Kate Grossman 09

Monday 13

2009-04-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Eno Henze

Eno Henze

Eno was born in Frankfurt Germany in 1978 and has achieved a lot for such a young age. His pieces are elegant and his love for science is evident in his work. He has had numerous exhibitions and he continues to explore how the world works. Through his use of simple, naturally occurring patterns, we are exposed to something like never before.

"A generative artist whose ambivalence towards the use of computers only serves to give his work a greater depth. While his high-end interaction design for Meso is impressive, his work with spatialized computer drawings like Wirklichkeitsschaum and The Human Factor show a conceptual depth combined with a great attention to formal composition."

Article: http://www.aurora.org.uk/?lid=45

Website: http://www.enohenze.de/

Interview : http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/inspiration/simple-elegance-eno-henze-rethinks-wall-art-077744

Thursday 12

2009-04-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Four members from the Yerba Buena Chapter sat down on August 21st 1993 to discuss contemporary photography. Issues including weather or not "contemporary" is an appropriate name, and weather or not contemporary photography should be judged in its own category were addressed. In the 65 member audience , more than three fourths of the people agreed that the term contemporary is not the best choice. Phrases including imaginative, manipulative, and stimulating the mind were all thrown up into the air for discussion on which should become the new contemporary.

"How the end products are achieved is not as important, as the final results. The picture itself, is the bottom line; it's the end result that counts, not the manner in which it's achieved. To this there were resounding seconds." Often judges claim they don't understand an image and for that reason they don't even consider the photograph. It's important to notify the judges of the term's actual meaning before the judging occurs. A better understanding is necessary for contemporary photography.

My series that i've created this year without a doubt can be catagorized as contemporary. With my abstract shapes and fluid lines, my subject matter is usually questioned. I feel that a lot of times my work is dismissed becuase the prints seem to have no content at first glance. Way wrong!

Cox Fran. "Contemporary photography-on-going debate over what constitutes 'contemporary' photography". FindArticles. March 1994. 28 April 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_n3_v60/ai_14949850/.

Monday 12

2009-04-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Ernst Haas

Haas was born in 1921 in Vienna Austria and he stayed there through medical school. At age 26, he left to work for the magazine Heute as a photographer. Known for his photo essay on prisoners of war coming home to Vienna, Ernst was offered an opportunity to join Magnum Photos. Life Magazine gave him a 24-page spread of color photos in 1953 and soon after he published his first book Elements. " Some of Haas' most famous pictures were deliberately out-of-focus and blurred, creating strong visual effects." In 86' he received the Hasselblad Award for his hard work and beautiful photographs. Haas had over 90 different exhibits over a 40 year span and won multiple awards including the Gold medal for the Art Directors Club of New York and Philadelphia too.

Website: www.ernst-haas.com

Show: http://www.nyphotofestival.com/site/?page_id=60

Anderson Submission

2009-04-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Couldn't take a decent picture in the gallery so this is the best I got!

Thursday 11

2009-04-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Artist Sylvia White wrote an article on how to get the most you can out of a gallery opening, as well as details on ways to prepare for an exhibition. She quickly helps us recognize that after our body of work is created , there is still a lot of work to be done and relaxing should not be on our to-do list. In her words exactly, " This is the opportunity to figure out a way to leverage this experience into something more productive and profitable." White encourages making a set of announcements for the upcoming show using the image that represents your series the most. The opening reception of the exhibition is crucial because this is the time where you can talk to family and friends about your work. Preparing a few statements on your process and outside influences will help to guide the conversation. During the actual exhibition the main goal of the artist is to get everyone in the gallery to see his/her work. Sylvia states that carrying around a bundle of your announcements is key. Pass them out to everyone who comes along, and even before the show you should put a stack wherever you go. In restaurants, neighboring businesses, shops etc! Pulling a show together is a ton of work but, "Remember, enjoy the process, that's what making art is all about." - Sylvia

White Sylvia. Preparing For An Exhibition- How To Get The Most Out Of This Valued Experience. Art Advice. 2008. 1 April 2009. - http://www.artadvice.com/advice/article21.php

March lecture 2

2009-03-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Safety Lecture
This past week I attended a lecture in Harris Hall concerning our safety as students here at VCU. A panel of 10 people who all serve an important role here at VCU stood before us to answer any questions we had. Prior to the lecture, students had sent in questions through a forum and those were the topics we discussed that evening. Issues ranging from "bums in the school hallways" to "the worst crosswalk ever ( between the library and commons)" were discussed by people like VCU's Head Nurse and our new Chief of Police. In regards to the worst spot on campus ( crosswalk) , the school has decided that the location of the walkway is too close to Laurel St to put in a new light. An option of covering up the crosswalk was brought up but they felt like students wouldn't abide by it. We are so used to running across whenever we get a chance that they didn't think we would ever be able to change our ways. In my opinion that's ridiculous. I have had too many close calls with almost hitting students due to the lack of organization of that area. Something must be done! This lecture was really beneficial to those of us who attended, I was glad to hear some of the things that VCU plans to change in the future...even though I won't be there to enjoy it!

Monday 10

2009-03-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

For this Monday's post I've decided to do something a little different. Typically we highlight an artist of interest but I have come across this amazing website that just won't fit in to the normal blog structure. I know I could have formatted this to work as a Thursday blog but it just seemed more appropriate to do for Monday. I felt it was important to show the work of these few artists rather than focus on one. These photographs are more scientific than anything and for that reason It would be hard to write about the photographer ( They don't have an art background and I can't find credible outside sources of their work!) . This website called Wellcome Images is " one of the world's richest and most unique collections, with themes ranging from social history to contemporary health care and biomedical science." Each image is available to the public in digital form which is so convenient. From ancient Sanskrit manuscripts to Tibetan Buddhist paintings, you can find a great variety of information and types of imagery. The work that I have focused on is classified as part of the " Biomedical Collection" which is a compilation of over 40,000 high-quality images selected from the UK's research institutions and leading teaching hospitals.

The first image in the group of 4 is by a man named Yorgos Nikas. This is a beautiful picture of a human embryo after "zona drilling". The second image, done by David Gregory and Debbie Marshall is a color enhanced image of what a lung looks like on its inner surface. Image number 3 is by Annie Cavanaugh and its a picture of red blood cells. Lastly, Liz Hirst shows us what an actual split end looks like...not so great.

http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/

Submission 2 PDN

2009-03-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

Thursday 10

2009-03-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

“The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image,” Mr. Adams once wrote, “often leads to creative disaster.”
It's a natural feeling to want to replace something old with something newer and better. In the digital electronics world, the number of pixels in both cameras and camcorders is so important to consumers. All though many believe the myth to be true, higher megapixels do produce great output but its actually not all that important. When looking at purchasing a product like a camera, people tend to look past the size of the pixels on a camera's sensor. The bigger the sensor, the bigger the pixels which provides advantages to the artist when making images. Russ Juskalian, A writer from the New York Times explains that, " The mechanics of this can be understood by thinking of a digital camera sensor as a flat sheet of material pocked with millions (hence “mega”) of cylindrical, cuplike pixels. In other words, picture the digital sensor as a tiny cupcake tin." A recent test done at dpreview.com proved that the Canon EOS 50D, a $1,400 - 15-megapixel camera , showed less dynamic range and more noise than the older camera Canon EOS 40D. ( 10-megapixel and 500 dollars cheaper).

There are many advantages of having a larger sensor but one of the most significant is the ability it gives you to produce a clear image when only a small portion of the subject is in focus. Although the technology is improving rapidly, the most important thing is still the photographers skill. Juskalian says it perfectly, " But no matter when the next advance in digital imaging comes, the old saying that the photographer is the most important part of a good photo will still hold true.

I felt it was necessary to blog about pixels becuase it has a great connection with my project. I am continuing a series I started last semester and I'm improving things that didn't go so well before. Rotating between my two lenses, only one being macro, led to my final prints coming out pixelated. In the images without the macro the pixelation just overtook the entire picture. It was frustrating to have these stunning images that I just couldn't make look decent in large format. This time around I am hardly cropping my images at all, I try to do it all in camera. Hopefully the changes I've made will make all the difference.

