We've had our last class, submitted the final project, and held the last critique. I look back at photo I and kick myself in the ass for not taking it sooner. Sure, there was a lot of work involved- learning my camera, long night in the dark room, 50 sheets of photo paper to one assignment- And I won't lie in saying I was a little happy never to have to process film again.
But, beyond all that, I wish I took photo earlier, not waiting till senior year, spring semester. It was a different medium of art for me, one that I could have experimented with. Looking at other people's projects, there is still so much I want to work with. I loved Amanda self-portraits and want to continue to work with that, utilizing the environment I am in. Not focusing so much on the subject, but the place of interest.
The class has affected me, I am much more conscious of what photos I take and what the frame captures. I want interesting pictures, not solely the typical photos I have taken in that past. Chances are, I'll move onto a digital camera in place of my moms manual. But... sometimes down the road a photo class seems highly possible.
I know I'll be in the dark room- probably tonight, making some extra prints for the family and mother's day coming up. So I guess, even after the class is over, photo isn't.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Artist Statement
Confrontation
This project was inspired by the work of Sebastião Salgado. He explains how people are often portrayed as victims of their situations. In the process:
“…people tend to be denuded of their larger, more complicated humanity, including their culture and the internal resources that allow for self-determination.”
Of his work, the photos that truly engaged me are those with direct confrontation. By engaging their viewer, these subjects are showing who they are, as they are. They may live in different, or even less situations than we do, but they are, if not equal, but stronger than us. This human strength truly amazes me, and is something I wanted to work with in my final project.
At first, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. It was only after I shot a couple of rolls that it popped out to me, and I remembered my reaction to Salgado’s work. My strongest images were ones when the subject had their eyes connected with the viewer, showcasing an emotional response of confrontation.
I chose to incorporate my two lives at
I found that kids were much easier to work with. They didn’t have the vanity of adults, and are not afraid to show who they really are. It is a time before we put that false pretense up, blocking others from seeing the real us.
My subjects all present themselves as they truly are. They are proud of who they have become and look not to shield that away.
Enjoy.
Rachel McCoullough
Monday, April 28, 2008
DONEEEEE!!
After +10 hours in the darkroom, I have FINALLY finished my final project. I'm very happy with how it came out- there is a lot of variety in my photos, and they capture many different sides of my subjects and ways the viewer is confronted.
I did run into some sort if problem... my last roll of self-portraits hardly came out. I think the film was too thin, and i appear silhouetted against the window with almost no features. This happened to about half my roll. I made the best of the situation, but I'm not completely satisfied with the one I chose. I can live with it though, since I feel my self portrait roll was my strongest in the assignments. I chose to do regular portraits because that was where I lacked- and I nailed it.
I still want to make more prints for the fam and a couple for me- hope I can bum some paper off Dee and Amanda.
Theirs and Ned were the only other projects I saw. From what I got, they all look awesome. There is so much variety- although I am glad to be done, I'm sad that I didn't take photo earlier and start really creating art. It had inspired me though...
I did run into some sort if problem... my last roll of self-portraits hardly came out. I think the film was too thin, and i appear silhouetted against the window with almost no features. This happened to about half my roll. I made the best of the situation, but I'm not completely satisfied with the one I chose. I can live with it though, since I feel my self portrait roll was my strongest in the assignments. I chose to do regular portraits because that was where I lacked- and I nailed it.
I still want to make more prints for the fam and a couple for me- hope I can bum some paper off Dee and Amanda.
Theirs and Ned were the only other projects I saw. From what I got, they all look awesome. There is so much variety- although I am glad to be done, I'm sad that I didn't take photo earlier and start really creating art. It had inspired me though...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Final Count Down...
In my art history classes, I have always found it interesting how engaging the viewer can symbolize so many things. In the Renaissance, for a woman to confront the viewer straight on meant she was a prostitute. Leonardo Di Vinci broke this mold by painting a well known artisocrat, Ginevra de' Benci. Well known and admired for her intellect, this woman is directly confronting the viewer, something you just didn't do back then.
This is what I am basing my final project on- confronting the viewer. My subject are my kids from work and my friends from school- two major aspects of my life during my time at Stonehill College.
I am also focusing on portraiture because I felt I did not capture it enough to satisfy my in our assignment.
I will include a mixture of children and friends and one self-portrait. I am also saying that this confrontation can be seen at any age. I found that the kids have a stronger, more intense look than the those my age. I really like the direction my project is taking and I'm excited to see how it turns out.
This is what I am basing my final project on- confronting the viewer. My subject are my kids from work and my friends from school- two major aspects of my life during my time at Stonehill College.
I am also focusing on portraiture because I felt I did not capture it enough to satisfy my in our assignment.
I will include a mixture of children and friends and one self-portrait. I am also saying that this confrontation can be seen at any age. I found that the kids have a stronger, more intense look than the those my age. I really like the direction my project is taking and I'm excited to see how it turns out.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Mask
For class, we had to choose a portrait which we liked and analyze it. I chose one of Kathie's self-portraits. She is sitting on the ground, wrapped in newspapers, holding a mask to her face. It caught my eye and my attention so this is the one I chose...
Kathy’s photo can be read many different ways. What first drew me to it was the mask. Although many of the portraits on the wall were not a clear view of the face, this one covers the face in a different manner. It is not someone looking away or focusing on another body part. Her face is right there in front of you, blocked. She is stopping you from looking in, but not entirely because she still uses her eyes to engage and confront the viewer. It is as if she is saying here is my message and what I am trying to say if you can read deep enough into the image.
