Justine Kurland Artist Lecture

Juatine Kurland's work was in the romantic, dreamy tradition. She used women to create and display what she viewed as "American mythology." She thought that this american mythology was represetned by the female teenae runaway. For years she traveled the country searching for teenage girls to pose for her in the American wastelands between urban, suburban and rural. She often had them in underpasses or next to highways to show hiding and travel. She wanted to show the "search for utopia," as she called it. Another way she has taken her art is to show pepole in communes. She liked to create stoic, simple portraits that related to the civil war tradition of portraits. This was another project that involved her road tripping all over America. She to me creates art by emersing herself into the American mytholog and tradition that she tries so hard to display. She seemed to me as much of a runaway as her subjects. A nomad that lived out of her van and met people along the way to help create her vision. Her most recent work involved pregnant women and mothers with their children, nude in nature. This display of motherhood and mother nature entertwined with the body and search for utopia envelops most all of her ideals that he has been attempting to create with her other work. As a mother herself it shows that her life is mirroring her art in many ways. It makes me wonder where else she will be taking her art?

Su Friedrich Artist Lecture

"Personal is political" was the phrase that I remember most from Su Friedrich's lecture about her artwork. Her films were powerfully political and personal. The advice that she gave to we aspiring artists was to "let accidents happen" which I found is something that is good to be reminded of. I really enjoyed her film "Rules of the road" the most. This film was videotaping the car that her ex lover had driven. The stationwagon plagued her everywhere she went. Most everyone can commiserate with this event, seeing a part of their ex almost everywhere they go. I think that her opening with the playing cards that had the letters on it was genious. I liked her connection of solitary gameplay with newly single and being haunted by the fact that she was now alone. The reminder of the loss of a playing partner and life partner. She saw the car everywhere and decided documenting it would be a way to document her pain of loss and seperation.

Kate Gilmore Artist Lecture

I felt that the Kate Gilmore lecture was really inspiring. I thought that the way she took her art and how she got to the point that shes at now isn't as stuck up as some other artists I have heard talk. She began by video taping herself in a cocktail dress trying to escape plaster. I liked how her vision and art is generally minimalist. Her constructions are very confined and put you in a very distinct environment, ther is no room for distraction. My two favorites are Heartbreaker and Wallflower. These two pieces caught my eye because I found them to be very dramatic. I loved the destruction of the man made wooden heart in Heartbreaker. I was really intrigued when she stated that she couldn't believe her strength that she had throughout that piece. That heavy piece of wood hanging was manuevered with ease when she was in the throws of anger and frustration with her "heart". I felt uncomfertable thinking about what scenarios cause such anger or desperation towards something as delicate as a heart. The other piece that caught my eye was Wallflower. This piece consisted of Kate throwing furniture down a hole so that she could ultimately climb down it to get to the floor below. I watched doubting that she had enough stuff above to fill the floor for her to climb down. It made me nervous, hoping that it was also stable enough to hold her and not collapse the moment she stepped on it. I enjoyed her ability to make me feel uncomfertable and anxious. I think that that skill helps her art be more interesting than other performane artist's work.

Submissions

I mailed the two mandatory submissions on November 15th. These are the two envelopes I sent out, I have a receipt from the post office that has the date if this isnt proof enough.

Vcu artist

Although not enrolled in the Photography Department I have been inspired by the art of one Clara Hayward. Not only an old friend but what I consider to be a very talented painter in the painting department. She uses color and form in a way that creates a connection of concept and aesthetics. Often her projects are based on the exploration of literary works and the differences between images and words. She bases a lot of her work off of unconscious thought, trying to discover the meaning of it and what happens once these thoughts are written down. Her series of images where she let her hand write what her mind was thinking over and over again was compelling to me. The stream of consciousness style of her writing on canvases and long rolls of paper created an aesthetic mess of lines and curves. It made me question text in itself as an art form. The way we produce letters and connect them to words or sounds I found very interesting. I love her work that is bright. She uses multiple mediums and sizes to produce her work but I love that she has a very distinct style. Clara uses shapes to question how to view text and how we already do. She plays with the negative space on the page just as much as the positive dark lines. I think that her dedication to questioning the subconscious and the mind, and the text we see daily is an admirable quest. I enjoy her style of abstaraction and her use of color to create a dreamworld in some of her works. Moslty I like to look at them. Her flowing yet chaotic use of paint is hypnotizing to the viewer in a very strong way.

mario testino

"CNN: Describe the conflict to do with commercial versus artistic fashion photography.

