Idea Blog for 02/04

Untitled 1, Kerry McDonnell 2009

Untitled 2, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Untitled 3, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Untitled 4, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Untitled 5, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

So much to talk about! Where to begin?

Because of the snow I was not able to go home this weekend (and given the forecast I don’t think I’ll be able to make it home this weekend either). My meeting was pushed back until next Tuesday so I plan to show Tom these images and discuss with him a few details about them. I did show these in my PowerPoint, but have included a few others here. What does everyone think of these images? I'm considering asking Tom if I can include the 2nd to last image in my portfolio this semester. Also, to set the record straight, my sister will be standing in for myself as I think it is only appropriate given my work from last semester.

I’d like to discuss with Tom that I am considering having Hayley (my sister, I’m going to refer to her by name now-FYI) wear a crown for each shoot. However, I want the crown to symbolize her escape but I don’t want the images to be about the crown; it will be implied that she is wearing one in the images you cannot see it. I’d also like to discuss the idea of her wearing a different colored crown for each “escape.” I’ve done similar photo shoots before using the crown and each time I’ve had to make her a new one because they’re easily damaged. Using a different color crown for each shoot will more obviously suggest that she’s had to make a new one each time. I’m also interested in this idea because I think it emphasizes the fact that these “escapes” are only a temporary solution to the issues at home and the act of having to remake one each time stresses that these escapes are not real and cannot last forever. In addition, I plan on having her dress differently and in a different location for each final photograph, which will also suggest that the color of the crown varies on who she plans to pretend to be that day.

I’ve also considered including our dog in some of the photographs. What I’m drawn to about the images above is how protective Hayley is of the Charlie (the dog). Essentially, Hayley “escapes” to protect herself (her sanity) from my parents’ divorce; I see Charlie as an extension of Hayley; as a manifestation of her protection of herself.

Lastly, I’d like to introduce a fashion element to these images in the way they’re shot as well as the wardrobe chosen. I feel that last semester’s work is a little inaccessible and by making this semester’s work applicable to a wider audience it will not only elevate last semester’s work but help get people interested in my work as a whole.

What do you think?

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

Artist Lecture, Hauft, Kerry McDonnell

Counter-Reformation, wood/canvas/gesso/styrofoam/sugar/plastic, Amy Hauft, 2009

Tonight's artist lecture was at the Anderson Gallery for VCU faculty member Amy Hauft and her peice Counter Re-formation. This was really a wonderful experience to be able to view the artist's work as it is meant to be presented within a gallery space and hear her discuss it simultaneously. There is really a vast difference between hearing an artist lecture with her work in the studio space and being presented a powerpoint of images in an auditorium.

Counter Re-formation is a large installation comprised of a massive, oddly shaped table covered in white canvas. Atop the table on all of it's strange extensions were what look to be dunes of sugar, with a sugar-cast spiral staircase that sat in the middle section of the table on a larger dune. Hauft discussed she tries to recreate landscapes, describing this particular piece as something very bleak; the sugar mounds representing dunes, glaciers or mountain ranges. The walls surrounding the installation were painted white, the very back wall painted a faint grey-blue. The color pallate was very soothing and contributed to the over all bleak-ness of the landscape Hauft was trying to represent. Apart from the main installation was a white, floor-to-ceiling spiral staircase whose purpose was to "reveal" the landscape to the viewer. Hauft made the point that when one is within a landscape it's hard to understand the spacial relationship and see the entire composition. The aerial view was meant to help the audience organize the space visually.

Hauft's discussion about the background of her piece was informative and interesting. A majority of the concept behind this piece was inspired by the Baroque and the excess related to that era. The shape of the table is a less symmetrical and more modern replica of a table used to serve desert during King Henry the XIV's rule in England. During that time, the table would've been decorated with sugar sculptures (which she pointed out mimics the look of porcelain). She also mentioned that during that time, French wood-working apprentices would create a perfect spiral staircase as their means of passage into starting their own business and leaving the apprenticeship. The interesting juxtaposition of this piece is the references to the Baroque excess, which is countered by the bleakness of the landscape. Hauft discussed that this reductive quality is what makes this piece contemporary.

Hauft spoke a lot about using arcane materials and using whatever was suitable for the project/concept and that she would also try to relate said material to the concept. However, the only piece of sugar in the entire installation was the small spiral latter in the middle of the piece which was, sadly, very disappointing. The dunes were created by sculpting styrofoam and coating it in gesso. She then sprinkled shaved plastic on the styrofoam forms to make it more dimensional and sugar-like. What's ironic is that she's creating these landscapes with materials that are detrimental to the environment. The work itself was well made and pleasing to the eye, but with the absence of sugar it really negated the work and her process of creation.

Idea Blog for 12/03

Filmstrip & Detail 05, 20x16", Digital photographs, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

Filmstrip & Detail 07, 20x16", Digital photographs, Kerry McDonnell, 2009

I was very productive over Thanksgiving break! These are just 2 of the 4 I took over vacation and I must say I'm incredibly pleased. I was also able to photograph my sister (finally) which I think was very successful in relation to my concept. I have no issue relating the filmstrips to each other and I think the viewer could rightfully assume that all of these images are about 1 person and that those images not containing a figure still relate to said person or character.

After my meeting with Tom I felt refreshed and inspired to try new things. For instance, one of my filmstrips was taken outdoors. At first I was nervous about this because of shadow and the light being too strong and completely silhouetting everything including the moth, which would not have been ideal. Luckily I just winged it and it came out really well. Tom suggested that I "let the monster be the monster." Considering this, I allowed the moth to exist in other areas of the frame and background as well as took several images in the series without-or parts of- the moth in the frame to create suspense and anxiety. This didn't go exactly as planned as I originally wanted to tie string to the moth so that I could hold it a different distances from the lens. Unfortunately they're incredibly too delicate to even wrap fishing string around. What I ended up doing was blurring the image (taking pictures as I unfocused), placed the moth in the frame, and then took pictures as I refocused. I repeated this same process when moving the moth from another space in the frame to the front of the image. It created an interesting effect and the blurriness or soft focus contributed to the idea of loss of memory-those little instances in between that are too hazy to draw any detail or meaning from.

I plan on submitting the filmstrips in my portfolio in a similar format as these two for all 10 images along with the original strip on a disc with the resized detail images. They're sized at 16x20 which is a strange size for something like this. A few of the detail images only have one, larger film strip at the bottom or 4 detail images the top. My newest strips are much longer (around 200" when placed side-by-side). These strips have more detail images featured to make up for the length. The images I chose are just to cover the span. I tried to tell the story in around 4-9 detail images for each strip because the actual strip itself on a 16x20 print is far too small to see any detail.

I'm really happy with what I've done thus far and I can't wait to see these printed out!