Michael McCarthy--- Monica Garcia 1/31/10

So for this week’s blog I want to share with y’all an artist I stumbled a crossed on the internet while I was doing some research on the window assignment. I’m not sure how many of heard of or know of Michael McCarthy. I went to his web site and he has done and worked with almost everything, everything including the types of cameras he has used and the processes as well. I was drawn to most of his figure work. All the works seem to have some sort of texture to it and in the alternative processes the colors are so vibrant and interesting.

In his cyanotype photogram series his inspiration was from the Greek sea and the winds and you can feel that when you see them. I also like that fact that the texture in that work looks like fishing nets drawing back to the idea of the Greek sea.

His pinhole images are just as amazing. I myself have done pinhole once and this makes me want to try it out again. I think McCarthy’s work shows how he works as an artist but also as a tourist. He travels a lot and his travel pictures are just as amazing as his artist work. They aren’t your typical tourist pictures but so pretty. Someday this is what I wish to do just travel and have an amazing form of capturing everything like he does. For those interested in looking him up his website is: http://www.michael-mccarthy.com/homeframe.html

Apryl, I thought of you when I saw he did some alternative processes including gum which I know you are working with, I don’t know if it’s the same form or method but you should look it up.

Courtney 1/29

I was stumbling (fun app on the computer for surfing specific topics) when I came across a photographer named Nikki Graziano. She takes photos of seemingly boring nature scenes. She then incorporates her love of math. She overlays her photos with graphs and formulas, transforming them into something infinitely more interesting (at least to me). Her photos are fascinating to me for their natural beauty, mixed with a really technical side. They remind me of the photos I have seen by Jay Gould. He overlays with scientific data, and gives the same technical feeling to his photos. I keep saying I want to do some work with writing and these are great inspiration. Hopefully coming soon in my final project for this semester.

Darice Polo 1.30.10 By APryl Corbin

I stopped by the UTSA Gallery this week to go check out the new exhibit Intense Concentration. On the fliers that were posted in the halls I was really curious to see what the greatness in the photos were that were represented on the fliers. As I walked through the exhibit there they were, the "photos" taken by the artist Darice Polo. These photos looked aged, like they were taken back in the 60s or something. They were black and white and very grainy. As I got closer and observed the photo…I realized that something was off…surely this medium is not silver gelatin. I looked at the tag, and to my surprise they weren't really photos, they were made from graphite. The photo-realism was really impressive. I was stunned. This brought me to my next great idea. Use it in your art. Some way, I can find out a way to use my hand to paper art with my silver art...some way. I know its been done, but I have never really thought about using this method in my art. We shall see how it goes as the wheels turn this semester. Maybe something magical will spring forth.
** the photo shown is by Darice Polo. Title: Fela’s Visit 1952 (2006)
Graphite
26” x 18 1/4”

Hannah Hoch by jenelle esparza 1/25/2010

I would like to start off the blogs for this semester with Hannah Hoch. With both my art history class and Berlin history class, the DADA movement is a repeating factor, and since Hoch used photography in her DADA art work (though appropriated), she is just what I want to talk about.
Her work is blatantly feminist even though the DADA artists claimed that their work had no real meaning other than an illogical/ irrational response to the horrors of world war. This is interesting because she is adding an aspect of feminist meaning to what was supposed to be irrationality in art. If logical thought lead to the war, then dada artists strove to be the opposite and illogical as a protest or statement against it. Hoch, however, along with other female dada artists used specific images of females from the commercial society of that time and arranged them to suite the irrationality of dada. She certainly did share the same feelings of anti-war/ anti-art, but she also adds her attitude toward the roles of women in her society and in the war era. The reproduction above is a good example of Hoch's statements about the depiction of women during her lifetime. Or since the image is taken from a classical depiction of the female nude, perhaps it is a statement on the depiction of women in art. She places a photo-montage head made up of two different sized eyes seen through glasses atop a voodoo-type mask. This head is made a part of this beautiful female nude that is stretched across the picture plane in all her naked glory. Dada images always have a sense of humor attached and Hoch is no different here. I feel as though she is making fun of this classical, outdated view of a female by placing a huge head on it that seems to be oogling at its own curvy physique (notice the mouth is saying "OOOooo" as in "OO lala"). The models in the advertisements are representing what the media says every woman wants to be: a tall, thin, cute, and fashionable female. Hoch's argument is the same as any feminist of her day: that women are much more and that we all have our own uniqueness as females. Hoch only plays this up and jokes about it more by adding bright pink color that is so typical with baby girls.
Her work includes both her high sense of feminism and the absurdity of the dada style. She was part of an era that felt overwhelming loss and aimlessness in the wake of both world wars while also responding to the position of women and her own place in society as a female.

