Abelardo Morell

 Abelardo Morell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1962. He attended the college of Bowdoin and got his MFA from Yale University School of Art. He later in life was a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston from 1983-2010.

One of his works that really stood out to me was this one below:

 I like this work because it portrays a city, but it is being shown upside down on the wall. I assume he did this by using a camera obscura-- a darkened box with a convex lens or aperture for projecting the image of an external object onto a screen inside. I like how the city scape takes up the entire wall. I think have the chairs and table is interesting too because it makes it feel like you are sitting there enjoying the city view. I think it was an interesting choice to make the city upside down though, because I know it can be upright too when using a camera obscura. 

Another photo of his that stood out to me was this one below:

I can tell that Morell was very interested in using a camera obscura. But it is the objects and screen in which he uses it to make these photographs interesting. This photo seems to be done in Washington D.C. He must have made a camera obscura in his hotel room (which this seems to be a hotel room) and I think that is so interesting. I like the setting and I like how he consciously picks certain areas to take these photographs. The objects in the room also create a different feeling and vibe to them with what he is doing with the camera obscura as well. 

Over all, I really like his photographs and I think they are all interesting.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer born in Tokyo, Japan, who specializes in architectural photography. His first major exhibition was in the United Kingdom which was part of the Edinburgh International Festival. His art series was titled, "The Architecture of Time". This consisted of more than 30 large scaled images. 

One of my favorite images from that series is this one below: 

I like this photo a lot because of the lighting and how he chose to make it blurry. I think if the photograph was in focus it would not be as interesting. I think it being blurry gives off a different type of emotion and can allow the viewer to figure out why he made this choice that he did. The lighting is interesting because it obviously is a cross, but it illuminates the entire room and I think it is very beautiful. The lighting makes it shine almost like a path straight to the cross. 

The next photo that I really find interesting from this series is this one below: 

This photo is of the Twin Towers in New York City. I think this photo caught my eye because I know the towers are gone now. It is a dark and mysterious photograph that is again blurred. This gives off an ominous feeling and or a memorial feeling. I am not sure when this photo was taken, but looking at it now gives off a sense of  reembrace for the towers. 

All of Hiroshi Sugimoto's photos are mostly blurred and dark and I tend to really be drawn to those. I love black and white photography and I enjoy all of his photographs. 

His technique of blurring his images is something I would like to try in the future to see what type of emotion and vibe I can give off from this being an intentional choice.

 

Alec Sloth

 Alec Sloth is American photographer who is best known for his Midwestern United States photography. Sloth was very shy as a child so photography helped him step outside his comfort zone by photographing people after being influenced but the work of portrait photographer Diane Arbus. Sloth says he gets nervous photographing people, so most of the times he is attracted to people like "hermits" and "loners". 

One of his photos that caught my eyes was this one below: 

I think this photo caught my attention because of the subject in the photo. The subject tests the "norms" of people. I assume this person is seen as a "loner" or "different" because they are a male with long hair dressed in female clothing. I think Sloth captured them beautifully in the chair alone in this room. The lighting is all natural it seems and it really brings out the subjects features. I also like how the room is very empty besides the chair. The subject also does not make eye contact with the photographer and I think that is speaking volumes in the sense that they are a "loner" and "different" to other people.

Another photo that really stood out to me was: 

I think this photo stood out to me because of the unusual objects in the mans hands and around him. He is also wearing a suit which is odd attire for his setting. The background of this photo seems to be like an abandoned area with scraps all around him. He is holding a palm tree leaf and maybe a bible? This could be assumed to be holy items in his hand. This photo also captures how Sloth likes to capture "loners". To me although this man is in a suit he does not look very clean and he seems he could be a "hermit" type of person too. I like how Sloth takes unusual but interesting photos of people. 

Ralph Gibson

 Ralph Gibson is an American photographer who is most famous for his photos of objects of everyday life and of the human body. All of his photos are black and white and speak for the surreal and subconscious states of mind. His eye for detail is something that really struck me when trying to pick a photographer for this blog. Most would say that his photos are mysterious, dream-like, symbolic, and even erotic. 

One of his photos that stood out to me was this one below: 

This photo stood out to me as it is an unusual pose. I honestly still cannot tell which body parts are shown here, which is why I enjoy it so much because it makes me want to keep looking and trying to figure it out. What I think are two possible outcomes for this photo is that it is two feet and legs crossed that are covering the butt area. I think the photo is flipped upside down as well to make the photo and pose more unusual. I also love the close attention to detail shown here in this photo. I can see the fine details of the hairs and the texture of the legs. I like how white the body parts are shown and how dark the background is for what you can see. 

