Over the course of the last seven months or so I have looked at more artists’ works than I can count. Some I felt connected strongly with my own work, either visually or conceptually, and others not so much. Francesca Woodman (1958-1981, American) was a photographer whose work has resonated with me, specifically in relation to my Body as Measurement series. While her life was relatively short, Woodman’s work was nothing less than significant in process for her time, as well as imagery which still captivates audiences.
The first photograph that I saw of Woodman’s, which pulled my attention immediately, was Space², created in Providence, Rhode Island from 1975-1978 as part of a series most likely for an assignment for her classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (Francesca Woodman). Francesca Woodman began photographing when she was a teenager, but was mature for her age in both use of imagery and concept as well as creative techniques. In most of her work (there are approximately 800 prints total that she created) she uses long exposure times, resulting in a soft focus and the blur of movement. This blur makes figures appear almost ghost-like, especially since the prints are in black and white. The contrast and removal from everyday context using black and white photography abstracts the figure further. Because of this, there’s an initial question that becomes evident for the viewer: is this figure being absorbed, emerging, or perhaps displaying the overlap between our realm and the spirit realm? In the same token, since Woodman ended her life prematurely, committing suicide at age 23, many art critics and viewers have often wondered if her photographs were her way of attempting to make herself disappear. Family and friends of Francesca Woodman claim that it was actually quite the opposite—she loved her work and actually was working more with the idea of self-preservation and self-presentation (Gumport). Both of Woodman’s parents were artists, so from a young age Francesca understood the importance of how to present yourself, which shows through her work, particularly her self-portraiture.
Another of Francesca Woodman’s prints that struck me was House #3, also photographed in Providence, Rhode Island in 1976. This image too was created using long exposure time. Much of Woodman’s work, if not all of it, dealt with portraiture of herself or of others, whom often resembled Woodman. Her use of light, especially the natural light in this image, create almost a spectral illusion in combination with the wisp of a figure we see. Even Woodman herself often referred to her long-exposure images as her “ghost pictures” in her journals (Gumport). Woodman’s intent of the ghost pictures, however was not to attempt to portray ghosts or the spirit of the dead or even to portray someone disappearing, but to capture a portrait of, she wrote, “legs and time,” as she is the first artist known to take images of women’s legs, which we often see now in contemporary work (Gumport). Woodman’s brief life’s work has influenced many artists. Her description of her work as a portrait of time is such a beautiful, accurate description. In this aspect, self-preservation and the preservation of time is evident: long exposures capture not only one moment in time, but multiple, and when she developed and fixed the photographs, it was as though she was stopping those fleeting moments and capturing them, forever to remain unchanging on a piece of paper.
A final photograph of Francesca Woodman’s which resonated with me is Untitled, created in Boulder, Colorado from 1972-1975 as part of a photographic series. Movement and time are once again most evident in this image. The long exposure time and lighting once again present the figure as though she is an illusion, not fully there physically and yet so very present. Woodman does not remain still in her photographs, which I feel relates to her perception of her own life. Having parents as successful artists (her mother was a painter and ceramicist, and her father was a painter and photographer) put pressure on Francesca to be a successful artist, which according to her journal entries and reflections from friends, resulted in Francesca constantly working, trying to network and be productive regarding making it as a professional photographer (Gumport). She was never still, inside or out, which is reflected through her photography. Woodman’s pictures are more than a physical portrait of herself, they are a conceptual portrait of who she is as well. Woodman wrote on the edge of one of her prints, “There is the paper and then there is the person” (Gumport). I feel that her photographs embody both. It’s as though through her photographs Francesca Woodman truly did preserve her thoughts, her moments here on Earth; she preserved herself through them.
