Yard Work

This piece attempts to capture the essence of Spring: blue skies, the reemergence of green from the dormant forest, and other people doing yard work -- in this case, Daddy -- while one relaxes in the shade of the porch and takes pictures.

Taken 2007, April 21, 5:09:51 pm

Field of Balls

By way of a bona fide bounty of beach balls, a straighforward scene is transformed to a tableau of fantastic colour and shape.

Taken 2007, April 20, 11:42:25 am

Three Cars

The overexposed subjects in this photo set against a rich but grounded texture of stained wood elevate the already brightly-coloured plastic toys to the realm of animation, reflecting their origins and their capacity as vehicles both of and from the imaginary.

Taken 2007, April 19, 10:45:33 am

Meeting of the Feet

This piece tells a story. Whether the aggressive stance and dynamic but balanced composition tells of a confrontation or the soft textures and straightforward angles suggest an embrace is a question left to the reader, but one thing is certain: feet are an engaging and flexible subject around which much of Maeve's interest revolves.

Taken 2007, April 16, 6:59:12 pm

Jealousy

Maeve's equipment of choice is a Nikon Coolpix L11, replacing her first camera, a ancient film-based Olympus. The Nikon serves her purposes significantly better, especially as the Olympus never had any film (although it did make a cool film-advance sound). Nevertheless, the Nikon -- despite a striking resemblance -- is technologically inferior to Mommy and Daddy's Canon SD-800 (not to mention the 20Ds). Maeve never hints at being bothered by the difference, but the envy she hides is obvious in this deeply-felt piece, in which a slight overexposure gives the Canon an almost glowing aspect.

Taken 2007, April 16, 6:58:39 pm

Returning to the Scene of the Accident

This companion piece to "Scene of the Accident", taken only a few days later, uses a similar composition with new elements resembling a classic murder-mystery set piece to continue the theme and heighten the suspense -- or, perhaps, the satire.

Taken 2007, April 15, 5:48:36 pm

Traveling

When traveling by car, the feet become redundant. This is generally not considered one of Maeve's strongest works, but nonetheless does demonstrate the strength of her spirit of experimentation this early in her career.

Taken 2007, April 14, 8:17:08 pm

Fuzz and Fountain

Some interpret this piece as a comment on the role of authority in private enterprise, but most agree that the intention is a visual joke. The interplay of simple, straightforward textures -- the clean straight lines of the outdoor shopping center, the calm reflections, the random distribution of coins, and the corrosion of the fountain surface itself -- combine to form almost the feel of a hand-drawn cartoon.

Take 2007, April 14, 7:24:55 pm

Elephant and Balls

This companion piece to "Brown Elephant" illustrates, through a simple change in angle, the joy and, ultimately, life that may underly apparent chaos. The theme of "Brown Elephant", fiction, leads inexorably to the theme of "Elephant and Balls", namely the transformative power of perspective.

Taken: 2007, April 13, 6:04:48 pm

Brown Elephant

A constant point amidst a world of chaos, everything in this piece -- composition, cluttered foreground, depth of field, and even the innovative motion blur -- points to the solidity and permanence of a plastic toy elephant, speaking powerfully to the role of fiction in a confusing and confused world.

Taken 2007, April 13, 6:02:09 pm

Scene of the Accident

This exercise in interpretive storytelling playfully asks the viewer to provide their own version of what happened here. The subtle presence of the photographer herself at the edge of the composition serves as both a wink to the audience and a statement that the artist and the viewer are an inherent part of the art itself.

Taken 2007, April 13, 10:10:59 am

Work vs. Play

The uncomfortably balanced composition of this piece plays with the common notion of leisure versus responsibility. The simple archetypical subjects suggest that the cliche is oversimplified, but at the same time the piece shows a certain tension, implying the conflict does indeed have a basis in reality.

Taken 2007, April 13, 10:06:27 am

Wood On Wood

This serene study in contrasts depicts artificial smoothness set over organic texture, artificial structure carved from natural material.

Taken 2007, 8 April, 9:13:14 am

Bunny Cake

While baking with Mommy, Maeve took a break to capture this moment in the creation of an annual icon. This photojournalism style was a departure from Maeve's earlier efforts in still life.

Taken 2007, April 7, 3:42:50 pm

Still Life: Apple

Here we see the "favourite objects" theme done in the style of a classical still life.

Taken 2007, April 7, 3:37:20 pm

Cars Eyes

Not all of Maeve's photography is meant to communicate deep messages; much of her motivation for making art is simply the creation of beautiful images. This often takes the form of capturing snapshots of objects with particular meaning to her; here we see her "cars [with] eyes", their unbalanced diagonal composition lending them a dynamic feel of impending movement.

Taken 2007, April 7, 3:31:42 pm

Mommy's Shoes

Maeve's take on the theme of feet goes beyond the self-portrait to encompass shoes and others' feet -- here, those of her mother Emily. The encroachment of the foot on the corner of the frame subtly grounds this otherwise personal image, and some have suggested that in this particular image, the foot moving towards the shoes symbolizes Maeve's own obsession with the putting on of shoes (or, as she endearlingly labels them, "shva!").

Taken 2007, April 7, 3:31:15 pm

Walking Feet

Here we see the first instance of a favourite theme: feet. The symbolism of feet, the means of movement and hence change, are obvious but run deep and broad through Maeve's work.

Taken 2007, April 7, 10:42:16 am

Portrait of the Artist As A Young Woman

Maeve's earliest work is characterized by an investigation of the difference between the two sides of the camera. One finds this theme recurring frequently during this period.

Taken 2007, April 7, 10:39:48 am