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Tue, 21 Apr 2009Thomas Couderc and Clement Vauchez: “Bêtes de mode”
Thomas Couderc and Clement Vauchez are part of the photography and design duo called Helmo. For this entry I will be looking at a specific photo installation that they did at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris. It is called “Bêtes de mode” and features 13 photos of humans superimposed onto the same surface as an animal. The effect of the overlapping images of blue humans over and/or under red animals is really quite interesting. It puts an interesting twist on the problem of unique fashion photography. These photographs are meant to sell something, but they take a giant step towards artistic work that I could see being placed in an actual gallery instead of a department store.
The feeling of the photographs is bold, somewhat otherworldly, a bit cold, and rather mysterious. The human figures are set against pure black so that there is no context of environment. The human is always shown with a blue tint and completely opaque, while the animal figure, be it bear, bird, insect, or lion, has a red tint and is layered over top of the human with varying opacity. Because the two images are so well melded it is hard to think of them separately; it gives the feel that the animal is a sort of spirit to the human or that it reflects some of their personality.
If I were to judge this photo based on its advertising ability I would venture to guess that it was at least very attention getting. The choice of bright colors against black really draws the eye, as does the play between the two figures; it takes time to try and look at each separately, and then together as one being—while some people might think this would be distracting and busy, the interplay is intriguing more than anything else. The images are also memorable because they are striking and unique.
Posted at 21:12 #
Mon, 20 Apr 2009Shazeen Samad Photo Review
Shazeen Samad is from Maldives, an island country about four hundred and thirty five miles south-west of Sri Lanka. He began to take photos simply as a hobby, taking pictures of nature and various subjects in nature, but eventually it grew into a passion. His favorite themes are fashion and nature photography which is easy to see when looking through his portfolio (http://www.shazeensamad.com/index.php).
The website describes his philosophy of photography as trying to “capture the pure spirit and beauty of life, to tell a story or to create a personality and to communicate an idea through the art of photography.” If this is what he’s trying to do, I think he’s doing a good job.
While all of his photographs that I’ve had the chance to look at seem well thought out (even if that involves quick decisions) I have a preference for the ones that capture people in action—people enjoying life, people in a natural setting. His fashion photography, while clean and beautiful, doesn’t jump out at me in a unique way—I’ve seen plenty of beautiful women in seductive poses selling clothes and perhaps more than clothes—nothing really all that new there. However, his photographs of people outside of a studio setting are what really draw me to his images because they DO capture the spirit of life, tell a story, and create personality. Since these are some of his own criteria for his work I think it makes sense to use it in my own judgment of how well his photos work.
Take, for instance, the photo called “Learning to Fly.” A young man exudes energy and athleticism as he seems to hang suspended above the viewer, feet extended in opposite directions and arms out for balance. He is framed by bright blue sky and sunrays glow on his brown skin. How did he get there? Jumping up? Jumping off? Which way is his momentum? He does not smile and yet he seems happy; happy to show off his skill, his style, and his personality. He looks down on the viewer and this gives the feeling of superiority. Not really in a mean way, but a way which causes a yearning to be with him up in the sky. The colors, while minimal, are very vibrant and bounce off of each other, adding to the free and energetic feel.
Besides creating an image of energy, personality, and life, I think this photo is also very well organized formally. The lines of the subject’s legs span the entire bottom of the frame, curving upward, and causing the viewers eye to move through the picture. The arms are also in a very pleasing spot, the lines created playing well of those of the legs.
I could never take one of Samad’s photos to talk about the whole, but in terms of this single photo, I am impressed by his skill and creativity. If you have time I would encourage you to look through his portfolio, if not for the skillful photography, at least to soak in the wonderful beauty of Samad’s home country islands. After a long Goshen winter, I wouldn’t mind a visit.
