Kat Fisher submits James Rohan #10

Birdwatchers

James Rohan has two series called "Wide Awake in Dreamsville"and "Hints of Civilization" that were featured in a post on lenscratch.com. Both of the series were made using a toy camera. The images he produces are these awkward, creepy, other worldly images. Quite frankly I think there is a certain dreamy aesthetic that can really only be best captured when using some of the crappiest cameras around.

You Can Lead a Horse To Water

The soft focus, the blurs, the overall dream quality of these images is largely due to the chosen camera. Because of the imperfections of a plastic lens these beautiful things occur naturally that I just don't feel would even be accepted as okay if it was made with a digital camera.

The darker side of the series is what ultimately holds my attention. Where is this place? How did he get there? Dreamsville is wonderful in the sense that these images don't seem like they were constructed in anyway. These seem like images that could be taken on vacation, but a really cool vacation during which you make good art. Dreamsville makes me think of a ocean side town that is stuck in some kind of time capsule. Things don't change, but yet they still decay. I don't know how that is possible, but that is the eerie feeling that these images give me. A moving, stagnant place. 

Close to Earth

Marcus Connolly Blog 10 - Brownsvilleka

The last photographer i would like to discuss is a bit interesting. going by the name Brownsvilleka, he is a street photographer who uses his artistic expertise to capture interesting areas, signage, and areas of Brooklyn. however what is interesting about Brownsvilleka is that when taking his photos, he often times tends to underexpose his photographs just a little bit, thereby giving each one a slight yellow tint that allows him to capture various interesting textures which he deemed worthy of photograph.

Kat Fisher submits Martha Madigan #9

"Adam and Eve in the Garden" from " Leaf Drawings", 1983
60 x 72 inches, Gold Toned P.O.P. photogram

Martha Madigan is a professor at Temple University who uses a digital and alternative processes in her work. Many of the images that I found of her work were solargrams and cyanotypes. While I love playing around with different processes and learning new methods, at some point there must come a time when thought and concept enter into the work. Madigan's early cyanotype work reads to me more as a learning process where she made mural cyanotypes to kind of figure out the process. Props for doing so, but I am personally not interested in looking at a cyanotype of flowery fences. Not my thing.

When I first heard about this artist I got very excited because I was told she was using digital and alternative process in her work, but the work that I did find on her website doesn't really speak to me. EArlier works from the series "Leaf Drawings' are litterally photograms she made using leaves. Maybe it is my aversion to botanical imagery, but I can't get behind the work. Again i feel that the work reads more as play and experimentation than a finalized concept and body of work.

Clara and Daniel Pranam, 1991
gold-toned printing-out-paper solar photogram

 

 

In her more recent work she continues to utilize leaves and flowers and adds the element of the human body. These are more interesting to me because there is a clear human figure that is present in the image. I just cannot get past the leaves! I don't think they are necessary. Maybe if she were printing directly onto leaves that would be something different, but for now I am ambivalent about this artist's work.

Kat Fisher submits Blaise Tobia #8

 

Double Green

 

I was initially attracted to Blaise Tobia's series "Slight Perturbations of the Surface" due to their pairings. I love when I see a successful work in a diptych or triptych. I'm not entirely sure why this is, maybe because its two images for the price of one. In the work two unrelated images are paired together for visual reasons. "Double Green" was the first image that I saw and I feel in love.

I do have issues with this work. I don't know if I am really challenged enough by the images or if I am falling prey to a pretty picture. Finding things in the enviornment to photograph, not constructing a scene or portrait, is something that I admire in an artist. Perhaps that is what I find most appealing about this work. The fact that Tobia can photograph a variety of places and subjects and draw visually striking similarities from them.

Double Blue with Feet

The image above, double blue with feet, also makes me think that the top image is somehow a view beneath the bottom image's sidewalk. I know that it isn't, but the images that are like this make me think of time and space warps, so that in some way these things are happening at the same time in relatively the same space. That someone somewhere sees the world in this weird transparent way. I don't think that is the artists intent, but it is fun to consider. 

 

Sandi Dooley Recommends River City Silver

River City Silver is a great local resource for fine art photographic printing, with excellent quality and turn-around time. It is located at 5103 McCullough Ave. in San Antonio.

Kat Fisher submits Pipilotti Rist #7

Pipilotti Rist’s work "Ever is Over All" is a large scale video installtion. This room-sized installation completely immerses viewers in a new visual time and space. Two videos are simultaneous projected. One screen shows images of red flowers, while the other screen shows shots of a woman (Pipilotti Rist) walking down a city street. She is swinging a very large metal flower, and as she walks down the street she smashes car windows. There is an audio track of humming, chirping birds, and percussion beats. The videos juxtapose to different ideas. The flowers, the woman’s flowing blue dress, and upbeat demeanor invokes a relaxing mood. It makes us think of nature, beauty, and softness. Conversely, the destruction that the woman is committing is radically different from the sound and relaxing flower imagery. 

