New Images

For these, I shot colour film for the first time. Medium format. It was really tricky and I'm anxious to try again so that I can get better in places where I need improvement. (For example: I really need to use a tripod with this camera)

I am photographing hands of people holding an object that pertains to their current passion or hobby

I am using photography as a means to investigate the discontinuous relationship between me and my sister- what binds and what separates us.

Sentence for Stuff

I am photographing and presenting a person's stuff as a reflection of that person.

5

I'm exploring the recent disconnect between my dad and I and the ways it effects our current relationship.

another sentence

I am exploring how I have dealt with, and continue dealing with the loss of my father.

sentence

I am photographing the affects of specific environments on one's physical identity.

I am exploring how invisible illnesses personally affect those who have them.

#5:

I am exploring how my family owns me.

New sentence

I'm trying to depict women's passive acceptance of their role as "imperfect being" defined and assigned by man.

New Sentence

I'm photographing the rituals that contemporary American mothers practice with their daughters that contribute to the daughters' development.

More Stuff

 Previously...

Newest (will definitely be adding to this - it felt like a lot more stuff when i was shooting)

New Images

threefold

New Images

------------
New images after the weekend:

new work

3 images

circles

critique on a new approach

critique

 Eden Center: An experience of pork bun vendors, sweet bean desserts, and Vietnamese pop stars

 United States of America.

 Cinema House.

 Tourists From Home.

Days of My Youth: Age unknown to Eight.

Some new images

You all need to do a much better job...

...color correcting your photos.  Sorry Hannah, but here's an example (you are not alone!).

images

 The Last Note

"They tell me I'm getting better."

Recently

 I am photographing peoples hands and them holding something that pertains to their current passion or hobby.

                                 



   As I re-read Dave Hickey's "Prom Night" I thought about how my shooting style has evolved over the years. When I first started shooting the models I used were nothing more than models, they were there to help me execute my idea and nothing else, I commanded their every move, as well as the location and their clothing. I used to try to make the viewer see only what I wanted. One habit I do still have is only picturing photos with a single model instead of multiple models. I would consider these to be the masculine qualities in my work, yet overall I would consider my style to be feminine. I don't just use my models as subjects anymore, I always want to portray a part of their personality. Even if it's my vision, I want to take a photo they can relate to more than just knowing it's a picture of themself.
Looking back the most obvious photos that stand out as feminine are my self-portraits. I didn't realize every self portrait I have is taken in a very intimate and delicate way.

 "...attributes traditionally characterized as "feminine" - beauty, harmony, generosity, etc. - now validates works with their "masculine" counterparts - strength, singularity, autonomy, etc. - counterparts which, in my view, are no longer descriptive of conditions, ..."

    I didn't connect with Dave Hickey on most of his views but one thing I did agree with him was that we use words to critique art that are understood, yet not really descriptive. The word "strong" is an example, we understand the meaning of the word and relate it to it's synonyms such as solid, influential, well-made, etc. And we except the word "strong" as a criticism becuase the meaning is unanimously understood.

concept sentence, round #4

I'm taking photographs of a life I have kept secret from most people and proving to myself that there is more than shame, but rather the beginning of healing.

Gender & Viewer/Work/Artist

I am making images that explore and deconstruct locations of urban myth and legend while attempting to compile a database of cultural experience.

In relation to Mr. Hickey's essay on the gender of art pieces, I would consider this selected work as a feminine image. In fact, I would describe most of the images I've made in this Concepts class as feminine. I think this one, along with my most recent images, would be considered as a vaginal image. However, I would not say that my works fit into what Freid calls the "supreme fiction" - that is, they do not impose that the viewer is not present. Rather, I'd like to think that they place the viewer in the photo itself, as someone who is experiencing the image. I also thought that the discussion of the dissolution of the artist-work-viewer menagé à trois idea relates to my image(s), in the way that I disagree. Hickey states, "....the function of the beholder is to be dominated and awestruck by the work of art, which undergoes a sex-change and is recast as a simulacrum of the male artist's autonomous, impenetrable self." I believe that my work does not function in that manner because it is not impenetrable. It invites the viewer in to travel up the water and disappear through the tunnel.

