Julia Kozerski

So...last year I got in touch (via email) with Julia Kozerski whose work I had seen in the 2012 PDN Annual.  I was interested in the photographic documentation of her weight loss because, as I said in class last week, this was something I had intended on doing myself at one point.  In the end, I think she had a lot more courage than me.  I think, also, that my focus would be less on the event and more on the psychological and emotional impact of that.  I still think about how I would/could develop a project based on that experience (and I have mostly considered photographing others as well as myself), but in many ways I have moved on to other experiences I suppose, like that of being a mom or a wife.  But sometimes I still feel the need to express the emotions associated with this experience because of the pain and difficulty it actually produced.  I think I am more interested in playing on others' perceptions of me and how it affects me...and somehow finding a way to integrate that into a visual representation of what it is to be unrecognizable to those who have known you for years and how that actually makes you feel ignored for a variety of reasons. 

Anyway, we had a few email exchanges...shared our experiences...wrote about how difficult it is afterwards and how hard it is to have a normal life again, losing friends along that journey, etc.   She seemed to be on a good path, finding her way in the world and also finding her way photographically.  I hadn't thought much about her since then, but just received an update from her a few days ago in which she talks about all her recent success with her series called, "changing room" in which she photographs herself at different stages of her weight loss inside dressing rooms.  She was interviewed on NPR.com and her project published on a variety of websites:  Jezebel.com, Daily Mail, Buzzfeed, People.com, New York Daily News, MSN and she was invited to appear on Good Morning America and CNN.  In addition to all that, she was just interviewed today on Rachel Ray show.

I bring this up for two reasons.  1. Because it is a reminder that you should follow your intuition.  I thought that doing something based on that experience would be very successful and it was, only I didn't do it.  2. Also as a reminder that submitting to magazines is always a good idea as it can launch your career in ways you never imagined.

Take a look at her website if you have a chance.
http://juliakozerski.com/home

Lauren Rosenbaum, Thomas Dodd and Pricing

As someone who would actually like to sell her work at some point in time (so far with very little success), I'm interested in how others price their photographs and whether they choose to make editions or not. 

On Saturday I went to see Thomas Dodd's work at the Granite Room during FLUX.  I really enjoy his images (maybe because he uses some similar techniques to mine in blending).  They have the kind of surreal, dreamy quality that I enjoy. 

Thomas Dodd "Force of Nature"

I was shocked by the prices he had for the framed prints on the wall.  They were about 16x20 prints and were priced between $110-$95.  ????  Why so low?  Is this what he normally sells them for?  Did he cut the price for the show?  If so, is that a smart move?  Isn't it general knowledge that you don't discount your work?  I waited around to talk to him, but never got a chance as he was talking to others.  But I'd be curious to know what others think of this pricing?  It made me think my photos were overpriced.  He is clearly putting lots of work into the pieces as it's all digitally manipulated.  I wondered if it had to do with the quality of the print on display maybe...

Then I was looking online at some other artists that I like such as Lauren Rosenbaum who has some beautiful photos of her children.  I love this kind of work because my son is often my most consistent model and children have this ability to capture a variety of emotions.  I'm always impressed to see how a photo can freeze a moment of emotional depth in a child, sentiments we often consider solely reserved for adults.  Children spend a lot of time observing, staring off into the distance looking or waiting for something.  I have so many photos of my son looking out into the horizon...life is such a discovery and they are so open.  Her images capture those kinds of moments.  They are simple but beautiful.

 Lauren Rosenbaum "Rejoice"

Lauren Rosenbaum "Dance"

 

Lauren Rosenbaum "Reflect"

 

Lauren Rosenbaum "Dash"

 

 Lauren Rosenbaum "Waiting"

 

When I looked at at her pricing, I found it interesting that she has limited editions based on size and an the option of open edition prints as well.  This is kind of like having the best of both worlds.  Here's what she states about her pricing:

"Print Information: All archival pigment print photographs are produced under the artist's direct supervision. Each image is offered in two sizes, as follows:

30x30" image, printed on 36x36" paper (or 24x30" image size for rectangular images), produced in a limited edition of 25 prints (plus two Artist Proofs). Prices start at $1,000. and increase as the edition sells out.

10x10" image, printed on 14x14" paper (or 8x10" image size for rectangular images), produced in an Open Edition. Prints are priced at $400.

Print prices are set by the artist and are subject to change without prior notice. Please contact Soulcatcher Studio for current pricing information."


This seems like a good idea maybe...

Jonathan Torgovnik

This week after reading Jarret's blog about the work of James Mollison for the series "Where Children Sleep", I began thinking of the importance of combining portraits with a story.  In Mollison's case, the story is told through the imagery of the children's rooms.  As I looked through his work I questioned whether the portraits of the kids were actually strong enough to stand alone without the added dimension of the their personal space represented to the side.  For me, in his case, I don't think they do.  But I realized that I am seeing more and more projects that combine portraits with a background.  I question why?  Are portraits not enough to tell the whole story?