Testino: I like to believe that I'm not just a photographer. I quite like the idea of commerce and art mixed together, in the sense that our job as fashion photographers -- whether you like it or not -- can be done very commercially or very artistically. Our job is to make people want to buy clothes. That's what we do, and however much it is fascinating to have our pictures hanging on walls afterwards and selling as fine art prints, I think that our initial job is to sell clothes and magazines and whatever we're told to sell.

I like to believe that I do make a difference because my productions are expensive. I hire the best team of hair and make-up artists, the best team of set designers, the best stylists, the best models and when a company is spending all that money you want to make sure they're making a profit because otherwise you are redundant.

For a while I was criticized for it. Some people believe that as photographers we should be more artists than focus on commerce, but for me I chose fashion photography because I didn't choose to be a fine artist because I didn't want to be alone in a studio. I prefer seeing my work in a magazine and I like making a difference in how people see something."

This interview got me thinking about what we do with our careers as photographers. Our jobs are so defined and seperate. I related to Mario Testino's comment about being into commerce more than art because he didnt want to be alone in a studio. I think that most of us get into photography in order to work with people and have that interaction, or perhaps that was what drew me to it. I like that he was stating that the idea of commerce and art mixed together was interesting. I think that it should be more mixed together and less defined as sepearte things. I dont think that having something hung on a wall automatically declares that it is art. I love the fact that much of fashion photography can be read by a larger public and viewed as a very blatent use of artistic expression. Girls cut out your photographs and hang them on their walls, is this not another form of the spreading at your art to the masses? It is hung on a wall to be seen and appreciated, often for what is in the photograph more than how it was photographed by none the less it is still your art being shown to more and more people. Mario Testino is considered one of the top fashion photographers in the world right now. I find many more interesting but I do feel that its important to view whos on top and what they are creating.

Ellen Von Unwerth

This is the image that I want to base my assignment asked from me during my individual meeting last week. I found it in the Fashioning fiction book and found the series that this came from similar to my work in a few ways. The facial expressions are fairly indifferent to the photographer. They have a classy yet seductive feeling. I like that they are slightly blown out, the high contrast drew me immediately. They have a strong sense of drama and voyeurism that I couldn't escape looking at. I like that there are 2 women in the series, noth for the most part not even looking at the camera. They are obviously uninterested in the photographer. Two of them appear to be almost paparazzi like. The characters built I feel are very strong women. There is very rarely a hint of vulnerability. This was an ad for Alberta Ferretti in 1995. I am also interested in it because it appears so timeless. These photographs speak to many time periods, they are not overly dateable. I think shooting this will be fun to try to get the expression of high class designer type shown through low budget clothing and an inexperienced model. Should be interesting.

Ann Kroeber lecture

I found Ann Kroeber to be a very interesting speaker. My favorite thing that she said throughout her presentation was when she stated that "musicality is everywhere in the world if you only listen." I think that as photographers we often don't give sound a second thought. Listening to her passion for even the most smallest of tones and pitches produced from the smallest of actions was inspiring. It made me think of sound all afternoon in my apartment, the small clicks my laptop makes, my neighbors television moaning a bass line that is indecipherable to me through the wall that seperates us and my roommates heels clicking on the laminate kitchen floor. Most of the time I overlook or drown out these noises while my mind is focused on the ligthing and cropping of images seen from the corner of my eyes. I also was excited when she stressed that for her, her passion was making sounds to make images more powerful then they would be with none. I was interested in this point of view as we are taught to make the images as strong as we feel they could ever be. The differences in opinion on what makes something great and powerful was something that I noticed throughout the entire presentation. She had some powerful sounds and scenes from movies but I couldn't get past the images on the screen as being the main interest. If there were the sounds and a blank screen one could use their imagination and see in their minds whatever they desired; however, with images on the screen and no sound the viewer is much more apt at creating the sounds that they believe would actually be connected to the images. I think that if i saw a horse running I would be able to replicate that sound immediately, but if I heard a horse galloping I could possibly not immediately recognize it. Its fascinating the debate between sound and image. I really enjoyed the presentation for prompting me to re-evaluate how I hear and see things together and sepeartely.

