in-a-mirrored-world

[in-a-mirrored-world]

Response Journal- Week 8 and 9

Thomas Ruff, Rineke Dijkstra, Larry Sultan, Shirin Neshat, Catherine Opie, James Luna, Laura Aguilar, Veteranas y Rucas, Deana Lawson

This video and article are about Catherine Opie photography. Early in her career as a photographer, Catherine was recognized for her portrait photography of herself and other members of the Los Angeles’s leather community. The very humanizing way she framed the various queer individuals she photographed challenged preconceived notions of queer people and opened conversations on identity performance. The video mentions how Opie’s expanding the subject matter of her photography was seen as her deviating from her roots as a photographer. Opie herself explains how photographing more and different subject matter was driven by her desire to documenting California’s changing physical and cultural landscape and to find the meaning of photography in an age when images are so common and ubiquitous. In other words, it was not a deviation but an expansion of her earlier work. I do not have a lot to say about this video an article other than I am glad Opie’s work has had such a positive influence.

This video and article are about the work of Laura Aguilar. The video also covers the work of Richard Misrach and Hillary Mushkin, artists whose work also depicts landscapes but from a different point of view and a different purpose and message being conveyed. Misrach’s claims about why people tag rock and caves were interesting and I agree that it is most likely motivated by marginalized peoples’ desire to be seen and heard. Mushkin’s goal to bring the realities of war to her American audience is admirable. The article provides more context on Aguilar’s photography through discussion of Aguilar’s life story and how her photography id an expression of her efforts to reconcile her identity as a fat, lesbian, Mexican American woman. Aguilar’s work is seen a giving a voice many marginalized identities in a white patriarchal society. With the context given in the article I understand how the photographs Aguilar took of herself naked and surrounded by nature, which she originally took as a way of gaining self-acceptance, can be seen as a continuation of her indigenous ancestry’s connection with nature.

Exhibition: Changing Identity: Women Artists from Vietnam,  Jess T. Dugan’s To Survive on This Shore, Zackery Drucker, John Edmonds

This video is about Zackery Drucker and her work on ‘Relationship’ for the Transamerica/n art exhibit at the McNay Art Museum. ‘Relationship’ consists of photographs Drucker and her at the time partner, Rhys Ernst, took off each other during their day-to-day lives as a couple, and as two people transiting. Even though she and Ernst are no longer together, when discussing the topic of love Drucker states, she thinks it is important to show others their relationship through photography because it is important to show trans people experiencing love. It really made me think about the value of LGBT+ representation in media and how important is it that people of marginalized identity be able to tell their own life stories.

This video is about John Edmond’s Anonymous exhibit at the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery. This exhibition consists of two series; the first is a series of portraits of individuals wearing his own hoodies and jackets on the street, and the second is a series of men wearing du-rags. In both series, all the individuals are photographed from behind and have their faces obscured. In the video, Edmond discusses his thought processes behind the two series of photography and what he hoped the photos would covey. I think Edmond’s work for this exhibition really provoked a number of questions in me… mainly how can we empathize with seemingly faceless individuals we one nothing about?

Media Clip: Guggenheim presents Rineke Dijkstra , Turbulent by Shirin Neshat  MacArthur Fellow Carrie Mae Weems

This video is about Shirin Neshat, an Iranian-born artist. In this video, Neshat who talk about being an artist in exile and focuses on the paradox of being a voice for her people, but unable to go home. She mostly discusses how she traces and explores Iran pre- and post-Islamic Revolution political and societal change through powerful images of women in her work. Neshat work really make one examine how an artist culture, identity, and political situation influences their work, more so than any other research material this week. Neshat mentions how art is inherently political, a she feels it is her responsibility as an Iranian-born artist to not only serve as a voice for her people to the outside world but to also remind her people of their history. I also think artists have some kind of responsibility with their work, and Neshat’s words remind me how “Western” artist, those who aren’t of a marginalized identity, have the privilege of their work not being seen as inherently political and are allowed to just create and not have to deal with what comes with being a representative of their culture, identity, and political situation.

This video is about Carrie Mae Weems.  In the video Weems discusses with issues she has to deal with being a black photographer, and how her audience would look at her work through the lens of race, assumed something would there, eve when the piece in question was not focused on the topic of race. As a queer Latina, it bothers me how seen art created by people of marginalized identity seen as inherently political; the viewer always looks for and expects our work a political statement even when one is not there, even when that is not the purpose. Weems as discuss her reaction to being named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013. I am glad to see Weems photography be recognized and appreciated.

