3-30-10: Individual Meeting with Tom

This meeting was primarily a discussion of recent images. I showed the following:


We agreed this image is a little flat.


This was the image I re-shot from the midterm critique. Over spring break my wide angle lens broke so I have been using my fixed 50mm. The quality of glass isn't as nice as the other and it also makes shooting wider angle shots in small rooms VERY frustrating. I wasn't able to include both the top of the door frame and the air vent in the bottom corner- thus emphasizing the confusing scale discussed during the earlier critique. I would like to re-shoot this again, but would have to borrow a wide angle lens from someone. Tom and I agreed this image is important and strong, so a re-shoot is very important.



The bottom of these two images: Tom suggested I use a different animal because I already have two images using animals with antlers. He suggested the bunny in the top image. He also suggested playing with the scale of the rabbit in the image to relate it to the above image of the small door, arm chair, and human-dressed bunnies. This is something I will consider, but I'm not terribly excited about photoshop. All of my images thus far have been void of photoshop except for color correction and some spot cleaning.


Image without flash


Image with flash

Which do you think is stronger and why? What do you think of the tag on the right-most fur? Is it distracting? How do you interpret it? Include it? Photoshop it out?

Input on other images is always appreciated.

3-4-10 Midterm Critique

Today's round of critiques was probably one of the best class critiques I had ever participated in. The energy in the room was high and everyone was presenting some really great work. I left feeling motivated and proud of where my project stands at this point.

After reviewing the video tape of my personal critique, I was somewhat shocked at my frequent use of the word "like." It wasn't overkill, but it was enough to be distracting when I was listening for it. My posture was not so hot (it really never is) and my voice sounds nothing like it does in my own head. It's always strange seeing myself on camera and this was particularly awkward. I remember concentrating on looking calm and not fidgety, but I have a long way to go before I am public speaking material.

Jake had a great comment at the very beginning of crit (that I was too nervous to remember at the time) about my work being more humorous this semester in terms of my exploitation of anthropomorphism. I agree that these images have an increased juxtaposition relationship that strengthens them.

The class responded positively to my artist statement both in it's composure and its accurate reflection of the photos. We were in agreement on several touch-ups to one or two photos which I pointed out as being unfinished. This was the first critique in which the class was really able to clearly understand my images and I was able to concisely articulate my ideas. I am very proud of myself for this development and I'm psyched for the final crit in Paul's class.

Below is my artist statement and the images shown at critique today. I also showed images from last semester, but you can find those on a previous blog. They were also hanging in the Pollack hallway a week ago.

Still in Life

Still In Life has been inside me as long as I can remember- developing throughout my child and adulthood in a distant part of my mind. The setting and materials create scenes of stillness that are both realizations and comparisons of past and future. I use animals as self-representations to project myself into domestic landscapes in which I am forced to coexist with humanness and impermanence. This is a direct reflection of Western culture’s dependency on anthropomorphism as a source of maturation that has played and continues to play a vital role in my own development.

Influential Artists:

- Doug Aitken, Migration
- Alessandra Sanguinetti, On The Sixth Day
- Marian Drew, Still Lives
- Susan Worsham Some Fox Trails in Virginia

"My work has always been a metaphor for my own growing up, and the small deaths of childhood innocence that occur on the road to becoming an adult." -Susan Worsham

susanworshamphotography.com

2-23-10 Individual Meeting with Tom

Today's meeting with Tom was very successful and much more fulfilling than the last. Instead of going in with insecurities/confusion concerning my work, I went in with a positive, confident attitude. I laid down my project's concept, aesthetic, and desires. I didn't give Tom any choice but to sit and listen.

The successful images produced last semester came from shooting at my grandparent's house in Staunton, Va. I found the lighting and conditions of the house pleasing to my concept, and this semester is no different. I showed Tom my images from the past week and a half (below) and stated that the more successful shots came from the Staunton residence. I realized this house and its contents are vital to my ideas. Shooting 'practice' shots at my apartment and polishing them in Staunton is my current plan of action.

We discussed achieving the same lighting quality at my apt as well. My images use natural light, and the color of natural light changes throughout the year. Natural light in the winter is much colder than warm natural light in the fall. Photoshop could be the answer to this color continuation.

I also brought up Susan Worsham's "Some Fox Trails in Virginia" series (my latest artist post). Her aesthetic is incredibly similar to mine and, her concerns with the death of family history pertaining to location is directly related to the impending loss of my grandparent's house. She says:
"My work has always been a metaphor for my own growing up, and the small deaths of childhood innocence that occur on the road to becoming an adult."

If you have been following my previous blogs or are familiar with my concept, you understand the relevance of the above quote to my work. It more or less is my work, only I approach these deaths as being brought about through anthropomorphism and the domestication of animals.


I do not plan to use this shot in my series. I was following Tom's "don't think, just shoot" method in which you follow through on any photo idea you may have. The shoot didn't go quite as planned. This image looked more grandiose in my mind. I do think it has the potential for a spin off project though...


Do you think it's strange that we put plants into designated containers? How is their domestication different from that of animals?


