“The Skin: Space for Repression and Expression”
Mirta’s lecture was a brief presentation on how she uses art as a way of trying to make connections with her parents as Holocaust survivors. She stated that one of her motives for working as an artist is to try to understand and interpret their experiences by exploring ideas of loss and pain. She incorporates photographs, videos, sculptures, etchings, and embroidery into her work. The woman who introduced Mirta described her work as “juxtapositions of naturalistic details with dream-like scenes.”
The work she discussed dealt mainly with the skin, specifically the act of tattooing or permanently marking the skin. I found it especially interesting how she discussed the differences in how the skin is marked by tattooing (i.e. deciding to get a tattoo as an ornamental decoration/expression vs. being tattooed against your will with a number that becomes equivalent to your entire identity). Both of these ways of tattooing affect a person’s identity, in how they perceive themselves as well as how others perceive them. However, she seemed to be most struck by how much of her parents’ identities were lost during the Holocaust, how they were forced to have a number tattooed on their arms, and how they became completely associated with just those five digits. Since her parents were both survivors, she felt that these numbers became very powerful symbols of their experience and their struggle, as representations of the “skin of memory.”
The bulk of the work she presented and discussed, including the video, involved embroidery. In the same way that the needle is used to puncture the skin in the process of tattooing, Mirta uses the needle in the process of embroidering as a symbol of this pain (the literal pain of being tattooed and the larger concept of the pain of the Holocaust on those involved). One detail of the lecture really stuck with me as I left. She mentioned that she often asked her parents about the significance of the numbers when she was younger, and that there answer would always be, “not to forget.” While this is interesting in itself, I was particularly drawn to how she has become somewhat obsessed with the numbers in a way, perhaps as a way of holding onto her parents’ identities in relation to this horrifying experience that has had tremendous impact on their lives. This is something that Mirta was not there to experience, so she uses the numbers and the memories of her experiences with her parents after the Holocaust as a way to understand their struggle. She even said that she only uses her mother’s number because she cannot remember her father’s number (her father died before she became interested in using these numbers in her work), and that she would never use a fake number because that would be like taking away his identity. This is a powerful statement, one that puts their experience into perspective and lets us feel the impact and weight of the subject matter she is dealing with in her work.
Much of her discussion was purely conceptual. While I found this to be helpful in trying to understand her work, I found myself wanting to know a bit more about technical information, such as how she made some of her collage pieces, or why she chose to work in certain mediums. A specific example of something of interest to me was the significance of the chair with wings that appeared in many of her pieces. She mentioned something about the chair acting as a stable place, while often the figures she depicts in the works appear separated from the chair as a symbol of their instability and fragility. I enjoy this concept, but I think that the connection to her ideas was a little bit unclear. Perhaps it was because of some issues with the clarity of her speaking, but some parts of the presentation were definitely a little fuzzy. Overall, I was surprised at how quickly she moved through the presentation, and how often I found myself wondering or wanting to know more. However, I was very interested in the visual qualities of her work, specifically its graphic appearance and boldness, as well as how it seemed to deal with layering and altered spatial perception.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sontag Response to the Photograph
The photograph has become a way of experiencing reality. Everything in the world exists to end up in a photograph, creating an endless array of privileged moments. The past is no longer re-lived through memory, but through photographs. Our views of the world become collections of “unrelated, freestanding particles,” or series of static images objects remaining frozen in time while time pushes forward, allowing for unlimited amounts of photographs to be taken and viewed as the primary way of emphasizing and memorializing our life experiences.
Here, we have what appears to be a family snapshot: one single moment captured and preserved in time, in which a mother stands with her two daughters, dog, and cat, all atop a grassy hill somewhere in the countryside. Specific location is unknown; however, in a way it is unnecessary. The essence of the space is what matters. The surroundings are scenic and quite lovely. One could infer that the space in which the photograph is taken is meant to match the intended ‘loveliness’ of the moment captured. This is a familiar scene. To the anonymous viewer, it can become rather a mundane image in the sense that the photograph itself becomes somewhat of an anonymous photograph. Unless you have some connection to the people in the photograph, the image functions as a universal symbol of something with an experience with which everyone can relate. The members of the family are all in the same place. The call for a picture to be taken is made. Everyone shuffles together into a loose assembly in front of the camera, whether they want to be involved or not. The photographer attempts to coordinate all participants into looking their very best all at the same time, just long enough to snap the picture and send everybody off to resume whatever they were previously doing.
Organizing a significant gathering without planning to have any cameras present is a rare occasion in our current day society. While having a memorable experience is obviously most important for the present moment of the occasion, this tends to become somewhat lost after the occasion ends and time begins to pass. Producing a nice ‘portrait’ is often one of the goals of such a gathering. In a way, the experience of the event that brought the family together in the first place often becomes unimportant compared to the importance of having a photograph or two by which to remember it.
These photographs exist to promote nostalgia. They serve as periodic milestones for a lifetime, as photographic evidence of an event taking place and of certain participants being involved. When someone finds a family photograph years later, they will feel a sense of love and happiness upon first glance at the scene. They’ll think of the time that has passed since the photograph was taken. But will re-live that point in time by recalling their personal memories of the experience of actually being there? Or will they think about the experience in terms of how the photograph came to exist? This could mean the moments just before it was taken, assembling everyone together and forcing smiles all around for just long enough to get the shot…then afterwards, everyone filing out of the frame when the camera has been lowered, relieved that they’ve hopefully captured what they wanted – something at which they could look and remember. I would argue that the latter is true more often than not.
Viewing the photograph becomes the way to re-experience the event, but in a different way. Photographs are experience captured, but they have become more meaningful than actual experience. To photograph is to appropriate reality, to break it up into pieces. However, it creates a new way of seeing the world as moments in the past. In terms of the family photograph, viewing it becomes a way to remember the moment when the picture was taken, as well as other moments from this day captured in time and translated into other static images. The photograph surpasses the ever-changing world by remaining as a static image, as an object that can be viewed at any time. The photograph as an object touches on our universal desires to travel backwards in time and reach the unattainable. This desire is enhanced by the distance that separates then from now. Photographs hold a tremendous amount of importance because of this ability to evoke a desire to collapse time. Just by looking at one single moment that has been, for whatever reason, dignified by the photographer as worthy of being photographed and transformed into a static visual image, an immeasurable sense of longevity and immortality arises and sticks with us. The photograph gives us an imaginary possession of the past. It is this unique quality that has allowed photographs to become a new and alternative way of experiencing and remembering reality.
