Brian Bress's work is one of the ultimate examples of how mixed photography has become with other mediums. I didn't know if I should call it a video, performance, photography, or fine arts sculpture. The overall concept was very creative and thoughtful, since it was based off of one of his idol designers. I also found the work very interesting and creative. When it first started playing, I couldn't tell what was going on until their were shapes cut out of the striped pattern. The little eyes on the moving parts, which was actually the artist moving, were humorous, while the patterns created an interesting optical illusion. The artist became part of his work, which I find quite unique. The only critique I had for the video is that I found it very long and had to skip to some of the areas.
Walead Beshty at the Curve, Barbican Center in London
Walead Beshty is an artist who has work featured at the Barbican Center in London. His work is a large scale installation on a curved wall showing a collection of cyanotype of everyday things. This items were actually waste materials and byproducts that his art studio used over the course of 14 months. The cyanotype are organized on the wall like a calendar year in a tetris style to minimize vacant space and to avoid making a narrative. The cyanotype are blue tinted. Cenotype works by coating any type of material in a particular chemical as an emulsion, then laying an object on top and exposing it to light. The after effect is then washed in water and it leaves a silhouette depending on how transparent the object was. The cyanotypes tell a story of the history of the museum, his own travels, communications between people, personal materials, mail, and many other relationships. These relationships may be mechanical to human, mechanical to mechanical, or human to human. They show all the forces of the studio together. The items also show locations such as Los Angeles and London and time periods. There is 7,000 objects cyanotyped on the wall. Their were so many waste materials that Beshty made 41 book volumes, documenting all of the waste made.
Walead Beshty's art exhibition really makes me think about how much waste a person or company makes in the world. We as humans really need to think about sustainability when we produce and use consumable objects. Even Beshty's art exhibition makes me question whether his work helps the environment by using wasted materials with the cyanotypes, or if it produces more waste.
Interview with Penelope Umbrico
Penelope Umbrico's work focuses on collecting sunset images from many people that use the website Flickr and then cropping the images. She created a screensaver called Sun Screen, which is a collection of the sunset images. Her work shows the idea that everyone talks a picture of themselves with a sunset, to show their presence there as something special, but in reality everyone has done the same photograph. Umbrico refers to her work as photo-based rather than photography. Her collection of photographs that people have taken show that their is a particular pattern people use subconsciously when taking photographs of particular subjects, in this case sunsets. Since everyone is takes photographs of sunsets, this natural beauty in life when shown in a photograph does not impress us anymore.
One thing I noticed is that her screen saver titled Sun Screen, should have a seizure warning on it, along with this entire interview with Umbrico. When I saw the flashing lights on the screen from her artwork, I decided I would rather listen to the interview the rest of the video, rather than watch the video. Her artwork using these sunset images actually caused burn marks over time on the monitors that displayed it.
Umbrico's other featured work that was talked about in the video was a never ending sunset screen saver. Unlike the other work, it is actually peaceful and not seizure prone. The work shows a sunset that never ends, trying to capture a moment we never want to end when we see it in real life.
Fantasy - Cao Fein
For many of us, not just Cao Fein, we grow up in a mixture of pop culture and many different cultures. Fein talked about how music is an very important and emotional part of work. She originally worked with creating art about hip hop and its influence on others. After that work she switched to another subject matter of cos-players and how the feel connected to the characters and the story lines. For many of the younger generation, we feel discontent with our own roles in our lives, which is why many of us choose to "escape", through cos-playing, video games, or other mediums.
For me, I enjoy playing video games or wanting to be a cos-player. To many they say its an "escape", and for some people it is an escape from reality. But, this is the person's choice ultimately. I think the media puts a lot of pressure on people who play video games or do other activities that are not the norm. I think a person could "escape" reality through almost any type of activity, especially through social media. For me, I think the judgment of others doing activities they love shouldn't be so highly criticized. As long as they are not hurting others in the process, or becoming obsessed in a way its hurting themselves, I honestly don't see what the big issue is.
