Final Series

Tomorrow I get to show the work that I have been obsessing over for the past 9 weeks to the group of people who I've been hashing out my ideas with all along.  To be honest, I am ready to walk away from this project for a while.  I need to focus on something different, something fresh.  Though I am very pleased with how my series turned out, there are still aspects of it that I would like to see evolve.

In the end, I decided to take out two images.  The two images, I really liked, but they just didn't fit.  It was hard to come to the conclusion that I just needed to give them up instead of trying to squeeze in more meaning.  It felt far too forced.  The story has already been established.  After taking a few days to look at the series, without these two images, the visual narrative really revealed itself to me.  I like the simplified feel that is now here.

 

I am still working on my Artist statement.  Writing it has been my least favorite part of this process.  It's difficult for me to put into words, something that I know will still grow into something else.  I feel like I have an idea of where it's going and where it's been.  But where it is now, I just don't know.  I still have a day to think about it and I'm hoping it will come easy.  All my attempts so far have been unsuccessful. 

 

I am still looking at the sequence and questioning whether or not the images are where they need to be.  Sometimes I am drawn to shapes and colors being near and other times I feel certain images need to be in certain places in order to aid the story.  I guess, right now I'm trying to find the balance.  I'm looking forward to seeing everybody's completed series.  It's been an interesting term getting to know everyone and becoming familiar with their work.  I have learned a lot.

Artist Statement

It's that time again to start thinking about artist statements.  The idea of writing one always plagues me the last three weeks of the term.  How is it, that it can be so difficult to put the ideas floating around in your head about your work in words?  Lately, I find it hard to even have a conversation about my work, much less write about it for all to pick apart.  In Project Seminar 1, my professor said my statement was too literal.  It gave too much information to the viewer.  I don't want to repeat that same mistake, so now I find myself in a place where I don't want to divulge any information.  Which is also not good.  I know I'm not the only one here.  I mean, I've never met anyone that loved to write artist statements. 

Artist statement aside, I am really pleased with my series thus far.  I have added new images that to me, give a sense of place and function.  With my last shoot, I felt like everything was finally coming together.  I had direction.

It's always interesting to hear the viewer's opinion.  What I feel about this work could be (and probably is) completely different from what everyone else feels.  I'm not sure if sharing in this exchange of critique is helpful or harmful when thinking about writing an artist statement.  Last term, I made the mistake of listening to my peers too much.  As a result, I wrote a statement that practically spoon fed the viewer.  As an artist AND a viewer, I hate that.  This term, I need to take all suggestions into consideration, but at the end of the day, I've got to stick to my guns.

A Trip to Jackson Fine Art

On Wednesday we took a trip to Jackson Fine Art and got to see two excellent exhibits.  One was The Fall of Spring Hill by Holly Andres.  I was somewhat familiar with her work before visiting and was pleased by what I saw.  This particular series has quite an eerie feeling to it.  When first browsing the photos, I noticed two things right off.  The lighting and the staged feeling in each shot.  The use of lighting throughout the series is stellar.  Something about the quality of light adds to the overall mysterious ambience.  I enjoyed how each image looked very staged.  Not so much in the shots involving the children, of course, but the images of adults had an uncanny sense of being meticulously set up.  It looked very cultish.  

One aspect of this series I did not like was the artist statement on the wall.  It said something like (and I am loosely paraphrasing here), "This is a story about a little boy falling out of a dilapidated play structure and a group of mothers who destroy it after the fact."  I felt like it really spoon fed the viewer. In fact, I didn't notice the statement on the wall on my first browse.  I had a whole story going in my head about a strange church cult where everyone was brainwashed, etc.  And I have to say, I was kind of disappointed when I read the actual meaning.  I think in the case of series like these, it's best to leave the interpretation up to the viewer.  

The Fall of Spring Hill Series (The Retribution), 2011

The other artist's work that we got to see was the work of Vik Muniz.  I have to say, I was pretty blown away by his work.  I didn't know what to think of it while I was there, but when I got home, I watched "Wasteland" which is a documentary about a project that he was working on in Brazil.  It's a great documentary and I highly recommend watching it.  I laughed, I cried, and most importantly it reminded me of how lucky I am to be living this life that I have been blessed with.  Watching "Wasteland" made me want to see his work again and look at it more closely.  I think I will be visiting Jackson Fine Art again soon.  Anyone want to come with?

Kael Alford

While visiting The High yesterday, I discovered the work of Kael Alford.  I don't know if it's because I am a native of Louisiana, but I found her work hauntingly poetic.  Her work is part of an exhibition called "Picturing the South".  While some images of the other two artists, Martin Parr and Shane Lavalette, were nice, I felt that Alford's really stood out.  When I looked at her photos, I felt a connection.  I could tell that she is not just snapping pictures.  She's waiting for a moment when she can connect with the subject and the outcome is beautiful.  Alford's images are from a series called "Bottom of 'da Boot:  Louisiana's Disappearing Coast."  The photos are taken after various hurricanes and the oil spill in 2010.

On a side note, Shane Lavalette is only 25.  How is he showing at The High?  Though his work did not resonate with me, I have to give him props for doing so well for himself.  Nice job.

In addition to "Picturing the South", I also visited the "Picturing New York" exhibition and was surprised by all the amazing photographers ranging from Alfred Stieglitz to Cindy Sherman.  It was quite inspiring indeed.  I highly recommend taking a visit if you haven't already.

Tomorrow I will be shooting, so feeling inspired is good.