Recreation: Constructed Reality

The top image is my recreation from Eleanor Antin's "100 Boots" series. I originally wanted to use 100 shoes, but couldn't obtain that many on such a short notice. I chose to use running shoes, and set them up in a similar, linear arrangement, all traveling in the same direction. My image is more dynamic however, due to the vertical composition, and the attempt at making the shoes look like they were actually moving. The boots appear to be traveling, but I really wanted to emphasize the idea of going somewhere....instead of everything remaining in horizontal planes, I tried to create vertical and diagonal movement across the strong horizontals of the steps.

Unlike the boots, the shoes are more individualistic--each shoe is different, each is at a slightly different angle. They are less of a unit of like things and more a grouping of unique personalities, traveling together, but each perhaps bringing something new to the whole; not unlike my own team. The shoes "become the protagonists of a narrative," and, like any good story, represent different characters instead of a row of identical "personalities."

Project Four Written Statements: Media

I guess I'll start with the two dress photos. Compositionally, these two photos are very similar; in the foreground is the dress and tree roots, placed off-center toward the right. In the background is forest, and the roots of the tree reach out and past the frame of the image. In the top image, more emphasis is placed on the draped cloth of the dress, while the second image places emphasis on the roots and dress as a whole "figure." Natural lighting was used for both, but contrast and clarity were manipulated more in the second image, producing a darker, slightly more foreboding image.

These two images address the idea of fashion photography. So many designers assert that fashion photography is not about the model, but if this is so, why do we put so much emphasis on who is modeling, and why use people at all? Here, tree roots serve as the life form on which each dress is "modeled." The top image seems more relaxed, as if the "figure" is leaning back against the tree, and the dress takes on a less literal form due to the draping effect. The image is lighter and more balanced, and perhaps more approachable. The second image is, in my opinion, much more interesting to look at, because it feels more surreal. The angle is slightly skewed, and the image is darker overall. The greater contrast between the ground and the roots makes the roots appear even more leg-like, since they seem less a part of the tree and more like deformed legs.

To make these images, I trekked out into a forest back in my hometown, and searched around for trees I could either draped the dresses in, or hang from. I had brainstormed a bit beforehand, trying to think of ways that clothes could be "modeled" without human figures, or if that was even possible. Clothes are, obviously, made for people, and that's why we model clothes on them; but a lot of fashion photography does place emphasis on the model (otherwise there wouldn't be such high standards of beauty for them), and I wanted to play with the idea that if designers assert that the model is not the emphasis, then why not model on other natural forms? What I ended up finding were roots, and so I placed the dresses carefully over two particularly leg-like roots and took some photos. Back in the lab, I saturated the colors in the orange dress (which actually wasn't orange at all, but red), and brought our some of the greens. The other photo I darkened and increased contrast in. I learned a lot more about manipulating colors in Camera RAW by experimenting with different looks.

Like I know I've said before, my intention was to create an interesting image that would cause one to question ideas about the modeling and fashion industry through a surrealistic, surprising fashion image. The conventions of modeling are tested, and if what the designers tell us is true (that the models don't matter and are simply hangers for clothing), then a tree should work as a model too, since it can serve the same function. Yet, the result is strange.

These two photos relate to the work of fashion photographers in general. The clothing is the thing that stands out in each image, and the "product" is placed in the foreground. However, the obvious difference is the use of the tree as a model, rather than a human being. Both are living things, but only one truly works, and designers should just admit that in fashion, there is as much emphasis on the human model as there is on the clothing. In the West, we have certain standards of beauty, and fashion advertisements sell not only a product, but a standard of beauty in general. When you remove this standard of beauty, we are left with only the product, but is it sell-able at all without that standard? Can fashion stand on its own in advertising? These are the ideas I was thinking about as I took the shots.

The third image is an advertisement, either as a poster or in a magazine. A lone figure stands centered in front of a dark background. Contrast was heightened to bring out the back muscles of the athlete, and the figure is framed by text on the top right and bottom. The lighting was actually a fairly dim light issuing from overhead florescents, but with a darker background the figure was able to pop a little more.