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| Marie Veschusio #6 |
In reflecting on my own work after observing Francesca Woodman’s photographs I have drawn many correlations and overlaps. First, the process in taking the images for Body as Measurement is much the same and therefore the resulting images are similar. I used a long exposure time, which produced ghost-like images that capture time and movement. I also chose to use black and white photography to remove the motion shown from the typical reading of time and place. Limiting the color to black and white allows for the idea that the movement and time that is captured could potentially be happening anywhere at any time, similarly to Francesca Woodman’s photographs. Conceptually, there is quite a bit of overlap between Woodman’s and my work. This continual idea that we can capture time appears throughout both of our work. Something typically intangible becomes something relatively tangible, as we can see the physical passing of a series of moments through a photograph. For both Woodman’s photographs and my own, process (long exposure time) is crucial to conveying a concept that otherwise would not be evident. Self-reflection and the awareness of our relationship between the body, space, time and the outside world is also something that I see as a conceptual overlap between Woodman’s work and my work. We all have such an impact on the world around us, and we significantly impact those around us, so acknowledging and understanding ourselves is integral to life, which I believe can be done through art, as Woodman and I both appear to have done.
Marie V. Body as Measurement
Francesca Woodman was an artist who I found my work in Body as Measurement to relate to significantly. Long exposure times, capturing movement and time, the lack of stillness, and the preservation of one’s self are a common theme between our photographs. Formally, in process, and in concept, my work absolutely relates to Woodman’s. It is amazing to me the information that can be shared and shown through a photograph or piece of art, even decades apart. Woodman’s time and work has not been taken for granted, but appreciated in many ways by more than only me; I simply have taken the time to acknowledge her as more than the photograph or the paper, but as the person.
Work Cited
Work Cited
Francesca Woodman, 1958-1981. Tate (2017). Web. Accessed 1 May 2017.
Gumport, Elizabeth. The Long Exposure of Francesca Woodman. 24 Jan. 2011. The New York Review of Books (1963-2017). Web. Accessed 1 May 2017.
Images Consulted
Figure 1
Francesca Woodman
Space²
1975-1978
gelatin silver print
140 x 140 mm
Space²
1975-1978
gelatin silver print
140 x 140 mm
Figure 2
Francesca Woodman
House #3
1976
gelatin silver print
140 x 140 mm
House #3
1976
gelatin silver print
140 x 140 mm
Figure 3
Francesca Woodman
Untitled
1972-1975
gelatin silver print
Untitled
1972-1975
gelatin silver print
Figure 4
Marie Veschusio
Body as Measurement
2017
digital inkjet print
Body as Measurement
2017
digital inkjet print
Figure 5
Marie Veschusio
Body as Measurement
2017
digital inkjet print
Body as Measurement
2017
digital inkjet print
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Anne V. - Body as Measurement
Juana Gomez is a Chilean contemporary artist born in 1980, whose work is done using self-portraits of her own body and embroidery. I’ve chosen to compare and contrast my Body as Measurement piece (Figure 4) with her work. Both our concepts and methodologies are very similar.
Juana Gomez’s work is much more representational than mine, unlike hers, I used imagery that would not usually be associated with the human body. In her piece titled Self, 2015 -2016 from her Constructal collection (Figure 1), she printed an entire nude body self-portrait onto linen and then hand embroidered red and blue veins on top of it. All of her work depicts realistically rendered veins, organs and other internal elements. Unlike my piece, hers is very scientifically and medically accurate. Gomez’s imagery is realistic and straightforward, while mine is very conceptual and abstract. Also, we both work with the same materials, our processes and how we express the idea of measuring the body is what differs. Similarly, we both used our hand as a measuring tool for our work. Since, Gomez hand embroiders everything, she is actually using her hand to map out the internal body. While I measured the various parts of my hand to actually use the measurements as the basis of my piece.
Throughout all of her work, Gomez shows that the human body has some incredibly intricate designs, the piece I just mentioned accomplishes this extremely well. Similarly, in how I depicted the line and the shape of the motion that are hands and fingers make, just through moving through the air, she also shows the various shapes and beautiful lines that exist within our bodies. One of the major components to her piece, Self, is that through all of the embroidery of veins and organs, she is able to stitch the connections between all of the different parts of the body. So that no longer is the body separated, but it becomes a unified entity that seems so much stronger than it was before. It’s very significant that Gomez chose to embroider veins all over her body, because they are the one internal element we have that runs throughout our interiors, they hold the body together, and allow each body part to be connected with each other. My piece also depicted the idea of connections, I showed different motions that hands can make, and the motions of different parts of the hand. So by using the same process and materials throughout my piece, I was able to connect the various parts of the hand, and bring light to the fact that it is a whole body that needs to work together. I was able to successfully portray how different each motion visually appears when constructed into a shape, while still allowing it to resonate as a unified body of work.
