Review of Artist Lecture

This past Saturday, I attended an artist lecture put on by the University. Three artists who also work as university professors were scheduled to speak briefly on how they produce their work and about the particular body of work that they had on show in the museum, as well as give demonstrations regarding their methods. All three artists worked with different mediums and I was looking forward to hearing them talk about how they create their work. It was nice to go to a museum where, for once, you can see the work, but also learn a little about how it was made.


The first artist to speak was my Digital Photography professor and therefore her lecture and demonstration felt like an extension of class. It was really inspiring to see examples of her own work and all of the different components that go into making one photograph. After the lectures, I decided to focus solely on her demonstration, because I wanted to see how she constructed her pictures in Photoshop. Her presentation, for me, was the most interesting of the three because it was geared towards my own interests in photography and helped to provide further insight into how much editing work is often done to create stunning photographs. I also enjoyed how she discussed the difficulties that can come with photographing people and how the artist may have a vision that the subject may not want to be a part of. I think it was wise to that she photographed other artists for her portraits because they are going to have a better ability of remaining open-minded and willing to participate. It would have been more difficult, I believe, to photograph people who are not artists because they are going to be more focused on how they look or are portrayed in the photo rather than the importance of the artists vision and aesthetic. That is why I always struggle with photographing people—because I don’t want to offend anyone with my work. I think seeing the photographer use digital manipulation in the portraits has inspired me to start to push myself a little further and attempt to work more on portraiture.


The second artist was a professor who specialized in printmaking/engraving/etching. His work was much more traditional, with the subjects often being flowers or pastoral landscapes. I enjoyed hearing him discuss the various techniques he uses. He had a display of work spanning from engraving to etching and even woodcarving-based prints. The juxtaposition of the different techniques within one gallery helped to highlight the different final looks he was able to achieve by utilizing different styles of print making. In a world where everything is becoming digital, it was impressive to see such old styles of print making still in practice. I was most impressed by his large woodcutting prints. He had two prints that were 2' x 3' in size and rather than work with a small medium and then enlarge during printing, he actually worked with a slab of wood that size. One wrong move of cutting too much into the wood had the potential to ruin his vision of the final print. It makes me feel very fortunate, in digital photography, to be able to conduct non-destructive editing of my work. That way, I never have to feel as if one mistake will forever alter my photographs. What I also appreciated about the second lecturer was that he talked about his processes in a way that people who were unfamiliar with that style of art could easily understand. I didn’t feel lost trying to follow his lecture, even though I have absolutely no experience with carving wood to use a print templates.


The final lecture was one that I had a harder time following and enjoying. This professor’s specialty was woodworking and her talents ranged from furniture-making to conceptual art made from wood and what she had on display in the gallery was the latter form of her work. The piece of her work that I was most drawn to was an intricate display of pieces of a circle that were all ornately carved. It immediately reminded me of a grandfather clock and made me think of the concept of time and how it does not always need to be viewed as linear and concrete. I enjoyed being able to work through my own observations of the piece and was looking forward to hearing the lecturer discuss the process in which she made that piece and the others. I was anticipating her lecture to be more process oriented because that was the way in which the other two lectures had been conducted. Instead, she decided to talk about the meaning behind each piece. She referenced history, old maps, mathematics and various other things until I no longer saw the pieces of her work because I was too busy trying to figure out why she overwhelming her audience. I found it interesting to note that at the end of her lecture, she had the fewest audience questions and I believe it was because her talk was not engaging enough to the audience. I would have much rather learned how she manipulated the wood to create such intricate structures as opposed to just being told what they should mean to me. I also found it funny when an audience member commented on his interpretation of a piece (which I was able to see more readily than the artists own interpretation) and the artist seemed disinclined to see her piece that way (even though numerous audience members nodded along with the gentleman’s point of view). To her credit, she did discuss how she was most likely still too close to the piece (it was a fairly recent sculpture) and that she therefore was unable to look at the piece and it’s conveyance of its meaning too critically.


Overall, I enjoyed the lectures and the photography demonstration. Sometimes, when viewing art at a gallery, it is difficult to not feel intimidated and that the work comes simply and naturally to the artist. The lectures helped to eradicate that intimidation by showing the amount of work that goes into a piece and that, even for an experienced artist, there is always more to learn and more to improve upon.

Still Life Project: A Love/Hate Relationship

The most recent photo project was one that I struggled with most of the time I was working on it. Typically, I am drawn to landscapes and (occasionally) portraits. Still Life, however, has never interested me whether it is in my own work or in others. I eventually came to a body of work that I am happy with as a result of a conversation with my mom. This last month, she has been slowly recovering from a very difficult and painful hip surgery to correct a problem she has had since birth. My once-active mom now has to re-learn how to walk and it has not been easy. On the last day before my Still Life project was due, we were having a conversation and I complained about how lost I felt with trying to photograph Still Life. My mom then said, jokingly, "Still Life? Well, then photograph me!".

That statement was the inspiration for this collection of photographs. I decided to photograph areas of my home that show the impact that my mom has on that space. In some, like of the lace curtain windows and the hospital bed, you see the parts of our home that my mom feels currently confined to. In other pictures, you see the neglect of the spaces in my home where my mom is currently incapable of continuing her countless home projects. Those areas sit abandoned and waiting, much like my family is, for her to recover back to full health and strength so that our home can go back to normal.

Tidying Up Art: Playing with Art in Photoshop

Matisse

Malevich

Still Life Project: Contact Sheets

Reading Response Chapter 6

I loved how the last chapter for this section of reading covered printing and finishing techniques for display. It was nice to start from the basics of photography in Chapter 1 and work up to the final stage of printing and displaying work, making the entire tutorial come full circle. Prior to this course, I never gave much thought to the work that goes into getting my photos ready for print and the process of getting it from the computer to the wall.

The section on dry mounting, I found to be the most useful. I dry mount prints at work all of the time for customers, but it is typically prints that we produced in our print center so I never knew that there were types of printing and paper that would not be able to withstand the 270 degrees that our mounting machine reaches. The prints that we make in class, according to the chapter, would only be able to withstand a heat ranging from 180-210 degrees. If you were to go any hotter, the print will melt.

I also liked the section of the chapter dedicated to framing and matting. Having a little knowledge about the options available will save the hassle of custom framing (which can get really expensive). I had also never even heard of frame moldings before and I also liked learning that plastic could be an option rather than using glass for framing.

Class Amalgamation

Flenaur Photography Prints

My intention for this project was to wander parts of my home town that I rarely frequent. What I ended up noticing was a very striking contrast of bright points of nature among a run-down, darker man-made environment. I found this contrast everywhere and let it become my motif for the shoot. As a result, I ended up with a collection of photos that were a lot darker and grittier than what I normally choose to shoot. The overcast environment, I found, gave the pictures a lonely and haunting quality that I am extremely happy with as a result. While I used to only focus on nature photography, I am eager to continue to capture a blending of the natural and the man-made.