Dick Blau's presentation was memorable for me for numerous reasons. Firstly, I was surprised by the variety of work that he showcased throughout. His first film entitled 'Up The Block' was very personal and intimate. I felt like I was present in the moment with the people on screen because of the way the camera moved and the access he was granted into their lives during their time at Church. However his second film about the fairytale was visually different in the way it was presented. In comparison to his first film that had long shots on screen his second was sporadically edited which created a completely different feel. The narrative was chopped and edited in an 'unconventional' way that captivated me during the videos.
Another thing that I took away from Blau's films was the importance of the sound in telling the story. His use of sound in all of his pieces was an integral part of the final product and I think that the outcome would've be totally different had focused on the sound less. I could have just listened to the audio alone and still got similar feeling from his films. Overall I learnt a lot from his talk.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Reflection of George Rousse's 'Contacts' Documentary
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GTEMvvsJec
This piece was very informative because it revealed Rousse's techniques and mentality as creates his installation pieces, from conception to completion. Part way through the video he mentioned how photography has the capacity to act as the memory of a place which I thought was quite interesting. He was particularly referring to the abandoned buildings that he sometimes worked with.
Another thing I found intriguing was the meticulous approach he described taking toward each and every one of his figurative paintings. He mentioned that he imagines the buildings and rooms that he works in as being two-dimensional spaces instead of three-dimensional because the final image that he creates will be two-dimensional. This stood out to me because I haven't approached a space before with this outlook and perspective.
In addition to this I thought that the way he integrated his travels into his art pieces was unique. He began to include various 'objective' maps into the artwork itself based on the areas that he travelled to. This created a blend between things that are essentially objective and subjective with relation to his work.
This piece was very informative because it revealed Rousse's techniques and mentality as creates his installation pieces, from conception to completion. Part way through the video he mentioned how photography has the capacity to act as the memory of a place which I thought was quite interesting. He was particularly referring to the abandoned buildings that he sometimes worked with.
Another thing I found intriguing was the meticulous approach he described taking toward each and every one of his figurative paintings. He mentioned that he imagines the buildings and rooms that he works in as being two-dimensional spaces instead of three-dimensional because the final image that he creates will be two-dimensional. This stood out to me because I haven't approached a space before with this outlook and perspective.
In addition to this I thought that the way he integrated his travels into his art pieces was unique. He began to include various 'objective' maps into the artwork itself based on the areas that he travelled to. This created a blend between things that are essentially objective and subjective with relation to his work.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Reflection on the 'Still Moving' Exhibition
I enjoyed seeing the Still Moving exhibition because It was an experience that I'm not totally used to. It was the first exhibition that I've been to that was entirely made up of video pieces. I found myself experiencing and negotiating the space in a totally different manner. Typically I experience art installation pieces relatively quickly, so this was a change of pace for me. I can distinctly remember each of the pieces that were on display, particularly Charles Gick's 'Hand With Cloud', Stephen Hilyard's 'Waterfall' and Walker Pickering's 'Esprit de Corps'.
I remember Gik's Hand With Cloud because it made me laugh as I watched it. I'm not entirely sure why but I infer that it was because of the repeated motion of the finger poking the cloud's surface, it reminded me off children playing with each other and 'poking fun' at one another. Additionally, I remember Hilyard's Waterfall' for two main reasons: the first is because of the orientation in which the video was presented. It seemed like the camera was recording the waterfall in a portrait orientation because the projector was positioned sideways. Viewing the projection made me question why video is so often presented in a landscape format. Watching the video seemed both wrong and right simultaneously because of this. Finally the Waterfall piece was memorable for me because of the editing that was applied to the video, I remember avidly watching as the people on the cliff moved around and then suddenly they faded into the waterfall which startled me somewhat.
Lastly, I remember Pickering's 'Esprit de Corps' because of the feeling I felt whilst I watched it. I felt feelings of determination and perseverance just from watching the piece. In addition to this the choice to present the video in black and white stood out for me. I liked the wide ranging camera angles and perspectives shown throughout. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Still Moving exhibition and I'm looking forward to going to another exhibition soon.
I remember Gik's Hand With Cloud because it made me laugh as I watched it. I'm not entirely sure why but I infer that it was because of the repeated motion of the finger poking the cloud's surface, it reminded me off children playing with each other and 'poking fun' at one another. Additionally, I remember Hilyard's Waterfall' for two main reasons: the first is because of the orientation in which the video was presented. It seemed like the camera was recording the waterfall in a portrait orientation because the projector was positioned sideways. Viewing the projection made me question why video is so often presented in a landscape format. Watching the video seemed both wrong and right simultaneously because of this. Finally the Waterfall piece was memorable for me because of the editing that was applied to the video, I remember avidly watching as the people on the cliff moved around and then suddenly they faded into the waterfall which startled me somewhat.
