-Seascape/seaport (Mystic seaport, walden pond, etc) -Identity/Addiction (continued from ICA inspired work) -Traveling (maybe a figurine visiting different places)
Artist Hero #1
Alex Boyd:
Alex Boyd, born in Germany in 1984, grew up on the West Coast of Scotland. He is considered a rising star in contemporary Scottish photography, most known for his landscape photography. Boyd is widely known for his collaboration 'Sonnets' with Poet Laureate Edwin Morgan, and his landscape with Victorian processes. Sonnets is a five year project with over 100 works which has taken Boyd to many remote locations in Scotland such as Ailsa, Craig, Glencoe, and the Isle of Skye. This work made headlines in 2008 and was exhibited in March 2010 at the Scottish Parliament Building. The piece explores Scottish Identity historical and contemporary romanticism. The imaginary line created through the man the rocks leads the viewers eyes through the piece along with the suspenders leading into the mountains in the background. By making the photo black and white Boyd created a sense of mystery and a feeling of unknown. The angle perfectly fits the man in line with the rocks, and the mans head in between the two mountain peaks. nothing in the foreground, middle ground, or background takes away from the focal point of the man. The light and dark values really created emphasis on the man, his shadow, and the line of rocks. I get the sense of an eerie feeling when looking at this photograph. The slight vignette around the edge of the photo makes a sense of darkness surrounding you. The photo seems to be creating a lost feeling or a sense that something is missing in this mans life. The story I can draw from the photo is that the man is unsure of his life or thinking deeply about his experiences and just wants to get away to a remote area and focus. The realistic piece evokes some inspiration to focus more on life or self reflect on life decisions. Boyd created works which are focal points on the landscapes of Scotland, choosing places which have been vital to the construction of our national identity. He wants others to pay attention to how the world around them shaped them as a person and as a country. I like the piece because of the feeling it gives off. I love the reflection and how Boyd can compose a photo full of meaning from such beautiful landscape. I believe it should be important in art history because of the areas he focuses on. Boyd is bringing focus to more remote, forgotten areas of Scotland and bringing them back to life. Alex Boyd has inspired the artist James Dyas Davidson, another Scottish photographer. The title relates to the photo because of what he composed the series from. The photos derive from the Sonnet poems which makes sense to use for a title. Boyd's series inspired me to continue my land and seascape photography, but twist the view and add a model in to tell a story.
More of Alex Boyd's work 'Sonnet' can be viewed here: http://cargocollective.com/alexboyd/Sonnets-1
Gallery/Museum Visit #1
Visited online: Griffin Museum in Winchester: This photo is a part of a series of photos entitled "Personalities" by Gary Beeber started in 2006. Displayed in the Griffin Museum of photography, the photo shows the personality and life of Mona Marlowe. Marlowe is a New York City transgender night life personality who seems to thrive in her environment. Beeber states, "Mona sacrificed everything in order to become the femme fatale she always wanted to be. When I photographed Mona I remember how intensely the room smelled of perfume.” The photo is strong in color because since it's more of a portrait style photograph, the viewer can really feel a connection to the model. The color repetition seen in the red of the dress/blanket along with the pillow in the back, her lips, and her nails stand out the most at a first glance. The photos on the wall behind Marlowe also show that she idolizes Marylin Monroe and wants to portray her through her poses, wardrobe, and structure. The way Marlowe is posing really gives off a elegant yet mysterious lifestyle. I believe she did a phenomenal job at portraying Marylin Monroe in this piece and throughout the series. This photo makes me feel at ease because of how gentle she looks in her pose. This piece is realistic in showing that people lead different lives out in public or behind closed doors. This photo creates a glimpse into a strangers life and makes it seem like they're no longer a stranger. I like this photo a lot because of the way it was composed to feel like you already know the models life well. I love how the colors fit together along with the way it portrays her as a person and as Marylin Monroe. This piece could be a piece of art history because of the fact she's portraying Marylin, but other than that factor I don't see a reason for it to be an extremely important part. The title makes sense because "Personalities" is a series of showing multiple different models' personalities. The piece displayed is greatly composed to tell a story and capture a life style in one photograph.
Concentration #1: Seaport
Bonus: Mayflower II under construction
This photo series was take at Mystic Seaport in Stonington, CT. The main focus is seen in different ships or small boats, but there's also other elements of the sea that are brought in. The light house and hammers are a part of a sailers life at the seaport and were important to include in the series. The seaport adds a historical feel to the series along with the extra piece of the Mayflower II under construction. I personally love the way the water reflected anything in it because of how calm the day was. The colors that stand out also interested me to dray the attention to the specific colored boat against the calm, blue water.