This summer I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the photo festival in Arles called Rencontres d'Arles where I saw the work of Jonathan Torgovnik. I was profoundly moved by his portraits of Rwandan women and their children born of the brutal rape endured during the Rwandan genocide.  The portraits from the series "Intended Consequences" are technically exquisite.  The lighting and the composition is absolutely breathtaking.  The prints were quite large giving the viewer a sense of being in their presence.  The photographs on their own are quite strong, but the addition of text to the side describing the woman's past and current experience is what makes them so much more poignant.

One of the portraits I found technically stunning is this one: Her name is Valentine and you can hear her story here .  In the original exhibit, the text you hear was side by side with this photo.  Many of the stories were very painful and difficult to read.  Most are unimaginable, unacceptable and it's hard to believe that any of these women survived at all. 

 

There is a multimedia piece that goes along with this series, although it wasn't on exhibit during the show.  You can watch it below:

In Rwanda, in 1994, Hutu militia committed a bloody genocide, murdering one million Tutsis. Many of the Tutsi women were spared, only to be held captive and repeatedly raped. Many became pregnant. Intended Consequences tells their stories. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/intended-consequences

Women in Focus-Atlanta

Friday night I went to the opening at Mason Murer and, even though I had my 3 year old son with me, I had enough of an opportunity to see some very inspiring works.  I found myself impressed with many of the photos from the Women in Focus exhibit which prompted me to go to their website and check it out.  As I looked through some of the member portfolios I was even more impressed.  It made me realize how out of touch I am with what's going on in Atlanta and regretful that I don't participate in more groups such as this one. 

Below are some example works from some of my favorite photographers on the site.  I think with all three what moves me is the emotional quality to the photos, although each series is completely different and speaks to a different emotion in me.  The first series of works by Valerie Gruner send me into a dreamlike state, a world where everything is possible.  It brings me back to being a girl and pretending and thinking that my imagination could form reality if I concentrated enough.  I love the colors, the transparency, the repetition, the movement.  On the other side of that coin are Beate Sass's photographs which are simple and beautifully composed.  The last photographer I show is Anne Berry whose work focuses mostly on animals.  I love the quality of light and the composition in her photographs. I enjoy her use of black and white to express emotion.  They are beautiful, kind of haunting and remind us that we are not much different, just one of those apes behind our own cage or glass wall.

Works by Valerie Gruner

 

Works by Beate Sass

And Anne Berry (I think my favorite).  

Gorilla

 

Baboon in Window

 Stop

Persephone

Knocking

and this one from a series entitled: Beast Fables

Donkey on Oak Road

Sophie Calle

"Born in 1953 in Paris, Sophie Calle is a writer, a conceptual artist, a photographer, a movie director or even detective. She might be a little of each, according to the characters that she interprets, the rituals she imagines, the parts of her life that she tells and the feelings that she shares. The artist often explores the investigations methods and her work , most of the time, consists in the association between photography and text.  Sophie Calle creates her own game rules, in order to "Make life better", to give life a structure. For her first project in 1979 she decides to follow a stranger, and this chase brings her to Venice. " Suite Venitienne" is the result of this shadow.  For most of her works it is only in a second part that she leads them into the art sphere. Her installations are the conclusion and the effect of situations which are entirely staged by the artist and lived in an autobiographic way. "
source: BIO


The discussion we had in class about voyeurism led me to rethink of Sophie Calle.  When I applied to the program at SCAD I had her work very much in mind as one of my greatest influences.  Interestingly, since then, I have not produced any work that resembles anything that Sophie Calle has ever done and I haven't been looking at her work either.  So I thought it would be interesting to go back to her work now and remind myself what I love about it so much.  It didn't take long for me to reconnect and remember.  It was/is the blending of autobiographical writing with photography.  I have always had a fascination with "real" life.   This is why I wrote my master's thesis on journal writing and self-growth and why I wrote my dissertation on the personal writings of 20th century authors.  Does the interest in these subjects make me a voyeur? Absolutely.  But I am more interested in seeing into people's minds, into understanding their emotions then anything else.  I'm not so interested in what they're eating, who they are speaking with, what they look like naked, etc.  


