Photo Presentation #4

Thomas Ruff
Thomas Ruff was born in 1958 in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany and currently lives and works in Dusseldorf, Germany. His work is very varied, as he has done series of photographs of buildings, nudes, etc. He also has done a series called "Cassini" which are based on photographic images of Saturn by NASA. The Cassini series is my favorite of his, though it is unclear whether he used NASA's actual images, or whether he recreated images based on these images. He also did a series called Zycles, which are 3D renderings of mathematical curves that were based on engravings that he found in a book on electromagnetism. I am assuming he actually made these, but I am unsure about the Cassini ones.

Nick Knight

Currently residing in London, he is the founder and director of SHOWstudio.com, which is a website that displays live fashion shows and is also a good resource for all those who pertain to the fashion world (there is a blog, resources, agent link, etc.) It is essentially a fashion broadcasting website. In 1982 he published his first book of fashion photographs, Skinheads. Throughout his career he has challenged the ideas of the fashion world and the stereotypical views of what is beautiful. 

http://nickknight.com/main.html

Peter Hujar

 Born in October 1934 in Trenton, NJ, Peter Hujar is known for his black and white photography. He eventually moved to Manhattan to launch his career. His most famous photograph is Candy Darling on her Deathbed. It was used late on by the musical group Antony and the Johnsons on their album cover for "I am a Bird Now". Hujar died of AIDS in 1987.

Blog Prompts #20-21

#20 Describe some common aesthetic/formal qualities, content, and conceptual threads in “snapshot” photography.

When I think of "snapshot" photography, I think of photos of family and friends (at concerts, in front of famous landscapes, at graduations/birthday parties, etc.); I also think of photos of signs of places, landscapes, and family pets. I suppose I see the contact of snapshots as pieces of memories and certain parts of a person's life. The general concept of snapshot photography is relative to this, as we take snapshots in order to record memories of important times in our lives. I do not think of any really formal qualities for snapshot photography, as I see it as being very informal. Maybe common aesthetic and formal qualities could be keeping every subject in the frame, using the flash when necessary, and capturing certain poses (smiling).

#21 Brainstorms! (In an effort to expand, improve, push your thesis projects further, pick 5 of the following to discuss.)

d. Type twenty words or phrases that relate to your project.

Abstract, composite/tiled (put-together), colorful, four images from one image, order from disorder, chaotic, orderly chaos?, detailled attention to frame and image, natural images, synthetic images, lighting, contrast in the image, four corners each used once as the center of the image, fun problem-solving type imagery, different from the norm, experimental, shows that there are different sides to everything, directions of subject and shape of subject is important, line is important, creating 3D-like sculptural images, painterly-like images.

e. At the deepest core, describe why you like this project. Dig deep!

I like this project because I believe it reflects something of my personality and also the style of art that I find most pleasing. I have different sides to myself, as many other people do. Four images are created from one image by changing which image is the central point of the larger image. This shows how different things can be created from one thing, and though they are all from the same thing, they are a bit different. I believe this reflects my personality because there are some different sides to me, but I am still the same person, I am still from the same essence. Another thing is that I love symmetrical imagery and art that has a center focal point. I always end up with imagery that is not purposefully symmetrical, and I think this plays into what I like a lot about art. Also I like painterly-like photographs, and this shows certain design elements of that type of imagery (very colorful, abstract, design-like imagery).

f. Expand your project. If time, money, materials, etc would not affect you, how would you expand your project?

For my images, I want to take my four images and display them 2 by 2 on a large matte board. So I will have four images to one matte board. I would like to have GIANT matte board and four large pictures and print an endless amount of them. I would like to make these incredibly large and put them in a big empty room where they can be displayed from ceiling to floor on all the walls. This way people can look into them and find little intricate patterns and really be able to explore the inner parts of the photographs.

g. Contract your project. What would it boil down to if squeezed and contracted to its simplest form?

In simplest form, the idea (I think this is what you are asking) of my project is creating order through the reflection and repetition of chaotic, disordered images. This is being done to show the different aspects of the same thing. 

l. Remove something from your project. How does it change?

If I just decide to do one photo instead of four, it takes away the idea of showing the different aspects of the same image. I would just be showing one option of the image instead of four. It would still be order from disorder, but it would not show the different sides of the same thing!

Synthetic or Natural?

