Salt and Gum Print Statement

As a photographer, I document what is happening around me, without thought. It’s the reflex of an artist, in printing the images however, using such an old process, the images become much more than a photograph. Alternative process requires that the light sensitive emulsion be painted on the paper. The act of painting means there is a very physical process of involvement in the creation of the photo. Particularly with gum bichromate prints the interaction of the colors– arguing… fighting with each other is my way of dealing with the immense anger and animosity towards the issues of health in my family.  

The emotion that causes me to become aware of the images and click the shutter becomes represented in the print. The resulting images appear very different than the ones I initially shot with my camera, as if the clicking of the shutter was only a trial image, and through the printing process a new image is formed which becomes the final product. The prints resemble the image taken, but contain more depth and an archaic nature. It is through the printing that I am forced to deal with the image, see it and interact with it, because unlike when the image was taken I cannot hide behind the camera. 

This work is ongoing.

The Concept of an Exhibition

What three examples make an exhibition outstanding and meaningful?

·      Exhibit planning include these three aspects: good design, a needs and resources analysis, and conceptual development. Together they form an overall concept, that not only helps to communicate the work, but facilitate a meaningful experience for the audience. The design of the exhibit takes into account how the work interacts with the environment. Proportions, color and lighting all help to affect the meaning of the work. 

Why are they imperative to the understanding of the exhibit?

·      An understanding of what is needed to make the exhibit function, combined with how it will benefit the overall idea, allows for the articulation and understanding of the exhibits concept. The design should help perpetuate not only the ideas of the art, butshould communicate their visual power and their significance in the society that made and used them, and a well-planned exhibit should give viewers the opportunity to construct meaning that extends beyond pure aesthetics.

What is “Interpretive framework”?

·      Interpretive framework is essentially the theme of an exhibition. This theme of framework, is what guides audience through the exhibit. It establishes the meaning and provides a rationale that help the audience interpret the work.  The framework works to make the individual parts of an exhibit talk with each other and collectively help to communicate the larger idea. 

What are the roles of a curator in exhibition planning? Of an Educator? Of a Designer?

·      Curators focus on content, they are responsible for understanding the work and its subject matter. They insure the works concept is conveyed. 

·      Educators help to view the work as the audience will, they help make sure that the show is understandable.

·      Designers create the structure of the of the exhibit. They also decide how the audience will experience the show, because of this they work closely with educators.

Why is exploration and discovery of ideas important to developing an exhibition?

·      Exploration and discovery of ideas is important because it allows for curator, educator, and designer to pull in their own knowledge and experiences, combining with the art of the show to foster new ideas. This allows the nature of the show itself to be fostered during the process of build the exhibit and to grow as is designed. 

Art Gallery Research

1)   Fahey/ Klein Gallery(http://www.faheykleingallery.com)

a)     Type of art? Photography

b)    Location? 148 NORTH LA BREA, LOS ANGELES, CA 90036

c)     Number of Represented Artist? 20+

d)    First Impressions? The gallery seems to include a wide range of photographers, there are artist working very conceptually, such as Roger Ballen, and many portrait artist, such as Ellen Von Unwerth.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @faheykleingallery

2)   Von Lintel Gallery(http://www.vonlintel.com)

a)     Type of art? Painting & photograhy

b)    Location? 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034

c)     Number of Represented Artist? 28.

d)    First Impressions? Eclectic, this gallery likes to deal with images and painting that are nontraditional. They look for images that subvert what photography might be.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @vonlintelgallery

3)   Fraenkel Gallery(https://fraenkelgallery.com)

a)     Type of art? Photography.

b)    Location? Fraenkel Gallery 49 Geary Street, 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108

c)     Number of Represented Artist? 30.

d)    First Impressions? Not really first… but… I love this gallery! Fraenkle is all about the  unique relationship that photography has with the other mediums of art and how it (photography) interacts with our world.  They also represent many of my favorite photographers.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @fraenkelgallery

4)   Stephen Wirtz Gallery(http://wirtzart.com/)

a)     Type of art? Photography, painting, sculpture

b)    Location? 3260 Ettie St. Studio 20 Oakland, California 94608

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~ 15

d)    First Impressions? There is a theme of life and how we as people and a society go about the world in a lot of the art that is represented here. 

e)     Instagram? Yes, @wirtzgallery

5)   Huxley – Parlour(https://huxleyparlour.com)

a)     Type of art? Photography.

b)    Location? 3-5 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DE

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~25

d)    First Impressions? The gallery includes many heavy hitters in the genra. This gallery seems to be about preserving the history of the great photographers and (maybe) is more geared towards collectors.

e)     Instagram? Yup, @huxleyparlour

6)   A Gallery for Fine Photography(https://agallery.com)

a)     Type of art? Photography.