Another one of Gomez’s pieces, Constructal A, 2015, from her Constructal collection (Figure 2), she used the same materials and process as the last one, but this time she also drew on the photographed self-portrait, before embroidering. Throughout her work she is continually deciphering the language of the body, like how in Constructal A, Gomez is studying and doing her best to portray the musculature of the face, and how it expresses itself. I too depicted the language of the hands, and how they communicate through motion. I know hands can’t speak, but they can move, so they are able to speak through their actions and the movements they make. Most of Gomez’s work is large scale and based around self-portraiture, so it becomes very personal to her, just as in my work I used my hands as the basis for the project. In her piece Constructal A (Figure 2), she is mapping out the face using muscle, by creating a planar analysis of it, as she also did with the veins in Self (Figure 1). This really emphasizes the curvature and three dimensionality of the face, I too created a planar analysis of hand and finger motions, showing a simplified breakdown of what each motion would look like flattened.
The last piece I’m going to set against mine, is titled Constructal 3, done in 2015, it is from the same collection, and is a photograph printed on cotton with hand embroidery (Figure 3). Gomez has a lot of symmetry in her work, which is something I also worked with. Due to the fact that our bodies are already so symmetrical, she successfully complemented this symmetry by being consistent with her stitching and designs. All of the three pieces that have been mentioned could be folded vertically in half and they would match up almost perfectly on each side. Another factor of her work which emphasizes symmetry, is that her self-portraits are strictly straight on, such as in Constructal 3, while although a cropped image, it is her body facing right towards the viewer. The veins spewing from both sides of the heart create a very symmetrical form. This frontal approach creates a balance that one could not achieve from a side view. Likewise, my piece emphasized symmetry as well, the shapes I created from the measurements I collected are very symmetrical in nature, and well balanced.
Color also plays an important role in both Gomez’s work and my own piece. Gomez uses both representational and realistic color, that one would find in the human body, such as the red and blue of the veins, and the dark muddy reds of the muscle. She also took into account the color of the fabric, which is a very skin like in color. The use of realistic colors creates a very natural feel to the work, it allows the piece to take on a more human form, that becomes really relatable to the viewer. My approach to color was in a very different way, unlike Gomez, my choices were very conceptual in meaning and I used the colors symbolically. For example, I chose to use the color red for the shape that represented the palm of my hand because this is where all of the heat is stored in the hand. I also chose to use green for my thumb, due to the reference of people who can take care of plants well, having a “green thumb." The creaminess of the muslin I chose to work with reads skin-like, allowing my piece to appear more organic and human in form, which creates a nice contrast with the geometric shapes I included. Speaking for both of our work, any other background color would have been too distracting and taken away from the piece, this allows the vibrant colors of the embroidery to really standout.
Although Juana Gomez’s work takes a more representational route than mine, we both are influenced by how the human body is structured, functions, and the patterns that it makes. Our bodies are beautiful and can create the most intricate designs, this is what Gomez and I both successfully portrayed.
Works Cited
"10 Artists Who Contemporize the Ancient Craft of Embroidery." Illusion Magazine. Scene360, 2017. Web. 03 May 2017.
Evans, Hayley. "Juana Gomez Embroiders Human Anatomy On Top Of Faded Photographs Of The Body." Beautiful/Decay. Something in the Universe, 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 03 May 2017.
Gómez, Juana. Juana Gómez. N.p., 2017. Web. 03 May 2017. <https://www.juanagomez.com/>.
Recinos, Eva. "Intricately Embroidered Self-Portraits Explore Anatomy and Physics." Creators. Vice Magazine, 28 Feb. 2016. Web. 03 May 2017.