Aperture #112: Brian Wallis | Questioning Documentary Trinh Minh Ha

This very short video and article is about Trinh Minh Ha, a Vietnamese filmmaker, artist, writer, and composer. More specifically the video is a sample of her work a filmmaker and composer, and the article is a short biography of Trinh Minh Ha’s life that describes her work and lists her many accomplishments. As mentioned before, the video and article are very short, but the little information they provide make me want to learn more about Trinh Minh Ha and her work.

Aperture #229 Future Gender Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Cocoa Fusco, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Greg Crewdson, Louis Gispert | Crude Theater Case Study: Jeff Wall | Realism Deconstructed

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Response Journal- Week 7

I am unable to write a response this week because I have no videos or article to respond to.

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Response Journal- Week 6

Banana Wars

This video is about the Banana Wars. I was honestly not surprised that the U.S. staged a coup to remove the democratically elected president of another because his policies would have made bananas less profitable. I was even less surprised that a corporation, Big Fruit, was behind all this. How evil does someone have to be to fund a campaign that falsely accuses a foreign government of being communist and has the U.S. staged a coup that would lead to a 36-year long civil war just to protect your profits? Its really depressing to think to know that so long as they get what they want cheaply and conveniently, the consumer does not care.

Gordon Parks

This video is about the Gordon Parks Museum, a museum that was created to honor the life and work of Gordon Parks, an internationally known photographer, filmmaker, writer, and musician. The museum has a large collection of Parks photography, including many of his iconic works such as American Gothic, many of his personal items such as awards, and diplomas, and other personal memorabilia that were donated per Parks’s wishes to the Museum after his death. It is very inspiring to see how much Parks was able to accomplish despite his circumstances and the social limits placed on black people during his time. I am interested in learning about his work and the context of his photography.

La Raza Photographs

This video is about La Raza, a bilingual newspaper/magazine from the 1960s and 1970s. This newspaper/magazine focused on issues and current events important to Chicanos but was not really covered by mainstream newspapers and magazines. One of the many events the newspaper/magazine documented was the East LA high school walkouts. The sheer difference in the way La Raza and mainstream newspapers document the event and photographed the people involved really showcase how important La Raza was. La Raza photograph archive shows how more humanly Mexican Americans would frame themselves. The more casual and familiar way the photographer for La Raza would document the injured protesters was a far cry from the bloody and violent photos featured in mainstream newspapers. It is fascinating to see the different and innovative ways photographers for La Raza would approach photographing the event covered. The way they would photograph Mexican Americans is particularly unique and is apparently a result of the lack of mainstream photography focused on Mexican Americans. The fact that the police would harass, attack, and arrest without purpose the protesters and the people behind La Raza is infuriating but I have come to expect nothing less from them.

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Response Journal- Week 5

Jacob Riis This video is about Jacob Riis a Danish­-American journalist. A lot of Riis’s articles and photography were centered around social activism, in hopes of raising awareness and encouraging change. This was in part because these issues, such as the problems with police lodging houses, at one point personally affected him and a Danish­ immigrant living in America. Riis’s work resonates with me more than I expected… and I believe it is because the societal problems he and other activists of his time tried to raise awareness for and change, are problems that are still prevalent. They still negatively impact people, especially poor people, and people of color, even if they manifest in different ways.

Lewis Hine This video is about Lewis Hine’s photography, more specifically his Child Labor Series documenting the reality of child labor and its effects on children. One of Hine’s photographs was Cotton Mill Girl, a photograph of a young girl named Sadie Pfeifer working at a cotton mill in Lancaster, South Carolina. She was about eleven or twelve years old and nearing the end of her shift when the photo was taken. The reason this photo is so iconic and memorable is that it shows exactly how Pfeifer and other young children like her were exploited and exposed to the realities of child labor.

Margaret Bourke-White This article is about Margaret Bourke-White, an important American photojournalist during the 1930s and 40s. During her time as an active photojournalist, Bourke-White documented a lot of historical events such as the American Dust Bowl, Europe during World War II, and Gandhi's fight for Indian independence. Bourke-White’s photography does a good job of showcasing the human impact of the events she covers and documenting the human aspect of these events.

Ansel Adams This video is about Ansel Adams and his landscape photography and environmental activism. It is amazing and admirable how much effort Adams put into his environmental activism. I am not sure if it depressing or inspirational that his non-activism related photography is what many consider his most impactful work because of how it became a symbol of the American wilderness and inspired other activists.

