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Chino Otsuka

I chose this artist because even though it just seems like vacation photos of a family, it is actually an altered photo where she’s both of the subjects. I liked how she always looks so natural in the pictures, the shadows and coloring matches perfectly, and when they’re candids she doesn’t look perfect. Her message also resonated with me since she is Japanese but grew up mostly in England. I could say that applies to me as either a Canadian or Chinese, I wished a lot as a child that I could’ve lived in either country because I felt that I lost a lot of my culture when I came to America.

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I really enjoyed William Wegman’s work because it combines photography with universally loved subjects. He puts in humor to his work, especially with the newer works not shown in the articles. I thought the description of Wegman using Man Ray as his handsome alter ego was funny but also somewhat true, at least for the fashion photography. The patience of his dog(s) is also impressive, he’s able to have his dog sit still even though it’s sitting on the small pedestal that he barely fits on. 

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Sohei Nishino’s i-Land stood out to me visually at first because the composition was very interesting and different. It looks like a small scale diorama at first, with the buildings flat on the ground and the water as the sides of the box. I also liked how these are pieced together and look like a mosaic type of mural. His process was also similar to how I did a previous photography project, which was a collage that represents ourselves. Most of the class created their collages digitally on photoshop, but I chose to print out the pictures and glue them together because I preferred having the physical pictures to manipulate. 

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For my art event I went to the sp/n gallery to see the women’s work show. During my first walk around, I was wishing that I could see who made which works, the materials, and the artist’s thoughts about their works. I ended up discussing a lot of the work with who I presume is the curator and he was able to explain more in depth the works shown in the gallery. 

One of my favorite artists at the show was Jessie Budd. She created the green and pink pieces, which intrigued me because I loved the texture of the pom poms as well as the subject matter. The way that she composites the pictures reminds me of works by one of my favorite artists, Erik Jones. I had a lengthy discussion with the curator about her works, discussing the differences between pornography and sexuality in art. I tend to find that although nudity in art tends to make me a little uncomfortable, it is something that shows up in many of my favorite artists’ work because they’re all very comfortable with depicting those forms in a way that is beautiful and creative. 

Before I had to leave the gallery we also discussed Libby Rowe and Rachel Muldez’s works. Libby’s piece wasn’t working but the curator explained how she went from her normal, male-like clothing into the perfect, dress wearing woman. I thought that was pretty intriguing because it does question societal norms and the pressure from others to fit in and go through so much pampering to look presentable to the outside world. I really appreciated how she was able to take that concept and show it through her art. Rachel Muldez’s works were some of the ones that confused me the most at first. The curator explained that her works were sort of a mixture between nature that is both found as well as created. 

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I chose to research Laura Plageman’s photography for this assignment because I was instantly attracted to the colors and lines within her work. I love how she’s able to take these seemingly mundane landscape shots and morph them into something interesting. There is a fluidity in a lot of her works that is unique to her because she works so physically with her photos. 

I also like how she is able to make photos of photos not seem unnecessary because she changes the photo so much. From the beginning photo to the end result, there are two drastically different perspectives. 

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Some of my favorites from this project. 

The color palettes in all of these are really strong, and I really enjoy the composition of them. The top left is pretty obvious in how it’s uncomfortable, technology in a precarious place is something that hits home to a majority of us. The top right has a really good color scheme, the pinks in the hand and sweater match somewhat with the leaves, and the green water compliments it well. I also love how the hand is coming out in the corner and isn’t in the center because it places a focus more on the water rather than the action of the hand. The bottom left photo is my cover photo, I think it embraces a lot of what the project is, but also what my style and personality is. I was actually told about these bushes by a classmate, which was pretty funny to me because I had already photographed these bushes and she had thought they resembled me. The bottom right photo is a favorite but also not so much. The colors are really nice, but there’s something about my pose that seems off...

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I found that being able to use motion was a lot more fun. I felt like I could do anything and have it be easily understood because movement isn’t implied, but shown. 

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Ok, but not good enough. The first photo was originally very yellow and went through much editing and color filters. I ended up reshooting it during the day and got a much stronger photo, both in color and meaning. The second photo didn’t really match with the aesthetic of the book, it was way too colorful and since I didn’t want to go out and take my dslr, it’s a lot lower quality. The third one really wasn’t able to convey what I wanted, I had a lack of a tripod, and it looks more like I’m scared and being comforted rather than having an uncomfortable hug. 

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Asking for help on my photography projects has always been something I disliked doing, but needs to happen in order for this project. Framing and making sure my shots are in focus are pretty challenging parts of my process, but so is making the shots look convincing. I also work a lot with natural lighting, and the recent cloudiness has been good for outdoor shooting, but not indoor shooting. The first two photos are definitely going into my book without reshoots- I found good backdrops that were able to match with my outfits, which goes along really well with my message. I didn’t really think too much about backgrounds since I was so focused on conveying what made me uncomfortable, but will definitely be something I try to prioritize for future shoots. 

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We looked through Loretta Lux’s photobook, which I feel like ties into my project in certain ways. I’m focusing heavily on colors to take away from the uncomfortable subject matter, which I feel like Loretta does in her works. We found a slight correlation in the child’s skin/features and their outfits and the background. I love how the unnerving aspects of their enlarged features are offset by the beautiful color palettes that are muted.

I found some inspiration in the layouts of some of these books too. I was planning on doing a picture with captions underneath, and a lot of these books followed this setup. 

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I’ve decided to scrap the first video idea and go with the photobook because I felt like my photo ideas were stronger than the ones I had for the video. I want to take photos of body parts that are doing things that make the viewer uncomfortable. I tried to test wearing shoes on the bed and having a foot outside of the bedsheets. To contrast with the uncomfortable feelings I want to use bright/pastel colors and obviously not shoot just in my room. 

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Final project ideas

I’d like to create a video similar to this one from the movie Chef or this where they take a couple short videos a day to give a very brief overview of a period of time. I want to be able to capture parts of my life, good or bad (mostly good I presume), and be able to look back on it, as well as share snippets of my life with others. It’s definitely very personal, but to me, that’s what photography is about. The idea is not the most original concept, but it’s about what I choose to share from my life and how I share it that is important. 

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I chose to base my project on the life changing moments of people close to me because I wanted to learn more about the lives of those I love the most. It was a pretty challenging project, trying to coordinate with everyone and finding interesting places to shoot that weren’t too far away because people’s schedules were very limited. I did realize that I enjoy portrait photography a lot, people are such fluid and interesting subjects, and I can move them around to create fun pictures. I also learned a lot about my friends, some things I was already aware of, and some things were a surprise to me. 

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Claudia, 21, ate. "It’s cliche. But I think one of my most life changing moments was my first heartbreak. That moment broke me down in almost every way possible, but it also changed and shaped who I have become today. My ability to believe in myself and know my own worth was established in the moment I stopped living for other people. In that moment, I started living for me."

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Vanessa, 22, best friend. 

"One of my most life changing moments was when I met him. Ever since I met him, my days are always filled with laughter. He has supported me through multiple big life decisions such as quitting school and working full time. I can't imagine my life without him and I hope he stays in my life forever."