Artist Lecture #3: Paul Pfeiffer 2/15/10

(Posted in May from saved draft)

Paul Pfeiffer came to lecture last week at VCU, and it was great because I'm increasingly interested in video art and all of the possibilities in using that medium. Pfeiffer shared his short, looped 4"x5" films, that he described as video sculptures, which touched on subjects of religion, art, race, commerce and philosophy. By using video, sculpture, photography and modern technologies, Pfeiffer appropriates found footage and pop culture pictures to explore mass media's role in influencing society's consciousness.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (28) Paul Pfeiffer, 2007. Digital C-print 
60 x 40 inches. http://www.thomasdane.com/artist.php?artist_id=12

The small size of the films (4"x5") creates an intimate experience for the viewer, as Paul Pfeiffer explained, and through these films with such an introspective and spiritual nature, the viewers were to draw from their own psyche to create their personal interpretations of his work.

"Pfeiffer's work addresses how the image of the human being has been transformed by new digital technologies, which can be used both to store limitless amounts of visual information and to manipulate pre-existing images" - Hilarie M. Sheets (http://www.gagosian.com/artists/paul-pfeiffer)

Paul Pfeiffer is the recipient of several awards, most notably becoming the inaugural recipient of the Whitney Museum f American Art's Bucksbaum Award in 2000.

www.gagosian.com/artists/paul-pfeiffer

www.pbs.org/art21/artists/pfeiffer/index.html

Artist Blog: Eugenio Recuenco

(Posted in May from saved draft)

Eugenio Recuenco is a moderately well known fashion photographer, who is considered one of the more creative in the publishing and advertising fields in Madrid, Spain. He shoots exclusively for Vogue, as well as other international magazines, such as Madam Figaro, and has done campaigns for several prestigious brands.

photograph by Eugenio Recuenco, title and addition image information not found. (http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com)

Agencies often refer to Recuenco's work as cinematographic and pictorial in style, and he often references film and the directors who've had the biggest influence on him (Hitchcock, John Waters).

photograph by Eugenio Recuenco, title and addition image information not found. (http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com).

In an interview with Recuenco, he talks about some of the things that Tom and I discussed in our first meeting, referring to the classical questions of photography and the elements of disbelief. After being asked if he considered himself a violator against the image because of his "theatrical point of view," Recuenco explains his successful methods of not doing "anything forced; everything happens spontaneously." He later asks, "Why does the image need to be realistic? I believe we are becoming liberated from that, as paintings did a long time ago. The image, if you want to consider it as art, must be untied from the idea of being realistic. There is no other way." (www.bobbintalk.com)

photograph by Eugenio Recuenco, title and addition image information not found. (http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com)

I seem to find a lot of artists who have the same ideals of art that I do, and it really motivates me. Eugenio Recuenco has a wide variety of series, but I found some great images to post that are most moving to me. I couldn't find any titles or additional information on the images, which was frustrating, but in the long run I suppose the images should speak for themselves. And I think most would agree that they do!

I want to include this one, just because it's fantastic: photograph by Eugenio Recuenco, title and addition image information not found. (http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com) http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com http://www.bobbintalk.com/2010/01/eugenio-recuenco-inside-out.html

Artist Lecture #2: Hank Willis Thomas

(Posted in May from saved draft)

Hank Willis Thomas came to speak at VCU this week, and he was like a breath of fresh air to the Photo Department (or at least to me and my peers).

He began the lecture by saying that he didn't really have anything planned. I took this as a great sign because he was confident and could obviously speak well of his work (unlike so many lecturers). Thomas' work was mainly based around consumer culture and what is concealed in media. He also deals with racial issues and the complexities of the terms "black" and "white" in our society. He shared with us a quote by one of his influences, Carl Handcock-Rux, about how being black or white in America doesn't mean anything and that race doesn't really exist. I found this a very profound, yet simple observation, and the work we viewed of his pertaining to this subject was equally as interesting.

Using graphic design and advertising formats, Hank W Thomas combines logos and icons to comment on the way Americans are so consumed in brand names and branding themselves, and not about real issues. Often overlooked are the harsh realities of America's past with slavery.

Branded Head (B(r)anded), Hank Willis Thomas, 2003. Lightjet print, size unknown. http://hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html.

Hank Thomas also shared with us the story of his deceased cousin, whom he grew up under, and the night he was robbed at gunpoint and killed. Collaborating with a friend, he used G.I. Joes action figures (the same ones he played with as a child) to make a stop-motion film with the information from the accounts of witnesses. With all of his studies in African American culture, Thomas found it ironic that their ancestors were brought over in chains and that his cousin died from another black man wanting the chains around his neck.

This my man Songha (Winter in America), Hank Willis Thomas, 2005. Lightjet print, size unknown. Made in collaboration with Olujimi Kambui. http://www.hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html.

By using these action figures, Hank Thomas intends to make the format of the story goofy and disarming. As a society, we are desensitized by violence, and with childsplay, children are used to knowing that even if your action figure "dies", you can just pick him back up and keep playing with him. Thomas highlights that the violent toys sold every day breed a culture of violent thought and scenarios before they're even old enough to read.

