"Perception is Subjective."
People come from many different backgrounds and cultures and are born into many different genetic possibilities (i.e. color blindness or deafness). Accidents and past experiences may also deeply impact our perception. Whatever it may be, perception with the objects, things, and people that we come into contact with everyday is a personal experience, which is deeply impacted by an array of variables. What someone may call red, another may call maroon.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Daniela Contreras - Identidades (Identities)
Daniela Contreras uses found photographs from the 50's and 70's to explore and analyze memory. When the faces are erased, it deprives the subject of any feature of true identity. After reading what the artist was truly interested in (exploring the "fragility" of memory, questioning identity and memory, etc.), I was reminded of false memories in my Psych 101 class. Our brain is specifically open to new experiences, pressure, and influence. More importantly, it doesn't want any gaps to be vacant. So it fills in the spaces (think when you're a child and you believe something may have happened, but video evidence/etc. proves otherwise). Without faces, these photographs have a sense of familiarity about them, and it makes them relatable. This may not have been quite the point the artist was trying to convey, but after spending a weekend looking through old photographs of my family, it's certainly the feeling I draw from them.
Hannah Nees - Sentence Response
"It is difficult to bungle a good idea"
I believe that this sentence currently applies to a lot of our peers. Many of us have great ideas that we would love to put forth, but we either just don't know how to do it or we are afraid to. I find myself thinking about all the places I would love to photograph at night but the motivation is hard to find. Taking photographs at night is much more difficult than it seems, since you have to go out at the exact right time of night where the sky is as close to black as possible. Then, once I drive to the spot which I would like to photograph, I find myself too afraid to leave my car. I feel that everyone has their own definition of what it means to "bungle", or carry out, a good idea. Whether it be not knowing how to go about making the photograph, or knowing how to make the photograph but not being able to once you get there.
Hannah Nees - Weekly Artist Post - Troy Paiva
Troy Paiva is a fine art photographer that has been working on his light painting photography since 1989. The entirety of his series, "Lost America", is based off his view of himself as an urban explorer. Much of Paiva's time is spent alone in the middle of nowhere capturing abandoned parts of the west. He has written a book titled, "Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration", where he details his process of light painting.
I find a lot of inspiration in Troy Paiva's photography, because of how similar our works seem to be. Though I just stared my exploration of the night, I have a deep interest in using LED lights and filters to create absurd colors in my photographs. Though many of his photos are of cars (which I am not particularly interested in), I find his abandoned building photography to be especially interesting.
Anne Forrester- Sentence Response
"Formal art is essentially rational."
I think this quote explains my lack of interest in traditional fine art/ formal art; it's rational therefor it makes sense. I tend to be neither of those things. I think I get bored too easily doing something that I already know, that I can be taught. I am more inclined to try to break a rule of something or make up a new medium.
Taylor Stevenson Sentence response
An artist may perceive the art of
others better than his own.
Art is a subjective thing. We all
perceive art differently therefore what we think is good and bad are different.
This also reflects in what we choose to photograph. Subjects that are common to
us (the photographer) may, after awhile, lose its beauty because we have
already captured it. How many times can you capture something before its
repetitive? After being set in our default ways we may begin to forget why we
found interest in the subject anyway and just begin to create mechanical art.
Things we have come to know and feel comfortable with photographing. So I feel
like when that happens we start to lose respect in our art and gain respect to
others because there ideas are considered “fresh” to us.
Anne Forrester- Weekly Artist Post 2
Borderland NPR
this is really cool.
No, this is not an artist exactly, is immensely interesting and influential to me. Borderland NPR was a web project created to tell stories of many different aspects and facets of the US-Mexico Border crisis. I obviously am particular interested in the content of this project and am interested in the issue, but it is the presentation and design of the information that I find so great. The interactive quality of the app and the way the reader interacts with the information in such a quick and direct manner is astounding. I think web design like this for news and journalism is huge;too many people are too ignorant of things happening in the world and in order to get more people to be current event literate we need more news experiences like this one.
http://apps.npr.org/borderland/
Anne Forrester- article from class I mentioned
Here is the link to the article I couldn't quite remember from class. Coincidently the photographer is Bruce Gilden who was already referenced in class.
http://www.vice.com/read/deep-fried-america-on-a-stick-0000144-v20n11
http://www.vice.com/read/deep-fried-america-on-a-stick-0000144-v20n11
Sentence response-Jessica Aicholtz
"Perception of ideas leads to new ideas"
A definition of perception is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression. a continuous thought process, at least for me, is the best way for me to conceptualize an idea for a project. It usually turns out that the very first idea i have is never the last. As I continue to perceive my ideas they usually evolve into a greater, larger, or maybe even simpler idea than the first. My ideas are constantly changing and they work together to form one cohesive thought.
