#ashleighteygong

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #15

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #14

I really enjoyed reading about the imagery and emotion associated with the colors red and blue. My mind has always associated colors with emotions and  feelings, and tried to associate various things with colors. For example, an instagram page I follows maps various things like “long hugs” with the color pale pink. I agree with the idea of red as passion, fire, intense, blood, spices, but also some of the most beautiful things like roses, a beating heart, rubies, etc.

The Blue of Distance takes a very introspective and relaxing approach to discussing the color blue. I especially loved the quote “blue is the color of longing.” We are often “blue” when we are sad, or miss someone. For me, blue is the color of sadness, being down, depressed, or hopeless. In my mind, blue is the color of tears, even if tears are clear. Blue is also associated with nature, but I mainly associate blue with emotion. As the write claims, distance is associated with missing people, and while time can exacerbate those blue feelings, it can also cure it, and this is something I appreciate.  

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #11

Hito Steyerl’s remarks on the “poor image” and how it transformed society bring up a new way of viewing an image. She brings up the point that the “poor” images are not always bad, and sometimes are done on purpose for artistic reasons. People are so quick to judge something that is not technically perfect, so much so that artists may be barred from producing future work. I believe this viewpoint is something used to be much more prevalent, but as there is less pressure to be perfect and more pressure to be unique, purposefully making an image stand-out, even if its considered “poor,” may get more noticed by the general public, even if it is frowned upon by the elite & professionals.

As the world is more open to sharing images, and more people are given access to editing software and cameras, the definition of poor image takes on a whole new meaning. We can see the perspectives of everyday people in their rawest form, which can lead to more poor images, but these imagers are rich in authentic and creative content. Because of this, I think in general, people around the world are becoming open to seeing poor images, and I think this transition is not a bad one, because it allows us to view powerful images we may have once neglected on first thought.

Discussion Questions:

Where does the technical end and the artistic expression begin? Must the two always be in agreement or can they be in opposition? Many would agree that some photos are technically a terrible image, but how and where can we draw the line with a technically poor image that has strong artistic expression?

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #12

I decided to focus on the correspondence between Chloé Azzopardi and Paul Cupido. Within their conversation, they utilize contrast between light and darkness quite a bit. Along with this, their correspondence focuses on nature a significant amount, and they switch between black and white and color photos. They seem to switch between responses that are on the nose (pictures of different kinds of flowers, to more complex and symbolic responses (tree and the snake).

Within these photos, you can see the bright white corals in the water, while the b/w photo has these bright “white” butterflies as a response It is also interesting how the first photo has creatures of the sea while the second photo has creatures of the land.

This correspondence interests me because of the tree and snake connection. I enjoy how the tree branches in color lead to the b/w snake photo, and draws on a biblical reference. I also like how the snake seems to be in a similar shape as the tree branch as well.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #10

Baldwin’s account of his experiences in America and relationship with his father provide a very passionate and truthful account of human emotions and experiences, especially as a black man in America.

One section of Baldwins’ experience that struck me was his experience of being ignored, not served, and laughed out of places. At first feeling so angry and frustrated that he was determined to continue coming to the restaurant, but slowly being broken down to the point of being afraid to live daily life. Feeling so afraid, angry, unseen and broken to the point of throwing a cup at a server, essentially putting himself in danger. Being broken down can lead to self-destruction, and without people around us to lift us up, we can end up hurting ourselves more than the people who hurt us. I think this quote by Baldwin sums up how these destructive actions manifest in life forever:

“There is not a Negro alive who does not have this rage in his blood- one has the choice, merely, of living with it consciously or surrendering to it. As for me, this fever has recurred in me, and does, and will until the day I die.”

This plays into the acceptable vs equal power dichotomy that he brings up towards the end. If you accept hatred and injustice, you’re a coward and you won’t stand up for yourself. But if you fight back, especially with anger, you’re letting the anger and hatred win, even if you get justice. This is an inner struggle that many people have to deal with everyday and proves to be something that many, if not all people do not have solutions for.

