Since I have been slacking on the blogging lately I want to discuss two photographers. Well, I guess I do not want to classify it as "slacking". More like "cooling down" so I don't let my emotions get the best of me and go off on a tangent that is not necessary for this blog...
ANNNNNNYWAYS...
I was doing some photographic research a while back and I came across Rob Hornstra. But a series of three of his photos really caught my eye, and I think it was how they were aligned on a particular website that really grabbed me. (below)
So this is exactly how they were on the site. At first, I almost did not even realize that I was not looking at 3 people here. I was looking really fast. When I went back and spent some time with these - I actually discovered that I was looking at 2 portraits and well... a "portrait". The bag looks so much like a portrait to me that It really poses the question: "does a portrait have to be of a person or body part?" Obvious answer is no. There are many photographers that take these "portraits", but there is something there. It could be the positioning next to an individual standing just as tall as the punching bag - a detailed symbol? It was just an interesting direction and a possible direction that I may begin at some point.
BERT TEUNISSEN is a little different, and honestly caught my eye because his photographs of European homes reminded me of Gina's taxidermist photographs.
Teunissen traveled Europe studying the homes and architecture from the times where daylight was the main light source that are still functioning. This style of home was abandon some time after WWII. He traveled Europe over a 10 year span, documenting these living spaces only using the natural light that the architecture provided. Teunissen just published a book that displays these, and I highly recommend giving it a look at B&N.
First off I would like to say that I am a huge advocate of using natural light or using household objects as sources. This is mainly because I do not have access to studio lighting at the times when I work best (11PM-4AM roughly), so I can't say that I fully understand them... I am aware that using them could make some nasty imagery though, and I probably will eventually mess around with them at some point. I don't know why I just went off on that... Probably because I just really appreciate appropriate usage of natural sunlight. However, there is a good chance that he was using either a slave flash or an external flash. Not only does his lighting intrigue me, but his process is amazing. He meets these individuals and asks to join them in their house for a photograph. He has been able to do this for TEN YEARS and now has a great portfolio to show for it. I guess his dedication and interest in his individual process makes me envy the guy. What an example of why you sometimes just have to let your art continue to define you, and not always force yourself to create your art.
1 comments:
Rob Hornstra is where it's at for me. I'm not a big fan of portraiture, but this is kind of decent work, I think. I think the way he couples the face portraiture with object "portraits," is very interesting. I tried taking portraits of non-reps in the prison this last time around and it was exceedingly difficult for me. I don't think that portraits are very visually/conceptually interesting for me just because it seems too snap-shot-like.
I think that portraiture is difficult to make strongly. But I really enjoy how he couples the face portraiture with object portraiture. It seems quite fitting and it makes me ask tons of questions.
Lastly, I think your last comment "What an example of why you sometimes just have to let your art continue to define you, and not always force yourself to create your art," this prevalent with me right now. While I don't like going to the prison week after week, forcing myself to go is not the right way to attack the project either. After going there for a while, it just becomes routine. That is why I try to do something different from time to time there. I need to keep exploring how this space can become Jack-ified, if you will. While I find the spaces interesting in themselves, I think I am continually letting the space define how I shoot it. While I am shooting in more of a documentary way then before, I hope that I am finally discovering myself in the space. The more I go, the more I discover how the space is dictated for me and my sort of style conceptually/visually constructed.
The prison is constructing me/impacting me in a very strange way. While the more documentary spaces are intriguing to me, the abandoned collections and side closets are the most interesting to me, they just happen to be in the prison. I feel partial to the left over fans all facing in one direction. It is hard to explain through typing, but I feel like the more I go to the prison, the more it becomes/defines me because I find myself in the prison.
Post a Comment