New Addition to List of Experiments

So in my Photo 3A class our first assignment deals with the snapshot aesthetic.  I am LOVING this!  It is forcing me to look at literally everything different.  In our last class, as well as today's class, as a question to sort of describe this task Annie asked us to think "How do we unlearn what we have been taught about proper photo taking?"  I have been following this as literally as I can, I have been taking cheesey/cliche photographs and shooting from the view of my hip/stomach.  I am shooting cliche images because, for one reason, we are taught that this is absolutely wrong! and the other reason is because I want to explore cliche photos and also I am keeping the viewer in my mind as I take them because artists are not the only people who will ever view my work so why am I ignoring those who have no art background as non worthy of viewing them?  This notion of thinking of the viewer is new to me as well since I make most of my photos for me and me alone.  I know just about everyone at school is aiming to get a show eventually or be in a show one day but that is not a concern of mine, it never really was, I just want to know I have a great body of work and that I have grown artistically.  I am going to try and shoot 3 rolls of this; two black and white (I miss it!) and one color.  This is going to be great!  Human error and natural beauty at its best :) 

Welcome Back Show

Last Friday (September 23rd) we went into the gallery to see the "Welcome Back Show".  Some works that I really connected to were Dustin Metz piece "Seer".  It was oil on wood and 63" X 48" (see below).  I liked this because of how active, worked, and vibrant it was, in both color and mood.  I love going close up to works and this was particularly great, you could really see the artist's hand and aggravation through the scratches, sharp penciled drawings and lumpiness of the paint.  It was incredibly active as was the rest of the room.  This area (Yellow Gallery #1) was greatly thought out and executed.  

  

Another gallery/room that was presented effectively was the Clifford Owens room.  I really really appreciated the way the 3 photos (on your left when you walk in) were positioned in a non conventional way.  It was really striking and my attention kept going back to them.  It was a beautiful way to present 3 horizontal photographs (see image below).  I also liked how small the images on the facing wall were.  They made them extremely intimate and demandingly invaded your personal space in order to view them properly which was similar to what was going on in the photos themselves; they were kind of uncomfortable situations that invaded others personal space (see 2nd image below).

 

Close up of one of the small images

The one major issue I had with the show was in the Red Gallery on the wall to your left when you walk in from the entrance.  It started with a piece from Gary Schneider entitled "Young Man" 1908/2008 (see below), followed by a Tom Nozkowski work, a Miranda Lichtenstein photograph and ended with Hanneline Rogeberg's piece "Big Hide" (see 2nd image below).  I thought this group was too literal next to one another.  The Schneider piece was a photograph of a man riddled with bites or chicken pox, which simplified would be separate circles.  The piece next to his, Nozkowski, was an abstract painting of separated circle-like shapes.  Then came another photograph of a person covered in an animal hide and the last piece was a painting of an animal hide.  So not only did it go photo, painting, photo, painting, but it went dots, dots, hide, hide.  The works themselves were visually stimulating, however as a group I really thought it was way to literal to have them next to one another. 





Gary Schneider

Hanneline Rogeberg

Experiment 1: Arturo Herrera Technique (Part A)

I have 3 color film cartridges.  I put one in water, one in diluted soda, and the last in car oil.  Yesterday I picked up the 2 cartridges (water & diluted soda) from Walgreens and today I printed the diluted soda roll.  I couldn't print the water one because non of the photos on that roll came out.  I shot inside for that roll, but I forgot to use the flash.  I don't think that it was such a great idea for my first time EVER printing color to print a roll that I had manipulated.  It was quiet fustrating due to the fact that only bits and pieces of the images were their true color and the majority of the image was purple.  So for Part A of this experiment I'm going to say it was a flop.  I wasn't too impressed with how the diluted soda effected the film. 

For the car oil roll I will be developing that myself using the black & white process.  I don't want to bring it to Walgreens or any other place only because the film might still be heavily coated in oil.  Tony from the photo department said that if I use the black & white process that the images might not come out since color uses different chemicals to develop, but I figure I would give it a try since I am not very concerned with the image as much as what the oil did to the film.  I cannot develop it this week so hopefully next week I will get a chance.  I'm really enjoying these new techniques, I just hope I have better luck with the car oil roll then I did with the other two.

