New Photo book!!!

Hello everyone.  Please check out my new photography book from Blurb.com.  This is a bound selection from a collection of works.  The widget is to the right.  Thanks again!

Pin-Up and Boudoir: Dated or Empowering?

Weigh in: Are Pin-Up and Boudoir Photos exploitative of the women who book the shoots or are they a good way to empower those women and give them a renewed sense of self-worth by taking control of how the camera captures them? Many feminist artists and theorists argue that these images objectify the subjects.  While this may be true for women who are placed in the situation by a male, these women use Pin-Up and Boudoir as a way to gain self-esteem and power in a world where we as women are often granted little of both.  Any thoughts...?

Olfactory Art

I have posted a link to an article that I read on scent as art work.  What I want to know, is how can one possibly curate such an exhibit?  I find it interesting and a completely redreshing concept in contemporary art.  Any thoughts?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101209/ap_on_en_ot/us_scent_as_art?bouchon=501,ny

Week 10

Sharon Core
Early American, Apples in Porcelain Basket, 2007, 15 x 18.25 inch, c-print

     At first glance this image seems very closely related to some of my recent work about my personal struggle with infertility.  As I was unable to open an artists statement, I do not know if that is even remotely similar to her intended meaning but it struck me as extremely similar in appearance, and so caught my attention.  In this image the fruit may be a reflection of the impermanent nature of the human body.  Here the fruit appears to be molding, with large dark spots on what should be very appetizing. This questions the permanency of the human body.
     Another possible read of this image shows that the image draws from 18th century still-life painting.  The limited background information and the lighting is indicative of this style.  This reference draws a parallel between master paintings and modern day commodity culture with mass marketing and advertising images. Idealized, or imitative images may "legitimize" a product in order to sell more.
     Finally, this image may also be viewed as a commentary on photographs that are snapshots of predetermined subjects, such as some of the the early Kodak images.  Still-lifes were common subject matter for early photographers who struggled with long exposure times and the camera's inability to capture moving subjects.


Three of my recent photos:

"Oranges", 2010.  This image is part of a series of work which I am working on currently that relates moldy, or altered fruit to my own ppersonal struggle with infertility.

"Boxes", 2010.  This image is a document of one area of concern in my life.  My home life is in a constant state of turmoil and stress presently and this image underlines this feeling of chaos.

"Lights", 2010.  Here blurred christmas lights are representative of my childhood memories of driving around our neighborhhod at night during the winter to look at festive houses, done up in Christmas lights.

Blog # 9

I included this image from a recent experiment... I gave my children the camera to see what they chose to take photos of.

I love this image because the little girl snuck off to the side during a halloween party while "mom" was looking elsewhere.

I find the boy's facial expression comical. 

New Photography

For this assignment I chose two images from both the New Photography 2010 exhibit, and the New Photography 1985 show.

Irene 2010

http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/newphotography/alex-prager/irene/

     I chose this image because the woman highlighted in the back seat of the taxi seems so alone and isolated in the image, and it is as if the artist is trying to call attention to that fact.

3 Sisters

http://www.tonymendozaphoto.com/pages/stories.asp?image=3

     I chose this image because the three sisters in this image are all happy and apppear to be enjoying their vacation, and the large sun hats are amusing to me.

Both images are of people but Prager's image seems to be about the isolation, while Mendoza's image celebrates the bond between the three women.  Prager's photo is carefully constructed; like a movie stil, while Mendoza's has the look of a found snapshot.

Karen Rosenberg is wrong in her opinion that theory has been replaced by visual literacy because visual literacy is a construct which could not exist without theory.  Theory is constantly evolving and changing to reflect contemporary art and society so to say that theory has been replaced is a falacy. 

Three of my own works:


....  will post soon.  Blogger will not allow me to upload any more images right now... ???

My weekly blog assignment

http://www.whitney.org/www/2006biennial/artists.php?artist=Williams_Christopher

Christopher Wiliams; I love the way that the object is photographed. It looks like a formal portrait- which is apparently how he intended it to be read.  His work about power, fetishism, and control is fascinating.

http://www.whitney.org/www/2006biennial/artists.php?artist=Greely_Hannah

Hannah Greely; I thought this image was intriguing because the child looks fearfull; like he is hiding away from the world.

http://www.whitney.org/www/2006biennial/artists.php?artist=Anger_Kenneth

Kenneth Anger, This work is interesting to me because of its use of iconography from popular culture.

3 of my recent works:

This image is interesting to me because of the color and various forms created within the image.

I like that this image has a soft focus, and the ice spray is still apparent. The movement and action is felt through this image.

I really like the angle at which this image was taken because it imparts a lot of energy through the diagonal composition.