Blair Bodden submits Susan Seubert

Libby directed me to this artist

Susan Seubert received her BFA in Photography from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 1992.

Susan is known for her fine art photography as well as her photo journalism. She has completed work for National Geographic Traveler and The New York Times. She is skilled with the techniques in silver gelatin, platinum, and tintype. The photo shown above form a collection called Nest, which, is a series of 25 images of wild bird nests. This series was an investigation of natural architecture and is done in wet plate collodion. Her use of tintypes in her work is what peaked my interest. It is the way it takes the image from black and white or color and make it something more. It puts it in a different era and sense of being for the audience.

the link below is to her website

http://www.seubertfineart.com/

Andrea Couture submits Michael Macioce

Yet another documentary photographer! Michael Macioce is a photographer from New York who got his start photographing the NY music scene in the 80s. He has gone on to photograph Europe, old toys, and the Jewish community. What drew me to his photographs is the quality of the photographs. The majority of his work has an old feeling to it with the grain and type lighting. His work reminds me of someone like Eugene Atget, working in the late 1800s to early 1900s, instead of someone working within the past 20-30 years.

The photograph from above is from his series called Jewish Rituals. For this series he spent a lot of time in a Jewish community documenting the traditions that they practiced. I was drawn to this particular photograph because of the dramatic light that is given by the candles and the expressions on the little girls' faces. The angle that this photo was taken has the viewer pretty much at eye level with the girls which gives the feeling that the viewer is also a child standing around the candles. The curious/rebellious expression on the faces gives me a sense that these girls are not quite sure why they do the things they do for each tradition but that they are just following suit. As children we usually copy what our parents, family members, or friends do because we feel that it is the "right" thing to do and not because it is what we want to do.

I really enjoyed looking at Macioce's work and I would recommend looking at it too.

http://www.macioce.org/index.html

Andrea Couture submits James Pomerantz

James Pomerantz is a young contemporary photographer. Most of his work is documentary but can change with each project. He travels around the world documenting different cultures. Many of the places he goes are post Soviet areas. He does a wonderful job capturing the hardships a country and its citizens go through while trying to rebuild themselves but he is also able to show how these situations have become normal for the people. I have traveled to a country that was once under the rule of the Soviet Union so I am able to identify with his photographs. His photographs take me back to the things and faces I saw while on my travels.

Above is a photograph from Pomerantz's series Agua Sagrada. This body of work has a bit of a different feeling from the rest of his work. At first glance the photos from this series look like they have been staged but after reading an interview with him on http://atlengthmag.com/ I found out that this was not the case. He shot these photos while visiting a cenote in Mexico. He said that he sat on a ledge in the cenote and watched how the swimming people interacted with the one spot of light in the cave. I think that these photos are beautiful in their simplistic state and I enjoy seeing the different expressions and reactions people have to the one light source.

To see more of Pomerantz's work go to his website:

http://www.jamespomerantz.com/

Yvette Coronado submits Katy Grannan

Katy Grannan's work can be described as part portrait and part documentary photography. I find her work to be truly fasinating in technique and in substance. Her style seems fashioned after Diane Arbus and Nan Goldin, in that her work is honest and also eerie. In her early series, Grannan found her subjects through classified ads in local Northeastern newspapers that read," Art models. Artist/photographer(female) seeks people for portraits. No experience necessary. Leave msg." This is how Grannan complied the series in which the photo above was taken, The Poughkeepsie Journal (1998-99). Her subjects posed how they wished and in their own homes. Through these non-professional models, Grannan captures the sense of secrecy and desire not found in average portraits. Today Grannan lives and works outside San Fransisco, California.
Visit Katy Grannan's website at http://www.katygrannan.com