b)    Location? 241 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

c)     Number of Represented Artist? 20 +

d)    First Impressions? As stated in the info section, Joshua Mann Pailet (owner/founder) collects and sales a very wide range of images. I know of the gallery because they represent Jerry Uelsmann.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @agalleryneworleans

7)   Gagosan(https://gagosian.com)

a)     Type of art? Painting, photography, sculpture

b)    Location? Multiple in New York, LA, London, SF, France, China

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~100

d)    First Impressions? Lots of different work, about everything. Very contemporary, conceptual stuff.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @gagosian

8)   Pier 24 Photography(http://pier24.org)

a)     Type of art? Photography

b)    Location? Pier 24, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~100 +

d)    First Impressions? This is another fun gallery in SF. They have a large space that really showcases the photos, and rotate some very well-known and not so well know artist in and out.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @pier24photography.

9)   Edwynn Houk Gallery(http://www.houkgallery.com)

a)     Type of art? Photographer

b)    Location? Two, one in New York & in Switzerland.

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~40

d)    First Impressions? Interesting to see the artist represented broken up by there period, 20thcentury and contemporary.

e)     Instagram? Yes, @houkgallery

10) Admira(https://admiraphotography.com/en/)

a)     Type of art? Photography.

b)    Location? Via Mercadante, 3 Milano 20124, Italia

c)     Number of Represented Artist? ~15

d)    First Impressions? ITALIA! (I am Italian.) This gallery is fun because it respresents many Italian artist who talk about Italy. We are all nationalist. 

e)     Instagram? No.

From my notebook... Salt Printing

From my notebook...Gum Printing

From my notebook... Semiotic’s

From my notebook...

From my notebook...

Tilley School Van Dyke Browns

Over the summer I photographed some of the construction of a new school site being built here in Fresno Ca. They were all shot with a 4x5 large formate camera. The images were then scanned, reprinted on transparency and printed using the Van Dyke Brown process.

All images are 13x 19in.

Abstracting Photography Statement, Updated w/scans

In the absence of a clear subject, what remains? Unlike the many other mediums of abstract art, photographic abstraction is not prolific. The paintings of CY Twombly, Georges Braque, Ellsworth Kelly and others, whose lack of definite subject matter breeds intrigue, an absence of subject in photography typical leads to an image that falls apart. In contemplating how these painters approach their canvases, It occurred to me that lack of a clear subject in a photo does not actually lead to the diminishment of the image, rather this transforms the picture into a study of formalism. In this perspective, the viewer begins to see as the camera might see, much how we see through our peripheral vision; these are the images that exist on the outside of subject driven images. 

For every photo taken, there is a dialog that happens between the photographer and the camera. An abstract idea is translated by the camera into one of clarity. The question perhaps remains; how can we visualize the idea behind the photography?

Perhaps it is through the subtle connections made in a single frame of frozen time, that showcase the elements that make a photo, a photo.

Collage Progress

I was quite inspired by my visit to the SFMOMA, where I saw the work of Robert Rauschenberg. I made a college that incorporated scrape images from my current project, working with the idea of absence and space. It started a bit rockier but soon sorted itself out. Printing paper makes for a curious element, because of its random color shifting when unfixed and exposed to light.

Absence and a Gallery showing on the subject

In doing research for my current work in progress I found this exhibition taking place at the 

Hirschhorn Museum in Washington DC, titled WHAT ABSENCE IS MADE OF..

In reading about the exhibit, I was intrigued to find that a few artists who I have been looking at are actually exhibiting, namely Hiroshi Sugimoto, and John Baldessari. There are quite a few others as well, all dealing with the subject of Absence. The curator, Gianni Jetzer, had this to state on the exhibition:

“Absence is far more than nothing,” said Jetzer. “In an era of increasing consumerism, [absence] has become a compelling way for contemporary artists to surpass the limits of the material world, the latest in the long tradition of expressing transcendental ideas through art.” With this exhibition, “We’re able to investigate the ways artists make visible the invisible, bringing to light common threads not previously explored.”

— https://hirshhorn.si.edu/explore/what-absence-is-made-of/#detail=/bio/what-absence-is-made-of/

His statements reinforce my own thoughts on the matter and what I am trying to explore with this project. However, in reading the synopsis of the exhibition and looking at a few of the photos, I seem to be at a cross road with what my ultimate outcome is. I want to explore the idea of absence, yet to photograph something, anything, is to photograph something. It becomes a paradox. Perhaps that is telling, maybe there is no such thing as absence, and what we perceive as absence is merely a lack of understanding. Then again, a lack of something is an absence. 

The paradox continues. 