JusKalian Russ. "Pixels are Like Cupcakes, Let Me Explain." NyTimes.com. 11-12-2008. 3-25-2009.. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/technology/personaltech/13basics.html?_r=1

Visiting Artist March 1

2009-03-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Dr. Olivia Judson
As I walked into the auditorium I noticed almost every seat was filled so I figured this speaker must be great. I forgot what type of lecture this was but i quickly realized it was something unusual because the first words out of Dr.Judson's mouth were " Hello my fellow primates". For some I'm sure listening about Darwin's life and his accomplishments might be interesting but not for me. Most of the humorous scientific jokes flew right over my head. With a quick look to my left I could tell that my friend Carrie was feeling the same way. Olivia was born in the UK and she earned her biology degree from Stanford University. She is a freelance science writer and is currently being recognized for her book Dr.Tatiana's Sex Advice to all Creation- The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex. This award winning book has been turned into a television show that aired in Australia, the UK and Canada back in 2005. Richard Dawkins, a World-famous evolutionary biologist describes the book as a "winningly sophisticated zoological comedy.". Olivia was a great speaker and you could really see her light up as she talked about evolution. Everybody has a different passion, I'm just glad mine isn't science.

Monday 9

2009-03-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Joakim Eskildsen

In 1971 Joakim Eskildsen was born in Copenhagen Denmark and he was lucky to train with the Royal Court Photographer, Rigmor Mydtskov. A change of direction came in 1994 when he moved to Finland to pursue the craft of photographic book-making. There at the University of Art and Design he graduated with a masters in Photography in 1998. Joakim is a documentary photographer who has done a lot of traveling in his time. Claire O'Neill , a writer from NPR tells us that the project of his titled Roma Journey consists of seven series in different countries, in rough chronological order of the journey. Shooting with Hasselblad and Pentax medium format cameras, he truly captures the beauty of the locations. He is now the proud author of more than 4 beautiful books including Chicken Moon, Bluetide, and Nordic Signs. Over the many years he has dedicated to his art, Joakim's processes have changed quite a bit. Up until 1999 he made only traditional darkroom prints but in 2000 he began making Lambda prints. Currently he uses a variety of papers in his Epson 9800 ink jet printer. As a true artist should, he produces all of his prints himself.

Website: Http://www.joakimeskildsen.com

Conversation: http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/2008/0
/a_conversation_with_joakim_esk.html

Exhibition: http://www.photography-now.com/artists/K06547.html

Thursday 9

2009-03-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

It seems like every time I blink my eye some new and improved piece of technology has evolved. The internet is the most fabulous tool and it allows us to have anything we want with just a tap of the mouse. The popularity of the darkroom is decreasing and while its a sad truth, it just can't compare to the advantages of online printing. For example, online companies offer a wide variety of choices. A print in the darkroom can only be changed so many times because of the expense of chemicals and paper etc. The internet gives us endless possibilities and we can constantly change our minds. Another benefit of using an online printing company is that there are no time frames for its users. At any hour of the day you can just hop on your computer and send off an image to be printed. If a customer has a question about something specific it's not hard at all to contact someone who can help. Email has become such an important line of communication these days. In just an instant you can ask the questions you need answered and hopefully get a response in time! Not only is communication made easier but the instructions are so clearly laid out for the customer that you just cant go wrong. This is certainly a good example of why online is the way to go

For these three years I've spent in the photography department I have continued to print my work from Elco Color. Typically I receive great prints back but I have definitely had my share of bad experiences. For the convenience factor, nothing compares with being able to upload your images to an online source and not have to do anything else. You get what you pay for in a sense, you are no longer in control of your printing so you better trust the company you choose. Reguardless of how my prints turn out ( for the most part ) I am just thankful to have such a great tool at my fingertips.

"Why Is Online Printing Such a Better Source?". ArticleBase. 03-04-09. 03-22-09..

Monday 8

2009-03-16T11:56:00.002-07:00

Jill Greenberg

Jill was born in Montreal Canada but after a few years moved to Detroit. After receiving a BFA in photography at the Rhode Island School of Design, she picked up once again and went to New York. In her biography she states that since the age of 10, she has been staging photographs and creating characters with different mediums including drawing,painting, film and of course photography. Greenberg has had great success in the commercial field working with clients such as Target, Paramount pictures, Time Magazine, MGM, Coca-Cola and so many more. Her series of toddlers titled End Times became very controversial in 2006. These hyperreal closeups of children's contorted faces were a reflection of her "frustration with both the Bush administration and Christian Fundamentalism in the United States." Jill had unique methods for capturing the intense expressions on the children's faces. One way was to give a child candy and the quickly taking it back.Some viewed these ways as inappropriate and unethical. Her work is exceptionally well done and this particular series was striking to me.

Website: http://www.manipulator.com/
Gallery: http://www.clampart.com/artists/greenberg/greenbergmp1.htm
Article: http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/14/the-atlantic-should-have-googled-jill-greenberg-before-hiring-her/

Thursday 8

2009-03-16T11:56:00.001-07:00

The Met

In the past 6 years the Metropolitan Museum of Art has gone through some incredible changes. Diane Arbus presented her work at the MET in 2005 and it ended up receiving a lot more attention than planned. As a result of this series, a gallery has been designated for the exhibition of photographs created only after 1960. This room presents the perfect space for a photograph to be displayed, it has a much quieter atmosphere than the rest of the museum. "Those pictures will finally have some room to breathe in the new Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography, a high-ceilinged, gray-carpeted sanctuary on the second floor, across from the special exhibition galleries for drawings, prints and photographs." A recent installation of Depth of Field : Modern Photography at the Metropolitan includes work by Adam Fuss, Rodney Graham and Sigmar Polke just to name a few. A large -scale still life by Wolfgang Tillman rests upon another wall within the gallery. Critics agree that despite some limitations, the show had a great debut. The museum appreciates work from the past and this gallery gives us an opportunity to learn about early photography.

One of my favorite places to go to in New York is the Metropolotian Musuem of Modern Art. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to get back to NY and I saw quite the display of different works. A fabulous sculpture hung downstairs and i literally sat there and stared for minutes at a time. Some of the photography just blew me away while some images left me feeling very uneasy. I tried to picture my work on that wall and I think it just might be possible. ( maybe )

Rosenburg, Karen. "Modern Photography in a Brand New Space". Nytimes. 9. 28 .07. 3.18.09.< http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/arts/design/28mens.html?_r=1&fta=y.>

Monday 7

2009-03-16T11:55:00.001-07:00

Medford Taylor

Medford Taylor was born in North Carolina and he stayed there until he graduated from High Point University in the 60's With a bachelors degree in science and five years as a Naval Officer under his belt, he headed off to the University of Missouri where he decided to get a graduates degree in photojournalism. After college he worked for the Houston Chronicle and then the Virginian- Pilot in Norfolk. During these years he freelanced for Newsweek and Time Magazine. In 1984 Taylor's work was published in National Geographic, one of the many times this happened. He was fortunate enough to photograph the Everglades, Newfoundland and the Big Bend National Park. Medford's photographs have been published in national and international magazines including Air and Space and GEO. Currently he lives in Richmond and continues to work in the digital field.

Website:http://www.medfordtaylor.com/

Published work: http:http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/life-color-red/red-oats-taylor.html

Essay: http://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/02/medford-taylor-mariposa-y-michoaca%CC%81n/

Thursday 7

2009-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Compilation

"In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques." - Wikipedia

A technique created back in the 1930's has become very popular in the work of digital artists today. This amazing process of layering multiple images allows the photographer to achieve a greater range of tonal detail. The images that are created are surreal becuase there is nothing else that can produce this amount of detail. HDR photographs are made using the same image multpile times, but with multiple exposures too. This creates a dynamic range that can't be created within a camera. The only way to make a successful HDR image is by using a tripod, it would be impossible to capture the same picture multiple times. The guidelines below will help the artist capture a usable series of pictures."It is essential that the darkest of these exposures includes no blown highlights in areas where you want to capture detail. The brightest exposure should show the darkest regions of the image with enough brightness that they are relatively noise-free and clearly visible. Each exposure should be separated by one to two stops, and these are ideally set by varying the shutter speed." HDR is new to the art world and like other techniques, sometimes it is overdone. HDR has a purpose and it should not used for everything!