My image, as an advertisement, is about the struggle of an exhausted athlete. She has either just come from a disappointing or trying race or workout, and she pauses, hands on hips, breathing. Her gesture is one of either frustration or determination; a light shines down on her, highlighting her back, and revealing her strength despite those disappointments. She faces away from the camera, but by doing so, she becomes every athlete--a symbol of determination in the face of a daunting task. The words, a quote I found online, hierarchically place the most emphasis on the word "greatness," while the word "difficulty" seems small in comparison.

This was actually an older photo that I didn't get to use from one of our previous sets. I was shooting a picture of an entire scene, and caught this girl in a corner of the photo. In black and white, the shine on this figure's muscles really stood out, and I knew it would work well as an advertisement. I cropped the photo, enlarged it, and using burning and dodging, highlighted the girl while blacking out the background. This is probably the first time I've been able to successfully use this technique, so I was really happy with the result.

My goal was to create a motivational image; the advertising aspect of it came later. A lot of the Nike ads that I've seen don't even show the shoes anymore, since the brand is so well known, they only need to make a powerful image and stamp their logo on it. People know what it's advertising. That's why it was so easy to make this into an advertisement.

This work relates to the world of athletic advertising, and more specifically, to Nike advertisements. Most athletic advertisements emphasize power, strength, and victory. This is where mine differs. My ad emphasizes strength, but through difficulty, which is something that most advertisements try to skirt around. It's a much more realistic look at athletics in general; buying an athletic product won't automatically help you to win. It's about strength of character, and by allying itself with this kind of athlete, I think this push in advertising could give Nike and the world of athletics a fresh, less elitist self-projection. Things in this world quickly become institutionalized; what once began as a fun past time has become a lucrative business, and the pressure to do well, the idea that you can't be a success without winning, without outward success, is an idea that has all but ruined the original intention of school athletics. Athletics are an arena (forgive the pun) where we personally grow, and no one has the right to tell us that we haven't been a success just because we didn't win.

The last photo is not a Nike advertisement, but meant to be a billboard of sorts for some sort of campaign to encourage women to join a sport, and promote good sportsmanship. A line of people stands in the background, while a blur (a female runner) occupies the foreground for the most part. A single girl is highlighted, her eyes on the runner, a look of awe on her face. The image is dark, but the blur and shoe of the runner, and the person of the girl, are highlighted, creating a connection between the two. Lighting is natural, but highly manipulated in order to create the most drama.

This image is about women and athletics. A young girl (and if you look closely, several younger girls) watches an older athlete race by her, a picture of speed and strength. It is thanks to women athletes like the one running that a trail has been paved for younger athletes to follow. This image is about women athletes inspiring younger ones to reach for greatness, and although there is a difference in age (shown physically by their distance from one another), there is a singular connection.

I always loved this photo, and although it's a tad blurry, I've wanted to find a way to use it for a while now. This assignment gave me that chance. At the time, I was simply taking photos and testing different shutter speeds, but I began to think about the image with respect to this assignment, and I figured that a similar approach to the Nike ad might be interesting. This photo was entirely experimental in that sense. In camera RAW and photoshop, I darkened everyone in the photo except for the little girl at the end and the blurry runner, since I liked the distance it created. This took a few tries to get right, and I even experimented with highlighting various other girls as well, but the one girl seemed the most dramatic. This was another one of those images where I finally successfully used burning and dodging.

My goal was to create an inspirational image that would encourage women to go out into arenas formally dominated by men and inspire younger girls to follow after. Emphasis is placed on both the girl and the runner, and I suppose that they reciprocate that inspiration; the older runner inspires the younger to strive to become something great, while the younger inspires the older, in that she sees that what she is doing has a real impact on those around her.

This photo relates to the work of sports photographers and advertisements. It strives to make a bold statement like an ad, and to catch your attention, and it's highly dynamic--so dynamic that you can't quite make out the runner. In concept, it relates to more than just advertising though. So many advertisements play on stereotypes and the objectification of women, and although this has gotten better in recent years, there is still a double standard since the parameters for what kind of women appear in ads are more constricting than those for men. There is a special connection amongst athletes, and especially among women athletes, since for so long women were not given the opportunity to compete, and to this day women sports do not get the same recognition as men. This is what I hope to rectify to some degree through this image.

