Critique Reflection

My critique was very helpful this time. It helped me to finalize the presentation details that I was struggling to work out. I've decided to do a series of prints which will be 10x10. I'm going to frame them and hopefully arrange them at the same height so that each print may be viewed properly. I am going to still use the audio however,  I am going to use headphones so that viewers can consider the prints on their own merit, and then pair them with the audio as well. I think the photographs portray my concept well enough so that they can stand on their own, but I think the audio will allow for a deeper connection with some of the viewers.

Critique Reflection

In my critique I showed the work from my previous post. These were a small series of digital shot that I completed in preparation for my thesis project. I am pretty in my ideas and in the concept and execution of the final project however, I am still dealing with presentation issues. I was originally planning on doing a series of prints, about 20 in total. I decided last week that I wanted to interview my models and have the audio playing as the audience looks at the photographs. This problem with this is that depending on wall space, some might have to be viewed higher or lower than eye level and I really want the viewers to get a close up look at the photographs and see all of the details. If i do a lot of photographs, which I intend on, they will most likely have to be small so that they can all fit on the wall. My classmate suggested that a definite positive of this display is that the viewers can stay and see the photographs at their leisure and more or less time on the photographs. My other presentation idea was that the pictures would be viewed in slideshow. This would eliminate the space issue as well as the size issue. However, I would only have the photograph viewed for a certain amount of time and the viewer may not get as much time to see it as they would like. however, this has the advantage of the audio being synched to the photograph as another classmate mentioned. Whereas the audio would be playing but you wouldn't necessarily know what voice goes with which pictures, and what I have to think about in the coming weeks is if that is important. For now I'll just have to start shooting, see how many pictures I get and see how it starts to shape as the semester progesses. I wrote down the names of a view artists that were suggested to me such as Jenny Seville, John Copeland, and Hannah Wilke, however I think I spelt one wrong...Milan Rotenburg Squeece? Or something like that and I couldn't find anything on that artist. The other 3 I found. If there was a specific series or image that you were thinking of when you suggested the artist please let me know!

November Series

This is an ongoing project that will most likely be my thesis for next semester. I'm asking women What part of your body do you like the least." The results were varied. Most women were able to think of something to be photographed, however one woman said that she was completely comfortable with her body and marks of age that we all try to fight are normal and happen to everyone. This was a refreshing response. I've chosen to do this project because of the constant focus in our society on body image, and specifically the focus on women's body image. It is difficult to open a magazine or watch TV without seeing some sort of advertisement for a better butt or abs. I recently just watched a program called Bridalplasty where the contestants fight for plastic surgeries so that they can become the perfect bride. I hope to show a different side of the female body and show positive light on the parts that we may not necessarily be comfortable with.

MFA Exhibition Review: YOU ARE HERE I AM

The first year MFA exhibition turned out to be an interesting show. The show was hung well, clean, simple, and well spaced.  From a curatorial standpoint, most of the rooms seemed to flow nicely. I commend their efforts to create a professional looking show.  However, I did not like the method in which they chose to display the artists’ names. Whenever I walk into a gallery, I typically pick up the press release on my way out so that I am not carrying around pieces of paper while looking at the artwork. This also allows me to reflect on the work of the show before seeing what the gallery’s goals for the show are. So when I first walked in, I did not even see the map on the table. As I was walking through the show I kept wondering who the artists were and why the MFA students had decided not to include the names.  Typically when I go to a show, I will write down the artist’s name or the name of the piece so that I can refer back to it later, however it was difficult to do for this show. Since I have worked in that gallery for this class, and know the layout, I was able to decipher from the many pictures I have taken that include the orientation and layout of the rooms, the names and titles of the pieces. I do however, think that the design of the map and the color chosen for the sign were nice. The title of the show is simple and appropriate; the audience is obviously here, at the show. Since this is an exhibition displaying the talent of the MFA students, “here I am” is a statement that is perhaps saying “this is me, this is my artwork, here I am for you to view.” 

Doug McLean "Untilled"

One of the grad students came in and critiqued my classes’ paintings because my teacher was absent. After looking at my artwork, he told me to view the artwork of Doug McLean.  His work relates to my current paintings in the level of abstraction and simplicity. McLean has abstracted a pumpkin into flat simple shapes. His palette for this set of paintings is very restricted. He predominantly uses two colors in each of these paintings. Then, he creates a shade of each of these colors. What makes these paintings interesting is that the intensity and value of each color is the same. 

Doug McLean "Untilled"

Doug McLean "Untilled"

The light red is the same intensity as the light purple and the dark red is the same intensity as the dark purple. I am unsure of his process, but I wonder if he did these paintings simultaneously and used the same palette for each painting. Throughout the paintings there are similar reds and purples and if they were done concurrently this allows for the manipulation of the colors. It is interesting to see what happens when the red is placed on a dark background, then in the foreground, then in the negative space and how that red changes depending on the colors it next to. This is a concept that I am working on in my own paintings. I want to continue to explore the relationships of color through placement and space, which is a concept McLean seems to be working on. I was happy to see this type of work in the show, and overall satisfied with the show in general. However, I was pretty disappointed in the amount of photography in the show, or perhaps photographers in the program. Since I am a photograph major, it is always nice to look at the work of others in similar programs.

Studio Journal

A professor recently showed me the work of Sparky Camponella. His series 40 over forty directly relates to the idea of beauty and the self-consciousness that women feel, and how they are ashamed of their aging body. While I will not be shooting full nudes, I hope that I will be able to photograph women who are able to rise above the scrutiny just as these women have. I'm planning to shoot this pproject with a 4x5 camera so that all of the details will be picked up, and it is interesting to see that Camponella used the same type of camera.

Studio Journal

I recently started to look at the work of a photography, Elinor Carucci. Her work is very personal and mainly revolves around her family. In her new series My Children there is a striking image of her nude body after a emergency c section and child birth. It is a difficult image to look at so I will not be posting it here. It can be found on her page http://www.elinorcarucci.com/recent.html . In a documentary I saw of her she discusses how she could not believe the way her body had changed since pregnancy. She was upset with the change but she said that taking a picture of her body acted as a type of photo therapy. Carucci became at peace with the way she had changed. For my next series I will be photographing parts of a women's body that they may feel uncomfortable or self-conscious about. Many women are unhappy or dissatisfied with the way their body looks and I intend to illuminate their issues. However, by photographing these parts of the body, I hope this serves as the same time of photo therapy and realization that the model's body is fine the way it is.

Studio Journal

I recently completed my series for October. This series was an exploration into a friend of mine and how she looks, as well as how her space looks when she does not expect to be seen. In working with her it became apparent that she is comfortable with herself. I hope to continue with this idea and do few more women in the same fashion.