saw this quote and thought it was great...

"when an artist is more concerned with what is said than how it is said there is no art." -anonymous


...merry christmas <3

Public Voyeurs

Public Voyeurs is a series that I had done during the summer in which I took photos of unsuspecting beach-goers with a zoom lens. This series was something different for me because I normally shoot posed subjects. Not to mention the fact that I also felt like a creep..but hey, that's what voyeurism in photography is all about right? For me it was not only about creating the art but also about the experience of taking  photo in which the subject has no idea that it is being taken. It calls into question the type of society we live and and how that effects such things as privacy and the amount of that we are willing to offer of ourselves to strangers. In this case, I feel like the response from these people may be a bit uncomfortable had they known I was taking their photo without permission.

Public Voyeur #2

Public Voyeur #3

Public Voyeur #4

Public Voyeur #5

Public Voyeur #6

***Unfortunately, I can't seem to find Public Voyeur #1 at the moment but will be sure to post it upon finding. ***

 

1st Year MFA Show Review

MFA Exhibit "Map" 

Upon arriving to the gallery to see YOU ARE HERE I AM, I was able to pick up a map that plotted where all of the pieces in the show were located around the gallery. The idea of the map was very unique, as it was something that I had not seen before in a gallery show. To me it referenced a mall directory, which became apparent through the part of the title, YOU ARE HERE, which I do not feel is a bad thing. This concept as a whole, I believe to be more interactive between the viewer and the artwork itself. The viewer must look at the map in order to know the ID information on a specific piece of art. I feel that employing this technique would be helpful to the artist because a viewer may be more inclined to locate it on a map in which the her or she is in possession of as opposed to walking up to a wall in which the wall text's relation to the artwork it belongs may be ambiguous. 

In general, I felt that the overall layout of the show was very well-balanced. Although the main room of the gallery is primarily used to house sculpture and installations in many shows, it did not become overwhelmed by such work. I was glad to see the merge of photography, painting and installations within a room. This installation, A Terrible Realization, is one of two installations by Max Cemeno  that were centrally placed within the first main room of the gallery. I felt that they were the extremely important to the show because they were the first that the viewer would see when walking into the show. Being that they were very attention-grabbing, fellow art-lovers were drawn in. The pieces are also striking in their concept as well, which to me, expresses both social and political opinions. They cause for the viewer to mindfully engage with the work and formulate a sort of mental debate between their own thoughts and that which is expressed by the artwork. 

Jason Carrey_Sheppard

Derek Franklin, Reinhardt #7 (left) Reinhardt #1 (right)

Moving along further, I was still impressed by the setup. In the second room set on the left-hand side of the main gallery, I was able to enjoy multiple installations as well as work that was hung on the wall. I particularly enjoyed a group of pieces by Derek Franklin in which video was paired with paintings. The video contained a woman who was dressed in what appeared to be a dominatrix-esque outfit who had a sort of weapon in hand and was striking the canvases that now hung on the wall as she yelled provocatively. To me, the video was comical but at the same time had a lasting effect because it gave the viewer the opportunity to not only view a process within the creation of the work but also act as a voyeur into a moment that should not have been seen. The video itself was a recording of a performance of the piece while the end result (distressed canvases) acted as a remembrance of the performance. 

Travis Coatney, Untitled

Overall, I would have to say that the show was well-balanced as far as color and content, which gave each piece an equal opportunity to shine. There was not one piece that overpowered another within a room, which I feel is important when planning and curating a collaborative show. I also enjoyed how there was not one room that could have been deemed a "sculpture room" or "photography room," which I felt diminished a sense of artistic hierarchy that is sometimes present within shows. The show itself effectively displayed the collaboration of artists and the intertwining of various mediums. Navigation was clear and orderly. Well done grad students! 

Artist Inspiration: Tomoko Sawada

Tomoko Sawada is a Japanese artist that I found from my art history class, history of contemporary photography. I really liked her work. I felt like it was similar to Nikki S. Lee's that I had mentioned before. She dresses up in costume to conceal her identity in order to show the ability of identity to change. One of her most known works, Teenage Girls, she dresses herself up and photographs herself as multiple girls. 








It's amazing because in the photos, it is very hard to tell that it is her throughout the photo. She also does many group shots (school photos), where she depicts herself as a class full of students, including the teacher.

Many Facets

I am going to continue to look to her work to help me with my own work. I enjoy what she is doing because I feel like she executes her idea well. It makes the experience of looking at her work more enjoyable. Upon realizing that each figure is the same person, a certain fun is felt because it is just then that we realize we've been tricked.

Take a look for yourself...we've been tricked! 

Introspection
For my last photo project, I decided to work with something that I had not done yet...self-portraits. For this series, I chose to explore the topic of introspection, which is the study of one's own emotions, thought processes etc. Throughout the series, I wanted to maintain a natural feel. I didn't want the photos to feel posed. Through my facial expressions and body language, I projected my inner thoughts and feelings, conveying a sense of happiness mixed with a small amount of dissatisfaction. I found it pretty useful because I want to do self-portraits for thesis. Doing this project, gave me the opportunity to practice with focus, while remaining my own subject. Can I say... I feel a little accomplished doing this project because I've never been the subject of my own photography...or anyone else's for that matter. I was a little embarrassed to show the project at first because it felt very personal and I felt like I was inviting my class into my inner thoughts but after showing the first few photos, I felt so much better. It made me feel better about myself and more comfortable with myself. Who knows...maybe there will be some nudes in the near future? hahaha...not likely :) 

Inspiration

I've been doing a bit of thinking about my thesis and I'm starting to get some great ideas. The topic I want to explore is that of identity. I find it very interesting and it is still an aspect of my main focus, psychology. An artist that I've been admiring is Nikki S. Lee, a Korean-born photographer. When working with identity, she created a series of projects in which she immersed herself in different cultural groups such as Punks, Exotic Dancers, Hispanics, etc. In each project, she dressed up to play the part and became friends with people belonging to that cultural group. I admire her conceptual ideas because she took the work further by playing the role of individuals of the group. In the majority of her projects, she is almost unrecognizable. 

Nikki S. Lee

Nikki S. Lee

The Hip Hop Project

Nikki S. Lee 

The Hispanic Project

Nikki S. Lee

The Senior Project 

Nikki S. Lee

The Yuppie Project

I look forward to keep on exploring Nikki S. Lee's work and hope that it will further inspire me to work further toward my thesis idea. 

Journal Part 1

So, right now I'm working on a project in which in working with portraits. Above is my setup that I created at home to get the light setting that I wanted. The scenes that I create are mostly done in my house with a tripod, which can also be seen to the left. The idea behind the project is to have the same model but show her with different facial expressions and in different poses to convey a specific idea such as happiness, depression, etc. I also plan to pair each portrait with a different still life which will create a relationship between the two. Examples of the still lives are such things as tools, a set of prescription pills, and a bag of women's make up. By doing this, I want to express the idea of how we look at others and formulate a sort of judgment based on the available information presented to us about them. We do this through seeing the individual in the clothing they wear or in the accessories they possess such as a purse, skateboard, etc. The still lives will act as a catalyst to the formation of a persona on the viewer's part. So far, I've shot multiple portraits in different positions so I have a lot to work with. I'm very hopeful with the project and am looking forward to the results. I could say that this project definitely relates to thesis because it is helping me figure out which realm of psychology I wish to investigate for my thesis project.