I think that because I am a shy person it was easier for me to take these texts to the back corner of a library, immerse myself in these intimate writings in order to unveil and understand a person, than it is to pick up a camera and follow someone around.  But sometimes you can't have access to texts.  Some people don't write and some keep their journals well locked away (like me).  I have one regret as far as this is concerned...one missed opportunity for an interesting photographic project (maybe I will go back to it one day).  When I lived in Paris I would go to the same restaurant about three times a week at the same time of the day.  It is a cafeteria (similar to Piccadilly) and open all day (restaurants in France often close between meals).  I went there because between 3:00-4:30 there would always be "les fous" (the crazies) eating their lunch.  I assumed that the cafeteria was giving them the left-overs for free and that's why they were always there at the same time.  Most of them were homeless...some with suitcases or bags, some with shopping bags full of their belongings.  They were not together, did not sit together, but were all there at the same time eating.  Some looked absolutely normal until they started suddenly having conversations with the non-existent lunch mate across the table; long, detailed conversations.  I was fascinated.  I was kind of obsessed actually.  Sometimes they would speak to me and the conversation was basic...normal...and then they would turn around and keep talking to an invisible person.  I really began to love these people.  I recognized them from week to week and occasionally spotted them on the street in the same neighborhood.  To me, these people were the most interesting people of Paris.  These people had a sense of humor.  They were kind.  They were human.  They were, in some cases, handsome.  And, they were all men.  Surprisingly this became a pleasure for me...my personal moment, disconnected from the rest of the world.   Sometimes I questioned why I was so interested...maybe I'm crazy...because I started to feel that their conversations weren't that weird.  If I were alone in the world, I would probably start doing that too...I'd probably just invent a friend and talk to him/her.   But I think I found it beautiful that these people were simply existing, making sense of their world in this big, chaotic city where friendliness is not a pastime.  Now as I look back I think I should have taken pictures.  I should have striked up more conversations,  I should have followed them out of the restaurant (then it probably wouldn't have seemed so beautiful anymore).  How many times have I wanted to photograph something and didn't have the audacity to pick up my camera and do it?  Too many times. 

The fact that Calle was/is able to bring together both a passion for photography and literature is what I found profoundly moving and inspiring about her work.  Half of my life had been focused on writing and literature and now the focus is on photography and imagery.  When she was asked in an interview why she took up the camera in the first place she said that it had to do with pleasing her father.  He was an art collector with a particular interest in conceptual art and she wanted to seduce him. This spoke to me as well.  I began to write as a way to connect with my father.  Most of my life, we wrote letters back and forth.  He was an avid writer...I admired him infinitely and wanted him to admire me as well.   My father always knew of my passion for photography and my resistance to it as a serious profession for practical reasons (he was more in line with following your passion).  He listened to me agonize over doing what I love versus doing what will get me a job, but he never suggested one over the other (letting his child learn on her own, I guess).  I finished my dissertation 3 months after he died and closed the door on that life, deciding to finally do what my father probably knew I would eventually do...follow my passion.  Unfortunately, the last letter was written years ago, but I know what his response would be..."finally". 

So...remembering Sophie Calle was a good thing for me.
 ________________________________________________________________

Evgeny Khalei

Today I came upon a photo by the Russian photographer, Evgeny Khaldei.  The photograph that caught my attention was this one entitled "Shellshocked Reindeer":

 

At first glance it's pretty amazing and you can't help but think how lucky he was to be in the right place at the right time...after all, he is a documentary photographer.  But as it turns out it is a composite.  According to Witness to History: The Photographs of Yevgeny Khaldei, "during one of the air raids (WWII), Khaldei took the reindeer shot, but it wasn’t as dramatic as he assumed, so he later superimposed British Hawker Hurricanes, flown by RAF pilots to relieve Murmansk, and an exploding bomb to form a composite image." (http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/shellshocked-reindeermurmansk/). 

Well...this makes it even more interesting to me now for a variety of reasons.  First I question whether constructing a photo montage of a war scene can, in some ways, be more documentary.  When we talk about documentary photography we tend to only refer to the actual physical scene before us, but what about documenting emotions?  Often our perception overrides reality.  Don't you remember being a child in your room at night, lights off, and wondering if those shapes and shadows you saw on the wall were monsters or ghosts or something of that sort?  That those noises and creaks were getting closer to your bed?  Sometimes it seemed and felt so intensely real that no one could have convinced me otherwise until the light got switched on...and then still...I might just say whatever it was left out of fear.  

The experience was real.  The fear was real.  So how do you document that feeling, that experience?  You recreate it.  War brings about very real, very tangible and life-altering emotion.  Most people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder spend their lives reliving specific moments that froze time in their minds.  You may not be able to recreate a visual scene exactly as it was, but you can recreate a scene that brings forth the same emotion from a specific setting you were a part of.  You can bring back an emotion and document that.  I don't know if that's what Khaldei is attempting to do in his composite, but it could be.  

Another reason I find this so interesting is because it resembles in some ways what I'm doing with my series "Frontiers".  Although I am not trying to bring back an actual emotion I am blending different documentary imagery from different times and places.

As for other photos of Khalei's...I chose a few of my favorite (below) and if you want to know more about his life and see more work go to this link: http://lumieregallery.net/wp/1694/yevgeny-khaldei-biography/

Yevgeny Khaldei

1917-1977

Berlin 1940's

Storm 1930's

Smiling Man with Ships Reflected in Glasses c.1950