Emmet Gowin lecture

I went to hear Emmet Gowin speak at University of the Arts in Philadelphia recently.   He is best known for images of his wife Edith and large format experimental techniques.

I’d like to share some of his quotes which I wrote down during his talk…

• “only chance is fair”
• “be true to what moves you”
• “if you can think of it, it’s not that great” (Gowin quoting Harry Callahan)
• “when you see something, don’t assume others have learned how to see it”
• “you never know what is far enough until you have gone too far”

He mainly stressed the importance of chance and growing through mistakes or “imperfections of your intentions” and I hope to absorb that lesson.

I’ve chosen a few of his images that speak to my interest in environmental portraiture.

Eileen Cowin

During a critique yesterday, my professor suggested I take a look at Eileen Cowin.  She has been making art since the 1970’s and is still creating. Her statement below is taken from her website:

Eileen Cowin Artist Statement 2004

Neal Gabler wrote an article in the LA Times about how we were losing our narratives- he said the 19th century was about order and logic but the 20th century was about fragmentation, dislocation and a sense that man was not progressing but he was lurching aimlessly.

Using this idea of fragmentation, I am interested in the nature of narrative and the relationship between fiction and non-fiction. I am investigating ideas about chance, fate, memory and experience.

So many aspects of her work appeal to me and the direction I want to go with my work, especially ideas of perception, narrative and relationships; Relationships between people as well as ideas, such as real and unreal.

I’ve selected these images from her Family Docudrama series…

…and this is a lecture she gave at Pasadena City College during her residency there.

I’m in Love

…with the work of Anne Hardy.

She constructs these unusual interior scenes in her studio.  They make me feel like I showed up late for all the action.  She shoots completely analog and makes huge C-prints.

Check out this video of her speaking about her work.

Arduino: The Documentary

 

 

Nobuhiro Nakani

Roger Allen posted Nobuhiro Nakani’s Layered Drawings on his blog, and I just had to share.  The images are transparency mounted on plexi and then hung in such a way that the viewer must walk around to take in the full depth of the scene.  I’d really love to see these in person!

 

 

Photo Writings

I’d like to eventually work my way through these photo writings.

To-Do List

1. Catalog old negatives.

• scan, organize and archive old negs.
• watermark & post images.

2. Research symbolism / allegory/ narrative

• begin a list of words.
• begin collecting objects to use as props.

3. Create a website.

• find websites to guide and inspire my design choices.
• design a watermark.

4. Research an artist/gallery to connect with and interview –  consider artists using arduino/ processing.

• narrow down to 3 and email to connect.
• explain why I am interested in them.
• create a list of questions that may help me get where I want to be.

Vivian Maier

Yesterday, one of my teachers told my class about the discovered work of Vivian Maier (1926 – 2009).  Her negatives were found at a flea market.  Apparently Vivian never tried to show her images, even though she amassed about 100,000 negatives, which are now being scanned and archived by John Maloof, who discovered her work.

This really hit home with me, the fact that her images were never seen until after her death.  I have not organized or cataloged my work properly.  I have lost sculptures, which I never photographed.  I have misplaced or ruined countless negatives & prints.  So I have decided to begin scanning and cataloging the older work that I still have, and to create a good practice for organizing my work in the future.

Have a look at #1 on my To-Do List…

side note: I chose to highlight this Vivian Maier photograph because it reminds me of the boys riding their horses from the Belmont stables, past the El in West Philly, where I have lived for the past 13 years.