October Lecture # 1

Simen Johan




Simen Johan was born in Norway, but moved to America and received his BFA in photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He showed a wide variety of work in this lecture, from his early work with children into his transition of using animals, and then to sculpture. His work is mostly comprised of digitally manipulated images. His early black and white work was done with found imagery, but when he moved into color photography, he began using all of his own photographs. He would set up scenes in different areas using animals, and composite the imagery together. His photographs evoke a sense of lonliness and curiosity. Simen said that he would make up stories in his head and sort of translate them into his work.

Artist Entry #8

Peter Fischli and David Weiss







"Since the late 1970s the artists have consistently captivated and amused audiences with their extraordinary transformations of the commonplace. Fischli and Weiss work across a wide range of media and this exhibition presents their sculpture, installation, moving image and photography. Underlying all of their work is a childlike spirit of discovery which encourages the viewer to look afresh at their surroundings. In Fischli and Weiss’s world everyday objects take on an unexpectedly lifelike quality; they balance on each other, play off each other and collide into one another with a witty intelligence infused by the artists." - Tate Modern

Artist Gallery
http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/moving_pictures/highlights_5a.html

Artist Website
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/fischli_peter.html
http://fineartstudioonline.com/artists/DavidWeiss.html

Artist Review
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801EFDC153FF936A25755C0A9619C8B63

Topic Entry #7

Community

"Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them." - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus



"Essay on Community" Hubie Jones, http://www.mccormacktmp.umb.edu/nejpp/articles/20_1/EssayonCommunity.pdf
This article is defines the word community. He then delves into the 50's when America was still very racist and not accepting african americans into predominately white neighborhoods. He also discusses the ways communities should act.

No matter how different every culture is, they always have communities. All reacting to eachother in very different ways, but still functioning as the same thing. Communities in Africa bond together through tribal dances and bonfires, while communities in America have cookouts and parties.

Artist Entry # 7

Richard Avedon






Richard Avedon is an American photographer born in 1923. He has become one of the most famous fashion photographers in the world. He started out his career working as a department store photographer, and has since been published in the top magazines in the world, like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Life. Though his fashion work is extremely well-known, he also had great success in his art work. For his In the West series, he photographed ordinary people across western America, and captured beautiful portraits of these individuals, where as most people would never notice them at all.

Artist Website
http://www.richardavedon.com/

Artist Gallery
http://www.fraenkelgallery.com/index.php

Artist Interview
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec02/avedon_10-24.html

Topic Entry # 6

Individual



“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.” - Albert Eistein

"Immigration Quotas vs. Individual Rights: The Moral and Practical Case for Open Immigration" - Harry Binswanger, Capitalism Magazine, http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4620

This article talks about immigration, and how people hoping to move to this country and live are treated like criminals, instead of individuals. Harry tries to show that each person should be treated as an individual who has just a right to become an American as anyone else who already is one. He cracks down on the corruption of people in America towards immigration.

We are all individuals. America is a group of very distinctive individuals who all come from different backgrounds, all put together here to live amongst each other. I love to show the individual. Break down stereotypes, and show people for who they actually are, not what people perceive them as by a quick glance.

Artist Entry # 6

Gregory Crewdson






Gregory Crewdson is a 46 year old photographer known worldwide for his extravagent sets and striking photographs. He's said to not just "take photos" but "make photos". He sets up huge sets as if they were a movie set to create his images, and his images all seem to have something quite awry and mysterious that the viewer can't quite figure out. He teaches at Yale University, and says that he finds his inspiration and ideas while swimming.

Artist Website
http://www.aperture.org/crewdson/


Artist Review
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E0D71738F930A35755C0A9639C8B63

Artist Gallery
http://www.luhringaugustine.com/index.php?mode=artists&object_id=66

Topic Entry # 5

Identity



“Identity is such a crucial affair that one shouldn't rush into it.” - David Quamman

"Immigration and American Identity" - Stephanie Condon, Generation next.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/generation-next/demographic/immigration_9-13.html

This article is very much what I have been interested in. Stephanie talks to a couple different immigrants living in America with completely different backgrounds about their life here and how it affects their identity. It seems as if its a constant struggle between having their original identity, and trying to fit into that of which America wants.


Everyone, I think, struggles with their own identity sometimes, if not all the time. I find the struggle to find one's own identity a path that each one of us goes through, and documenting/portraying that path in art is endlessly fascinating. With my projects on blending of cultures, a lot of my subjects all tell me of the same struggle. Finding out where they stand in life, American or immigrant.

Artist Entry # 5

Dawoud Bey






Dawoud Bey started his photography career in 1975. He is an American photographer and has had exhibitions around the world. He is known for his large scale color portraits, and portraiture of teenage culture. “My interest in young people has to do with the fact that they are the arbiters of style in the community; their appearance speaks most strongly of how a community of people defines themselves at a particular historical moment.”

Artist Website
dawoudbey.net

Artist Review
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/09/23/teens_in_america_pose_by_pose/

Artist Gallery
http://www.imamuseum.org/

Topic Entry # 4

Judgmental






"Be curious, not judgmental" - Walt Whitman


"How to Stop Being Judgmental" by Carol Taylor; http://www.ofspirit.com/caroletyler1.htm

The title of this article is pretty self-explanitory. The author goes into detail in different ways of trying not to be judgmental. She brings up random possible situations and trys to get the reader to think of themselves in that situation, but view the way they would react in a different way. She trys to get the reader to really process each situation instead of making fast judgments.

I like this article because I wish people would take the time to try to be less judgmental. I've heard that it takes a couple seconds after a person sees someone new to judge them and have their first impression. I've dealt with a lot of issues similar in my work, and I find it interesting to see why people make certain judgments and if they even realize if they're being judgmental at all.