http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/04/marie-jose-durquet.html
Species of animals are disappearing all over the planet, and many people are ignoring the problem. Marie-Jose Durquet, however, is bringing this issue into the light while capturing the light. What she has done is takes little strands of white yarn around, looks for places that will suit her creations, and makes the outlines of certain endangered animals on surfaces, mostly concrete or wood, and then photographs these pieces. She says that the simple outline and the white string is like the bones of the animals and that as they wear away with weather and deterioration, it is a metaphor for their disappearance. It's one thing to seem them in photographs, but I wonder what it evokes for the passerby? Do they know what the plant or animal is? And if so, will they know that it is endangered? That is one thing about subtly and indirectness that I always battle with. Is she wanting to raise the issue? And if so, will people understand her message? Or does it really matter that they understand, but rather that she is doing this to engrain it further in herself? When people would see this at the gallery and can read her artist statement, it is one thing, but being on the streets on L.A. without text or that gallery context is another. So which is more powerful then, the creation on the sidewalk, or the photograph of the creation? In any case, her work is very simple but beautiful and I am in full support of her focus.
http://www.lorinix.net/index.html
Suprisingly, Durquet is not the only one that has recently been written about in a blog who creates things for her photographs. Lori Nix's work is much less political or awareness based, but it's creativity is much more complicated. I wasn't really certain what I was looking at when I clicked on the website, and I didn't do any reading in the 'about' section before taking a look, but her work just had something wrong with it. Was it the colors? The content? I don't know, but I could tell that it probably wasn't photoshopped. What Lori Nix has done is created these little miniature worlds and settings where you feel like you are looking at some real place until it settles in or you see a taradactyl (I don't know how to spell =P) looming on a sunset. Most of them are quite surreal like the forest growing into the library or a dinosaur scene, but they all have this thing about them that makes you sure they are there, with how she's framed the shots and the lighting. To create so much detail in such a little space must require tremendous effort that I don't even understand, but they are all beautiful and warm places that I want to visit. Now that I look back on them, it's the texture that throws you off, but it doesn't bother you after you know that this is a miniature place. Some of her earlier works from 1998 definitely look like claymation scenes, like those from Wallace and Gromit, but she certainly has developed a newer more realistic style since then. In any case, her work is definitely worth looking into whenever you need some escape because the world is just too big and complicated.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
This is your world
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/04/this-is-your-world-at-carte-blanche.html
I find myself challenged looking at this exhibition on Lenscratch. The idea for the exhibit is based off of lyrics from an Emilie Simon song, which talks about the relationship between a young woman and the world around her. The images themselves seem very straight forward, nothing is very overt or grotesque or overly sexual about them, but there is still something that I feel like I am missing to connect when I look at them. And I think it's because I am lacking something that the photos themselves contain, womanhood. It seems strange that something like this could be challenging, but at the same time it almost creates a longing inside, for a man, to be able to connect with women in this realm, a place where we are seldom allowed to visit. And it is not that it is women in the photographs necessarily that does this, but how they are shot with a certain softness to them, the look on the women's and girl's faces. I'm sure most men who have dated some women can remember times when their girlfriend or even just female friend tells you that they are going to have a girl's night out or whatever it may be, and I'm sure that you were always curious as to what went on at these times, what it was that we weren't allowed to see or experience. There is a sort of lonely sensuality that comes to these photos, they touch places deep inside and move me, but I don't know if I can place exactly where it is that's being moved. Saya Chontang, Deborah Parkin, and Aela Labbe all give me the same sort of uncomfortable twinge, like I'm seeing something that I'm never allowed to see. The reason that I don't include Julie Cerise is that her photos seem more to talk about moments of experience that women encounter, not the female interior or community of emotion, but I point in time or experience. In particular Saya Chontang's photos, I know that these aren't women simply posing to try and look attractive or sexy for a man, but they still have that womanly sensuality to them that is so foreign to most men. Maybe we feel it at times, and maybe it is being able to see these moments and experience this feeling in these photographs that can help us understand you (addressing the collectivity of women), but it moves a part of me that doesn't get budged often, which is why I think I am so drawn to it.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Chapter 7: Photography and the Age of Electronic Imaging
So a couple of brief questions...
It is argued by some that the digital age is frightening because we are no longer able to distinguish between what is "real" and what is "created" because of the ease of manipulability. Others, however, counter this to say that photographic images have always been manipulated, and in fact even the simple choice of what to shoot and how one develops a photo is all manipulation. Because of this, should we draw a line in photography between the analog and the digital, because of some of the key differences such as binary coding replacing the film, or can an imaginary line limit the progress of photography?
Also, very simply, has the prevailing use of the digital cameras in surveillance and by the military enhanced our sense of security as a society, or does it on the contrary put us on edge, knowing that anything we do may and can be recorded without another human physically present? 1984 much?
peace and love
It is argued by some that the digital age is frightening because we are no longer able to distinguish between what is "real" and what is "created" because of the ease of manipulability. Others, however, counter this to say that photographic images have always been manipulated, and in fact even the simple choice of what to shoot and how one develops a photo is all manipulation. Because of this, should we draw a line in photography between the analog and the digital, because of some of the key differences such as binary coding replacing the film, or can an imaginary line limit the progress of photography?