Thomas Mangelsen 01-25-10 Jacquelyn Nelson

I went to Breckenridge, CO a couple weeks ago and walked into Thomas Mangelsen's gallery where I was truly amazed by his large-scale prints of nature and landscapes. His photograph “Light Among the Giants” was taken of the redwood trees that were preserved by the Redwood National Park in California. I especially was drawn to this photograph because of the unique lighting that is traveling through the trees to the viewer. A light fog that gives the photograph an interesting hue dulls the back lighting. Knowing that he waited for this precise moment is captivating and I think if it were done at a different time it wouldn’t have been as successful.

jenny reagan- mark lobo

Mark lobo has very interesting eye in his photographs, most of which are ordinary things. But he makes you feel like some how you are involved in his photos and your left with the feeling of wonder. His photos are very crisp and colorful. he does well with light and composition even if the photos are uneven they have the feeling of balance. Viewing his work makes me motivated and want to go out in search of awesome artistic art pieces that i can create! you can check out his work at www.marklobo.com
check it out!!

Monica Garcia 1.24.10 Capturing the Essence

Howdy ho folks! I started thinking about all the stuff that I had to do this week and then I remembered about this blog assignment. It’s Sunday night and I’m in a panic because the Vikings and Saints game is in overtime and I’m on the edge of my seat! I did not get a chance to go to a gallery or show this past week due to my job (lame) . I decided to look up magazine articles online and found on that kind of spoke to me. I read an article on Apogee.com .

Noella Ballenger Wrote an article entitled “Seeing the Essence”, basically this article talks about “capturing” the essence and making a photograph worth while and amazing. This may sound silly but I feel like my photos don’t do that and that I don’t know how to do that better yet capture that essence. The article was a bit of one those beginner how to shoot articles but I think that it helped me understands that sometimes not all the times the photo needs to have a sense of discovery and mystery. The photographer needs to capture and inspire the viewer. The simplest thing and instructions that the article gave was angles and always taking the first shot that inspired you and made you stop to look at it.

Last semester towards my portfolio I felt as if I did accomplish this to some extent. I want to push myself further and really put myself out there and find a way to inspire and capture the essence so that not only I can relate to but others as well.

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.

Windows- Apryl Corbin- 1.21.10

This photo was taken by Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Libby had mentioned him in class and I cannot express how much I am in love with this weird soul...his photos anyhow. This is one of my favorite window pictures of all time. The mystery and irritating vibration that resounds from looking at it stresses me out and makes me happy all at the same time. Not many things in this world can do that!! But when it happens...Bliss...this. The way Meatyard makes you stare at the image leaving light casts mocking the windows, it's almost as if a conversation is being held between the lights in the photograph. The way his camera shook when taking the eerie photo makes you wonder if it is a happy accident or intentional. Its just "yummy" in Libby's words. There is movement in the photo and tention in the movemet which balances to greatness. Man, I can't wait to go window shooting!

Brittany Kennedy 1/20/10 Intense Concentration

I went to the opening at the UTSA Art Gallery and the piece that caught my attention the most was by Hong Chun Zhang. He had four works hanging on the wall in which three are part of a triptych titled "Three Graces". The other is the one I favored the most called "Twister". This piece is a charcoal on paper on scroll which covers the wall from the ceiling to floor. The grand scale of the piece is what captivated me. From across the room the viewer could see exactly what the imagery was. Up close as the viewer I was captivated by the high contrast between the black, gray's, and highlights in the piece. The next captivating moment was the attention to detail in the motion. The painterly strokes added a feeling to this "Twister" which was much different then what a twister actually does. It destroys, vexes you, makes you uneasy and helpless. A natural disaster to which mankind must submit to the harsh reality. Zhang is able to captivate this well known image within a work of art and make it seem peaceful and welcoming. This artwork comes across complete. As if the story told is conveyed to the viewer without having to experience the twister and see the damage that typically comes along with this imagery. Further more the way he treated the part of the twister that touches the ground is delicate yet inviting. The viewer when walking up to the work places their eyes at eye level and is forced to view upwards then back down and the viewer is invited to keep doing that following the painterly motions of the artist strokes. This relationship between viewer and the work can at times be unsettling however as a result of the way the artist treated where the twister touches the ground the relationship is balanced.

Welcome to Spring...by Libby

Hello Advanced photo students.
This is your blog, please see the assignment sheet for details. I have left the past semester of entries online for you to peruse at your leisure. Please make sure you put your NAME in the entry title line so that I can give you credit for your weekly entries.