Faithkeala’s Blog

I thought Cindy Sherman’s photos were imaginative and fun. I am obsessed with costumes too so I can understand how it would inspire her. I think its interesting that she has made a career out of this sort of introverted photography. She has been able to come up with so many different characters for herself that she continues to interest her audience. I can see how some people might take her work as been offensive, but those same people probably do not have a sense of humor. I think there is a lot of playing that goes into her work. So from the get go she is just sort of having fun with an idea. I think that is ok. I like it when an artist can joke about themselves and their work. Not all art is meant to be super important or even when it is meant to be not everybody agrees. So being able to laugh about it is the best way to open yourself up to a new idea that at first might surprise you.

I got a little jealous when I saw how many amazing toys she had in her studio. All the costumes and accessories and photo equipment. I thought, “I would have a lot of fun..running around her studio!” I also totally agreed with her point about how male artists tend to have bigger pictures that take up huge chunks of a gallery wall. I work with a lot of male artists who create designs with sports photography. Some of the pieces are literally larger than life. So I thought it was hilarious that she wanted to blow up her picture of the rich old madam on the wall.

I like taking pictures of my self to experiment with different setting in the camera and what not and always thought it was kind of dorky when I ended up liking how one of the shots turned out. After seeing a little peek into Cindy Sherman’s world, I do not feel dorky at all. Or at least I will embrace my dorkiness with fresh vigor and a sense of humor!

The following link is to a flickr slideshow of the photos that I put in my blurb book.

Hallelujah! It’s done!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/faithkeala/show/

On Sunday I visited the Ordover Gallery in Solana Beach. I like their new location. It was a lot easier to find this time from the last time I went their. The headlining photographer now is Elizabeth Carmel. She had several large landscapes of Tuscany; Italy printed and mounted on canvas. No offense, but the photos did nothing for me. Perhaps I am so spoiled that I see rolling hills of green grass so often that it’s really not a big deal for me. Perhaps living in golf course peppered and beach side Carlsbad, CA has desensitized me to scenic landscapes and big house. But with all honesty, those photos did nothing for me. They looked like real estate brochures printed on canvas to me. No offense-just being honest. The artist whose work was in the gallery that seemed the most interesting to me was a man who took photos of machinery and the people who repair and use those machines like old cars, trains, and airplanes.

I can’t remember what his name was, but I read every page of his Blurb book in the gallery. He constructed elaborate and color coordinated sets that told you a whole story about the history of the machine in focus and the relationship the person had to that machine. The color schemes were eye candy and it was interesting how every photo had several points of focus like almost 5 each, but the machine was always the center hero.

I guess what I have learned this semester is that I am more magnetized to stories about people through photography than I am towards landscape. Don’t get me wrong, I love camping and hiking and reveling in the beauty of the natural world. I think when it comes to photography I find portraiture more interesting.

I also found it fascinating that all the pro photographers that were selling work in the gallery had a blurb book on the coffee table with order forms tucked in the dust jacket. I think that’s brilliant! You could hand out blurb books to waiting rooms and sell your work that way! Also it was kind of cool to know that I am learning to do something that the pros do. YAY, learning!

We watched a video on her military photography tonight. I think she had some very interesting perspective on war and military because of her growing up as a child through the Vietnam war. It was interesting how she didn’t care to make any bold or dramatic statements about, rather she preferred to focus on the ambiguity of it. Her photography seemed to visually say, “It is very difficult to say this is true and that is true because of all the many complications.” I thought her outlook on black and white photography was very interesting as well. How it is more like a drawing and the black and white image draws more attention to the lines of the photo than color. It seems more like  a drawing in black and white. I also thought it was interesting how she is drawn to a subject that involves human interaction and societies like war and military, yet she thinks of herself as a landscape photographer. She is more interested in the land and the setting that this human interaction takes place in.

I love her strength and confidence and humor about her work. I loved how she had the guts to say to Harvard thats ok. I think you should sue me and then they bought her work. That’s just awesome. Plus she is from my home town, Portland, OR.

The photos that are reenactments of photos was a really interesting concept. I believe it was the fact that it was being used as a tool to teach a class of students about the moment s that i found most compelling. That a generation later the students were literally putting themselves in the shoes of those before them. It was very powerful, I thought. The student’s experience came across in the photos in a very interesting way because not only were they telling you a story of something that happened in history but they were telling you  a story about how they were experiencing the story and how they related to it.  Another concept that made the photos power ful was showing the whole set. I think if she had tried to be too slick and hide the set and if she had chosen to focus more on the details of making it a 100% accurate representation then it would not have been as emotionally gripping. It creates a more social event when you see all the trappings of the shoot, as though you are there participating on the set. You realize that you are looking back into something and what it did mean to you when it happened or what it means to you learning about it for the first time. Powerful stuff. I think the black and white color also added more drama and emotion to the photos as well as dating them and putting them in historical context.

Her whole thought about Barack Obama standing on the ashes of the assassinations of the past and that he wouldn’t be there without the sacrifices made before him was very gripping as well. It made me think how critical people have been and even my family has been and how they scoffed at him winning the nobel peace prize saying, “well he hasn’t done anything yet…” In fact, he really has. Just by being who he is and when he is, he has done a lot. I think the irony in those same scoffers did not so much as flinch at the idea of W.Bush becoming president without really any credibility than it was sort of his birth right. Like a king or a monarchy in a way. In that way I think that is kind of how Obama won the peace prize. It’s sort of his birth right. It is a crown that has been handed down to him through acts of sacrifice that others have made and a victory for those who have worked so hard against injustice in the past.

Anyway back to Carrie, I love her work. It was very thought-provoking and emotional. I liked it very much. Kind of makes me feel silly working on my strawberry photos now. ;P

there should be some new stuff in the mix here.

Flickr Slideshow>>