Art Night Artist Statement

(One of my proposed, un-edited, art night images)

Earlier in the year one of my classmates remarked to me that I always seem to take pictures and seek out scenes that involve mankind, the human populace, making some sort of impact upon nature. I never truly realized until I heard this how true it really was. I have taken pictures of a ladder placed against a tree in the middle of a forest, a sign placed on a tree riddled with shotgun pellets, a large and ornate well surrounded by wilderness and an entire set of pictures devoted to how fences separate people and nature. For Art Night I decided to go against my newly discovered style and take pictures that show nature taking back what once belonged to it. I wanted to show that you can discover something new anywhere and at anytime, that there is beauty in the old as well as the new, the shiny and the gritty.

Art Night Proposal

For Art Night, I would like to take pictures of the inside/outside of dilapidated buildings. I currently plan to take pictures of three almost completely destroyed cabins that I discovered while trying to find pictures for the Photomontage assignment. What struck me about what remained of these buildings was the relative peace that surrounded them while you could easily envision the violence that had left them the way that they now are. One or two of the cabins are missing entire walls, while others are missing bathroom tiles or floorboards. Just by peering through what remained of a window you could see that it was not simply neglect and nature (although nature had done an excellent job regaining what the buildings had taken from it) that had destroyed these buildings, man, or rather more likely teenagers, had.

I am not yet entirely sure what new Photoshop technique I plan to use. This is because until I know which picture(s) will be my final(s) I will not know which technique will best fit. I do, however, plan to use either dynamic lighting effect, vintage effect, fog and mist effect, dramatic gritty effect or possibly, though unlikely, horror film effect. It is also possible that if I have the time I will attempt to put two of them together. I am currently leaning towards using the vintage effect.

I will attempt to shoot sometime this week, but if I cannot take my pictures before Friday, I will use Saturday afternoon before the Gala.

PHOTODOC FINAL

Documentary Photography Unedited

Documentary Photography

Documentary Photography Proposal

For my Documentary Photography assignment I plan to show the long grueling day of a heavy equipment operator/excavator. These pictures will show the running of large trucks, skidders, backhoes and various other equipment in the process of digging a foundation or removing trees. The focus will not so much be the people who put the times in from dawn to sunset, but rather the job itself and the enormity of some projects.

OR

For my Documentary Photography assignment I plan to show the day of a Merchandiser for a major greeting card company (such as American Greetings). These pictures will show the removal of large amounts of cards as well as the process of replacing them to the best of you ability when the instruction don't always fit the amount of space given. The fact that many people seem to be unaware of the large amount of work that it takes to do a task that can be completely undone by one small child as well as the anonymity that these merchandisers live with would be the main emphasis of the project.

I will take pictures the weekend of April 24th/25th

Walker Evans Post 2

3. Are the terms artwork and document always or ever in opposition? Can a photograph be both?Artwork and documents are only in opposition as long as they are being interpreted by one person. The moment someone else's position on a photograph or and event comes into play they become the same thing. To one person "Piss Christ" (I believe that is the name, forgive me if I am wrong ) is a piece of art, to another it is an insulting example of the immorality or heathenism of some people today. Both artwork and documents tell a story, whether it be the mental state of the artist, the way in which s/he views the world or a physical recording of an event or subject. A photograph or piece of art can be both artwork and a document, but the interpretation as to what the piece is will remain as long as there are differing opinions.

Walker Evans Post 1

2. Walker Evans was under pressure to portray the government in a positive light in his photographs. Can you recall other similar situations / times in the past when images have been created to help tell a certain truth or untruth? Were these attempts successful? Moral? Immoral?

Photographs, as well as other types of art, are often used to portray one persons rigid ideology or beliefs in an attempt to bring others to their way of thinking or simply to ridicule those that disagree with them. In the past decade in the United States their has been a virtual flood of political cartoons as well as pictures that have fulfilled these roles. Some of these pictures are taken during poor moments much to the chagrin of the pictures subjects and others are taken at the behest of the subject.
These two pictures show two examples of pictures later regretted by their subjects. In the picture of President Obama it appears that he is starting inappropriately at a girl we later find out to be underage. This picture shows both a truth and an untruth depending on a persons point of view. As we cannot tell exactly what it is that the President is looking at in this picture, it was successful only in igniting a media storm. The picture of President Bush shows a truth and an untruth. On the one hand, a mission of the war had been achieved, on the other hand, this mission was not the main goal of the war and we still remain in Iraq to this day. This picture was successful to everyone that used it as it infuriated those that sought an end to the war only to see its continuance and made President Bush look good to his supporters because of the dramatic fashion of his arrival as well as the message of the entire event portrayed in the picture. These two photographs are themselves moral, it is the way in which they were used that was immoral.