3D Reading: Susan Sontag On Photography

Photography:  A new visual code

• Image as object that is easy to collect
• A way of experiencing and owning a piece of the world
• Appropriation of the thing photographed, a position of power
• The book has been the most appropriate way to preserve and maintain the essential qualities of photographs

Photographs as evidence

• To involve in an accusation of a crime
• To provide proof of a crime
• Photography professes to record reality accurately, however, it is still a subjective interpretation
• The act of photographing an image is an act of aggression
• Industrialization provides realistic uses for photography and the beginning of photography as art

The Practice of Photography

• For the most part, photography is not practiced as an art form
• Social uses such as weddings, graduations, birthdays, etc. creating a family history
• Documentation of experiences, travel and trophies such as boats, cars, etc.
• A comforting act when in unfamiliar surroundings
• Taking pictures offers a "friendly imitation" of work for workaholic cultures
• Photography becomes a voyeuristic pleasure
• The photographer is complicit with the object/event photographed, no intervention
• Society is bombarded with images

Is Photography Inherently Perverse?

• Camera is not a sexual tool
• The act of photographing a subject creates distance
• Can exploit, intrude, distort, etc.
• Fantasy of camera as a phallus, a fantasy machine
• The camera as a weapon,  use language such as shoot, aim, load
• Predatory act of taking a picture steals knowledge of a person 
• In East Africa, photographic safari replacing gun safari, need to protect nature instead of protected from nature
• Documentation of time
• Photographs as a fetish, magical claim to another reality as in photos of children, lovers on desk at work or in wallet

Photographing Morality

• As sexual aids, photographs are more immediate and abstract
• As a tool to drive morality, must be linked to a specific historical event
• If too general not effective in changing public opinion, must be contextual
• Can only reinforce the public's moral attitudes, build upon fledgling ones
• More memorable than film, slice of time
• Photographs effective when an event has been politically activated by name and character
• Effectiveness of shock value is contingent upon how common place the images have become
• Photos do not keep emotional charge as time passes, all photos will eventually become art

Industrialization of Photography

• Images have become ingrained into the functioning of society,  ex. family as symbolic objects and police as information
• Photographs redefine realistic view of the world as techniques and information
• Images can convey a fictional reality such as the news
• Photographs reinforce the feeling of time being divided into unrelated units, denies interconnectedness
• Photographic meaning is subjective, to be objective, must be accompanied by narration
• Photographs are a semblance of knowledge and wisdom
• "... it is the most irresistible form of mental pollution."

2D Representational Form Critique

Critique by Adrienne , Daniel F., and Edith


The feed back that I got today was that there is a good variety and they are interesting to look at.  Also, the lighting effects are good.  The detail and varied backgrounds made them more interesting.  Adrienne and Daniel picked the following four as best pics.

3D Character Modeling

A Fist Full

I was very surprised that I got as much done in class as I did...I tend to work kind of slow.  It would have been fun to finish it but time is of the essence.  This has inspired me to work with clay on my own time.

2D Representational Form, Part 2

Whole Object

Lines

Shapes

Color



Surface Texture

Depth/Space

Rhythms/Repetition

Balance (symmetrical/asymmetrical)

Dramatic Lights/Darks

Closure/Metaphor/Symbol

Negative Space

Positive Space

Exaggerated Scale

Object as an Abstraction



Object in Motion













3D Sontag Writing Assignment

a)  The purpose of the photo was to capture the innocence of childhood.  A day at the beach building sand  castles and jumping the waves.

b)  This is my nephew. We take walks on the beach and I let him take pictures with my camera.  It is interesting to see what he chooses to shoot.

c)  It is intended to be viewed mostly by family but it could have meaning for others outside of the family.  Many people have memories of their own beach experiences.  For me, this is one of those moments in time and will become more valuable as he grows up.

a)  I don't have many pictures of myself because I am usually the one taking the pictures.  The purpose was to capture me with my feet in the water (if come upon water, I have to get in).  This was after a long, hot day of hiking and we found a place to cool our piggies.

