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James Bourret—Taking Photographs Into the Realm of Healing Art
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Tuesday, July 19, 2016
 

BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Japanese call it “Shinrin yoku”—the medicine of being in the forest.

And Master Samurai Spain documented the positive impact that so-called “forest bathing” can have on people’s physical and mental health, even increasing cancer-fighting antibodies.

Sun Valley fine art photographer James Bourret has noticed that his giant triptychs have the same calming rejuvenating impact on viewers.

“You could put these in a clinic or a hospital setting where people are stressed and unwell.  These large-scale photographs create their own environment and that environment can be very calming, very soothing,” he said.

Bourret has applied for a grant that would enable him to go to rainforests in the Olympic Peninsula and British Columbia to take more of these large-scale portraits that could be used in hospitals, clinics, senior care communities and other such facilities where people could benefit from calming artwork.

He would especially like to go to Japan where forest bathing originated.

Do I have to go to Japan to prove the effect these large-scale photographs have? Probably not. But I would like to go to the source,” he said.

Bourret has long taken breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly detailed photographs of aspen and other landscapes with his 80 mp digital back view camera.  

His foray into the world of large-scale landscapes began with an opportunity to make a triptych—a large-scale photograph divided into three sections--for the Sun Valley Visitor Center.

He had to make it quite big in order for the piece to fit the space it was in. At 60 inches tall and 83 inches wide it began to feel immersive.

“The print wasn’t just bigger. It had an entirely new quality that I hadn’t seen before,” he said. “It became clear to me that if you put photos on the wall this big they have a different impact and depth that makes viewers want to go in and explore.”

Large-scale photographs come as close to the true experience of Shinrin-yoku as one can get without actually being in the setting, he added.

“They move beyond the experience of looking at a piece of artwork into the realm of being in the environment.”

Since, Bourret has made a series of diptychs and triptychs ranging from 60 by 80 inches to 80 by 120 inches.

Among them a triptych commissioned by a client who lives near Tryon Creek State Park near Portland, Ore. It was raining as Bourret stood ankle deep in the stream shooting a luminous waterfall that tumbled some 15 feet through a deep forest colored by ferns, mosses and evergreen trees.

He prepared the image for printing by taking pains to increase the depth, detail and three-dimensionality. The resulting photograph invites viewers to step in and explore the image.

 Bourret credits his background I architecture with his desire to convey a 3-D experience with his landscapes. The subtle weave and matte finish of the Lyve canvas he uses adds a dimensional quality, as well, while eliminating the need for protective glass, matting or frame.

 “Smaller prints feel relatively flat. But, with these, you feel you can literally walk into them,” he said. “People who viewed this particular photograph said they felt as if they were there right there. They could even feel the spray.”

Bourret has not been able to find any research that has been done on mood-positive artwork, but he hopes someone will be persuaded to take on the project.

Meanwhile he hopes he can find opportunities to create large-scale work for hospitals, clinics and other such facilities.

“I’m excited about pursuing an aspect of photography that’s new to me and the potential for creating beneficial effects with my photographs. Work this scale has such depth to it is very exciting.

“I believe that immersion in certain natural settings is beneficial to our health and well-being and that truly immersive art is the next best thing for creating a soothing peaceful environment. And it would give me such satisfaction to know that the work I do is helping others.”

TO LEARN MORE…

James Bourret Fine Art Photography recently moved from its former location on Sun Valley Road to new location in Saddletree Gallery, 360 East Avenue, in Ketchum’s Courtyard. For more information, go to www.jamesbourret.photoshelter.com/

DID YOU KNOW?

James Bourret just learned this week that his print, “After the Rain, Jackson Lake,” will be exhibited in “100 years of the National Parks” at G2 Gallery in Venice, Calif., Oct. 4, 2016 through Jan. 1, 2017.

His work was also recently shown at the “On the Trail of Ansel Adams” exhibition at the San Diego Natural History Museum.

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