Going back to Cao Fein's work, I really enjoyed her collection of work focused on workers in their working environments with their role playing fantasies being showed. It shows the idea of how corporate culture only cares about the overall project that is being created, not necessarily the workers that help complete the project.
As a video gamer myself, I already knew the concepts that Fein's work talked about with her video game artwork. She developed herself in a virtual world, and learned how video games work. She even spent real money on how she looked virtual, to which I admit doing as well. The actual game she was on is called Second Life, I have heard of the game, but have not played it myself. For video gamers we all have particular game types we enjoy. To me Second Life is too much of a socialization game with others. I also dislike the graphic quality. The irony is I would criticize the game as, not really being a "game" per say, since it doesn't have a beginning-to-end plot. To me it is more of a social media outlet where people can meet up. But to each their own.
While Fein played the Second Life she was also introduced to the concept of "romance" between players in the virtual reality. Her "romance" did not transpire to any actual romance in real life. This concept does bring up some dangers of meeting people from virtual games. Many people who say they are a particular sex, age, and type of person, may not actually be in real life. In games many women actually play male characters, to avoid crude comments from others. Even men play women, if a particular character has a certain "body type", or perhaps that character just has better stats. While romances from video games is still criticized by the main public, this is slowly starting to fade. Online dating through websites like e-harmony and apps like tinder have changed these ideas. The idea of romance itself is changing, but that is a different topic entirely.
When Fein played the video game, she created her own own 3d virtual city called RMB. She designed the whole city and then uploaded it to Second Life. The city captured the idea of interrelationships between humans and nature, with the idea that the people their would not be oppressed by a government system or capitalism. Cao Fein's artwork is probably criticized by some as not being "art" but to me, I think it pushes the boundaries of what the future of art can be. I appreciate that she focuses on topics that to some are still unusual, or not the norm.
RIP - A Remix Manifesto
This is the second time I have watched, A Remix Manifesto, and most of my options on the issue of copyright have not changed. This creative common’s film
discusses the issues of copyright as well as human nature and intellectual
property. As a designer, like myself, it’s one of the most important topics you must
understand for your career. If you are caught or even accused of a copyright
issue, it can make or break your career. We are
bombarded with design around us, especially advertising. It becomes something
designers must consciously think about so we do not take in designs from our
subconscious of the world around us or through our research.
Copyright was
created with the intent on protecting people’s ideas and creativity. This law
also addresses the notion of previous ideas and works made in the past.
However, when you think about creativity and new ideas, you could say there is
no such thing. Human nature’s thoughts and abilities are always based upon past
work. I believe that there is no new idea or creation that someone can think
upon. The film states an important phrase, that culture builds on the past. For
example, today’s technology was always based on past technology, and before
that, the notion or means of creating this technology. Another example is
music. If an artist creates a song, there is a chance that the tune, lyric, or
notes were used previously. But even those past songs are copyrighting too. Aren’t
they copyrighting the notes or language of the past? This argument may seem
like it is taking copyright to the extreme, however, that the issue society is
experiencing today.
The ideas of copyright and creativity can get tangled and create issues in
society. One example the film talks about is remix music artists taking small
pieces of other works of songwriters and musicians and mixing them to create
their own song. However, they are not paying for the rights to use the songs. I
personally go back and forth on the issue. On one hand, he didn’t do all the
hard work of singing, or playing the instruments for the song, his talent and
creativity was combining old beats and speech to create something new. He also
didn’t pay the original artist that worked so hard. It seems even more
controversial when they make a profit out of it. On the other hand, I still
like the follow the notion of letting others express their creativity, and
pushing the boundaries of society. What is considered right or wrong in this
situation?
