Ryan Obermeyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ryan Obermeyer | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Born | February 13, 1981 (age 26) | |
| Origin | Dallas, Texas  |
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| Occupation(s) | Artist - Photographer, Painter, Graphic Designer | |
| Website | http://www.ryanobermeyer.com/ | |
Ryan Obermeyer (born February 13, 1981 in Dallas, Texas) is an American artist creating surreal and hyperreal digital photographs and paintings. Obermeyer practices a unique style of digital photography by collaging and "painting" parts of many of his photographs into one seamless amalgam. While most photographers are concerned with obtaining a perfect shot, Obermeyer is focused on post-production. By digitally cutting and manipulating even single strands of hair or folds in fabric, he is not capturing but creating. This process leads to a fluid classification of his work between photography and digital illustration. He draws freely from many influences including classic children's literature, mythology, biological processes, aquatic life, music, and film. Obermeyer's pieces display a precise attention to detail and an unrestrained affinity for fantasy and surrealism.
[edit] Biography
Ryan was briefly mentored by a painter at the age of 14 in Dallas, TX. Obermeyer attended college for a year in Texas before relocating to New York City for a graphic design internship in 1999. Despite the absence of formal training, Obermeyer quickly rose from office intern to contributor, single-handedly undertaking major illustration projects for clients that included The Juilliard School and The Glaucoma Foundation. Obermeyer left the internship after a year and established the graphic design firm ON Company with partner Eric Neuner. Obermeyer was responsible for designing and executing illustrations, imagery, and photographs for their design pieces. They quickly achieved commercial success and received critical acclaim from the New York Times for "excellence in design" before Obermeyer celebrated his 20th birthday.[citation needed] Despite the accolades for their commercial design, he remained devoted to his artistic works. Many of ON Company's clients were directly affected by the unfortunate events of September 11th and the firm was forced to disband in 2002. Obermeyer returned to Texas to focus on his personal artistic endeavors.
[edit] Notable Works
While still living in Manhattan, Obermeyer attended a concert featuring the cello rock band Rasputina. A friendship with the singer, Melora Creager, founded on aesthetic similarities, was quickly forged. Obermeyer created his first commissioned digital piece, Lost & Found, for the imminent Rasputina CD release of the same name (2001). He was the youngest artist to be extended a coveted inclusion at the 44th Annual Society of Illustrators Exhibition in New York with this piece. Obermeyer has since created numerous pieces for the band and has accompanied them on American tours, selling tour books of his images while contributing backup vocals from the merchandise area with a wireless headset microphone. He conceived artwork for several of their subsequent releases including Cabin Fever (2002), My Fever Broke (2002), and Frustration Plantation (2004). While continuing his longstanding dedication to visualizing the aural projects of musicians, he has also been acquired to realize several novelists' written works as images for book jackets.
In 2005 he was appealed by Greenpeace Italia to create a piece for a collective ad campaign, Whaleless, promoting the Save the Whales cause.
His most recent collaborations were for singer Imogen Heap previously of the band Frou Frou producing several images to promote her solo album, Speak for Yourself including cover art for an exclusive Live Session (iTunes Exclusive EP) and her singles Goodnight and Go and Headlock (song).