Also, very simply, has the prevailing use of the digital cameras in surveillance and by the military enhanced our sense of security as a society, or does it on the contrary put us on edge, knowing that anything we do may and can be recorded without another human physically present? 1984 much?
peace and love
Friday, March 30, 2012
Richard Mosse and the DRC
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=1
I can't even evoke words right now for the images that Richard Mosse has produced over the conflict in the DRC, Congo, and surrounding areas. These photographs are more than images for me, they are personal. I've been involved with an organization called Invisible Children, and a sister organization called Unified for UNIFAT, both of which deal with the conflict that arose in Northern Uganda over 25 years ago between the Government of Uganda and a rebel army, the LRA. The rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has been creating devastation for over 25 years in unspeakable manners; massacre, rape, pillaging, and worst of all, the abduction of children to be his defense as soldiers. Over the course of his terror, he has abducted between 30,000 to 60,000 children, displaced millions, and been the rotting root which has made fallow the lands from Northern Uganda to South Sudan, the DRC, Eastern Congo, and more. You may have seen the recent video title Kony 2012 produced by Invisible Children, as it became viral with over 50 million people having viewed it in just a number of days. Here are the links to the two sites:
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.unifiedforunifat.com
So, Richard Mosse's photos speak to my heart, but that is not the only reason that I find myself so drawn to them. If you don't read about his process, you'll see groups of soldiers and civilians and landscapes all surrounded by pink and red shades, in the foliage and on their clothing. It seems like a strange choice to highlight conflict by literally highlighting the photos. But the reason that appear as so is that Mosse used a type of film called Kodachrome, which is often used by the military to see the unseen, as sort of metaphor for the conflict in general which has been going on for so long yet has only now really become public. His work is photojournalistic, but it has an elegance and form to it which pays attention to the contours of the mountains in the background and the blue skies which battle to take over the pinkish glow.
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=1&photo=3
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=1&photo=6
These two photos just tear me apart. I don't want to say anything about them. These really are photos that I can say speak for themselves. I give Richard Mosse my highest complements both for his willingness to place himself in a war zone which is uncertain and dangerous, as it resides in the 'bush', hidden away, but also for the photos he has chosen to put on his website and willingness not to hide the brutal details that most of us never want to see, but are more than reality for the peoples of this conflict, mostly innocent and constantly in fear. His other works on Iraq including some short films he's put together are quite amazing too. To your safety while work Richard Mosse.
I can't even evoke words right now for the images that Richard Mosse has produced over the conflict in the DRC, Congo, and surrounding areas. These photographs are more than images for me, they are personal. I've been involved with an organization called Invisible Children, and a sister organization called Unified for UNIFAT, both of which deal with the conflict that arose in Northern Uganda over 25 years ago between the Government of Uganda and a rebel army, the LRA. The rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has been creating devastation for over 25 years in unspeakable manners; massacre, rape, pillaging, and worst of all, the abduction of children to be his defense as soldiers. Over the course of his terror, he has abducted between 30,000 to 60,000 children, displaced millions, and been the rotting root which has made fallow the lands from Northern Uganda to South Sudan, the DRC, Eastern Congo, and more. You may have seen the recent video title Kony 2012 produced by Invisible Children, as it became viral with over 50 million people having viewed it in just a number of days. Here are the links to the two sites:
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.unifiedforunifat.com
So, Richard Mosse's photos speak to my heart, but that is not the only reason that I find myself so drawn to them. If you don't read about his process, you'll see groups of soldiers and civilians and landscapes all surrounded by pink and red shades, in the foliage and on their clothing. It seems like a strange choice to highlight conflict by literally highlighting the photos. But the reason that appear as so is that Mosse used a type of film called Kodachrome, which is often used by the military to see the unseen, as sort of metaphor for the conflict in general which has been going on for so long yet has only now really become public. His work is photojournalistic, but it has an elegance and form to it which pays attention to the contours of the mountains in the background and the blue skies which battle to take over the pinkish glow.
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=1&photo=3
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=1&photo=6
These two photos just tear me apart. I don't want to say anything about them. These really are photos that I can say speak for themselves. I give Richard Mosse my highest complements both for his willingness to place himself in a war zone which is uncertain and dangerous, as it resides in the 'bush', hidden away, but also for the photos he has chosen to put on his website and willingness not to hide the brutal details that most of us never want to see, but are more than reality for the peoples of this conflict, mostly innocent and constantly in fear. His other works on Iraq including some short films he's put together are quite amazing too. To your safety while work Richard Mosse.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Chapter 6: Photography as Art
The role of photography within the world of what we consider 'art' is quite interesting. It seems as if the works that people have produced in the past, even that which we today recognize as being quite revolutionary or beautiful, was not accepted as art until recently, rather it was still part of this mechanical process from which a photograph is produced. I don't really come from a background of art history and still couldn't tell you the difference between a modern or post-modern work, but I think there are still some interesting questions that can be asked even by the ignorant.
There are a couple of chapters which focus on both feminist art and black art, and how they have grown within the community and photography. These sections were only briefly touched upon, but still, does the labeling of such a piece of work as 'feminist' or 'black' art have a destructive connotation to them, as it separates an 'us' from 'them'? Of course, people who are women or African American certainly have to deal with different issues every day that the rest wouldn't have to encounter, but is this still counter-productive for their movements? And who labels these as specific types of art? Is it the artist themselves or more often is it a label placed on them from the external world?
The second question I have is about the role of curators for the art world. "It has been suggested that curators more often act more as 'creators'" (Wells:301) Even though much or art exists outside of the galleries and museums today, the museum is still often seen as being the location where an artist has reached his or her epitome, and that they have been accepted within this new social circle or true artists. If this is then controlled by the curators more often than not, who might even direct the photographers to bring them something specific by funding them, where does the power or aesthetic of the art lie? Can we say that it comes from the artist and their abilities? Or do these curators slice down other works by truly talented people who are simply not respected or don't fulfill the desires and notions of these people in control of what enters the gallery? What message does this send to rising photographers, should they strive for museum status or does that simply make them a part of the status quo?
There are a couple of chapters which focus on both feminist art and black art, and how they have grown within the community and photography. These sections were only briefly touched upon, but still, does the labeling of such a piece of work as 'feminist' or 'black' art have a destructive connotation to them, as it separates an 'us' from 'them'? Of course, people who are women or African American certainly have to deal with different issues every day that the rest wouldn't have to encounter, but is this still counter-productive for their movements? And who labels these as specific types of art? Is it the artist themselves or more often is it a label placed on them from the external world?
