LIFE

Q&A: ‘Fauxtographs’ reach international, media acclaim

Maria Sonnenberg
For FLORIDA TODAY

It has been a very nice year for Indialantic artist/photographer Rene Griffith.

Her modern-vintage paintings are selling well at Adjectives Vintage Market, a top retro marketplace in Central Florida. Griffith also recently signed a contract with Hospitality Galleries in Orlando to license six of her mixed media works. Hospitality Galleries provides artwork to interior designers, architects and corporate clients for use in hotels, resorts, corporate offices, health care facilities and restaurants in the United States and abroad.

Now, Griffith has signed a contract with ABC Studios in Burbank, California, for the use of her “A River Runs through It,” an abstract painting that appeared in FLORIDA TODAY. The art will be used on the set of the hit television series “Scandal” during Season 4, which premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 25.

“I'm excited about watching the series and looking for my artwork on the walls of the set,” said Griffith.

Griffith moved to Florida when she was 2 years old. She grew up in Eau Gallie and graduated from all the usual local suspects: Eau Gallie High School, Brevard Community College and Florida Tech. Except for 10 years in San Francisco, she has called Brevard home.

Question: How did you get interested in photography?

Griffith: I began using photography in my artwork while living in San Francisco. I had a large working studio at Hunters Point, an old naval shipyard with about 300 art studios. While there, I discovered the unique qualities of Polaroid films and became a Polaroid creative-uses consultant, teaching workshops in the Bay Area. I became enamored with these techniques and worked exclusively with my vintage 1972 Polaroid camera for 10 years.

I always travel with my camera by my side. I developed my own style of hand-manipulated SX70 photographs. Because I was able to move the emulsion on the film before the image was “set,” I could create a painterly looking photograph. I coined the term “fauxtographs” because I thought of these images as half photo/half painting. I own the registered trademark and continue to use it to distinguish my mixed-media photographs from my digital photography.

In 2006, Polaroid film was no longer manufactured, causing it to become a lost art form. The year before, I had started shooting digitally to create digital collages. I saw the potential to create digital collages unavailable with traditional film processes. I’ve always wanted to combine photographs with other media to create unique art. In 2007, I began licensing and selling my Polaroid and digital images internationally.

Q: What attracts you as subject matter and why?

Griffith: I like things that have character and a story to tell. Some of my favorite subjects are vintage cars and trucks, old bicycles, wooden boats and chairs. Abandoned chairs always seem to speak to me, as if their occupants were still sitting and conversing.

I enjoy photographing places that are disappearing from our landscape, such as drive-in theaters, motel signs, Art Deco architecture, 1950s mom-and-pop motels, gas stations and things that have been replaced by newer technology such as typewriters, telephones, analog clocks, film cameras and kitchen appliances.

Q: How do you go about finding your subjects?

Griffith: I love to travel, it’s in my DNA. I’m related to Daniel Boone. I’ve been cross country several times, to Europe and Latin America. I’m always looking for beautiful landscapes and still-life subjects.

I don’t mind getting up before sunrise to catch the golden light on a scene. We have so much natural beauty here in Florida. Palm trees are my favorite, and we have many varieties. I photograph the vintage items at flea markets, antique shops, historical homes, store windows, junk stores, yard sales and, sometimes, I buy things to take home and photograph.

Q: What are some of the works that have turned out particularly well?

Griffith: My modern vintage art has been described as Americana that’s modern, a little edgy and yet still evokes a sense of nostalgia. An example that accomplishes my goals is the piece with the red ’57 Chevy, which is set at a drive-in theater with a night sky.