Still life has always made us immediately think of something static and detached. After all, what do we expect from a genre that in Italian takes the name of ‘natura morta’. To be able to transform it into something eventful and involving is almost impossible, but someone has succeeded.
Michael Crichton, the name behind which also hides that of his creative partner Leigh MacMillan, has completely revolutionized the concept of still life with his shots that capture food, as in any still life that wants to be respected, but under a totally different guise. You only need to take a quick look at projects like Conceptual Food to understand that, contrary to what we have always thought, still life is a genre that knows no limits.
Forget perfectly laid tables, fruit baskets and food positioned in favor of the spectator. The food photographed by Michael Crichton flies from one side of the room to the other, suspended in the air just before it pitifully lands on the ground. The only things left on the table are the shadows of slices of bread, cups of coffee, eggs or mustard.
The impressive thing about Michael Crichton’s shots is that, despite the great work in post production, every single food we see has actually been thrown in front of the camera lens, not once, not twice, but countless times before we get to the perfect result, so perfect that we find it hard to believe our eyes.
In addition to being aesthetically satisfying, Michael Crichton’s result has resulted in McDonald’s, Nutella or Kellogg’s a new, fun and dynamic way of presenting a product.
Ready to see the ordinary turn into the extraordinary?!