Figure 1
Collection: Constructal
Title: Self
Year: 2015 - 2016
Artist: Juana Gomez
Hand embroidery and photography on linen
Size: 200 x 100 cms
Figure 2
Collection: Constructal
Title: Constructal A
Year: 2015
Artist: Juana Gomez
Hand embroidery, drawing and photography on fabric
Size: 42 x 60 cms
Figure 3
Collection: Constructal
Title: Constructal 3
Year: 2015
Artist: Juana Gomez
Hand embroidery and photography on cotton
Size: 45 x 77 cms
Figure 4
Title: Body as Measurement
Year: 2017
Artist: Anne Vaccaro
Embroidery thread on muslin
Size: Large piece, 47 x 20.5 inches
Small piece, 8.5 x 7.75 inches
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There are many contemporary artists creating striking work right now, but none like ceramicist, Kate MacDowell (b.1972, American). Kate MacDowell creates work that speaks greatly to humankind and the world around us, using a medium that conveys her message loud and clear. Influenced by her many experiences and exposure to various environments and cultures, as well as her first love, literature, MacDowell’s passion for the world around her is evident through her art.
Kate MacDowell has been creating incredible works of sculpture for the past ten years now, but she was not always a visual artist. As her first passion was word-use and literature, MacDowell received her Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature in 1994, from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. A year later, in 1995, she received her Master of the Arts of Teaching in English, also from Brown University (MacDowell). MacDowell taught in a few different urban high schools, as well as produced many websites for high-tech corporations, before taking a year and a half to travel and experience another side of the world. This period of time spent travelling, visiting and immersing herself in other cultures and environments, has truly shaped Kate MacDowell into the artist she is today.
After traveling to Italy, Greece, Nepal and Thailand, and volunteering at a meditation retreat center in rural India, MacDowell returned home to the United States with a fresh perspective on life. She claimed in an interview for the blog, Lobster and Canary, that it was towards the end of her travels that she realized that art was a vital need, not just an indulgence or a luxury (Rabuzzi). This is when her career as a visual artist took root. Upon her return in 2004, MacDowell began taking a number of different art courses and programs to create new skills. She began studying ceramics full time at the ArtCenter, in Carrboro, North Carolina (MacDowell). She then decided to continue her learning at Portland Community College’s Cascade campus and the Oregon College of Art and Craft’s community education program. While MacDowell also studied flame-worked glass briefly, at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, she was attracted to porcelain as a medium and began to truly hone in on her skills, using them to convey her passion for the natural environment around us (MacDowell).
Kate MacDowell’s work is all beautifully crafted and hand-built individually, carrying a consistent theme throughout. She refers to the concept as a “romantic ideal” of the unification of the problems and struggles of the natural world with our contemporary impact on the natural environment (MacDowell). MacDowell marries the idea of beauty, regarding material, with the concept of inevitable mortality, regarding imagery. There is a clear reminder through her work that the environmental stressors of today, which we produce, like climate change, toxic pollution and gm crops, are terrible for ourselves and the living beings around us. These conflicts between man and nature impact everyone, making MacDowell’s work highly relatable to viewers. In speaking about her approach and execution of such a consistent, and yet visually varying, theme in her work, Kate MacDowell stated “… the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices (MacDowell).”