It doesn’t help matters when copyright is being used by large companies who
realized that the common people were able to take over their jobs of spreading
movies or music. The consumers were now becoming the creators. They use
copyright now as a means of keeping their profits. I understand when someone
works so hard to create something, and wants to protect it from people who
blatantly steal. My worse fear in the creative industry is seeing one of my own
graphic works being claimed by another, and for a profit. This is why I
somewhat support copyrights. However, who is to say my own work hasn’t been
just an adaption of previous artists? What really stood out most to me was when
businesses are very harsh on the common people. I realize that it is the common
people who illegally download movies or music, but today it has almost become a
common crime that people admit to. There is something to be said when a
billion-dollar company, not the artist of a song, tries and succeeds in suing
or settling against a father whose child’s friends downloaded a song on their
computer, or a single mother from a lower social class. These people are forced
to pay sometimes over $150 thousand dollars per song downloaded, and/or have a
chance of prison time for 5 years. There is no way to kill off the technology
that may dampen or hurt an industry, but does that mean we must criminalize
those who use it? There is also an issue of these companies extending their
copyrights privileges so much, that their company is profiting and controlling
the entire market or ideas that coincide with the professional work.
The copyright issue extends to beyond just the United States. Many countries
unlike ours don't have the same copyright regulations. The United States
pressures or helps these countries conform to our copyright laws, forcing the
countries to start criminalizing their own people. It is a system that isn't
working. Copyrighting has also been shown in some cases to limit scientific
progress, especially in medicine. To the extreme case, there are now copyrights
to patent organisms. For instance, a person who patented a particular plant in
the rain forest now benefits from all profit and use of the plant. What about
the issues of the indigenous people who lived their first and used the plant as
an important medicine? What about making sure the plant is preserved, and
doesn't go extinct due to a man's greed for profit? If a living organism can be
copyrighted how far will the laws go in the future?
In the end comes an important question, can we put a price or limit to human
creativity? And if so, who would be even given the authority of doing so? I personally support the idea of having the free will of expressing
yourself through creative means. I also believe this comes with some rules which should be used for at least some sense of courtesy. If you use someone’s idea
or work, you should give them attribution or cite them. As a designer, I like
to try and make all aspects of the design come from my own hard work. (Even
though like we stated, all new ideas are not really “new”). I would rather have my own credit for the designs I make then asking or having to pay for others. There is also the
fine line of profit. If you are using someone’s work, you probably shouldn’t be
making a profit off of it unless stated by that person. Creativity is
expressing your own feelings of another idea or work but in the manner of how
you feel or take from it. One thing we do have freedom for now is
making our own opinions of the issue, as long as those aren't copyrighted
too.
Contacts Volume 3 - Bernd and Hilla Becher
Bernd and Hilla Becher are two German photographers who collaborate photographing industrial complex buildings before they are demolished. They are also the famous founders of the "Dusseldorf School" and have influenced generations of documentary photographers and artists. They take photographs in Europe and abroad in the United States. They focus on factories of mining, coal, and limestone. They follow a historic thread of these buildings. They would take photographs of the buildings and then make them smaller seem smaller through the images. They focused on the architecture of the buildings, which show the age and history. They continue to photograph these buildings because they realized that these architecture buildings would eventually disappear and they are an important part of our history.
When they take photographs of many buildings of the same type, they arrange them into a grid. This allows viewers to see the small details and differences between the buildings, even though they are of the same type. The grid also creates a pleasing harmony. Each photograph corresponds to another. It is important for each photograph to relate to each other, no matter how far apart they may seem on the grid. Even though the buildings have the same function, they can have different designs.
They use a telephoto lens to avoid distortion to keep the truest realism. Bernd and Hilla have to plan when they take the photograph, because the seasons matter. In winter a building may be more visible than in summer, because of foliage. Each building type has a different angle for photographing, so it can fit within the frame. In order to get an accurate image, they use a small aperture, and take the photos on a foggy days, with low light and less background. They also make sure their compositions are composed, they make sure the horizon is at 3/4, to make the building the centerpiece. They also pay attention to light and dark objects in the composition.
Bernd and Hilla want to see in an objective way, they want to express the buildings alone. They state, "objectivity and subjectivity blend together". The objects they photograph speak for themselves. Growing up and living in Indiana, I see many industrial buildings and old houses. I always saw them as something impressive in a sense that human's made them, but I never saw them as beautiful. I always saw them as either boring, or contrasting with the environment. It wasn't until I saw Bernd and Hilla's photographs of the objects put in a grid format that I began to admire all the details. I think it is a remarkable subject matter that they chose to focus on. To take something most people ignore and to enhance their architectural qualities.