I just bought the book Fashioning fiction. After looking at the photographs in the book I came to a conclusion about the type of work that I want to make. However I am concerned about trying to make what I want to make without it looking cliche or like everything that is already out there. Its frsutrating to see so much work that I feel like I could make, or have wanted to make. I know that it is easily said that postmodernism says that nothing is new but in my heart I can not believe that. I can't go into a project or a career with the preconcieved notion that nothing that I ever do will be original, even if thats true. I am over the belief that anything i make isnt orginal i think mainly because if I believe that I won't ever even try to. I feel the despair of postmodernism is not a challenge but a discouragement. I work better under the hope that what I will make will be something that no one has, and if I as an individual with different experiences than anyone else is creating it then how is it said that it has been done before? I wnt to create beaustiful and interesting and edgy and dark narrative fashion photography. A cut throat industry I feel that I need to develop the stubborness to do as postmodernist photographers do and ask why? Why is postmodernism even relevant to my personal work as an artist? I want to make work. The work is mine, therefore it is original? Too many questions.

September 3

This week I attempted to try something I have never personally tried. I wanted to try playing with lighting on the street, using ambient and 2 LED flashlights. These three pictures are examples of something that I think i want to try to investigate further into. I like the appearance of a spotlight on her face while the majority of the rest of the picture is the usual night tungston glow.

wed 6:10

Today I went to my Women in Literature class and was confronted with an inner dilema. After listening to my animated teacher discuss feministic views on beauty pageants and reality TV. Talking about how women "needed to be escorted" and about female's in themedia being objectified, I found myself torn on my opinion of the matter. As a woman I am on the side of what shes saying, but I feel like as an artist attempting to be in the fashion photography business I should be more open minded about it. I feel like its hard to discern where the line is drawn of where a woman using her sexuality for herself or to show her strength is different than the woman being told to be suggestive and is being objectified. I have no desire to bring women back after coming so far in equality in society between men and women, however I also believe that if a woman wants to pose suggstively or passively then it should be her decision and not some angry feminist. Where is the line between objectiying and haveing someone use their body to their advantage, thus ojectifying the viewer's own weaknesses?

1st Assignment

The photography that I am most influenced and inspired by is looked down upon by many professionals. I view fashion photography as a medium that allows a photographer to mix art, fashion, drama and commercialism. I want to create work that includes it all in an interesting and inspiring way to even the most ordinary person who views it. One photographer whose work I enjoy looking at is Patrick Demarchelier. I find his images to be strong and involved. I am certainly more of a fan of his narrative fashion work such as the image seen above than his more commercial, typical straight on fashion images. When I first saw these two pictures I was automatically drawn to how dramatic it was. It seems to me that it coud be possible to write story after story describing what happened before or what will happen directly after the shot was taken. I am interested in the desaturated look with only one color popping. It makes the red all that more impressive.
Another photographer that has always been a favorite of mine is Annie Leibovitz. It seems an easy choice, she's very well known and has been making amazing images for years. My attraction to her work is localized on her large set narratives often relating to fairy tales and old stories. My favorite was in Vogue and it invloved the story The Wizard Of Oz as its focal point and concept. Keira Knightley was the celebrity model and many other artists were invloved as characters in the shoot, for example Chuck Close, Francesco Clemente, Jasper Johns and Jeff Koons. Her work with celebrity's is not something that I am striving to accomplish but her work with sets, lighting, color, posing and overall apperance I find for lack of a better word magical. Her work evokes a dreamy feeling in me that only gets stronger the more I learn about photography and the more I look at the images. I would love to be able to use old narratives sucessfully in a non cheesy way very artistically while at the same time promoting a specific fashion trend. I find the challenge of pushing typical fashion portraiture to a higher art form as intruging as anything else. I want to create a portfolio that can work with art and fashion and beauty and drama and be viewed as a high art form


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