Tehching Hsieh

I first Saw Hsieh's work in 2009 while I was in NYC. The exhibit at the MoMA, deemed a performance piece, I believe expanded upon the sometimes artificiality of performance art. Hsieh very much was an artist with a cause, and in my mind, that cause as the illumination of grief and different levels of hardship. In 2009 the MoMA displayed a wooden cage like the one which Hsieh had spent a year doing nothing but photographing himself once each day. Around the rest of the space were the photographs of Hsieh from the 1979 confinement he put himself in. (I do have my own photographs (somewhere) of the exhibit)

Courtesy of the NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/arts/design/19perf.html?_r=1)

I bring up Hsieh now because I think his purpose in art is a noble one. His work does not come off, like a lot of performance pieces (not just as artificial as I have mentioned but also) as selfish with a little bit of finger wagging to its audience. For the Talent Show Exhibit now up at P.S. 1 (until April 4th) Hsieh had but one image: of a poster he made in 1978 advertising his illegal status where he encouraged people to turn him into the proper authorities if they saw him. Here Hsieh was not promoting his own interests, but commenting on both insignificance and status. An illegal immigrant seems to represents only a shadow- someone whom would be disposed of if properly searched for, but at what cost is a government and its citizens willing to pay, especially when an illegal immigrant has no legal income, or is barely scraping by, far from being noticed.

To make a long story short, I found it most interesting that Hsieh has stopped considering himself an artist. His works seem to stem from the deepest depths of personal grievances. I am incredibly interested to find out how someone can tap into making work from pain and injustice without raising a hand in protest. Or, is Hsieh a quiet protester?

After a long, interrupted hiatus....

I plan to this week update the world (all three of you) upon our trip last week to NYC. This is a good start to the catching up on my blog.


I must begin with the fact that last Friday was a full moon- apparently the largest/ closest in a whole long time. Because of the moon, the train from NJ to NYC stopped in Princeton for an hour and a half. Better yet, the whole service was shut down for that time. Fast forward past the stress and such to us at the MoMA where currently on exhibit for which I saw are Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914; Pictures of Women:A History of Modern Photography; Staging Action: Performance in Photography Since 1960; & Abstract Expressionist NY. Here is a taste of some of my favorites:

Matthew Barney: Cremaster 3: Garry Gilmore 2002. Courtesy of the MoMA.
This whole series is really cool, check it out here: http://www.cremaster.net/#

Pablo Picasso. Still life with Guitar. Variant state. Paris, assembled before November 15, 1913. Subsequently preserved by the artist. Paperboard, paper, string, and painted wire installed with cut cardboard box, Overall: 30 x 20 1/2 x 7 3/4". Courtesy of the MoMA

Jackson Pollock. Number 1A, 1948.1948. Oil and enamel paint on canvas, 68" x 8' 8". Courtesy of the MoMA. This exhibit was possibly my favorite. Early Jackson Pollack is great, and Barnett Newman (I will be posting about him soon) were quite interesting)

William Wegman. Foamy Aftershave (L-Foamy; R-Aftershave). 1982. Color instant prints, 28 1/2 x 22" Courtesy of the MoMA. If any of you have seen the puppy book I have in my studio, this is the same guy. This work is a lot more interesting to me that a lot of Wegman's stuff.

So, after the MoMA, we went over to P.S. 1., which generally is a great time. I was a little more disappointed this time with them, especially the works by Laurel Nakadate. Her exhibit was called "Only the Lonely" and the shitty "365 days of crying" works were both incredibly juvenile, incredibly kitsch and entirely absent of anything interesting. She was just crying everyday and taking Myspace like pictures? What is that shit? Though her films were kind of interesting, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the men she seemed to exploit in them. On P.S.1's site they say:
      'The exhibition brings together bodies of work that touch on voyeurism, loneliness, the manipulative power of the camera, and the urge to connect with others, through, within, and apart from technology and the media' 
       (See the rest of the description here: http://ps1.org/exhibitions/view/321 )
To me, her work doesn't glorify, but abuses most of modern art photography's desires to see works which are voyeuristic, and which pinpoint the manipulative power of the camera. They're way too direct in an absurd and underdeveloped manner. I guess, what sells sells. I hope this is an approach P.S. 1 ceases to take in the future.

Installation view courtesy of P.S.1

In the forest, hear the trucks

It's been a very crazy mundane week. Mostly memorable. I've spent so much time off the path I thought I'd take over spring break: there exists little partying, less sleeping, and (what seems like it has been) even less time left. Artistically, I may have either had a revelation or just solved another riddle of my thesis work.


That being said, I've come to solidify what I have been shooting all along,  and why I'm doing it. I've come up with a tentative title of "closer than we notice" and I believe it fits my work because the overarching idea of my photographs has been based around trying to see things the way they are rather than the way we want them to be. I have been trying to place an explanation to the work, but it has only really brought me into conflict. Instead, by realizing that the ideas of suburbia, family history, chaos/order, narratives, space, memory, etc make up my work, I began to realize that I am trying to comment on our (or my) perception of a very subtle but omnipresent and beautiful world.