Photographer Presentation 3: Charles Traub

Charles Traub received his BA from the University of Illinois and his MS from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. There really isn't much biographical information about him...I believe he lives in NY, as he is represented by two galleries in NY (Gitterman and Daniel Cooney Fine Art. He is the President of the Aaron Siskind Foundation and the co-founder of the here is new york: A Democracy of Images.
The work I will focus on is his "Still Life in America". Here, he has taken images from all over the country and arranged them in a way that each one corresponds to its origin within the US. The images make up the outline of the USA.
The composition of this still life is very distinct, as it is clear what he is trying to display from the arrangement of the images. The compositions of the individual images are very diverse: from landscape, to portrait, to random shots of what ever he thought was interesting (large coca-cola bottle). His intention is clear: to show images from different parts of the world and to arrange them so that they correspond to the area from which they came. His method seems to be that he took many snapshots around the country of what ever he thought was noteworthy, and showed them to his viewers in the shape of the USA. It is almost like seeing the United States through his eyes. This is a cool concept and would be something fun to explore---maybe not taking his idea entirely and making the shape of the USA---but taking images of everywhere we go, so that others can see how we view certain parts of the USA and/or the world.
The diversity in subject matter and content is very interesting---it keeps the viewer clicking on the images, wondering what he/she will see next.
http://www.charlestraub.com/#

Blog #19

Analyze your creative process by answering the following questions.

1. How do you ensure that your work is relevant to you? My work is relevant to me because I am somewhat obsessed with order and symmetry. I like for things to be chaotic, but in an orderly fashion. I believe my images reflect this idea in that they subject matter is random but the overall image is orderly and symmetrical. I also like the idea of abstraction in the sense that you cannot tell right away what the materials are in the image. I like the idea of the viewer wondering what is going on in the image, and I feel like this will occur when viewers look at these.
2. How do you ensure that your work is relevant to the contemporary world? My work is relevant to the contemporary world because I am trying new things in my process and I am exploring new options. I think my idea is a little bit out of the ordinary, so maybe that will apply to the idea of what is contemporary.
3. How do you brainstorm? Do you sketch? Do you use the camera as a brainstorming tool so that you “look” at the world through the frame of the camera and capture bits and pieces of your environment? I brainstorm by writing down my thoughts and ideas of what I think my photos might reflect. I also take pictures in two different ways: I either go in with a vague idea and just shoot and then find the image within the image later, or I decide what I want to shoot then I go shoot it with somewhat of an idea of what I want it to look like. I "sketch" on photoshop by taking pictures and playing with them until I find something that I like. I take careful consideration to frame and composition when I already know what I want to shoot. I like to use the camera as a brainstorming tool sometimes; I like to look through the lens and see what there is around me.
4. Do you combine elements of various media? How do you do this? Do you do it physically with printed images or objects? Do you combine elements virtually in the computer? In the past, I have combined scanned images with images taken with my SLR. I combined these particular images in photoshop. I would like to try this again, or maybe combine film photographs with scans...
5. How does your process relate to your ideas/concept? How does your process relate to your outcome/final pieces? Why are you using digital technology (if you are)? Why are you using analog technology (if you are)? I think my process relates to my idea because I am creating chaotic yet symmetrical and orderly images, and my idea relates to order and self-reflective images. Hmmm...if I am making images that self-reflect, maybe that can relate to me...maybe I can reflect myself more within my images? Maybe the idea that there are multiple sides to everything reflects the idea of why I am reflecting the images four times...I definitely have more than one side to me, and through these images I can prove that there are many sides to everything that can make up a new part of the same thing. Since I have made four different four-piece images out of one single image, I show that different things can come from one thing. Sorry I just had that thought...I am using digital technology, mainly SLR but also the scanner. I think I am using these because it is easier to edit in photoshop with these types of images; I want to try more manipulation with photoshop this semester so I think using digital is a better idea.
6. How do you judge your work? When do you think it “works”? When do you think it is “not working yet”? What criteria do you use to make these decisions? My imagery works, in some ways. I think it is pleasing to the eye, though it is a bit bizarre looking. Some of the images are creepy, and I want to steer away from that. I think the more creepy images are not working and I need to tone them down a bit (maybe with one of the options in photoshop). I don't know if my original idea is working...I believe the self-reflection  of the images is working, but the idea behind it isn't. Maybe the idea I just blurted out (above) is a bit better...I will think about it a bit more tonight and see if it becomes more clear.
7. How do ensure that your work is new, unique, ground-breaking, and/or you are breaking the mold/thinking outside the box/pushing the limits? I am not sure if my work is ground-breaking, but I think it is somewhat unique in that it is different from anything that I have ever seen. I am sure people have made reflective images before, but I think the idea I am developing is different from most things that others have done. I believe I am thinking outside the box in my development of the way I am shooting and the way I am putting images together...I recently stumbled upon an idea for the content of my images, and I think it could be successful...:)

What am I doing?!