One of the final projects Hank W. Thomas shared with us was a contracted, collaborative piece called "Along the Way", a film with over 1,200 strangers of all different ages, backgrounds and cultures found in an airport in Oakland, California. These artists created a beautiful and hopeful video and it was a perfect end to the lecture.

Along the Way, The Cause Collective (H.L.Thomas), 2007. 30' x 10' video mosaic, Oakland International Airport. http://www.causecollective.com.

"Faces and places merge and commingle creating a vocabulary that evokes mood while underscoring place and movement with the unifying thread being the humanity of what we encounter "along the way" in a place like Oakland."

http://hankwillisthomas.com/splash.html

I'm so thrilled we got the chance to have this artist come speak to us. I really enjoyed his work and listening to his thoughts.

Artist Blog: Eleanor Hardwick

Jack Wills Spring Handbook (Commissions), Eleanor Hardwick, 2010. size unknown. http://eleanorhardwick.com.

Eleanor Hardwick is an alarmingly young photographer from Oxford, England, who refers to her work as "dreamscapes". At the age of 12, she began to photograph Japanese fashion dolls, which led her to explore the medium she uses quite well today. She was born in 1993.

Jack Wills Spring Handbook #2 (Commissions), Eleanor Hardwick, 2010. size unknown. http://eleanorhardwick.com.

I'm really attracted to her photography and the way she uses light. Our concepts are in line with each other - in a search of finding something mystical within the banality of life. Surrealism meets realism! Her photographs have a certain yearning to find beauty and romance in our surroundings, which I also strive for. I'm upset a 17-year-old figured this all out before I did. Wah.

While Harwick's imagery is certainly dreamy, it reminds me a lot of the work I've done in the past. It has such potential, but there are elements that can either be eliminated or just needs a little push to make more successful. I chose to write about this artist because I feel like I'm on the same page, but hey, if she's already acclaimed and accessible, then what do I know.

Home Project (A Secret Place), Eleanor Hardwick, date and size unknown. http://eleanorhardwick.com.

http://eleanorhardwick.com.

Artist Blog: Edmund Dulac/Hans Christian Anderson

Edmund Dulac was a French illustrator for arguably one of the greatest classical fairy-tale writers, Hans Christian Andersen. I write about them both because while I'm in love with Dulac's stylistic, interpretive illustrations - it's Hans Christian Anderson's concept and to me they go hand in hand.

Edmund Dulac, illustration information not available.

Because my research has brought me to review some of my favorite fairy tales, I have come across some beautiful illustrators and painters who creates the images that kids could fall in love with and look at forever. Dulac, in particular strived to have a pleasing, muted color pallet for a lot of his illustrations, often varying the lighting to help convey the feeling of the story.

Edmund Dulac, illustration information not available.

After reading a little about Hans Christian Anderson and learning that he so loved the romance mixed with playfulness of his stories, I tried to find some great, in depth information on Dulac - but most of it is just his accomplishments and listed biography. I did find out that his style changed to a brighter pallet, though. His work already had an oriental style, but this was enhanced when the pallet changed. I suppose this is after painting for Hans C Anderson because his imagery before that was described as "mellow, romantic blues," which is certainly the stylings of H.C. Anderson. Dulac published a few of his own books and work (a lot in response to relief efforts), including his book "Edmund Dulac's Picture Book for the French Red Cross" in 1915 and "Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book" in 1916.

Edmund Dulac, illustration information not available.

After the War, he took a different path from fairytale illustrations and went on to become a portrait painter, caricaturist, set and costume designer, and designed many products and graphics for items. It's always disconcerting that almost all artists take odd jobs just to get by, but he seemed like a very creative and hard working artist and I absolutely love his work.

http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/06/illustration-dulacs-hans-christian.html

http://daisysplantfood.blogspot.com/2008/09/edmund-dulac.html

Research Blog: Recapping

This blog post tonight will be about my concept and the revisions I'd like to make to it for Spring! Time to narrow.

My concept started out more about film narratives and, how through the artifice in the perfectionist production quality that films produce, viewers are led to escape the reality of every day. After lots of stressful over-analyzation, I came to just take Escapism for what it is in a general sense. Escapism through pretend narratives provides a release from reality and a means of creativity.

The direction I'm going in this semester is not unlike what I did in my Studio classes. I want to get back to using my hand skills to build my own spaces. I've always hated overusing Photoshop and I'm ready again to make my sets physically instead of piecing things together. I'm not opposed to doing a little of both, though. I'm going to start researching artists whose hand (as in craftwork) you can see in their pieces. I love making my own productions, and allowing the viewer to see the artifice of the scene - as it is about pretending and make believe.

I have experimented a little with alternative lighting, as you can see in this (rough) piece below. I'm hoping that by using these methods I can create a celestial, dream-like space.

The Water, Rebecca Arnold, 2010.

So now that I know the general direction I want to go, the next step is to spend some time brainstorming and writing pieces of narratives or scenes so I can get started designing. Then I'll be able to sketch out the base elements of the sets I will create.

I'm going to be researching some of my favorite escapism-themed narratives, like Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wizard of Oz, Utopia and Pan's Labyrinth. Exciting! I think I'll start now.