Contemporary Artist Review

            The contemporary artist that stood out to me was Frank Breuer.  His work in “Project 3, War Memorials”(http://www.frankbreuer.com/projects-3.html) is interesting to me because within the memories of war, the memorials give it a coat of beauty.  Each memorial has its own specific identity and sense of spirit that the work does not seem to get old.  

            Within this project, I appreciate that Breuer is not just stuck in one country but he is expanding the notion of war and how each country shows their love to their soldiers in similar ways.  I feel that Breuer shot the structures at a more straight on viewpoint to express the pure beauty in life and how we sometimes take it for granted.  I also can see that his work could cause some disputes between those for was and those against and the advantages and disadvantages it causes. 

            In the background of each photograph, there is not a beautiful, blue sky.  It is grey and dreary.  I believe that this is not a coincidence; I believe that Breuer wanted the skies to be dull and lifeless to emphasis the sadness that the monuments symbolize.  Even though the monuments seem a lot alike, each one tells an individual story of who was all involved, the hardships and everything in between. 

            When most people see a historical piece of the world, they tend to think back to that time and what it may have been like to go through the events firsthand.  The monuments capture that immortal feeling.  It was hard to choose a favorite photo from the whole piece but I really wanted to pick one that stood out to me.  My favorite memorial is the Neuville St.Vaast, F, WW 1, French because I absolutely love the arm holding up a torch; it expresses that, even though the men are buried, they had victory.   

            I could not find anything on Breuer’s own interpretation of his work, so I decided to email him asking what his intentions were with this piece and how he wanted his audience to perceive it.  He did not get back to me in time but I would think he would agree with at least a few concepts I have brought up throughout my interpretation.

            If I could speak to Frank Breuer, one on one, I would express my appreciation to him of this piece and how much such a simple shot of each monument symbolizes differently to each person individually.  They do not just symbolize death; they show passion, protection, and hope for the world.  I hope to, one day, be as good of a photographer as Frank Breuer.

Final Project with Artist Statement

For my final project I wanted to explore the different bad habits of individuals and for what reasons they often seek comfort or security within them or just plain laziness.  Especially nowadays, students come up with crazy, yet now normal, ways to cope with stress in and out of the classroom.  It has always been interesting to me, not just because I am guilty of some nail biting, but because of the reasons behind the specific habits of people.  Some photos are underexposed to enhance the anxiety factor.  Most are up-close and personal because I believe that when you focus the lens on what you want your audience to also focus on it has a direct relationship with the artist and their idea.

In Progress

For this project, I am trying to show everyday habits people( mostly negative), not only students, but everyone have.  Either stress related or just plain careless, these habits are inevitable. I would love to know what you guys think and what might come to your minds.  Any ideas on how to express this in the gallery would be welcomed.  I am planning on exploring more negative habits, if any ideas come to any of you, please share them with me!

The Crisis

In the article, Andy Grundberg defined postmodernism as "...a reflection of the conditions of our time."  To me, postmodernism is a way of swirling everything from the past, present and future all together into this one era of complete expression.

 Postmodernism relates to architecture, dance, language, and much more.  It challenges the tradition of photographic practice by photographers using their skills in photography to explore other elements of art.  It was also a way to mix mediums of art together as with painting in a video, or taking a picture of a sculpture.  There were many conceptions of postmodernism,  and everyone added their own twist to it which, ultimately, made it what it is.

Final Proposal

For my final project I want to explore the different bad habits of individuals and for what reasons they often seek comfort or security within them.  It has always been interesting to me, not just because I am guilty of some nail biting, but because of really the reasons behind the specific habits of people.

I was thinking of documenting all of the habits I can possibly come up with like: biting nails, picking skin, tapping pencils, shaking legs, smoking, popping pimples and plenty more.  Especially nowadays, students come up with crazy, yet now normal, ways to cope with stress in and out of the classroom.

Fiction

For my fiction project, I was trying to communicate the expected and unexpected.  In our lives, we expect things to be organized and sorted a certain way and how we associated certain areas of space and certain things to fill that space.  I wanted to show that view through my photographs.  

I started off wanted to take a photograph of one area and then take another of something that would look "right" in that one particular space that was nowhere near it and making it into one in photoshop.  Then, farther into the process, I thought to why not do the opposite?  I ended up taking the last few photographs of objects that did not make any sense in a certain space.  I ended up loving this

 idea even more.

Throughout the process of this project, I kept fighting with my self between both ideas and trying to figure out which would be the most interesting.  In the end, I chose to use both in a whole composition because variety is always key!

Portraits

For this project, I am trying to express a different way to identify an individual; through handwriting.  I was able to come up with a substantial amount of adults that would be expressing themselves through only a maker and a piece of paper.  I used a tripod to capture each image by first, having each person hold their paper in front of their face, and then, relieving themselves for a second photo. 

