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Research Presentation

  Synopsis:

   My George Eastman presentation was inspired by Robbert Cummings’s ‘The Secret Life of Objects’. I find witty and clever things of interest, therefore I was drawn to this particular piece, which inspired me to further research his work. Cummings’s work provokes a lot of thought. His images and sculptures are not at all straight forward. They require thought and close attention/studying of the details of each piece in order to decode his images. A lot of his images are illusions. For example, he plays with the perspective of each object taken which can give an object a completely different perceived perspective from its natural state. His sculptures are also very interesting. For example, he has made sculptures of what appear to be highly technical objects, that in reality, have no purpose at all. I think a lot of his work in incredibly interesting and fun to look at, which is why I selected his work as my focal point for this project. 

References:

(20:40)24:33 , 25:58

http://aperture.org/blog/robert-cumming-in-conversation-with-sarah-bay-williams/

http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/en/2017/02/21/article/159939232/robert-cumming-the-secret-life-of-objects/

http://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-h-cumming/past-auction-results

https://in.pinterest.com/trappedmoment/robert-cumming/

http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=1066

http://aperture.org/event/sarah-bay-williams-robert-cumming-difficulties-of-nonsense/

http://aperture.org/blog/robert-cumming-in-conversation-with-sarah-bay-williams/

http://aperture.org/blog/robert-cumming-invents-photograph/

http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazine/charlotte-cotton-on-robert-cumming/

https://eastman.org/exhibitions

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I took this photo exactly a year ago while abroad. I was scrolling through some of my old photos to pass the time and further procrastinate homework when I came across this photo. This photo was harder to flip through than the others. When I saw this picture, I immediately thought of this particular day, the events that occurred, and the person I was with. Everything that came to mind interestingly enough were no where in this picture; they had very little to do with this scene. This photo just evoked the memories. It was then when I better appreciated just how powerful photography can be and the different experiences different individuals can have from the same photo. My friend, who was looking at this photo with me, was more focused on everything in the image, where as I only thought of the things my memories associated with this particular picture.

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                                                      Sakahri 

This piece was inspired by highly esteemed poses for dog shows. I was watching Sakahri being photographed by my grandfather. He was sending his photos to the people he got the dog from as a puppy, so he wanted her to look her best. In his mind, the best photos were of her posing as though she were in a dog show. As I watched the photo shoot take place, I started to think about other ways to photograph her. I felt like a lot of her personalty wasn’t captured in the highly structured, posed positions she was forced to stand in. Neither my grandfather or Sarahri looked like the they were having an overly enjoyable time during the photo session. They both just wanted to get it over with and when looking over the photos, I thought they looked very forced. So, I decided to try taking pictures of her in her natural state. I wanted to try to capture her very energetic, happy, and attention loving personality. 

   Sakahri is by far the most pampered and spoiled dog I know. She is treated like a princess and acts like one too. She has been shown in a lot of dog shows and has been highly pampered for the competitions. The dog shows have accustomed her to the poses my grandfather had her in so the photo shoot was basically just routine. I wanted to capture Sakarhi and portray her as a “real dog”. Outside of her highly monitored and structured life, Sakahri, like most other dogs, likes attentions, company, interaction, playing with and eating everything within reach, and and racing around the yard the second she is let free. I wanted to capture her free, energetic spirit and princess attitude. Therefore, n order to attain my goal, I followed her around without making her pose for a single photo. I first tried with a digital camera but she paid me no mind. I couldn’t get her to stay still long enough to take a picture or to look at the camera. I wanted her attention, but didn’t want to force her to pose so I decided to try a different technique. I then got my ipod and hid it behind a dog treat that was slightly bigger than my camera. I moved the cookie in the general direction that I wanted her to look, breaking off and giving her pieces after each pic as a reward, but never forced her into any stance. I wanted her to look as natural as possible. I am really happy with the pictures I got and the end result. 

    To keep with the free-spirited theme, I decided to make a collage,making the photos different sizes and varying the layout by her varied poses. I wanted the viewer to get a sense of how energetic, happy, attention loving and free-spirited she really is. I wanted to structure my photos in a way that I best felt revealed the personality that was lost in the dog show poses. In the end, I had a lot of fun, learned a lot about working with and taking photos of animals, and have a piece that I can keep and hang on the wall right next to all of her posed photos. 

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-This is a photo taken at the GEM. This picture made me better appreciate the importance of photography for documentation. This particular photo was taken by Robert Cummings at MIT. 