The mask itself if beautiful, and framed by her dark hair. It is almost a trick that it is there because you look twice after realizing she is hiding her face. She is entirely dressed in newspapers- covered by the news. I loved Emmanuel’s interpretation of this image- how the news is masking her. But I interpret it a different way.
It first reminded me of an ancient Greek sculpture of the Parthenon. On the east pediment, there are three goddesses, one of which may be Aphrodite. This work was made in 430’s BCE before the female nude was ever sculpted. As a sign of sexuality, Aphrodite’s sleeve is falling off her shoulder. This ancient work of art was brought back to my mind after I saw this image. It is probably because her sleeve is black against the white background, but it holds a slight hint of sexuality as did this ancient work of Greece.
A statement she may be saying is how everything is masked, and reality is unknown. We do not see her face, only her eyes. By hiding this essential feature, you have to guess what is behind the mask. She could be stating her opinion on censorship of news material and how nothing is reported objectively- that everything is conveyed with some type of emotion.
At first, I thought she may be stating that she doesn’t feel comfortable or she feels like she is trapped behind a mask or still searching to find herself. But now, looking further into the picture, she is not. Although hidden, she still wears her rings and jewelry, something which belongs and means something to her as a person- it helps define her in a way. I believe we wear what we can relate through, the jewelry we wear holds meaning; otherwise it would not be important to us. So she does define herself. You can see that the title of the article on her newspaper dress talks about films. The mask could show her interest in theater. Not commercial theater but independent films.
The image is presented without a background, not letting me look into the photo frame. Also, her body is almost lost in the white wall behind her, but her hair makes her standout in a shocking, high contrasted way. She is saying that what she looks like is not the essential element of the photo, but what she is saying through the use of her mask, the newspaper and body language. I think this is an awesome image and it grabbed my attention right away.
*****************
Then I read her blog and realized that the newspaper she was wrapped in holds an article she wrote. Kathy is trying to show how she identifies herself through what she wants to do with her life and career.
Kathy’s photo can be read many different ways. What first drew me to it was the mask. Although many of the portraits on the wall were not a clear view of the face, this one covers the face in a different manner. It is not someone looking away or focusing on another body part. Her face is right there in front of you, blocked. She is stopping you from looking in, but not entirely because she still uses her eyes to engage and confront the viewer. It is as if she is saying here is my message and what I am trying to say if you can read deep enough into the image.
The mask itself if beautiful, and framed by her dark hair. It is almost a trick that it is there because you look twice after realizing she is hiding her face. She is entirely dressed in newspapers- covered by the news. I loved Emmanuel’s interpretation of this image- how the news is masking her. But I interpret it a different way.
It first reminded me of an ancient Greek sculpture of the Parthenon. On the east pediment, there are three goddesses, one of which may be Aphrodite. This work was made in 430’s BCE before the female nude was ever sculpted. As a sign of sexuality, Aphrodite’s sleeve is falling off her shoulder. This ancient work of art was brought back to my mind after I saw this image. It is probably because her sleeve is black against the white background, but it holds a slight hint of sexuality as did this ancient work of Greece.
A statement she may be saying is how everything is masked, and reality is unknown. We do not see her face, only her eyes. By hiding this essential feature, you have to guess what is behind the mask. She could be stating her opinion on censorship of news material and how nothing is reported objectively- that everything is conveyed with some type of emotion.
At first, I thought she may be stating that she doesn’t feel comfortable or she feels like she is trapped behind a mask or still searching to find herself. But now, looking further into the picture, she is not. Although hidden, she still wears her rings and jewelry, something which belongs and means something to her as a person- it helps define her in a way. I believe we wear what we can relate through, the jewelry we wear holds meaning; otherwise it would not be important to us. So she does define herself. You can see that the title of the article on her newspaper dress talks about films. The mask could show her interest in theater. Not commercial theater but independent films.
The image is presented without a background, not letting me look into the photo frame. Also, her body is almost lost in the white wall behind her, but her hair makes her standout in a shocking, high contrasted way. She is saying that what she looks like is not the essential element of the photo, but what she is saying through the use of her mask, the newspaper and body language. I think this is an awesome image and it grabbed my attention right away.
*****************
Then I read her blog and realized that the newspaper she was wrapped in holds an article she wrote. Kathy is trying to show how she identifies herself through what she wants to do with her life and career.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Procrastination...
Its about 430 on Saturday and I'm only just starting to do some work.
I've already got 3 photos done for the 6 due on Tuesday. I really liked this assignment- the Self-Portrait and Portrait one. After seeing my friend's work, i was inspired; i want to go back and retake a couple roles. Usually when I take pics of people, its the standard center format. You can say so much more by changing their position in the frame or focusing in on certain parts. I'm still debating on what I want to do with my final project- so this is something I'll keep in mind.
One thing i have noticed- its become a lot easier to do prints. I am no longer going through 20 pieces of photo paper for 3 photos. It makes me think back to the pinhole assignment and how much I wasted on that one. Also, even though I love using a normal camera and being in charge of what is in your frame and how the photos will come out, I really did like the unpredictability of pinholes. I really like the effect of round pinhole cameras- I think that looks awesome. I was searching the web for example of pinhole photos and stumbled upon this site that has lists of pinhole artists and their works. There are some really good works: one of my favs was a self-portrait by G Lancaster
The image has a warmer tone and pops out a bit more because its not b&w. I like how its not surrounded by black either. The picture is made by the shape of the image. This tiny mark holds the image of the photographer. The upward angle makes the artist looks unproportional- tall and kind of bent. I the image grabbed my attention- I had to ask myself what is that...? Because it was a pinhole camera, I wonder how much of the image was planned or maybe it just happened.The website is http://www.pinhole.org/gallery/index.cfm
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