Risa Morales - Abelardo Morell

The Universe Next Door

At the Southwest School of Arts and Crafts, there is an exhibit currently running by Abelardo Morell. The work on display is primarily composed of images that were created using a camera obscura, but there are othr formats included, as well. The body of work is a mixture of incredibly large silver gelatin prints and pigment printed images.

I was quite impressed by his print quality on his silver gelatin images, I know that getting images to come out in such a large scale can be a challenge. His print quality is such that you don't notice the grain (which generally indicates to me with images of this scale that he shoots with large format film), and that you don't get stuck on issues with exposure... instead you are drawn into the subject matter at hand.

And the subject! Unlike many other gallery showings I've seen, this one enchanted me. Mr. Morell addresses his subject with wonder and, at times, a large degree of playfulness. He seems to be fascinated by light and perception, as all of his images address these topics in some way. His camera obscura work presents an alternate reality overlaying the "true" one. The photos are taken of the inside of a room, with only a small pinhole or lens allowing light to project across the walls, the images that of the world outside... but upside down. The idea is very similar to that of a pinhole camera, just generally on a much larger scale. The two images overlay each other, each speaking volumes about the location, and giving a singular perspective on that moment in time. The size of the works makes one feel as if one was almost there, in this moment and space, the magic of the moment deftly captured by his lens.

He also has a series within the show of images that are all taken within a gilt photo frame. The things shown inside this frame are picturesque landscapes, with suble things here and there that slowly cause the viewer to realize that the photo frame was actually placed in these environments (such as grasses that overlay the frame, or are bunching up around it). Upon careful inspection, one also notices that the only thing in these iamges that is truly tack sharp, is the picture frame itself. Comparing these images with his other works, one realizes that Mr. Morell has no problems getting the desired object in focus, and one can only assume that the distinction is intentional, and causes one to shift one's perspective about what the photo is really about... the landscape or the image?

His repeated unique perspectives in his photography show a playful wonder about the world, whether by framing a shot of an antique portrait to show that the subject is examining the corner of his own frame, or by positioning books so that the printed portraits within interactw ith each other in a meaningful way. Is is this perspective that captured me, and causes me to wish to see more of his works. I believe that he is actually coming to the SWSAC to discuss his images, but unfortunately I think the session is already full, otherwise I'd be there to hear his own perspective on things.

Brittany Gates - Josefa Mulaire

Sorry, this is a day late. No excuses, I just flat out forgot...

I took Libby's advice from her comment on my entry on Judith Golden, and looked at Josefa Mulaire's work.

Josefa also works with collage, among other things.

Her collages are portraits of her family members. But, not all of the images in the collages are body parts of the person they represent. In the picture I've posted, she has done a portrait of her son. I lot of the images make up his face and body, but a lot of them are crayon scribbles. I assume these are drawings done by her son, and I think it's a fun idea to include them in his portrait. I also really like that she included his shadow to the right.

She has two more collages up on her site of other family members. These ones are of adults, and so some of the images show things that are a little more explicit. One portrait of a woman has an image of a black eye, as well as rashes and injuries.

Even if these are a little uncomfortable to look at, they are really interesting. They are not your typical portraits and they allow you a little more insight into the subject's life.

I encourage you to look at her work, you can find it at her site here.

9-26-09 Ashley Olmos

just recently i have been looking at many artist and the ones that interest me the most are the ones that have a process to their work. i enjoying knowing what they did to get their result even though its like pulling back the curtain and revealing the wizard. one artist that i have seen in the past but always come back to is ann hamilton. i have discovered some images of hers that are pin hole photos but the camera is made to fit into her mouth. the idea of having a camera like this is crazy to think about...i would have never been able to even fathom anything like this. the images she has with this camera are portraits but they are great to look at. the images are not all clear but the process intrigues me to look at them longer.

