Anderson Gallery

One of the issues brought up with the issue of censorship. The issue was mostly brought up when looking at Larry Clark's Tulsa series. I think that by not showing the work in full, it almost is unfair to those who are viewing the series, as well as I imagine the artist's intention was for these images to be seen as a whole. The images would potentially have a different impact on viewers if seens as a whole. I think that someone's work can be censored as well as an artist may decide to censor their own work. Sometimes with my own work I will come up with potential ideas and before I even have the chance to explore that idea further or make any type of image based on that idea, I'll decide against using it and move onto something else, sometimes out of fear of how it could potentially be viewed or received.

Jessica Berry - Gallery

We talk a bit about the ethics of photography and how things can get censored in a show. This refers to the Tulsa work we were shown and how it deals with a graphic subject matter and they chose not to show certain images during a gallery showing. I guess how this relates back to me is because I struggle with censoring myself. I know that I constantly worry about how my family (pastors daughter), my church, and I guess specifically how my mother will react if I shoot some of the things I want to, like focusing on my body, my sexuality, or my questioning of God.

Artist - Jessica Berry

Alexander McQueen

He was a fashion designer, this is a post about an artist and you cannot look at his pieces and tell me he isn't an artist. To me in every piece of fabric it just screams wonder and fantastical. His lines and fashion shows gave me so much inspiration. I guess not really in a conceptual way, but I'm in love with these new worlds he creates with just fabric. 

Whitney - Anderson Paragraph

I feel like a lot of what we focused on while looking at work was how it lived in the museum itself: how it was displayed, why the images chosen to display were chosen, who has to approve a show, etc. I found the Tulsa images particularly intriguing simply based on the way they engaged such a conversation about an "ethics" of photography. The question of interaction with subjects was brought up by someone wondering how the photographer continues a relationship with a subject post-photograph. I found that I had a lot that connected with Latoya Ruby Frazier's work though I found her work doesn't always appeal to me personally. I can definitely acknowledge that there is a correlation between her and my interest in people and nature and family/heritage. The concept of environment is carried through Ester Partegas' work on the first floor, which included manmade landscapes.

Douglas Gordon

These images are from a series entitled Self Portraits of You + Me. The images used are all of iconic people which is what drew me in as well as the way he decided to destroy or burn through the images. Also when you view these pieces in person the parts that are burned through reveal a mirror and in a way you as the viewer become apart of the piece.

Augustine Kofie

Augustine Kofie is a multidisciplinary artist based in California whose work ranges from expired polaroids to 3-D installation work. His work influences me in that there is such a variety of it and it is clear that all of his works are influenced by some other practice but also because of its precision and graphic appeal. For quite some time, I've tried to absorb everything I liked or thought was cool and later understand why and mold it into a way for me to learn and inform my own work. Kofie has been one of those points of reference for a few years now. Much of his work is about place and is often based off location specific architecture in one way or another. In this way and others, it demonstrates and connection and passion for his work and what influences it.

Augustine Kofie

Anderson Gallery Post

      I feel that an important issue that was discussed at Anderson, though fairly briefly, was the idea of censorship and when and why that takes place. The concept of censorship also extended into unauthorized appropriation of a culture and thus censoring the original. These issues are clearly associated with the Larry Clark work we were able to see and how it has been displayed in the past in a way that it wouldn't offend or shock anyone but Tulsa is offensive and vulgar. The nature of the work warrants it being displayed in full and subtractions of specifically harsh portions are taking the work completely out of context and muting the original intentions of Clark. The extension of censorship by appropriation takes place in Latoya Ruby Frazier's work, at the very least, in her performance piece in response to the Levi's ad campaign. Levi's misrepresented the condition of Braddock and appropriated only the elements that would suit their campaign and because of their incredibly large audience, represented to the masses, a completely incorrect view of Braddock and silenced all of the social and economic issues taking place there. The principles are applicable to the processes I'm attempting to adopt by not censoring my work while it's in progress. I'm attempting to allow for any possibilities by not excluding anything until I've acquired a large cache of imagery from which I can then began to draw conclusions and slowly realize what should and should not be shown. These decisions should be made only after allowing for everything and then only be me, the artist, not solely a curator or gallerist.