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Journal Entry 5

Readings/Research

Chapters 3&4 in The Photographic Eye

Jennifer Steinkamp

Andreas Gursky

Man Ray (rayographs)

Research the below artists and examine their work in the context of the following statement made by Paul Zelanski:

“Some artists create spatial sensations that simply cannot be yet they are still perceived spatially.”

Jennifer Steinkamp created multiple works that created sensations of impossible fluidity in certain natural objects. Her works ”Judy Crook 12″, and “Blind Eye 4″ depict the barks and branches of digitally created trees twisting and turning with far more dynamicity than trees in the physical world. This effect gives the observer the impression that the created envrionment, not just the trees, a sense of playful consciousness. Almost as if the trees are dancing. 

Andreas Gursky captured the effects of capitalism on the behaviors, interactions, and ideologies of humans. Gursky would take photograhs then digitally edit them to solidify his points. Most notably, his photogtaph “ Rhein II “, which sold for just over $4.3 million, shows a river running almost perfectly horizontally across the scene. The river is almost too perfect, which could be a play on the ideology of “man conquering nature” and making nature conform to the desires and needs of humans instead of the other way around. An ideology that was extremely popular and accepted in the mid to late 19th century during the industrial booms of many nations. 

Man Ray was completely innovative. The Rayograph allowed Ray to capture images without a  camera by placing objects on a sheet of photosensitized paper and shining a light on it. This allowed ray to express his vision on the same level as other artists who were experimenting with different methods and ideologies at the time. This method allowed Ray to seemigly put a dimension within a dimension in some photos. 

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Exercise2: Refreshing Our Vision

Electricity. Something we never really think of because it’s everywhere. As technology progresses, more and more of our processes become reliant upon electricity. From our laundry, to our entertainment, the contacts in our phones, the lights in our houses and streets, transportation, and more all rely on electricity. The global network is linked by means that are relaint on electricity. I would argue that society has developed an over-dependence on electricity and it’s convenience is robbing us of life-saving skills. What If tomorrow, the electricity were to be cut off for whatever reason forever. How many would survive the first day? Week? Month? Year? Electricity is something that we take for granted because we have grown so accustomed to it, it runs all our devices. It has given humanity more freedom, but at the same time humanity is more controlled than ever. 

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Journal Entry 4 (Hiroshi Sugimoto)

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer, performing artist, producer, and architect, who captures the metaphysical through classical photography. His works are currently on display at illustrious museums around the world including  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Tate Gallery, London; amongst many others. 

Sugimoto once made the quote  “To me photography functions as a fossilization of time.”, and I agree with this quote. A fossil preserves a very small fraction of a world that once existed. The further away we get from that time period, the more we value the preservation of that small piece. Similarly, a photograph captures an ephemeral moment in time. Looking back at a photograph taken in a building or location that has been demolished, or with people that are’nt here anymore, gives the observer a deeper connection to that photograph. Even observing a photograph that was taken before you were born of an older family member when they were younger feels like a relic that should be preserved. 

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Exercise 3: Preserving Memory and Time

The first image is of a stuffed giraffe i’ve had since I was an infant. Now that I think about it, it mihgt be the first “toy” I ever had. Theres alot of memories and flashbacks where the giraffe is present but i’ve since forgotten the context to some of those memories. I recently found it in a box while I was cleaning out some old stuff and decided to keep it around. When I first saw it after some time, I got a jolt of a feeling of nostalgia and infancy, and immediately a wave of memories hit me. It would have been stupid to just discard it in my opinion. 

The second image is of a Whataburger tent. It’s from the first time I visited Whataburger after moving to Cypress over 10 years ago. It was honestly the best fast food meal I had ever tasted and opened my eyes to the superiority of the Texas fast food chain over every other fast food chain in the world (especially over in-n-out). Ever since then i’ve ordered countless combos, customized meals, breakfast items, and more. Of course I don’t pig out on it all the time because of it’s nutritional contents, it’s more of a once in a while treat. But like many Texans, it just seems to hit that comfort spot everytime. However ever since they were aquired BDT Capital Partners in Chicago, I feel like the quality has dropped slightly.   :(

The third and final image is of a casio piano that we have had for about 4-5 years. This piano reminds me of an older piano we had while I was a child. I would play around with the rhytms, beats, notes, and produce my own sounds. I eventually learned how to play the piano, and then I forgot some years after. Now that im writing this I might consider picking it up again over the summer, and hopefully maintain the skill this time. But similarly to the giraffe, plenty of great childhood memories were had with that old piano.

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For those living in the United States, taking things for granted can be too easy sometimes due to the abundance of resources this nation has available. Sometimes we need a look from the outside to show how “normal” certain things are. Ernst Haas was an Austrian-American photojournalist that lived from 1921-1986. He specialized in photojournalism in color, back when black-and-white was still the preferred method. In his photo “Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1969”, we can get a glimpse of capitalism and entrepreneurship we have normalized. On the right side of the photo, we see the Iconic Kentucky Fried Chicken, which at the time was one of the most popular fast-food chains in the United States. Since then it has become one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world. We also see the signs for tax filers, motels upon motels, and many more. On the left side, we can see two iconic oil and gas companies Conoco Phillips and Mobil, although being a highly controversial part of American life, big oil companies have fueled America for well over a hundred years. And the giants still stand today. 

As we continue down the left side we see a plethora of businesses, small, medium, and large, populating another aspect of American life we often overlook. The Avenue. Many European countries are built on tightly concentrated grids, as is most of the world, as a result of imperialism and colonialism during the 18th and 19th centuries. This can also be seen in cities on the Eastern seaboard such as Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, and more. But as you move into the south/southwest, larger avenues and roads begin to become more commonplace. As a matter of fact, Katy Freeway by Memorial City in Houston, Texas is the widest freeway in the world, as it intersects with another large freeway, Texas 8 Beltway, all service roads and HOV lanes had to be constructed. As you drive along these two freeways, you can observe the same thing Ernt Haas captured in 1969, sprawling businesses and corporations providing us with our goods and services. Everywhere you look there is something to buy. 

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For project 3 ,To Build a Dream, we were assigned to draft a business plan for a product or service we would like to create. My product was a gps tracker that would be able to keep parents updated on the location and status of thier child in order to provide security to the parents. My product, ChildLink, is intended to decrease the number of children abducted and to increase the number of children recovered from abduction. Things like speed dial to the parents phone, live location tracking, trauma detector, and affordability are some key aspects that set ChildLink apart from competitors.

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Project 2 Roadsigns

In this project we were assigned with using creative thinking to solve a visual communication problem by making a road sign. We did this by reading “Design Thinking” and “Graphic Design Thinking”. We then researched the different types of raod signs used by the US Department of Transportation and Texas Departments of Transportation. Our signs were targeted to a specific group of people on campus and are intended to make them stop and think about their daily life.

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Project 1, Word and Image, we had to create new meaning through the use of symbolism, analogy, metaphor, or pun. In my final image I had snowy mountains in the background with clouds condensing and raining down water into the ocean. Then as a product of the sunlight, the precipitated water then slowly evaporated through fog back up into the clouds to then precipitate again. All of this going on in the image was to present my chosen definition of recycle, to cause to pass through a cycle again. The sun allows the water to change between its solid, liquid, and gas forms to allow a perpetual water cycle. I liked how the overall image turned out but I could have made the letters spelling “ Recycle” bolder and catch more attention.