The creative process

I strongly believe in the state of flow.In psychology it’s described as when you become less aware of your environment and more aware of your internal thoughts. This happens to your brain when it is doing a task that is familiar enough that your brain stays engaged but not board. Examples include taking a swim, shower, long walks/ drives, raking leaves et cetera.

More often than not, I find my ideas come out of the brief moments when I’m in those states of flow. It’s a very strange “zen monk” sounding trick, but it’s backed by science and I believe in it...

I am very research oriented and typically will spend many hours over days gathering information on what it is I am thinking about. Typically this happens in moments of passing and less in an organized sort of manner. I gather all the information I collect in my note app, or Evernote, or write it out long hand. I also save links like a crazy person to reference back to. 

I often find there is a large lull that happens between me having an idea and actually executing it. Sometimes weeks or months. 

Once I start shooting, things tend to move quickly. By this time, I have been thinking about the project for so long that I know what I am going for, and it’s only a matter of sorting out the good from the bad images. 

After capturing the images and going through the sorting process— I am faced with the issue of presentation. 

Here is where I have a bit of a crisis. Because really if the images are good then a simple print is all that’s needed to finish them. But in this day and age where everyone is a photographer and everyone can print a simple image, is simply printing it good enough? This is where I consider process. Classic silver prints, cyanotypes, etc. They offer a level of involvement and tactility that simply is not present with the digital print. However, conflictingly, I believe strongly that the process should mirror or echo the work. I would not be doing cyanotypes unless I thought I had a good reason to be doing them and not every project lends its self to classic/alt printing styles. This is where I struggle a lot. 

As with all things. There are exceptions to this, namely— street photography for obvious reasons. Other things include of course that this is a very straight foreword sounding process and is 100% a retrospective thing. Never is it this simple. There are always hold ups and issues deviations and complete 360ing of ideas.

Art show review, Graduation Showing

The graduate showing by Alyssa Razo and David Richards at Fresno State University provided an interesting out come to the series both artist have been working. Having partaken in classes with both of the exhibiting artists, I found the show to be an interesting outcome. Alyssa’s work, whom I am more familiar with, deals with the contemporary problem of high divorce rates among parents and the divide this causes in families. She tells her story of being a child of two cultures. Not truly connecting with her father, or his side of the family. She uses her camera to bridge the gap of language and time lost. She also documented her mother. Alyssa incorporated old family photos, which add an element of history and further incorporating herself into the story. The connection between the statistic of divorce rates and her story was strengthened Alyssa’s choice to dedicate a section of wall to telling the story of her cousin, a single parent, who is raising her own child. 

David’s work utilized the space differently, the arrangement of photos on the walls were meant to mimic that of the activity they depicted, rock climbing. There were also small installation touches that further enhanced the showing. The photos hold a conversation between the climber and the nature with which they interact. While not simple relaxed images, a tension could be felt between the images, a feeling, I imagine, one might feel being suspended from the side of a mountain. 

Together the graduate student work was interesting and provide to very diverse themes showcasing the artist.

Abstracting Photography

This is my work in progress statement for a new series that I am working on. 

In the absence of a clear subject, what remains? Unlike the many other mediums of art, photography struggles to hold ground in the world of abstraction. Unlike the painting of CY Twombly, Georges Braque, Ellsworth Kelly and others, whose lack of definite subject matter breeds intrigue, an absence of subject in photography typical leads to an image that falls apart. In contemplating how these painters approach their canvases It occurred to me that lack of a clear subject in a photo does not actually lead to the dissemination of the image, rather this transforms the picture into a study of formalism. In this perspective, the viewer begins to see as the camera sees because of the photographer, not the other way around. Much how we see through our peripheral vision; these are the images that exist on the outside of the formal subject driven images. This is what the camera sees in its Peripheral vision.

Ocean Artist Statement

I have finally pulled together a cohesive artist statement for my ocean series. It follows below.

Ocean

While it may seem cliché to say, thanks to the myriad of politician’s constant talk of it, the ocean is the largest natural expanse we have in this planet. It contains more life than anywhere else and covers more of the earth than any landmass. I am positive as well, that many have seen the ocean in its pristine form—A whale or shark breaching the water, jellyfish floating calmly through the sea, and so forth. These are scenes that we conjure when we envision the ocean.  Indeed, these are the images that I have come to cherish, along with the serenity that the ocean has brought to my life. The next generation may not however, instead, when the ocean is thought of, the images they may see are manmade plastics—  bags, bottles and other debris. 

A changing climate is not something that waits for people to understand it. It is immediate! This immediacy translates well into the process of cyanotypes, where the bright blue colors may not last.