The second question I have is about the role of curators for the art world. "It has been suggested that curators more often act more as 'creators'" (Wells:301) Even though much or art exists outside of the galleries and museums today, the museum is still often seen as being the location where an artist has reached his or her epitome, and that they have been accepted within this new social circle or true artists. If this is then controlled by the curators more often than not, who might even direct the photographers to bring them something specific by funding them, where does the power or aesthetic of the art lie? Can we say that it comes from the artist and their abilities? Or do these curators slice down other works by truly talented people who are simply not respected or don't fulfill the desires and notions of these people in control of what enters the gallery? What message does this send to rising photographers, should they strive for museum status or does that simply make them a part of the status quo?
Monday, March 26, 2012
Some Classmates
Okay so I decided this week to post about some of the work that my classmates have been working on because hey, they're awesome peoples and I am really enjoying watching each of them develop their projects.
http://akahshic.wordpress.com/
This first classmate (whom I'll leave anonymous because I didn't see his/her name on the site) has been doing some very interesting work looking at the commodity culture and the idea of the simulacra that is in the world all around us. The most recent post she made is a series of photos from a Florida mall where she is peering into shop windows and catching reflections. This image in particular (http://akahshic.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/wip-3/2_1015941/) is awesome not only because of how it was shot and the clarity she was able to get from a ridiculous fantasy-world, but also because she told me that the reflection she captured in the window of a victoria's secret model was completely accidental. It's great going back through photos and realizing what you did or didn't think you captured is actually so much better than you could have imagined. If you look at some of her earlier work in the blog I don't think it would be a stretch to comment on how much she has improved in terms or not only capturing the concept but also framing, form, color, the whole nine-yards (where the hell did that phrase come from, the whole 27 feet? what's 27 feet long besides an anaconda?). Anyhow, she's doing awesome and ya'll should certainly give her your support by checking her page.
http://paolabonninszendrey.wordpress.com/
This second student is also another one who has really really stepped it up a notch (why not a stair? why am I critiquing phrases right now as much as photographs?) Paola is looking at doing portraits of people, but not in the conventional set it up and snap it way, but instead through the passing and fleeting moments that we see for a minute and later vanish from our busy minds. The difficulty with this project is that in order to make a portrait, it implies that one captures something with quality and grace, but also that you don't include too much distraction in the photo. Yet when we're interacting with one another, that is precisely what is present, a lot of clutter, conversation, movement, and general hullabaloo. Yet Paola, especially in this most recent series, seems to really have figured out "okay, this is how I can make it happen." A couple of the photos really stand out to me in particular. The first is the one which she has chosen to edit in two ways, the one being in color with the background content visible and the second is without everything behind the boy. The look on his face is priceless, he just seems like the type of kid you want to get to know. The framing is nicely placed on the side, and color and tonal ranges seem to be well balanced, such as the shadows on his cheek. The way she has chosen to edit the two differently really changes what is going on with the scene. With the background, it is still a comfortable photograph for me to look at, as it looks like he could be at some holiday party where he said something out of the blue that he shouldn't have (okay I get the phrase out of the blue). The second, however, with the background blacked out, is almost eerie and chilling. He's still an adorable boys, but now one has the freedom to place him where ever they would like, and I can definitely see a scary movie scene unfolding in this moment, but don't worry, the kid's too cute to die in this film. As far as what she chooses to do is up to how she wants to represent the photographs. The second is of a kid lying down with a leather jacket on. I just can't get over the expression he is making. It's one of those that can be interpreted in many different ways, which is why I think it's so interesting. He could by lying in the sun ad just wrinkled his forehead, maybe he has a headache, maybe his girlfriend just dumped him (appropriate for a man in leather), maybe he just got laid out during a fight, the list in my head goes on and on, which is why I like it so much. It's not simple and straight forward. Here's a link to that one http://paolabonninszendrey.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/work-in-progress-critique-3/dsc_6606/ . With all of that said, I think that Paola has got a groove and I hope she keeps jamin on it!
Lastly, saw this link on another classmate/friends site and I think it's important to see...
http://designtaxi.com/news/351405/Haunting-Portraits-Of-The-Homeless/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews
peace and love
http://akahshic.wordpress.com/
This first classmate (whom I'll leave anonymous because I didn't see his/her name on the site) has been doing some very interesting work looking at the commodity culture and the idea of the simulacra that is in the world all around us. The most recent post she made is a series of photos from a Florida mall where she is peering into shop windows and catching reflections. This image in particular (http://akahshic.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/wip-3/2_1015941/) is awesome not only because of how it was shot and the clarity she was able to get from a ridiculous fantasy-world, but also because she told me that the reflection she captured in the window of a victoria's secret model was completely accidental. It's great going back through photos and realizing what you did or didn't think you captured is actually so much better than you could have imagined. If you look at some of her earlier work in the blog I don't think it would be a stretch to comment on how much she has improved in terms or not only capturing the concept but also framing, form, color, the whole nine-yards (where the hell did that phrase come from, the whole 27 feet? what's 27 feet long besides an anaconda?). Anyhow, she's doing awesome and ya'll should certainly give her your support by checking her page.