This is the first time I have ever looked at HDR photographs and I would love to have my images look this sharp. Although I strive for this beauty within my work, I have to say that I like the realistic factor in my photography more. I don't want my work to look as surreal as HDR images do. It is a technique i definitely plan on trying in the future.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/high-dynamic-range.htm

Monday 6

2009-03-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Tomio Seike

Tomio Sieke was born in Japan in 1943 and has been working on his hand printed series since 70's. Tomio graduated from the Japan Photographic Academy in 1970 too. He is recognized for his work in the United States as well as Great Britain. His photographs take months to complete and in a years time, he usually creates about 4 or 5 new images. In the past 40 years Sieke has created roughly four different bodies of work. The first was a portrait series of the artist Zoe Leonard( photographed for 5 years). After this he photographed nudes and from there, he created his series of classical Paris. In the more recent years he has moved into the "realm of abstraction combining both 19th century photography and contemporary painting practice to create highly unique vision. An important aspect of Tomio's work is the quality of light he is able to capture. He shoots under limited light conditions, sometimes with sunlight, sometimes with indoor room-level light.

Website: http://www.seike.demon.co.uk/
Gallery: http://www.f5komma6.de/nw/artists.php?artist=00020&show=text
Article: http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2009/8375.en

Thursday 6

2009-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

Sharper

"Blow Up uses an innovative algorithm that temporarily converts pixels to a vector representation which results in perfectly smooth, crisp edges." - AlienSkin

Recently, a new plug-in for Photoshop known as Blow Up 2 was introduced to the public. This amazing software produces "dramatically sharper" images than any other program. The photos are able to stay natural looking even when extreme enlargements are made. A huge benefit of this application is the time it saves for people preparing photos. Cropping and resizing can now be done in one easy step. Blow Up 2 makes an "intelligent guess about where to crop the image with its auto crop feature. The Auto Rotate feature adapts the preset to match your photos orientation. Blow Up applies the proper amount of output sharpening based on the paper type you choose. There are so many more fantastic features of Blow Up 2 including the tool to re size a group of photos at one time. How convenient? This is the first major Photoshop plug-in that will work in CS4, the newest version of Photoshop.

I would love to be able to print my own work but I just don't have the funds to do that. As a result, I print from Elco, an online company based in NJ. Three years ago I wouldn't have complained about the quality of my prints, but now that's all changed. The quality of my print is everything to me. I have had major issues with color and pixelation but its something i've just had to get used to. Blow Up 2 sounds amazing and I'm so curious as to how it all works. I'm going to do more research on their printing process and hopefully I will be able to print with it one day!

Link: http://www.alienskin.com/blowup/index.aspx

Monday 5

2009-02-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

Adam Macri

Adamo was born in Southern Italy in 1964 and he is the youngest of four children. At age 20 he graduated from Dawson College with a degree in Commercial Arts. Throughout his four years at school he studied both graphic design and fine arts. Macri uses multiple mediums to create his pieces including photography, drawing, sculpture and video. " He focuses on capturing a series of stills which when assembled in a sequence, create a narrative that functions in its own." To help him be successful with his art, he usually creates a storyboard of rough sketches first.
It takes him a long time to finish a piece becuase of all the different forms that have to come together as one. My favorite part of an interview with Claudio Parentela, Adamo is asked "What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?" He responds with "Determine what you’re about. Find the best medium and technique to communicate what that is. Remain focused, honest and stick to your guns. This may sound typical but it’s the only way."

Website: http://www.adamomacri.com/

Blog: http://www.adamomacri.blogspot.com/

Interview: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://artipedia.org/artsnews/exhibitions/wp-content/uploads/postie-photos/thumb.20090114-133101-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://artipedia.org/artsnews/exhibitions/2009/01/14/interview-with-montreal-artist-adamo-macri/&usg=__lxOtJgV74gsuZHJHV2FgAaf75b0=&h=517&w=400&sz=43&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=axKzxQ66XK2LwM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadamo%2Bmacri%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

Thursday 5

2009-02-18T16:57:00.000-08:00

Library of Dust

"Maisel’s photographs of nearly 110 funereal copper canisters are a mineralogical delight. Bearded with a frost of subsidiary elements, their surfaces are now layered, phosphorescent, transformed. Unsettled archipelagos of mineral growths bloom like tumors from the sides and bottoms—but is that metal one sees, or some species of fungus? The very nature of these canisters becomes suspect. One is almost reluctantly aware that these colors and stains could be organic—mold, lichen, some yeasty discharge—with all the horror such leaking putrescence would entail. Indeed, the canisters have reacted with the human ashes held within" - Geoff Manaugh

David Maisel is an abstract photographer who has made some beautiful images over the past decade. He has been photographing chemical wastelands all over the U.S trying to capture thier unusual beauty. David found his inspiration for this style of work in a state-run psychiatric hospital in Oregon. A lot of the patients at the instution had died and those who were not claimed by a family member were cremated. Their ashes were stored in handmade copper canisters and every single one looked identical. " Each spirit that is housed in these cans seems to demand its unique indiviualtiy, even after death and cremation." The book that was made for this series consists of 80 strikingly beautiful photographs. Chronical Books published this life-size volume and to some viewers the size is daunting. However, the large size helps to see the tiny and subtle details.

David's work is extremely similar to mine for the amount of focus he puts on little details. In each image the colors are vibrant and the macro lens is perfect for capturing the beauty of every can. I think scale is so important when working with these details and I'm glad to see that he took that into consideration for his final presentation of the book.

http://www.lensculture.com/maisel_3.html?thisPic=2

Monday 5

2009-02-15T16:52:00.001-08:00

Elaine Duigenan

Duigenan currently lives and works in London where she grew up. In 1986 she received her BA in Art/Art History at Goldsmiths College at the University of London. Her photography focuses on mundane objects that are familiar to her viewers. Usually she takes these discarded subjects and places them in environments that allow transformations to occur. "Her work invariably has an air of mystery and ambiguity which is often heightened when subjects are placed in a particular light or landscape." Elaine has had over 8 solo shows and has been published multiple times including in AG Photography Magazine. Her recent series Net was featured in an edition of LensCulture.

"For me photography has become an 'act of preservation' and objects I focus on become the locators or igniters of memory. The traces and remnants we find in any landscape can spark recognition. They can even invoke a presence." - Duigenan

Website :http://www.elaineduigenan.com/index.html

Gallery: http://www.griffinmuseum.org/exhibitions_atelier.htm

Article: http://www.lensculture.com/duigenan.html

Thursday 4

2009-02-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hyperrealism

"The photorealistic style of painting was uniquely tight, precise, and sharply mechanical with an emphasis on mundane everyday imagery, as it was an evolvement from Pop Art." ^{- New Britain Museum of American Art}
This independent art movement developed in Europe and the United States in the early 2000's. Hyperrealism is a "genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high resolution photograph." In this style of painting, more emphasis is put on the details and subjects. Subtle elements are utilized to create an illusion that can't be seen by the human eye and in reality doesn't exist. The subject matter of hyperreal paintings varies between still life, portraits, figurative art, cityscapes, and narrative scenes. Recently however, the style has become more literal than photorealism. Images are usually between 10 and 20 times the size of the original photographic source. Even at this size, they are able to achieve great detail and extremely high resolution in color. Alicia St.Rose, Chuck Close, Istvan Sandorfi, and Denis Peterson are all influential hyperrealist painters of the 21st century.