Experiements

As much as I like my black photos I feel like I need to expand my choices to see if I like other options that I am currently blocking myself from seeing.  The following is a list of options I want to explore:

• Use a twin lens reflex camera
• Print & draw/scratch on photo paper
• Explore disposable cameras
• Arturo Herrera technique
• Play with zerox machines; "Poor man's lythography"
• Photograph through glass
• Mixed media with photo paper; Rauschenberg
• Wade Guyton technique
• Wax on top of photos
• Make my own paper: photo transfer images onto new paper
• Step away from portraits

During the critique on Friday Jim mentioned that we shouldn't feel like we need to do something completely different if we like something we are already doing; and because I love my black photos I am definetly going to keep them in mind and perhaps combine them with a new technique.  I am leaning towards some of the ideas on the list more then others but I intend to try all of them.  I feel like I am being reintroduced to photography and it's exiciting because it is reminicent of when photography first came about and people were always experimenting.  I'm going to start the process of elimination on Wednesday.  In my photo class we are doing a color workshop so I will finally be able to see how the film from my Arturo Herrera technique turned out!!  High hopes high hopes :)

Arturo Herrera Continued

http://video.pbs.org/video/1239627128

This is the link to the full episode of the Art21 video which includes the entire interview of Arturo Herrera, which includes him discussing his work and what he does with the film he shoots!  Awesome, absolutely awesome.

Arturo Herrera

This is an artist I found out about during my painting seminar class in the spring semester that just passed.  It's a part of the art21 series.  I wish I knew about him earlier!  I cannot find a video of him talking about what he does with film but I thought this video was a great introduction to him.  He allows chance to play such a huge role in his work and I love it!  I started to fool around with chance last semester in my painting class.  Here is my painting final from the spring semester:



I had never done anything like this before.  It's entirely chance based.  I worked on this the longest I think that I've ever worked on a piece.  I say this only because I usually know exactly what I want the image to be and I execute it as quickly as I can.  It uses a twin bed sheet, the remainder of the sheet of canvas I used for the semester and two large heavy canvas sacks that I cut open to make them rectangles instead of squares.  There's hardly any paint on it.  It consists of mud, wax, melted charcoal and dirt from the floor.  I wasn't looking for a specific image to make.  We were given something like 3 weeks to finish it and I decided to work on it the entire time and then the week it was due figure out how to display it. 

Arturo Herrera takes his film and puts it in a liquid: cold water with ice cubes, hot water, coffee.  Depending on the temperature and nature of the drink it effects the emulsion on the film; allowing chance to play its role in the final image.  This is something I found incredibly fascinating.  I hadn't thought about destroying the film for an image before.  I like things to be very precise and specific.  But by experimenting in my painting class I have really learned to loosen up which is frigging great!  There is a lot less pressure but at the same time I am able to satisfy my compulsive urge to be organized and precise by setting boundaries.  For example, for my liquid experiment this summer I only used disposable cameras, and when I put the film in a liquid I determined the time to take it out.  So having some control over a completely experimental/chanced project was just a really great feeling.  Like I said in my first blog, I still need to learn how to develop color film, since all the film I used was color.  I'm very anxious to see how it comes out :)   

I also played around with over exposure using my digital camera.  Usually I like to under expose in order to get a very black image.  But this summer I decided to change it up and see what happens with a white image.  Here's an example:

This is an image from the inside of my friend's car looking out the door at my boyfriend and his buddies.  I'm quite pleased with the white images.  I'm not 100% all about them, but they are slowly growing on me.  I like how it hurts to look at but, like the black images, as a viewer I try to put together the little detail I am given to make a full picture; I'm trying hard to figure out just what I am looking at because I am given only some recognizable things (the car wheel, the door, some plaid).  In an image that is obviously abstract I feel like the viewer tends to accept it and walk away, whereas an image that has something real in it yet is too black or too white too completely see the whole thing makes you want to see the whole thing in order to accept it as something before walking away.

I still don't understand how to end a blog yet but yea, that's all I want to say for now.  See ya!



Interview: Sara Nagy

For this assignment I interviewed Sara Nagy.  Sara is a graphic design major with a minor in art history.  I don't think I have every met a graphic designer, so it was interesting to talk to one and find out about more about the subject.  Enjoy!

 

Amy Glass:  So let’s start off with an introduction question, why Rutgers?

