Wednesday, September 29, 2010

NEG EX

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” project. I liked being able to see how each person reinterpreted the original image, and managed to hybridize their unique artistic voice with their partner’s. I also appreciated being able to see examples of people’s more recent work, as I thrive in an environment where I am surrounded by other’s perspectives and ideas.

One pair of images that particularly struck me was Jenny’s original, and Courtney’s remix. In a way, this pair was one of the most dramatically altered. Courtney’s remix ended up looking nothing like Jenny’s original and yet they both were extremely visually striking. Because I have never been exposed to alternative processes, Jenny’s picture of flowers really stood out. To me, the picture had a very natural quality, the inherent beauty of the flowers enhanced by the pale yellow chemical drips. I also feel like the picture had a dream like aura, much like Mimi’s remix of my image. Both Mimi’s remix and Jenny’s original were obscured through some method, forcing the viewer to see the original picture through some sort of artificial haze.

Courtney’s remix of Jenny’s original negative was also an incredibly dynamic image. The austere visual simplicity immediately drew me in, and not only was the image visually simple, but it was also (I presume), simple to make. Courtney constructed her piece by creating a photogram (if I remember correctly), literally the first thing I learnt in photo class. However, simple things done well often result in the finest product, and to put it simply, Courtney’s gamble resulted in a beautiful final image. To have such a simple flower surrounded by so much black isolates the simple figure, and forces the viewer to pay attention to the lines of the subject.

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