Thursday 4/30 Entry

Scene

Freeze frame movie scenes are what started this project. These images are manifestations of scenarios and scenes that played out in my head. For instance, the ending scene of a tragic romance where a man finally reunites with the leading lady for what used to be their traditional date, dinner and a movie.

What makes these images scenes are the characters in mid-action. In the images, the subjects appear to be paused in a moment of activity; they haven't yet completed the interaction they set out to do. This "pause" effect allows the viewer to interject any plausible subject they want into the scene, and forces them to make specific decision on what this interjected subject would be doing.

*The images above are my own*

Sunday 4/26

Atta Kim

Atta Kim's photographs focus on two things: human existence and time. He treats both as blurs that are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Kim's most famous series feature naked people, almost always of Asian descent, naked and in fetal positions. The people have been separated from each other and their surroundings, and seem to be in an uncomfortable position but otherwise blank.

A few images in this series featuring select people interacting, either inside or outside of the cases. Life seems to be going on, with or without the people that are trapped inside.

The clarity of life and activity continuing is a very interesting aspect of this work. Kim makes it apparent that these people could be extracted from the image at any time and the image would still exist, possibly in a more natural existence than it was when the people were actually in the scene.

http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/atta_kim/?show_bio=bio
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/arts/design/12atta.html
http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.1706759/k.9A54/Atta_Kim_OnAir.htm
http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=424629646&page_tab=Artworks_for_sale
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/04/148_21581.html

Thursday 4/23 Entry

Apprehension

Apprehension is defined as "suspicion or fear especially of future evil; foreboding". In the case of my series, there isn't necessarily a future evil, but there is an unknown, and the unknown is one of mankind's greatest fears.

This series creates a sense of foreshadowing within the viewer. Something is strange is about to occur, but we just aren't aware of what it is. There is a clear understanding that something is missing. While that something is most likely another human being or two, the viewer has no way of knowing for sure. This leaves the viewer feeling apprehensive or unsettled about what the work is depicting. The missing series leaves the viewer questioning why and when this something will occur.

*The image above is my own*

Sunday 4/19 Entry

Hiroshi Sugimoto

In his movie theatre series and his seascape series, Sugimoto's vast interiors and exteriors are void of human beings. In Seascapes, water and sky tend to effortlessly merge into each other, taking back the earth. In his movie theater series, Sugimoto captures an entire film in one shot. The screen becomes bright white, leaving no telltale evidence of what happened or even what movie it was. The only one who knows for sure is the photographer.

His images become strangely surreal. They look as if they were created in some other manner than simply documenting a scene. And yet, you know without a doubt, but without proof, that these images are authentic and that these scenes existed somewhere and at some point.

Why we have so much faith in Sugimoto's credibility, I'm not exactly sure. Is it the images themselves, or do we simply believe they are true because they look like they could be and Sugimoto himself has said that they are? Whatever the reason, this trust is a valuable tool; one that, hopefully, my work can also take advantage of.

http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/sugimoto/index.html
http://www.artnet.com/artist/16261/hiroshi-sugimoto.html
http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/2008-11-06/

Josh Goff Lecture

Josh Goff came in to talk about his business, Commonwealth Curb Appeal, and the importance of presentation and marketing for new entrepreneurs. At first, I was a little put off by him, as he was decked out as a cowboy, and couldn't understand how he could give advice on the topic. I was secretly hoping that his attire was an example of what not to do. It wasn't. Still, he had a few excellent points.

First Goff, emphasized the importance of a plan. He stressed that without a Mission Statement and a set purpose, your business goals wouldn't be understood by others and you would get nowhere fast. This was the first of three things he said you MUST have. The second was a team that featured a wide variety of reliable people with various expertise. The third was the capability of you and your team to properly network and to host events that raise awareness of your business. He stressed that proper networking skills need to be taught in most cases.

Goff also talked about presentation and the links between you, your team and the business. He said that hosting showcases, events and parties was the reason he no longer spent any money on advertising for his business (as of the fourth year CCA was pulling 1million in revenue). Knowing your very specific target market is key to determining what type of functions you should hold (his target were married couples with children, in a specific area, that own their own homes, and have a specific amount of disposable income). Next he said that you must be presentable at all times. That includes not playing loud music in your car when you pull up to places, being well groomed always, not chewing gum, and never using slang. He also said that when networking, don't just exchange cards. Instead, get to know the person, ask them strategic questions, and ask them how YOU CAN HELP THEM.