I think it amazing that Rist is able to create a new time/space for the viewer by installing the video in such a way that it becomes the entire room. While I have not had the oportunity to physically experiance one of her peices, I would image that because you would be completely imersed in a new space, your sense of time would be altered.

 Wunderlampe (Miracle Lamp), 1993
One monitor on steel post, one video player and prismatc plastic hood in front of screen, one video tape.

Another wonderful thing about her work is that her installations and videos document well. Again, because I have not experienced the work first hand that perception may not be entirely accurate, but I feel that the photographs of her installations and videos give viewers a good sense of her artistic intentions. 

Massachusetts Chandelier, 2010
2 projections on chandelier of previously worn and cleaned underpants, 2 flashcard players, 1 translucent light bulb

 

Kat Fisher submits John William Keedy #6

John William Keedy's thesis work "It's Hardly Noticeable" is about a character who has some kind of anxiety disorder or mental illness. The work is poignant to me not only because of its technical quality but also due to its highly thought out nature. Hearing Keedy speak about his work it is clear that he had done ample research into mental disorders, society's stigma of them, and what exactly it means to be "normal". Through these photos we see how the character copes with his daily life, and also the internal struggle that goes on within the character. The work makes us question what is normal, and why we define it as such.

One aspect of the series that I adore are the still life images. They come off like product advertisements in their crisp, clean nature. They lure you in with their bright colors. But upon second look we see that something is not quite right.

http://www.johnwilliamkeedy.com

Marcus Connolly Blog 9 - Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is an award winning photographer who has been shooting since 1962 as a street photographer who prefers to work exclusively in color and was actually a major advocate of the use of color when color first started making an appearance in the mid 60's over the traditional black and white photographs. Joel's photographs have been exhibited in over 350 exhibitions around the world. he is also a two time guggenhiem fellow, has received both the NEH and NEA awards as well as the deutscher fotobuchpreis. he can be seen in the Museum of Modern Art, Boston Museum of Fine Art and many other museums and galleries around the world.
http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/index.html

Marcus Connolly Blog 8 - Sha Ribeiro

Working as a freelance photographer, Sha Ribeiro grew up in Lisbon but grew up in Milan, his work often causing him to work between Milan and New York. he has shot for many clients such as Nike, Rolling Stone, Vogue Italia and many many more magazines and agencies. his commercial work that he has done for these magazines and agencies has garnered him a lot of success in the world but it was his street photography that has allowed him to capture the attention of the art community world wide. his photography focuses on multiple subcultures, music, and portraiture. however it is the fact that his work is honest, evocative, and effective, is the biggest factor in separating him from others which allows him to create art that is distinctively his own.

 

Marcus Connolly Blog 7 - Boogie

Boogie is an interesting photographer. growing up in serbia he got his start in photography by photographing the civil unrest and civil war that was erupting and ravaging his country in the 1990's. Then in 1998 he moved to new york where since then his work has been exhibited around the world shooting for high end clients as well as renowned publications. he has made a name for himself photographing gang life ,drug trade  and skinhead subcultures as well as photographing cities around the world like bangkok, kingston, tokyo, caracas, brazil, and many more. his unique style is very urbanesque and employs this in a manner that is well suited to document the life that is found in these various environments.
http://www.artcoup.com/

Marcus Connolly Blog 6 - Wittner Fabrice

Wittner Fabrice is an up and coming urban photographer whom i chose for his series "Man and Machine" and his escape photographs "New Zealand". In "Man and Machine" Wittner tries to photograph man's connection that he has with the automobiles in his life, mostly depicting cars and motorcycles his take on this relationship is whimsical, using comedic poses by his models and bright and saturated colors to create a whimsical experience for his his audience, his photos both show the connection that we have with our chosen set of wheels and the adventures that they take us on. in his "New Zealand" series Wittner shows the beautiful country in a mix of landscape portraits and subject matter. however even though these are about a country and not about a connection between a man and his vehicle they still retain Wittner's signature playfulness and whimsical feeling that he employs in his photos.

Marcus Connolly Blog 5 - Peter Wegner

The next artist i would like to discuss is the artist Peter Wegner. Peter is a painter, installation artist, photographer, sculpture artist, and a drawing artist. however i would like to discuss Peter's photographic series BUILDINGS MADE OF SKY from 2012. "Between the buildings of a city, another city. it's invisible, a city no one built. In this city buildings are not made from brick or steel, but of sky." In this series Peter noticed something about the buildings of New York that no one else did, or if they did didnt document as well as Peter did. He noticed that when inverted, the negative space created by the towering skyscrapers of the city reflected the skyscrapers that were physically there and created skyscrapers out of nothing but sky.