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This picture was casually taken in the stacks while studying. Later in the week I read about a photographer named Franck Bohbot who was working on a project to take photos of some of the most remarkable libraries in the world. I scrolled through some of his pictures for this piece and found them to be really interesting. Libraries are very interesting, especially because they contain a lot of history. There are a lot of different, interesting components of a library such as the architecture, the books they contain, and the people that visit. I found this piece especially interesting because I spend a fair amount of time in the library, but never had it occurred to me that it could be used for a very interesting photography piece.  

https://petapixel.com/2015/01/12/photographer-mission-capture-great-libraries-world/

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This photo was taken from a fairy in NYC. I come from a very rural background, therefore I don’t have much experience spending time in or photographing cities. I decided to research photographers that take regular pictures of cities and photographers that take photos from different perspectives (such as from atop a boat). 

These are the artists I found most interesting:

Wittner Fabrice-

street photographer

http://tumblr.photojojo.com/post/16835602897/wittner-fabrice-has-perfected-the-tricky-art-of

His photos are very interesting. I really like how he incorporates an animated/fictional component to his photographs. I especially like his piece ‘Enlightened Souls’. 

Alice Austen 

She was one of the first woman photographers to take photos outside of a studio. Her photos are really interesting, especially when I consider the time period that she took them from. While scrolling through her photos. I spent less time focusing on the actual image and instead tried to image where she must have been standing, etc. to capture each photo from her particular perspective. This was a really fun exercise. Prior to this, I had never really given the position of a photographer (i.e. from the top of a 10 story building) much thought.    

http://aliceausten.org/her-photography

My knowledge of photography and photographers is very limited. Therefore, I’ve decided to use the photos I take to inspire my research and expansion of knowledge in photography. It has been a very interesting and fun approach to learning more about photography. 

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I did not take this photo. I was scrolling through facebook and saw a picture of my mother from her college years, so naturally I took a screenshot of it and sent it to her. After doing so, I began to think about photos from the early 90s and how it compares to today’s photography, the progression and advancement of cameras aside. I was more interested in the technique than the the tools used. 

As I was researching this concept, I came across a photographer named Adrienne Salinger. One of her pieces consisted of taking photos of teenagers from the 90′s in their bedrooms in NYC. I thought these photos were really interesting, especially because they were very different from the picture I posted. Salinger’s photos are of teens in their most comfortable, personal space. This is one of the least formal places for a photo and can reveal a lot about the person photographed. The photograph I found could not have been more posed, and this picture is of people in an apparent, formal setting. Unlike Salinger’s piece, it reveals very little about those photographed and the cultural norms of the time period. I really liked exploring the contrast of these photos. 

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-8-photographers-captured-the-youth-culture-of-the-90s

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Inspiration Pictures:

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4 Kathrine Switzer

pic 5

Pic 6

                                                   Athleticism 

     This project is inspired by both the past and recent accomplishments of Kathrine Switzer. In 1967, Switzer was the first woman to officially complete the prestigious Boston Marathon. Prior to her completion of the 1967 marathon, it was believed that women were incapable of running farther than 2 miles. The athletic capabilities and qualities of women runners were unrecognized and underappreciated by the general population. “We were expected to be housewives, and that’s all.…We weren’t expected to have minds, and we weren’t expected to have bodies that ran.”- Bobbi Gibbs (first women to complete the Boston Marathon). Switzer and Gibbs both toed the line at the most prestigious marathon in Boston to prove that they were no less of athletes than the men that ran alongside them. Gibbs, finishing almost an hour before Switzer, ran the race unofficially because her entry was rejected as a result of being a woman. Switzer went undetected as a female athlete until after the race began. Upon the realization that she was a woman, the race officials tried to pull her off of the course (pic 1) but she escaped their hold and proceeded to finish the race, thereby becoming the first woman to officially do so.

A couple years after this historic race, women were allowed to compete in marathons, but their athletic capabilities were still undermined. In 1971, the ban was lifted, allowing women to compete in the NYC marathon, but they were given a 10 min head-start. In protest, the women in the race sat at the starting line until the men toed the line (pic 2). The acceptance of women’s true athletic capabilities slowly evolved. Women were allowed to race longer distances, but were still not held in the same light as men. The coach of the first women featured in Sports Illustrated (pic 5) was quoted as saying, “Every year we have a good-looking team and good-looking uniforms—none of those bags. I prefer pretty girls. I insist that they wear makeup. We all go to the beauty shop before each meet.” Likewise, the cover showcased the runners in the sprinter’s stance wearing fake eyelashes, lip gloss and stuffed bras.”

In April of 2017, Switzer toed the line of the Boston Marathon, 50 years after her historic debut, running along side thousands of men and women. The revolution of women long distance running and the perception of the female athlete have greatly evolved over the past 50 years, which is largely attributable to Switzer.

