Artist: Sara Cwynar

I was originally struck by this one particular image "Dead Alive Alive Dead" because I feel my work is so visually similar to this without me ever seeing it until after making the images I see as so relatable to this. I have mixed feelings about my work looking so similar. Part of me is frustrated that originally ideas seem to be hard to come by. That is not entirely true because each artist's perspective brings a uniqueness  to an idea... but I'm not sure that's enough. The similarity also serves to be somewhat inspirational by showing me that my aesthetics and ideas can be successfully and interesting to other people. 

Dead Alive Alive Dead, 2010

Quotes:

“I love the colors that you find in old printed matter; I love a faded emerald green or a nice salmon pink. I love the idea of finding someone’s discarded personal archive. I hoard this kind of stuff and then try to incorporate it into various projects.”

"When you know what you might do if you could do anything, it becomes a lot easier to take a brief and work with it.”

Both quotes from: http://imprint.printmag.com/editors-picks/2011-nva-winner-sara-cwynar/

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interview

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Trevor Paglen Questions/Response

How is photographing hidden government sites legal? Have you run into major issues with this?


Define the line between art and documenting your research.

Artist: Laurel Nakadate

Laurel Nakadate is of interest to me because her work about being lonely is a good reference for me when thinking about how to communicate my own ideas about loneliness in my work. Her approach is usually straight forward and easy to communicate to her viewers, which I'm assuming is a large part of why she is so well known. She is honest and fearless when creating her work. I admire her willpower and commitment to her practice.

Quotes:
" In general, I wait to be approached. I want to be the one who’s hunted, I want to be the one who they take interest in—because if they’re not interested in me, they’re probably not going to be interested in being in a video. I also like the idea of turning the tables—the idea of them thinking that they’re in charge or that they’re in power and they’re asking me for something and then I turn it on them, where I’m the director and the world is really my world."


" I feel like it was student work, but something I needed to do to get past the fear. There’s a certain rush that comes from making these pieces, because I’m putting myself in a situation where I really have no control: going out there and being at the mercy of whoever opens their door to me. I think it’s a really good thing to put yourself in a situation where you feel really uncomfortable because I think things can come out of that discomfort."


(both quotes from interview cited bellow)

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interview

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Laurel Nakadate Questions/Response

Is your work about connecting with others actually helping you connect with others now that you have completed multiple pieces about it?

Is it wrong to assume these works about about yourself?

Idea: Separation

Separation is a new word I'm using to help describe my concept. "Isolation" was not  working the way I had originally intended, so I feel it's important to rewrite my artist statement and reword the way I describe my work in critiques. In my photographs I want to show the idea of something there that no longer is, something that was whole that is now separate... 

Bibliography

Clark, Sharon, PhD, Symons, Douglas, PhD. Representations of Attachment Relationships, the Self, and Significant Others in Middle Childhood. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; 2009, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p316-321, 6p, 2 Charts

This study examines the effects of positive and negative attachment and relationships among children and their caregivers. It suggests that these relationships have a direct effect on the individuals self worth and effect his or her relationships with others. 

Quotes from study:

"When needs are met either inconsistently or in an angry fashion by parents, children come to expect that they are not worthy of care. When needs are met consistently, children come to expect they are worthy of care and they can count on others in times of need, which is an element of secure attachment."

"Insecurity manifests itself as negative social behavior."

"More needs to be known about how attachment relationships are related to children's thoughts and feelings about themselves and their interactions with social partners within those relationships."

Maia Flore

from the series Mia Och Flore

This work is particularly interesting to me as a twin. When thinking about separation, I think a lot about being a twin and what it means to be part of a whole (I mean we started out as one embryo...) and what it means now to soon be living eight hours away.

Kathy Rose: Questions/Response

Initial Questions:
Working with new media (video, performance), have you encountered difficulties with presentation (how to best play a video, how often to perform a piece) within a gallery/museum setting? If so, in what ways did you overcome these challenges?

Would still images be able to convey your concepts? Why performance, video, animation, etc.?

Response:
To be completely honest, it was hard to sit through the Kathy Rose lecture. I thought I was going to learn more about her concepts behind her video work that I became familiar with by going through her website before I attended the lecture. Instead I learned that she is an artist that works largely without concept, but takes inspiration from Asian culture and dance. I found it shocking that an artist with no concept could attain so many reputable grants, teach at a university level, and garner so much attention without even communicating a message. As we watched each video, I took avid notes about what I thought the message was in the piece, always feeling like I must be missing something because I found most videos to be about nothing. I was not missing something, Kathy Rose's work was what was missing something. I was completely uninterested in her wacky videos with seemingly random costumes, dancing, and content that reminded me of a bad undergrad film students' first attempt experimenting with new technology. How is it that this work has tricked so many people into thinking this woman is talented?

My second question I proposed before attending the lecture was answered: "Would still images be able to convey your concepts? Why performance, video, animation, etc.?" The answer is: She has no concept so the medium could not possibly matter. I have no new questions.

I left with feelings of frustration towards the art world/market. I felt discouraged that I will ever be able to market myself amongst people making work of this nature that is being eaten up by the higher powers of art institutions.

Artist: Juergen Teller

Juergen Teller is always in the back of my mind when creating my work. I've never encountered an artist that has inspired me more. He is the best photographer I've ever seen. No other photographer has even come close to his images. They have a beauty and energy and edge that is truly unique. I aspire to make work that shows myself in a way much like this. His dedication to they way he does things, even if they are widely considered unskilled or unconventional is admirable. He continues to listen to himself and do exactly what he wants, and it's gotten him extremely far. 

Bio: (from gallery website)

Juergen Teller was born in Erlangen, Germany in 1964. He studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt fur Photographie in Munich, Germany before moving to London in 1986.


His work in influential international publications such as W Magazine, I-D and Purple  nurtured his own photographic sensibility which is marked by his refusal to separate the commercial fashion pictures and his most autobiographical un-commissioned work.  Teller has exhibited at Le Consortium in Dijon, The Tate Modern in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Photographers Gallery in London, the Kunsthalle Wein,  and the Fondation Cartier Pour l'art Contemporain in Paris among others.  In 2003 Teller was awarded the Citibank Prize and in 2007 was asked to represent the Ukraine as one of five artists in the 52nd Venice Biennale.

Juergen Teller has been working with Marc Jacobs on his advertising campaigns for the past 11 years, the work has been collated into 'Marc Jacobs Advertising 1998 – 2009' published by Steidl.  Juergen has also had long collaborations with other designers and fashion houses over the years including Helmut Lang, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood.

Quotes:
"Juergen Teller's photographs make me desire what's there. They also make me wonder what's just outside the picture; they make me wish I were there myself."
-Cory Reynolds, Index Magazine


"Some people just don't see it, but I think some of those pictures are exquisite portraits."
-Juergen Teller speaking about his work 
I like this because it's true, many people don't see why his work is beautiful, but he does... and he doesn't care... and he keeps doing it. 

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