Marcus Connolly Blog 4 - Connor Stefanison

Growing up in British Colombia Connor Stefanison already had a lot of exposure to wildlife and natural environments by just living there. but through multiple various outdoor hobbies and adventures such as fishing, hunting, camping, wildlife viewing, and mountain biking all helped to spark his interest in photography which he took up in 2008 at the young age of 17. through all these activities he was able to come even closer with nature and gaining a lot of first hand experience and exposure to it, all of which helped him to craft and hone his photography skills into what he is today. even though he is so young he has already been awarded the BBC/Veolia Photographer of the Year Eric Hosking Portfolio Award which he received in London, Uk where he was also a speaker at the WildPhotos conference. He as recently completed his Biology degree in ecology and conservation and hopes to become a conservation photojournalist.
http://www.connorstefanison.com/

Marcus Connolly Blog 3 - Jasper Doest

Another wildlife photographer, Jasper Doest is often most recognized for his creative visions he embodies within his photographs. he goes above and beyond the style of using wildlife photography as documentation to transform it into art, capturing the emotion that rests within the moment. He even was recently awarded the the prestigious Veiola Award for his photograph of the Japanese Macaque which displays such beautiful inner peace. he is the recipient of multiple awards including awards from both the BBC and National Geographic as well as being published in multiple books and journals as well as creating several travel and news features for National Geographic Traveler and national newspapers. "Jasper shows whats beautiful around him, around us, and his photographs show how fragile this beauty is. one split second can tell his story, that single moment in which he freezes nature but brings it to life more than ever."

Marcus Connolly Blog 2 - Andy Rouse

Even though it is not considered to be especially artistic when it comes to the genera of wildlife photography but it is the genera that i find most interesting and what i hope to do in the future. because of this the next photographer i would like to discuss in Andy Rouse. he has wone BBC's wildlife photographer of the year award numerous times as well as the Gerald Durrell award for endangered species as well as publishing over a dozen books ranging from photographic techniques to various ecosystems. He is also a huge conservationist who works along side scientists, animal researchers, charity groups, and conservation organizations using his photography for the sole purpose of "being a tool to show others the beauty of the natural world."

Sheridan O'Neal submits photographic resource links

Sheridan O'Neal submits photographic resource links

fstoppers.com has articles, reviews, a store, and more information. It can help with your technical skills with tutorials and articles about lighting diagrams. In the store they sell DVD or digital downloads that can teach you how to shoot weddings, landscapes, or portraits. 

petapixel.com has tutorials, reviews, archives, inspiration. It has more information about how to improve your photography by giving examples of other artist's work and product reviews. 

Sheridan O'Neal submits Elina Brotherus #10

Sheridan O'Neal submits Elina Brotherus #10

Brotherus is a Finnish photographer who works in France. Her photographs examine the human figure and how it interacts in a setting and with other people. All of her photos seem uncomfortable and as if the viewer is the one being examined. I love the way the viewer is drawn in but distanced at the same time as if the artist doesn't believe you will be able to understand her or whats happening. I think her photos with just one model are the most successful because they connect with the viewer more. Whenever she has two figures they seem cliche and more posed. It just doesn't do the same thing has the solitary figures. Her series "The New Painting" interests me the most. In her statement, she describes the figure as an aesthetic choice as an object used for external interest only, not psychological. She claims this choice because she is attempting to explore photography as "the new painting" by confronting color, form, three dimensional representation. I think this is successful in her photographs of landscapes in this body of work. However, when she introduces the solitary figure into the images it does display all the things she is looking for but it also feels very psychological.

Sheridan O'Neal submits Andrew Moore #9

Sheridan O'Neal submits Andrew Moore #9

Andrew Moore has many themes layered in his photographs. He explores the history of used spaces and how nature grows and thrives throughout those spaces. He was drawn to photograph buildings and abandoned structures based on his love for architecture. He creates books about series of his photographs. His book "Detroit Disassembled" finds the places in the city that have been used and abandoned. He is interested in finding the places that the government has forced people to move out of too. It represents the hand of government in those lives and what has become of those spaces now. In an interview, He took photos of Cass Tech and could see the books and computers abandoned in the school and how careless the abandonment of that facility was. His photos show the recycling of man in nature through the composition and meaning presented. http://www.jacksonfineart.com/Andrew-Moore-5804.html

Jordan Gutierrez - Tomoko Takamashi

Garbage and rubbish. This woman makes installation art pieces out of. At first you might think, "Okay, trash on a wall," maybe to the uneducated artist's mind such as mine. But irony is, well it is, but instead of hung on a wall, its suspended. Tons of objects that invade eachothers space. Tomoko got a thing for rubbish, but she uses it in an intriguing way by using aerial and ground spacing. Cluttered/overpacked desk gives me an overwhelming sense that mess really wont ever go away. Maybe 'cause we're so busy all the time. Now I don't know if that was the concept miss Tomoko was trying to communicate, but this is how her work speaks to me.