Here are 5 photographs that bear some visual resemblance to the photograph posted on BB...some were taken from Facebook, others from Google Images. But, my intention was to find 5 different examples of 'family' photographs:
Here, we have what appears to be a family snapshot: one single moment captured and preserved in time, in which a mother stands with her two daughters, dog, and cat, all atop a grassy hill somewhere in the countryside. Specific location is unknown; however, in a way it is unnecessary. The essence of the space is what matters. The surroundings are scenic and quite lovely. One could infer that the space in which the photograph is taken is meant to match the intended ‘loveliness’ of the moment captured. This is a familiar scene. To the anonymous viewer, it can become rather a mundane image in the sense that the photograph itself becomes somewhat of an anonymous photograph. Unless you have some connection to the people in the photograph, the image functions as a universal symbol of something with an experience with which everyone can relate. The members of the family are all in the same place. The call for a picture to be taken is made. Everyone shuffles together into a loose assembly in front of the camera, whether they want to be involved or not. The photographer attempts to coordinate all participants into looking their very best all at the same time, just long enough to snap the picture and send everybody off to resume whatever they were previously doing.
Organizing a significant gathering without planning to have any cameras present is a rare occasion in our current day society. While having a memorable experience is obviously most important for the present moment of the occasion, this tends to become somewhat lost after the occasion ends and time begins to pass. Producing a nice ‘portrait’ is often one of the goals of such a gathering. In a way, the experience of the event that brought the family together in the first place often becomes unimportant compared to the importance of having a photograph or two by which to remember it.
These photographs exist to promote nostalgia. They serve as periodic milestones for a lifetime, as photographic evidence of an event taking place and of certain participants being involved. When someone finds a family photograph years later, they will feel a sense of love and happiness upon first glance at the scene. They’ll think of the time that has passed since the photograph was taken. But will re-live that point in time by recalling their personal memories of the experience of actually being there? Or will they think about the experience in terms of how the photograph came to exist? This could mean the moments just before it was taken, assembling everyone together and forcing smiles all around for just long enough to get the shot…then afterwards, everyone filing out of the frame when the camera has been lowered, relieved that they’ve hopefully captured what they wanted – something at which they could look and remember. I would argue that the latter is true more often than not.
Viewing the photograph becomes the way to re-experience the event, but in a different way. Photographs are experience captured, but they have become more meaningful than actual experience. To photograph is to appropriate reality, to break it up into pieces. However, it creates a new way of seeing the world as moments in the past. In terms of the family photograph, viewing it becomes a way to remember the moment when the picture was taken, as well as other moments from this day captured in time and translated into other static images. The photograph surpasses the ever-changing world by remaining as a static image, as an object that can be viewed at any time. The photograph as an object touches on our universal desires to travel backwards in time and reach the unattainable. This desire is enhanced by the distance that separates then from now. Photographs hold a tremendous amount of importance because of this ability to evoke a desire to collapse time. Just by looking at one single moment that has been, for whatever reason, dignified by the photographer as worthy of being photographed and transformed into a static visual image, an immeasurable sense of longevity and immortality arises and sticks with us. The photograph gives us an imaginary possession of the past. It is this unique quality that has allowed photographs to become a new and alternative way of experiencing and remembering reality.
Here are 5 photographs that bear some visual resemblance to the photograph posted on BB...some were taken from Facebook, others from Google Images. But, my intention was to find 5 different examples of 'family' photographs:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Group Blog 1: Sontag
The image itself is very familiar – a family posing in front of a beautiful landscape. Everyone probably has these pictures of their family and friends. When they go on vacation, people like to take pictures of everyone together, especially when they see something beautiful or new. It is a way of coping with the experience.
By posing in front of the landscape, they are exerting control over it. If they had not posed, but interacted with their surroundings, the picture would show people in the landscape, as part of the landscape. Their poses put them with or in front of the landscape, giving them more importance. They are saying “Look at us and where we are.” They are not saying “Look at this beautiful place I saw.” The picture is not just meant to show others images of where they went, but it is evidence that they were there.
The photographs people take become their memories. As time passes, people forget and the photographs play a larger role in remembering experiences. Ten years after the picture was taken, the family may not remember what they did earlier that day or the day after, when they didn’t take pictures. When they look at this picture, they may remember that moment and that place. When you want to remember something, you take a picture because without that more permanent visual, you fear that you will forget. Cameras give us the ability to control our memories.
Pictures become souvenirs of experience, especially of places we visit. When families get home from their vacation, they talk about their experiences and use the pictures as evidence. The pictures taken become their knowledge of what they saw and they pass this knowledge on. This knowledge becomes their power over the photograph and those they tell about the vacation. They control what they remember; thereby controlling the knowledge they give to other people.
This photograph would be a typical family photo if it weren’t for the negative frame, the underexposure at the edge and the numbers on the side. This photograph is an object. The photographer has left the frame and the numbers to enhance its object qualities. It looks like one of the pictures taken at the very end of a role of film.
To find five images, I looked on facebook because today, that is where people put their vacation and family photographs. The pictures I chose do not look as much like objects, because most of them never were physical objects; however, they still have qualities such as the numbers and the underexposure, which remind us that they were created.
By posing in front of the landscape, they are exerting control over it. If they had not posed, but interacted with their surroundings, the picture would show people in the landscape, as part of the landscape. Their poses put them with or in front of the landscape, giving them more importance. They are saying “Look at us and where we are.” They are not saying “Look at this beautiful place I saw.” The picture is not just meant to show others images of where they went, but it is evidence that they were there.
The photographs people take become their memories. As time passes, people forget and the photographs play a larger role in remembering experiences. Ten years after the picture was taken, the family may not remember what they did earlier that day or the day after, when they didn’t take pictures. When they look at this picture, they may remember that moment and that place. When you want to remember something, you take a picture because without that more permanent visual, you fear that you will forget. Cameras give us the ability to control our memories.
Pictures become souvenirs of experience, especially of places we visit. When families get home from their vacation, they talk about their experiences and use the pictures as evidence. The pictures taken become their knowledge of what they saw and they pass this knowledge on. This knowledge becomes their power over the photograph and those they tell about the vacation. They control what they remember; thereby controlling the knowledge they give to other people.