Posted at 21:06 #
Mon, 13 Apr 2009Topics and Issues: Greg Lehman
Greg Lehman is known for his uniquely built, eco-friendly houses. While building was something he became interested after college, a sense of design and aesthetics carry over from his art major at Goshen College, where he mostly focused on jewelry. I think the most interesting thing he talked about was his strawbale and cob house. He built it entirely out of raw materials and tried to make it as ecologically friendly as possible. Some of the local materials he used include round logs and hardwood for beams and fieldstone for the base of the walls. The reason it is called a strawbale and cob house is because the walls are made of these materials. These walls are thick in order to keep heat in in the cold months and cool air in during the hot summers. Many windows keep the inside light so that electric lights can be used less. I also really liked the efficient use of space that he achieved by keeping all the living areas (kitchen, dinning table) on the small side and tucked right up against each other.
The thing that amazes me the most is that this man with hardly any background in construction or house building or design could get into building houses. Obviously he did a lot of research before he got started and definitely made some mistakes as he went, but I’m quite impressed with all that he has accomplished. It is especially neat to see the progression from his first house to his second, which uses fewer raw materials and focuses more on being cost effective. I have no idea exactly what I will be doing after college so it is always great to see someone experimenting in a new area than what they studied in college and creating wonderful things.
Posted at 23:33 #
Topics and Issues: Kristi Glick
Kristi Glick Shenk is a Goshen College graduate who recently shared her jewelry, enameling, and photography with current students in the Hershburger art gallery. During her presentation she also shared some of her path on the way to becoming a post-graduate jeweler. She talked about the 6-8 month process of choosing and applying for a graduate art program and her personal struggles during her first year. She compared it to jumping off a boat; she had to do a lot of catching up to do and dealt with stress caused by feelings of under-qualification.
To be quite honest, these parts of her presentation didn’t exactly make me feel like running off to apply for a graduate program right after college. And, even though I wasn’t really planning on it anyway, perhaps this is a not such a bad thing. It is not bad to hear about how much work and time and stress and frustration it would likely take to make it through grad school, because then I can’t sugar coat my perceptions; I am forced to face reality. If I ever were to decide that graduate school was what I wanted to do, I’d rather go into it knowing that it will be very hard and time consuming instead of falsely convincing myself that it might possibly be just a barrel o’ fun.
However, if there weren’t at least some aspects of graduate school that would be rewarding, there would be no likely chance that I or anyone else would choose to go through such a grueling process. Part of what would draw me to continue a study in art or even to just incorporate art into wherever I go in life, resonates with Kristi’s reason to do so herself. In reflecting on her life she found that creating and being creative was what had made her the happiest, brought her the most joy, and where her most positive interactions with the world had taken place. Though my experiences of creation are of course different, I have found that when I am in a setting where I can bring out my own creativity, I am a much happier person than otherwise, even if the process can be grueling.
It is interesting that in order to find joy, it is often necessary to work and struggle through the things we might otherwise want to avoid. This, for me, was the most important point of Kristi’s presentation. And I may not be able to fully understand it until I have lived a little bit more of my life, but it will surely be helpful to remember along the way.
Posted at 23:30 #
Tue, 7 Apr 2009Review of David Kempfs photo blog
David's photo web gallery depicts portraits of three males about his age (I happen to know that they are his friends and housemates). The two main subjects are Micheal Martin and Paul Boars shown in front of a wooden door. In a few of the pictures props are used, such as a bottle of sprite, matches, a metal toy (the name of which I do not know), a present, and a cat. There is a somewhat high specularity of light which casts an orange glow and leaves a bit of a shadow behind the subject. In the most obviously worked on photo, the subject (Paul) looks into the flame of about eight lit matches. He is wearing a metal ring and a dark green shirt. There is a dark vignetting around the picture which brings the viewers attention to the subjects face. He looks as if he is in control of the fire, though perhaps there is a twinge of obsession in his eyes that leads the viewer to wonder whether he might do something without thinking--as if perhaps he loves the fire a little too much. The photo works on one level because it conveys a personality--someone who is comfortable playing with fire. Though the flame covers part of Paul's face, we can still see enough of him to be able to read his face and how he feels about what he is holding. It is formally pleasing to the eye because the shapes are dynamically diagonal and curving. There is also a play of depth between the face and the hand and flame, probably achieved with a low aperture setting which makes the picture in focus only around the hand and flame. The face is still not all that blurry, but the little bit that it is works well. I like this picture because, even though I know the subject, I still wonder what he is going to do/did once the flames got down a little closer to his fingers. However, if this picture was meant to capture the essence of who Paul is (which is certainly not necessarily the case but should probably be considered when looking at portraits) this might not the best representation. I wonder if there is a way to show that Paul may at first seem unapproachable but is actually also very compassionate and friendly. I of course can only give this suggestion because I know Paul (to a certain degree); other critiques of this photo could likely not take into account who the person really is or what they are like.