http://paolabonninszendrey.wordpress.com/
This second student is also another one who has really really stepped it up a notch (why not a stair? why am I critiquing phrases right now as much as photographs?) Paola is looking at doing portraits of people, but not in the conventional set it up and snap it way, but instead through the passing and fleeting moments that we see for a minute and later vanish from our busy minds. The difficulty with this project is that in order to make a portrait, it implies that one captures something with quality and grace, but also that you don't include too much distraction in the photo. Yet when we're interacting with one another, that is precisely what is present, a lot of clutter, conversation, movement, and general hullabaloo. Yet Paola, especially in this most recent series, seems to really have figured out "okay, this is how I can make it happen." A couple of the photos really stand out to me in particular. The first is the one which she has chosen to edit in two ways, the one being in color with the background content visible and the second is without everything behind the boy. The look on his face is priceless, he just seems like the type of kid you want to get to know. The framing is nicely placed on the side, and color and tonal ranges seem to be well balanced, such as the shadows on his cheek. The way she has chosen to edit the two differently really changes what is going on with the scene. With the background, it is still a comfortable photograph for me to look at, as it looks like he could be at some holiday party where he said something out of the blue that he shouldn't have (okay I get the phrase out of the blue). The second, however, with the background blacked out, is almost eerie and chilling. He's still an adorable boys, but now one has the freedom to place him where ever they would like, and I can definitely see a scary movie scene unfolding in this moment, but don't worry, the kid's too cute to die in this film. As far as what she chooses to do is up to how she wants to represent the photographs. The second is of a kid lying down with a leather jacket on. I just can't get over the expression he is making. It's one of those that can be interpreted in many different ways, which is why I think it's so interesting. He could by lying in the sun ad just wrinkled his forehead, maybe he has a headache, maybe his girlfriend just dumped him (appropriate for a man in leather), maybe he just got laid out during a fight, the list in my head goes on and on, which is why I like it so much. It's not simple and straight forward. Here's a link to that one http://paolabonninszendrey.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/work-in-progress-critique-3/dsc_6606/ . With all of that said, I think that Paola has got a groove and I hope she keeps jamin on it!
Lastly, saw this link on another classmate/friends site and I think it's important to see...
http://designtaxi.com/news/351405/Haunting-Portraits-Of-The-Homeless/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews
peace and love
WIP 3
This week I struggled a little bit with going out and getting the photos that I wanted, or didn't find, I'm not really sure what you would consider it, but anyhow I still I think I came through with a couple of strong shots that represent my statement. To restate it, I am basically looking at things that represent construction and destruction, and I really really want to try and make shots that contain a duality or dichotomy within so that the message isn't simple or straight-forward. On the Blackboard, the couple that I find to be the best at representing this idea are the diptych of the telephone wire sign and the tombstone, and then the for sale sign with the trees reflecting it the show window. I won't say what I think about them in order not to impose my perspective before the critique (like anyone will read this 3 hours before class but hey), but I hope to hear some good feedback because I certainly need all the help I can get. Thanks ya'll.
peace and love
Monday, March 19, 2012
Robin Schwartz & the Piss Christ
http://robinschwartz.net/
This is a website that you've just got to see. I'm still processing what I've seen in my head. Robin has got a collection of photos on her website where her daughter, Amelia, and various animals just seem to be the same species. Amelia has got an expressionless face, an almost sort of ethereal look in her eyes, and a careless attitude with all the spider monkeys and elephants and baby tigers, who are just drawn to her! Robin says that her goal is to set up this sort of fantasy world, where the focus is not only on the presence of Amelia, but in the whole scene itself, which I find to be very well portrayed, even if the images are shot in a very straightforward no-bullshit organization. I was thinking about what it would be like to live as the daughter of a photographer, where your mother uses you as a subject for photographs. I'm sure the daughter is willing, and that their relationship is full of love and life, but I still think about that catalytic barrier that a camera can often be between two people, both in the moment of the shot and afterwards. Robin says that her daughter is not afraid of the animals, but rather it is the humans, much more destructive creatures, that she should be wary of. There is some truth in that statement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9pAKdkJh-Y&feature=player_embedded
I was so amused by this article. Being from Cincinnati, the most Catholic conservative town in the nation, raised up in Catholic grade schools and an all-boys Catholic high school (not as bad as it seems, imagine when you separate maturing boys and girls and then give them an opportunity to get together...), I'm trying to imagine a nun from my sister's school speaking about art in such a sophisticated manner. We often think of those devoting their lives to the church as lame, plain people without any other interest in the world than redemption! savior! my Lord!, but have been certainly proven wrong in this case. The nun is asked about the work of the Piss Christ by Andres Serrano, a work I was not familiar with, but how pieces like this and other such works that are 'vulgar' in construction of composition should be seen by those of faith. She makes two comments that were profound. First, just because some abuse does not mean that we should limit use. The second is the quote below the clip on LPV Magazine's blog.
“I think comforting art is art that is very easy to react to. I might be tempted to say that Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ is comforting art, in that everyone knows exactly what they think about it. They’re not challenged in the slightest. Ninety percent of them think its blasphemous and a few like me think, well, it might not be. It might be a rather ham-fisted attempt to preach about the need to reverence the crucifix. Not a very gifted young man, but he’s trying his best. But that’s comforting art, you see, because it’s so easy to have an opinion and a reaction. Everyone thinks they can do it.”
It is the art that is not easy to have an opinion about, and that isn't just the "flavor of the week or flavor of the month" as she puts it, that is really the most profound. It is work that is timeless, than can be seen by a person anywhere in the world at any time and place and react to it, while these individuals' interpretations are not easily foreseen.
This is a website that you've just got to see. I'm still processing what I've seen in my head. Robin has got a collection of photos on her website where her daughter, Amelia, and various animals just seem to be the same species. Amelia has got an expressionless face, an almost sort of ethereal look in her eyes, and a careless attitude with all the spider monkeys and elephants and baby tigers, who are just drawn to her! Robin says that her goal is to set up this sort of fantasy world, where the focus is not only on the presence of Amelia, but in the whole scene itself, which I find to be very well portrayed, even if the images are shot in a very straightforward no-bullshit organization. I was thinking about what it would be like to live as the daughter of a photographer, where your mother uses you as a subject for photographs. I'm sure the daughter is willing, and that their relationship is full of love and life, but I still think about that catalytic barrier that a camera can often be between two people, both in the moment of the shot and afterwards. Robin says that her daughter is not afraid of the animals, but rather it is the humans, much more destructive creatures, that she should be wary of. There is some truth in that statement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9pAKdkJh-Y&feature=player_embedded
I was so amused by this article. Being from Cincinnati, the most Catholic conservative town in the nation, raised up in Catholic grade schools and an all-boys Catholic high school (not as bad as it seems, imagine when you separate maturing boys and girls and then give them an opportunity to get together...), I'm trying to imagine a nun from my sister's school speaking about art in such a sophisticated manner. We often think of those devoting their lives to the church as lame, plain people without any other interest in the world than redemption! savior! my Lord!, but have been certainly proven wrong in this case. The nun is asked about the work of the Piss Christ by Andres Serrano, a work I was not familiar with, but how pieces like this and other such works that are 'vulgar' in construction of composition should be seen by those of faith. She makes two comments that were profound. First, just because some abuse does not mean that we should limit use. The second is the quote below the clip on LPV Magazine's blog.