PART II

The two fashion images were, for the most part, interpreted as such. People seemed to love the concept, or idea, and one even mentioned that they reminded her of Harry Potter. They felt that the images were about personification, which is kind of what I was hoping would come across. Some felt that the images evoked fairy tales, which I'm happy about as well, since I really like fairy tales, and I know what they mean--there's something fairy tale-like about them, but I just can't put it into words. The ad images were read as ads, and most people thought they were both very powerful and dramatic.

For the fashion images, color is definitely working. People responded especially well to the "orange" dress one, and thought that the tree-as-figure concept was a great concept to work with as well. There wasn't a lot of critique about either; personally, I think I would have just liked to do more of these images. Had it not started hailing, I definitely would have! I was so disappointed I didn't get to search around for more tree roots! For the ads, people agreed that the lighting was very effective in both in creating drama, and that the text was well-placed. The compositions of each were strong too, but there seemed to be a general consensus that the highlighted figure of the girl in the "Inspire" image was perhaps a little too bright, and that the runner should have been highlighted more. I think I would tone down the girl a little too, considering how dark it printed, but not too much, since my intention was to put emphasis on the girl and connect that to the runner. Some thought that the font was hard to read, and I think if I had made the font a little lighter it might have stood out more, but I liked the font being a mid tone rather than white.

The fashion images would definitely make a great jumping-off point for a series of fashion shots using natural "models." Again, I would love to push this idea further. The ads could almost branch off into a series of inspirational posters themed around women and athletics--which could turn into a fun personal project for images to hang around our locker room :) .

Semi-Contemporary Photographer: Eleanor Antin

The Triumph of Pan (after Poussin) from "Roman Allegories" (2004)

The Tourists from "Helen's Odyssey" (2007)

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.art21.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/blog-antin-odyssey-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.art21.org/2008/06/12/eleanor-antin-helens-odyssey/&usg=__LABYYRyVUWo9aztcgYikJDBLQnE=&h=257&w=500&sz=34&hl=en&start=8&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=a1FSuwmGi9u6tM:&tbnh=67&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEleanor%2BAntin%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=dWSOTaz3KtKP0QGh0cDICw

Eleanor Antin was born in 1935 in New York City. Her parents immigrated from Poland because they were not only Jewish, but also communists. Antin attended Music and Art High School in New York , and then attended City College in New York where she majored in writing. From 1955-1958, she worked as a stage actress and modeled for painters. She returned to CCNY to obtain a degree in creative writing, where she met her husband, and after marriage the two moved to California, where she taught at various universities, and continues to do so.

A storyteller as well as an artist, Antin became known first for her 100 Boots series, which used the US Postal service as a means of distribution. Antin's photos of 100 boots in various locations were mailed to other artists and institutions, and the result was an endearing narrative. Antin was also known for her performances and creation of different characters, and this can be seen in her photos as well. Antin's work questions the identifiers of identity, while visually telling a story. Her work draws heavily on history, and deals with how history is reinterpreted throughout time.

Each of the photos above takes both history and baroque representations of that history as its inspiration. Figures are bright and animated, and towards the foreground of the photo, giving an impression of a shallow space. Emphasis is placed on the figures, and the lighting is bright, providing clear images with high contrast. Having taken baroque images as inspiration, the photos preserve the balance of the original paintings.

In the center image, the various conceptions of the perfect woman throughout history are laid side-by-side, in conversation with one another. Presented in one image, on the same level with one another, Antin takes each ideal out of context, highlighting the transitory and sometimes ridiculous notion of a "perfect Woman." The image below is part of a series that portrays the differing conceptions of Helen of Troy not only across different cultures and time, but in the ancient world itself. This image highlights the unaware, perhaps even ditzy portrayal of Helen, as a woman who simply observes the horror going on around her, unconcerned and sheltered from any real tragedy.

To create her images, Antin combines several photos, and uses large stages. Her images are productions in themselves, and after taking photos, she combines many figures into one frame, sometimes making them different sizes.

As a person concerned with identity, the Helen photos show two sides of the ancient Helen of Troy, as both worshipful and beautiful, and worthy of blame for the Trojan War. She weaves an interesting narrative about these two sides of Helen, showing the same scene but with different "Helens." Antin strives to make the viewer question history and its authenticity in recording the true nature of a person, and the feminine identity in general.

