Alexandar McQueen/ my seed/ Brittany Kennedy

As graduation approaches and I reflect over how I have evolved as an artist I recognize that I have accomplished what I have wanted. Not in its entirety however the goal was to get a concept going. To not just point and shoot and be satisfied with the "happy accidents". I have realized that my interest in fashion are extremely prevalent in the work I do. The interest has become so profound that I find myself concerned as whether or not I will be viewed as an artist or fashion designer. Or in more depth a photographer versus a fashion photographer. After all the designers I have studied or come across Alexandar McQueen is the first artist I say projects what in my mind the type of "artist" I want to be. Photography may be my concentration and still a passion for me however it is not only in the artistic aesthetic that I enjoy photography but to stop a moment of what the eye would normally would see to be surreal simply to prove that it did occur is the direction I am going with my work. At the moment sculpture is an area that I am beginning to wonder why I did not make it a concentration however, this is where Alexandar McQueen's work really inspires me. He is a British fashion designer who has created collections so unconventional that even the fashion world questioned his extravagance. The way his dresses are presented are so theatrical the entire presentation becomes an art of mixed media. This is a great link on youtube of a performance which is where I really feel he broke through the line of fashion is not art!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bCShCcD3N0

James Surls/ Brittany Kennedy

James Surls is a contemporary artist in which I have done research on recently. His main medium is to work with wood but over time and due to the weathering of wood he is now combining materials using wood, bronze, and steel. He studied at Sam Houston State University and went on to receive an M.F.A at Cranbrook Academy of Art. At first I found his work to be boring however as my search went on I found I was appreciative of his work. More specifically his piece "Seven Flower's Turning" This work is dynamic in scale and abstract in form. The composition of the work intrigues me greatly from the line quality to the playful relationship between the positive and negative spaces. Also the color of the work is calm and cool however the energy of the piece comes across as alot more energetic. The piece invites the viewer to do a complete three hundred and sixty degrees around it. Evolving yourself around its space as the piece evolves itself around the viewer. This relationship between work and viewer is one that I find enhances my experience with an art work. I have acquired another relationship and appreciation of sculpture.

Davin Lavikka - Lauralee Palencia

Davin Lavikka - All Saints Day 2004

Let me start by saying that I love cemetary photographs. I love the way that they look so old because of the tombs and crypts. In this photograph, Davin Lavikka has set up his camera to give the tombs and crypts a monumentalized feeling to them. I love that about this photograph. He also gave the tombs/crypts the effect that they are leaning towards each other. Either he knew or was lucky when he took this photograph because even the clouds are giving the image some contrast. I'm wondering what effect it would have on the photograph if he were to have used film with a bluish tint to it. Would it look cold? Would it have a creepier effect? This photograph makes me want to go to a cemetary for a photo shoot and see what I can do.

Christiana Kim/ Rolf Aamot,Awakening, 100X150cm, 2006

This is considered a digital photopainting. I found the terminology interesting so I decided to dig further. As I dug in further the process started to become less and less interesting to me. Turns out the process is messing with filters for the most part. I stumbled upon this photo by Aamot and was stunned by the colors and composition. I really like the contrasting qualities that are in this photo. There is a minimal feel in this photo along with some expressive qualities with the lines and the brightness of the colors. The bright bright yellow is undeniably the sun and the yellow around it is radiating that energy giving the photo a lot of movement. I like how he implies most of what is in the photo. Its straight forward but ambiguous enough to have fun looking at it and keep your eye interested.

3-1 Tina Barney- Ashley Olmos

Tina Barney is an artist that I have come across because of the way she sets up her photos. Some artist have been known to document through photography and she isn't like them she puts them together, creates them. Yes the images are of a certain type of social class and I do find the subject matter not interesting. They are everyday life which is an exhausted subject. What really fascinates me about Barney's work is all the planning and time that she puts into it. She plans these scenes and tackles them. She knows how she wants them to look meaning how the models should look at the camera, how she wants the surrounding objects placed, the clothes that the models wear, and the background should look like. In this particular photo all this was put into consideration. You can tell by the way that the entire room is pink or a shade of it. The scene she presents makes me look at the whole room, not in one direction but all over the place. I want to absorb all the details like the way the brushes are place. So your eye never stops. Even though there is an overload of pink the window being open to get the small amount of greens helps because it doesn't make you go crazy with pink. The relationship the models are within each other is creates this tension as if you have caught a glimpse of something. One of the models does create this motion which brings back some kind of candid moment. Tina Barney is a person to look at for her set up of photographs.

Forgot to add image! Helmut Newton by Lauralee Palencia

Helmut Newton - Lauralee Palencia

Ok, so I am still learning how to search photographers and interesting photographs. Which ones are the good photographers? What is a good photograph? So, I will start with the obvious. Self-portraits! Here is Helmut Newton's self-portrait and there is so much to look at! So, now it comes down to what makes it interesting? Lets start with the fact that it is not just Newton and a model with a mirror, he has added things to the photograph he is taking of himself. What is he trying to tell us with the background? He has an audience, a woman sitting there watching him. Does he always have an audience? Does he like an audience? I have to assume that an audience is a big part of him and his works because it looks like behind the mirror he left the door to the outside world open. Anyone passing by can see him work.

"Daniel Eatock" - 3/1/10 - Brittany Gates

This post is sort of related to the last one, when we were talking about our "seeds." I talked about Bill Keaggy and the way he inspired me. So I thought it would only be fitting to look at some of the people that inspire him. He has a HUGE list on his website of other websites he likes to visit; and that's where I found Daniel Eatock.

Among other sections on his site, Daniel has one called "Photo of the Week." These are basically photos he takes going about his daily life. But he has such an eye for funny or curious things. The two photos above are called "House with Matching Van" and "Near Miss."

Now, these are obviously not shots he has set up. They are things he has stumbled upon, and yet he pays attention to composition and lines and turns these things into beautiful photographs. This type of photography inspires me and makes me want to take my camera everywhere with me, because I don't want to miss anything. And how many of these images would Daniel Eatock have missed if he hadn't bothered to walk around with his camera? We have a gift for seeing things in a way that other people don't. So maybe it's our responsibility to capture these things so others can see them too.