This photograph would be a typical family photo if it weren’t for the negative frame, the underexposure at the edge and the numbers on the side. This photograph is an object. The photographer has left the frame and the numbers to enhance its object qualities. It looks like one of the pictures taken at the very end of a role of film.
To find five images, I looked on facebook because today, that is where people put their vacation and family photographs. The pictures I chose do not look as much like objects, because most of them never were physical objects; however, they still have qualities such as the numbers and the underexposure, which remind us that they were created.
Roland Barthes
Revamped Barthes:
She disappeared last night, from the house in which I sit. Downstairs in the basement, I’ve been spending my time today going through boxes of photos. I watch their evolution back in time, as they turn from digital, to colored quick film, Polaroids, and back in to the simple snapshots, until we end with our start, the black and white image. I come across a picture I haven’t seen before, my grandmother holding my mothers shoulders, her older sister at her side holding the family pets. The cat stirs as the dog jumps up the leg of my aunt, who she calms by holding his head. Both my grandmother and mother seem distracted by something off to their right in the distance, as if at the last moment before the shutter someone has arrived in the yard. The little girl my grandmother holds close picks at her fingers as she waits, less than patiently, for the photo to be taken. Knowing my mother, you can see that she was dressed up for this day, barrettes in hair and pink scarf around the neck. This is the beginning stage of her personality, slowly seeing the personality of the woman I know shining through the image. Her stare can only be contributed to the envy of her sister, getting to wear the clothes she wants, those more relaxed fashion and less forcibly feminine. Staring at this photo, I see a little girl that I would, normally, only be able to comment on as cute. Looking closer, seeing her personality shine through, I can’t help but see this photo and feel myself become maternal, wanting so badly to care for and love this girl who had no idea what was to come, before she knew me, before she’d know death.
She seems ready with energy, explaining the tight grasp in which her mother holds her. That fidgeting hand seems ready to swing at her side as she runs out of the frame, instinctively prepared for the moment she has her chance. Her will is apparent and her desire is present, almost as if to say “No one can stop me, I answer to no one”. It is not malicious, it does not seem angry or resentful, just filled with will. It is strange to see the memory of another in such a light, surrounding a figure I know so well as giving and willing to do for others. In her last few years there was no need for escape from her surroundings, as there was no escape from her future. It is this seeming desire to be let loose and her own that shows me a girl, a history, I had not known; a forever willing mother as the once unwilling child. It is in this photo that I constitute the reason for photography and the Photograph. We, in life, look for the answers to explain the way we are and what is to come, often curious as to what brings us to this point in life. Looking at this photo has brought me to a deeper understanding. Moving back through life into the experience of seeing my mother in the child mind, I can’t help but feel more connected to my past and the woman in the photo. It has given me an experience that I have come to see as unique to itself, the photo has achieved something I did not know it could, the impossible science of the unique being.
I cannot say that this is just another family photo, as that limits what constitutes the family. As we go in life, we expand our families past the scientific definition and into the outreaches of the human family. Just as I cannot cut short my family in this family photo, I cannot do the same to my mother or the other individuals within the frame. It is because of this frame in which they stand that I cannot deny them. The photography medium keeps us from ignoring the past, capturing a moment, a period, in time to be held as a gift for the memory; I can never deny that the moment has been there. Each reaction, my mother and grandmothers gaze out of the frame, the dog against my aunt’s leg, or the struggle of the cat to release from the grasp, is motionless, as if the world itself held still for the photographer to draw it all down. Their deaths are held closely in the mind by this photo itself, the face like the mask that covers the grave, holding on to the positive of the person we knew. With each old image revealed, we are brought closer, closer to their lives and closer to the imposed melancholy each expression gives us. It is the eerie presence of both the life of their early selves and the understanding that their deaths have come that give this photo the importance of any popular work, or better. My photo cannot be shared with anyone else in the same way I cannot comprehend the importance of others’. It is my own escape to understanding of the past and its history, beyond that of my own, creating a connection between my mother and me that, without this image, may have slipped into the cracks of the flaw-filled human memory.
She disappeared last night, from the house in which I sit. Downstairs in the basement, I’ve been spending my time today going through boxes of photos. I watch their evolution back in time, as they turn from digital, to colored quick film, Polaroids, and back in to the simple snapshots, until we end with our start, the black and white image. I come across a picture I haven’t seen before, my grandmother holding my mothers shoulders, her older sister at her side holding the family pets. The cat stirs as the dog jumps up the leg of my aunt, who she calms by holding his head. Both my grandmother and mother seem distracted by something off to their right in the distance, as if at the last moment before the shutter someone has arrived in the yard. The little girl my grandmother holds close picks at her fingers as she waits, less than patiently, for the photo to be taken. Knowing my mother, you can see that she was dressed up for this day, barrettes in hair and pink scarf around the neck. This is the beginning stage of her personality, slowly seeing the personality of the woman I know shining through the image. Her stare can only be contributed to the envy of her sister, getting to wear the clothes she wants, those more relaxed fashion and less forcibly feminine. Staring at this photo, I see a little girl that I would, normally, only be able to comment on as cute. Looking closer, seeing her personality shine through, I can’t help but see this photo and feel myself become maternal, wanting so badly to care for and love this girl who had no idea what was to come, before she knew me, before she’d know death.
She seems ready with energy, explaining the tight grasp in which her mother holds her. That fidgeting hand seems ready to swing at her side as she runs out of the frame, instinctively prepared for the moment she has her chance. Her will is apparent and her desire is present, almost as if to say “No one can stop me, I answer to no one”. It is not malicious, it does not seem angry or resentful, just filled with will. It is strange to see the memory of another in such a light, surrounding a figure I know so well as giving and willing to do for others. In her last few years there was no need for escape from her surroundings, as there was no escape from her future. It is this seeming desire to be let loose and her own that shows me a girl, a history, I had not known; a forever willing mother as the once unwilling child. It is in this photo that I constitute the reason for photography and the Photograph. We, in life, look for the answers to explain the way we are and what is to come, often curious as to what brings us to this point in life. Looking at this photo has brought me to a deeper understanding. Moving back through life into the experience of seeing my mother in the child mind, I can’t help but feel more connected to my past and the woman in the photo. It has given me an experience that I have come to see as unique to itself, the photo has achieved something I did not know it could, the impossible science of the unique being.