Sara Nagy:  I chose Rutgers because when I came to college I had only taken one year of design and wasn’t sure if I wanted to make a future out of it.  So I chose a university over an art school just in case this wasn’t my calling and I needed to change majors.  I also liked that Mason Gross had a great reputation as a university art school and was small enough so that attention could be paid to every student.

AG:  Is there anything that you would change now that you’ve been here for a few years?

SN:  The one thing that upsets me about Mason Gross is that they took away a lot of design classes and combined them into one design course.  A class such as typography was diminished from a whole year to one semester.  I like that every semester of design teaches a different area of design, but I wish there were more classes to take if I took a specific interest in one of the areas. 

AG:  I don’t really know anything about design.  I mean, for painting and photography we research artists and their works to get inspiration and just to get a better understanding of those aspects of art.  I personally have been inspired by such artists as Clyfford Still and Sally Mann, are there any specific artists that you constantly look at for inspiration?

SN:  I look at a lot of artists and try to understand all design and how they got to that conclusion.  I love looking at magazines and the layouts and how design attracts the viewer to read an article.  However, late Caravaggio has always been a favorite of mine.

AG:  Caravaggio? That’s an interesting pick, why him?

SN:  Because I love the style he fell into of this chiaroscuro effect that is so photographic.  It is like he was way ahead of his time by keeping things in perspective as he saw them.  Nothing was compromised for beauty, his figures are shown in their actual state.

AG:  Are you doing anything outside of school, like an internship or job, that allows you to continue your design studies?

SN:  I am interning at Conde Nast Traveler magazine and am looking forward to the experience.  I can't wait to see how the design team functions and comes up with ideas and also to see how a huge publication is produced.

AG:  What are your plans for after graduation?  Where do you want design to take you?

SN:  My plan after graduation is to work in the publishing industry.  I look at a lot of typography and the different way designers connect words with images.  I like the idea of working for a company and working with clients where the product will be mass-produced and I can say that I did it.

AG:  What would be your ideal job?

SN:  My ideal job and ultimate goal is to become an Art Director / Creative director.  I know where I want to start and the position I want to work up to.

AG:  What got you into design as a major?

SN:  I always wanted to do something with art.  [During my] Senior year [of high school] I took a graphic design class and I loved making logos and working with words and different typefaces.  When I came to Mason Gross I [knew I] wanted to do design. 

AG:  So then what got you interested in art in general?

SN:  I always knew I wanted to be an artist from the moment I was introduced to a coloring book.  I was either always coloring or drawing and it was always a passion and a natural talent.

AG:  Throughout artist's careers they tend to work up a style.  Do you think you have one yet?

SN:  I wouldn’t say I have certain style.  I try to keep an open mind.  I’m not biased to a certain kind of design.

AG:  You mentioned you are interning for a magazine, have you designed anything for them or for other organizations?

SN:  I did some freelance work for a hairdresser, gym and football team (see above image).  I like doing freelance work I feel it gives me a sense of what the real world will be like, working with clients and having a sort of assignment to build off of and give my own creative input.

AG:  As a photographer I find myself critiquing photos in magazines and advertisements, do you notice yourself critiquing professionals?  

SN:  I do find myself critiquing designs whether it’s a logo or a page layout and I think about how I could make it better. 

AG:  What other form of art could you see yourself doing if you weren’t a design major? 

SN:  If I wasn’t a designer I would probably be a photographer.  I feel that through photography you can really make anything beautiful no matter how ugly or clichéd it may be.

AG:  I know I freaked out over the summer thinking I had to have an idea for thesis the first day of classes, and I know the direction I’d like to start off going towards, but do you have any thoughts of what you want to aim for?  

SN:  I actually have an idea for thesis. I like watching shows like Dr. 90210 because I love plastic surgery and think it is definitely a form of art in itself. I want to take this idea of plastic surgery and young women and make a project out of it.

AG:  What interests you about plastic surgery as a topic?

SN:  I love the art half of plastic surgery.  I am able to see the body as a sculpture that can be molded in many ways.   If I were more into the scientific part of it, it would be my dream job.  I would love helping women feel more beautiful and help people who need reconstructive surgery feel better about themselves.  I would love the reward of knowing I helped boost someone's confidence.  What I plan to do in this project is to show how the body can be altered and how it has become more popular amongst young women.

AG:  Have you studied anything related to plastic surgery?   For example, have you taken an anatomy class?