In regards to Hickey's Essay, I would characterize most of my lastest work as feminine. I don't agree with his manner of labeling pictures but intimacy is an important part of my photos and that is one of his facets for feminine work. Seeking those beautiful (in the photo above, composing) moments that can make a subject look gentle, emotional or fragile. I feel like there is a lot of pictures that dehumanize their subjects. I like my audience to be able to relate to my work and consider it tangible evidence for the universality of the human condition, regardless of background.

I am photographing an Immigrant mother’s personal interactions with her American born son.

Gendered Works of Art

After analyzing Dave Hickey's, "Prom Night in Flatland," gender roles in art became slightly more evident. Gendered works of art have existed for a long time, and while they may have slightly shifted they are still apparent in today's work.  The sixteenth century has been identified as a more feminine period because of the lighter colors and in my opinion, the urge to please the viewer. I don't necessarily agree with Hickey's view on gender roles in art.  I'm not entirely sure how my style fits into this idea.  In general I feel like I have a more masculine shooting style - my subjects are generally looking at the camera and are being directed. In this particular image of mine feels like it carries both feminine and masculine points.  The color palette is softened but all of the colors that are being exemplified are deeper, more masculine colors.  My subjects are looking directly at the camera and are shown in the center, showing more masculine traits. I don't really agree with finding gender roles in all works of art, but I am now more aware of the cases where it is evident.

Gender of Art

My work recently focuses on females in different stages of their lives. I’m photographing mothers and daughters bonding by engaging in activities like shopping. In America, shopping is commonly regarded as an hobby that women enjoy. Many mothers use shopping as a means of teaching their daughters about clothing, makeup, spending money, and instilling the importance of self-image. It is a process of teaching how to behave by example, as is the way of parenting.

In Dave Hickey’s essay “Prom Night in Flatland: On the Gender of Works of Art,” he discusses the gender of works of art and how they vary across different time periods. I think that although my current concept illustrates the ideal of American feminine composure and behavior, the technical manner in which I photograph is more masculine. The figures are centered, still, and in most cases directing their attention at my camera. Although the lines converge into the distance, the focus is undoubtedly on the figures in the center of the image. I am directing the viewer to exactly what I want them to look at, leaving little room for creative interpretation outside of the figures themselves.

#4 in the Flatland:

- I am trying to understand my relationship with my family and how they own me. -

I have difficulty with gender (in case that wasn't obvious). I don't see masculine and feminine very well, and I'm still struggling to understand "Prom Night" in terms of a gendered image. I think that this image of my father would be described as "feminine" or "vaginal." Most of my portraits are. The intention isn't to make a soft, pretty picture, but there is an inherent way that I approach light and form that lends itself to such imagery. In this photo, for example, the space seems to recede from the viewer because all of the lines draw the eye to that back corner. I don't consider many of my photos very gendered either way; maybe it is simply an intellectual femininity.

I would consider this photograph from last year to be somewhat masculine because she is shot from below, as most men are, and her body prevents the viewer from seeing most of the background, making this a very forward-set image. In this series of portraits (for those who remember it), I did not intend to just make beautiful or intimate photographs. When I photograph people, I just want to make an honest portrait of them. I think that my views on gender sometimes translate into my photographs; that is to say, I don't see the gender dichotomy but rather the middle grey.

I am using the photographs that I take of my sister and myself as evidence of my trying to understand the complicated bond between us. 