Quite frankly, I think this is a good batch of photos that shows the experimentation that went into getting at least a number great shots. Nice work David!
go to this link for his webgallery: http://www.goshen.edu/~davidjk/webgallery/index.htm
Posted at 19:49 #
Thu, 19 Mar 2009Review of Antoinette Frissell
Antoinette Frissell, also known as Toni Frissell, lived from 1907 to 1988 (the year after I was born). Over the course of her photographic life she has become known for shooting women in action, world war two, and fashion photography with a 'snap shot' style. I am first attracted to her images because they are very often in black and white and incredibly striking. This comes from a combination of stark contrast in value but also the sense of emotion or narrative in the photos.
Her fashion photography was some of the first to show the model outside of the studio, which helped her to create scenes incorporating the environment, whether natural or human made. She worked for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Sports Illustrated. Her war photographs come from her work with American Red Cross, the Eighth Army Air Force, and eventually her role as the official photographer for the Woman's Army Corps. Part of her work was part of a media champagne under review by President Franklin Roosevelt in order to send a positive message about women and African Americans in the Armed Forces. She also captured images of nurses, front-line soldiers, WACs, African-American airmen, and orphaned children. One of her most fitting quotes: "I'd rather stalk with a camera than a gun."
Posted at 09:02 #
Thu, 12 Mar 2009Review of Bob Smith
Bob Smith is a photographer I learned about through JPG Magazine. Mostly I just wanted to find something new to try and I stumbled across this article on night photography. I’ve since tried taking some shots after the sun goes down but not with much success. And while I’m interested in attempting this further, my one experience has given me a stronger appreciation for what Bob Smith is able to capture using long exposure times, a steady tripod, a cable release, and a lot of patience.
His article, though mostly about how to take night shots, gives a little look into who he is as a photographer. He writes, “The first word that comes to mind when I think about nighttime photography is ‘solace.’ It’s peaceful when I’m out at night. There’s usually no one around for miles and I’m surrounded by the sweet sounds of nature. It can be scary and cold, but it’s all worth it when you come home with one of those rare images that only comes out at night.” ‘Solace,’ I think, captures the mood of many of this night photos with their calm light and usual lack of people (occasionally a ghostly image of a figure will be incorporated.) The ones that are especially successful capture a horizon line that includes land, water, and sky.
He also seems to be quite experienced, rattling off a list of things to pack (I didn’t even know what a bubble level or a cable release were at first), as well as giving advice on picking a spot, checking a lunar chart for the best night, and how to experiment with exposures to achieve the best shot with patience and practice. Clearly, as reflected by my single attempt at this form of photography, I lack both of these at the moment.
Bob Smith is not, however, only a night photographer, which I discovered when I looked on the web. The JPG Magazine article led me to his blog (notraces.com) and I spent some time meandering though his site using the ‘random’ button. His children seem to be an important subject in his life right now. I’ve also appreciated seeing a lot of shots in film, because it’s just so much more common to see digital online. It’s hard to say whether or not he has a certain style, but I think this is because he seems to be taking photos all the time of everything. On random I can come across a picture of this daughter, an object covered in snow, balloons against a wash of sky, gulls in a parking lot, his friends, his wife, his house, a dog, a barn, a cityscape, etc, etc, etc…If there is anything that ties them together I think it is the dominance of un-peopled shots. And he captures settings well. I still think his most striking shots are those taken at night and someday I hope to get a handle on capturing part of the day that usually has me packing up my camera. For more images, check out his blog at notraces.com
Posted at 09:15 #
Tue, 10 Mar 2009Topics and Issues: Hung Liu
On February 15, Hung Liu gave a presentation on her life and paintings as the 2009 Eric Yake Kenagy visiting artist. She is well known around the world for her murals and large paintings and even was on a TV program in China were she taught how to draw and paint. In her presentation, she talked about growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution, her exhibits in many parts of the world, and showed many images. Her murals are often of people, though she practiced in secret during the Revolution on landscapes, determined to do at least one painting every day that was not related to propaganda and to improve her own skill.