My plan was to just compare each person's handwriting by using one word, hello, but it evolved into how they would physically say hello.  This, alone, got more people involved.  I felt, throughout the process of taking the photographs, I learned a lot about others in such a simple way no one else has thought of except for forensic teams.

I am ultimately happy with the results of the photographs and am glad I decided to create a grid of all the different expressions than just picking a few to show to the class.  I feel, this way, everyone will receive the idea much better and in such a clearer light.

Documentation

My theme for this project was bike racks and, in shooting these photos, I wanted to express the chaos that happens once these 'organized' racks are overloaded with more than what was expected.  It shows how even the simplest things are taken for granted in our society.

I tried to express this theme by using different vantage points and angles for the fullest effect.  I used straight-on views to explain simple and basic dynamics.  The high and low angles were to dramatize the reality of what is going on in each photograph.

My thinking throughout the project did not change a whole lot but some in certain areas.  I was trying to figure out if I was going to stage any of the areas and, by the time I started capturing the images, decided not to because of the way the bikes were in the racks themselves.  To me, was perfect.  The images and points of interest ended up being exactly what I was looking to express.

  

Old News Interpretation

The Old News show opening by Jeff Sprang was interesting on many levels.  It captured a time within a certain period of history and also the era of film photography.  The one photo that stood out the most to me was The Editor's Desk.  Sprang describes facts about the photo but I would describe the photo as being an envelopment of chaos and a hint of wonder about the life of an editor.

My interpretation of this photograph was that Sprang wanted to show everyone that being an editor is not always just writing but it is about going through so many different ideas and the need for more space in more than one way.  The setting sun that shines on the papers creates a sense of beauty that expresses the end result of a successful article and how hard work can truly pay off.

Some questions I have for Jeff would be what brought him to the idea of Old News, what is his favorite   photograph, and why did it take him until now to want to do an exhibit?

Assignment 2

Frame

Vantage Point

Detail

Fast Shutter

 Slow Shutter + Tripod

Hand Held at Night

Night + Tripod

Great DOF   F/36 

 Shallow DOF   F/5.6

Flash

The Thing Itself

I felt this image portrays what John Szarkowski says about a photo challenging reality.  Someone might look at this image and think that there has to be something at the end of this cord.  Truthfully, the cord is not plug into anything but is just next to my camera creating this illusion.

Assignment 1 Photograph

The Path

My Comments on "The Photographer's Eye" by John Szarkowski

At the beginning of this reading, through the introduction, it addressed what made photography different and how it made some feel.  Some wondered how it could be creative, and those were the ones who were stuck in the traditional ways of thought. They couldn't see how a picture created by someone stroking a paint brush could be overran by someone with a quick snap of a button.

A big issue between paintings of photographs was the ability to tell a story through the work.  Later on, in the growth of photography, paintings were becoming less useful because of the time it took to create one piece.  Photographers started to learn how to set a scene, or just shoot the right angle to be able to tell a story with a single photo.

Photography has been used for it's meaning since it was created, either by artists trying to establish a new medium of work or just by an average person with the right amount of income.  This new medium was created by scientist and painters says Szarkowski, and those who were involved, changed art forever.

Artists' Point of View

Materializing New Space by Kelly Urquhart and Jaime Kennedy was very powerful.  The art itself really had its own voice and was detailed and colorful, but it was the way Kelly and Jaime were able to collaborate their different styles and mediums of work to come up with such fantastic pieces that impressed me.  I loved how they brought her drawing and his photography into one and then added a sculpted piece to the mix.

The pieces that stood out to me the most were, of course, the Avian Flying Apparatuses.  By of course, I mean the great attention to detail, especially when the work isn't real.  I could never imagine spending so much time on something like these pieces, and by that, I have gained so much respect to the artists, not just Kelly and Jaime, but to every artist.  

With Materializing New Space, I could not really say if my interpretation differed from both Kelly and Jaime's because they were able to explain it to us first hand what the meaning of each piece was.  I actually enjoyed this because it was my first time actually getting an artist's point of view on their own work and what they really wanted to come out in every piece.

Interpretation of Parr

by: Marin Parr

In this photograph, I see a caucasian person. They are smiling big, seemingly happy, more of a grin. The person has red lips and strong bone structure. I can't really tell if the teeth are real or fake but they have some specks of red on them.  The focus is fully on the mouth area, very dark background, and is blurred anywhere else.  

I think Parr was trying to get across how we, in everyday life, go about our routine without a thought of how the tiniest things, we aren't even aware of, could be wrong.  I think he likes to show us, or even prove to us, that nothing is perfect and does it in a humorous kind of way.

I feel like my perception of Parr's photograph is right because everyone has those little, embarrassing moments when something is either on your face or in your teeth and no one wants to be the person to break the news.  

Depth Breakdown

This photograph stands out for me because of the creativity and depth within.  While there are many different things happening, the photo ultimately captures the beauty of nature and how certain things can amaze.  There is a power that is presented as the animals are bursting through the scene while the goddess is just calmly laying as the crowd looks upon in awe.