Irene Lozano submits Justine Reyes

I began to research Justine Reyes after I came across her name in the Humble Arts, 31 Women in Art photography exhibit online. The images in this exhibit were inspired by Dutch Vanitas paintings, and Reyes incorporated personal objects that belonged to her grandmother and possessions of her own to translate the concept of memory and the passage of time. I was interested in more in her concept than the subject matter in this particular series, therefore I looked up more of her past work and found a series that I was drawn to named “Mask Series”. In this series of large scale colored self portraits, Reyes created a number of handmade masks made of pantyhose. I found it interesting that the masks were made of material that a person generally wears buried underneath clothes and close to very private areas, are exposed on the artist’s face. The pantyhose material almost becomes unrecognizable in the way the masks were constructed. As a viewer you are pushed to unmasking the layers of this person’s identity. The material used to create the masks also adds sexual connotation to the image. She works with pantyhose because they are a sexual reference but also make reference to the masks of criminals. These close up head shots create tension with the viewer because you are not aware of what lies beneath the material, on a few, you get a glimpse of skin and piercing eyes. I am drawn to this body of work because it explores identity and creates tension. The artist has said that “The mystery that the veil or mask creates is one that is highly sexualized. There is a tension created by veiling. Some people are afraid of not knowing what lies beneath the veil. In this work, I use the mask to explore issues of identity, veiling and the gaze in relationship to power and sexuality.”
http://www.justinereyes.com/

Irene Lozano submits Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle is a French photographer whose work emerged in the late seventies and eighties. Her work often depicts human vulnerability and examines both identity and intimacy. She is a photographer and installation artist. She is known to follow strangers and examine their private lives. The more and more I look at her work, I realize that her photographs become social investigations. The “Blind” Series is a favorite of mine, it was made in 1986. For this series of photographs, Calle examines the life of blind people. She spent a year with people who were born blind, asked them what their image of beauty was, and then translated the descriptions into a visual form. Each work in the series has three components: a black and white portrait of the blind person, a quoted text panel of the person, and a colored photograph in which Calle tries to represent what beauty is through the blind person’s eyes.

I have posted a photo of “The Blind 19” that is a part of this series. In this particular part of the project, Calle took a black and white portrait of this blind woman who gives a direct stare to the viewer. To the right of the portrait, Calle has a framed quote of what this woman’s notion of beauty is. It reads, “The man I live with is the most beautiful thing I know. Even though he can be a few inches taller, I never came across absolute perfection. I prefer well built men. It’s a question of size and shape. Facial features don’t mean much to me. What pleases me aesthetically is a man’s body, slim and muscular.” Calle then interprets the woman’s idea of beauty by producing a color photograph of a man lying on a bed with his back towards the camera with contrasting elements of light and dark falling on his bare body. I find this series engaging because it allows the viewer to gain insight on what it’s like to be blind and also questions the notion of beauty.

Brittany Kennedy July 29, 2010 Matthew Barney

Matthew Barney works in various mediums including sculpture, photography, drawing, and film. As I was browsing online and thinking of random artist his name came to mind and I needed to refresh myself on his work. Upon finding his website online and doing research I came across some interesting grotesque yet gorgeous photos. It may be cliche to call a photo beautiful or gorgeous but the controversy conveyed through the images of ugly vs beautiful is captivating. He worked on a series of films titled the "Cremaster Cycle" in which he explores ideas of transformation and metamorphic change from the human body into sea creatures/ mammals. The film was said to be one of the most brilliant avant-garde cinema. The still image of the two "guest" engaging in passionate and intimate conversation through actions of kissing and mutilation draws the viewer in from content to composition. The space created is so intimate in conjunction with the "guest" actions that it forces one to wonder where they are and why they have knifes in their hands. This is the relationship within photos that pulls me in. That mental stimulation created through controversy of content that causes the viewer to go beyond what they are given in the image to connect a story line. One in which can be of pure interpretation from what is given or literal analyzations from symbols to formal aspects of the image. This image for me does all of that in one. Barney chose a hues that sets a specific mood with slightly awkward juxtapositions of poses along with the perspective created by the formal lines of the architectural squares that get so abruptly cut off that it allows the image to be intimate and uncomfortable at the same time. Many of the other images from this work are stellar in content and formal composition and would be interesting in a polyptych.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_Restraint_9

http://enews.art-signal.com/2007/09/27/olafur-elliasson-y-kjetil-thorsen-disenan-el-serpentine-gallery-pavilion-2007-de-londres/

Yvette Coronado submits Gillian Wearing

Gillian Wearing's photo seen here is entitled, "Self Portrait at 17 Years Old, "and was taken in 2003, when the artist was forty years old. This photo belongs to Wearing's series entitled Album, in which the artist re-created old family photographs in a large scale format. Through the use of makeup , costume, and masks Wearing portrays her mother, father, sister, brother, uncle and her younger self. I find Wearing's re-invention of portraiture photography to be brilliant.I enjoy the idea of taking something so intimate as a family album and turning it around to create characters and stories that can be accessible to everyone. I also fancy the element of disguise and it's use to explore issues of identity. Wearing is a British artist who was also part of the YBAs and won the Turner Prize in 1997.