What I like most about her work is her ability to tell a story. I love her bright lighting, and the way she can so clearly narrate through imagery. I also love her subject matter, since I'm a big fan of both history and older art. I wish I had a big studio with professional lighting; I would love to make tableaux like this.

Historical Photographer: Joel-Peter Witkin

The Raft of George W. Bush (2006)
History of the White World: Arabia (2008)

Joel-Peter Witkin was born in 1939 in Brooklyn, New York to a Roman-Catholic mother and Jewish father. Unable to settle their religious differences, Witkin's parents divorced when he was young. Between 1960 and 1964, Witkin worked as a war photographer for the Vietnam War. In 1967 he started work as a freelance photographer and became head photographer for City Walls Inc. After that he attended Cooper Union in New York, and got a degree in sculpture in 1974. He finally obtained his Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico.

Witkin is known for creating very controversial images. Witkin uses live corpses in some of his images, and his process has sometimes prevented him from being able to work in America, forcing him to make his images in Mexico. Most of Witkin's work deals with themes such as death, and the outsider; Witkin uses not only corpses, but "outsiders" such as dwarves, hermaphrodites, and transsexuals. He takes inspiration from old daguerreotypes and often uses baroque staging for his images.

In the images above, baroque influences are easily seen. The Raft of George W. Bush takes its inspiration from the painting The Raft of the Medusa, with dramatic staging and figures filling nearly the entire frame. The figures are arrayed in various stances of distress, and there is a strong directional quality to the image, with limbs and eye gaze directing one around the image. The second image is a portrait, but the inclusion of the skull and skeletal hand, coupled with the girl's deformed arm, speaks not of beauty, but more of death and corruption.

The raft image is a commentary on the nature of George W. Bush's administration, as a capsizing raft, doomed to be destroyed. Bush plays the role of the captain, whose foolishness has resulted in the destruction of the raft in the midst of a storming sea. The portrait is clearly about death; the figure is dressed in black, and although her face is young and fresh, one hand is skeletal while the other is deformed.

To make the raft photo, Witkin staged the entire scene, later adding in a background. Witkin commonly used a "hands-in-the-chemicals" printing technique, and often scratched or bleached the negative. Daguerreotypes were a special interest of his.

One source that I looked at stated that Witkin's preoccupation with death in his photos stems from a traumatic childhood experience where he witnessed a gruesome car accident. Witkin forces the viewer to confront death, and consciously make a decision about whether or not it is acceptable, or can even be beautiful. The raft photo of course critiques the Bush administration, but by placing it in a classical setting, forces the viewer to see both the tragedy and foolishness of the administration (at least, in Witkin's eyes).

I don't usually like gruesome, sexual pictures. So by saying that I like his work, I'm not saying that I particularly like his subject matter. But I do really love his technique, and the way he recreates baroque paintings, and other portraiture from the past. I like the look of daguerreotypes too, and there's something creepy but fascinating about his work.

Blog Prompt #23

1. Depending on who I'm with, my personality and projection can be very constructed. With some groups of friends I am the "athlete friend," while with others I'm the "artistic friend," or the "smart friend", and because I'm aware of this, I tend to stick to the correct role for best group cohesion. On Facebook, obviously, I carefully choose the image of myself I most want others to see, and categorize my interests into simple lists, groups, and "likes". On a physical level, I dress a certain way in order to project a particular image of myself. I schedule my day in order to feel like I have some control of the things that happen in my life as well. All is constructed, though.

2. Like I said before, we each play our particular role amongst our group of friends, and this may or may not differ from the roles we play in class, at work, or with our families. What we wear emphasizes our chosen identity, but it is a chosen identity--one we've constructed ourselves. If we determine our own personalities, than everything we are is constructed to some extent. We have constructed our reality.

3. Obviously, humans construct our environment; it is evident in the buildings we live in, the landscape we alter. We don't live by the dictates of nature. We create institutions, like schools for example, and even make rules as to the kinds of buildings that can be used for academic purposes. We make lines on a map and designate one country from another, and although we speak the same language, or even share many of the same traditions, we are loyal only to our own "country."

