Brittney Connelly

Digital #1

Ron Mueck

I was originally drawn to this image because of the oddity but in closer examination, I found this image to be melancholic as well as comforting at the same time. His appearance heightens the complexity of this image through the subtlety of tone. The man’s skin tone mimics the cool tone of the background. His complexion appears to be slightly green and gives the viewer a sense that he is unhealthy or unnatural in some form. The green tone also gives the man a waxy appearance. The arrangement of his body gives the viewer a sense of this man’s conditional state. His body creates openness between the subject matter and the viewer, the arrangement of his legs seems relaxed, and the position of his arms seems uninterested. He is seemingly unaffected by his stark setting. Two indicators may suggest that he is uncomfortable; the space in which his body occupies is pressed into a corner, as well as his glare off the frame into an unknown location. He seems contemplative and isolated, and it seems as if he is having an internal dialogue with himself. The viewer seems to domineer over the man and he seems to act as a submissive party. Somehow, this image evokes a feminine attitude. I feel as if this may be a subversion of a woman’s reaction to feeling objectified and pigeonholed into certain roles. Maybe at the other end of the spectrum, it is discussing a disengagement of human interaction. This image seems very cryptic and leaves the viewer with very few clues. hmmm

Analog #3

Andreas Gursky

I actually saw this book at the MFAH while I was browsing around. Andreas Gursky uses multiplicity within the image to develop these architectural buildings into a visually stimulating arrangement of shapes. The windows are different in color but share the same amount of space and the white lines create this ridged sense of separation. The small amount of foliage on the bottom adds a softness and contrast to the ridged building. The scale of this image in the oversize book makes the image feel more intense and chaotic. The image seems to highlight or bring up the idea of several happenings, occurring at once. This compacted large space houses several humans and within this complex structure, humans become part of this larger unit. Gursky highlights these tightly compacted structures that house multitudes of people. I feel like the subtle softness of the trees is telling within his image. The trees dwarfed by this massive structure, seem sparse and dull among this industrial landscape. Gursky frames his images so tightly, that there is no end to this structure. The structure acts as the landscape; the dominating force and the trees feel displaced and foreign. Gursky’s images move toward the idea of mass consumerism and the effect that plays within an environmental space.

Brittney Connelly

Digital #2

Unknown Artist

I am sad that I could not get the image any larger, and cannot figure out who the artist is. Anyone who reads this, do you know who made this image? I came across this image when I was looking at some of Uta Barth’s work. I am not sure of the artist but I just found the image so striking that I had to write about it. I like how the window looking out to the city fills the left side of the photograph, with the white curtain filling the right side leading your eye down a very narrow tunnel. The stark white color of the curtain contrasts the flowing material; there is a beautiful sterile softness to the right side of the image. Also the white side contrasts the window, as the material seems flowing and loose, the city, buildings and harsh horizontal lines of the blinds make the left side very ridged. It feels as if you have no choice but to remain in between these two places within the photograph. As the viewer, you get a feeling of being stuck between two worlds and an inability to exist in either one. The viewer exists as an onlooker to both places but not participant in either. The beautiful cool tones also lend to this melancholy feeling

Brittney Connelly

Analog #2

Ike Ude

Beyond Decorum

*Warning:: Mildly offensive subject matter and terms.

Ike Ude uses men’s dress shirts in contrast with text, to approach the issue of private vs. public self. Upon first glance at the image, the viewer discovers a crisp white dress shirt, and a generic tie. The image is clean, and it is apparent that the image is solely about the object. There is no signifier to help the viewer determine the body that would reside in this clothing, in fact the clothes seems to belong to a faceless human. Within the series, the tie changes but remains nonspecific throughout the images. The design of tie changing seems to signify that these shirts belong to different people. Text sewn into the collar exposes a specific side of self not communicated through the dress shirt.

The text is mildly offensive and a bit off-putting. It seems as if this text was taken straight off an Internet add, unmodified from the original message. The tag sewn into the collar of the shirt is very specific and reveals a private self. The text exposes a self-coded by nicknames or individuals on a first name basis only. These messages are the happenings of our private world, in a world in which people are subservient to primal instincts. It is this undisclosed self that is contained within all humans. It is part of our chemical makeup, and constantly suppressed within public. In society, the indulgent self is restricted and frowned upon within culture. These private factions are looked at as immoral.

I believe Ude is speaking about society’s resolve to this suppressed side of self. The general public tends to believe that if you wear something specific, drive something, or buy something it changes that makeup in some fashion. It creates another side of self, a mask, to parade around in. It is something to disguise another world that some resist but others indulge in; a world of promising carnal acts and private selves concealed through nicknames and aliases. The dichotomy of the image in relation to the text mirrors the way in which we live our lives. There is a certain manner in which to conduct yourself in public space and wearing a button down shirt and tie will speak to the idea that you are one of the reformed, and in someway these marketable things changes everyone’s perception of you.

more to come...