Dorothea Lange This video is about Dorothea Lange’s photograph "Migrant Mother" and the story and historical context behind it. The photograph "Migrant Mother" is a very recognizable photo that is often used to showcase the human impact of the Great Depression. I never really understood the importance or impact of the photo because of how ubiquitous this photo of a worried mother holding her child is due to being frequently used out of context. From what the video explains, this is a photo of a woman waiting at a little camp in California for her son and husband to come back with what they need to fix their broken-down car. She worried about her family’s situation caused by the Dust Bowl and Economic Depression going on at the time, this sense of worrying is most likely exacerbated by the fact that migrants like her family were not really welcomed in California at the time. The impact of this photo comes from this context.

Walker Evans This video is about Walker Evans photography as told from his perspective. In his own words, Evans explains the time between 1935 and 1938 when he was a photographer for the Resettlement Agency, documenting the working and living conditions in America. His job at the time to illustrate the problems and progress of the administration. This took place during the depression, and at the time Evans, who was unfamiliar with government or Washington D.C., was just a photographer looking for work. He was not focused on the importance of his photography as documentation of events or its future impact. He had similar things to say about his 1936 collaboration with James Agee, where they documented the effect of the depression on white southern sharecroppers. Evans notes how his work may have seemed like propaganda or activism at the time and even with hindsight, but it never was; his goal has always been to capture the truth and reality of American life. I think this comment really made me think about the purpose of photography and how different people can interpret the same photograph.

FSA Photos from Library of Congress

This video is about FSA Photos from the Library of Congress. This video is a bit different in that it focuses more on how the variety of photos available the collection, how the photographers went about taking the photographs and collecting information on their subjects, and the context behind than about the collection and its individual pieces themselves. (Well it not that different since all the research material for this week is more focused on the sociopolitical context and motivation behind the photography than the technical aspects and photographs themselves.) This video also touches on how people have, and by extension how the viewer can examine and studied, which I think can be helpful for anyone who would like to look further into this collection. The sociopolitical context behind many of the photographs is very interesting. Many of the collection’s photographs were taken by photographers asked by the government who wanted photographs of how the average family lived for legal purposes and for informing the public. Honestly, I can see why some people thought these photos were for propaganda, but it nonetheless shows how photography was and still is a valuable tool for documenting information, preserving history and learning, and exploring the past and how things have changed.

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Response Journal- Week 4

Screening WWI

This video is about what caused the First World War. I have no real commentary for this video, it just briefly summarized how the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered the First World War.

Constructivism

This video is about Russian Constructivism. It is kind of astonishing how fast and dramatically the new environment created by new technology and change in the political climate changed how art was viewed, why it was made, and how it was made. I was aware of the influence the Russian Communist Revolution had on 20th politics and graphic design, but I did not know that it also had such an impact on art in general to the point where it influenced a whole art movement. In that context I can understand why during this time art for art's sake was no longer approved of and why art had to be practical and have a purpose. I really love the graphic design Russian Constructivism inspired.

Alexander Rodchenko

This video is about Alexander Rodchenko’s photography. Rodchenko was known for using extreme angles and vertiginous perspectives in his photography. Apparently, he favored these elements because they were an extension of his beliefs that to create a new society you needed a new vision, and that we must always try to see things from new and different perspectives.  I previously knew a bit about Rodchenko, and I am familiar with and admire his graphic design work. I think his graphic design work is well executed and, in a sense, timeless. However, the usual perspective of his photography, though innovative, and one of the most unique elements of his work, makes Rodchenko’s photography uncomfortable to look at, at least for me.

The Dada Art Movement

This video is about The Dada Art Movement. This video was composed of information on the origins, purpose, and prominent figures in the Dadaist moment and their work, all intercut by what I can only describe as nonsensical background noise. It was extremely confusing, but a thematically fitting way to learn more about a movement that essentially combined and deconstructed elements of the different Avant-Garde art movements going on at the time. That does not mean the video was easy to wat by any means, and I am still confused by it after watching it a second time. I have seen Dadaism of the 1910s and ’20s be compared to the Neo Dadaism of the 1950 and ’60s and the “Folk Dadaism” of modern-day. These comparisons make since these international art movements emerged from a usually younger generation of artists trying to cope with war, political turmoil, and other horrors by creating the absurd and questioning what art even is. I am so confused… confused by how such an absurdist art movement was used as a tool for propaganda, confused that this is only the first of multiple seemingly nonsensical art moment triggered by horrible world circumstances, and confused by this video.

Hannah Höch

This video is about Hannah Höch, an important German collage artist of the twentieth century. At first glance, it is difficult to see what makes Höch’s art noteworthy, especially without context and with no prior knowledge about Höch herself. Höch was trained as a professional artist and in patternmaking and fashion. She used these skills when exploring abstraction and the potential of art. Höch’s collages are much more interesting and eye-catching in context since she used collages to question existing power structures. It is interesting to think about how for example, Höch using colleges to question how we view beauty and beauty standards, made strong political statements at the time.