The next photo that I found interesting from Gibson is this one below:

This photo stood out to me as it is similar to what I am trying to create for my own project. The body in this photo is tilted at an angle to create yet again, another interesting and unusual pose. I like how Gibson always seems to pay very close attention to detail and texture and lighting. Again, like the other photo, the subject is very highlighted and whitened. The background is perfectly dark as well, this makes all the other elements stand out such as detail, lighting, the hairs, the skin, etc. 

Gibson's photography has really stood out to me from the other photographers from the Visual Approach PowerPoint. I love his attention to detail, texture, and lighting. I can see some of his technique that I want to incorporate in my final book project for this class. I love how he takes unusual or close up photos of the body and uses black and white photography to make the images appealing, erotic, but fascinating. 

Blog 3 Jerry Uelsmann

 Jerry Uelsmann is a constructed image photographer. He specifically plays around with black and white imagery to create a constructed image. He created these compositions before the major editing software's were a thing. He would take multiple negatives and join them together to create a beautiful black and white composition. 

One of his images that stood out to me was this one shown here below: 

I really like this photo because I can pick out how many different negatives Uelsmann used or may have used to create this constructed image. In this particular photo I can guess he used about 3. One for the background of the water and mountains and sky, the second for the hands, and the third for the water drop in the hands. I think it is a beautiful image and it is interesting to look at. I really like the additive of the waterdrop in the hands. I think it makes the photo more interesting and it goes along with the background that is already there. 

The second photo that I found that was interesting to me was this one: 

I find this photo really interesting because I wonder what type of negative Uelsmann used or captured to create these wings behind this person. I really enjoy how the person is a silhouette and it makes it seem like they are trying to be one with the birds. I assume in this constructed photo there is three negatives. One with the background being the ocean and the birds, the other being the wings behind the person, and then the final one being the figure. I like how the wings add extra imagination to what this photo could mean and I like the surreal sense to it. 

Overall, I really like how Uelsmann uses random negatives he has to create a constructed image and piece it all together. I really enjoy that they are black and white too. Even though I am in a digital art class, I think black and white imagery is beautiful and can really help being a different kind of story to a photo.   

Blog 2: André Kértész

 André Kértész is a Hungarian born photographer. By using reflections, transparency, and shadows, Kértész pays close attention to detail in his still lives. I find Kértész interesting because I want to do and re-create some of his works through my own representation. I love his close attention to transparency and shadow. One of his works specifically caught my eye.

What I find interesting about this photo is this lighting specifically. You can see that there is an obvious light about the still life along with a light to the right. We can know this by looking at the shadows in the bowl to the left. What I would want to try to re-create this photo is to create a darker background and have the light shine through the glasses. I think it would create an interesting effect. I also like how this photo has a story behind it, even though it is just a still life. I like how he uses his imagination to create a story through simple, random objects.

Another one of his photos that are edging my inspiration for the still life assignment is this one below: 

I love this photo. It is absolutely stunning. The shadows created by the direct light from the top make this photo so interesting. It is just a simple everyday object, but with amazing light and shadows, it can be an amazing photograph. I like how Kértész took random objects and created them into something beautiful. Which is what I look forward to doing on my still life project! 

Blog 1: Robert Mapplethorpe 2022

 Robert Mapplethorpe was once enrolled at Pratt Institute in 1963 where he studied painting, sculpting, and drawing. In 1970 is the year he acquired a Polaroid camera and started to create and explore  photographs and photography. He was really interested in creating photographs that have never been seen before, he wanted to achieve new, different, and the unexpected when he was taking photos. Specifically, in the 1980s, he discovered a way to challenge the "classical" aesthetic for standard photography. Unfortunately, Mapplethorpe was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. Throughout his work after this, his struggle and battle with AIDS can be seen throughout his photography. 

In this photo titled, "Self Portrait" we can see that Mapplethorpe is holding a cane like object in his hand that has a skull on top where the hand would be placed to hold onto while walking. His body is completely vanished, as his head is the only body part we can see other than his hand on the cane. 

When looking at this photo I can get a sense of death. It seems to me that Mapplethorpe created this due to his struggle with AIDS. It is almost as if he knew he was going to die soon, or that death was "right around the corner" with this photo. This portrait was also taken in 1988, so two years after he discovered that he did in fact have AIDS. 

To me this photo gives off ominous vibes and feelings, which can directly relate to his struggle with AIDS.

Another photo that I find interesting that Mapplethorpe created is this one here shown below: 

I find this photo so interesting due to the contrast in highlight and contour in this photograph between the African American male and the White male. I love the decision to have the black males eyes closed and the white males eyes opened. The dark background and Mapplethorpe able to capture such beautiful lighting to expose both of these men is just so eye catching. 

The way the lighting falls on both subjects just makes all the details come to light and it is truly beautiful.