“I think comforting art is art that is very easy to react to. I might be tempted to say that Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ is comforting art, in that everyone knows exactly what they think about it. They’re not challenged in the slightest. Ninety percent of them think its blasphemous and a few like me think, well, it might not be. It might be a rather ham-fisted attempt to preach about the need to reverence the crucifix. Not a very gifted young man, but he’s trying his best. But that’s comforting art, you see, because it’s so easy to have an opinion and a reaction. Everyone thinks they can do it.”
It is the art that is not easy to have an opinion about, and that isn't just the "flavor of the week or flavor of the month" as she puts it, that is really the most profound. It is work that is timeless, than can be seen by a person anywhere in the world at any time and place and react to it, while these individuals' interpretations are not easily foreseen.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Photography and Commodity Culture
Seeing the title, I didn't think I was going to be very intrigued by this chapter, but as it turn out, there were actually many more questions that I raised in this than any other section. Shall we begin?
-One Question I have about fashion photography and its use for advertising is whether or not the production of images, which are in part perpetuated by the advertisements, come from the demands consumers have, or if it is instead the mere power and prestige that these advertisers have by name that can produce the desire. What I mean by the later part is the question of whether or not what is produced can be entirely arbitrary and random, without any base, and only by the 'name-brand' are able to become popularized, or whether it comes from the consumers desires for a specific style that they themselves are unable to fabricate? This is related to photography because it asks then whether or not the images produced for fashion photography are designed from an emptiness, with roots that begin nowhere, or whether they are actually feeding off of and getting their juice from the rest of society.
-"The vast majority of fashion students never visit a factor throughout their degree" (240) What does this day about the production process? Both the production of the consumer items, and the production of images?
-"Tourists, having already consumed an array of exotic and glammored photographs of the place before arrival, search out these very images and sites to visit and photograph in order to feel that their trip is complete... conform to an image which has already been constructed." (242-243)
- H.S. Wong placed a baby next to a bombed out railroad in Shanghai to highlight devastation and desolation.
It is appropriate to call this documentary? even journalism?
It is the photograph's 'accurate' content which makes it a documentary/journalistic photo, or can an emotion that is portrayed through construction, but is not present 'as is', be also considered a document of such?
- Freimut Dave commented on the portrayal of the US's most recent invasion in Iraq, saying that "a high percentage of people are watching without realizing this is a war" (210)
Could this be a result of having so many photographs and images shown to us on a daily basis, that we become detached from such images and video which really are of people suffering and dying?
Or could it be that we have to experience to relate?
-Machin states that this type of commercial photography is "photography in which there is connotation" (214) lacking denotative qualities, but might this be more of a cultural problem, as we look at like as a more generalized collective rather than focusing on the individual as it is then and there?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Vojtech Slama & Malo
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/03/vojtech-v-slama.html
This article on Lenscratch is the promotion of an exhibition opening in Brooklyn at a place called Klompching Gallery (awesome name), where the artists Ken Rosenthal and Vojtech Slama will be featured. As Rosenthal had been recently featured in an earlier article, so Slama's photos were the only only digitals posted. His work is done on silver bromide, so I'm sure that those on the blog do no justice to living up to how they appear in real life, but regardless I find them captivatingly eerie. He has such an interesting way of organizing form, and the way that it complements with the colors that the silver bromide produces makes them even more mysterious. The first and fourth photos, with the woman lying in the bathtub reading a book, and the other woman holding onto the pumpkin, are great examples of this. I wasn't even aware that they were actual photographs, but seem more to be abstract constructions of the body.
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/03/malo.html
This next article I just found to be extremely humorous and whimsical, but also makes an important statement about childhood, development, and growth. The children are all positioned in the same direction, and may as well be the same child in each photo, but the costumes and positioning of the children is what is most important. We all are born as pure, innocent beings in this world, with no concept of a job or the working life or achievements or "being" someone. Yet over time, we loose that connection that unifies us all as one being, and eventually grow up to be separate people living separate lives that take us all around the world and present us opportunities to expand and decay. Take for example the contrast between the photo of the pope child and the soldier child. The pope looks so at peace and harmony with himself, like a little ball of light in his shining red and white garbs, while the soldier in contrast appears almost dead, rifle at his site, but still just as contempt with his position. Maybe this is how we should look at life, like a child who accepts what he is and where he is at in the moment, rather than the clothing that distinguished us as different people with higher and lower ranks on the social ladder.
This article on Lenscratch is the promotion of an exhibition opening in Brooklyn at a place called Klompching Gallery (awesome name), where the artists Ken Rosenthal and Vojtech Slama will be featured. As Rosenthal had been recently featured in an earlier article, so Slama's photos were the only only digitals posted. His work is done on silver bromide, so I'm sure that those on the blog do no justice to living up to how they appear in real life, but regardless I find them captivatingly eerie. He has such an interesting way of organizing form, and the way that it complements with the colors that the silver bromide produces makes them even more mysterious. The first and fourth photos, with the woman lying in the bathtub reading a book, and the other woman holding onto the pumpkin, are great examples of this. I wasn't even aware that they were actual photographs, but seem more to be abstract constructions of the body.