Man Ray

This video is about Man Ray and his contributions to photography. Ray experimented a lot with photography, trying to break all the rules of photography, and his experimentation pushed the boundaries of what can be done with photography. The video focused a lot on Rayograph, a method of developing photographs Ray discovered by accident while working as a portrait photographer. Rayographs are made by placing objects on an unexposed sheet of photograph paper treated with the developer and exposing it to light. The resulting print is very interesting and unique… the compositions made by exposing multiple objects effectively create negative space and movement and look like painting with light.

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Response Journal- Week 3

Timothy O’Sullivan

This video is on Timothy O’Sullivan’s photography. Not a lot is actually known about O’Sullivan himself, so the video focuses more attention on details about specific examples of his work. The background information on the photograph of the civil war soldiers and the photograph of the waterfall taken from the water basin in particular impacted me. These photographs are really well composed in a way that not only clearly conveys what is being photographed but also shows how the photographer feels about what is being photographed.

Edward S. Curtis

This video is on Edward S. Curtis’s life and photography. Curtis is an accomplished portrait photographer who photographed many Native Americans. Cutis’s original motivation for photographing Native Americans was extremely questionable and exploitative of Native Americans, but his eventual sympathy and desire to document and preserve the lives and culture of Native Americans is somewhat admirable. I am glad that such a greedy and exploitative goal made way to the preservation and documentation of information on Native Americans in a way that humanizes a group of people that are so often dehumanized.

W.E.B Dubois

This article by Jeff Bridgers is about W.E.B Dubois’s American Negro Exhibit for the 1900 Paris Exposition. The comparison of the 1900 Paris Exposition to entering a new millennium really, silly as it may be, helped me in understanding how people at the time might have felt and reacted to the exhibit. From what I understand, this was an important exhibit because it showcases the life of Black Americans to the larger public in a way that was not exploitative or dehumanizing and did not reduce black people to stereotype.

Edward Said's Orientalism

This video is on Edward Said’s book Orientalism. The book argues that scholarly writing from American and European was inaccurate and misrepresented “the East” and I have to agree. These writings reduced rich and diverse cultures to stereotypes and prevented a genuine understanding of these cultures. The American and European views of “The East” were wrong and used to justify colonialism and all the horrible things that come with that. Said theorized that either “The West” is unaware of its own mistakes and doesn’t know what they’re doing is wrong or it believes it is superior to “The East”. I believe that the latter is true; I just do not think that “The West” could justify something as horrible as colonializing “The East” if they did not see themselves as superior to “The East”.

Early Photography  African American Identity

This video and transcript were on the impact early photography had on views of African American identity. Colonial Photography in Africa’s photography. It’s very interesting to think about how this new tool, a tool which important figures such as Fredrick Douglass hope could be used to combat the prejudice and stereotyping black people in America faced, was also used to oppress and misrepresent them. By interesting, I meant horrible and heartbreaking.

Colonial Photography in Africa

This article by Rachel Segal Hamilton is about colonial Photography in Africa. The article includes several photographs taken by Alice Seeley Harris. The photos seem to be some of the less graphic photos Harris took, since the article suggests Harris took more graphic photos when it explains the context of the first photo shown, one of a man sitting on a porch next to the severed hand and leg of a child, mourning the loss of his daughter. These century-old photos showcase the evils of colonialism in Africa, as the title of the article states, however, I would not go as far as to say they are particularly shocking. I am sure Europeans at the time were shocked and were made uncomfortable because it forced them to see the realities of colonialism. But a modern viewer would know about or at least should know about, the evils of colonialism would not be a shock in the same way and might only be made somewhat uncomfortable.

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Response Journal- Week 2

Anna Atkins

This video was about the “World's First Photo Book”, essentially the first book to use photographs as visuals. I was genuinely surprised that, not only was the first book to use photographs a collection of photographs of various species of English algae but also that the photographer, Anna Atkins, made multiple volumes of this type of book for fun. These photos are various shades of blue and look more like silhouettes or imprints than photographs of the algae, but this appearance makes sense after the brief explanation on process Atkins used to take them. The photographs of the algae look nothing like what I have come to expect of early photography, but they are very striking and aesthetically pleasing none the less. I know nothing of Anna Atkins before this, but after seeing this video, I want to learn more about her and her work.