I photograph very small details within my subjects and its imperative that my colors stand out. My final images are scenes that can not be seen by the human eye. The transformation I'm able to capture is unreal. Just like in hyperreal painting, I also blow up my images between 10 and 20 times its original size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperrealism_(painting)

Monday 4

2009-02-15T16:45:00.003-08:00

Sarah Lynch

Publish Post

Sarah Lynch is a British artist whose work has recently been recognized by Klompching( A Manhattan gallery that represents emerging photographers.) Lynch lived in Spain when owners Debra Klomp and Darren Ching tracked her down. They remebebred her work from when she won the Jerwood Prize in 2004. They commited to her first solo show and in March 2008 it opened for the first time. " Her hypnotic, exquisitely executed still-life photographs are the result of a painstaking process where each image takes weeks of meticulous work to assemble." Her purpose is to record the moment right before something happens. Lynch likes to print large, typically 44x66, becuase she enjoys having these small recognizable objects appear larger than life. This past month her photographs have been published in Source, a magazine for contemporary photography.

Gallery :www.klompching.comWebsite : www.sarahlynchphotography.com

Article : http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/2671

Thursday 3

2009-02-15T16:45:00.001-08:00

Coexist

"But, like mirages and memories, the Ishihara numbers are just optical phenomena." - England

The work of Odette England revolves around The Ishihara Color Test which is the clinical test for red-green color vision deficiency in humans. "It comprises 38 plates, each containing a circle of dots randomized in color and size, which form a number that is visible to people with normal color vision. However, the number in the dots is invisible, or difficult to see, for those a who have a red-green color vision defect." These Ishihara images show things that don't really exist but somehow they can be captured on camera. Odette comprises her pieces by combining these Ishihara images with old family snapshots. In this particular body of work she hopes to question things like recognition, observation, and insight. She works with simultaneously reducing / enlarging visions and memories.

England's images are one of a kind and i found her art extremely inspiring. The way she intertwines old family photographs with these simple color test images is so creative. The family pictures are so faint and hidden but the shapes left behind give us all the information we need. I'm working with taking objects and photographing them in a way that makes them completely unrecognizable, similar to Odette.

http://www.lensculture.com/england.html?thisPic=13Coexist

Monday 3

2009-02-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sonja Braas

Braas was born in 1968 in the town of Siegen, Germany. Her excitement for traveling led her to places like Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Her inspiration for her work came about during these trips. At age 23 she attended Fachhochschule Dortmund where she studied visual communication and photo and film design. A few years later she moved to New York to further her education in photography at the School of Visual Arts. She still lives in the big city and has become very successful for her work. Sonja has had countless solo shows spanning over the past 10 years and has been published in many magazines including her most recent, Aperture. Braas constructs 3-D spaces using different materials and painted backgrounds which lead into a unknown, mysterious distance. "These generalized representations of distant "real" places are in themselves "non" places; though pass on an experience of progresing through rain forest, mountainscape, savannah, desert, wetland. etc." The presentation of her series is so important to her final product. She places these images in museums because she feels they represent a "real environment" for her fake constructions.

Representing Gallery : http://www.akinci.nl/index.htm
Website : http://www.sonjabraas.com/
Article : http://www.actuphoto.com/page.php?page=pronews/news_complete&id=3300

Visiting Artist 1 January

2009-01-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

Alix Pearlstein: What the h

Pearlstein is based in New York City and she has received a lot of recognition for her work. I was expecting to see some captivating video's. However, the second the first clip started titled " Two Women" , I started laughing and figured that this lecture would probably not do much for me. Alix began with an interesting introduction but as her speech continued I couldn't help but notice the many "um's" that came flowing out of her mouth. It was unfortunate for her because it automatically made me think she didn't know what she was talking about. She introduced each of her clips but her concepts she described were not apparent in her films. Its like she just made a bunch of crap up and hoped we wouldnt catch it. She said her work deals heavily with time and points of resistence. I did not see any of this in her videos! Very odd presentation.

Thursday 2

2009-01-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Innocent

"Does it matter that she has no knowledge of these artistic precedents, and most likely, no clear concept of "art" itself? Is Marla a prodigy or a primitive? Can a work of art transcend the intentions of its maker? If a child can make great abstract paintings, does this mean that modern art is itself a hoax, a high-culture con game?" - Mia Fineman

Her first piece was complete when she was just shy of two years old. Marla Olmstead has taken the world by surprise with her captivating abstract paintings. Soon after her parents realized what kind of a natural talent their three year old daughter had, they threw together a small show at a friends coffee shop in Binghamton NY just to see what happened. The response was unreal and her career took off. She booked show after show, sold over 300,000 worth of paintings, but that all came to an abrupt halt when 60 Minutes aired a report done by Charlie Rose. Mr.Rose implied that her paintings had been guided by her father who just happened to be an amateur painter. In February 2005 when the show aired for the first time, her parents sat on their couch , horrified by what they were seeing. Her sales plummeted just like that. "The New York Post gleefully piled on the puns, reporting that "the juvenile Jackson Pollock may actually be a full-fledged Willem de Frauding." To get the story straight, the Olmsteads signed on to do a documentary film later titled " My Kid Could Paint That". Their main goal was to get Marla to paint an entire piece on video so the hate mail and accusations would stop. The tape proved the media wrong and Marla was able to stand on her own again.

Abstract work is hard to justify and I know it's important for me to be able to defend my work. I fear with my photography that people won't appreciate my style. For me it's becoming more and more about abstraction and I want to make sure my objects stay unrecognizable. I believe Marla is extremely talented and I do not think just any kid could paint that way. She will have a life long battle of defending herself and staying up with the standard of a "child prodigy"

Fineman, Mia. " My Kid Could Paint that : Does Malra Olmstead's Work Belong in a Museum or on the Fridge?" Slate.com. 5 October 2007.<>

Monday 2

2009-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

Steven Laxton

Laxton was said to have a "one track mind" since he was just a kid. Steven studied photography at a university in his hometown of Adelaide, Australia. After his college years he started shooting for small fashion jobs in London. He dreamt of New York City and knew that the best of the best would be found there. In 2004 at age 26, he found himself assisting some amazing photographers including Mary Ellen Mark and Craig McDean. Recently he has been recognized as one of the Top Emerging Artists 0f 2007 for some of his personal work. The subjects of this series are dancers from the New York City Ballet. "Each time we do it they understand what I want and I understand what they're capable of and it just gets better and better," he says of the collaboration. Although these abstract body shapes are beautifully lit (one of Laxton's specialties), he's also tried to leave them "quite raw" with bruises and bumps. - Miki Johnson

Website: stevenlaxton.com

Article: http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofeatures/4747/steven-laxton.html

Thursday 1

2009-01-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Doubtful

"Whether because of its visual complexity, its oblique perspective, its lighting, its degree of abstraction or the unfamiliarity of its subject, it’s the kind of photograph that makes you stop and think, “What the heck is that?” And it keeps you looking until you’ve figured out what it is you’re looking at." - Ken Johnson

The writer of this article stated that photographs are shameless- whether its a revealing photograph of a famous celebrity or an exotic place you've never seen, a photo "'will do anything to get our attention". The images up for discussion are a part of an exhibition at Yale University Art Gallery titled “First Doubt: Optical Confusion in Modern Photography.” There are over 100 photographs ranging from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century. A majority of the work came from the collection belonging to Allan Chasanoff. Each image is untouched, no digital enhancing, no darkroom work, nothing. They are representations of exactly what the photographer saw while taking the photograph. Some of the artists in this exhibition include Andre Kertesz, Bill Brandt, and Larry Fink. The viewers appreciate the experience they have when looking this type of work because its intriguing to try and identify what we're actually seeing.

I pay really close attention to the fine details in every image that i come across. If there's nothing to spark my eye within that first second, I'm done. Clean lines, movement , and beautiful but dramatic light are important to me and the photos in this exhibit incorporate all three. My viewers have an extremely hard time figuring out what i photograph and i really enjoy that about my work. It's a compliment to know that my goal of abstraction has been achieved.

Johnson, Ken. " In Photography, What Puzzles the Eye May Please the Mind" NYtimes. 31 December 2008..