This is a strong image I do plan on expanding upon in my series. I like the idea, but don't know if the setting/color palette matches the rest of the photos in the series. I am planning on re-shooting this photo in Staunton.



These last two images were taken in Staunton. While both need work, I think the top image is closer to completion.

Can you relate to any of the above images? Which (if any) do you think connect most with the photographs I finished off with last semester? [The photos from last semester are hanging in the hallways in Pollack right now] Do you have any suggestions or comments on how you are personally relating to my work? What do I need to work on to relate more to you all as an audience?

2-11-10: Individual Meeting with Tom

Today's meeting was interesting. Communication was trying, but in the end I think we were both understood.

I showed Tom my work over the past few weeks, including my scan/reprints from a copyright free animal illustration book.




Tom pushed me again to explain my work. His questions forced me to think about my work from a different point of view. He asked me to explain myself as an artist as if I were talking to someone I had never met before. I responded saying I like to work with my hands to create realistic representations of animals and death. He pointed out that my work contains "residue of animals." AKA representations of animals but never the real living thing. I need to push this residue into an area that my target audience can more readily comprehend and connect. For example, a fur or pelt may be beautiful in my eyes, but repulsive, dirty, or disgusting in another person's eyes. I need to find representations that everyone can connect to in the same manner. Representations like this:

http://disney-clipart.com/bambi/jpg/Thumper.php

Audiences see Disney's Thumper and think, "What a cute rabbit!" They have similar reactions in which they assign positive anthropomorphic characteristics to a representation of an animal. By first establishing this connection and then manipulating the animal representations, my audience will better understand my work.

Tom gave me artists to look up. I am required to watch the Art:21 episodes for Kiki Smith, Arturo Herrera, Kara Walker, and Walton Ford. I love it when research is assigned for me!

Questions: What are the first five words that come to mind when you think of fur (fur as in a pelt, not a fur coat)? Honesty is a must no matter how strange your reaction might be. How about meat?

Do you think you would respond more to my images if the animal representations were more mainstream, friendly, and recognizable? Do you think I should continue to use fur or physical remnants of animals in some of my images as well as animal representations understood by the masses? Suggestions? Artists? Thoughts? Reactions?

1-28-10: Individual Meeting with Tom

I brought both images from last semester and more recent photos to the meeting today. It was great to get more response to final images from last semester (since we all didn't see or talk about them) and to discuss my current research/ideas.

Images from fall semester:






The major breakthrough I experienced at the end of last semester was my realization that I had been using animals to represent myself. In "Still In Life," I had been projecting myself into stiff domestic landscapes in which I was forced to coexist with humanness and impermanence. Asking myself why I had made this animal-human relation, I found several great resources.

The most informative book I found was "The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation" that finally opened my mind to the realization of man's drive to domesticate nature AND anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, material states, and abstract concepts. I was first introduced (as a child) to anthropomorphism through Disney's animations that used and continues to use animals (anthropomorphically) as totemic-devices. As the viewer, I associated myself with the animal's imagined capacities and values. Disney also used these animal totemic-devices to heal man's (or my) separation from wild nature (particularly in western culture). I had been feeding off this established relationship that had been subconsciously ingrained in my head since I was a child.

It all makes sense now, right?

Tom simply smiled at me as I read him this quote:

"If our only access to animals in the past is through documents written by humans, then we are never looking at the animals, only ever at the representation of the animals by Humans." -"Representing Animals, Erica Fudge, pg 6

From here I stated that I want to continue the work from last semester, but building off this recent research. I narrowed down that my work applies to Western Culture, that it originates in childhood (particularly mine) and that it is an exploration of innocence through my anthropomorphic relationship with animals.

Tom suggested that pop culture, neo spiritualism, and animal effigies are all subjects I need to continue to research and consider including in my work. He told me to focus on determining how my work is supposed to function (a commentary, political statement, narrative, etc) and how the creation of images will be driven (aesthetically, intelligently, etc). I have a lot to think about and even more to experiment and RESEARCH!

Several questions I posed during the meeting included: How does Western Culture (based on the above explanation of anthropomorphism) relate to dead animals? Does the anthropomorphic behavior continue to take place? Do you think the above works are more aesthetically based (in terms of composition, subject matter) or intelligent? What are particular responses you are having to any image above?

Latest Trip to Staunton, Va

These are some images from my latest trip to my grandparent's house in Staunton, Va. I'm pleased with the amount of development I am already seeing in this work (compared to my first trip) and I'm very excited for senior portfolio next semester!

Photo Trips to Staunton, Va

Over Thanksgiving break, I made a trip to my grandparent's house in Staunton, Va. I haven't been to this house in almost 6 years. There are many memories of growing up held inside those walls and revisiting the house was very sad. My grandmother has been in a hospital for almost 8 years after having a brain damaging stroke and my grandfather has been left to live in this house alone. As a result, the family no longer meets for family holidays in Staunton, but in Charlottesville (where the nursing home is located). The house is a mere skeleton of what it used to be and it's hard not to compare my memories to the empty home.