b)  It was taken by one of my sisters on our yearly hiking trip together.  I like this one because I am a few years younger and a few pounds lighter.

c)  This is a vacation photo.  It is to be enjoyed by my sisters and I to document our girl trips together and memories of the laughter and fun we shared.  We will probably enjoy it even more when we can no longer hike.

a)  The purpose is humor.  My husband sent me an email with many of these types of photographs and it makes more of an impact when viewing them all together.  I think it is fun and I wander if it was staged or not.  I think it would be funnier if it was not.
b)  That's the thing, does the photographer know this man or was it just an instant he happened upon.
c)  This will be a funny photo for anyone viewing it for a long time.

Inflatopia Festival Day

The Environment

Great day in spite of the heat and wind.  It was a shame we could not play the music any louder, but inside it was okay.  There was plenty of curiosity and many, many visitors, some even enjoyed dancing.  The less adventurous peaked inside but opted not to go in.  There was a group of middle school students who found the free glow sticks irresistible.  We even had a protester extolling the sins of our rave!  Feed back from the students was mostly positive and one long timer thought this was the best inflatopia festival so far.  Several faculty members came to check it out, including Dean Yarabeck.  I caught him getting his groove on.




John Yarabeck, Dean of Students



Dancers in motion

 

Adrienne assisting a visitor



 

Look!  Milah and visiting fellow WASHers


I was surprised that we didn't need to tie off the structure because of the wind.  Actually, the gusts made the inner experience more interesting.  Tying off the fan would have been a good idea...it fell over numerous time and there was a momentary deflation which was corrected as soon as the fan was picked up.  We did need to repair some stress points but they were minor.  The heat inside kept visitors from staying longer.  I don't know how we could have improved this issue on such a hot sunny day other than choosing a shadier spot.   Adrienne did add another small fan inside for better air circulation and Ryan (our music man inside) said it helped.  We had another large fan, but my concern was that it would increase the pressure on the seams even more since the structure was weighted with sand bags.  Also, we could have used several more black lights to illuminate the entire space.  Overall, it was a great experience.  After we finished unloading back at the WASH building, Cara, Adrienne, Milah and myself celebrated with a trip to Schlotzsky's for cinnabons and a big drink!

3D November 19, 2010 Lecture

Contemporary Photo Based Art

Exploring photography as an art form

• Edward Weston - Pepper, 1930.  Interested in forms.  Not what they meant, but how they looked.  The female body showing different forms, shapes, and shadows.
• Ansel Adams - Moon and Half Dome, 1960.  Interested in photographing a specific moment.  Used enormous negatives in capturing western landscapes.  He brought technical expertise to black and white photography.
• Henry Cartier-Bresson - Behind the Saint-Lazare station, Paris, France, 1932.  Captured street scenes, pictures in "the decisive moment".  He was the first to use out of focus.  Alberto Giacometti, Paris, France, 1932.
• Ouiji - Shot tabloid style street scenes.  Had a reputation for being first at the scene to photograph the event.  He had special permission to have a police scanner.  Immoral, shock value subject matter.
• Dorothea Lange - Migrant Mother, 1936.  Also documents the instant, but more moral than Ouiji.  She was more socially engaged...brought the public's attention to the desperate situation of displaced farmers and migrant workers.
• Walker Evans - Alabama Tenant Farmer Wife, Allie Mae Burroughs, 1936.  Worked for the Farm Security Administration.  Photographs were documents of social commentary during the depression era but were produced immaculately and are works of art.
• Sherry Levine - After Walker Evans, 1981.  There was an erosion of original photography in the 70s and 80s which produced appropriation art.  She took photographs of Walker Evans female sharecropper from a book and claimed it as her own. 
• Richard Prince - Untitled (Cowboy), 1989.  Took photographs of magazine advertisements and re-generated them with enormous scale and color.  They were so large that they could compete with paintings.  Unlike Levine, he was very successful with his appropriated art and commanded respect as a pop artist.