Discussion Questions:

How can we capture these intense human emotions in our photography?

How do you deal with acceptance vs equal power in your daily life? Does one tend to overpower the other?

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #9

Magnum Photos Cooperative was founded in 1947, following the aftermath of the Second World War. The photographers who started Magnum were Robert Capa, David “Chim” Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and George Rodger. Magnum was created in an effort to show the individuality of the photographers and work outside of the confines of magazine journalism.Copyright of photos was held by the photographers themselves with Magnum, and not by a magazine.

This move allowed for more creativity of work, longer assignments, and for photographers to be inspired and not necessarily do all of their shooting based on a magazines’ wants and needs. One photographer that I was particularly drawn to was Alessandra Sanguinetti. She is known for her lyrical style that displays themes of memories, places, and youth. She was born in New York, but grew up in Argentina, and inspired by man’s relationship with animals as well as the life of two cousins, created some of her most famous works, On the Sixth Day and The Adventures of Belinda and Guille and the Meaning of their Enigmatic Dreams, respectively.

 The opossum, 1998

Petals, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002

The Models, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2000

Ophelias, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2001

Rainbow and Duck, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2001

Buenos Aires, 1995

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #8

Salt of the Earth was an emotional, poignant experience that touched me in many ways. Salgado’s photography captures some of the magnificent moments in nature but also some of the most disturbing moments of human nature. One thing about Salgado’s work that stuck with me is his relationship with his subjects and his daring nature to enter into some of the scariest and saddening situations, like the Rwandan Genocide, fires set in Kuwait, or the famine in Ethiopia. I think his work begs the question of “moral” photography, as in what is respectable to photograph and when should you take the photo. He captured people in their worst conditions, on the brink of death, or already dead, and although the photo itself could be for good, I wonder if the decision to take the photo is the caring, respectable, or honorable thing to do? Aside from this though, Salgado is one of my absolute favorite photographers we have studied so far because of his ability to touch people in so many ways and bring emotion and stories into photography, which is what I want to strive to do in my own work. 

Wim Wenders is the director of Salt of the Earth. He is German, and worked in the field of photography by taking his own photos as well as making other documentaries. He worked on “Pictures from the Surface of the Earth,” a photography book, for over 20 years, which has photos of landscapes, city views, and architecture. 

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #4

Walter Benjamin touches on many interesting themes in A Short History of Photography. 

One of his interesting thoughts was debating if photography should be relegated to being a “servant” to the sciences and the arts, and not be used as a complement for art itself. He discussed that photography as an art form would ruin “art” itself. I highly disagree with this thought (as most people likely do). While photography is a great aid for various topics like science, it captures moments in time in an authentic, raw, gruesome, beautiful way that paintings or other art forms cannot. Photography can help us connect emotionally to something or someone we have never met, and I believe for many people (including myself) that photography draws out my emotions way more than a painting ever could. For example, seeing a photo of a gruesome event like death, abuse, etc in a photo would rock me to the core a lot more than a painting of that could. Photography also seems to emit a call to action for many. War photos make people pick up their arms and fight, photos of nature makes people flock and enjoy the outdoors, etc. If photography was kept as a servant, I feel as if it would be underutilized and the world would be so much different than it is now, probably for the worst.

Another thought that interested me was how he discussed the view that because Man was made in the image of God, the “image” is God intended it could not truly be captured by a human machine. This really struck me, because at first I strongly disagreed with that thought, but then I thought about how I’ve seen photos of people who I thought were absolutely beautiful, but when I saw the person in real life, they became even more beautiful, which is hard to explain, but I think it partially occurs because of the way that you can experience someone in their fullest extent (personality, quirks, physical looks, words, etc). While a photo can attempt (and often succeeds) to capture a lot of those things, it is hard to substitute for the real thing. 

Questions for discussion:

1. What would a world be like with photography as a “servant”?

2. How do you attempt to capture a person’s full essence in your photography?