I'm kind of a freak: basically, I have these moments almost everyday, where I just choose to really look harder at the visual world happening before me. That sounds silly, I know, but when I just stop thinking and begin focusing on the colors, movements, and shapes and their interactions in context of one another, I've been able to see how magnificent the visual world can be. I'm not on drugs, I promise.

Nikki Lee

  Holy Shit!


I was not very impressed at first when I looked at these photographs. 'Sure I said, 'they're depicting different social stratas as a way to give me a glimpse into this world. And, even more, this photographer isn't all about high quality images, and the snapshot thing seems like the work is rawer.' But then I began to see what makes this work so compelling.

Works courtesy of fraction magazine


    Upon wikipediaing Ms. Lee I learned:
               "Lee's most noted work, Projects (1997–2001), begun while still in school, depicts her in snapshot photographs, in which she poses with various ethnic and social groups, including drag queens, punks, swing dancers, senior citizens, Latinos, hip-hop musicians and fans, skateboarders, lesbians, young urban professionals, and Korean schoolgirls." (Courtesy of Wikipedia.org)

Then I looked back at all those images above (try it, it'll blow your mind). She then is so omnipresent in every picture. Such work transcends what is the typical role of a viewing audience. Yeah, they're cool images, but you never realize how much you are involved in these pieces. What I mean is that I felt slightly disappointed in myself for not noticing the peculiarities of the works. Maybe I need to start being a more active viewer. Maybe not. 

   It's very intriguing to think about all the aspects of art I, as a viewer, misses. I know I devote so much energy to subtleties and minute details in my work that why shouldn't I also analyze another artist's hard work as containing subtle and deliberate characteristics? Does it degrade me as a viewer to have missed so obvious the interesting and rather smart qualities of Ms. Lee's work? 

     This work speaks so much on identities, and the inability for someone to see at first a strong message in the work: we are not quite only shaped by the 'class' or race in which we are born in or choose to involve. But, rather we adapt ourselves to that environment: maybe subconsciously. 

      

   Ms. Lee pushes a very thought provoking thought in her work. For me, I see from her work that the visual world present how we express our 'attitude' more than just our race or the cultural identity we surround ourselves with .Our outward presence and the overall visual image of ourselves to the public sphere expresses what we will be communicating about ourselves more than actual auditory language.

 The visual world is omnipotent. Scary.

Kim Holtermand

Though the internet does not suffice for a good description of Mr. Holtermand's work, what we do know is he "is a freelance architectural and landscape photographer from Denmark [who] when he's not out taking mood epic photographs of architecture, Kim works  as a fingerprint expert in The Crime Scene Unit of the Danish National Police." (Courtesy of Behance Network)

Now for my take on his work. Holtermand's predominantly yellow-tinged and subtlety minimalist wide angle scenes go beyond the mundane architectural work you'd expect to see. A bright yet muted color palate along with a strong sense of vertical (and occasionally diagonal lines) augment the sense of emptiness in his scenes.

Mr. Holtermand's masterful ability to make expansive seem miniature has been a large focus of my current landscapes. I believe this is because he carefully coordinates parts of his scene within the whole realm of the photograph. Everything is placed with almost mathematical precision.   In addition to his excellent compositional skill I also hope draw from his levels of contrast: something I have been experimenting with  both in camera and post process. Finding a healthy medium in contrast without loss of information nor the loss of the power contrast can create has been an ongoing struggle for me.

Overall, I take from Holtermand's work the understanding of developing both a style for which to draw success, but also, from his subject matter, keeping a keen eye open to applying my artistic style/ formula with whatever I shoot. Be less fleeting, if not in life, at least in photography.

Courtesy of booooooom.com

Courtesy of twirkethic.com

Courtesy of drseussjuice.com

Courtesy of keef.tv

Courtesy of barrette.tumblr.com

Astrid Kirschherr and the Beatles

In the nature of a true education, I aim to cross-connect my courses. In this instance, the course I'm taking on the Beatles I aim to overlap with my omnipresent desire for portraiture. Ever more, I'm realizing education has one large purpose- to inform us of human interaction.

Kirschherr is best known for her portraits of the Beatles. Simply put, her these photographs cross-list my two earliest passions in music and art. The Beatles equate to my first musical love, portraits equate to one of my earliest forays in photo-arts.

Forcibly focused, intently aware

In the past month, I have found it harder and harder to focus on my photography. Though I blame two things- fewer ideas for locations to shoot and, more powerfully, a slight lack of interest- I do not think I still have the drive.

Though I haven't been out shooting every other day as I had hoped, I am still working hard. I have begun to both focus on my ideas and also I have come up with some exciting new aspects and ways of shooting. Shooting though car windows has began to look interesting for me. Additionally, I am focusing less on planning times to shoot and I have begun to go out and shoot more spontaneously.

My biggest problem, and the one I address here to you is that I like to get things done as soon as the ideas come to fruition. How can I separate myself from impatience in my work and instead continue to incubate my ideas? Additionally, how do I do that without procrastinating? Or worse, without losing the idea all together?

Enjoy the super bowl (commercials)