“When was the last time you wore a bathing suit with no thought of holding in your stomach? Snuck a peek at an oversized book of racy photographs? Or “one morning in Maine” put on a party dress to go blueberry picking, lifting your pinky and index fingers as you popped the lion’s share of berries into your mouth?.”
—from the introduction to Impromptu by Cindy Beams
Unlike my earlier work, this collection of photographs has led me beyond the maker’s role into the realm of participant. I continue to discover and engage parts of myself, ranging from very light to dark, in communication with these images. No doubt the blessed work of childhood play—freedom, connection, adventure, transformation, exchange and individuality—comes in a broad spectrum of tones.
To quote George Bernard Shaw: we don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. May these images reconnect you with the wonder of childhood, and point you toward adventures of your own.
IMPROMPTU
For the last ten years I have photographed what was close to home, documenting the theatre of children’s daily lives. Artists consistently describe their most honest work as coming from flow, a state that transcends the self and lies beyond the limits of ordinary experience. The kids in my images are similarly in flow, utterly themselves and utterly unself-conscious. In choosing photographs for this book, I have focused on capturing the essence of childhood play which educator Maria Montessori described as voluntary, enjoyable, purposeful and uninhibited. The result is spontaneous discovery and joyful curiosity.
Imagine doing the splits in short shorts and cowgirl boots, planting yourself knee-deep in the waves and outstretching your arms, deaf to well-intentioned voices hawking the perils of sunburn and the fickleness of the tides. Or turning cartwheels as the sun sets in your backyard, unconcerned that your white cotton underpants are in full view. Impromptu is a collection of photographs inspired by: the children who continue to remind me of the impulses we all share.
Linen clothbound hardcover book, 8.75” x 7.75”, 114 pages, black and white interior. Book can be purchased upon request.