4. In my own life, I would consider things that I can sense with my five senses to be real. Eating food is a real experience, since it is required to stay alive. Although, I have to admit, that there are things that I've never encountered that I still believe to be real. Things I would consider truly fabricated would be the division of my day by a clock.

5. I would love to re-enact a historical or mythical tableaux. I think it would be fun to orchestrate (ha, that's a fitting word) a tableaux set up to look like some sort of a stage, with my friends as opera singers--either re-enacting a scene from our own lives, or one from an actual opera. A scene from real life could actually be pretty humorous considering how over- dramatic and unusual it would seem. Or perhaps a combination of the two--a re-enactment of an opera scene in modern times, or a mythical scene in a mundane setting. That could actually be pretty cool. I'll have to think of some locations, but if I can get volunteers, I'd like to try this.

6. I think it would be interesting (and again, humorous), to see an image of a scene of great historical importance re-enacted with strange or unseemly objects, such as Macdonald's toys, or stuffed animals. For instance, if you could create a tableaux of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with various souvenir toys or stuffed representations of the founding fathers.

Blog Prompt #22

James Fiscus' "The Unfortunate Moment of Misunderstanding" appears to be a creation using live models in order to create something that is completely CGI. First of all, I find it interesting that people are using CGI (which I always associate with movies) to make still photos. We've always used computers in an attempt to make something look real--this is why, apparently, advertisements these days tend to look so "perfect." Obviously, we've always tried to portray the best example of a particular product in order to sell it, but this "too perfect" representation is perhaps a little misleading. It can lead to unrealistic expectations about a product. James Fiscus uses live photos in order to create his photos. After photographing the models, he uses CGI to enhance the models and their surroundings.

On an entirely different note, I found it interesting to watch the process of James Fiscus in the creation of his photos. Art like this becomes a team effort--this kind of art relies upon the vision of one, but the talent (and subsequent influence) of a large number of people. I suppose that in this increasingly more global society, a team approach, or collaborative approach, will become more prevalent in the creation of art. There will be more art "teams", rather than simply artists, since in order to push the boundaries of art, I think we're eventually going to have to find ways to use our technologies in new ways, and that is going to require more and more people. The internet too has increased the interconnectedness of people tenfold, so idea exchange is more prolific than it's ever been. James Fiscus employs not one new development, but two; the continually advancing technique of CGI, and the creation of art from a collective effort.

Recreation #4

I guess that my recreation is a recreation not so much of any one particular image, but of a concept. I took the idea of the surveillance image, or the idea of surveillance, security, and one-way observation in general.This is a photo taken through the peep-hole of my apartment door. When someone knocks on the door, it is the person inside, who can look out the hole and observe who is there, who has the power. There is anxiety on the part of the observed, since he or she probably knows that they are being observed. Yet there is also anxiety for the one answering the door, since they may not know who is standing there, but are still close in proximity to whoever is on the other side. Only an inch or so of wood stands between you and the person. It's a physical form of surveillance. I left the color cast as is, and allowed the camera to shake a bit, in order to add to the overall sense of anxiety.

Blog Prompt #21

A. News photographs always seem to have a grainy feel to them. Maybe because I'm used to seeing them in the newspaper, which makes them appear grainy, but the lighting is often times harsh, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of emphasis on artistic lighting or color--the emphasis is placed on what is actually going on in the picture, and so the subject is almost always centered and front.

B. Snapshots have this similar quality as well. The emphasis is on the people in the photograph, and the photos have a hurried look, with a scene that seems frozen in time. People are the main event, and the imperfect colors and arrangement of people reflect the reality of differing personalities all struggling to get along--their grouping caused by physical proximity.

C. Advertisements place the product to the forefront. The image is large and the fine details can be seen. Sometimes the color of the product is enhanced. Everything else is either dull or faded into the background. The viewer is confronted and forced to interact with the product.

D. Film stills tend to keep people centered, or at least, whoever is talking is the thing that is most prominent. Film stills have a polished look to them--even when portraying something gritty or dirty, the dirt is artfully placed. They still manage to be aesthetic.