Edward Muybridge

This video was about Eadweard Muybridge, an experimental and innovative photographer. More specifically it was about his photography experiment done to see if a horse ever has all four legs off the ground when galloping. I have actually heard about Muybridge’s work before and knew of its importance to filmmaking as a medium, but I never knew his name or that his work furthered our understanding of motion. I have nothing more to say that the "zoopraxiscope" Muybridge created and used during this photography experiment reminds me of an old-fashioned movie projector.

Alfred Stieglitz

This article was about Alfred Stieglitz and his contribution to photography as an art form. I genuinely do not know how to respond to this article, even after reading it twice. Stieglitz’s work is very crisp clear and atmospheric. This is apparently due in part a result of his chosen method of creating photographic prints a process “renowned for yielding images with a rich, subtly varied tonal scale”. I thought it was interesting how living through World War I affected Stieglitz photography; his thoughts on what makes photography art changed and his process no longer consisted of heavy editing. While Stieglitz is not one a personal favorite photographer, I agree with his view that photography is can reflect not only the subject but also the photographer's view on the subject.

Julia Margaret Cameron 

This video was about Julia Margaret Cameron and her contributions to photography. Cameron’s photography is very nice, but I find the subject of her photography, or more accurately how she met and interacted with her subject, to be the most fascinating aspect of her work. Cameron’s work mostly consists of portrait photography and her various subjects were typically young children and her servants. Cameron’s work and social life were very intertwined, so a number of her subjects were people in her immediate social circle. The letters, diary entries of people she would photograph, and the brief explanation on her photographic prosses really show her passion and the energy she put into her craft.

The Early Photographic Processes (Kodak) 

Before Photography Deguerreotype, Cyanotype, Albumen Print, Platinum Print, Gelatin Silver Process

This was a video series on the history of photographic printmaking. Honestly, before watching this video series I was unaware that there were so many ways to develop photographs and make photographic prints. The information on silhouette making and experimentation with chemical process fascinated me the most. Growing up my cousin, sister, and I would make silhouettes of each other for fun, so it was also a bit nostalgic. All photoprint making prosses have different benefits and drawback but the prosses that fascinated me the most was cyanotype. Different photoprint making prosses yielded different results but something about the striking blue color of cyanotype is so eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing to me. This particular method was favored by amateurs and student photographers due to it being cheaper and more accessible, but it was also the process favored by Anna Atkins when photographing algae for her collection. This is not particularly relevant, but it makes me incredibly happy that all this innovation in photograph print prosses made photography more accessible to more people.

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Response Journal- Week 1

Teju Cole

This is the Instagram page of Teju Cole. The page consists of mostly photography of everyday objects and scenes. Based on the captions, the photos themselves seem to have been taken by Cole during his travels over the years. The pictures are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, both individually and together overall. However, they give off the impression of a cold lonely world. I think they represent how one cannot really travel and explore the world around them right now and feeling nostalgic for a time when one could.  They could also represent how quarantine can feel lonely.

Ai Wei Wei

This is the Instagram page of Ai Weiwei. He discusses and posts quite a bit about the coronavirus. Most of these posts seem to be eulogies to people who have died due to the coronavirus and anger directed at politicians for focusing more on the economic interest that the safety of their countries’ people. I think he is trying to draw attention to all the people who have lost their lives because governments are not doing enough and not taking proper measures to protect their citizens and because they are putting their economies over the lives and safety of their citizens.

Lenscratch

This is an article on the 2020 Lenscratch Self-Quarantining Exhibition. This exhibition is a collection of the works of many photographers from all over the world trying to capture their daily life during the quarantine. The photographs are all unique but many of the photographs feature muted colors, little to no human interaction or contact, and include windows in some way. These specific photos show how depressing and lonely quarantine can be. However, some more humorous photos feature the photographer doing ridiculous things to pass the time or heavily feature toilet paper… These photos are most likely meant to be funny and uplift others during these difficult times, but I have a particular disdain for these photos because all they do is showcase how privileged the photographer is…

NY Times This New York Times article by Emily Palmer is about the photographers behind “The Great Empty”, a project meant to capture what the world is like under quarantine. I am not sure how I feel about the interviews with the photographers… But one thing I sure of is that it is almost haunting how empty the public places photographed are; These places look so empty and void of any life when they are not busy with human activity.

 "How Can Photographers Capture Human Connection in the age of Coronavirus?”

This CNN article is about the coronavirus’s effect on photography, photographers, and human connection in general. I expected the mentions of fear of spreading the virus and economic insecurity that the photographers are going through; this is something that everyone is going through. I also wonder, how can we document this experience that affects us all when we cannot physically express that is affecting us all? How can we express and share human connections when we cannot physically connect? I do not have the answers to these questions, but it was interesting to read about the different, very human reaction that these photographers have to the isolation that comes with quarantine/lockdown.