In looking at MacDowell’s Canary 3 (Figure 1.1), created in 2009, the illusion of the union between man and nature is prominent. Formally, the technique used and materials chosen give strength to the visual relationship between these two opposing forces in the natural world. MacDowell explains her reasons for choosing to work in porcelain, as it maintains a “luminous, ghostly quality (MacDowell).” There is a smooth, creamy, translucent appearance to the porcelain, which does allude to the sense of absence, of something that once was or soon shall be gone. Since MacDowell hand-sculpts a solid form first, in this case the human lungs, then hollows it out and adds in the smaller forms, being the canaries and branches, the use of negative space is successful in translating the idea of transformation of both humans and the birds. On the one hand, humans lived closely with nature in the past. We lived off the land, valued and cared for the animals and wildlife around us, as we depended on their survival for our own survival. Somehow, throughout the course of history and the development of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) and advancements in technology, we have become increasingly less dependent on the land, and therefore less appreciative of the nature surrounding us. Human action and current living standards are destroying the living beings around us. At the same time, the canaries serve as a representation of us. There are people who try to give the world alternative options to create a healthier, environment friendly lifestyle, advocating for increased knowledge about the effects of our technologies, like toxic pollution. They are attempting to offer protection, of the human race and of the life around us, and yet there’s a gap in the protection where people don’t take what is offered. Our disregard of the opportunity for protection will be our own destruction. The pale, translucent appearance of Canary 3 acts as foreshadowing for our bleak future if we do not take more action to protect ourselves and the nature around us.
Venus (Figure 1.2), created in 2006, is another representation of the conflicts of the natural world brought together with the concept of our contemporary impact on the environment, formally and symbolically. The human anatomical heart is depicted with Venus Flytraps growing out of it, almost as though there is a struggle between the two, fighting for survival—which will prevail and live on? While visually this conflict is striking, as it directly relates to the consequences of our actions on the environment currently. If we do not take responsibility for our actions and begin making better decisions for the environment, nature will not subsist. At the same time, the symbolism seen in this piece can be read in a slightly different manner; Venus could be a representation of what needs to happen between humans and nature. The two must exist as one, thriving off of each other. Visually, the Venus Flytrap and the human heart are married. The illumination from the light placed within the hollow core of the porcelain displays a sense of hope and warmth. The relationship between humans and nature does not have to be this strained. The light also represents life. Instead of appearing ghostly, pale and dying, the warmth of the amber light within the sculpture appears to give it movement, a heartbeat in a sense, and represents the triumph that can be achieved through coexistence rather than environmental abuse. Kate MacDowell’s decision to incorporate light into this piece was extremely beneficial in showing viewers what can be. The use of porcelain was also successful for several reasons. First, the transparency of it is crucial combined with the internal lighting. A material that is more opaque, such as water based clay or red clay, would not allow the same appearance or illumination as the porcelain does. MacDowell’s use of porcelain also provides an incredible sense of fragility, particularly when illuminated in such a way from within, while at the same time appearing strong. Kate MacDowell does reference this duality of conveying strength and impermanence as a crucial part of her love for the material, as she relates these qualities as being similar to the dying ecosystem—temporary, delicate and yet strong in ways (MacDowell).
In the Hand 2 (Figure 1.3), created in 2008, shows a literal visual representation of our contemporary impacts on the environment and the natural world. The human hand, grasping the bird around its neck, choking it, represents exactly what is happening every time we decide to use a source of energy that isn’t efficient or when we cut down forests because we want that particular wood or want to develop that land. The future of the environment and the existence of nature lies in our hands, literally and figuratively in In the Hand 2. MacDowell united these two figures, not representing our working to preserved the life of the environment and humans, but to represent our perilously close to dead relationship with nature. Figures of speech, such as “holding it in the palm of your hand,” clearly influence Kate MacDowell’s work, as she has such an extensive background in English and literature, and she has stated in interviews that often times she will choose a title before even having a visual depiction of a project in her head (Rabuzzi). The use of material and scale in In the Hand 2 proves to be well executed. MacDowell’s attention to detail in sculpting both the human hand and the bird is immaculate, and translates well through the porcelain. Porcelain retains texture and detail extremely well, while appearing smooth and creamy. This creates an uncomfortable juxtaposition for the viewer, reading the piece as the human’s aggressive hold on nature while appearing polished and beautiful. It abstracts things a bit, removing the typical sense of almost horror of the visual. This piece conveys a statement clearer than most others in Kate MacDowell’s portfolio, as it is straightforward in content. Human impact on the environment is literally killing it and the nature around us.
