All art we see influences our imagination as we look through our viewfinder the next time we pick up our cameras Bill Wishner Today we first discussed a non-photographer artist Brian Dettmer, who re-purposes books with an intricate series of steps including carving through the book to release words and pictures ultimately leading to a three dimensional work of art...see above and the TED talk linked below https://www.ted.com/speakers/brian_dettmer So what does his work and his creative narrative relate to photographers... 1. his need to prevision the final result 2. his approach of "dissecting" the images 3. his end result is a consistency of his final art form 4. his work is a metaphor of our layers in Photoshop 5. his need to "dig" into the details of his work (paraphrased from Brian Dettmer’s statement on his website) “The age of information in physical form is waning. As intangible routes thrive with quicker fluidity, material and history are being lost, slipping and eroding into the ether. History is lost as formats change from physical stability to digital distress. By altering physical forms of information and shifting preconceived functions, new and unexpected roles emerge. Through meticulous excavation or concise alteration I edit or dissect communicative objects or systems. The medium’s role transforms. Its content is re-contextualized and new meanings or interpretations emerge.” We then briefly discussed Wen Wenders new documentary based on life and work of Sebastian Salgado entitled "Salt of the Earth" Mark reminded us of the history of one of the the worlds most recognized pictures created by Charles O'Rear..."Bliss" the screen saver for Microsoft XP Check out his interview on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXY8OEZAEQ Last, but not least, Steve presented a PowerPoint presentation on Edgewater "The Reserve"...an architectural project Unfortunately I could not copy pictures from the presentation and the file is too big to attach REMINDER PasadenaPhotographyArts Forum #3 Thursday / April 16, 2015 / 7pm Building Relationships and the Art of Exhibiting Your Photographs Speaker: Eli Consilvio, MAMA Gallery Mr. Consilvio has been involved in the field of photography for over 20 years, with the past seven years focused on advising both artist and art collectors through his consulting business. He recently opened a contemporary art gallery called MAMA in the LA arts district. This is a free event! RSVP is Required [email protected] Where: Keystone Art Space / ArtLab 2558 N. San Fernando Road Los Angeles, CA 90065
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"I like to photograph people who have strength and dignity in their faces; whatever life has done to them, it hasn't destroyed them. I gravitate towards people like that." Paul Strand Let me start at the end of our Saturday morning discussion...then we'll move on to the work and discussion of our f8'ers. We finished our sojourn into the art and aesthetics of photography by re-visiting the work and importance of Paul Strand. Looking at just a few of his pictures from the journal Aperture and their retrospective: "Paul Strand-The World army Doorstep" (#135-Spring 1994)...we delved into the work from the perspective of modern photography and abstraction. We also watched a You Tube segment (#1 of 6) entitled "Paul Strand: Under the Dark Cloth." Finally we discussed the symbolism of one of his iconic pieces "Wall Street." In searching for images of just that picture, I came across a "Google-Like" image of this famous work in itself a modern day abstraction...all the various images stacked together....see below Let me not digress from the important work and other discussion we had today... Jim Staub brought in two sets of pictures. The first was his follow-up pictures using different papers and the visual and tactile differences in the prints. Obviously, it's difficult to have the experience of look and feel on the blog site...but here is the image...from a composition and color standpoint Jim brought in another set of pictures demonstrating the various looks and colors that can be applied to your pictures using Photoshop Gradient Filters. Sorry, can't show all...there were many...and showing just one doesn't cut it either. So, go and experiment with this tool on Photoshop. Mark pointed out an article and video in the New York Times about the demise of Kodak and especially the Kodak plant transformation into a food processing facility. Also mentioned was the transformation of their business in both products, services and number of employees. For example the film making portion of their business employeed 30,000 at its peak...now 300. Go to NYT website (March 22, 2015) and search for "Kodak" to find the video. Howard talked about his volunteer experience at a National Geographic show and what he saw photographically...unfortunately nothing to show at the meeting. He also got the chance to meet Eddie Soloway...a photographer Kathy and I have met and traveled with on several occasions...Ghost Ranch, Cuba and Mexico. Rene showed more of his "graphic design" prowess with his newest publication converting the ordinary street scene into the extra-ordinary. Below is just one example... Kevin recently polished up his darkroom…refreshed his chemicals and started to print again after a long hiatus. The results are what we’ve come to expect from Kevin…great shots and great prints. As usual, his visual focus and aesthetic was on the railroad and this set was focused on the bathrooms in old Pullmans…or as he puts it, his “Toilet Series.” These images were shot using a Hasselblad X-Pan hence the unusual aspect ratio. Below is an example from this series….keep printing Kevin! Steve showed a print…a “real” print (rather than electronic)…of a wall shot in Genoa, Italy. Great composition and color…suitable for framing…and that’s exacting what Steve will do…hopefully he will find a temporary resting place for the framed print on our Jones walls sometime soon. That’s a hint, Steve!