While he was off-putting at first, it turned out to prove several of his points.

http://www.commonwealthcurbappeal.com/

Thursday 4/16 Entry

Audience Participation

Audience participation is used in many kinds of education, entertainment, and "edutainment" as a way to force the viewer to think about what they are seeing. Often, the viewer is asked to answer questions, collaborate in groups to solve a problem, or be an example for the rest of the group by actively engaging in the performance.

In this work, the viewer is asked to do the same. Each photograph is slightly off putting. By being this way, the viewer is forced to figure out why they are apprehensive about the scene, as this is human nature. The viewer must then dissect the photograph, piece by piece, until they have found the irregularities within the seemingly normal depiction.

Once they have found the irregularities, they instinctively will want to solve the problem. The viewer is asked to subconsciously replaced the empty space in the photographs with what "should" be there, as they would consider it. All of these interactions are performed subconsciously, however the end result is an almost "Eureka!" moment. They are asked to do this to every piece in the series, until they have found a common thread within them all and, thus, solved the puzzle.

*The image above can be found at http://magicofricksilver.com*

Post-Tomorrow

Post-Real Time! I love the term. In my contemporary issuses class we spent a good amount of time discussing the term of Post-Historical Artist. The over use of "Post" and "Now" in contemporary art and culture becomes a bit tiresome. However, in theory I get so excited thinking about what the actual definition might be. Constantly I have to remind myself to stay within the bounds of my area (arts/media). As soon as I let myself apply these terms to the greater world the expansion becomes exponential. For us, being artist, these ideas suggest the need for forethought or projection of what may come next.

In the arts, as well as history, this is one of the most problematic and exciting areas of thought. The best any of us can offer is a constructed reality based on the now.

How many times have you asked yourself what is going on in the arts right now. Modernism, Post-Modernism, Post-Studio, Post-Museum..... what next? post-Real Time is a great possibility!

Anderson Gallery Submissions

I submitted three works to the Anderson Gallery, none were accepted.

ALB Lecture

Adam Bell, Entrepreneur and owner of ALB Tech, came in to talk about starting small business in Richmond. He started out by giving us a brief biography of himself as an entrepreneur. As with the other lecturers that I have seen in this series, Bell talked a lot about making money at an early age. At fourteen, Bell began fixing computers. He later go into creating websites for local musicians and businesses. Finding that to be lucrative, he opened a computer shop, ALB Tech.

Bell drove home a few key points to starting a business. First, he talked about an entrepreneurs need to do it all themselves. Bell stressed that this was not the thing to do. Instead, he said that if you don't know how to do something, you should find someone who does and pay them to do it. He stressed that this was especially the case with aspects of a business that can get you into trouble, such as accounting and legal issues.

Bell also pointed out that, from his past experience, it seemed to be best to have a wide selection of useable products rather than a lot of a limited selection. He said the most successful businesses were Service and Product combination businesses, and that 90% of an entrepreneurs day is spent marketing and networking.

After leaving the lecture, my plans to start my own business took on a few variations. Despite the fact that Bell's business doesn't directly relate to my business idea, his advice helped me tweak a few aspects of my own future plans.


http://www.albtechrva.com/

Sunday 4/12 Entry

Candida Höfer

Candida's work focuses on the elegance and opulence of man-made interiors. Her most famous series analyzes large religious and intellectual institutions. These vacant spaces were clearly created for large populations to engage in similar activities, and yet the extremely high-end fashion of the interiors leaves the viewer wondering what kind of population and what kind of activities.

This is very similar to the nature of my current series. My goal is to plant questions in the viewers mind, and to let them imagine what is "supposed" to be going on, whether it is something average or extraordinary. I also hope to achieve the technical expertise of Candida. Her lighting and composition are exquisite, as are the colors in her pieces. They are both alluring visually and conceptually.

http://www.renabranstengallery.com/hofer.html http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=691911&Page_tab=Artworks_for_sale http://www.thecoolhunter.net/books/LIBRARIES---CANDIDA-HOFFER/ http://hopefulforhappy.blogspot.com/2008/08/libraries-by-candida-hoffer.html

Thursday 4/9 Entry

Post Real-Time

In today's world of advanced technology, many things are done in real-time that couldn't be done before. TV shows are live and mistakes are displayed for the world to scrutinize, computer data can be sent and viewed across the world in mere seconds, and data can make a machine react to a scenario instantaneously.

The term "Post Real-Time" can mean a few very different things, but most literally it means "after the present". This term also loosely refers to time travel, as in "After the current action, as it is occurring". A combination of these definitions is what this work encompasses.

I see these works as the documentation of something that occurs after reality has been paused and aspects of the scene have been removed. The result is pseudo-time travel in which the viewer feels unnerved and intrigued.