Kate MacDowell’s work touches on many real issues in society today. Our impact, relationship and downfalls with nature, as well as presenting hopes of what our relationships could be, are a prominent theme throughout her work over the last ten years. Her use of materials, scale, texture, and technique (hollowing the solid form), is remarkable regarding effectiveness in conveying her thoughts to the viewer. Conceptually, the visual representations which MacDowell chooses to work with are extremely successful. The tension can be felt easily, and she is impacting the world through her work, one viewer at a time.
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3
Works Cited
MacDowell, Kate. Kate MacDowell, 2017. Web. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.
Rabuzzi, Daniel A. 6+1 Interview: Kate D. MacDowell, 19 Sept. 2009. Lobster and Canary (2017). Web. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.
Images Consulted
Figure 1.1
Canary 3
2/2009
13 ½"x12 ½"x6"
hand built porcelain, cone 6 glaze
Figure 1.2
Venus
12/2006
9”x14”x9”
hand built porcelain, cone 6 glazes, acrylic gel, halogen light, wiring
Figure 1.3
In the hand 2
7/2008
9“x5 ½ “x4 ½ “
hand built porcelain, cone 6 glaze
-------------------------------------------------------------John M.
This semester as an artist I feel like I have really grown conceptually. We were given nine projects, some I really enjoyed and some I really struggled with. One project in particular was figure drawing, I was glad we did it in class because I have never drawn a figure before. Some of my favorite projects in this class would include Body as Measurement, Mapping and my final project, Poetic Marks. Another thing I enjoyed was researching and writing about different artists in the world that relates to my art. In fact, Catherine Opie (b. 1961, American) happens to be a photographer who has begun to inspire my work more and more. Although it doesn’t seem like it, I relate to her work in many different ways. I hope to relate her work to my work that I have done this semester in Graphic Forms.
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| John Meyer. Good Side |
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| John Meyer, Bad Side |
Catherine Opie was born in Sandusky. Ohio in 1961. In 1984 Opie attended the California Institute of Arts. Opie Graduated in 1988 and did her senior thesis on examining planned communities in Valencia, California. Opie has also been a huge activist with the LGBT community. Her work centered around people’s perceptions of identity. Like most photographers she was an observer of those around her; however she also used her photography for political activism. As Catherine Opie has said: “It’s really important for me that I still can find something valuable in relationship to the idea of an early observational photographer—that it can be found and I can wait for it.” A lot of historical photographers, who used film, had to wait for their shot, which teaches patience. As a modern photographer, Opie also uses patience as a virtue in her photographic philosophy. I see this philosophy as a life lesson, Patience is a life lesson that I should pay more attention to. I tend to go after the photograph and not wait for the moment to happen. Catherine Opie, as a modern photographer, shows me that perhaps this is an important aspect that I need to work on myself in my photography and in life in general. There are many reasons why I am so inspired by Catherine Opie, but as I compare Opie’s work to my own I hope to find similarity as well as show differences.
Catherine Opie’s first break out series that made her famous was in 1991. It is called Being and Having. Thirteen images were shown in her first solo show in the 494 Gallery in New York City. This project took her about a month to create. In this series she wanted to photograph the best mustaches from art history. Opie did this this for a male cancer campaign called Movember. This campaign brought awareness to lot of male cancers. Opie once said: “When you isolate the face and put a name tag on the frame, you emphasize the question of identity”. Opie used fake mustaches and even posed herself as a person named Bo in one of her thirteen images. I can relate Being and Having by Catherine Opie to my own series called Good Side and Bad Side. In my photographic work, I start off like Opie getting as close as to people’s faces when I was shooting. In this forced intimacy, it made some of my subjects and myself feel very uncomfortable. Very similar to Opie, I put myself in my own piece. Although we begin our projects pretty much with the same subject idea, taking portraits of people’s faces up close, the end result is very different. In my process, like Opie, I photograph my friends or people I see. In this project I photographed a total of fifty different people. Then I manipulated my photos through editing. I cropped and merged people’s faces to create two distinct faces out of fifty different examples of those I photographed. I made use a lot of Photoshop to create to different composites of people in their natural habitat. I tried pointing out what people like on their face as well what they don’t like. Opie composed her photographs preprocess by controlling the light, background, and what some people looked like by choosing the mustache on their face. When I composed, my photographs relied on post process. As I said before, I photographed people in their natural habitat, meaning I used the light that was in the scene and the background didn’t matter to me, as I knew I would be cropping out particular facial features in post production. This would make the person not recognizable by cropping and merging different faces together into two different portraits. Finally, although we are both photographing the same subject of faces, our processes and end results are very different.
