Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Self-critique of Final Project

   One of the most obvious weaknesses of the pictures i exhibited was the lack of focus in one or more of the images. The "Subjects" were small and as a result it was difficult to focus on them and gain any sort of clarity beyond what was shown. While this wasn't severe in most of the images it was more prevalent in the pictures involving the Lex Luthor figure. Another weakness was that i didn't push the locations and positions of the figures far enough, making them stand out of and be part of their environment. They needed to be humanized more and thought of as actors instead of just objects.

    The images presented during the critique were strong for several reasons. I liked the vibrant green of the one picture of the creature in the tree, and how he seems almost hidden and interacting with the leaves, just peeking at you, almost going unnoticed. I thought the sense of scale was good in these pieces as well. I felt the observer gets a sense of what the mundane world looks like through the eyes of a diminutive character. It becomes unfamiliar an alien, and more fascinating. I felt they were different and helped add a sense of quirky personality to the images.

 P.s. I finally remembered why i had no critique for my website. I turned it in on time, but the class ran out of time and you said we'd look at mine next time, but the next class i was late and it was the class everyone was using to print their final images. So the Final project wasn't late. It was turned in on time. I was just late on the day we were supposed to critique it. :)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Still Nicholas Nixon & Mary Ellen Mark

After reviewing the various photographers we've been over this semester i've decided that the ones that still stand out to me are the ones from my very first post on this blog, Nicholas Nixon and Mary Ellen Mark. When i decided to redo my 5th assignment with an emphasis on the gaming culture, Mary Ellen Mark was one of the artists i wanted to emulate. She doesn't just take pictures of people, she really sees them. She recognizes the invisible and the fringe of our society, the ones that "normal" people often neglect and she sees the beauty in them.
   I still like Nixons work for the same reasons and his Brown sisters collection still stands out to me as one of the most ingenius, original and dedicated pieces of work in any medium i've ever seen. It's not just a picture of four people, but of their relationship to each other. It's not just a picture of a place but pictures of times and eras. The antiquated feel of his images also appeals to me.
Nicholas Nixons' "Brown Sisters"


                                                 Mary Ellen Mark