This project is intended to honor and appreciate Switzer’s contribution to the revolution of long distance running for women through the progression of the women’s track team at the U of R. The U of R men’s team started in the 1920’s, but the women’s team didn’t officially begin until 1983. Women and men were not allowed to compete in the same distances/events until the early 2000s.

The pictures taken are of current members of the U of R track team. The goal of the project is to capture and appreciate the athleticism of each athlete. Like the pictures taken of men runners in the 60’s, these pictures are intended to portray athleticism. The women featured are strong, long distance runners and nothing less.  

     The pictures are oriented in accordance to time and are intended to display the progression of running at the U of R. Placed at the head of the starting line is one of the very first teams for the U of R. Placed at the top center of the collection if pictures, furthest down the first lane of the track, is a woman hurdling. This is symbolically placed to represent the latest progression of running for women. The steeple chase was the very last race accepted by the NCAA for women runners. Placed at the very center of the piece is a black and white photo from 1987. This is the last team that went to nationals before 2015. It was a major progression and building point/foundation for the xc program. For this reason, it is placed at the very center of the collection. 

References

1. http://running.competitor.com/2017/03/news/kathrine-switzer-return-boston-marathon_162927

2. http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/us/boston-marathon-kathrine-switzer-trnd/

3. http://www.bobbigibbart.net/bio/

4. https://www.si.com/vault/issue/43115/1/1

5. http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/boston-marathon-history.aspx

Artist Inspirations: 

Sports photographers:

Chris Burkard

Kirill Umrikhin

These two sports photographers capture athletes in the prime of their competition. They do not do too many manipulations when editing their photos so the photos still look pretty natural which was what I was going for. 

https://iso.500px.com/10-action-sport-photographers-you-need-to-follow-on-500px-right-now/

Instagram: runlongrun

runlongrun posts a lot of really cool action shots of people running. I tried to copy some of his techniques such as the angles that he takes his photos from while people run by. 

https://www.instagram.com/runlongrun/

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George Perec and Marvin Heirferman

    I really like Perec’s interest in the simplicity of the “trivial” aspects of day to day. I think that photographing things that would regularly be ignored or considered unremarkable could be really interesting. You could probably discover a lot about the things you thought were unacknowledged by simply taking a closer look. I like the point he makes about people tending to focus and find interest in only the most eventful or abnormal events such as a train wreck. There are plenty of ordinary objects in day to day life who’s photos could provoke just as much interest in its viewers if people were only to pay closer attention a think more carefully about them. I too think simple objects, places, etc. are very underrated. I think his photographs could provide an interesting perspective for viewers who typically pay little to no attention to the ordinary and prefer to focus more on the more rare objects or occurrence and that’s what’s nice about photography. Photographs can be used to share experiences and perspectives with others, giving people a chance to see things in a new light. 

     I also really like Heirferman’s perspective and points he makes about photography. He outlined a lot about photography with regards to how it is defined, what is id used for, its effects on society, etc. that I don;t normally think about when looking at or taking a photo. Like he said, what is considered photography is very subjective. Its uses also largely vary from person to person. I think the more accessible photography becomes to consumers, the more purposes and influences it can have. Photography plays the largest role in my life on social medial, for example. These photos can be both subconsciously and consciously effect and change the way I perceive the world and what I begin to value more. like he said, photography can have many effects and purposes which I think is important to keep in mind when looking at and taking pictures. I think a lot could be gained by doing so. 

    I really liked both articles because they made me think more about photography in general. They highlighted points that either hadn’t occurred to me or that I hadn’t given much about. 

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Wasteland

      This was a very interesting documentary. It may me realize how powerful and influential portraits can be. I also really liked the idea of incorporating the trash that the workers had to pick up into the portraits. This added yet another component to the images to help convey his messages. I think it helps portray the message he was trying to get across about the people he was photographing. The trash in the pictures served as an additional visual to help the viewers contextualize the lives of those photographed. Personally, I better understood and was more easily able to connect to the portraits when they were outlined with the very recyclables that the pickers collected each day.

     I think the portraits were eye-opening to everyone involved. They raised awareness about the lives of the pickers and their surrounding areas; they helped the pickers speak out about the conditions they live in and work under; and, these portraits provided an interesting and unique dynamic to the art culture. They were innovative and made the viewers, as well as those photographed, question and think about what constitutes art, what art means, and how to display art to touch and connect to those it comes in contact with.     

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This is the first photo I took for my third photography project. I love this picture, especially because I didn’t force her to pose for me. I think the photo looks very natural; I especially like that I captured her eyes looking straight at me. I love dogs and puppies and have always wanted one of my own so taking these pictures was a lot of fun. 