E. Here, there is absolutely no other emphasis than on the person. The subject dominates the frame, and is usually portrayed in a frontal position, looking directly at the viewer or just to the side. Usually they are cropped so that the face takes up the most space in the frame.

F. Stock images have a generic feel to them. They are aesthetically pleasing, but almost too much so. There is nothing controversial about them. Nothing shocking. Just standard beauty.

G. Fashion photography has really evolved in the past half century. I would say that the goal of fashion photography is to place all emphasis on the clothes, diminishing the human figure to an organic shape on top of which sits clothing. There is a dehumanizing aspect to fashion photography.....however, the more fashion advertisements I see, the harder it is to see all parts of the clothing they are advertising. Sometimes I have no idea what the picture is supposed to be of. Or the photo will place emphasis on something that is not being advertised. I would be curious as to the motives behind these photos.

H. Paparazzi shots tend to show stars in very unflattering positions or lighting, I have to say. Some are down right ugly. Stars at their finest are often taken portrait style, getting the star from head to foot, and at such an angle that sometimes makes the star appear taller than they are. These kinds of shots are taken hurriedly, and the stars themselves are trained to pose themselves in such a way as to appear the most flattering.

Contemporary Media Photographer

Modern Romance, 1984-86
Mein Kampf, 1993-94
Space, 2007.

David Levinthal

David Levinthal was born in San Francisco, CA, in 1949. He received his BA in Studio Art at Stanford University in 1970, his MFA of photography at Yale, and an SM in Management Science at MIT in 1981. So, basically, he was a pretty smart guy. He currently resides in New York City, New York.

What is probably most unique about his work is his use of toys. Levinthal uses toys to recreate the experiences of a childhood influenced by pop culture, and the way in which our culture has socialized our children into acting a certain way, and believing certain things, through toys.

In all of his photos, Levinthal gets very close to his subject, often constructing a kind of shadowy scene in which to reside. The subjects are centered and take up almost the entire frame, and the lighting is dim and usually from above or behind. The images are blurry, and make the line between reality and imaginary an ambiguous one.

In the top photo, this ambiguity is the most apparent. A night scene is constructed, with a man in a suit and a woman, who looks taken by surprise, on a street corner. The man seems to appraise her, and the blurriness of the photo makes one feel uncomfortable to view this, as if it was taken by a security camera instead of being viewed live. We are witnessing the scene, and not on the same level as the subjects. The fact that these are toys leads to several unsettling conclusions--one, that toys like this even exist, and two, that our culture is socializing our young to view these kinds of scenes without any seriousness. It is all child's play.

To create the scenes, Levinthal uses shoe boxes and cardboard to create dark passages and a feeling of intimacy and secrecy. He uses large-format Polaroid photography, and takes as his subject toys reflecting the pop culture of America.

Levinthal's aim in creating these images is to "cause his audience to question the ambiguity found in this dialectic between artificiality and reality", by using children's toys to make the viewer also consider the implications of the toys we as a culture make, and the kinds of messages they convey not only to children, but to humanity in general. We make representations of reality in order to learn about reality, but toys themselves are not reality, and the reality we learn is itself skewed.

I really like the idea behind his work, but I think I'm just drawn to the images themselves, because I did a lot of this kind of photography myself when I was little. With my old film camera, I would constantly set up scenes with my horse models and try to create realistic images. They almost never worked out, but I loved trying. With the advent of digital photography, this has become so much easier to do, but my old photos did have that same weird, blurry atmosphere like Levanthal's. They're nostalgic, but his concepts are a lot darker.

http://www.davidlevinthal.com/works.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Levinthal

Historical Media Photographer

Disderi, Andre-Adolphe-Eugene. Carte-de-visite. George Eastman House Collection, 1860.

Andre-Adolphe Eugene Disderi

Disderi was born in Paris, France in 1819. Although he sought a career in the arts, he turned to business in order to support his family after hi father's death. In 1848 he moved to the city of Brest in western France and opened a small photography studio. He started by making daguerreotypes, but then experimented with the wet collodion process, and started making photos of athletes, beggars, and laborers.

Disderi is most well known for patenting his small carte-de-visite photos. These photo could be made easily and cheaply, since four frames could be captured on a single sheet, and then could be cut out and given to people. Since royalty also liked these photos, multiple images of famous persons could be made and sold en masse. Disderi's photos were basically the forerunner to the baseball card and the wallet-sized photo.

