Artist Blog for 02/01

Love in the Afternoon, Spread in Allure Magazine, Norman Jean Roy

Teen Vogue, August 2009, Norman Jean Roy

Harper's Bazaar, August 2009, Norman Jean Roy

Norman Jean Roy is a fashion editorial, advertising, and celebrity portrait photographer who began his career in Paris after having quit his job for Saturn as a graphic designer. However, Roy considers himself a documentary portrait photographer, as he sees his job as an opportunity to document his life; “it’s not the photography that matters, it’s the journey.” In 1999, Roy was named one of the 30 most promising photographers under 30 by PDN magazine. Currently based out of New York, Roy has shot for numerous advertising clients such as ABC, Coca-Cola, and Nike. He’s also shot for major magazines including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and a slew of others.

In an interview with Mamiya as one of their Master’s Showcase exhibits, Roy describes his approach to his subjects as “run-and-gun.” He prefers to do little research on his subjects as he thinks working this way allows him more freedom by being able to shoot his subjects how he sees them without being inhibited by prior knowledge; he finds there is something enticing about the rawness and unpredictability of the moment. When asked about his lighting, Roy mentioned that he lights his sets himself, commenting on how a lot of people put too much emphasis on lighting: “I think it’s another thing to just react to light, to allow the photograph to be what it is.” He goes on to discuss his different lighting methods, using minimal light (such as an on-camera flash) for some shoots, and having to use 10 to 15-packs for others.

I work very closely to Roy’s process and perhaps this is why I am so connected to his work. It is evident in his photographs that he operates on the fly and that optimism and confidence in himself as a photographer is very apparent and equally inspiring. While I am not working with celebrities, I am still able to feed off the personalities and moods of the models I do work with and I can easily agree that working in this manner is freeing and much more gratifying. I think over-planning, let alone planning, is incredibly hindering and could potentially upsets the authenticity of the photograph. Roy’s process of “run-and-gun” is most obvious in his fashion and/or portrait photography that he shoots on location. There is an emphasis on working with-and reacting to-the light and atmosphere with which he is shooting. His images are candid and effortless; exuding an honesty that I don’t think is present in many other fashion photographers’ work.

Norman Jean Roy Photography

Interview with Mamiya

Visiting Artist, Kerry McDonnell, 01/27

Charles, Vasa, Minnesota, Alec Soth, 2002

The images in Soth’s series Sleeping By The Mississippi definitely make the viewer aware of the space between the subject and the camera/photographer, however that separation-that space- is a bubble; a bubble full of air. I take away nothing from these images other than perhaps the slight comical appeal of a man raking leaves in his pajamas, or that the man standing on his porch in a jumpsuit holding planes might like to travel. I can’t connect with these people and I have a hard time accepting his attempts to pass through space and “connect the dots of fragmentary photography” to tell a story. Perhaps that’s all he wants the viewer to understand. Or perhaps I’m thinking of his work too shallowly. To me, his images were quality, well-composed shots of homes, fences and people he’d meet along the sidewalk or in a park. I felt his work tried a little too hard to relate to things such as Hockney’s “Paralyzed Cyclops” and Eggleston’s “Democratic Forest.” I can see how these apply to his work, but they seem a little desperate and too much of an afterthought. For instance, his “The Narrative Machete” I found strove to communicate words his images failed to.

However I was interested in his process of photographing his subjects. The amount of time it takes him to set up his shot allows the person to relax and “come into themselves” where they start to think about their own lives instead of how they’re looking on camera. Working by this method does allow the photographer to capture the subject in an instinctual and chaste sort of way, which makes the viewer’s experience of this person much more genuine and honest. However, I think this process of isolation between the photographer and the subject is what is important to him as a photographer and his work instead of the actual image itself; and it is that process that doesn’t seem like it’s communicated properly and is therefore inaccessible by the viewer.