DV8 Physical Theatre - The Cost of Living
I must state, to me this 30 minute film is one of the weirdest and most deep films I have ever watched, and yet I enjoy it. I know that there is supposed to be some kind of hidden meaning behind the scenes, but maybe the point is for everyone who watches to interpret it differently. I think what I enjoyed most about this was the dance scenes. You can tell they were practiced and practiced for the synchronization. There are parts of humor, parts of sadness, and parts of elegance to the film. I think some of the themes seen in the film are: friendships, sexuality, loneliness, disabilities, mental illnesses, and being different. I think one of the biggest themes of the film was the human body. The theme is enhanced by the dancing forms of the actors within the scenes. I also think it shows us that disabled people (Dave) and mental ill people (perhaps Eddie) are normal people too. Instead of focusing on what is missing from them, everyone should be focusing on their strengths.
The filming of the show was beautiful, there were many shots taken at the eye level of the disabled man, as well as the other characters. There were scenes the acting was so good it made us wonder and question what we missed in some of the cut scenes. I think the music lined up with the dancing perfectly.
My favorite parts were how the disabled man, Dave, and the Scottish man, Eddie had many scenes showing their friendship between one another, such as putting makeup on, riding on a scooter together, and finally the ending scene were Eddie makes Dave see the point of view of having legs. I also enjoyed the moments between the hula hoop dancer and the lone dancing man. They compliment each other and complete one another (relationship goals). The film is a a work of art in of itself.
Jeff Wall - Contacts Volume 2
Jeff Wall originally wanted to be a painter, but realized that photography in the future will have a larger aspect with society. He likes to show his photographs in large formats, similar to paintings. He likes the style of advertisements when they are illuminated. So he sets up his photographs in galleries with a light box behind them.
One of his works is a room fabricated in a studio, he designed it so people could see it was a set. The composition looks like a violent scene took place, or it was abandoned. He based it off of the painting, Death of Sardanapalus. Wall states that many of his photos have to do with violence and action.
He also collaborates with performers and models, just like how classical painters would do in the past. His work is a representation of an event, like a performance. Pictures are about maintaining a certain visibility of something, what it shows and what it doesn't show. Wall states photographs are "simply a fragment or a microcosmos".
One of his works is showing the inteior of a round building, and it is shot on a panoramic camera. He wants people to notice the parts of the image you can't see. He does by having the actors look off into the distance.
Walls later works are photomontages. He created a work showing dead soldiers that have woken up and are carrying on a conversation with one another. At the time the Afghanistan war was also taking place, so he build a set designed to look like the landscape there. He composed the scene just like painter and took photographs piece by piece. He then assembled them electronically, creating the perfect illusion. There is a lot of detail showing different emotions of the soldiers. Wall states he thinks all of his works have some grotesque feeling.
A lot of his pictures involve movement, which is why he directs his photography just like a film director. He likes to create characters that have some type of autonomous existence. His work is impressive to me, because he is doing all of these edits before the existence of Photoshop. He collages the picture prints together and by doing this creates a slight noticeable overlap. Sometimes he discretely hides this overlap in a particular way, while other times he does not. He thinks that it is good to show how the process is made.
I think Jeff Wall's work is impressive because of how much work he does to make a college seem seamless. I also think his ability to compare his work with fine arts paintings and films is inspiring. As a designer I also like to apply or take inspiration from other art forms.
Vic Muniz - Wasteland
Vic Muniz is a Brazilian-born photographer born in 1961. While he I label him a photographer, he is actually much more than that. He constructs art using garbage and then photographs the arranged materials. After photographing the work he then dismantles the physical artwork, and the garbage or recycled materials then return to their original context. Before Muniz was famous for his work, he was a lower middle class, he often thinks how easy he could have ended up as a worse off person if something bad had happened to his family. Now that he is famous he wishes to help others the less fortunate in Brazil by using his artwork.