Aside from setting up shots in their house, I took time to rediscover all the old rooms and artifacts I found intriguing as a child. The downstairs closet still smells of mothballs and the wall paper throughout the house is just as 70s as it always was. Old portraits still stare out of their dusty frames and the curtains stick from not being opened in years. I realize I miss the old days of family Christmases and Thanksgiving dinners and that I never appreciated them as much as I do now.

I took the liberty of bringing back one book that I always thought was particularly interesting and just plain weird. I don't think my grandfather will miss it. I don't even think either of my grandparent's knew it was there. I don't plan on ever giving it away. It's strange what objects we eventually find ourselves attached to.

"Gnomes"
Text by Wil Huygen
Illustrated by Rien Pourtvliet

This book is a detailed description of almost every aspect of gnome life. It covers skeletal structures, evolution (primitive gnome species), family life, animal interaction, dangers, healing, and various gnome legends. I remain amazed that someone went into such detail fabricating a non-existing species, documenting their existence, and explaining their ability to live undetected among us. I couldn't help but entertain their possibility when I was a child as I scanned their bizarre living habits.

Here are some pages I found interesting and strange:



As a kid I found the above page rather shocking, if you can imagine. The gnome's height is such that gravity does not affect their bodies the way gravity affects ours. Female gnomes go through life without ever wearing bras. Strange detail.


Honeymoons with animals as transportation.


Half the map of a traditional gnome house.


Due to their harmonious relationship with animals, gnomes acted as doctors for many species. Above, a gnome performs surgery to remove a sharp object lodged inside a goat's paunch.


Gnomes also have enemies: trolls (particularly in northern Europe, Russia, and Siberia). Trolls have been known to catch gnomes and torture them!

Hope this post is amusing for you as well!

Image/Work Update

I have been working all this week to create props for my big shoot over Thanksgiving break. I am staging the photographs inside my grandparent's house that I haven't been to in over 5 years. It's a dated house and I'm still unsure of the final shots, but I plan on spending an entire day there alone. Paul said I should think about composing my shots not as photographs, but as if they were paintings- reacting instinctively instead of planning out scenes. I can focus on themes that have been running throughout my work for the past few years: death, life, coexistence, etc.

On the planned side, I have been working on several props to be combined with their home environment. I have been making more plaques (some degraded), more bird heads (some with antlers composed of mouse jaw bones), a wider variety of animals, natural props, dust, furs, etc... I'm also taking several degraded frames. I am taking all materials with me (hammer, paint, glues, tapes, string, cloth, wallpaper, pens, stains, paint scraper, dead plants, furs, pins, bones, feathers, etc).

Production shots:




After visiting Tom's open studio last Friday, I have been inspired to create more work outside photography. I haven't drawn in forever and I took my pens out several times this week. As a result, I have added more hand manipulation to my production pieces. I have added more stains to the plaques as well as pen detail work. It may be hard to see in the final images, but it is there. I am more appreciative of my creations when I know all the details are considered, visible or not.

Here is a test shoot I set up in my own basement:

Image Update

Still exploring a direction...

Work Update 10-14-09

I feel like I haven't shown anybody any work in a long time. It's been two weeks since I had a meeting with either Jeff or Paul and the midterm critique is this Monday! I'm disappointed because I feel like every week my work seems to change. The photos I will be printing out have little to do with each other except for the materials I have been using. I guess you could say they relate to my confusion with art, life, and the future, but it's not necessarily what they are about... I think. I will only get to see a few people at the midterm critique, so any feedback anyone could give me on any image would be helpful.

What do you think they are about? Do they provoke certain thoughts or feelings? Are they just uninteresting?

Also, the last two photos are a dyptich (which is also something I don't normally do).

Recent Activity

I began experimenting with a new substance this past weekend- eggs. They are so readily available and are actually super cheap! [[EXCITING NEWS]] I continued to work with my scanner. I began fooling around with the material like I do in the beginning of every project and made some very interesting observations.

#1: Cold eggs make the inside of the scanner glass fog up. Run under hot water!!
#2: Even if the scanner looks flat, the egg will STILL run unless you are completely sure.
#3: Egg starts to dry around the edges fairly quickly, so use overhead sheets over the glass for easy clean up.

Probably my most interesting and successful scan design (very rough editing):


I then decided to make it BIGGER and more interesting by doing another rough copy/paste job to make it look as if my grid were much larger.


I then decided to give my image a gradual diagonal tonal change by deleting certain yolks. After doing so, I copied and pasted the image into a new image four times and arranged it in the following:


All of this accidentally came together and I now feel like I really have room to stretch. I have been thinking about creating a picture of an object with the shading/placement of the egg yolks. I would plan on being able to reproduce the image fairly large so the viewer would have to stand very far away to see the object as a whole, but could still stand up close to see the detail of every yolk. As far as my ideas for an object to recreate, I was thinking of an egg (still shell intact). Do you think this is too obvious? Uninteresting? Any suggestions for other objects?

As far as researching eggs throughout history and their symbolism in today's society, they are a symbol of rebirth, new beginnings and fertility. Perhaps I should go more that route?