*The image above was taken from www.hulu.com*

Sunday 4/5 Entry

Carlin Wing

Wing's work centers around the global community. Her earlier work, which featured vacant office spaces, targeted the similarities we all have with each other in regards to our spaces. With each separate culture boasting its own style and architecture, office spaces seem to transcend cultural divides.

Her current work, "Hitting Walls", focuses on commercial marketing that taints community activities. In this series, Wing photographed squash championships. In the way she photographed, Wing made it clear to the viewer what was clearly wrong with the scenes: bold text hovering on the walls of the arena, showcasing investment and financial firms.

Wing's work has always had an unsettling feeling that I strive for in my own work. Her series of the office spaces seemed almost like abandoned utopias, as if they were set up pristinely and then left with no human contact, which is exactly what they were made for. "Hitting Walls" clearly talks about and dissects the abnormalities of the squash scene. A combination of abandoned utopia and interactive abnormality is what I hope to achieve currently.

http://www.squashtalk.com/html2/news09/apr/news09-4-231.htm
http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/01/walls-of-power.html
http://anthonygreaney.com/index.html

Thursday 4/2 Entry

"Composed for Camera"

The idea that photographs are truthful documents can no longer be true. Today is an age of post production, in-camera trickery, and collage images. Yet, somehow, people still take images at face value. They assume that, even if the image doesn't look quite "right", what is depicted still happened.

This series aims to expand on that notion. What happened in these images did, in fact, happen in real life and in real time. Post production is minimal and no "smoke and mirrors" were set up. However, if it wasn't for the act of photographing, the scene would have never taken place. When this happens, can one say that these photographs are documents of reality?

Photo Forum Entry Proof

Here is proof that I entered Photographer's Forum's 29th Annual Spring Photo Contest. I entered 8 pieces and finalists will not be decided until August 3rd.

Sunday 3/29 Entry

Miklos Gaál

"I am interested in creating alternative aspects on perceptions we have become accustomed to."

Gaál is best known for his perspective controlled "miniature" cityscapes. Although they can be considered formal landscapes, the photos give a fresh look at the strange group behaviors of people within such a confined area. Suddenly, colonial parades, dog parks, protests and shopping frenzies become abnormal rituals that make the viewer feel as if they're analyzing another species.

Gaál's photographs give the illusion of a constructed reality, however they are in fact documentary in nature. Nothing has been added to the scene and nothing has been altered with the exception of in-camera perspective. In essence, Gaál is working in a manner opposite of mine. However, the great expanses that he chooses to photograph and the questions that are raised about the truthfulness of each photo are strikingly similar. His use of activities that would be, on ground level, pretty normal, intrigues me.

http://www.miklosgaal.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miklos_Ga%C3%A1l
http://www.moillusions.com/2006/09/toy-world-by-olivio-barbieri-miklos.html
http://www.helsinkischool.fi/helsinkischool/artist.php?id=9006
http://www.artnet.com/artist/424522567/miklos-gaal.html

Thursday 3/26 Entry

Group Activity

Group activities are prime examples of the social nature of humans. They build relationships, confidence, help people learn, and teach social skills vital to surviving within a greater society. Social activities are even hardwired into the brain. Without other people we are left underusing are brain, and in drastic cases that can lead to health and mental issues.

In my series, group activities are acted out, but are stripped of the group itself. The result is something that leaves the viewer uneasy, signifying the mandatory nature of the group. Without them, we are left with no logical conclusion, and thus, to us no logic.

"This image was found at http://www.utrecsports.org/activities/activities/soccer.php*

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/56247.php
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/psychology-0111.html
http://www.rikenresearch.riken.jp/research/281/
http://www.emedexpert.com/tips/brain.shtml

Tom

I have gone back and placed a credit in the Thursday entries where I used outside imagery. The credits will be in asterisks at the bottom of the post.

Comments are extremely difficult to hunt down on this site. It would be very helpful if you would post a new and separate entry of your comments. Thanks Tom!

Sunday 3/22 Entry

Lee Bul

Widely considered the leading Korean artist of her generation, Bul focuses her work on current political issues affecting Asia. Her work often incorporates or insinuates traditional Asian design elements and forces the viewer to examine the contrast between the past and the future.