This photo, or photos, I should say, is nicely balanced with urns or steps anchoring the centered figure in the composition. Emphasis is obviously placed on the subject, since it is a portrait, and therefore the lighting is more highly contrasted on the subject than in the background, which fades to black around the edges.

This image was produced for commercial use, but it is interesting to note that the pose in each is slightly different. It shows many angles of the same person, and perhaps this was useful in deciding which pose to give to which person. A more formal pose for an associate, but a freer pose for an intimate. As a pictorial calling card, the composition emphasizes the subject, and strives to portray them in a good light, so to speak.

Disderi used a single camera with four lenses divided by a septum, which allowed him to put multiple images on a single plate. These could then be cut out and mounted on cardboard. I suppose that the intention was to innovate the traditional calling-card, and make it available, in a new form, for the lower classes as well.

What I really like about this work is the concept behind it. Even though these are mass-produced images, or the forerunners of them, there is something intimate about giving someone a picture instead of a business or calling card. I know I'm old fashioned, but I love the idea of giving someone a kind of social business card with an image instead of just words.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/165519/Andre-Adolphe-Eugene-Disderi

Written Statements Project 3

I'll start with the snowy river scene. I took several shots from this particular vantage point, experimenting with framing. This was the most effective shot. The scene is framed by the footbridge, the treeline, and the overhanging branches of trees around the edge. The lighting is diffuse, and the low contrast emphasizes the mysterious, magical, "Narnia" feel of the image. Its mood is somber, but also in a way, wondrous.

This particular image is more about a mood than anything else, I think. I wanted it to reflect the awe I felt standing there, surveying the scene in front of me. It was thrilling to be there, and I wanted my image to capture as much of the scene as possible, with the trees reflected softly in the water, and the mist on the river. I wanted it to inspire curiosity, and make the viewer want to travel further in, and follow the path toward the mist in the distance.

To create this image, I basically went on a walk on a very snowy day. I was actually hoping to photograph some rock carvings, but stumbled upon this scene on the way. Grand Ledge has a magical feel to me--this is one of my favorite running routes, and I always get such a feeling of joy running down this trail. I did nothing to make this photo. I just had the great blessing of being there.

Once I started photographing, I knew that I wanted to make a photo that would really capture the beauty of this little, treacherous trail in this surprisingly unique Lansing-area town. I'm always trying to drag people to Grand Ledge to show them how amazing it is, and here was visual proof of this place that fostered so much of my imagination.

There's really not a whole lot that's unique about the concept of this photo, I have to admit. It's very similar to the kinds of scenes depicted on items such as Christmas cards and the like, and as a landscape, I'm sure there are other such snowy scenes around. I think what makes mine different though is that it feels darker, and as a result, more mysterious than photos meant to invoke nostalgia for home, or warm Christmasy feelings. There's something serious about it, and even though there is a foot bridge, it feels ancient....mystical, even. It encompasses not only the present, but evokes the past, and maybe even hearkens back to when Native American tribes used this area as a wintering ground. It's a present day photo that recalls the past, and the entire history of the many people who have found this area beautiful enough to stay.

Part II

A lot of people seemed to like this photo. It reminded them of other snowy scenes they had seen before. Some thought there was something "cute" about it. I personally find it a lot more rugged than cute--the straight, strong lines of the bridge, and the somber mood overall play to this idea of ruggedness, I believe. I'll admit though that snowy scenes can become somewhat stereotypical, because of their associations with Christmastime.

I think that the size of the image, combined with the satin rather than glossy paper really helped this photo. The reflections in the water and framing overall were parts that people thought were especially strong. The mist on the river was a highlight of the photo as well, and the low contrast worked for creating the experience of the photo. Had I figured out how to burn and dodge such small details, I think I would have darkened the framing branches around the edge of the photo, but other than that, I think I would have left it as it is.

This photo could be an interesting jump-off point for a series of photos of places around my hometown that evoke both the past and present in a single scene. Grand Ledge is full of opportunities for this kind of a shot--Grand Ledge is both proud of and closely connected to its past. The Historical Society practically runs the town, and GL strives to maintain so many of its original structures. It's not uncommon to see the past harboring the present in its storefronts.