I cannot say that this is just another family photo, as that limits what constitutes the family. As we go in life, we expand our families past the scientific definition and into the outreaches of the human family. Just as I cannot cut short my family in this family photo, I cannot do the same to my mother or the other individuals within the frame. It is because of this frame in which they stand that I cannot deny them. The photography medium keeps us from ignoring the past, capturing a moment, a period, in time to be held as a gift for the memory; I can never deny that the moment has been there. Each reaction, my mother and grandmothers gaze out of the frame, the dog against my aunt’s leg, or the struggle of the cat to release from the grasp, is motionless, as if the world itself held still for the photographer to draw it all down. Their deaths are held closely in the mind by this photo itself, the face like the mask that covers the grave, holding on to the positive of the person we knew. With each old image revealed, we are brought closer, closer to their lives and closer to the imposed melancholy each expression gives us. It is the eerie presence of both the life of their early selves and the understanding that their deaths have come that give this photo the importance of any popular work, or better. My photo cannot be shared with anyone else in the same way I cannot comprehend the importance of others’. It is my own escape to understanding of the past and its history, beyond that of my own, creating a connection between my mother and me that, without this image, may have slipped into the cracks of the flaw-filled human memory.
My Five Images
These are five personal images of various times in my life.
This image was taken on the last day in high school. The clothes are our reminder of the uniforms we wore and the building in the background of the place.
This photograph was taken on my Confirmation, that was also the year, i started high school. Similar to Barthes' mother's Winter Garden Photograph, it is a group picture, at a specific place, and "in the Photograph, something has posed in front of the tiny hole and has remained there forever..." (59).
"Photography, moreover began, historically, as art of the Person: of identity, of civil status, of what we might call, in all senses of the term, the body's formality" (59). On birthdays and especially religious holidays, my dad always wanted us to go to a studio and take a family picture. In this one i remember he was out of town but we still kept the tradition.
This image reminds me of Barthes statement "'cousin', that unit so necessary to the constitution of the family group" (57) because i grew up with my cousins since my family is so big. We were not allow to play with the neighborhood kids because we had each other, and that really strengthen our bonds.
This is an image with my mother, at a time when i was her only child and so we had a closer mother daughter bond but because i was so young i cannot remember the feeling nor was i aware of how spoiled i was at the time.
This image was taken on the last day in high school. The clothes are our reminder of the uniforms we wore and the building in the background of the place.
This photograph was taken on my Confirmation, that was also the year, i started high school. Similar to Barthes' mother's Winter Garden Photograph, it is a group picture, at a specific place, and "in the Photograph, something has posed in front of the tiny hole and has remained there forever..." (59).
"Photography, moreover began, historically, as art of the Person: of identity, of civil status, of what we might call, in all senses of the term, the body's formality" (59). On birthdays and especially religious holidays, my dad always wanted us to go to a studio and take a family picture. In this one i remember he was out of town but we still kept the tradition.
This image reminds me of Barthes statement "'cousin', that unit so necessary to the constitution of the family group" (57) because i grew up with my cousins since my family is so big. We were not allow to play with the neighborhood kids because we had each other, and that really strengthen our bonds.
This is an image with my mother, at a time when i was her only child and so we had a closer mother daughter bond but because i was so young i cannot remember the feeling nor was i aware of how spoiled i was at the time.
Barthes Reflection
After reading the chapter in Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, I wrote a poem in respond to the photograph, as well as try to use the “voice” of Barthes.
The poem is about looking through a family album and reminiscing about each photograph I find/come across, as Barthes had stated, “I was rediscovering, overwhelmed by the truth of the image” (58). Looking back at my family history, places visited, events held, and just seeing the faces that I was once in contact with on a daily base but are now only visible to me when I look at the photographs. These all evoke a sense of grief but “time eliminates the emotion of loss (I do not weep)” (57) because my beliefs assure me that those that have passed on from this life, are still among us someway, somehow.
Family Album - Inspired by Roland Barthes
Photography allows me a sure feeling to recollect.
I flipped through the pages of time, the story relived,
Of grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, my reality.
Then I hold a memory that cannot be recreated,
But it has been so long that the intensity of sorrow has been reduced.
(I do not weep)
Because faith has you reawaken.
The poem is about looking through a family album and reminiscing about each photograph I find/come across, as Barthes had stated, “I was rediscovering, overwhelmed by the truth of the image” (58). Looking back at my family history, places visited, events held, and just seeing the faces that I was once in contact with on a daily base but are now only visible to me when I look at the photographs. These all evoke a sense of grief but “time eliminates the emotion of loss (I do not weep)” (57) because my beliefs assure me that those that have passed on from this life, are still among us someway, somehow.
Family Album - Inspired by Roland Barthes
Photography allows me a sure feeling to recollect.
I flipped through the pages of time, the story relived,
Of grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, my reality.
Then I hold a memory that cannot be recreated,
But it has been so long that the intensity of sorrow has been reduced.
(I do not weep)
Because faith has you reawaken.
Roland Barthes
This picture is the preservation of time. In that instant, the family has been captured and forever will remain alive. This photograph revealing a mother with her two children and their two pets is not simply a keepsake; it is the essence of who these people are in that precise moment in time. The mother, barely smiling, aloof, and looking not directly into the camera seems to be lost in thought. The youngest daughter, stoic, and stern, without even the slightest bit of a smile is half crumpling her left hand and holding a toy in her right. The middle daughter is the only one smiling, and looking directly into the camera with her cat slung over her hand. The dog is showing interest in perhaps the only happy one in the shot. This family is the accurate representation of family. The light reflects unaltered from them onto the film. In the short instant of the shutter opening and closing they have been. The dog whether it dies or not, always was a dog and through this photograph will always be a dog. Such is the same with the cat, the trees, the grass, the houses etc. They all live within the photograph. We of course know this because the same light that has touched them has graced the medium that produced the image. They are defined by the pose however more so than they are defined by their possessions. What can be read in the pose is what makes this a photograph. What is the photographs intention? Little has to do with whether the father placed them in that order or if the girls decided to grab their favorite things and line-up as such. What matters is in that instant the pose was captured and forever it remains unalterable. The time is separate from the present because it is a picture made in the past but as a pose it remains in the present. This photograph represents the very essence of life. The mother in the picture, although a symbol, is immortalized in this photograph. Her essence along with her children’s essence remains a symbol of their existence long after the photograph is taken. In that moment the pose has been extracted, revealed and mounted in reality. Thusly they can be cherished through what the photograph symbolizes. They photograph is a symbol of family extracted from the rays of a loving family on a grassy hill with their beloved pets.