Submission 1 PDN

2009-01-19T14:18:00.001-08:00

Monday 1

2009-01-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Daniel Sroka

Sroka grew up with a father that had a passion for photography and at age 12, Daniel's life as an artist began . When he was 12 years old he laid hands on his first computer and for the first time he felt a sensse of " unrestricted creativity". He loved incorporating his photos into the work he created on the computer, it just seemed natural. Photography ended up being something that he did on the side and after a few years with it on the back burner, he found a new love for graphic design. Daniel was one of the original creative directors for yahoo, however he grew tired of helping his co-workers reach their personal goals and dreams so he left to pursue his own. Today, his work is represented in multiple galleries including the Karin Newby Gallery in Arizona. He is proud to say that over 800 of his prints are in private collections.

Website: http://www.danielsroka.com
Represented by : http://www.karinnewbygallery.com/
Interview: http://www.areaofdesign.com/featuredartists/2007/sroka.htm

Sunday 13

2008-11-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

Jeanne Dunning

Jeanne Dunning was born in Chicago in 1960 and continued to get her education from the Oberlin College. After receiving her BA in 1982, she went to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she earned her MFA in 1985. Her first show was at the Feature Gallery in Chicago in 1987. After that she had many shows in the US as well as in Europe. Her solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and the James Harris Gallery in Seattle. "Chicago artist Jeanne Dunning investigates the human body to create color photographs that question issues of identity, sexuality, and the interior and exterior self. Drawing from a variety of sources, Dunning’s images appear to be other than what they are: a piece of fruit resembles a human orifice; a woman’s head appears to be shaped like a phallus; a human hand takes on a smooth yet lumpy intimacy." The Los Angeles Times stated that her photographs fascinate and disturbm yet attract and repulse.

Gallery: http://www.jamesharrisgallery.com/Artists/Jeanne%20Dunning/dunning.htm

Interview: http://www.chron.org/tools/viewart.php?artid=489

Thursday 13

2008-11-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

Expression

"Waller's affinity for abstract and complex photography has brought statewide recognition to the 17-year-old Hayfield Secondary School senior."

Tyrell Waller is a seventeen year old student at Hayfield Secondary school and he was recently awarded second place for a photograph he'd taken. Youths in Virginia ranging from ages 12 to 21 were asked by The Creative Vision of Virginia's Foster Care to submit photographs, writings, or other artwork that illustrated their personal experiences they've had in foster care. "It's a chance to express themselves while also making a statement about the system," said Mary Dunne Stewart, policy director of Voices for Virginia's Children, a nonprofit child advocacy organization that sponsored the competition. His second place photography titled "My reflection" was taken on an outing with Fairfax Families4Kids which is a program in the Department of Family Services. Its an opportunity for the foster kids to actively participate in the community and social activities which may lead them to possible adoptive families.

Orton, Kathy. "Contest Fosters Artistic Expression". WashingtonPost. 20 Nov 2008. 30 Nov 2008..

Sunday 12

2008-11-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

Aaron Siskind

Aaron was born in 1904 in the heart of New York City and he spent his whole life there . He attended the City College and earned a B.S.S. in literature. After his honeymoon in 1929, he received his first camera as a gift given by his wife Sidonie Glaller. In 1943 and 1944 he began creating abstract photographs based on discarded objects found on Martha's Vineyard. Later, he taught photography in New Jersey at Trenton Junior college as well as at Rhode Island School of Design with Harry Callahn. Aaron had many achievements including founding the Society for Photographic Education , becoming the Co-editor of Chief Magazine, and being the founder of the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester. He received numerous awards such as the Gold Star of Merit award from Philadelphia College of Art, the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and the Governor's Prize for the Arts in Rhode Island. His work focused on the details of architecture and nature.

Gallery- http://www.mfah.org/home.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=1&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=0&eid=&currentPage=

Website- http://www.aaronsiskind.org/

Interview- http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/siskin82.htm

VMFA

2008-11-13T22:49:00.001-08:00

Thursday 12

2008-11-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Fuzzy

"I've been doing this for eight years and after eight years we get there at once," - Macintosh

The first photographs have been taken of planets outside our solar system. Two astronomers were sent to photography these four planets that resemble a tiny speck of white. These planets are trillions Earth seems to have its first fuzzy photos of alien planets outside our solar system, images captured by two teams of astronomers. The pictures show four likely planets that appear as tiny little specs of white. These "giant gaseous" planets are hardly like Earth and are remotely habitable. Bruce Macintosh of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab led one of the two teams of photographers. He says, "It is a step on that road to understand if there are other planets like Earth and potentially life out there." His team decided to use two ground based telescopes and the second team chose to rely on photos from the 18 year old Hubble Space Telescope to create pictures of the " exoplanets" which are planets that don't orbit our sun. The research was published In the Thursday's edition of the Journal Science. These photos are important says Ed Weiler, NASA's space sciences chief. He compared it to a hunt for elusive elephants: "For years we've been hearing the elephants, finding the tracks, seeing the trees knocked down by them, but we've never been able to snap a picture. Now we have a picture." The picture above looks fuzzy because the star is 100 million times brighter than its planet.

The pictures taken of these four planets resemble the work I've been producing this semester. Macro photography is becoming used in other fields and photographs are becoming such a useful tool. The colors in these images are beautiful and the photographers were really able to document these planets well.

Borenstein, Seth. " First Fuzzy Photos of Planets Outside our Solar System." Yahoo News. 13 Nov 2008..

Sunday 11

2008-11-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

Lennart Nilsson

Lennart was Born in Strängnäs in 1922 and is a pioneer in medical photography. With the help of advanced equipment, he has been able to document the inside of man " down to the level of a cell". In the mid 40's he started his career as a photojournalist and published photo essays in Swedish magazines. It was on his first assignement that he took his first pictures of the human embryo. The pictures were publisehd and he contiuned shooting the origins of man. From 1965-1972 he was under contract as a photographer for Life Magazine. During this time he produced stories on heart attacks and microscopic views inside both the brain and body.
He was under contract as a photographer for Life from 1965-1972 and produced stories on the heart and heart attacks, the microscopic view inside the body and the brain. He has been able to establish a reputation for his films internationally on the human body. His work can be found in collections including the British Museum in London, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the Modern Museum in Stockholm. An award has been presented annually since 1998 in recognition of extraordinary photography of science and is sponsored by the Lennart Nilsson Foundation.

Article- http://www.lennartnilsson.com/q_a.html

Website- http://www.lennartnilsson.com

Gallery- http://www.britishmuseum.org/

Thursday 11

2008-11-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Internal

"He has made a hitherto unseen world of the human body visible and photographed objects measuring about one millionth of a millimeter." - Rune Hassner, Ph.D

For decades Lennart Nilsson has taken breathtaking photographs of the human body using a powerful scanning electron microscope. He has been declared a top photographer in Sweden and he is proud to have two of his photographs engraved on the back of the current Swedish 100 kronor bill. He began taking unique and terrifying images of the HIV- virus and " killer cells" using this microscope. In the mid-1950s Nilsson started to experiment with new photographic techniques that allowed him to focus on sea life and ants. A coulpe books including Myror written in 1959, and Close to Nature in 1984 were published by Nilsson revealing these macro studies. Fortunately, a specially designed endoscope was developed in the 1960's and it made it possible for him to photography blood vessels within the body. He was also able to shoot cavities inside body with the necessary depth of field. In 1970 a scanning electron microscope was used for the first time and it greatly enhanced his work.
"It is interesting to follow how he, with every advance in equipment, step by step, has closed in on smaller and smaller objects in his studies of the world around him, as more powerful microscopes have become available and opened new fields for his research.
Behind his quiet and somewhat shy exterior, there is an iron will—and a streak of fanaticism that seems to enable him to overcome all obstacles in order to get the picture he wants."
Nilsson has received numerous awards including Over the years, Lennart Nilsson has received a number of awards, medals and other forms of recognition for his achievements, including the Art Directors' Club Award in New York, 1965, 1972 and 1976; tthe Emmy Award 1982, 1983 and 1996, and The ICP Master of Photography Award, New York 1992.