When Catherine Opie moved to Los Angeles, Opie as a photographer she noticed a lot of things in her neighborhood. One happens to be mini malls, the first ones happen to be near Koreatown. Opie created the series, Mini Malls from 1997-1998. Opie shot with a large format camera, the film was seven inches by seventeen inches this was really important. She shot with a film camera, so pre-process was important to her. She took her time in the set up and was careful in the actual shooting. The photographs were black and white panoramas of mini-malls. Virginia Heckert from the department of photographs said: “She’s chosen to photograph at dawn, when no people are around.” This was a crucial aspect in photographing this series of 14 images. Heckert later said: “By photographing those mini-malls devoid of people and cars and all of the accompanying sounds, she draws our eye to what we ordinarily overlook.” These were displayed at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. I can relate the Mini Mall series to my series called My Path. In my series photographed a path I took on a Friday at Cazenovia College. Like Opie, I photographed panoramas of street views. In my photographs, I also did not have people in them to show what the scene originally looks like. Although there are similarities they are a lot of differences. In retrospect and looking at Opie, I might consider changing some of my shots. One would way be color, and possibly consider shooting in black and white, looking back at Opie’s they are timeless and one questions and pays more attention to what is in the actual scene. Another item that was different, between us is the presentation. In Opie’s her photos were hug expertly in a gallery. When I presented my work I they them down in on the floor connecting them in a path. This was very important to me because I wanted the viewer’s eyes to follow the panorama in to the next scene. I believe Catharine Opie’s work in panoramic images stands as a precedent for other photographers shooting panoramic images. Finally, I believe the panoramas Mini- malls can relate to My Path.
Another series of Catherine Opie’s work, High School Football has nothing to do with my work related to this class but relates to my work outside of class, is that she photographs football players. As everyone in my major knows, I love photographing sports. However, in this class I haven’t really covered sports or to be more specific football. Football is something I would love to shoot for my Capstone. I have been playing football since seventh grade and have been a fan my entire life, so it holds a special place in my heart. An inspirational photographer that also covered football was Catherine Opie. Her show is called High School Football was on display at the Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery in New York City. In her series, she shot portraits of individual players in their pads, not wearing their helmet so you can see their faces. Opie photographs teenage boys on the verge of man hood. Her photos bring a traditional aspect to the football portraits. Opie also shot her photographs in Texas, the heartland of football in America. Aside from the portraits Opie also shot landscapes of the field with football players on it. Opie also documents the event, her landscapes are overall photos of the game, and some are even in action. Although her photos are of the sport of football, they are not what someone would recognize as traditional sports photography. If her intentions were to shoot sports photography, she would have deliberately shot close up of players in action. This intentional photography makes you wonder if her intention was only artistic and if it even mattered to her what sport she was photographing, since her intent was more about documentary photography and this makes it less about sports photography and more about documentation in a more artistic way. When it comes to my Capstone I will be looking at Catherine Opie as well as other photographers like her. My goal will be to try to blend studio arts into sports. To see that she documented sports, artistically really inspires me to do the same and make it conceptual.
In conclusion, I have related Catherine Opie to may own work in Graphic Forms. Some comparisons are we both like taking portraits, as well as doing panoramas. Documentary photography plays a role in both our works. Some differences are Opie is more conceptual. I like to manipulate post process, when Opie does a lot of set up, before she photographs her work with very little post process. Catherine Opie is also an inspiration not just for portrait photography but for sports photography as well. Overall, I am glad to have learned about Catherine Opie and her exhibitions; she continues to inspire me and my work.