Although my work doesn't deal with political issues, it does examine issues within formal society, mainly issues with self and solitude. The way that she brings past, present and future into one work through the use of traditional media intrigues me. She has found a way to do so that is semi obvious to the viewer, without spelling it out. Most would consider the use of film to be photography's traditional equivalent, however I would like to explore other elements, such as lighting, composition and possibly even dated scenarios as ways of comparing past and present, in regards to society.

http://www.leebul.com/
http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/exhibitions/2008-05-08_lee-bul/
http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/artist?id=1007
http://www.pkmgallery.com/exhibitions/2008-10-16_lee-bul/

Thursday 3/19 Entry

Fear

I have found that a lot of my work deals with fear. In some of it, I try to depict the fear as a tangible, or "photographable" thing. In some of it, the fear was personal, and I had to force myself to complete a task in order to photograph it successfully. Fear has always controlled what I did and did not do, and I tend to struggle with that concept in my work.

In a book I read a few months back, "Fear Itself: The Origin and Nature of the Powerful Emotion that Shapes Our Lives and Our World" by Rush W. Dozier, the author talks about the brains natural question: Fight or Flight. Fight being to stand ground against that which scares you and/or defend yourself, flight being to run away and attempt to escape the fear without facing it. This series deals with a different option: Ignore it. To the people in my current project, those fears simply don't exist. The viewer gets a sense of discomfort and thoughts of loneliless, one of the ultimate fears, while the subjects don't appear to even realize other people exist. The foundations of this fear of solitude can be question, leaving us with an intangible idea that has the power to drive a person insane.

*The images shown in this post are mine.*

One Tribe Lecture

Jared Karnes, owner of OneTribe Organic Body Modifications, came in as part of an entrepreneurial lecture series, but drew me in because of his arts background. The more he talked, the more he sounded like me. He came to VCUarts for his undergrad in Photography, but had to drop out due to money issues. His love of body modification art, such as gauge piercings and tribal jewelry, led him to begin working with his hands on jewelry; it turned out he really wasn't as in to photography.

Karnes soon found a niche in body mod using organic materials and hand carving one-offs and limited runs. His work is traditional tribal, based on Mayan and Aztec jewelry. His knowledge of body mod's background gives him an edge.

Karnes went over his finiancial information with us and gave us tips for starting a business as a small and cheap owner. Among his key points were asking future competition questions about the business, bartering and cheap advertising techniques. He also discussed a few points key to art businesses specifically, which helped me tremendously!

http://onetribe.nu/index.php

Sunday 3/15 Entry

Ezra Mansur

Mansur is better known as a commercial photographer. As a result, the artistic images he creates are vivid in color and stunning in composition and light. These formal aspects are what make Mansur's photographs of everyday, seemingly mundane landscapes into eerie, surreal scenes that deserve more than just a second glance.

I'd like to create a similar style of lighting with my current series. Mansur's lighting turns shopping center parking lots into movie sets, which is my ideal design. I've also found that his use of soft focuse not only directs the viewer's eye, but also creates a sense of distortion and furthers the "just no right" feeling of his work. In trying to master these techniques, I hope to also

www.ezramansur.com/
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/contests/e3i69c4daba6cf2b7e5a1bcdc949f5d46e3
http://www.thefrasergallery.com/2009PhotoComp.html

Photo Lecture

I was not able to attend the photography lecture today because I had a quiz in Physics at 3:00. I will post on two other lectures for this month.

Thursday 3/5 Entry

Real Life

Obviously, my current work questions the notions of real life in photography. In one sense, I am documenting a scene that is occurring. But in the truest sense, I am documenting a scene that has been planned to occur, one that has been set up. One main question that comes to mind is "Just how real can something be when its subjects are aware of the camera in front of them?" Theoretically, you're getting a true and authentic reaction, it is just of someone reacting to a camera being introduced into the scene. This question seeks its answer in many scenarios, including war/conflict photography, portraiture, and even reality TV.

Of course, my approach is a more obvious one. The subjects are fully aware of the camera and I think the viewer realizes it. What they don't immediately question is what they are seeing a reaction to. Is this how the subject subconsciously posed? Is this how they would act in such a situation? Is this just how they think the photographer or the viewer who envision them? Although it doesn't necessarily answer these questions, my work does pose them in an attempt to find answers.

*This photo was taken as a "Real World" promo by MTV*

Sunday 3/1 Entry

Adrian Fish

Fish's most acclaimed project is entitled "Staged", where she photographs completely empty theaters and concert halls. These vibrant rooms are contrasted by the lack of movement and activity within them. The viewer is fully aware of what should be, but is left wondering what significance the place holds once "what should be" isn't.

Although this series most closely resembles mine, all of her work is relevant to my concept. Her even her portraiture features forced solitude, pushing the bounds of anonymity and one's singular role within an environment. Both of the ideas I have always played with in my own work, and hope to continue them within my current project.

http://www.afish.ca/