SN:  I have never studied plastic surgery or taken an anatomy class, but I do take an interest
in it.  I watch shows such as Dr. 90210 and I read articles about people with either botched surgery, good surgery, regretted surgery and even procedures that have caused death.  There are many different opinions about having cosmetic surgery.

AG:  I know from speaking to other design students that they are unsure as to what direction they want to present their thesis project in, do you have an idea as to where you want to take this idea of plastic surgery?   Meaning would you look at it from an advertising view or from a pros/cons campaign etc.? 

SN:  I definitely still have a lot of issues to work out.  I found my direction with plastic surgery amongst young women but I'm still figuring out how I am going to get my message across.  I would probably look at it more as an advertising view over a pros/cons campaign.  I am not trying to sway people into thinking it is good or bad.  I just want to make a statement where people can walk away with their own opinions.

AG:  Have you looked at such artists as Orlan?

SN: I have looked at Orlan, her work is very interesting.   Her exhibit about reconstructive surgery is good inspiration for my project.

AG:  Do you have an idea of what medium you want use?  

SN:  I plan on using photographs and Adobe programs to provide information on the photographs.

AG: I’m only familiar with Photoshop, so when you get your ideas onto the computer what programs do you like to use?

SN: I like the whole Adobe suite and I like learning different tricks whether its self taught or something I learned in class. Working in Photoshop or Illustrator is fun but scary at the same time because I feel as though there is so much I don’t know about it. My favorite to work in is illustrator.

AG:  I’m not a fan of digital photography, although I am a photo major, is there anything about design that you’re not crazy about?

SN:  When it comes to design I love the fact that we learn all different kinds of design.  So far my least favorite would be web design because it was very difficult and time consuming, although with today’s technology building a website has become accessible and easy to anybody.  I would say it was cool to learn how it was originally done though.

AG:  It seems fairly easy to abstract other forms of art and I feel like it’s waaaaay to easy to draw a line and call it art, but is it easy to abstract things in design or do you find it more of an organized art?  

SN:  Design is not as easy to be abstract with because if your designing a logo or advertisement it has to have meaning and connection to the content it is displaying.  I can’t draw a line and say it’s a logo for a coffee house or something like that.  I feel as though design requires more thought, compromise and collaboration.

AG:  How do you come up with your ideas for designs and layouts?

SN:  To come up with ideas for a project I start by writing words down that pertain to the subject.  For example, for my logo for the gym I wrote down all words that have something to do with being in a gym.  From there images start forming and I start sketching, then I go to the computer.

AG:  When I interned at a gallery library the majority of their correspondence were in handwritten books.  The handwriting was breath taking to say the least.  You said earlier that you are into typography, have you ever researched old hand written manuscripts or have you gone to a library that has them available for viewing?

SN: [When I studied abroad in Italy] I went to see the first printing press and they had many books that were hand written and it was amazing to see how precise the handwriting was and where “typefaces” originated from.

AG:  Oh wow that’s awesome!

SN:  I learned that typography and the production of books is where the invention of glasses came from because some books were written in maybe 3pt characters.

AG:  That's pretty incredible!  So I guess my last question would be when you get a job where would you go?  Meaning would you stay on the East Coast or would you go farther West?

SN:  I will definitely stay on the East Coast.  The best jobs in publishing are in New York and that’s where I plan to work my whole life.  That and I don’t think I could move away from my family.

If you are interested in plastic surgery/physical transformation here are some artists to check out:

Orlan

DH Cooper

Cindy Sherman

Yasumasa Morimura

Nikki S. Lee

New to blogging

My name is Amy and I have never made a blog before so I am not quite sure how this works.  I apologize in advance if this blog turns out to be a total mess, hopefully I will get the hang of it by the end of the semester.  I am a photographer major and over the summer I have experimented with disposable cameras and leaving the film in a liquid for an indeterminate amount of time.  I have yet to develop them out of fear that when I bring them to CVS, or wherever, they will refuse to develop them.  They are all color film and I don't know how to develp color film so when I get a chance, possibly this week or next, I have to figure out how.  I am trying to allow chance to play a bigger role in my work.  I can't wait to see how it turned out :)

If you'd like to find out more about me and my work, check out Sara Nagy's blog for her interview of me:

http://saranagy-thesis.blogspot.com/