This photo inspired me to investigate animal photographers. While browsing the internet, I came across paid professional pet photographers. I found some photos by Sarah Beth that I really liked  http://sarahbethphotography.com/pp_gallery/location-dogs/

As I browsed through her photos, I began to wonder how the photos of the pets would have differed had the photographer had a connection with the animals she was photographing. I think a pet owner would be able to capture an emotional connection between the pet and owner (two friends) that a paid photographer couldn’t. This is another interesting and unique characteristic about photography. 

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I took this photo early in the morning just after it had rained. 

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This photo was taken from a fairy . The zoom of the camera makes the picture appear as though I was a lot closer to the statue than I actually was. A lot of the finer detail was lost due to the distance, which I think could have been compensated for with a better camera (I used my ipod). I think it is interesting how different adjustments on a camera can effect the perceived perspective of a photo 

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I really liked the perspective of this picture. It was taken just as the sun was setting in one of the highest levels of the stacks. I like the angle from this height, and how it overlooks the academic quad. I think this could be an interesting series if the same picture were taken at different times of day during different times/seasons of the year. 

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Prospective U of R student 

         This piece is inspired by prospective U of R students who all lined up to take their cliche picture of themselves touching the top of Rush Rhees with only their fingertips. The high school seniors were humored by the apparent size/scale manipulation, as was I. The goal of this project became to capture images that played with scale. Naturally, the focal points became the library and prospect student. 

       The photos are taken both inside and outside of the library to illustrate the exploration processes of college. This prospective college student is exploring the library (her potential home for the next four years). Her exploration through the library parallels that of the college search and selection. The best way to select a college is to observe and experience it first hand. The featured student is taking it upon herself to see for herself what her college has to offer. She is exploring her new surroundings, as do the prospective students who come to the U of R. 

       In order to increase the accuracy of the size manipulations, each image was first photographed with a digital camera. Then, adjustments were made if necessary to get the desired photo. The digital copies of the photos served as a rough outline for the position and adjustments needed, etc. for each particular photo. It was very easy and quick to take digital photos and look them over to assess for any needed changes whereas with the film cameras, you can not see the end result until the photos have been developed, at which point it is too late to make any desired changes. The digital camera was also used as a guide to play with the different settings to adjust the lens with respect to the lighting and zoom. The digital camera made taking these black and white photos a lot easier and more doable and closest to the accuracy I was looking for. Not all of the photos were taken and saved, therefore the digital pictures posted are not digital parallels of the black and white developed photos. I was less concerned about the quality and actual photographing of the digital photos, and more about the developed photos. The digital camera was a very useful tool, and just that, for the end result of this project. 

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                                                     Child’s Play

    This photogram is a symbolism of childhood. A series and collection of objects often associated with children (i.e. toys and candy) are captured and placed on a rug floor background.  The set-up is intended to mirror child’s play; toys scattered across a rug floor.  

     The different toys reflect the differences in the ages and their corresponding preferences  and the complexity of play. To a parent, the toys lying on the living room floor may appear to be an unorganized mess, whereas to the imaginative child, may contain a complex and intricate story. This image is a very subjective piece, as is intended. To some, the set-up may be nothing more than a completely random collection of images thrown onto a background. But to others, the piece may cause them to reflect upon their childhood and their former, perhaps more imaginative, ways of thinking. The different arrangement of toys is intended to represent the diverse ideas and preferences of different children of different ages. To almost every child, almost anything can be incorporated into play has a distinctive purpose in their play set-up. 

    The toys and candy each had very different textures which were effected very differently when exposed to light on the light-sensitive paper. I tried different combinations of the time and intensity for light exposure. A low intensity for a longer period of time (6 seconds) seemed to work the best. I tried exposing the same paper to different lengths of time to get a shading effect, which is not noticeable in the photograms. A possible solution would be to change the intensity of the light and take the texture of each object into greater consideration.  

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Grand Canyon early in the morning

SA141

What is photography to me?

   Photography is an excellent way to capture and preserve the realities and beauties of the surrounding. Pictures, in their purest forms, showcase a particular place, person, etc. at any given time. A photo is a snapshot of real time. It provides a glimpse of time that can either be re-experienced again and again by the photographer, or for the first time by viewers; photography is a great way share and preserve memories and experiences. Photos can capture what is otherwise typically hard to verbally describe, which is what makes them so valuable. For example, take the photo of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon, through photography, can be experienced worldwide. Viewers can refer to an image such as this to share the experiences of the photographer.  Close analysis allows the viewer to make their own associations with and opinions about a particular piece, thereby forming a special connection with the experiences and memories of someone they will probably never meet. That’s what makes photography so unique.