Ben Watts and Godfrey Frankel photography

As i roamed the the shelves searching for inspiration , i stumbled upon the works of Ben watts and i fell in love the with the opening artwork on the inside with the picture of jewelry hanging in a storefront and then i soon realized ive seen this photo years ago before i ever started college or thought of making art my profession. he some what reminds me of Hedi Silmane. It reminds me of all the old original hip hop magazines like the source , vibe and xxl magazines that ive kept since the 90's and alot of photos are just really well put together compositionally each one turninmg into almost a graphical piece without any manipulation by the artist. even though the book is based on leftover shots , his approach to the work leaves a lasting impression and almost gives you a feeling of being able to see deeper into the individuals who normally , do not let their guards down due to them becoming caught in the limelight and their celebrity status.

Although Godfrey created these photos in Washington Dc. I felt a deep connection to where im from (Milwaukee Wisconsin) , where in the late evenings you see kids unattended at times living carefree without proper supervision not caring that they live in the hood or that there parents dont have alot to offer at times they merely use what they have and remain loyal to each other and make sure they have fun no matter the cost some what of the peter pan and the lost boys mindset or even for older kids the movie "Outsiders" with Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze. Frankels usage of light is really inspiring giving each child there own lil bit of extra character as the lights and darks make there transitions across there faces making the photo even more engaging than the last view.

Brittney Connelly

Brittney Connelly

Analog Source #1

Susan Unterberg

Double Takes

Originally the book seemed interesting because the frontal image contrasts so drastically with the image on the back of the book. If you were to turn the book over its almost as if you grabbed a completely different book. The two images juxtaposed change the dialogue of the individual image and allow for the images to create a dialogue in context of each other; the same theme is repeated throughout her work held within. The series Double Takes resonated with me, and one of the diptychs caught my attention the most.

The two images lie next to each other matted together. On the left hand side it is an image of two men smoking cigarettes. Both individuals are glaring at a downward angle, and the men’s focus is beyond the frame leaving the viewer with questions about what is on the other side of the frame. The tone of the image can be assumed as being a serious tone. It seems as if it there is a very still moment, and as the viewer you are privy to private information. There is a strong glare on the right hand side of the image, which makes the image seem two-dimensional. The men seem sinister because of the dark shadows around their eyes, and it can be assumed upon observing the tension in his forehead that the man on the left is concerned. The image is filled with a lot of gray and black space, lending to a feeling of uneasiness.

Countering this image, the image on the right is filled with white space; even so the image suggests a literal darkness due to the light source used. The strong directional light or flash gives the image strong contrast. The feeling of tension is mirrored within both images; the artist choice to exclude a lot of context clues leaves the viewer wondering what is happening beyond the frame. The artist only includes a small section of the window covered up with an item unrecognizable and the viewer is left to guess what the jagged edge is, on the bottom of the image. There is also a sliver of darkness on the left and side, giving the image depth and suggesting a dark setting beyond this location.

Both images allude to the same feeling or same idea but counter each other in terms of subject matter, one image capturing a romanticized moment in time, the other spotlighting the mundane. They both give a feeling of captured private moment or private space and seem almost voyeuristic. The image on the left can be viewed as a segment of what is happening outside the obstructed window or maybe what takes place beyond the black space on the right side of the room. These images evoke similar sensibilities, and seem to suggest an emotional or rather a situational correlation. The artist seems to be dialoguing about the subconscious using a cryptic method.

The title Double Take refers to the way in which the artist chooses to display these images. As the viewer turns the page the mat lifts off the images and the actual image is exposed.

What is displayed is one solitary image, rather than the diptych. The image is revealed as a setting like seen before, but the dark left side is a frame and the two men smoking is a poster within that frame. Looking again at this image under a new context brings up several more questions. Rather than questioning the relationship between the two images, the viewer is left questioning Unterberg’s motives behind deceiving the viewer. What is the image about when you realize it’s just a poster hung within a space? The viewer can assume that the poster was not intentionally placed in that specific space beyond the reasons of it being purely decorative. Through that logic you can infer that this is a study of an individuals private environment.

More importantly the artist is challenging context and distortion of context. Our language and our dialogue rely heavily on the context in which it is conducted, if the context is changed the dialogue changes as well. This also brings up some core issues within the medium of photography, for example what is considered to be true will never be the truth because it in some way it is obscured by our own awareness. In some way our perception destructs the truth and our construction of images includes a subconscious context. I think the artist’s intentions are to illuminate the manufactured way in which we view imagery and challenge the systematic way in which we see images.

More to come …..

Library Journal- Claudia Melgar

1.