All of these pictures I snagged from the internet. I find that they are similar to the original in the fact that they all symbolize family. And yeah, I got walruses.
All of these pictures I snagged from the internet. I find that they are similar to the original in the fact that they all symbolize family. And yeah, I got walruses.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Susan Sontag + Photo response
The photograph of the three women posing in an open landscape with two animals is one that many people would have in any photo collection. The photograph shows the embodiment of a family or a close-knit group of women, posing with their pets, which let’s the viewer know that the three women want to be known as some type of relational group. Also the added effect of posing on an open landscape symbolizes that the photograph was possibly taken on a family ranch or landscape somewhere near home.
When looking at the photograph one can see that the camera doesn’t necessarily capture the reality but helps the viewer interpret that reality as a whole. The viewer can see that the photographer wanted to show the women together, as well as show a lot of the background landscape which they stand on, but didn’t give much attention or care to the women’s emotions. This can be sensed by the fact that only one child seems to be ready for the photo, while the other seems to have been waiting for the photograph to be over; and the mother who isn’t even looking at the camera. This, plus the fact that the animals look like they were just recently called over just for that one final shot shows the photographers willingness and carelessness to the actual photographed subjects. This is probably due to the fact that most photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects, making it somewhat harder for the subjects being photographed.
The photograph also still shows the sprocket holes and also a small section of the next frame, which means that the photographer probably took several frames of the same subjects. This was most likely for the photographers own personal aesthetic, just so they could get the right look on film. Also within the photograph, you can see the ware and distress to the negative, which let’s us know that this photograph is an object, something that can stand as evidence and a justifiable record. The photo is proof that this family or group of women was there, at that specific time, with their pets, posing on a beautiful sunny day. This almost makes it easier for that moment of “union” between the women unimportant; even after the event has passed, the photograph will still be there.
Photographs can loose their meaning and importance when placed in certain contexts, but they can also stand as collectable objects when placed in those situations. With this photograph, you can get a sense that the women are close-knit, together and content. What the viewer also gets to see is the background in which the three women are standing, which allows us to bring another context into the photograph. Why did they decide to pose in front of an open field of land and distant houses, and why did the photographer choose to include a generous amount of background into the photograph, instead of just the foreground subjects? The photo still would have shown three women with their pets if it was an up-close shot, but the photographer chose otherwise. This shows how through the photograph, the family almost creates a sense of portrait nostalgia; evidence that there was once this connectedness between the three subjects.
The five photographs that I found were mostly found on Google image search, where I just looked for images of groups of subjects that seemed to show a sense of personality and connection with the subject and its background. The photos can still be considered objects with the understanding that these photos were once taken in past time, which can be shown by the rawness and continued distress caused by the actual camera itself.
When looking at the photograph one can see that the camera doesn’t necessarily capture the reality but helps the viewer interpret that reality as a whole. The viewer can see that the photographer wanted to show the women together, as well as show a lot of the background landscape which they stand on, but didn’t give much attention or care to the women’s emotions. This can be sensed by the fact that only one child seems to be ready for the photo, while the other seems to have been waiting for the photograph to be over; and the mother who isn’t even looking at the camera. This, plus the fact that the animals look like they were just recently called over just for that one final shot shows the photographers willingness and carelessness to the actual photographed subjects. This is probably due to the fact that most photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects, making it somewhat harder for the subjects being photographed.
The photograph also still shows the sprocket holes and also a small section of the next frame, which means that the photographer probably took several frames of the same subjects. This was most likely for the photographers own personal aesthetic, just so they could get the right look on film. Also within the photograph, you can see the ware and distress to the negative, which let’s us know that this photograph is an object, something that can stand as evidence and a justifiable record. The photo is proof that this family or group of women was there, at that specific time, with their pets, posing on a beautiful sunny day. This almost makes it easier for that moment of “union” between the women unimportant; even after the event has passed, the photograph will still be there.
Photographs can loose their meaning and importance when placed in certain contexts, but they can also stand as collectable objects when placed in those situations. With this photograph, you can get a sense that the women are close-knit, together and content. What the viewer also gets to see is the background in which the three women are standing, which allows us to bring another context into the photograph. Why did they decide to pose in front of an open field of land and distant houses, and why did the photographer choose to include a generous amount of background into the photograph, instead of just the foreground subjects? The photo still would have shown three women with their pets if it was an up-close shot, but the photographer chose otherwise. This shows how through the photograph, the family almost creates a sense of portrait nostalgia; evidence that there was once this connectedness between the three subjects.
The five photographs that I found were mostly found on Google image search, where I just looked for images of groups of subjects that seemed to show a sense of personality and connection with the subject and its background. The photos can still be considered objects with the understanding that these photos were once taken in past time, which can be shown by the rawness and continued distress caused by the actual camera itself.
Sontag Response
The original photo, as well as the ones posted below, reflect the common effort of families to memorialize and possess a single moment of time - one where everyone is together, smiling and happy. Ever since cameras became a popular item to own, especially in families that have children, it has become a common saying before every family event: "Make sure you take lots of pictures." Using a camera is such an accessible, easy way for families to record events; you simply gather everyone together, say cheese, and it's done. No matter what the event - weddings, birthdays, vacations, etc - it is rare to go to anywhere without seeing a family posed together, recording whatever moment for their memories. No real planning needs to go into such informal portraits, all is required is the quick instant to decide that this would be the perfect time for a family photo. Maybe you set the timer on the camera or get an outsider to take the photograph for you, the frame is set up to capture both the people and the background in order to get an accurate memory (where are we? when was this? who was there?), and the button is pressed. In the dawn of the age of digital cameras, it even became unnecessary to pause and think about the aperture and shutter speed - now you just set the camera on auto and you're ready to go. And it's not just family that's captured in these artifacts of time, friends, places, even a funny sign is enough to warrant the possessor of the camera to pause for a second, pull out their camera (set on auto, of course) and snap away. Memory cards render film and the conservation of images useless - everything is captured. Thought is more or less removed from the process nowadays. And yet, we think enough at the time to consider the moment worthwhile to capture, but the photos rarely go farther than a computer hard drive or a Facebook album, both of which are rarely viewed after the initial uploading. So why do people continue to want to possess these moments? Is it because it is so automatic for us to constantly pull our cameras out and be able to say "this is my family, look how happy we are together", or is it something more, a desire to own the moment, to prove to ourselves that these moments exist in the consumerist society we live in today?