Muniz traveled to Jardim Gramacho, a large landfill in a peninsula part of Brazil. There he learned over 2,500 people live there. In order to survive the people are pickers. They sort through the garbage to find recyclable materials, and get paid an average of only 20 dollars a day. They have started a small organization trying to get the government of Brazil to institute schools for the children and a recycling plant for the wasted materials. Muniz goal is to change the lives of these people with the same materials they deal with every day.
Muniz meets the pickers and they show him how where they live and how they do their job. He along with the pickers collect materials for Muniz to use for his artwork. He tells them that all the proceeds to the artworks will go towards helping them live a better life. I think one of the biggest things Muniz didn't realize is how changed he as an artist will become after this project. He never expected to form a friendship or bond with the pickers.
The pickers have little education but are still proud of themselves and their jobs. Many have ended up in their situation due to losing loved ones. Even though many of them hate the work, they want to save the environment and survive. The life of a picker is also dangerous, with accidents happening. The pickers have formed a strong community with one another because they are all in the same situation. Some of the workers are also children with the youngest being age 7. Many of the girls would rather work at the landfill than be associated with prostitution or the drug cartel. The pickers state they learn a lot about people they have never met by viewing the garbage. Garbage from different classes all ending up in the same location.
Muniz photographs the pickers in poses appropriating older famous works of art such as paintings. He then projects the image in a large warehouse and with the help of the pickers he directs the pickers into forming the images of the people. After the work is done, he photographs the work to be reprinted and sold. Muniz battles the idea of whether or not he is actually helping these people. Many of them have changed their views on life and garbage after helping Muniz make his artwork. He asks himself if it is wrong to mess with their minds show them new locations such as London, and then have them to go back to the landfill. However, many of the pickers think the whole experience was good for them, and that if given the opportunity to do it all over, they would do it again. With the artwork selling at the auction being a success many of the pickers lives have now changed for the better financially, many of them pursuing their goals in life. Muniz was also able to help their organization for recyclable materials grow and the community as well. There is now a library and educational centre for the children.
The overall question before watching this video was, "Can artwork really help people and change lives?" My answer to this has always been a "yes", but it wasn't until seeing Muniz's video that I saw how effective art could help others. Even though he only changed a few people's lives, he still made a big impact for those people. I do wonder if the project would have been a success if Muniz was not famous. Perhaps not, but I do think he is at least using his famous status to help better the lives of others. He states that he could have been one of those people easily if his life were different. I think it is amazing how he takes something of no value like garbage and creates value to it. He not only helps the environment but people too. He has educated and empowered the pickers with knowledge. Even in a different context I believe when other people look at art they are changed by it. Any art can provoke emotions to its viewer, and these emotions could potentially impact them, no matter how big or small.
Georges Rousse - Untitled Video
Georges Rousse is considered a conceptual photographer. By this I mean his work always has a concept behind it and its an abstraction from reality. Rousse photographs locations of abandon places such as destroyed buildings after war. To me this is a beautiful way of using old abandon places and transforming them into appreciated works of art. When he first started his work he would photograph the locations and then paint figurative abstract people on the walls as "memories" of the location.
Mousse's style and subject matter then shifted to painting abstract 3D optical illusions on the abandoned walls, floors, and ceilings of the locations. The 3D objects look like real sculptural forms. He then began shortly afterwards another style of painting where he would paint abstract colors on the building and its structures within it, creating a new space.
When he chooses a location he makes sure the location has a vast amount of space for photographing. He then begins imagining his work within the new space. He first photographs the location in polaroids to fix his compositions before actually painting on the walls. He plans out his artwork because his end result needs to the artwork to look flat in a 3D environment. I think its amazing how much work is done to make the space optically correct.
Rouses states that architecture is an important part of his work. If a location is too small, he states, "he cuts into the wall and enlarges the space, and restore a dimension that already exists but was divided up... sometime to capture light". When he states and I look his artwork, I am baffled. Does he mean he physically cuts up the walls to reveal the other space? Or does he paint these spaces within his work? The optical illusions of his work are so good, I am unable to tell what he has created, and what was already within the building.