A definition of perception is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression. a continuous thought process, at least for me, is the best way for me to conceptualize an idea for a project. It usually turns out that the very first idea i have is never the last. As I continue to perceive my ideas they usually evolve into a greater, larger, or maybe even simpler idea than the first. My ideas are constantly changing and they work together to form one cohesive thought.
Scott Csoke-Weekly Artist Post
Matt Eich
I was introduced to this artist earlier this week and his work is extremely inspiring to me. I was also excited to learn that he is based out of Norfolk, Virginia. I always think it's exciting when an artist I admire is nearby, it makes them seem more real.
His strong compositions are something that I, as a photographer, aspire towards. He has a wide range of subjects and ideas he is tackling and that's what I really admire about him. I think I always feel like in order to have some sort of theme or style that i have to be shooting the same things all of the time, but he is still successful doing a variety of ideas.
I was introduced to this artist earlier this week and his work is extremely inspiring to me. I was also excited to learn that he is based out of Norfolk, Virginia. I always think it's exciting when an artist I admire is nearby, it makes them seem more real.
His strong compositions are something that I, as a photographer, aspire towards. He has a wide range of subjects and ideas he is tackling and that's what I really admire about him. I think I always feel like in order to have some sort of theme or style that i have to be shooting the same things all of the time, but he is still successful doing a variety of ideas.
Taylor Stevenson: Robin Wong
As I was searching through my old photos and trying to
figure out how to describe or at least categorize my photography I came across an interesting post by
Robin Wong. I was trying to see if me classifying my aestic as being a snapshot
was corret and was particurally interested in how he defined a snapshot as
being personal. Wong writes:
I gravitate to this statement because I shoot to document what is happening right then. I focus more on the event that is happening and not so much of how am capturing it, i literally shoot and go and the images with subjects are family members who i feel comfortable with. As I continued to read his blog I
began to think if my work is nothing but snapshots does it mean I am not a
photographer. Wong describes a “good
photo” as a photo that grabs anyone’s attention without any personal or
other history. But snapshots can also capture moments in the peak stage, where
the action hasn’t happened yet and since this state isn’t often recorded but when
it creates an interesting dialeget between the artist and the viewer.
Jessica Aicholtz-artist post
Anton Corbijn
http://antoncorbijn.com
Corbijn is known for his black and white photographs of rockstars. typically however he doesn't just take a portrait of them, he likes to take the photograph of them in their surrounding space. He usually photographs them in the very first place he meets them. He tries to capture the mystery of these famous musicians unlike their stage appearance. High in contrast, his photos reveal hidden information of people who are idols to millions. he explains his process of shooting as "looking in from the outside."
http://antoncorbijn.com
Corbijn is known for his black and white photographs of rockstars. typically however he doesn't just take a portrait of them, he likes to take the photograph of them in their surrounding space. He usually photographs them in the very first place he meets them. He tries to capture the mystery of these famous musicians unlike their stage appearance. High in contrast, his photos reveal hidden information of people who are idols to millions. he explains his process of shooting as "looking in from the outside."
teddy leinbach-artist post
Kehinde Wiley is a famous artist that I am sure you have heard of. He has a piece at the VMFA and is widely known. His work explores 2 different cultures that are rarely put together in such blatant fashion. he paints elegant images of black people posing in front of classical, high-class backgrounds, usually some sort of regal, flowery pattern. In my opinion, the most striking aspect of his paintings is the culture that is portrayed in the subjects he paints. He doesn't manipulate the person at all. If the subject is wearing Jordans, that is what he paints, if they are wearing a baggy track-suit, that is what he paints. All of his subjects break stereotypes about what goes into a "classical-style" painting. Because of this breaking of stylistic stereotypes, juxtaposed with the classical backgrounds and themes, a feeling of cognitive dissonance arises in the viewer, making the viewer question issues on race, stereotypes, and their own personal racism.
