Monday, March 3, 2008

ICP visit


International Center of Photography (visit 3/1/08)

What I liked most about the ICP was the innovative manner in which the artists displayed their works and the concepts behind the display. On the first floor was an exhibit of Barbara Blooms work. The concepts of her individual displays were fascinating to me, probably because I would not have thought to display my work in such interesting ways with all the many layers in the meanings. My favorite was the one entitled “Songs” which was a presentation of sheet music on plane metal music stands that displayed small pictures, not notes, on the pages. The originality of all her displays impressed me and will be something I tuck away in my mind for future reference.

Hans-Peter Feldmann,
Born: Dusseldorf, Germany 1941
9/12 Front Page 2001
100 Newspapers
Dimensions Variable

The most powerful image(s) for me was an Installation: 9/12 Front Page 2001. Again, it was the thought process and concept behind the installation that intrigued me not just the specific image represented throughout. I read the artist statement first before I began to look at the walls of the installation. I started to choke up before I had even finished looking at the images on the first wall; I had two more walls to go. It was almost paralyzing to read over and over what the headlines were around the world. Some of the most powerful headlines were: USA today “US under attack"; Republic of Ireland "Horror in U.S. Leaves the World in Shock"; The Independent "Doomsday America"; The Wall Street Journal "Terror Assaults Stun U.S.".

The images on display were almost a repetitive pattern of the Twin Towers on fire in large color format. One of the few newspapers to choose to go with two smaller pictures was The Wall Street Journal. They chose one small picture of the twin towers on fire and another small picture of people fleeing the area in terror both images were in black and white. The walls of the installation room were painted black with the images in simple frames and displayed in three rows all the way around the room. By the time I reached the middle of the second wall I started to feel the sorrow I had that day. I recalled where I was and who I was with, how we stared glued to the images on the television and cried. I sat down for a while on the bench in the middle of the room; I composed myself by writing a few notes. I then continued and viewed the images staring at me on the third and final wall. I'm not sure what was more powerful the images, the words or the two combined; I believe it was in the combination.

How we see and remember events of the past are embedded as images in our brains, the images picked by the media. How the events of history are documented is how it is forever viewed. This installation had a very powerful effect on me and brought back the memories of that day. The installation had a very somber feel like a funeral and in the sense it was, a funeral of the past that resonated and defined the future.

It never would have occurred to me to use the front pages of newspapers as an instillation.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Response for 3/3/08 class

In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography)
Martha Rosler’s 1981 essay seems to be a severely pessimistic view of documentary photography and how it is used and ultimately viewed. She focuses on how images are groomed for viewing for use in a magazine or newspaper and the meaning is altered so to sway its true intent. The meaning, according to her, has not only gone to the wayside but the images are viewed and forgotten about by the masses (mainly by the wealthy).

According to Rosler the documentaries of the 1960’s had more substance and meaning (to correct a social wrong..) which has been replaced by the more contemporary Diane Arbus type who’s work (according to Rosler) seems to exploit the odd or the unusual persona. The media has also changed the persona of a sidewalk drunk into a more palatable substance abuse user, changing the terminology with an image can change the viewers interpretation as well.

Weather it is a digital print being altered through Photoshop or a documentary about the plight of some-whatary the meaning can be altered by the photographer, publisher the viewer or all three and that will not change with time.

I’m sure I have said it before but the world probably needs to ingest not just more fiber for well being but a little moral fiber as well.

In, Around, and Afterthoughts

In this article, Martha Rosler critiques pieces tracing the ways in which photography's aesthetic social practices fail or succeed in generating collectively meaningful work. She believes that Documentary photography does not necessarily exist yet and what does exist is set up scenes generated to be what people want to see, and what photographers can sell. In her opinion work that not only takes into account the political conditions within which it was produced and assumes social and political responsibility but also activates the viewer. She describes work in which existing urban photography's ability to continue documentary photography's historical work is questioned, and in, around, and afterthoughts. She believes that when photography can make change, that is when Documentary photography can truly be acknowledged.