Flatland

As I read through Prom Night in Flatland for the first time, I struggled to understand the concept of gendered works of art. I also struggled understanding it the second and third time around. The examples given of Velasquez and Bellini are so clear, however, relating it to my concept was difficult. After looking through my overall pictures outside of this class, I realized that I most often use the feminine language throughout my work, as I find myself drawn to feminine qualities: sentimentality, prettiness, and aesthetic appeal. It was not until this project that I find myself struggling to stay on a middle ground between masculine and feminine, as I am sometimes slipping into the masculine role unaware. On more than on occasion, I have found myself imposing and trying to use myself to “fill the gap” metaphorically between me and my sister. Holding the camera is holding the power in this case. This photo is an example of straightforward masculinity- as I am imposing the way I see myself through her onto her.

However, the other half of the time I feel that my concept puts me in the “vaginal” mindset. I feel this way because I find myself using this project as a way of reaching out to her and filling the void that I have been feeling. I specifically feel this way when she has the camera, or moreso in my recent process of letting things happen how they happen, and creating a photo as a document of that experience. That is the way the I would like to go about my project, a feminine approach as opposed to the imposing masculine approach. The feminine approach not being about the prettiness, but rather about the vulnerability and intimateness. 

I believe that part of the issue of being on the fence between identifying with a masculine and/or feminine photographic language has to do with me also being on the fence about where I stand in our relationship, and me questioning what roles do sisters play in each others lives.  

“Second, the question of whether these two sets of traditional attributes are "really" masculine or feminine is beside the point as well. Even if it's true (as it seems to me to be) that these traditional antinomies have more to do with our changing conceptions of power and entitlement than with any so-called "fact" of biological gender, it is this traditional fiction of gender that informs real behavior, and not my revisionist concept of it.
” – Dave Hickey

"Prom Night"

It took me a while to think and understand the concept of gender in our terms used in artwork, and how it might apply to me and my own work. I've realized that I tend to exhibit the more feminine aspects of art. My photos are not strong or imposing upon the viewer, rather they are beautiful, inviting or vulnerable. It is rare for my photos to have masculine concepts or aspects applied to them. I photograph my boyfriend all the time, and those photos are pretty much all feminine and fairly vulnerable. With this photo, his face shows vulnerability and desperation. The word "failure" is not a masculine quality or word. It is not about strength, it is about the lack of strength. He is trying to rub it out, but he is not strong enough.

In this photo my model is welcoming the viewer to her own issues and insecurities. The viewer does not even have these darker aspects forced upon them. My photo invites them to dig deeper, to look closely and read the sign that the model is holding. The photo has the model inviting the viewer into her own mental space and place, rather than exhibiting a protruding and intrusive object. Despite the theme of insecurity within this photo, beauty was still important to me while shooting it, which is a very feminine quality. Overall, I think that I am artistically rather feminine. Power, strength, and masculinity have not been things that I shoot or depict.

Sentence: I am exploring the effects of invisible illnesses.

Prom Night

Descriptions of work categorized as either “masculine” or “feminine” never before really crossed my mind. When David Hickey explained the differences and how it impacts discussion and the work being discussed, it was like a revelation. I suppose this language applies to my photographs for studio class, which could be described as pleasant and painterly, with diverse and pretty colors.

Shane’s mentioning of how artists tend to look from the outside, in now (whereas artists used to portray the beauty and holiness of the land by looking from the inside out – let me know if I’ve gotten the time periods reversed). My project for this class relates to that idea very much: I am representing someone through an arrangement of that person’s belongings. (This image is still a work-in-progress.)

But other than that, it’s sometimes difficult for me to see my work’s relationship to the viewer; I only see myself as the viewer, but I do not count as one of those viewers today. The viewer-artist relationship is another thing Hickey mentions. He notes that the relationship has changed, becoming one where artist and viewer are less likely to truly connect (at least back when viewers included the general public does this statement apply). If you’re not either A: an artist, or B: interested in “fine” art, one most likely would not take a second glance at, say, my images above, or would not appreciate the images enough to please me. The language and audiences of artwork, the standards of what is considered "art," and the entire world of art has been moulded and changed, and can only continue to do so somehow (and are most likely to change in surprising ways).