Jordan Gutierrez - Slaven Tolj

Slaven Tolj produces performances, body art and installations as part of his artistic career. Receiving much social critism, seems like Tolj could care less as he continued to stay in his home town for the rest of his life. Despite this he steal gained international recognition. He combined his subjects with surrounding social contexts that give us a better understanding with his messages. Inspiring young artists in his area, he was able to have exhibitions and galleries that contain much of his contemporary art. For my taste, when things get political I honestly sort of zone out, but apparently the guy made a huge impact. He's someone worth checking out.

Jordan Gutierrez - Gabriel Orozco

Gabriel Orozco take photographs, and constructs sculptures and installation. His work is super interesting, as he takes ordinary objects and has them in twisted perspective maybe to understand the object a little more. I could imagaine much with most of his artwork because I had never really seen something like this before. One of his pieces titled "Four Bicycles" caught my attention at first glance. Bicycles stand in a vertical way, balancing off eachother and their back wheels. All of his installations all sort of had this fun effect that engaged the viewer to think about these objects that created an entirely different object. Orozco's work is something I would consider going to see in real life one day.

Jordan Gutierrez - Ryan McGinley

McGinley was a photographer born in New Jersey most known for his candid portraiture. Naked bodies almost fill up google's image search when his name is typed. Not in a overpowering manner though but rather soft, and gentle poses of what seem to be younger adults, or older teenagers. Scenes are playful and some photos actually involve animals. Maybe to "relax" the picture more so? I'm not entirely sure but there is definitely a mood difference when you see a body by itself and then when you see one with an animal. Innocence may be interpreted by their graceful, un-provocative body language, which makes the viewer a little more comfortable to be viewing it. It made me feel more comfortable at least, I'm sure I wouldnt be the only one who would think that.

Jordan Gutierrez - Nan Goldin

Reading a quick biography of Nan Goldin, I found out she had many awards throughout her photographic career. I also discovered she started off with a polaroid camera at the age of fifteen. I'm thinking, okay, these photos are going to be SPECTACULAR. Turns out faces fill all of her photographs. Male, female, young, & old in any size, shape or form. There's a sense of rawness and realness in her photos, having me question "What just happened?" over and over again. Some of the subjects are looking directly towards the camera, that also have me wondering if it was planned or not. I think I'm starting to see the reasons for these awards. I see a repetitive-ness of vanity with the women in her photography. I wouldn't doubt if there is an underlying concept going on right there. Definitely something to view and of course spectacular.

Sandi Dooley Reviews Laurent Baillet, #10

Laurent Baillet does long time exposures in the street, with the purpose of showing that "the reality we can see is conditioned by how we perceive the flow of time". He focuses on the ability of photography to condense time into a single image, and calls his images "Chronographies".

In Number 8 in The Crowded? series, made in Madrid, one can see the mad rush of ghosts of people in a busy, crowded street  If the people were standing still, the photograph would not have the same effect. One gets the impression that a huge mass moved by, and moved on. We don't know how long the exposures were for (i.e. how many lights), and there may have been multiple groups of people moving through that space. Any time they stood still, waiting for the light, we actually see bodies, but just as if we were actually there, we don't usually remember individuals, only groups waiting and moving on.

Number 4 in the Ending series, made in Berlin, shows people converging on a narrow bridge and spreading out as they move forward towards the camera. After seeing people exit train stations after each train arrives, this image gives an accurate representation of what a wave of people pouring out of a building and moving through a narrowed area looks like. It is like they are pouring out of a huge container into the street. That is what we see in real life as well, not individuals, but movement. Single shots do not capture that effectively.

I thought it was interesting that Baillet started photography as a hobby, and that it gradually turned into a job for him. He was working in marketing in a company, after studying art and painting and began by taking pictures of French bands, traveling and developing his own work. (Republic X Art Magazine, March 2013 Issue 4)

Annali Juarez - Tierney Gearon (10)

Tierney Gearon is a self-taught photographer who was born in Atlanta. She was a fashion model which then turned into a photographer. In her 2008 series Explosure not only examines her life through double exposed images, but also plays  with themes of controversy, change, and self exploration. She selected the 40 images out of the 500 rolls of film that make up “Explosure,” which was shown in major galleries in London and Beverly Hills in 2009. she takes the the classic “mistake” of a double exposure to merge two fairly benign images into something much more provocative.

http://www.tierneygearon.com