I am also attracted to the juxtaposition of his straight-forward style of photography and his descriptive and poetic use of words (and I’m okay with enjoying that element on a superficial level). Sleeping By The Mississippi is about his travels in wandering from one place to the next for which the river is a metaphor. Although, what is frustrating about his juxtaposition in this case is that he dampers it by including images of beds to reinforce the motif of sleeping (and his supplementary interest in dream theory and logic). This acknowledges too much and flattens his imagery and the overarching concept.

His more recent work Niagara has a little more foundation as I think it was rebirthed out of itself. It started as a project about love and romance until he explored and sought deep enough, whence a darker, more sexual theory took hold. It became about the question of why newlyweds flock to Niagara Falls, which he explains as being “weird and sexual.” I can trust his concept for this work easier than I can trust and accept his concepts for other work and I’m not entirely sure why; maybe because it originally spawned from the love of his girlfriend, which seems much more personal and relatable than his desire to travel.

I enjoyed Soth’s lecture; I thought he spoke carefully and with intention. Clearly he has a passion for what he does, which-as always-is inspiring.

Alec Soth Website

Sleeping By The Mississippi

NIAGARA

Artist Blog for 01/25

Purging, C-print, 60x48", Sarah Hobbs, 2009

Denial, C-print, 48x60", Sarah Hobbs, 2009

Escapism, C-print, 48x60", Sarah Hobbs, 2009

Sarah Hobbs is a photographer/installation artist who attended the University of Georgia where she received her BA in art history and MFA in photography. Her first solo exhibition titled Emotional Management is on view at Solomon Projects in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hobbs’ work in her sixth and most recent series Small Problems in Living further investigates phobias and obsessive compulsive behaviors. “Her wit and sensitivity towards this touchy subject matter creates a familiarity and accessibility which allows the viewer to become engaged with the work” (Solomon Projects). Hobbs has been able to translate intangible, mental conditions into physical, isolated incidences that echo the complex, cycling nature of the human condition.

Hobbs exhibits her work in large format, printing her photographs fairly close to life-size which allow the viewer to assume the role of the photographer. Printing at this size is an important part of integrating the audience into the physical and psychological space of each image. “What sets Hobbs apart from other photographers working in a similar vein is that she both constructs an illusion and at the same time exposes its materiality to the viewer” (Solomon Projects).

I am most interested in her photograph Purging, where she has taken pages from a diary and erased its contents and hung them systematically on her wall. What appear to only be blank pages are revealed by the eraser shavings that litter the carpet. There are slight traces of the words that used to fill these pages, whose original purpose was to alleviate anxiety of the every-day. It seems this process became frustrating and in an attempt to forget, the writer erases the physical trace of these memories and proudly hangs them on the wall. Ironically, this effort to forget is a reminder of itself and the memories erased. And perhaps these hints of words and sentences suggest that the subconscious never truly forgets.

Much like my own work, the tasks completed in Hobbs’ images may seem unnecessary to the viewer, yet completing these tasks is a significant component to the person who performed them. While my work was only in reference to memory, the task of trying to successfully recreate memory and interrupt it was a critical step in overcoming my fears and anxieties over what the trauma of the divorce has made of me. I can connect with Hobbs' work because earlier last semester I originally spoke of the moths metaphorically representing the mental and emotional behaviors I have developed as a result of the divorce.

Viewing Sarah Hobbs’ photographs has helped me begin to gauge- and understand the function of- escapism: exactly what I am trying to communicate in this semesters work. I view Sarah Hobbs work as a consolation that comforts the viewer by creating a tangible experience from mental disorders that the viewer can identify as their own. Her work reassures me that I am not alone.

Solomon Projects Website

Solomon Projects Artist Page: Sarah Hobbs

Solomon Projects: About the Artist

Fall 2009 Senior Portfolio Work

Memory 1, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 2, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 3, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 4, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 5, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 6, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 7, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 8, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 9, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Memory 1o, Forgetting, Digital Photographs, 16x20", Kerry McDonnell, 2009