exactitudes

portrait collections of similar individuals can be found here

Errol Morris Photography Blog

Errol Morris is a photographer and filmmaker has a great blog for thinking about photographs and how they affect us. His website also has a few essays that are great short reads:

blog

website

free podcast

(You should start near the beginning of the blog and work up to the more recent posts.)

video

bottled water

Magical realism re-worked

Surreal Photos

I wasn't able to be in class on monday but I am posting my pictures here so you can all check them out.

Assignment 3: Wunderkammer

The history of collecting runs parallel to the development of art and science. The cabinet of curiosities, or “wunderkammer”, has existed as a microcosm of culture. In this project you will photograph a collection, you can either composite images, or photograph a setup in the studio or at home. This photograph should culturally enlighten and inform, as well as heighten interest in the collection.

SEPT 21ST
1. assemble a collection in class
2. brainstorm3 ways to present this information, share with the class
3. choose one and work on it in class
OVER THE NEXT WEEK
1. photograph some kind of collection - consider the lighting, you do not need to do an extensive set-up for the 28th, but you need to formulate what that setup is going to be for your final image
2. sketch 3 ways you might present it that will heighten interest in the collection- these should be mounted and consist of drawings, diagrams, test photographs

FOR EXTRA CREDIT
VISIT ONE OF THE MUSEUMS LISTED BELOW FOR INSPIRATION:
1. MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY
2. YOUR BRIGHT FUTURE: KOREAN ARTISTS AT LACMA, "FALLEN STAR, 1/5"
INSTALLATION BY DO HO SUH
3. IN FOCUS:MAKING A SCENE, A TINY PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT AT THE GETTY

SEPT 28TH
1. present your sketches to the class
2. we will have individual crits and talk about what direction you are taking, you must bring to class a paragraph describing your final image

OCT 5TH
Bring in your FINAL collection image. Full class crit. Required: You must use either staged lighting, or a copystand camera if one is available for use. Image must be larger than 8 x 10 and of good print quality and paper stock, mounted.

photographer: Thomas Demand

... recreates specific moments in history and photographs the reconstructions. The image at first appears banal, but is loaded with meaning

see slideshow + article

post for cailyn

I love your idea! Strangely, I just saw an image like this on Facebook. I had to wonder if it was real. I asked my friend and apparently chipmunks will do this if you feed them enough. I have seen a squirrel climb a woman's arm in Golden Gate Park, trying to steal her chips. So be careful when you do this - they can be pushy.

Christo's Idea

I'm working on a similar idea. I want to mix a high fashion feel with a domestic feel. The ennui of a supermodel or whatever, this is my first image. I want to add a bit of drama to the image by skewing something, I tilted the chair to get a feeling of unease but I plan to elaborate upon this idea and come up with a more complex setting.

Home is Where the heart is...

I've not yet come to an ultimate conclusion but I have been ruminating on the idea of using themes of alienation and excess in conjunction with the idea of  American family life. So my setting will most likely be my apartment, or somewhere I can replicate a homey feel and I am foreseeing that an abundance of props will be necessary.

Willyum's rad idea

Fashion photography to me has always been within the realm of magical realism, so my idea is to shoot a fashion-y picture with a feel of uncertainty and eeriness (sp?). This is meant to juxtapose the glamorous outfits with an unsettling backdrop. My idea is to style 2 models like monster-esque characters with high contrast lighting to enforce the sense of creepiness.

Cailyn's Magical Realism Ideas

I want to explore the element of “fantasy” in my magical realism picture--Drawing inspiration from fairytales like snow white, I would like to make a composite image of a squirrel in the hand of a woman (in a way that is possible in real life, but no natural wild squirrel would feel comfortable). I plan to take a picture of one of our resident squirrels, then take a friend to a park and capture a picture there. My intentions are to make it appear absolutely real, but very improbable. I think a picture like this might live in a smaller contemporary gallery or maybe as imagery for a book…What does everyone think?

ROXY: Magical Realism [in progress]

My magical realism project idea is a parody on musicals. Anyone who knows me, knows that I find musicals pretty ridiculous. I want to shoot in a natural, very public setting (ideas are grocery store, otis class room, starbucks etc). I'm going for an everyday setting with a musical twist.

ROXY: Sequential Images

Is it better to be idealistic or realistic?

Cailyn's Sequential Imagery

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

(magical realism)

Lethem sets the stage for a realistic portrait of a kid growing up in Brooklyn. Later on in the book, the kid unexpectedly takes flight (literally). In this excerpt you can read how he roots the novel in reality, with very specific cultural references. 

Assignment 2: Magical Realism

Project Description: Create a seamless image in which a normal, everyday scene everyday scene exhibits a magical or fantastic intervention. Utilize real-world norms of perception in order to suggest the magic in our world and express a larger theme. 

Remember: You are not creating a new world, you are tweaking the world that already exists. This should not be a totally surreal image ala Dali. It can be an image that evokes a surreal mood, but exists in probable space, such as you see with Cindy Sherman. Or it can be an element that intrudes on the normal, making the familiar strange. 

Here is a good example of this. 

If you have ever seen Twin Peaks, or any David Lynch film, he is an excellent example of an artist utilizing magical surrealism.

Requirements: You may create one image or several. You should experiment with ideas at first, brainstorm, sketch. Beware of going with your first idea. Or if you do, post it to the blog so you can get feedback. 

**You are required to post to the blog by 5 pm Friday. 

A Note on Presentation: You may choose your own size and the way you want to show your image. But please do not leave this as an afterthought, try to present your image in a way that supports its meaning. A nice print spray-glued on board is the default, it is acceptable, but I would encourage you to go further. 

Sequential Imagery

Please post your sequential images to the blog when you are finished. (photograph by Robert Frank)