presents
Circle of Confusion
Photography by David Hartwell
In the Helms Design Center
October 14th – November 17th, 2023
Press Release: Artist photographer David Hartwell sets his sights and lenses on the myriad of plants and flowers that inhabit his garden in Pasadena. David’s art and craft consists of taking hundreds of photographs of each specimen. Inching himself closer to his subject a fraction of a millimeter at a time, David ends up with images only differentiated by the location of their razor thin focus point, the circle of confusion. David reassembles those photos into images that are impossibly sharp, blurring the boundaries of illustration, photography and the stored visual memory. This circumvention of the limitations of the lens –the human eye having the same constraints –allows David to physically emulate what the human brain does best: synthesize information into a coherent whole. The images are conspicuously simple and familiar yet the resulting amalgams have never been seen by a photographic lens, nor the human eye.
Helms Show Selection
All 21 photographs on display were printed by the artist in his studio. They are each part of a limited edition of 15. All photographs are printed on Hahnemühle Baryta Satin heavy archival stock. The frames are made of maple and were milled in the artist’s wood shop.
All photographs are for sale. Please contact David directly by email for purchase.
| 1. Tropaeolum majus (garden nasturtium) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 2. Asclepias curassivica (tropical milkweed) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 3. Polygala dalmaisiana #1 (sweet pea shrub) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 4. Salvia apiana (Californian white sage) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 5. Polygala dalmaisiana #2 (sweet pea shrub) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 6. Vigna unguiculata (black-eyed pea) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 7. Linaria maroccana (Moroccan toadflax) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 8. Vanitas #1 (Roses) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 9. Vanitas #2 (Camellia Japonica) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 10. Vanitas #3 (Camellia Japonica) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 11. Plumbago auriculata (Cape leadwort) 15” x 30” with frame: $1,250.00 without frame: $950.00 |
| 12. Oxalis stricta (yellow woodsorrel) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 13. Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum) 15” x 30” with frame: $1,250.00 without frame: $950.00 |
| 14. Streliziai nicolai (giant white bird of paradise) 15” x 30” with frame: $1,250.00 without frame: $950.00 |
| 15. Trifolium repens (white clover) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 16. Zantedeschia aethiopica #1 (Calla lily) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 17. Zantedeschia aethiopica #2 (Calla lily) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 18. Cucurbita pepo #1 (zucchini flower) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 19. Cucurbita pepo #2 (zucchini flower) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 20. Dietes iridioides (African iris) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
| 21. Campsis radicans (trumpet vine) 24” x 30” with frame: $2,150.00 without frame: $1,700.00 |