http://kehindewiley.com/
http://kehindewiley.com/
Adam Landis - Weekly Artist Post
Joel Peter Witkin
Witkin, who finished college in 1986, has a body of work unlike any other. His portrayal of the grotesque and obscene is appalling and dignified all at once. His art speaks of someone well educated in art history, emulating many Renaissance painters. He plans out each piece painstakingly before he even begins to solicit for the the oddities, brave souls and dead bodies that populate his macabre arrangements, which he then heavily manipulates in the darkroom, going even so far as to pierce and scratch the negatives. I love the way his art challenges the viewer to understand the way they feel afterwards, with its myriad references to historical paintings and literature. I can only hope that, one day, my compositions are as educated and my work as stirring.
Witkin, who finished college in 1986, has a body of work unlike any other. His portrayal of the grotesque and obscene is appalling and dignified all at once. His art speaks of someone well educated in art history, emulating many Renaissance painters. He plans out each piece painstakingly before he even begins to solicit for the the oddities, brave souls and dead bodies that populate his macabre arrangements, which he then heavily manipulates in the darkroom, going even so far as to pierce and scratch the negatives. I love the way his art challenges the viewer to understand the way they feel afterwards, with its myriad references to historical paintings and literature. I can only hope that, one day, my compositions are as educated and my work as stirring.
teddy leinbach-sentence response
"The artist may misperceive (understand it differently from the artist) a work of art but still be set off in his own chain of thought by that misconstrual"
I have always had the understanding that a work of art cannot be misperceived (especially conceptual art). But rather, a piece of art is there for the viewer to perceive it however he may. When considering a piece of art, every person sees the work differently. Every person is seeing the piece in a different context from everyone else, therefore a piece of art is impossible to misperceive. What I came to understand because of the rest of the quotes is that a piece of art is not an object. The object is part of the piece of art but the piece as a whole involves the idea, the process, the failures, and the end result. The end result is then there as a portal to ones own ideas. The artist provides the viewer with the tools for thought and it is up to the receiver to make use of those tools. That being said, I agree with the last part of this quote but question the claim that a piece of art can be misperceived.
I have always had the understanding that a work of art cannot be misperceived (especially conceptual art). But rather, a piece of art is there for the viewer to perceive it however he may. When considering a piece of art, every person sees the work differently. Every person is seeing the piece in a different context from everyone else, therefore a piece of art is impossible to misperceive. What I came to understand because of the rest of the quotes is that a piece of art is not an object. The object is part of the piece of art but the piece as a whole involves the idea, the process, the failures, and the end result. The end result is then there as a portal to ones own ideas. The artist provides the viewer with the tools for thought and it is up to the receiver to make use of those tools. That being said, I agree with the last part of this quote but question the claim that a piece of art can be misperceived.
Adam Landis - sentences on conceptual art
20. " Successful art changes our understanding of the conventions by altering our perceptions."
This sentence makes me feel excited, eager even, to make more art. I love the idea of changing the perceptions of the people around me by exposing them to a work of art. That makes art, some but not all, powerful and meaningful, it gives us purpose as artists to be more than creators of pretty wall hangers and cute cat pictures. Altering the perceptions of a group can influence them to challenge their instinctual reactions to things, and remolding them into better people or redirecting their animosity in a positive direction. Like how a crowd of protesters who disagree with a thing can be noise, but that same crowd rallying behind representational media that supports their cause gives them the power to cause the opposition to introspect and possibly open up to change. It is hard to ignore art. Personally, I want my art to inspire change in others. I feel that should be the "point" to what I do.
This sentence makes me feel excited, eager even, to make more art. I love the idea of changing the perceptions of the people around me by exposing them to a work of art. That makes art, some but not all, powerful and meaningful, it gives us purpose as artists to be more than creators of pretty wall hangers and cute cat pictures. Altering the perceptions of a group can influence them to challenge their instinctual reactions to things, and remolding them into better people or redirecting their animosity in a positive direction. Like how a crowd of protesters who disagree with a thing can be noise, but that same crowd rallying behind representational media that supports their cause gives them the power to cause the opposition to introspect and possibly open up to change. It is hard to ignore art. Personally, I want my art to inspire change in others. I feel that should be the "point" to what I do.
Natalie Kohlhepp - Sentences on Conceptual Art.
- "The artist cannot imagine his art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete."