To see all of Gillian Wearing's Album, visit http://www.albrightknox.org/acquistions/acq-2004/wearing.html

Yvette Coronado submits Nikki S. Lee

Nikki S. Lee is a New York based artist who is not only a photographer, but also a filmmaker. Lee's photography is based on her transformation into different characters and subcultures. Her

disguises allow her to transcend class, race, and gender. This photo is taken from Lee's series entitled, Parts 2002-2005. In Parts, Lee is seen photographed with different men, in which we only can see certain parts of the men. Lee has said of her series,"I adopted the cliche of cutting pictures to show personal identity is affected by other people and different kinds of relationships." Libby suggested that I look into Lee's work and I admit I am truly enlightened by it. I enjoy Lee's snapshot aesthetic and her photos play like part documentary and part performance.

You can see more of Nikki S. Lee's work at http://www.tonkonow.com/lee.html

Brittany Kennedy July 28, 2010

Harry Callahan was a photographer that Libby directed me to for inspiration. His images are aesthetically stunning. The content of his work is a mix between exploiting nature, architecture combined with simplifying the formal shapes combined with the human figure. He plays with natural light sources using the window as a formal element in the photograph which radiates the sillouhetted figure in an almost abstract way yet still very representational. The tonal ranges in his images are captivating creating subtle gradations in contrast between the blacks and whites. Callahan's printing technique provides the images with a sense of inviting warmth into private spaces. Elenor, Callahan's wife is the woman in the photograph which enhances the content in terms of a private space being documented & photograph with the illusion that the person may not know the camera is there since her back is turned. These images lend to similar content that I found in Carrie Yury's photographs except her images are modern and contemporary versus Callahans straight forward black and white images which stand well on their own as a statement!

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/C/callahan/callahan_eleanor_chi48.html

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/C/callahan/callahan_providence_69.html

Blair Bodden submits Robb Kendrick

This imagery may not interest everyone but maybe his technique may spark an interest in you.

Robb Kendrick is a known National Geographic photographer and a sixth-generation Texan. Kendrick has become very intrigued in using tintypes to portray his subjects. This artist does not use batteries or memory cards or even film for his pictures. Kendrick just uses time, patience, a wooden box camera, and some good old hard work. His pictures are made by exposing and developing wet iron plates after they have been coated with a light-sensitive solution of silver nitrate. He prepares the plates in a portable field darkroom. The subject matter that intrigues Kendrick to produce this painstaking work is the world of cowboys. The cowboy culture has been around for 100s of years and never changing this is what seems to attract Kendrick to his subject matter.
Kendrick has also use tintype to document Mexican Mummies the book is entitled Changelings. Kendrick drives from state to state and also to Mexico (where he lives) and to Canada for his subjects. He does not fly due to all the chemicals he carries with him for his tintypes on the road.

Below is a link to his website check and there are links to articles about him there
http://www.robbkendrick.com/

Andrea Couture submits Tom Chambers

Tom Chambers is a contemporary photographer that creates photomontages. He takes multiple photographs of things that relate to an idea that he originally sketches out using either a digital camera or a medium format camera. These photographs are then pieced together to create fairy tale-like images that speak to the subject of innocence, adolescence, growing up and man in nature. He says, "I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer." All of his images definitely have a romantic, dreamlike quality to them. I am most intrigued by his series called "Marwari". In this series he pictures young girls with Marwari horses which gives a sense of innocence. There is also a sense of nostalgia in these images with the clothes he chose to depict the girls in and the coloring he used throughout the series. After reading his quote from above, I get the impression that this is a feeling he tries to capture in most of his images.