Hassner, Rune. An Unseen World. 11/12/08..

October Lecture 2

2008-11-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Garth Johnson

Mr. Johnson's interesting attire let me know that this lecture was going to be interesting. He was young and down to earth and I enjoyed hearing him speak about his creative project ExtremeCrafts.com. Coming from a family full of crafty people, his mother being a master quilter and his father working with wire, crafts never escaped his mind. He attended the art school at the University of Nebraska and later received his MFA at Alfred University. He currently designs at Perkins+Will architects in Atlanta. He created Extremecrafts 4 years ago and it's popularity has skyrocketed.
In the lecture Garth mentioned that he sees extremecrafts as A compendium of art masquerading as craft, craft masquerading as art, & craft extending its middle finger. I thought that was a very bold way of putting his thoughts out there. This website contains work from a bunch of DIY artists ( Do It Yourself ) . Tracy Emin, Ai Kijima, and Sean Samoheyl are some of the artists represented on his site that I really enjoyed. Ai Kijima creates these beautiful fabric collages from found bed sheets, t- shirts, blankets, curtains and any other fabrics she can put her hands on. "Kijima's works incorporate familiar pop culture iconography in ambiguous, often poetic, ways." Another group shown on his website was called Booze and Yarn which is one of the many existing knitting circles . I feel that Garth knows a lot about both the business side of art and that's really important for his Carree. This amazing archive of artists will continue to grow over the years and Ill be interested to see its progress.

http://extremecraft.com/

Sunday 10

2008-11-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Born in New York, Carolanne grew up competing in gymnastics and continued her passion into her teens. After making it through the painful training at the pre-Olympic level, she found her real interest was in the human body. She focused on taking photographs and painting after she left her athletic career for good. Ms. Leslie received a full scholarship to the German School of Photography and also had training in the Fine Arts Department at Adelphi University. She has worked as a re-toucher for many years and is an illustrative photography in the book cover industry. Her series titled The Corruption of Flesh uses digital photography, illustration and painting too. Her work has been shown in many galleries in New york including the Sous Les Etoiles Gallery.

“Difficult experiences can ravage us, destroy us or force us to build a thick shell that we clamber around in like a turtle…or these difficult experience can inspire us on an inward journey, one in which we strip away the hardened exterior and find peace and new wisdom in living in the moment. Either way,” the artist says, “a transformation occurs in us on a daily basis: cells die and cells are born; new memories are added and old memories dissipate.”

Website
http://carolanneleslie.com/

Represented by Sous Les Etoiles Gallery
http://www.souslesetoilesgallery.net/index.asp

Thursday 10

2008-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

"If it were not for a digital camera and a computer, I would not be a photographer"
- Riva Berkovitz

Seventy-nine year old Riva Berkovits recently moved to Brookline Massachusetts where she decided to buy a digital camera. Her inspiration for the purchase came from living near Grigg Parks . She felt that its natural beauty could not be captured with paint so she explored photography for the first time. Her first camera did not come with the type of lens she wanted so she purchased a special close up/ macro lens. Berkovits has realized that equipment varies in sophistication as well as complexity and price." At first, Ms. Berkovitz thought she had stumbled onto the ultimate in low-cost close-up photography. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements software, she simply cropped small sections of flower photos taken with her Canon point-and-shoot camera." She was wrong. When her images were looked at on a monitor, they looked relatively good to the untrained eye. After making prints she noticed her pictures lacked sharpness and the noise was exaggerated because of the extreme cropping. The large diameter professional lenses can cost up 800 dollars and that's just too expensive! Macro lenses tend to provide their best results at close range.

I work very close to my subjects and my lens just doesn't cut it. I'm afraid that when I print these large, the noise will be so obvious. Right now I don't have access to a macro lens but I think its important for me to have if i want to move forward with this project. I have had to throw out almost two thirds of my images every time i shoot due to lack of sharpness and I would love to eliminate that problem.

Austen, Ian. "Macro Photography, Microscopic Details."New York Times. Dec 2007. 2 Nov 2008.

October Lecture 1

2008-10-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Simen Johan

Johan digitally composes his images which is a big change from the way he used to work. Each image he makes usually takes a couple years to perfect before its complete. In the lecture he said " Our world is unexplainable, we don't know our purpose." In a lot of his work this statement is evident with the overpowering environments the children exist in. His pictures are very disturbing and creepy. He said that children have minds that are too complex and he imagines them as psycho. Johan likes to base his work off of the idea of play and insanity.

Evidence of Things Unseen is a series he created between 2000 and 2002. Each picture was photographed by him and he wanted these to be about play and creativity. He wanted to expose emotions such as pain and fear. Simon said that he works intuitively and often works with religious pieces. By having ritualistic images in his work, he hopes that the viewer will see something special. In his series titled Until The Kingdom Comes ( 2004-present ) he uses animals rather than humans. These animals are more comfortable in their enviroments that hes created. He wanted these pictures to be about fantasy and how they have the ability to shape our lives. His images are sharp and have very bold content and seem to be perfectly composed.

Sunday 9

2008-10-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Nanna Hanninen was born in Finland in 1973 and currently lives there in the city of Kuopio. She studied at the Lahti Institute of Design in Finland and the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. Over the Past 10 years she has shown her work in solo shows and some of her images are a part of the International Institutional and Private Collections.
"Nanna Hänninen's minimalist photographs are dominated by the tension between the named and the unnamed, the visible and the invisible. Her works are aesthetically refined and delicate, cleared of noise and superfluous effects. One is prone to view Hänninen work as a purely formalist based photography. In the series "Fear and Security" however the artist reveals her obligation towards the social reality and her understanding of the psychological and mental mechanisms of society. Here as well the titles of the works are carrying sense, they are not just descriptive, but contain references to the artistic intention. Her works are both a commentary on the rational, functional society and at the same time a visualisation of the fundamental fear of anarchy within the system." - fiedler contemporary, Cologne, Germany.

gallery- http://www.brycewolkowitz.com/www/

website- http://www.nannahanninen.com/

Thursday 9

2008-10-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

"Abstract art is a genre with facets that have developed a keen rapport that plays wonderfully into all of the established interior design plans--from the extreme minimalism offered by such prestigious firms as Minotti to the relaxed formal interiors of the Kreiss collections to the more traditional interiors of say, perhaps, Baker or Ethan and Allen," - Deljou

"It's an exciting time to be in the abstract market," says Steve McKenzie, CEO of Artaissance, an online art publisher that represents more than 110 artists. "All things modern are really resurging with all of the mid-century furniture and clothing. Abstraction is a part of that trend." Today, the market for abstract art is increasing and Mackenzie believes that Generation X is part of the reason for the popularity. He says that those born in the 60's and 70's generally dont like to be told what to do and how to think and this style of art allows them their freedom. Cristi Smith, President of Ford Smith Fine Art believes abstract art is growing in the corporate world too becuase, "Most abstract art is androgynous, not committed to a subject matter and most often not controversial," she says. "This is a huge appeal to this audience."
Trends are hard to distinguish becuase the abstract market is so broad. Randy Hibberd, an abstract artist represented by Third & Wall Art Group has noticed a few trends himself. He has seen more abstracted landscapes being created and he has also pointed out the trend of oversized work. The palettes for abstracts are changing to more sophisticated, muted tones. He believes that peoples understanding for this style of art will continue to expand.

This article was entirely about painting but the same issues exisit in my work dealing with photography. Its good to know that abstract art is continuing to grow in the marketing world. Its hard for a lot of people to understand the meanings behind abstract art. These types of images deal more with light, space, and shadows rather than content. Its not a style thats appreciated by everyone but its something im really attracted to and I think my work will stay in this direction.

