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.
Friday, March 30, 2012
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.
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