Susan Sontag – Response to Family Photograph
This image seems to be the family’s futile attempt to preserve the moment in the picture. Through the presumption that unlike a painting or drawing a photograph does not show an interpretation but a piece of reality that would be irrevocable proof of their existence. This image appears to be evidence of how that family interacted, showing the different personalities of the family, and the beauty of what is presumably their home. However the appearance of the family could all be an interpretation of how the photographer thought they ought to be captured, the youth of the motherly figure standing behind the stoic younger daughter, the way the older daughter smiled surrounded by pets. The next image that is only half shown could show the family standing in a line, with the dog lying complacently in front, and the cat curled in the arms of the youngest daughter.
This image is a way to certify the experience of the family; it is a piece out of what is likely a chronicle of their family portraits. It is a way give the family possession of a past that they wish to remember, mattering little what activities the photograph is of, but only that it is cherished. This activity of documenting their family experience is to sooth their anxieties of the brevity of their quickly passing family life. For the family photography has become how they experience and embrace each other, whether a wedding, birthday, vacation, reunion, or funeral it is all recorded by a camera. This image represents the leveling of all these events of the family, placing the camera between each other. Unsure of how to react emotionally to their family changing they take pictures to fill the gap. So this family, these children, pets, and this moment exists to be photographed.
To find five images I looked for images where either the photographer or the subject used the camera as an attempt to posses these moments.
Monday, October 18, 2010
James Nachtwey – War Photographer
I have seen previous works of James Nachtwey but after watching the War Photographer documentary film, I now understand his concepts as to why he does what he does. Nachtwey is an amazing photojournalist and I believe that his images are so powerful because they are able to present a completely real representation of the world. I consider that a lot of his images tend to provoke two things, attention and emotions. This is because his shots can immediately grab the viewer’s attention because of the topic of war and all it entails, and as a result, our emotions then take effect to what we see. Nachtwey explained that he was able to “channel emotions of anger, frustration, disbelief and grief all into his works.”
The rawness of the graphics on subject matters such as, war conflicts and major issues concerning poverty, massacres, and the struggles of humanity taking place around the world are ways that Nachtwey is making the viewers more concern and aware of these problems. Nachtwey’s stated in the video that one of the main reasons he does what he does is because he wants to convince people with his pictures, and I can testify that he does a phenomenal job in accomplishing that. Moreover his images also conjure a sense of suspense because as I looked through a collection of his images, I tend to wonder what will the next image be of, and what story will Nachtwey try to share/show to the rest of the world.
“We must look at it. We’re required to look at it. We’re required to do what we can about it. If we don’t, who will?” – James Nachtwery
The rawness of the graphics on subject matters such as, war conflicts and major issues concerning poverty, massacres, and the struggles of humanity taking place around the world are ways that Nachtwey is making the viewers more concern and aware of these problems. Nachtwey’s stated in the video that one of the main reasons he does what he does is because he wants to convince people with his pictures, and I can testify that he does a phenomenal job in accomplishing that. Moreover his images also conjure a sense of suspense because as I looked through a collection of his images, I tend to wonder what will the next image be of, and what story will Nachtwey try to share/show to the rest of the world.
“We must look at it. We’re required to look at it. We’re required to do what we can about it. If we don’t, who will?” – James Nachtwery
Friday, October 15, 2010
Connective Images (Barthes, cont.)
All of the images below were taken from my personal collection, most photographed by friends or myself, creating family portraits outside of the "scientific" family.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Negative Exchange Response
With the photo remake/negative exchange portion of the source to self project, I remade Charlie’s photo of a stormy beach while he remade my photo of a guy being a murderer. Some of the differences between my original photo and the remake that Charlie made of mine are very evident, but there are a lot of similar things as well. For example, my photograph was part of my “death series,” where I basically wanted to show a crazed murderer with blood smeared all over his clothes and weapon. When Charlie re-made my photo, he said that he wanted it to just be really scary and realistic, so he put a ken doll with a gun in front of my original photo, which he had smeared with a new mixture of “bloody goo” all over. The result was an almost too realistic photograph of a guy (ken doll) shooting his own brains out (which was supposed to be represented by my original photograph.) Although it was more realistic, it honestly captured what I was trying to portray in the original photograph from the start; a crazed killer. Also, with my original photo I had wanted to make it almost like a film strip, due to the number of photographs I had in the death series. Surprisingly enough, without even knowing my original intentions, Charlie said that he used the ken doll to make the photograph seem almost like a movie scene. One other factor that I thought was interesting between our photographs was that on my model, I used fake blood on the shirt to represent the “killer” aspect while in Charlie’s re-make, he used an entirely new mixture of food coloring, bacon fat and cornstarch to symbolize the “bloody goo.” Overall, with my original photograph, I wanted to simple invoke a sense of uneasiness within the viewer, which is exactly what Charlie wanted to do with his re-make. In the end, both photographs basically ended up portraying the same similar idea of “murder scene/crazy killer,” which I thought was really fun, since neither of us had any idea what the original photograph even looked like.
