cvnwy15

[cvnwy15]

Artist Statement:

At the beginning of this semester, my favorite photos to take were landscape shots. I didn’t have much technical skill or education in photography as I was coming into this class, but it’s been a hobby of mine for a long time. I like to try and capture the mundane in a new light, or spark some appreciation for ordinary scenes through the camera lens. That interest continued to grow and evolve throughout this semester in Art 105, but I also discovered new forms of photography and techniques I enjoy, too.

I took my first portrait photos during this class, and they became some of my favorite works I’ve ever made. I took portraits of my mom and dad, and their photos are almost like character studies to me. I see some of their lives and their personhood captured in their portraits, and I hope that some inkling of feeling that comes through others too—even though they’re looking at strangers. It’s hard to describe it without sounding incredibly cheesy, but I think these shots speak to that same sense of appreciation that I want to capture or communicate in my photography. One last element I started to really explore during class this semester was mood and atmosphere in my work. I’ve written about evoking appreciation and interest in my photography, but I’m also drawn to capturing scenes I find eerie or trying to create an uneasy mood. It starts from that same concept of photographing an ordinary scene, but then capturing that spark of interest through a sense of eeriness or by creating an unsettling atmosphere instead. It can be hard to build harmony between these themes of appreciation and beauty versus grimness and unease, but on the other hand, I think they complement each other in a way…that coexistence speaks to the reality of life.

Clay Van Walleghem | Flickr