Gordon Parks "I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapons against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty. I could have just as easily picked up a knife or gun, like many of my childhood friends did…" At today's meeting Steve Lewis led the discussion of Gordon Parks his photographic work and cultural impact. Needless to say Parks impact extended to photography, composing, cameraman and director, novelist and poet. But more importantly were his groundbreaking personal inroads to many creative endeavors in the film industry not previously open to people of color. The following quote is from Steve: "Occasionally, someone Is born whose destiny it is to transcend limitations ascribed by society. Passions can be discovered at any point in life, but when they are cultivated at a young age, there is a certain freedom, born of innocence, that affords reckless creativity. Transcendent people can transform limitations into opportunities because the purity of their spirit serves as a passport into worlds that others of like kind enjoy no invitation. Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson, Oprah, Gordon Parks – all rare individuals whose mastery of their craft impresses “the masses” so much as to render them colorless." (Steve Lewis) Gordon Parks had too many successes to chronicle in this short blog. But what we concentrated on this morning were the factors that drove Gordon to these accomplishments. What was the one thing...or what set of circumstances propelled him in his creative life. There was a great discussion about what these were in his case. Among other things we discussed are the pictures above...documentary and conceptual pictures with semiotics that give us clues both to the cultural climate of the times as well as his conscious or unconscious visual aesthetics...the semiotics of separation, exclusion and the segregation prevalent in his world. Lastly we viewed about 10 minutes of Parks' autobiographical film "Gordon Parks: Half Past Autumn"...the movie is about 90 minutes long and we all wanted to see the whole thing but not possible as our own 90 minutes rapidly came to an end. Pity! Below is the link to the movie.... https://vimeo.com/46395849 Thank you Steve for both leading the discussion and sharing your own comments through the personal "cultural lens" of your life and career. To finish our day at Jones... Jim Staub brought a print of the picture above filled with the semiotics of law enforcement then and now..."keep right" and the "red light"...you can do the mental gymnastics of the scene. Most of all it depicts, in my interpretation, the peacefulness of the arrest scene in that era compared to the chaos of any arrest in LA today..."on the ground" with 4 other policemen surrounding you...you "get the picture"!
The quote above attributed to Thoreau is a nice segue to todays main event... a visit to the Norton Simon to look at and hear about a new photography exhibit: “Human/Nature: Photographers Constructing the Natural World” 3-6-15 to 8-31-15 The discussion was lead by the curator of the show Caitlin Silberman. Our thanks to Howard for making the contact and arrangements. To summerize... Long-revered conventions have held that landscape and nature photography should minimize evidence of human presence. In this framework, the best images offer up the pristine vistas that photographers characterize as “the privileged world of pure nature.” The ten artists whose work is displayed play with and against this tradition. These artists treat signs of humanity, and our activities, as essential, constitutive elements of their image-making practice rather than as undesirable or unfortunate inclusions. It was a engaging tour and discussion with great turnout by f8 Pasadena For those not able to join us today...stop by and take in the exhibit. Bill reviewed the current issue of Aperture #218 This issue was devoted to the photography surrounding the gay, lesbian and transgender community through a series of essays...a few titles are listed below: PICTURES DEAL WITH GAY SEMIOTICS Essay / Hal Fischer RISE OF GAY PICTURE “ZINES” Essay / Shannon Cane RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAM WAGSTAFF & MAPPLETHORPE Essay / “Lovers’ Discourse” / Phil Gefter We next discussed our visit last week to Freestyle and the "factoids" we took away from our session with Eric Joseph Jim Staub has best summarized our experience: (paraphrased here) "Eric Joseph's talk...impressed on me with the idea of the print as a tangible document...a tactile quality found in the paper expands the range of our senses and emotional responses...beyond vision. Eric reminded us about the inkjet print being a different animal from the silver-gelatin darkroom...we don't have to emulate what we know from our chemical past" Some of us tried some new papers as a result of our Freestyle visit... here're some images BUT no way to show the effect of "new" paper on this blog. Steve Lewis showed several pictures he shot in Ghana ...one of which is below And even more pictures today... From f8 Pasadena's recent field trip to Red Rock Canyon Below are several pictures from two of our f8'ers Last but never least Rene showed several of his "stitched" images.
These images will be posted on our blog site "front page" in the next few months...stay tuned One last thing that was briefly and inadequately discussed. Kathy, Bill and Jim attended a lecture at Cal Tech...part of a series looking at the intersection of art and science This lecture was entitled: Remote Sensing and brought three speakers and disciplines to the table discussing intersection of art, robotics and mapping. It was a long esoteric evening ...and thought provoking as well. Long blog post today...too much information and pictures to share in a single post |
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