Courtney 1/24/10

This week, for my first blog, I didn't get a chance to see a show. So, next best thing....look up an artist that Libby suggests. I was looking through my syllabus and remembered that we will have some visiting artists soon. One of them is Lupita Tinnen. The first thing that came up when I googled her was her "Mourning sickness" series. This series of photos is very powerful. Shot in black and white, they portray her personal struggle with infertility. Almost all of the shots are of Lupita in varying poses that illustrate her despair. She never faces the camera, allowing other viewers to be able to fill her shoes. While she is clearly the focus of the shots, the way she uses the rooms, furniture, fabric and daily use items help drive home the idea of loss and spare-ness. Many of the shots have a window that shines brightly, almost as if to suggest hope in an other wise hopeless situation. I love all the shots of this series, but the one that keeps me looking is one that sort of looks like a double exposure. It shows her as a translucent figure standing over a counter near a sink. She appears to be almost disappearing. It is beautiful and haunting.