Each image was created by first capturing images with a camera and then creating a negative and though a chemical reaction of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide produces the final image. This is reminiscent of the many reactions taken place in the ocean everyday as a result of increased pollution and environmental changes. The reaction occurs when the suns UV rays are exposed to the hand coated paper. In this way, the same source that is causing the warming of our earth is also illuminating the images that hope to protect it.

Not the only element of the process, but water is also important to the creation and meaning of the images. Cyanotypes cannot be created without a large amount of water to hone the prints final blue tone. In this way, my own interaction with these images is leaving a foot print in the grander scheme of the planet. There is truly no way to not have an impact, instead it is how we choose to live in harmony alongside the planet.

My goal is to not strictly document our impact, because that has already been done. Rather, I want to insight a conversation about how we interact with our oceans and our environment, and I hope to start the process of generating new ideas on how we can restore a balance between us and the ocean. I want to invoke the feeling that the ocean is mysterious, it is bizarre, and it needs the help of co-inhibitors to survive.

Still Life's...

I had to post a response to the below questions for my art 37 class, I thought that it seemed relevant enough to post here as well.

Questions:

• Post a .jpg of your illustrator still life.
  • Do you think there is still life in "Still Life" art?
  • What art tools do you use to create...
  • Traditional art (paintbrush, charcoal, etc.)? 
  • Photoshop art (paintbrush, pencil, shape tools, etc.)?
  • How are traditional art tools and Photoshop tools different than creating art using Illustrator tools?
• Which of the "Master Still Life Art" best resembles your Illustrator Still Life art? Why?
• Do you prefer Photoshop or Illustrator or both as a platform for creating your graphic art? Why or why not?

The is unequivocally still life in “still life” art. While she us not known as a big time, but as an evangelist for adobe products, Julian Kost is a primer example to what still life photography is about. Her work is masterfully done, it takes objects of ordinary and gives them a deeper meaning through texture and stylization. The work has a psychological element to it, which is thanks to her studies in the subject.  Still life art is about what objects can tell the viewer. It could be something about the owner, or a commentary on a particular aspect of life… really anything.

I am a photographer, so my tool is the camera. All cameras, be it one made out of a card board box, or a shiny new digital one. For the purposes of my art, Photoshop is a secondary tool. When working on composites, it is used to blend my images together into a new one, otherwise, I don’t use it. I focus on lightroom to impose my particular edits to my photos.

The difference between illustrator and other art tools is illustrator is based solely in the digital realm. Photoshop is an extension of the original dark room tools, built for the digital age. The end result of Photoshop is still a real word thing, whereas illustrator begins in digital and ends in digital.

I think my work best relates to Roy Lichtenstein’s the Interior with water lilies. It is a simple depiction of an environment.

If I had to choice between illustrator and Photoshop, Photoshop would be my choice. It is simply more relevant to the work I do.

Farzana Wahidy

In response to her gallery showing at Conley Art: 

Having not meet her or known much about the artist before viewing the show, I was struck by the quite nature of the photos. Photos that invoked a since of vivid movement, but also a pattern of the hellish circumstances the Afghan women live under. It was not until I was walking away from the gallery that I realized what Farzana was showing. The pattern of “self immolation”– as she refers to it– at the start we are confronted with the older generation, clad in their burkas, going through life, then the viewer is confronted with the grotesque scars that these woman hide, finally we are shown the younger generation of girls. Whom are shown in a way that seem like they will succeed in breaking from the traditional roles. The “Woman police officer” and the woman “saying good by to her friend at an airport” in particular stuck with me. They appear as evidence for a more hopeful future.  The images and video of the collective of photographers Farzana has established called the Afghanistan Photographers Association is another way Farzana is using her art and knowledge to promote promoting the expansion of education and art. Through her photos she is challenging what society has dictated for the woman of Afghanistan and showing the world what life is like through her eyes. 

In response to her portfolio review for Art 133 Fall 2017

Her style of capturing simple moments, becomes more evident after having meet Farzana. Quite, refrained, contemplative, patient… all these come to mind. Things that seem to show in her photographs as well. In witnessing her critique on the groups photos she had a willingness to “want” to understand, rather then merely passing up the opportunity to. Farzana would make connections between unrelated works and offer in site on how to unify those together. On my own work, she challenged my exclusion of certain photographs in my series weight. Most interestingly, was her response to my classroom documentary series. Her insight into the amount of time I spent working on the project actually made me realize how much time went into it. I had not before, considered the time frame of my completing the the project. Some confidence was also given in my most recent project involving cyanotypes. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the way the review went, and enjoyed speaking and listening to Farzana.

Cyanotype– the first three images

Here are the first three images of my new series. Many more to come.

Humble beginnings....

Here are three beginning test shots from my in progress cyanotype series regarding ocean garbage.