I really enjoyed most of his photos and I hope you'll check them out. Here's his website:

http://www.tomchambersphoto.com/index.html

Andrea Couture

Brittany Kennedy 7/22/10 UTSA New Arte Nuevo: San Antonio 2010

The UTSA art gallery currently has the New Arte Nuevo Exhibition up and the work is exceptional and one of the best group shows I have seen at UTSA in a while. The works as a whole have a conversation that speaks a visual intriguing language engaging the viewer immediately. Marina I. Salinas has photographic prints that are very political and personal to her cultural experiences. They raise the issue of equality and balance between two separate worlds which have become one for her. The background of her Mexican heritage combined with the pursuant of the American dream in America which include the transitions of holding onto her family and cultural traditions while adapting American ways and traditions. This sense of balance in the midst of personal or internal chaos reads through the content of the images. The images present themselves as simple formal elements in terms of shape however the contrast between the colors and the conversation created between the "old" and "new" allow the viewer to engage mentally in ways that allow the mind to travel in terms of content. The saturation and tonal ranges within the colors in "Raices Abandonadas 1" read as personal and aged. The attention to detail is aesthetically appeasing while the depths of the shadows draw the viewer into the personal space of ones bedroom. The light source creating a halo of light along the right wall is an intriguing aspect as well causing the viewer to wonder where the light is illuminating from and placing themselves in the space of the photograph to imagine the actuality of being in this bedroom. Salinas choice in content is a vital issue for many today which raise interest in viewers from the content to the overall formal and conceptual elements of the photograph allowing each viewer to connect in their own way without losing what the intentions of the photographs are.

Yvette Coronado submits David Levinthal

David Levinthal is a American photographer, whose work focuses on U.S. pop culture. Levinthal uses a large format Poloroid Land camera(there are only five known to exist)and he employs small toys set in miniature scenarios in his photography. His Americana subject matter has included the wild west, Barbie, and baseball. This photograph is from his American Beauties series from 1989 -1990, and is 20"x24". Levinthal's use of dramatic lighting and soft focus endows a dreamlike quality to his work. I enjoy Levinthal's photography not only for his use of rare Poloroid film and cameras, but also for his creative tiny scenarios which are blown up and fashion a story that we must follow with our imagination.
Check out more of Levinthal's work at http://www.davidlevinthal.com

Bianca submits Joshua Hoffine

As I was scouring the web looking at many different genres of photography I ran into this guy's work. Horror Photography. hmmm. interesting. I don't usually get drawn towards color photos but these had a movie film quality that I enjoyed. Joshua tends to use family members to create his images and uses photoshop to adjust his contrast, color and small parts of the scene. I consider this storyline photography-- it follows a "nightmare" pattern. I was very interested to see how he set up his scenes. I am positive he HAD to have been influenced by B-rated horror flicks (how could he NOT have?) ~ which I absolutely love to watch (during the day w/ all my lights on :P). He goes ten steps further into the gore than I would but I do feel inspired to push my envelope since seeing these images. He often has his characters look straight into the camera...almost daring you to look further. Even though this style of photography is not exactly what I see myself doing I can appreciate his artistic approach to a subject matter that is commonly uncomfortable. Check out his works at the website below-- but do it with the lights ON.....LOL

http://www.joshuahoffine.com/

Andrea Couture submitting David Roberts

I found a photographer that shoots with a Holga!

David Roberts is a photojournalist turned wedding photojournalist. In his work the photojournalistic qualities are apparent; he tries to represent what he actually sees. By using the Holga he does not have technology getting in his way of representing, thus making his photographs a little more pure and straight forward.

What caught my eye in his work is the creative angles he uses. Many of the photographs are shot from a different perspective than what might be someone else's natural instinct to shoot from. An example being shooting from a horse's point of view rather than the spectator's point of view. Also, in many of his photos he breaks up the space in an interesting way; such as dividing a seated old couple by a lamp post (similar to Lee Friedlander). These are some of the things I try to think about when taking my own photos; always looking from a different angle to try to find a perspective that not everyone has seen before.

While there are several aspects of his work that I enjoy there are also a few things that I am not so crazy about. I am not a big fan of sports photos but I feel that he does a good job with the subject matter. I also appreciate seeing the different genres that a Holga can be used for.

Here is the link to his website. I was not able to take any of the photos off the website so sorry for the lack of examples. You'll just have to go to the website and check his work out yourself! (My favorite are the ones under the "Americana" section, especially the ones with the ferris wheel.)

http://www.theholga.com/

Bianca submits Richard Avedon

Okay, so this guy's work is really eye catching. Most people are somewhat familiar with his work and I really enjoy his pieces. Many of his images are just straight-forward portraits. His intent was to capture the soul of his subject in the image. He gained experience from the Merchant Marines (as a start w/ a rolliflex) and onto fashion where he begain to make a name for himself. He was well known for his images in Harpers Bazaar and Vogue~ and later he went on to take some of the infamous Beatles portraits. Funny Face 1957, starring Fred Astaire was a fictional depiction of his early career. He happened to be in SA, TX when he died of a brain hemmorage while on assignment for The New Yorker in 2004, crazy... right?!