Constructing Worlds

• Cindy Sherman -  Untitled Film Still, 1978. She photographs herself as 1950s style actresses in the city.  She explores the idea of personal identity.  Tries on different female personas. Untitled #477 (Cowgirl), 2008.
• Yasumasa Morimura - Daughter of Art History, 1980s.  Japanese artist who inserts himself into well-known western art.  Cross dressing and cross culture.
• Thomas Devanz -  Builds elaborate paper constructions and photographs them.
• David Levanthal and Gary Trudeau - Used historical war photographs as guides to set up toys in realistic war scenes and photographed them.
• Jeff Wall - Milk, 1984.  Brought a lot of attention to photography.  Printed on big pieces of plexiglass and light them from behind creating a very theatrical affect.  Took photos of staged situations unlike Cartier-Bresson who captured the instant.

Personal Narrative

• Nan Goldin - The Ballad of Sexual Dependency.  Less edited pursuit of the darker side of personal lives.  By using a slide show format individual photos need not all be good because they are seen as a whole.
•  Robert Mapplethorpe - Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984.  Voyeuristic approach, S&M scene.  Documents ideas that push societal buttons.  Produced beautifully crafted black and white images.
• Wolfgang Tillmans - Scrapbook type photos and tacked to wall in an undiscriminating way.  Didn't throw away even bad pictures.  Took pictures of friends and travels that document his life. Used large and small scale.
• Richard Billingham - Untitled/Ray's a Laugh, 1995.  Took pictures of his family and home life.  His father was an alcoholic, lower class people.  Insider perspective, funny but sad.

Objectivity

• Beckers - Gas Tank, 1983.  No people, no atmosphere, nothing.  This technique made people see what they wanted them to see without distraction.
• Thomas Struth - Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago, 1990.  Took photos of famous artworks not as the art but as if you went there physically, like a vacation photo.  Large scale.
• Martin Parr - Kitsch, took pictures with hot colors.
• Dave Anderson - Call Dr. Shrimp, 2006.  Looks for the oddball things in life.

Unlookable

• Andre Serrano - Piss Christ, 1987.  Christ in a jar of piss. Takes pictures that are hard to look at. Questions what we are allowed to look at...loaded.  Large scale.
• Martin Carr - Antique style photos, dramatic, flare for the macabre.

3D Inflatable Project Progress II

It Worked!!!!

After ironing and ironing and ironing and ironing and ironing and more ironing plus many trips to Home Depot, we finally reached the point of installing the frames on the ends and finished enclosing the structure.  Everyone was tired and a bit irritable but as soon as "The Environment" inflated it was pure exhilaration!

November 13, 2010 Lecture

Visiting Artists


Michael Henderson

• Process piece - the creating process is the point not the end result.  It usually ends up as abstract.
• Use other interests to incorporate into your art such as psychology, philosophy, science, etc.
• Tools used to make art:  paint, graphics, film, animations, text, photography
• Evolution of art - use of clocks, salt shaker tops, language diagrams, circles with holes, cylinders, TVs, planets.
• Repetitive use of objects thorough out works

Tony Shipp

• Theatre and mystery plays important role in his art, also science and the macabre.
• Uses found objects - suitcases, shadow boxes, combines sculpture with photography, functional clock making, skulls, bird wings, ouija boards
• Very skilled  in woodworking
• Works with history, modifies objects original use
• Impulse to chop works, influence from building choppers (sculpture) in his early life.
• Early works combined sculpture and photography, now work with them separately.

Annie Strader

• Objects have a story - everyone experiences through their own history
• Nostalgic - use of comforting objects to hold on to the past
• Use of salt and wax as preservation of history
• The Bridge Club and performance art, influenced by the 1990s Jenny cam and virtual space
• Makes the viewer and performer roles ambiguous
• Currently using ideas of rugs, persian garden designs, taking outside inside as in installation The Distance using dirt, salt, and light bulbs

2D Representational Form

Whole object

Lines

Shapes




Color


Surface Texture

  Depth/Space

Rhythms or Repetition

Balance

Dramatic lights/darks





Closure/metaphor/symbol

Negative Space

Positive Space

Exaggerated Scale

Object as an abstraction

Object in motion