Photographer: Robert Adams

Img: (carnival at night) couldn’t find title

Observations:

Black and white, great composition, enough distance between the camera and subject, square image, tonal ranges vary, beautifully sharp for a close to night time shot in motion, the separation between the clouds and the sky make the landscape a bit confusing in a good way, the range of lights adds to the intensity of the tones, looks like fun but its kind of lonely, one visible person.

My interpretation:

The fact that this image, at first glance, looked like something a bit different then what it is, automatically attracted me to it. When I first saw it, I was sure that it was a night shot of a carnival but the background is what took me an extra second to figure out. The way the white sky and dark clouds parted so cleanly from each other was perfect. If the white sky would be the background of the carnival lights, the lighting would not be as effective. The variety of lights from rides and stands around the carnival against the darkness of the clouds makes everything pop more. The slanted position of the circular ride adds motion and life to all of it even though you hardly see anyone in the image. Which makes me feel as if something is wrong or something bad is going to happen.

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2.

Photographer: Dawoud Bey

Img: Odalys
2003, chromogenic print


30 x 40 in.

Observations:

Lighting appears natural, relaxed position, great focus on the eyes, straight forward shot, the caption included seems to reflect and match the persons character.

My interpretation:

When I skimmed through the pages of the book, Class Pictures by Photographer Dawoud Bey, I realized they were all very real and natural poses from students. Odalys’ pictures was the one that captivated me the most. Not only because of her sincere and not very interested pose, but because of her caption. Which says, “My name is Odalys, and I’m a good person, and I like to play with my baby. It’s real fun to play with her, and I hope this baby comes out, you know, healthy, and I hope that I can get out of school and study. I want to be a professional doctor ‘cause that’s what I want to do.

I hope everybody remembers me, because I just started in this school and everybody knows me, ‘The little pregnant girl,’ so, I hope they remember me.”

She doesn’t seem to care very much about posing but she cares about people remembering her after high school is over. There is a sense of needing acceptance from others even if they don’t know her. I like that in her short paragraph she tells about the three things that are important to her; her baby, her future, and being remembered. The way her caption is written is obvious that she wrote it herself and really ages her as a teenager. It’s written as if she was actually saying it “you know”. The rawness of the entire piece is so captivating all together due to the fact that there is a teenage pregnant student, surrounded by other teens, that is about to become a mother but yet is thinking of things kids think of, like becoming a “professional doctor.”

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3.

Photographer: Tim Davis

Img: Abortion Clinic Protest

Observations:

Day time, sunny, protesting caught in action, the angled composition helps to view a part of the protesters and the clinic, the way people are dressed or by what they are holding helps to identify who they are.

My Interpretations:

This image caught my eye the most because of the emotion you feel that comes out of it. I can tell what is going on in this image by the signs and people’s actions without having to read the

title provided. I love the angle and distance he was at to capture the physical gestures that, I assume is a preacher or pastor of some sort, has. Its great that the viewer can read almost every sign on the image even though he’s standing at an angle but it helps to come to your own

conclusion about the situation. One of my favorite people in the picture is the security guard. I like how the protesters don’t faze him, he seems to be use to having them around, yet he is also holding a disposable camera that makes me wonder if he confiscated it or has it to photograph any thing that may happen.

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4.

Photographer: Lupita Murillo Tinnen

Img: Marketing, age 3

Observations:

Compilation of images, color, different perspectives, in a room, intimate, no faces, text, obvious that it’s a student, warm tones.

My Interpretation:

The image clearly tells me that something is wrong with the subject but not physically. There is a reason why we don’t see her face and she seems lonely and separated from others. I have become a bit familiar with Tinnen’s work because my work is very similar to what she did. My only opinion about some of her images is that I feel some of them are too crowded with images and information. This particular image is one that I would enjoy more if it would just be the main large image. I think this image would be more successful without a few of the small images that are overlaid on the larger image and possibly one of the others around the frame. Although over all the images are beautifully shot and the lighting looks so natural and warm for this specific image.

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5.

Photographer: Dulce Pinzon

Img: MINERVA VALENCIA from Puebla works as a nanny in New York. She Sends 400 dollars a week.

Observations:

Rich colors, subject is wearing a superhero costume, children in need, toys in a living room, day light, rich colors, subject is very centered, the children are not the superhero’s lady’s children.

My Interpretation:

The most obvious observation is that there is a woman in a costume holding children. She appears to be a different race than the children so I can tell they are not her kids. But the children seem very comfortable with her and vise versa, which is implied because they are around her, they’re not crying, and one of the kids is spitting out food into her hand. Knowing that this woman is their nanny is almost irrelevant because you can already assume that just by viewing the picture. I do enjoy the image and how it portrays the nanny as a superhero to this family because without her, the situation would be completely different, or non-existent, for that matter.