I think it is most interesting to hear about an artist living during the Cultural Revolution because of the hardships so many artists went though. While on the China SST this past fall we learned a lot about writers and poets being persecuted and either killed or driven to kill themselves. Some of our lecturers even said that the Cultural Revolution is wrongly named because there was in fact a lack of culture during this time—a destruction of culture. But during my time in China we never learned very much about how artists or painters were treated during the Revolution. I assumed that they too would have had to be careful, and so it makes sense that Hung Liu would need to practice painting in secret. I wish I had thought to ask what would have happened to her if she had been found out. This also makes me wonder if I would ever be able to be so studious if the conditions were made so difficult and dangerous. In any case, I think the influence of this time in her life on her paintings is beautiful and somewhat haunting at the same time. The faces of her drawings exude endurance, no matter what the hardship. The drippy characteristic of many of her paintings seems to portray a deep sadness and a weathered-ness—one that is not engulfing but something that can be dealt with.
Posted at 12:28 #
Thu, 5 Feb 2009Photo Critique of Chris Jordan's 'Running the Numbers'
“Exploring around our country’s shipping ports and industrial yards, where the accumulated detritus of our consumption is exposed to view like eroded layers in the Grand Canyon, I find evidence of a slow-motion apocalypse in progress. I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination.”—Chris Jordan.
Chris Jordan’s series of images called ‘Running the Numbers’ is a visual way to help people understand the statistics of our nation’s consumption. He digitally stitches together smaller pictures of anything from oil barrels, light bulbs, and plastic bottles to Barbie dolls and toothpicks to create massive images filled with millions of the particular object. Each represents how much/many of that object is being consumed in America over a given time period. For instance, one image depicts 320,000 light bulbs—equal to the kilowatt hours of electricity wasted in the United States every minute. Another shows 426,000 cell phones—the number retired by the US every day. One of the largest depicts nine million wooden ABC blocks, equal to the number of American children with no health insurance coverage in 2007. It is 16 feet tall by 32 feet wide, 18 square panels total.
It seems to me that these images need to be seen up close and far away. On the website that I looked at there were both of these views presented which was quite helpful. However, I think the works would definitely benefit in the setting of a museum where their full size can be seen from far and then up close—the impact of the visual statistics would be grander.
In terms of composition, the pictures are nothing special. They are generally flat with little contrast. On some, the objects create the image of something familiar when seen from far away. For instance, the picture that represents the number of aluminum cans used in the US every thirty seconds (106,000) looks like Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The image is not new, but the fact that it is made with 106,000 aluminum cans is; this emphasis is not on the composition as much as the message by way of the massive numbers. The fact is, each of us consumes. And while we are familiar with a few light bulbs and aluminum cans, we see consumption in a different light when we realize how much all of our waste adds up.
He writes of his works, “…when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry.”
Jordan has had 16 solo exhibits around the U.S. as well as in Spain, Italy, and Ireland. He is also the creator of the photo series ‘In Katrina's Wake, Portraits of Loss From An Unnatural Disaster’ which captures images of the hurricane’s aftermath and it’s personal effects.
Photos: Cell Phones, 2007 60x100 inches; Cans Seurat, 2007 60x92 inches; Building Blocks, 2007 16 feet tall x 32 feet wide in eighteen square panels, each sized 62x62"
Posted at 00:15 #
Wed, 4 Feb 2009Excellent
Now that I've gotten the first entry out of the way, here is my first assignment for Photography 315: a series of winter images.
Posted at 10:04 #
This is a test
This is so I don't obsess about what this first entry is about. Basically, I should put some photos up soon. Woot.
Posted at 10:02 #
Fri, 18 Apr 2008For Photo Comm
Here we are rockin' out in Photo Comm class. We're
learning how to put photos on our blog. woot.
Posted at 14:13 #
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