So, the reason I chose Avedon was because right now he is very influential and inspirational for my work. His depiction of simply represented subjects and yet a portrayal such deep and intense subject matter is extremely attractive to me. I seem to be drawn to this style of photography. This image that I posted is so compelling to me that I am using it as a catapult for a new series still within the realm of my continuous works in Victorian/Southern Goth influenced pieces. Avedon is definitely one of my favorite photographers~ though I do have several. :) I would suggest checking out more of his works at http://www.richardavedon.com/

happy shooting!

Bianca

Brittany Kennedy 7/13/10

This past Saturday I went to second Saturdays at Lonestar Studios for the first time. They had a section of photographs taken by young children from the ages of 6-15. I was very impressed by many of the images however this one stood out the most in concept. The image of a bus with the stop sign visible in the middle plane behind a fence in focus has amazing attention detail for a 9 year old boy named Jeremiah Gonzales. The perspective draws you into the photograph even though the fence has a flatness in the foreground the vanishing point created by the perspective of the bus allows your eye to move through the image from the front to the back and rest on the green bushes in the background. The clouds have exquisite detail and add a restful contrast to the yellow hue of the bus and perspective contrasting against the controversial flat fence. This relationship between the perspective of the bus and flatness of the fence should essentially create uneasiness for the viewer however the balance of the overall image allows the viewer to stay engaged. The reflections of the clouds in the windows of the bus also add a slight detail that when noticed is very appeasing to the eye. As for as content working from a concept, the idea of being caged and warnings of "stop" mixed with the history of being on a bus associating with travel is very strong. I automatically associate it with childhood and the struggle to find ones identity amongst the idea of being trapped in ones own self or an ideal society. The fence also alludes to a connection with life the way it interlocks with each other creating a vast space and relationship between the slight positive and negative space which in the background is filled with another type of space. Structurally the composition of this photo is strong and allows the viewer to be captivated and study the elements in their full entirety.

Blair Bodden submits Ralph Howell

Blair Bodden submits Ralph Howell

Carnival Wagon Camera Obscura fitted with a pinhole that projects 6 ft. x 8 ft. images inside of it.

We live in a society that pressure for a faster and higher quality of technology even in the realm of photography. Photographer Ralph Howell, a local San Antonio artist, has taken a leap away from technology to capture images with a simpler and low tech method.
The above picture is Photographer Ralph Howell standing next to one of his pinhole cameras. This artist takes a simple process to the next level. Howell has made over 100 different pinhole cameras out of natural and found objects. Howell has been quoted as saying “I perceive the pinhole as a “seeing eye”, a single hole sieve that filters information.” Howell makes it obvious that light meters, shutter speeds, and view finders are perks of modern technology but are not necessary in making his images. I enjoy methods of capturing and producing images that are different from the everyday procedures.

The first website below is a short blog of his work with photos. The second website is one of his exhibits.

http://chriskeeneyphoto.com/blog/tag/ralph-howell/

http://www.alamo.edu/SAC/vat/EXHIBITS/howell_ralph_exhibit/ralph_howell.html

Yvette Coronado submits Gregory Crewdson

Soundstages, lighting crews, and set designers are all part of Gregory Crewdson's photography. Crewdson's enormous production brings the sublime to each of his photographs. These photos are similar to film stills, full of fine lighting and intriguing back drops.They present a story to the viewer and begs the question,"what has just happened and what is going to happen next?" Crewdson's surreal imagery captures the feeling of anticipation in a dreamlike manner, especially with his use of light.I enjoy photographers that incorporate strong narrative elements in their work and Crewdson definitely delivers. Here's a link to a great interview with Crewdson in Aperture Magazine. http://www.aperture.org/crewdson.

It's time for some summer photo fun! by Libby Rowe

Hi students-
Remember to identify yourself and the artist you are submitting in the title bar.
Also, sign your name to any comments you might make about other student's entries.
Check in regularly and post artist's you find as you find them as duplicate artists will not be accepted toward your final grade.
You need to have 10 entries by August 5.
Happy posting!
Libby