Hilary Masell Oswald "Into Abstraction : Abstract art crosses new boundaries". Art Business News. FindArticles.com. 24 Oct. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_3_35/ai_n24940802

Thursday 8

2008-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Still

"With the surrealism of the 1920s and 1930s, the world of things metamorphosed into a mystical universe. Most notably, the objects exude an aura of ambiguity. They reveal their hidden beauty, frequently erotically charged. Josef Breitenbach depicts the New Yorker's dynamic attitude towards life in a magical composition: high rise buildings illuminated at night, in conjunction with a human circulatory system from a medical textbook. In his fotografia metafisica, Herbert List investigates the mysterious marriages of randomly generated constellations. Man Ray's rayographies explore the expressive potential of photography without a camera. "

Dietmar Siegert is a fiml director and pruducer in Munich and he has collected photos from the 19th and 20th century. These found images have now become whats known as " The Life of Things". It is a collection of 150 pictures from the Idea of Still Life in Photography 1840-1985.
This Exhibit will be going on through Feburary 1st 2009. This collection is one of the most private and significant collections of this medium in the world. Its purpose is to provide insight into the concept of still life in photography. The subjects of these pictures vary from flowers and foods to " special finds" which are more abstract. The 20th century exhibit is a basic overview of the expansion of the traditional still life. " A Focal point is the broad selection of French and Czech surrealist works such as Emilia Medkova and Jan Svoboda." Other artists whose still lifes are being presented include Erwin Blumenfeld, Lewis Hine, Anton Stankowski and Hans Finsler. This exhibit covers still lifes from the past 100 years and its focus is "on depicting the world of inanimate objects that assume lives of their own beyond their utilitarian value."

My portfolio contains work in the still life genre and this article was perfect for me to find. The focus of my photography is very similar to the focus of this exhibit. One hundred years ago, still lifes had no purpose in the commercial world. Today, we have magazines devoted to these topics and I'm thankful that advertising continues to flourish.

Sunday 7

2008-10-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

John Villinski grew up in Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson in the early 1980s. He bought his first camera in 1984 and fell in love. He left the University of Arizona to travel around the U.S and ended up returning to college five years later . John was unable to print or develop black and white film so in the 1990's he decided to start using color photography. He felt that it was the best medium for the images he wanted to capture. He recently was awarded 1st Place Photography: Southwest Arts Festival, Indio, CA, 2008. "After 24 years in Arizona, I cannot imagine moving back. The views, the canyons, the mountains, the desert, the sunsets; the sheer variety of the Southwestern US boggles my mind. This large-scale beauty is most noticeable first. But it was not until I looked closer, at the subtle aspects, or inner beauty, that the relationship really began to take hold."

Represented by Gallery M

http://www.abstractsouthwest.com/about.htm ( Home Website )

Sunday 8

2008-10-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Mark Raymond Mason grew up in British Columbia, Canada where he found his love for nature. His creative and curious mind led him in the direction of the arts but it wasn't until high school that he used his first camera. He left home and went on adventures for long periods of time. He enjoyed learning trades and teaching English. After selling an old beat up car, he purchased his first camera. Photography did not supply enough money for he and his family so Mason is currently studying to become a professional land surveyor. Most of his free time is spent making photographs, studying art, and showing his photos to others. He recieved the Merit Award for his " Brilliant Branches" in B&W Magazine's 2008 Single Image Contest Award Issue, Landscape/ Nature Category.
"My creative process has never been easy; navigating the rapids of a fresh idea can be rewarding but thoroughly exhausting. I work abstractly and non-linearly - however, my designs do have trends over time, usually with the goal of delaying recognition so a photograph may better dialogue with its viewer, free of labels. Recent techniques have included seeing without gravity, designing in soft focus, and using shapes to continue the photograph beyond the physical frame"

http://www.markraymondmason.com/

Ameila Douglass Gallery

Thursday 7

2008-10-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Surrealism

“Whether or not his movement of poets, painters and provocateurs won any wars is debatable,” said Michael Rush, curator of “Invisible Rays: The Surrealism Legacy,” and Henry and Lois Foster Director of the Rose. “But what is certainly true is that the surrealist preoccupation with dream states, the unconscious, and the blending of objects and ideas from different disciplines and cultures has had a profound influence on artistic practices to the present day.” The surrealists, Rush added, sought nothing less than the liberation of the human race by unleashing the powers of the unconscious. For artists this meant both a formal exploration of dream states (Georgio de Chirico, Salvador Dali) and a free form expression of ideas in collages and assemblages (Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst). - Michael Rush
The Rose Art Museum in New York City unveiled both a historical and contemporary look at surrealism. "Invisible Rays: The Surrealism Legacy" is a collection of historical works from the museum which includes contemporary paintings and videos that " carry on the legacy of surrealism". Over thirty artists are included in this showcase, Dali, Max Ernst, Gregory Crewdson and Joan Miro to name a few. Since 2005, The Rose Museum has been able to collect 60 different contemporary pieces that reflect the most current trends. The exhibition is curated by Randi Hopkins.

"Exploring Surrealism, a New American Century and the Manipulation of Film Stock". Artdaily.org. Oct 20, 2008..

I have been exploring the real meaning of surrealism this semester and I'm hoping I can get to NY to see this exhibit. I think it would be an excellent source of inspiration for me.

Sunday 6

2008-10-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Sara Remington

Sara grew up in New York but eventually moved to California to escape the snow. She recieved her BFA in cinematography and photography from Syracuse University's School of Visual and Performing Arts; film studies at famu(Academy of Film and Television) in the Czech Republic. Her inspiration for her photography came from , " the beauty of raw, unprocessed foods, organic ingredients, natural light, and fresh air." Sara has the "ability to tell stories with such poignantly simple, yet elegant images that speak volumes." Currently, she is working on a cookbook on organic soul food called Soul Grub. In addition to this, she is writing a book about the Big Sur Bakery for Harper Collins. Sara is also working on a personal project she has titled Swordfish. In this series, she has photographed hundreds of nostalgic objects from her grandparents house in New York. Her clients include : Food Arts Magazine, The Fruit Guys, LIFE Magazine, NY Times, and Williams Sonoma.

Website
http://www.sararemington.net/index.html

Interview
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/member/ProPass/magazine/V207/pdn30_breakingintobusiness.jhtml?id=0.1.14.12.82&lc=en#Sara%20Remington

Thursday 6

2008-10-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Valuable

"There is so much emphasis put on [website] design, whereas I think the photography trumps all that," Haggart explains. In his opinion, art buyers are looking for "a signature style," something unique that people connect with and that distinguishes one photographer from the rest. The best websites are transparent venues for that style. "I want these portfolios to be like your black leather portfolio; they just hold the pictures and make it easy to look at them," -Robert Haggart

Robert Haggart is the creator of "APhotoFolio.com" which is an online company that promotes the work of current photographers. He began his career working at Mens Journal but proceeded to do bigger and better things. Haggart left the Journal because he wanted to help photographers and in his words, " Push the photo industry to what he thought was the right direction." With this idea, he introduced himself to two very important people, Erik Dungan and Mike Caston which are the creators of BigFolio.com. In January the three became business partners and put together all of the details necessary to start their company. Haggart discovered that two designs would be appropriate for his site because he felt that photographers either liked big and bold, or simple and clean. Their website was made so that each photo on their flash sites can be linked to individually. They even have a website that is iPhone-friendly version, since iPhones don't support Flash. To have your website be shown through APhotoFolio, you must pay the high price of 1,000 plus $17 a month for hosting fees.

I found this article interesting because i also feel the Internet is an awesome way to have your work noticed. I'm glad that people are taking the initiative to try and help artists like myself. I'm just getting used to the whole "blog" thing and it's taken some getting used to. I definitely see the importance of knowing how to present yourself and your work over the Internet.

Johnson, Miki. "A New Online Portfolio Option". Popphoto.com. 04 Aug 08. 2 Oct 10..