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/03/malo.html
This next article I just found to be extremely humorous and whimsical, but also makes an important statement about childhood, development, and growth. The children are all positioned in the same direction, and may as well be the same child in each photo, but the costumes and positioning of the children is what is most important. We all are born as pure, innocent beings in this world, with no concept of a job or the working life or achievements or "being" someone. Yet over time, we loose that connection that unifies us all as one being, and eventually grow up to be separate people living separate lives that take us all around the world and present us opportunities to expand and decay. Take for example the contrast between the photo of the pope child and the soldier child. The pope looks so at peace and harmony with himself, like a little ball of light in his shining red and white garbs, while the soldier in contrast appears almost dead, rifle at his site, but still just as contempt with his position. Maybe this is how we should look at life, like a child who accepts what he is and where he is at in the moment, rather than the clothing that distinguished us as different people with higher and lower ranks on the social ladder.
Monday, February 27, 2012
This guys Wild Idea
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/02/theron-humphrey-and-this-wild-idea.html
This is one of the coolest articles that I've seen so far. Theron Humphrey, who is used to doing more commercialized photography, decided to get up and go based off This Wild Idea. He determined that he was going to going on a year long, 365 day trip to meet someone new every day and photograph this experience (isn't it leap year though? haha). Any how, putting all photography aside for now, I feel like Theron has found the jem to life, making new relationships with people he's never met in places that he's never been, traveling around like a lost little puppy who just wants to be friends with everyone. You can certainly see in his photography that he does have that more commercial background, taking very clear shots of people, their environments, and the both of them together. This makes me curious as to how things might change for him as he continues along the road, moving place to place, idea to idea. I hope they continue to make posts about his further adventures and document where he ends up at, with that final friend.
His website is at http://thiswildidea.com/
He's 210 peoples in so far, with... 155 people to go.
Roll on Theron.
This is one of the coolest articles that I've seen so far. Theron Humphrey, who is used to doing more commercialized photography, decided to get up and go based off This Wild Idea. He determined that he was going to going on a year long, 365 day trip to meet someone new every day and photograph this experience (isn't it leap year though? haha). Any how, putting all photography aside for now, I feel like Theron has found the jem to life, making new relationships with people he's never met in places that he's never been, traveling around like a lost little puppy who just wants to be friends with everyone. You can certainly see in his photography that he does have that more commercial background, taking very clear shots of people, their environments, and the both of them together. This makes me curious as to how things might change for him as he continues along the road, moving place to place, idea to idea. I hope they continue to make posts about his further adventures and document where he ends up at, with that final friend.
His website is at http://thiswildidea.com/
He's 210 peoples in so far, with... 155 people to go.
Roll on Theron.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Chapter 4: Photography and the Human Body
This reading in Well's was definitely one of the most challenging chapters for me, theoretically, because of the loose debates about the the exposition of the human body. I don't think I can come up with any sort of clear opinion on what I feel should be limited in terms of content and nudity, but it is certainly one of the easiest ways to stir up some emotions, religiously, politically, sexually, in gendered terms, and aesthetically. Also, I had never considered the roles that photographing the dead can play in society, and I was actually surprised when I saw the sub genre that it didn't go into more detail, possibly focusing on the roles of documentary and death.
What I found to be the most interesting however is the section titles "Technological Bodies" and the discussion based around the camera throughout the ages and its affects on the humans in terms of our physicality. "The camera and other technologies for seeing also affect the way we value our own sense of sight." (2009 Wells: 194) By making something capable of enhancing that which we see, we are actually devaluing the individual and their ability to see. Not only can we capture moments in clarity grame by frame, but we can show what and who were there, or so we think we do. The interventions that photography and related developments have had on science again give superiority to these machines, which are much more accurate than a human could ever be. But always much colder.
A couple of questions that I have:
If the technological advancements of photography are able to give "clearer vision" as to what is there and that which we can't see, what sort of consequences does this have in various fields? Medicinal? Judicial? Artistic? In Literature? In Storytelling?
Also,
Why is it that we choose to place some much emphasis on nudity in the United States, whereas other countries, even those in the Western world, tend to appreciate and accept it more readily? It is something more universal than almost anything else to humans, so is it the need we have to compare with others? To strive for perfection? Does it make one lustful or allow us to eject the sense desires that many of us hold inside?
What I found to be the most interesting however is the section titles "Technological Bodies" and the discussion based around the camera throughout the ages and its affects on the humans in terms of our physicality. "The camera and other technologies for seeing also affect the way we value our own sense of sight." (2009 Wells: 194) By making something capable of enhancing that which we see, we are actually devaluing the individual and their ability to see. Not only can we capture moments in clarity grame by frame, but we can show what and who were there, or so we think we do. The interventions that photography and related developments have had on science again give superiority to these machines, which are much more accurate than a human could ever be. But always much colder.
A couple of questions that I have:
If the technological advancements of photography are able to give "clearer vision" as to what is there and that which we can't see, what sort of consequences does this have in various fields? Medicinal? Judicial? Artistic? In Literature? In Storytelling?
Also,
Why is it that we choose to place some much emphasis on nudity in the United States, whereas other countries, even those in the Western world, tend to appreciate and accept it more readily? It is something more universal than almost anything else to humans, so is it the need we have to compare with others? To strive for perfection? Does it make one lustful or allow us to eject the sense desires that many of us hold inside?
Monday, February 20, 2012
Project Proposal
The last post that I made with the handful of photos are for a photo project where I am focusing in on the ideas of construction and destruction. And so, here is what I mean...
Originally, my concept of these two ideas was based mostly on a cynical view of how much waste we make with space and material by feeling the need to constantly build and rebuild and perfect and comfortize, but now, I think I want to move away from that and have a slightly less opinionated perspective. Not everything that we create or destroy is for the bad, and not all is for the good. What does that leave us?
I am a big big fan of the Tao Te Ching, and there are a couple quotes which I would like to use as the basis of my study.
The first:
"We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable."
The second:
"The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The master knows the utensils,
yet keeps to the block."