Artist Hero #2
Cindy Sherman:
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director from New York. She attended Buffalo State College, and currently is focusing on her work in New York. Her photographs display herself in a range of different costumes as shown above. The photograph taken is from her "Untitled Film Stills" which she began in 1977 and continued over the course of three years. This series shows stereo types of film and identities.These were the only photos that were taken outside of her studio and actually only originally made on 8x10 in prints. The Photo above, Untitled Film Still #81, was taken in 1980 and is displayed in The Museum of Modern Art as a 24 x 16.7 cm print. The space that emphasizes her face through the triangle of her arm is perfectly alined that a viewer could sense some emotion from her. The graininess of the photo along with the black and white color makes the photo seem old and also helps the idea of her mid 90's role of women come to life. Lastly, the way Sherman composed this photo was brilliant by setting up her camera looking into a mirror that then reflects herself makes the photo see her full body instead of it being pointed directly at her and getting only her face and upper body. I love the depth of thought thats shown through this photo. When I look at it I wonder what she must be thinking, my interpretation is that she's in distress over something or someone. I see her as a house wife possibly in a bad marriage or struggling with money and just looking at herself in the mirror wondering what she should do. Sherman really wants to evoke sorrow or have the viewer understand the role of women in the mid 90s by making herself look weak or vulnerable in the photo. Personally, I do really like this photo because of the emotion and back story to the piece. I believe this could be a piece of women's history in an art form. Cindy Sherman influenced many women, portrait, and any new photographers to come with her works from her series "Untitled Film Stills".
Concentration #2: Powwow
This photo series was taken at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Mashantucket, CT. The focus of this series is on the traditions of the Pequot tribe and their annual powwows. Being able to take a snap shot of a dance or their clothing can show a lot on traditions between different tribes. The dances were mainly focused on celebration, love, and war. I love the colors involved and all the different materials and designs put into their clothing. These photos are currently unedited, but I plan to strengthen the colors and blur the background more to show more focus on the dancers. I also wish that the powwow was held outside, but the giant windows of the room let in great natural lighting.
Gallery/Museum Visit #2
Visited online: Griffin Museum in Winchester: These three photos are a part of the series "Disturbing the Spirits" by Ellen Jantzen. The photos were on display from May 18th to March 28th of 2017. The series is described by Jantzen as a way of conveying her feeling about nature, the nature of trees, and their connection to the past, present, and future. Trees are seen as powerful symbols of growth and the whole series is a brilliant new way of connecting to nature. I like the third photo from the series above because of the dark colors involved and the reflection of the person in the water. I also like that the trees are smudged and stretched so they fade into the sky but look normal in their reflection. The texture of the water creates a rippled reflection but still clear enough to make out the images shown. I feel like the photo takes you into a different position or puts you in two different places at once. On the top theres blurred trees and it looks like it's being put into present day or future. On the bottom where the trees are reflected it seems more like the past or present because its clear and a representation of what use to stand where the blurred trees were. The mood to me seems eerie and sort of dark. The mood to me tells the story of someone who once came to the body of water when they were alive, but now can only visit in spirit. I like the piece because of the mood it creates and how it represents what Jantzen is trying to convey about the beauty in trees and nature. I think the piece could possibly be used in history because of the representation that trees have a tie to the past, present and future. Also trees are used in folk tales and this could tie in with that aspect as well. The title, Disturbing the Spirits, makes sense to the photo I chose to describe, but I can't relate it as well to many of the other works in the series. In the last photo shown the person helps put emphasis on the title because they seem like a spirit, but the second photo above seems to have less of a connection.
Visit the rest of the series: http://griffinmuseum.org/show/disturbing-the-spirits/
Artist Hero #3
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson, born August 22, 1908, was a French photographer. Cartier is considered a pioneer in photojournalism which lead to many works from some of the worlds biggest events such as the Spanish Civil War and French uprisings. He enlisted in the army in 1940 and was then captured for the next three years, but after two failed attempts he finally escaped and continued photographing. Cartier later had many more encounters throughout the world with his photography. The photo above shows one of Cartier's famous acknowledgments of catching "the decisive moment". He was able to capture the woman jumping over a puddle at the perfect time. The symmetry of the woman creates a strong triangular and diamond shape from her legs. The line of water also leads your eyes through the whole foreground, middle ground, and background of the piece. Having different values put into the piece is also a strong point since it's black and white and needs some value to create emphasis. Texture is also used to make the photo seem more realistic because viewers can see the texture of the street, the building, and even in the woman's dress. This realistic photo somewhat seems peaceful to me because it's so unified from the reflection of the puddle. The piece seems to tell a story of a woman just trying to get around the city easily but is faced with the rain. She seems to be use to walking around with it raining due to her umbrella, but her heals may indicate she wasn't able to dress down for the weather. I like this piece because it puts a common struggle into a photo. Even though today most people don't try to run and get through rain in heals, it could be taken as a mental bump in the road. I don't think this piece should be important in history as compared to some of Cartier's other works. A lot of his other photographs have a lot more to do with struggles faced in the past that were documented, but this photo doesn't quiet fit with the rest.
Concentration: Red
This photo series concentrates on objects around my room that have a similar color involved. The color red is in multiple figures and signs around my room which originally caught my eye when I was trying to come up with a concentration idea. Unable to go photograph nature, going back to basics seemed like a good refresher. Though I wish these photos were more edited I would adjust the brightness to some of them to make them stand out more.