09/26/09 Jacquelyn Nelson "Julian Cardona"

This week at the Blue Star Arts complex I was drawn into the main galley by the appealing black and white photographs of Julian Cardona. Under initial inspection and personal critique I noticed that the photographs were reminiscent of pictures that are commonly scene in today’s media. After walking through the gallery and taking in the entire portfolio I started to understand the subjects and what Julian was trying to achieve. Julian photographs a lot of subjects. My initial thoughts were that they were somewhat random, but it all fell into place when the entire collection was taken into consideration. Julian seems to try and capture life in action and subjects near the boarder performing everyday functions. Julian’s angle of capture is somewhat skewed from the “standard” which makes the work interesting. The interesting angles provide a different look into the subject and what they are performing, whether it is people hurting emotionally or a devastating landfill. The shots of human subjects are moving considering the emotions that are keyed by the pose of the subject and the environment they are in. There are some photos of mass devastation in a house, that are similar to what was produced by the media during Hurricane Katrina and the Los Angles Fires of this summer, these bring out a sympathetic appeal for the audience that has seen a devastating disaster first hand. In conclusion I believe that his work was very successful and would definitely recommend viewing his work. If his work doesn’t appeal the first time thorough, give it a second chance and try and understand the deeper meaning the artist is trying to convey through the photographs.

9/26 Albert Sanchez

While looking at Ray Metzger’s photos online, I stumbled across Jeff Zaruba. Zaruba shoots a variety of styles including architecture, land/cityscapes, and abstract photography. All the photos on his website are in black and white, with a majority of them having soft focus. Usually when I see soft focus in photos I cringe and immediately think of poorly taken glamour shots usually found in a mall-like atmosphere. Not the case in this situation. Zaruba’s use of soft focus adds a dreamy yet mysterious quality to his photos that makes me stop and think. I’m not exactly sure what it made me think about. I just sat, stared, and let my mind wander. The soft focus distracts from the typical landscape and architecture shots that every photographer has taken at some point in their career and gives it a fresh new (well at least to me) feel. His abstract photos are, from what I can tell, still architecture and vegetation. Soft focus is still used and the objects, mainly the vegetation, in the photos are still representational. The fact that you can still decipher what the object is doesn’t bother me. I’ve been called out on it before, so I know some people don’t like that style. I’m not opposed to it. The photos are still well composed and that’s what keeps them interesting for me. All in all, I found Zaruba’s work to be enjoyable and enlightening. His use of soft focus has intrigued me and I just may utilize it in the near future.

9/26 Courtney Smyth

Football still keeps me constantly busy, but this week I found a relatively new gallery close to home. I was able to pop in before grocery shopping. The name of the gallery is Bismarck Studios. They are located sort of by the Costco near 1604 and 281. Here's a link to the website . This month, in honor of Photoseptembre, they are showing several photographers. The photographers they are showing are commercial photographers, but the work shown is what they say is their creative side. The photographers featured were Clem Spalding, Erika Barrientes, and Jason Y'Tuarte. All of Spaldings shots were of individual swimmers at swimming competitions. There were a couple of soft focus shots that intrigued me. Jason Y'Tuarte showed a couple shots of D.C., one of Blue Star, one of Venice Beach, and one of a baby that was reminiscent of Anne Geddes. The one I found most interesting was the Blue Star piece. It has an eerie quality to it. Erika Barrientes had several themes: San Antonio street scene, close up flower, and several that focused on a man with prosthetic legs. These I liked best. I particularly liked the composition of the one entitled Freedom Isn't Free. It shows a close up of the man's prosthetic "knee" which has some sort of tight fitting cover on it. The cover is full of American images including and eagle and flags. I usually don't really appreciate work that is so in your face patriotic, but the composition makes it work. And the message seems pretty clear...this man lost his legs for our freedom.

Apryl Corbin 9/25 Paul Preece

To kick off my weekend I decided to go to Barnes and Noble's to look at the new books and magazines to see what some of the photographers are shooting and doing these days. I came across many amazing photographs, but the one that caught my eye was a series of photos by Paul Preece. He had taken some photos of the city when it was raining.
Instead of seeing your normal everyday rain spots with figures behind them, you could see blurry images that just kept you looking at the photographs. The images were blurry because of the rain but there was still enough information to know what was going on in the picture. It was a sort of distortion that didn't bother me. Preece took a picture that would have been boring and lifeless and added some oomph. Preece also made a point to blur the images with a purpose. You could tell that it wasn't because he came across it on accident. It was a meaningful distortion in which his work really benefited from.

**I can not find any information on this guy on the i net so I will have to go back and get the title of the magazine I was looking at...and possibly some pictures too!!