James Nachtwey video response
The film on James Nachtwey was one of the most interesting and personal photography interview’s I’ve ever seen. You really get to dive into Nachtwey’s life and personality, which gives the viewer an understanding of the true meaning and driving force behind his work. Nachtwey is a photojournalist for TIME magazine, and has been taking photographs at some of the most dangerous places on earth, at the most dangerous time. In the beginning of the film, you see the editors for a specific magazine, going over Nachtwey’s photographs, and trying to decide which ones are suitable for entering the magazine. One of the main things that the editor’s were looking for was “grief and sorrow” in the photographs, so anything that made them feel horrible, was a great picture. For example, the editors decided to pick the photo of the pile of dead bodies being dumped, over the image of a disaster-stricken community. Nachtwey likes to go right into the action with his photography, which means that he actually goes into villages during war, places of extreme illness and death and many more. From this Nachtwey says that he has had Malaria over 12 times, and has been injured several times as well. Even photojournalist’s right next to him have gotten killed during some of his photo trips. One point of the film that I found interesting was how a friend photographer of his said something along the lines of “for this type of photography, it’s really only a small fraction of what you’ve seen, so I wonder what he does with all that emotion?” With this though, Nachtwey said that he thinks’ that no one else should have to witness the tragedies and hardships that he’s witnessed, and that he’s literally become so conditioned to it that he wants his photographs to help change those hardships. I think that for a photojournalist, or any photographer at that matter, this is a beautiful way to look at and explore photography, but also a really dangerous way. Every trip that Nachtwey takes to different places, like Afghanistan, Bosnia, India, Israel, Pakistan, even New York with 9-11-01, is a trip that could be his last. He documents things like AIDS, war times, Rwanda, even Heroin addicts and famines. One other statement that I thought was interesting was when Nachtwey said that photographing some of these events was like “taking the express elevator to hell.” That’s a pretty strong statement for photographs, but very understandable with the situations that he puts himself into. I also liked how Nachtwey said that the only way he’s even able to photograph these people is because the people have accepted him, in whatever way it was, through conversation or just personal encounter in general, the people have accepted him at that moment, and his photographs are a way of telling that story. I don’t think anyone else could have photographs like James Nachtwey’s. The fact that he goes so deep into the lives and realms of these people and events, and tells that story through photographs, may even sound a bit exploitative to some. Is it right or wrong to go into villages and towns, and showcase the famine and disaster that has gone on there? I think that Nachtwey’s photographs are a way of being able to tell people who won’t ever have the chance to go into the situations and events that he put’s himself into, a story of the disaster and tragedy that’s going on there.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
War Photographer: James Nachtwey
Photography can change the world or at least make a difference. Photographs of war and suffering have initiated changes in perception and action. James Nachtwey uses photography to communicate with the world, not as art. He provides an outlet for people who are suffering to tell the world what they have been through. He said the only satisfaction he gets out of his work is that he may be able to bring attention and relief to the people who are suffering.
He does not just watch and take pictures, but sometimes he becomes part of the action and he experiences their pain. The movie showed him coughing in a cloud of poison gas, running through city streets and dodging bullets, and helping to move the injured in war zones. He has had many horrible diseases from traveling to so many parts of the world. He has seen others killed and even tried to talk a mob out of killing a man. It is not possible for him to stand there and photograph like most photographers. He has to move or he could be killed. His work is very unselfish because he is risking his life with the hope that someone might see his pictures and bring relief to the suffering.
I find it amazing that he is able to control his emotions and endure watching so much human pain and injustice. He has dedicated his life to photography and bringing stories of human suffering to the world and all he has are frightening and sad pictures. I can barely look at some of his pictures, let alone try go into the world and take these photographs. I also admire his patience for publishers and popular media. If his photographs were published in popular magazines and newspapers or shown on television, they could be seen by more people and bring more relief. However, publishers only want what will sell - happy, trendy, idealized views of the world. As Nachtwey says, they do not give people enough credit. People like helping other people, it is human. They want to know when injustice and suffering exist in the world. They cannot see suffering for themselves, so Nachtwey and other photographers show them the pictures.
Nachtwey said that to cave in to his emotions would be useless. He says he channels them into his photographs and I think this gives his pictures a sense of deep sadness and pain that is almost unbearable to look at. What he sees is horrible and then, all of his emotional reactions - fear, despair, discomfort, anger - heighten the impact of the photograph on the viewer. The photograph is only a fragment of what the photographer sees. Nachtwey's pictures are only moments, but this one moment of suffering is unacceptable to people. One moment is all it takes to start a change in the world.
He does not just watch and take pictures, but sometimes he becomes part of the action and he experiences their pain. The movie showed him coughing in a cloud of poison gas, running through city streets and dodging bullets, and helping to move the injured in war zones. He has had many horrible diseases from traveling to so many parts of the world. He has seen others killed and even tried to talk a mob out of killing a man. It is not possible for him to stand there and photograph like most photographers. He has to move or he could be killed. His work is very unselfish because he is risking his life with the hope that someone might see his pictures and bring relief to the suffering.
I find it amazing that he is able to control his emotions and endure watching so much human pain and injustice. He has dedicated his life to photography and bringing stories of human suffering to the world and all he has are frightening and sad pictures. I can barely look at some of his pictures, let alone try go into the world and take these photographs. I also admire his patience for publishers and popular media. If his photographs were published in popular magazines and newspapers or shown on television, they could be seen by more people and bring more relief. However, publishers only want what will sell - happy, trendy, idealized views of the world. As Nachtwey says, they do not give people enough credit. People like helping other people, it is human. They want to know when injustice and suffering exist in the world. They cannot see suffering for themselves, so Nachtwey and other photographers show them the pictures.
Nachtwey said that to cave in to his emotions would be useless. He says he channels them into his photographs and I think this gives his pictures a sense of deep sadness and pain that is almost unbearable to look at. What he sees is horrible and then, all of his emotional reactions - fear, despair, discomfort, anger - heighten the impact of the photograph on the viewer. The photograph is only a fragment of what the photographer sees. Nachtwey's pictures are only moments, but this one moment of suffering is unacceptable to people. One moment is all it takes to start a change in the world.
Negative Exchange
Jenny's original, Courtney's remix
This pair is a good example of how much process can affect the look and meaning of a photograph. Courtney used a very different process than Jenny to develop the picture, and this radically changed the content and meaning. When I first saw the pictures next to each other, I thought they were completely different photographs.
Jenny's original photograph looks like it could have been taken a hundred years ago. When I look at it, I am taken to a different time, place and feeling. The darkness and sepia coloring create a very quiet and mysterious mood. The flowers seem very still and they droop downward as if they were sad. The print is negative, which makes the flowers very dark and gloomy. They are not bright and open with the sunlight shining through them, like most pictures of flowers I have seen.
When I looked closer at the photographs, I saw the flower in the remix was from the original. Courtney has taken the flower from its context and transformed it. Her picture focuses on the form and beauty of this one flower. By making the positive of the original, she has made the flower more visible. It is now bright and open, and I can see the gently curving lines of the petals and how the light makes the flower glow. While the original is visually beautiful overall, the formal qualities of the flower were draped in darkness and mystery.
This project also shows how differently two people can see and interpret the same image. Jenny uses the contrast and darkness of the flowers to create a specific mood in her picture, and Courtney saw the potential of one flower's formal qualities to make an interesting photograph. No two people see something the exact same way and if we had distributed one negative to the whole class to interpret, we would have gotten 10 very different prints.
This pair is a good example of how much process can affect the look and meaning of a photograph. Courtney used a very different process than Jenny to develop the picture, and this radically changed the content and meaning. When I first saw the pictures next to each other, I thought they were completely different photographs.