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Yvette Meltzer and Old Folks
http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/02/yvette-meltzer.html
As Picasso said, “There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”
This quote that Yvette Meltzer uses in her post is perfect for her work. Laundry is something that can be as so plain and regular, the everyday ordinary (well, for those who actually wash their clothes). Yet, Yvette is able to capture some of the most interesting images of a shirt, some dirty underwear, and grandma's bedspread that I've yet to see. The way she has timed her photos is nearly perfect, as the viewer can pull out just enough crisp outline to form more than a swirl of colors, but images with borders, eyeballs of trapped boogymen, white roses. It's nice hearing from her about the process and challenges that she faced when undertaking this project, but then also including how it is that she overcame them! Very encouraging for someone like me who is always so apprehensive and looses the chance to create something new or beautiful but am too self conscious to often do. I really really dig this work, check it out if you haven't seen her works yet.
http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/meditations_on_photographs_jacob_israel_avedon_sarasota_florida_may_15_1971/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jmcolberg%2Fextended+%28Conscientious+Extended%29
This article by conscientious extended is a fairly powerful piece, and I think it has a lot of truth to it. Before talking about the photographer Richard Avedon, the writer Joerg Colberg reflects on the idea and effect of photographing those of older generations, with wrinkles scribbled into their faces that have the power to tell stories with out the necessity of anything but their faces. I find this to be very true, as one thing I've often reflected on is the idea that out outside is essentially a dead reminiscence of what we've done, seen, experienced in our lives. For the elderly, this is very much the truth. Deep wrinkles in the forehead tells a different story than a saggy, waggly chin or intense cheekbones. Yet, as Jeorg notes, at least for those of us in American society, we tend to hide away and exclude the old folks, whether it be fear of our mortality, a lack of time to care for them, a lack of care to make time for them, whatever it be, we rarely encounter them on a regular basis. That's why for the photographer Richard Avedon, this is something to which he can relate. The photograph which they highlight is of his father, in a typical Avedon style the writter says, but Avedon often spends time with celebrities and younger peoples, who certainly act and react differently to the camera than one's own father. It makes me curious about why Richard would choose to show his father as so: is he telling a story about him in the photo? Is that how his father would normally dress? Does he always look so comfortably solemn? hmmmmm....
As Picasso said, “There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”
This quote that Yvette Meltzer uses in her post is perfect for her work. Laundry is something that can be as so plain and regular, the everyday ordinary (well, for those who actually wash their clothes). Yet, Yvette is able to capture some of the most interesting images of a shirt, some dirty underwear, and grandma's bedspread that I've yet to see. The way she has timed her photos is nearly perfect, as the viewer can pull out just enough crisp outline to form more than a swirl of colors, but images with borders, eyeballs of trapped boogymen, white roses. It's nice hearing from her about the process and challenges that she faced when undertaking this project, but then also including how it is that she overcame them! Very encouraging for someone like me who is always so apprehensive and looses the chance to create something new or beautiful but am too self conscious to often do. I really really dig this work, check it out if you haven't seen her works yet.
http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/meditations_on_photographs_jacob_israel_avedon_sarasota_florida_may_15_1971/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jmcolberg%2Fextended+%28Conscientious+Extended%29
This article by conscientious extended is a fairly powerful piece, and I think it has a lot of truth to it. Before talking about the photographer Richard Avedon, the writer Joerg Colberg reflects on the idea and effect of photographing those of older generations, with wrinkles scribbled into their faces that have the power to tell stories with out the necessity of anything but their faces. I find this to be very true, as one thing I've often reflected on is the idea that out outside is essentially a dead reminiscence of what we've done, seen, experienced in our lives. For the elderly, this is very much the truth. Deep wrinkles in the forehead tells a different story than a saggy, waggly chin or intense cheekbones. Yet, as Jeorg notes, at least for those of us in American society, we tend to hide away and exclude the old folks, whether it be fear of our mortality, a lack of time to care for them, a lack of care to make time for them, whatever it be, we rarely encounter them on a regular basis. That's why for the photographer Richard Avedon, this is something to which he can relate. The photograph which they highlight is of his father, in a typical Avedon style the writter says, but Avedon often spends time with celebrities and younger peoples, who certainly act and react differently to the camera than one's own father. It makes me curious about why Richard would choose to show his father as so: is he telling a story about him in the photo? Is that how his father would normally dress? Does he always look so comfortably solemn? hmmmmm....
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Dying mother
http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/meditations_on_photographs_a_woman_sits_for_a_final_photograph_with_her_dying_mother/
I found this photography, taken by Eduard Mehome to be extremely challenging for me, but also quite beautiful. The two women in the photo are from Benin, the one holding onto her dying mother. But by no means is this in any way what one would expect when you think of a daughter with her mother at the death bed. You can see that the mother is certainly on her way out, but the daughter almost loosely drapes her arm around her shoulder, like you would an old friend. There isn't any pain in the latter's face, she understands what is happening, but instead of getting up and running away, she is there with her mother, in her final moments, posing her final and maybe first photograph of her life that she will never see. I find it quite beautiful.
I found this photography, taken by Eduard Mehome to be extremely challenging for me, but also quite beautiful. The two women in the photo are from Benin, the one holding onto her dying mother. But by no means is this in any way what one would expect when you think of a daughter with her mother at the death bed. You can see that the mother is certainly on her way out, but the daughter almost loosely drapes her arm around her shoulder, like you would an old friend. There isn't any pain in the latter's face, she understands what is happening, but instead of getting up and running away, she is there with her mother, in her final moments, posing her final and maybe first photograph of her life that she will never see. I find it quite beautiful.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Lists of Artists
Lists of photographers
Edward Weston
Andrea Modica
Justine Kurland
Zoe Strauss
Garry Winogrand
Taryn Simon
Paul Strand
Alec Soth
Thomas Struth
KEN GONZALEZ-DAY
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wells Reading Response
Chapter 1 in the Wells text may seem somewhat more historical and lacking the much of the critical artistic observation of photography, but I think that looking at how photography evolved into such a diverse field today is important, as well as the theoretical frames of mind that came to shape why we take certain photographs. One comment right at the beginning of this chapter, on page 13, states that we often think of these new technologies as the agents of social change, however, that we often forget that the development and desire to have this new technology is also a response to changes that were already taking place...
