Henri Cartier-Bresson

https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2TYRYD1D518O

Above, I attached a link to Magnumphoto.com that has series of Bresson's Decisive Moment.

Bresson is really well known for his Street Photography, especially Decisive moment series. Bresson's photograph really influenced the way i take photographs because before I knew about Bresson, I viewed street photography more like landscape photo, where you focus more on the shapes of building. However, after I looked at Bresson, I changed the way i take photo and focused more on people's interaction with environment/ others.

In his photo book, he defines photography as "simultaneous recognition, in the fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event it's proper expression" So, as you can see on the bottom, there are many "unique moments" that shows playful interactions of people and the environment.

Black Lives Matter Art

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/07/13/the-most-powerful-art-from-the-blacklivesmatter-movement-three-years-in/

Above I attached and article from the Washington Post that serves as a catalog for some very powerful pieces that emerged from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. I think this is an interesting subject matter to inspire art. I agree with the movements message obviously as every person should. However, there is a semi-counter movement that has sprung up since the BLM. They preach "All Lives Matter" in fact some people have gone as far as to say that BLM is engaging in some form of racism by only making it about them. I personally think this idea is ludicrous, mostly because black Americans have been disenfranchised and systematically put in a situation with disadvantages since the conception of our country. But I wonder what the class thought about this? obviously everyone should be "all lives matter" but does that mean that the current way some black Americans are attempting to self preserve is unfair to every other ethnicity? And further more I have thought about making art on the subject, but am hesitant to do so because I am a white American and will not ever have that perspective or know the black struggle. What would be the best way for me to create with this subject in mind?

The article is a good read and the pieces are fantastic. Many of which were more poster type art combining printed word and drawings. Very similar to protest poster made during the late 60's and early 70's. This causes me to think of the extremely clear similarities between now 2016 and the civil rights movements of the 60's.

Too Many Remakes!

Too Many Remakes

I was discussing this with my friends the other day and was wondering what some of you guys think about this trend and specifically the movies studios decide to remake. I have fond childhood memories of most the examples in the article, and aside from being able to update special effects, I'm not really sure ruining the memories of some movies are worth it. Although, I dreamt of being able to remake my favorite movies growing up, I don't know about such direct remakes. "Re-imaginings" seem to be more successful as new films, but can also be much worse.

BRUCE CONNER

I recently saw an exhibition of Bruce Conner's life work at MoMA when I was in NYC over the summer entitled BRUCE CONNER: IT'S ALL TRUE.  I recognized one or two of his most famous works, but I really enjoyed getting to see a larger collection of his body of work together.  The exhibition was made up of everything and anything he dabbled with in his life time, from films, photograms and photographs to assemblages, drawings and prints.  Bruce Conner was a west coast artist that came out of the post war era; his pieces are known for being surrealist and haunting.  I really enjoyed looking and learning more about him and his works and highly recommend everyone to check him out as well:

http://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1614?locale=en

Bruce Conner's "Sound of Two Hand Angel," 1974

Francis Ford Coppola: Influencing a generation

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola is a director that I really respect and admire. He has an incredible ability to not only tell a compelling story through artistically crafted shots, but make money doing it as well.

There are many directors in Hollywood currently who's entire goal is to make the summer's biggest blockbuster. Many of them succeed. There are still directors out there, though, that continue to create films that not only are able to make enough money to warrant a multi -million dollar budget, but also hold artistic integrity.

While Coppola has not directed a 'Hollywood Blockbuster' anytime recently, his ability to create an established aesthetic in a bigger budget film is something that influenced countless directors after him. Directors like Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Christopher Nolan are perfect examples of auteurs who are still able to make an artistic statement with a large budget and too many producers to count. 

(film stills from The Godfather (1972) and Tetro (2009))

COREY RICHARDS

About a year ago I saw one of Cory Richards works for National Geographic and got HOOOKED. He's an amazing human being, known for many things behinds his photography. He was one of the first of three people to climb one of Pakistans 8,000 meter peaks in winter time. He made a film about it called "Cold" which shows his journey while questioning viewers to look at life and its power in new ways. (it won awards world wide in different film festivals)

Cory has traveled to many parts of the world to use photography as a way to discover/appreciate life elsewhere and the absolute power of nature. Some of his shots send chills up my spine and tears to my eyes. There is so much life and movement in his photos that it almost feels like your watching a slow motion clip. He's got an eye for stellar subject matter and capturing intriguing moments.

...may or may not have a major crush on this guy....just saying

http://www.coryrichards.com/#at=0&mi=1&pt=0&pi=53&s=6&p=-1&a=-1

MAKE SURE TO LOOK AT HIS STORIES TOO NOT JUST HIS PORTFOLIO

What proves reality as being reality?

“In order to pin down reality as reality, we need another reality to relativize the first. Yet that other reality requires a third reality to serve as its grounding. An endless chain is created within our consciousness, and it is the maintenance of this chain which produces the sensation that we are actually here, that we ourselves exist.”

-Haruki Murakami

South of the Border, West of the Sun

I recently read a few of Murakami's novels over Summer break. One of them was South of the Border, West of the Sun. I came across this quote as I was coming to an end to the novel. I remembered it in Shane's class the other morning when he asked us to write what we care about. Something for me has always been an attempt to understand where reality starts and where it stops--and whether or not it really exists by itself or if it is a dependent concept.