The Other Photos

I chose these three (it was a hard choice), because all of them were abstract--two literally a man-made, pre-meditated abstraction, and the other abstracted by man over time, with no conscious planning. As an abstract, I wanted to crop out all parts of the photo that would give these photos a context. They are close up, with larger elements off-center. The color photo used natural lighting, but the other two were lit by an overhead lamp. I did my best to show the greatest amount of contrast while still including the most details I could; I didn't want a high contrast to wash out or completely blacken some of the details, which I think help to disorient them even more.

The two black and whites are an abstracted space, obviously. This was the concept I started with. I was thinking about my fish at the time, and thinking about how the small space he lives in is so different from mine-a completely different element--yet it's only separated from my space by a thin layer of glass. I got to wondering about how the world must look from the inside of the bowl, and started taking pictures looking down onto the surface of the water. Water and glass both abstract and manipulate light, and to live out your life in an environment constructed from both must be a very disorienting experience sometimes--but what if it was the only life you had ever known? It's interesting to think about. The rock photo goes with the set because of formal elements, but it's actually a different concept. This photo is meant to show the mark of man on the landscape, and how man has permanently shaped something that you would assume would also be permanent, and as a result, created something that doesn't look like a rock at all.

I had thought about the rock photo idea for a while, but didn't expect to get such a painterly image--I was looking for more obvious signs of human marking, but I couldn't resist the beauty of the gold and bluish-gray rock. I used a large aperture, got close to the rock, looked for some interesting "cuts," and shot. The fish-bowl distortions were both complete accidents--when I took the photos, the focus would switch at the last second, which is why you get such a clear reflection of the underside of a lamp on the surface of one, and just a blurry mess on the other, which focused on the marbles at the bottom. I love these kinds of accidents. I need to let myself make more of them!

I guess I've already covered my goals for the images. The rock one was to show the mark of a human in the landscape, and the others were to get a disorienting, abstract space. They're all dependent on shapes and line more than a definite sense of space. And for that, they are abstracting of a place as well.

These particular photos are definitely inspired by paintings more than other photos. Color, shape, and texture are the defining qualities of these spaces. The B&W photos rely on a sense of layering to create a space--I cite as my inspiration the graduate exhibition at Kresge last year. I don't remember his name, but there was a grad student whose paintings managed to create this amazing sense of space simply by using color layered upon other colors. The B&W photos look to be double exposures, but it is actually water and glass that, by distorting light, create a sense of space. The rock photo takes the idea of the "mark" in painting, and shows the painterly mark as left on nature, unbeknownst, by hundreds of people over many years. It becomes a crossroads for art and science--the process of erosion as an artistic expression. Human marking can utterly destroy nature, but since it is inevitable that mankind must make use of nature in order to survive, we have to find ways to do so unobtrusively. These markings are a testament to an obliging nature in the face of humanity, but it is a humanity that is bothering to come out to nature, to enjoy its beauty and see these magnificent rocks, in the first place. Respect and mutual understanding of limitations (man can't climb the rock without finger and toe holds, and the soft rock easily erodes) can create something harmonious in spite of everything.

Part II

People seemed to agree that the photos, especially the rock one, felt like paintings. The lamp-reflection photo reminded some an eye, and I suppose it does look a little like a very manufactured, symbol of an eye, rather than an actual eye. They thought the colors in the rock one were great, and in general were interested by the B&W ones, but these two were probably overshadowed somewhat by the color photo.

I think the abstractness is definitely working in these photos. People could not figure out what they were, and instead were drawn into the kinds of shapes and colors that could be seen, rather than the objects themselves. Personally, I think that I should have made the B&W ones smaller, since I think they are more effective if seen from a distance, and a smaller photo would force the viewer to see the image as a whole instead of getting into one small area of it.

I could definitely see these photos as the start of a kind of abstract series of painting-like photos. I think a large set of them would get a little overwhelming, but I like playing with water and glass and the distortion it causes, so it would be fun to make more of these. The rock one could be a starting point for a series on natural textures, zoomed in so that all we notice is the pattern on the surface.