For whatever reason this comes as a relief to me. So often I'll imagine my work, what it will look like and what it will say and in the end it has shifted and become something different. I feel the need to control what I am creating even though that is in direct opposition to what I believe about the nature of creating art. I guess I end up fighting my own beliefs when it comes to sitting down and making something real. I'm not sure if we have talked about it specifically in this class yet, but in one of Shane's classes I know that we have talked about the benefit of series and the unconscious. The beautiful thing about working in a series is the freedom to pursue an idea in multiple ways, and how similarities and meaning will arise the more ardently you follow an idea.
Natalie Kohlhepp - Weekly Artist Post
Harry Gould Harvey IV
http://harrygouldharveyiv.com/
Harvey currently lives in Rhode Island/ works in NYC.
In an interview with VICE Magazine Harvey explains how the first time he took a photo with artistic intent, he realized how much louder simple photographs can speak. He decided to work in series and within the mindset that each photograph should be as strong as it possibly can. I work very similarly. I prefer shooting simple, stripped down scenes and find that a series with less can be far more accessible. Harvey's series One I definitely found myself connecting with a lot more. That series explores a complicated music subculture in a way that feels very earnest to me. One doesn't hype up or make the scene seem desirable nor does it feel like an outsider's harsh critique. One feels like a series of photographs from someone on the inside.
http://harrygouldharveyiv.com/
Harvey currently lives in Rhode Island/ works in NYC.
In an interview with VICE Magazine Harvey explains how the first time he took a photo with artistic intent, he realized how much louder simple photographs can speak. He decided to work in series and within the mindset that each photograph should be as strong as it possibly can. I work very similarly. I prefer shooting simple, stripped down scenes and find that a series with less can be far more accessible. Harvey's series One I definitely found myself connecting with a lot more. That series explores a complicated music subculture in a way that feels very earnest to me. One doesn't hype up or make the scene seem desirable nor does it feel like an outsider's harsh critique. One feels like a series of photographs from someone on the inside.
James Quinlan - Sentences on Conceptual Art
I'm glad I read these sentences. Really. I feel like it helped to justify my continuing confusion I face while making art. I'm constantly full of questions about the things I create, but not in a frustrating way, simply in an "I have no idea what I'm doing but I like it" kind of way. I feel like these sentences, at least some of them, have helped to make sense of that feeling, to... well justify it, like I said before. I'm glad that I can create lots of work I don't fully understand yet and still know that the work has merit, even if just to me for reasons I cannot fully grasp quite yet.
That being said, I don't think art making is even remotely a spiritual experience. I don't believe there is anything special to art making. I think it is a process like any other process.
For now that is all I have to say on this, but I'm going to dwell on it for awhile longer and hopefully update this post.
That being said, I don't think art making is even remotely a spiritual experience. I don't believe there is anything special to art making. I think it is a process like any other process.
For now that is all I have to say on this, but I'm going to dwell on it for awhile longer and hopefully update this post.
James Quinlan - Weakly Art-is Pose't
http://www.renealmanza.net/framesalmanza.html
Rene Almanza
I really don't know a lot about this guy, other than the fact that he makes some wild gestural stuff. I don't know if he has updated his website in the last year, but I think that his pen (pencil?) contours are the best. I'm not really knowledgeable of any of the conversations currently happening in painting, so I have to approach this work purely as an outsider, meaning that everything I can garner from these drawings/paintings is solely personal and probably very uninformed, which can be fun sometimes. Honestly, I just appreciate the forms he creates. I appreciate the scenes he creates with these seemingly simple gestures, and how he generally works black on white, like some Franz Kline who demanded way more sexuality from the lines he was making.
Actually, I'm starting to think I don't really like the work. I dunno, maybe I just appreciate the pictures that are being presented for their face value, and I don't really want to get more into any of it. Who knows?????????????????????????????????
Rene Almanza
I really don't know a lot about this guy, other than the fact that he makes some wild gestural stuff. I don't know if he has updated his website in the last year, but I think that his pen (pencil?) contours are the best. I'm not really knowledgeable of any of the conversations currently happening in painting, so I have to approach this work purely as an outsider, meaning that everything I can garner from these drawings/paintings is solely personal and probably very uninformed, which can be fun sometimes. Honestly, I just appreciate the forms he creates. I appreciate the scenes he creates with these seemingly simple gestures, and how he generally works black on white, like some Franz Kline who demanded way more sexuality from the lines he was making.
