The photography of Martien Mulder, hitherto featured in a slew of international galleries and magazines, is now on view at Capricious Space. Mulder’s preoccupations appear to be with plantlife and portraiture, pretty much in that order. The former she treats with an almost spiritual reverence—venerating verdant palm trees in Brazilian Mist (2001) and Plant in Black (2008) as though they were avatars of otherworldly beauty. Looking at these photographs, one forgets that there are such things as shopping malls and gas stations—a pleasant notion, indeed.
Many of Mulder’s pieces seem like details taken from larger photographs; they tend to depict small portions of trunk and stem set against clouded sky. Rather than disorienting the viewer, this approach serves to focus attention on the sparse, near-abstract quality of the plantlife itself, as if the world, at this particular moment, consisted of nothing else. Peer closely at something, and it becomes all you see.
Mulder also likes it when the natural world encroaches on the man-made. She is particularly fond of scenes in which bright-green flora overwhelm the geometrical fortifications of modern architecture, as occurs, with great effect, in Building in Green (2001), perhaps the most convincing example of Mulder’s attempt at photographic abstraction. Another piece, Untitled (Escalator) from 2008, works just as well: a group of wispy palms are viewed through the glass of a lobby, while the calligraphical handrails of an escalator overlay the tableaux as if crossing it out.
When it comes to taking portraits, Mulder seems rather less focused, and at times her human subjects elude her. Perhaps this is the point; but if Mulder wishes to convey man’s impunity to photographic observation, she ought to make sure her shots don’t come off as half-hearted. When a photograph looks hastily done, we attribute its inscrutability not to the involvedness of the subject, but to the artist, who has failed to study her subject sufficiently. The best of the bunch, Self Portrait (Honduras), is successful mainly because it capitalizes on Mulder’s strength: paying equal attention to the organic and inorganic. Here, we have Mulder herself lying nude on a couch, her limbs bent at odd angles; outside, through a paneled window, we see the limbs of an evergreen, a sort of arboreal double. It’s difficult to differentiate between Mulder and her surroundings, and as woman and tree mix together the portrait seems strangely complete.
To fully appreciate Mulder’s work, one should consult her new book, also called “From Blue to Blue.” Inside are many photographs not featured in the current exhibit (the landscape pieces in particular help to flesh out Mulder’s reverent vision of the natural world). Viewed in total, the catalog unfolds like the field log of some divinely inspired botanist who has travelled great distances and managed to isolate images of real beauty. Mulder’s talent lies in being able to see the forest for the trees, often one branch at a time—and as any sage will tell you, this in itself is a wonderful thing.