Lastly, I remember Pickering's 'Esprit de Corps' because of the feeling I felt whilst I watched it. I felt feelings of determination and perseverance just from watching the piece. In addition to this the choice to present the video in black and white stood out for me. I liked the wide ranging camera angles and perspectives shown throughout. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Still Moving exhibition and I'm looking forward to going to another exhibition soon.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Reflection on Vik Muniz's 'Wasteland' (2010) Documentary Video
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUAavzJsTBw
I thought that this documentary was powerful because it dealt with some issues that I haven't really considered before. It also alerted me to the possibility of art having the capacity to alter the way people think and feel about their surroundings and ultimately change their lives. I particularly appreciated how in depth the documentary went into showing Muniz's process in creating his pieces from inception to completion. I think that this documentary highlights the ability art has to momentarily take people out of their situation to be engaged and engrossed in the image.
However, the thing that stood out to me most from the documentary was the conversation that Vik was having with Janaina (his wife) and his assistant about bringing the pickers from their familiar environment in Brazil to the foreign environment of London. Janaina was making the argument that removing them from their surroundings and showing them a 'better' life in London, only for them to have to return home shortly to continue working with garbage could be problematic because it may cause them to feel depressed. While Vik focused on the positive outcomes that could arise from the experience. I thought this was very interesting because it showed the power that they had in potentially changing the people's outlook on life.
I thought that this documentary was powerful because it dealt with some issues that I haven't really considered before. It also alerted me to the possibility of art having the capacity to alter the way people think and feel about their surroundings and ultimately change their lives. I particularly appreciated how in depth the documentary went into showing Muniz's process in creating his pieces from inception to completion. I think that this documentary highlights the ability art has to momentarily take people out of their situation to be engaged and engrossed in the image.
However, the thing that stood out to me most from the documentary was the conversation that Vik was having with Janaina (his wife) and his assistant about bringing the pickers from their familiar environment in Brazil to the foreign environment of London. Janaina was making the argument that removing them from their surroundings and showing them a 'better' life in London, only for them to have to return home shortly to continue working with garbage could be problematic because it may cause them to feel depressed. While Vik focused on the positive outcomes that could arise from the experience. I thought this was very interesting because it showed the power that they had in potentially changing the people's outlook on life.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Reflection on Cindy Sherman's 'Nobody's here but me' (1994) Documentary Video
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXKNuWtXZ_U
On the whole I found Cindy Sherman's documentary very informative and though-provoking. I found that a large part of the recurring themes shown in this documentary were somewhat familiar because of the lecture on postmodernism from our last class.
The first thing that stood out for me from the piece was when Sherman was describing her process and motivations for some of her photographs, she stated that, "through a photograph you can make people believe anything...(essentially I'm) figuring out ways to tell lies in a way"(1994, Sherman). I think that this is a really powerful statement to make, one that co-insides with a message I took from our last lecture on modernism and postmodernism. From what I gather, modernist photographers attempted to tell 'the truth' in their images by photographing things 'objectively' just as they really were. Whereas postmodernists like Sherman have more of a subjective sorry to tell, one that is perhaps sometimes subversive in the sense that she revealed things in her images not currently shown in mainstream media.
Throughout the documentary Sherman mentioned producing work that falls outside of the 'normal' realms of artwork, she also touched on showcasing things that are not typically seen or though of by people, not in an attempt to sell art pieces and paintings but to merely provoke thoughts in minds of people. For instance her "outrageous portraits of genitalia from angles that most people will never see them from" (1994, Curtis), or even her carefully crafted images of vomit or condoms, which I personally feel links back to Sherman's early point regarding the portrayal of things usually only found in our imagination.
On the whole I found Cindy Sherman's documentary very informative and though-provoking. I found that a large part of the recurring themes shown in this documentary were somewhat familiar because of the lecture on postmodernism from our last class.
The first thing that stood out for me from the piece was when Sherman was describing her process and motivations for some of her photographs, she stated that, "through a photograph you can make people believe anything...(essentially I'm) figuring out ways to tell lies in a way"(1994, Sherman). I think that this is a really powerful statement to make, one that co-insides with a message I took from our last lecture on modernism and postmodernism. From what I gather, modernist photographers attempted to tell 'the truth' in their images by photographing things 'objectively' just as they really were. Whereas postmodernists like Sherman have more of a subjective sorry to tell, one that is perhaps sometimes subversive in the sense that she revealed things in her images not currently shown in mainstream media.
Throughout the documentary Sherman mentioned producing work that falls outside of the 'normal' realms of artwork, she also touched on showcasing things that are not typically seen or though of by people, not in an attempt to sell art pieces and paintings but to merely provoke thoughts in minds of people. For instance her "outrageous portraits of genitalia from angles that most people will never see them from" (1994, Curtis), or even her carefully crafted images of vomit or condoms, which I personally feel links back to Sherman's early point regarding the portrayal of things usually only found in our imagination.
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