Jenny's original photograph looks like it could have been taken a hundred years ago. When I look at it, I am taken to a different time, place and feeling. The darkness and sepia coloring create a very quiet and mysterious mood. The flowers seem very still and they droop downward as if they were sad. The print is negative, which makes the flowers very dark and gloomy. They are not bright and open with the sunlight shining through them, like most pictures of flowers I have seen.
When I looked closer at the photographs, I saw the flower in the remix was from the original. Courtney has taken the flower from its context and transformed it. Her picture focuses on the form and beauty of this one flower. By making the positive of the original, she has made the flower more visible. It is now bright and open, and I can see the gently curving lines of the petals and how the light makes the flower glow. While the original is visually beautiful overall, the formal qualities of the flower were draped in darkness and mystery.
This project also shows how differently two people can see and interpret the same image. Jenny uses the contrast and darkness of the flowers to create a specific mood in her picture, and Courtney saw the potential of one flower's formal qualities to make an interesting photograph. No two people see something the exact same way and if we had distributed one negative to the whole class to interpret, we would have gotten 10 very different prints.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Artist Lecture reflection - Karly Klopfenstein
Karly's lecture stood out to me as unique from other artist lectures I’ve attended in the past. Her art work quite different from anything I’ve ever seen; but what I appreciated most was the fact that she gave the audience a real sense of the practical side to being a young working artist, which is something I have not really had the chance of listening to before. Since she is a St. Mary’s alum who is now out in the world actively producing art work and living as an artist, I found it easy to relate to her and begin to think more realistically about my own life after graduation. I enjoyed the way that she organized the lecture by first giving a brief overview of her previous works, or things that she has done since graduating from SMCM, and then focusing more on a detailed synopsis of her efforts towards finishing her most recent project: creating a huge, half-scale size tank made of cardboard and other lightweight items, covered in her own hand-woven rugs on which different patterns and symbols of traditional middle-Eastern culture are displayed. The rug tank acts as an ironic political commentary about wars in the middle-East. She also creates a deliberate dialogue between the viewer and the work about tanks as symbols of war, and what it means to create a tank and take it completely out of any war context and cover it with something beautiful and hand-made. Both Karly and her work embodied a slight sense of humor, which is something that I really enjoy in an artist.
Although her sculptural works are quite different from my own work as a photographer, I think that it is always interesting and necessary to get some insight into how other artists work. As she discussed details about the work she is currently doing towards finishing the rug tank even as she is in residency here at the college, I really appreciated how she was able to give the audience an honest sense of exactly how much time it takes to finish a work, as well as how much money, effort, and dedication it takes to do studio work on your own. She mentioned that she has been constructing the tank and weaving the rugs for almost 2 years now, and that she is still pushing herself pretty hard in hopes of finishing it by the time she leaves at the end of this semester. To me, this really puts things in perspective. As someone who has no idea what it is like to live and make art, and figure out how to keep making art, this was tremendously helpful in making me start to think about what my life will be like in the future. During her studio visit to my SMP studio, she told me that she lives to be an artist, and that she’ll do whatever she needs to do to keep making art. She also said that each of her projects leads to the next, and that this is how she progresses in her work. These comments really resonated with me and inspired me to keep at it, and really focus on photographing and doing whatever it takes to keep doing it.
Although her sculptural works are quite different from my own work as a photographer, I think that it is always interesting and necessary to get some insight into how other artists work. As she discussed details about the work she is currently doing towards finishing the rug tank even as she is in residency here at the college, I really appreciated how she was able to give the audience an honest sense of exactly how much time it takes to finish a work, as well as how much money, effort, and dedication it takes to do studio work on your own. She mentioned that she has been constructing the tank and weaving the rugs for almost 2 years now, and that she is still pushing herself pretty hard in hopes of finishing it by the time she leaves at the end of this semester. To me, this really puts things in perspective. As someone who has no idea what it is like to live and make art, and figure out how to keep making art, this was tremendously helpful in making me start to think about what my life will be like in the future. During her studio visit to my SMP studio, she told me that she lives to be an artist, and that she’ll do whatever she needs to do to keep making art. She also said that each of her projects leads to the next, and that this is how she progresses in her work. These comments really resonated with me and inspired me to keep at it, and really focus on photographing and doing whatever it takes to keep doing it.
I'll Show You Mine...
If you show me yours..
I enjoyed working on this project and was glad to have it as an introduction for the class. I liked working and manipulating Sam’s image, as I tried to mix it by incorporating my artistic vision/style. The original image was in color, and I worked on various versions of the image but finally decided on using a sepia color, and having the image darken by increasing the contrast and then cropping the image to bring the subject closer to the edge/frame. I decided on these aesthetics because I wanted the light on the subject’s eyes to be more brighter and illuminated whilst the rest of the image was slightly shadowy. This is because I wanted to project more of a mysterious and menacing character, which I believe I was able to achieve. For my image, I liked how Sam cropped it so the sunglasses framing was less visible, making it harder for the viewer to really know how the image was taken. Along with that, Sam then decided to completely turn the image into an animated/comic looking image, adding more distortion to the image.
The rest of the class also produced fascinating remixes to the negatives they receives such as, reducing the contrast, boosting up the saturation, cropping the image to show/not show something in the image, or incorporating props to provide an additional story. As a result, we were all able to get a sense of what appeals to each individual.
I enjoyed working on this project and was glad to have it as an introduction for the class. I liked working and manipulating Sam’s image, as I tried to mix it by incorporating my artistic vision/style. The original image was in color, and I worked on various versions of the image but finally decided on using a sepia color, and having the image darken by increasing the contrast and then cropping the image to bring the subject closer to the edge/frame. I decided on these aesthetics because I wanted the light on the subject’s eyes to be more brighter and illuminated whilst the rest of the image was slightly shadowy. This is because I wanted to project more of a mysterious and menacing character, which I believe I was able to achieve. For my image, I liked how Sam cropped it so the sunglasses framing was less visible, making it harder for the viewer to really know how the image was taken. Along with that, Sam then decided to completely turn the image into an animated/comic looking image, adding more distortion to the image.
The rest of the class also produced fascinating remixes to the negatives they receives such as, reducing the contrast, boosting up the saturation, cropping the image to show/not show something in the image, or incorporating props to provide an additional story. As a result, we were all able to get a sense of what appeals to each individual.
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