Thursday 4 ( fixed )

2008-09-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Spirited

"Some people in the arts, they really still believe that art is really only important if you talk about something that's disgusting or horrible or depressing." he says. " I think happiness is not a shallow feeling. It's a very deep feeling." Romero Britto

Romero Britto was born in Brazil and is in his mid 40's. As an artist based in Miami Florida, his work has brought inspiration to his community. He creates very simple drawings of things such as butterflies, flowers, and children. is work tends to be very large in size and is usually found in malls and even on the sides of buildings. His use of bold lines and bright colors tend to catch the attention of young children. It just makes them happy, says Britto. Some say that his work is too simple but he just relpies, " Beautiful things in life are really simple, he says. If you're going to get an orchid, or a flower or an animal, it's simple, it's not complicated."

Britto's work inspires others and brings happiness to his viewers. I hope that my work helps to evoke positive emotions from my viewers as well. His style is completely different fom mine but we share the same purpose in our art making.

Allen, Greg. "Happiness, Hope in Miami Pop Artist." Nationaly Public Radio. May 9 2008.

Sunday 5

2008-09-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Anna Williams

Anna Williams was recognized as one of PDN's 30 under 30 for her amazing lifestyle and food photography. She began her life as a photographer when she was in high school. She fell in love with the darkroom and her medium format camera. As Anna began her undergraduate career, she realized that commercial photography was the direction she wanted to pursue. Shortly after college, she moved to new york and began making a name for herself. Over the past ten years she has spent pursuing her career, her clients now include Martha Stewart, Williams Sonoma , Fisher Price, Kmart and many more.

http://www.orchardrepresents.com/Anna-Williams/Biography/Default.aspx

http://annawilliamsphotography.com/01food.html

Thursday 5

2008-09-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Powerful

"Our goal is to bring attention to the abundance of talented women working in the photographic medium in a way that makes it accessible to everyone."

Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips launched an online gallery on June 3, 2008. The site is titled Women In Photography and every two weeks, a different female photographer is highlighted. It is a bi-monthly venue for showcasing work from females all over the world. They want to focus on "both emerging and established photographers." Amy and Cara hope that their site will help push female artists careers along. Amy was asked if she thought every female photographer deals with injustices or unfair standards or feels they need the label themselves as a "female photographer" rather than just a photographer. She responded with " I'm not sure they all do. There are plenty of strong female photographers who seem unhindered by most any challenge. They have unique methods, face challenging subject matter, and have strong visual voices. There are more female art photographers working now than ever.As a positive reaction to an art world that is competitive, challenging, cut throat and at times impossible to step into, we have created a unique curated venue to share bodies of work for those who you may not have heard of otherwise as well as to celebrate the work of successful, established photographers." In the future, the website will hopefully include guest interviews and curators from top galleries, owners, and also editors. The girls want their site to steer clear of the typical blog format.

Miki Johnson."A Page of Their Own." Pop Photo. 3 June 2008. 25 Sept 2008. .

Sunday 4

2008-09-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Kurt has been working as a full time professional since 1991. His greatest enjoyment is photographing food and still life. He love the challenge of making food and objects look beautiful. Some of my favorite tools for doing this are light, color and texture. "I think about making a photograph much the same way a painter approaches the canvas. I have never been interested in mimicking reality, always in interpreting it, making it more interesting." he uses both film and digital to capture images.

http://www.kurtwilsonphotography.com

Sunday 3

2008-09-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

James Ransom

James Ransom graduate with a BFA in photography from Bringham Young University and is based in New York City. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children. He does more editorial work and his clients have included Kate's Paperie, Dean & Deluca and UncommonGoods.

www.jamesransom.com

www.blog.jamesransom.com/?m=200805

Thursday 2

2008-09-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Retouch

"Working for $150.00 an hour, Ms.Frances changed expressions of family members and swapped the dog's head between images. She slenderized bodies, adjusted skin tones, and changed the color of a couple outfits to make for a more unified palette. She even straightened the collar on one son's shirt."- Ella Robinson

This story began with Theresa Newman Rolley hiring a photographer to create a portrait of she and her deceased father. She had no actual picture of them together but with the technology available to us today, this was no difficult task. This "moment that never happened" sits in her living room and it still has the power to bring tears to her eyes. Per Gylfe, the manager of the digital media lab at the International Center of Photography in New York believes that photography has always represented a slight distortion of reality. He proceeds to say that a photographer has the power to create different impressions of the same scene by adding some elements in the frame and omitting others or by changing lenses. Today, the internet is becoming a more popular way to keep up with friends and loved ones . Everybody has albums upon albums that consist of photographs, some altered and some unaltered. Magazines are covered with beautiful women whose faces have been entirely enhanced in Photoshop. Alan D. Entin, a clinical psychologist in Richmond, Va uses family photographs as a major part in his therapy. He tries to use these raw materials to help inspire discussion about their relationships in their family. "They're a record. They have existed over time and space. They are important documents. To alter them is to invite self-deception." Opinions will vary, but i believe photoshop is a wonderful tool. I digitally manipulate my images to bring life to what already existed. It doesn't hurt to enhance your pictures and I think it makes perfect since that people can find comfort in photographs that aren't real.

Alex Williams. "I Was There. Just Ask Photoshop." The New York Times. 15 Aug 2008. 11 Sept 2008..

Complete

2008-09-07T21:10:00.001-07:00

Paul Thulin has read your blog up to this point/entry. Your blog is currently up to date and complete.

Sunday 2

2008-09-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

Mark Halper currently resides in California where he was born in 1965 . His work is commercial based but has a fine art edge to it. In high school Halper focused on film and in his later years in college he studied photography. He graduated from USC in 1987 with a degree in international relations. It was only one year later that he decided to pursue more studies in commercial photography at UCLA. He works with architecture and still life mostly. He has worked for large companies including Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise and Golf.

Interview

http://www.doubleexposure.com/PTI_Halper.shtml

Gallery

http://www.palmspringsphotofestival.com/hyyp

*Website*

http://studiomark.com/main.html

Thursday 1

2008-09-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Inevitable

"We can make people care about the world if we learn to stop and take the time to tell a good story." - Bryan Storm Panzer, Mary."Photojournalism For the Web Generation." The Wall Street Journal 08 Jul. 2008. . In 2005, Bryan Storm created a multimedia production company known as MediaStorm. This remarkable company holds the future for photojournalism. It's main purpose "is to usher in the next generation of multimedia storytelling by publishing social documentary projects incorporating photojournalism, interactivity, animation , audio and video for distribution across multiple media." With the internet coming alive in the 1990's, photojournalism began to change drastically. It used to be that a story evoloved first and the photograph followed. Now we start with an image and then bulild a story around it. This website has expanded over the years and now currently offers over 20 stories. Storm made his site capable of many convenient tasks such as fowarding articles to friends, making comments on stories, or even buying DVDs and music. Bryan firmly believes that quality is most important and MediaStorm proves that.

This article sparked my interest when I came across it becuase I work in a similar field. I have worked a few jobs for the Richmond Times Dispatch and I have learned alot about photojournalism through the process. I think its unfortunate that journalism is becoming more popular on the internet than in print. However, a lot more creativity and freedom is available with the web and I think Bryan was fortunate enough to figure that out.

How to Name Your Blog

2008-09-01T18:16:00.001-07:00

Please make sure your blog title is in the following format:

Last Name: VCU Senior Portfolio

Sunday 1

2008-08-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Mark T. Smith grew up in Brooklyn New York. He graduated from Pratt University in 1990. His career took off at age 22 when he landed a job with Walt Disney. From there, he proceeded to work for Chevrolet, Absolut Vodka, Pepsi, and Vh1 ( just to name a few). This year he became an official Olympic artist. " His work is very colorful and appeals to the youth of America and the world" says Jack Scharr, owner and president of Fine Art Ltd. in Chesterfield Mo.

He works with traditional forms of art. Marks work consists of mainly paintings, sculptures and drawings. he is a strong believer that art has the power to change our lives. Art should be incorporated in every day life. A lot of his work has been shown in galleries and museums.

INTERVIEW

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/the-olympics-of-illustration-an-interview-with-mark-t-smith

LINK TO GALLERY

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1308176853&channel=537308515http://brighto

*WEBSITE*

http://www.marktsmith.com/site/

Word

2008-08-28T11:43:00.000-07:00