There are many other interesting points that are brought up throughout the stages of progress (?) that photography has moved through, but I'm going to go ahead and jump right to the case study of Lange's Migrant Mother. Aparently there is actually a documentary that is coming out about Lange and her life's work fairly soon, with interviews with her included, so it will be interesting to see after having read this analysis. But anyhow, there are many points made about how one might see the photograph and/or the photograph itself that I think is worth noting. The first, the photo as a testament, is a point of view that I have often had when I see photos of people in desperate or difficult situations. Yet, it is important to critically understand all the other facets of the photo, such as the photographer own perspective or reflection, which can reveal new information or strip away applied assumptions. The context of where the photograph is shown can really change how it is seen. This is going to come to my question for the chapter: If an exhibition was set up for an audience of people living in similar situations of poverty/pain/struggle around the world, how might this photograph convey it's message?
There's much more to say, but that's all for now folks.
There are many other interesting points that are brought up throughout the stages of progress (?) that photography has moved through, but I'm going to go ahead and jump right to the case study of Lange's Migrant Mother. Aparently there is actually a documentary that is coming out about Lange and her life's work fairly soon, with interviews with her included, so it will be interesting to see after having read this analysis. But anyhow, there are many points made about how one might see the photograph and/or the photograph itself that I think is worth noting. The first, the photo as a testament, is a point of view that I have often had when I see photos of people in desperate or difficult situations. Yet, it is important to critically understand all the other facets of the photo, such as the photographer own perspective or reflection, which can reveal new information or strip away applied assumptions. The context of where the photograph is shown can really change how it is seen. This is going to come to my question for the chapter: If an exhibition was set up for an audience of people living in similar situations of poverty/pain/struggle around the world, how might this photograph convey it's message?
There's much more to say, but that's all for now folks.
Google reader reviews
I apologize that this is coming in so late, rawr already getting caught up in the swing of college.
On that was just up on Lenscratch, a project by David Kimelman, I find really provoking. He's got a couple of new projects going on apparently, but the one I am attracted to, Natural Order, is quite interesting. He's photographing the interaction between Human and Nature, in both organic and synthetic contexts. There really is today such a distance that we've built up between ourselves and nature, to protect ourselves, to elevate ourselves on the food-chain, but at the same time we are always need Her and each of us, felt or not, has something drawing us toward Her, to look or to feel or to hear etc. So, this is what Kimelman is trying to show, the messed up sort of relationship we have with nature in all sorts of contexts. But I think this is most important to do in a world where we are constantly finding out what damage we've done and keep doing...
On Flak photo's site, there's a brief video clip of Keliy Anderson-Staley at her show opening. Her exhibition, called [Hyphen] Americans, is all photos that have been printed on Tintype, an old-school and tricky process. Therefore, her camera's then also had special functions, giving a very narrow depth of field, but also requiring the subject to remain still for a very long time. One of thing she said, which is find pretty humorous but can also maybe be quite revealing for us, is that this process of the taking the photograph then gave the individuals both and intense stare into the camera, trying to hold still, but also made them look very "stoic". The reason this is eye-opening is that we often see photos of our ancestors and think "Jesus Christ great-grandma looked so pissed off all the time", when in reality it's just the nature of the photograph. This brings up an interesting theoretical point that was in the Wells text, that what we are taking photos of isn't necessarily directly or faultlessly empirical. That which we see in our ancestors may be as we see it in that moment of time, not as they are in a relaxed setting where they are free to laugh and smile. I sort of noticed the same thing when I was in Peru, that many of the people, especially the older women, all of a sudden wanted to look very serious for photos, unless I begged them and danced on my head for a smile. They were all such loving and friendly people, but you'd have never known by some of the photographs.
On that was just up on Lenscratch, a project by David Kimelman, I find really provoking. He's got a couple of new projects going on apparently, but the one I am attracted to, Natural Order, is quite interesting. He's photographing the interaction between Human and Nature, in both organic and synthetic contexts. There really is today such a distance that we've built up between ourselves and nature, to protect ourselves, to elevate ourselves on the food-chain, but at the same time we are always need Her and each of us, felt or not, has something drawing us toward Her, to look or to feel or to hear etc. So, this is what Kimelman is trying to show, the messed up sort of relationship we have with nature in all sorts of contexts. But I think this is most important to do in a world where we are constantly finding out what damage we've done and keep doing...
On Flak photo's site, there's a brief video clip of Keliy Anderson-Staley at her show opening. Her exhibition, called [Hyphen] Americans, is all photos that have been printed on Tintype, an old-school and tricky process. Therefore, her camera's then also had special functions, giving a very narrow depth of field, but also requiring the subject to remain still for a very long time. One of thing she said, which is find pretty humorous but can also maybe be quite revealing for us, is that this process of the taking the photograph then gave the individuals both and intense stare into the camera, trying to hold still, but also made them look very "stoic". The reason this is eye-opening is that we often see photos of our ancestors and think "Jesus Christ great-grandma looked so pissed off all the time", when in reality it's just the nature of the photograph. This brings up an interesting theoretical point that was in the Wells text, that what we are taking photos of isn't necessarily directly or faultlessly empirical. That which we see in our ancestors may be as we see it in that moment of time, not as they are in a relaxed setting where they are free to laugh and smile. I sort of noticed the same thing when I was in Peru, that many of the people, especially the older women, all of a sudden wanted to look very serious for photos, unless I begged them and danced on my head for a smile. They were all such loving and friendly people, but you'd have never known by some of the photographs.
Monday, January 23, 2012
birth
Never made a blog before. Don't really spend much time on the fb. But I guess this can be a nice place for me to vent and share with whomever whatever I want. Kinda neat huh? This is mostly here because it has to be here (for class), but hey, yah never know, maybe this will expand I will delve myself into a life of internet browsing and constant output of nonsensical hodgepodge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmSl49bTI1A
Recently saw this video and it makes me one of the cheeriest people in the world.
Chao for now.
¡paz y amor!
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