He then focuses on a particular shape, the circle. This allows him more freedom in his artwork, because most of the places we live are angular. He views it as a metaphor to our eyes. Rouses summarizes his work well within one sentence. "I photograph what is in a real place, but the images I create can not speak as to what is really happening in the space."
His work is complex and rich. With notes, photographs and diagrams to create his work. He took this a step further by including these notes in his work with the text in perspectives. In Italy he created a series of work just focusing on the sunlight within 3D spaces, questioning light which is crucial to photography. He uses color crucially, to creating feelings for its viewers.
His work is a collage of photography, light, paint, and moments. All of this work is something I can't help but appreciate as an artist. This creates the spiritual part of art.
Just when I think his artwork is complex enough, he brings in scientific survey maps into his 3D spaces as well. These maps are complex line work, so I can only imagine how much time it took to line up each line within the 3D space. He names his work by the location its in and year it was done. As a traveling artist he likes the idea of appropriating each location he goes to.
Georges Rousse to me is more than a photographer. I can only imagine the complex solutions of space that his mind can solve for his artwork. He has created something to us, as a new style of photography, painting, and space combined. I would love to go into one of the locations he has created an artwork in and walk around to see the changing of the space.
Cindy Sherman - Nobody's here but Me
As a graphic artist and newly digital photographer, I have studied art history in terms of fine arts but I am new to the history of photography and its artists. Before watching this video I had no idea who Cindy Sherman was, though I had heard other photographers say her name.
Cindy Sherman is a new york based postmodern photographer famous for her photographs of women. What makes her so unique is that she is her own model in her photographs. The video states, "she shows disturbing visions of contemporary America and unsettling landscape of solitary women". But her work is so much more than that. She has managed to stir the pot of what it means to be an artist and what subject matters should be. Many people write and argue over what her work is supposed to mean, but the best part is she doesn't care. By using dramatic lighting and strange subjects and a camera is able to capture her composed art pieces better than if she were to take tedious amounts of time to paint them. She likes the idea that photography makes people believe everything and that it's not the artist behind it. Her camera gives her a way to tell and create stories that seem impossible.
Many of Cindy Sherman's first work show how many women like herself feel scared or upset about how society portrays women and girls. Cindy talks about how when she first moved to New York she feels unsafe being a woman walking down the streets. I believe many women feel the need to put up a defense because they feel scared. There is this stereotype that all women have to be role models and this is a big shoe for many young girls to try and fit into. She perfectly captures how some women feel, the glamor of Hollywood, and the hidden anger that goes with it. Although she doesn't see herself as a political or feministic person, she does try and touch on some topics she sees in the world around her. For her photoshoots, she often dresses up to look unrecognizable, just as she played dress up as a girl. One of her photo collections is a horizontal book format showing women. To many the women look like victims. This was the only works of art Cindy directly tried to make male viewers feel ashamed and make people feel bad for the male gaze.
Cindy Sherman likes to push the boundaries of her audience. She takes on controversial issues such as sexuality, nudity, and censorship when the NEA began censoring art. She poked fun at the organization making pornography using plastic. She always has her eye out for weird props and issues to address in her work. She likes to challenge herself and others, creating artwork that to most, you wouldn't hang up in your home. To many her artwork is about death, which can happen at any time and is something unknown. However, this is just one theory of many.
In my eyes, Cindy Sherman is one of the best female photographers names you could categorize under postmodern photography. I state this because of how she adopts controversial topics that some artist shy away from. She lets her audience run wild with theories as to why she does what she does. She is not afraid to poke fun at others or push her work too far. I can't say that she started something completely new because nothing is new in the art world. However, she has made us feel that her work is something new, and something to be admired, even if it is of the unusual. Ultimately she puts her artwork up for people to look at. You can then judge it and try and understand it and make-up what you like about it because it is up to you the viewer.
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