Actually, I'm starting to think I don't really like the work. I dunno, maybe I just appreciate the pictures that are being presented for their face value, and I don't really want to get more into any of it. Who knows?????????????????????????????????
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Liesa Collins - Conceptual Art Sentences
#25 "The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither better nor worse than that of others."
I don't think I could relate to this sentence anymore than I already do. Number one thing I've learned about while being in art school is that people are going to come up with concepts and ideas about a piece of your work that you have never ever considered before. Before this concepts class, I had the mindset of if something looks cool, photograph it. But more and more of my thought processes going into a photograph are becoming an important factor. But in the end, I never can pinpoint what my work actually means. It's meant to stump you; it is meant to keep you asking questions until the end of time. But it is reassuring, for me at least, to know that it is accepted in art society that you can still be an amazing artist and have completely no idea what the hell your work means. Because I sure as hell don't.
Liesa Collins - Weekly Artist Post
I always try to make it an assignment to myself to look up and research intensely any artists spoken about in class that I am not too entirely familiar with. Gillian Wearing was brought up last class and I wrote her name down in between the notes "objectification: denying narrative" and "what's your responsibility?" In the "Signs That Say What You Want Them to Say and Not Signs That Say What Someone Else Wants You to Say" piece she went around to people on the street and asked them what they were thinking. The result showed a dialogue between private life and public opinion. In the series "Album", Wearing wears masks she had made that resemble her family members, and a few of herself at different ages. It plays on the spooky feeling that it is possible to look at an ancient photo of an old family member that resembles you in an uncanny way yet you have never met them; doppelganger within the family who is a part of you. I am interested in the personal and intimate ideas Wearing portrays in these two works, and especially the concept of self-reflection after looking into someone else first.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Lexi Wilson-- sentences on conceptual art
24. Perception is subjective
The way we perceive the world instinctively is most of the time based off of our own bias. Sontag says, "In deciding how a picture should look, in preferring one exposure to another, photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects." When I am working on a project with a particular concept behind it, I sometimes feel that I'm forcing that concept upon a scene where that concept doesn't actually exist, that I am perceiving a situation in a way that I want to see it instead of the reality of it. I'm starting to realize that this may be an automatic setting for myself, and I think this hinders me from seeing different perspectives or avenues to pursue in picture taking. Like we talked about in class, I think there is a certain obligation as a photographer to open our mind and try to recognize the different perspectives. To interrogate a situation from all sides, instead of just seeing it for what we want it to be. To perceive in a less subjective way.
The way we perceive the world instinctively is most of the time based off of our own bias. Sontag says, "In deciding how a picture should look, in preferring one exposure to another, photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects." When I am working on a project with a particular concept behind it, I sometimes feel that I'm forcing that concept upon a scene where that concept doesn't actually exist, that I am perceiving a situation in a way that I want to see it instead of the reality of it. I'm starting to realize that this may be an automatic setting for myself, and I think this hinders me from seeing different perspectives or avenues to pursue in picture taking. Like we talked about in class, I think there is a certain obligation as a photographer to open our mind and try to recognize the different perspectives. To interrogate a situation from all sides, instead of just seeing it for what we want it to be. To perceive in a less subjective way.
Lexi Wilson-- Weekly Artist Post
John Cyr
I am particularly interested in Cyr's project, Developer Trays. In this project, he photographs various photographers' developer trays against a black background. What interests me about this project is that Cyr is taking an object or tool used to create an artistic photograph, making it an artifact, and placing those artistic qualities upon it. It is fascinating to see how each tray varies, depending on the type of chemicals used, the tray preferred by the artist, and how the artist handles the tray. It shows the somewhat intimate relationship the photographer had with their tray as they used it to make the thousands of the images we know them for.
http://www.johncyrphotography.com/page1/developertrays.html
I am particularly interested in Cyr's project, Developer Trays. In this project, he photographs various photographers' developer trays against a black background. What interests me about this project is that Cyr is taking an object or tool used to create an artistic photograph, making it an artifact, and placing those artistic qualities upon it. It is fascinating to see how each tray varies, depending on the type of chemicals used, the tray preferred by the artist, and how the artist handles the tray. It shows the somewhat intimate relationship the photographer had with their tray as they used it to make the thousands of the images we know them for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)