For the love of bones

By Sam Wilson

Photo Studio

Work with light...and lions.

First off, sorry for posting these shots without making more of an effort to get in contact with the group, but i spoke to sheila and we both agreed on some really strong shots. Second, I know this is a lot of shots to post for a challenge, but I though that considering the situation, i should include a range.

My favorite is the profile shot of Tyler in the bathroom. I blew it up and printed it on the 9900, so if you want to check it out, i hung it in the classroom.

Max.

80s Alter-Ego :: Lighting Challenge

Caitlin, Bresha, Sam, Kirslyn, and Meghan

Tylers Studium/ Punctum

First I want to apologize for my tardiness on this post I had a hard time finding a photo that I wanted to post. The studium of this picture is that of an abandoned railroad. The railroad connotes industrial, and a bygone era. The overgrown plants on either side also allude to the bygone feeling of the picture. The punctum in the picture is the women wearing and more specifically the high heals.The heals and her overall appearance are so far removed from the scene that she is in that it makes the viewer take a double take. Her presences and her clothing creates the feeling that she is lost.

Alex - Studium/Punctum

This image by Juliana Beasley really stuck out to me because of the disorienting factor of child's legs without a body. The image has a fairly frightening effect because it isn't what one would expect to see. The picture has an eerie feeling to it, making the viewer feel relatively uncomfortable. This feeling is the studium, as society expects anything related to childhood to be nice and innocent. The punctum within the photo is the cloth that covers the top of the legs, as it gives the impression that a body should be there, or that this cloth is some sort of dress without a body to cover.

studium/punctum-kirslyn

I chose this Elliott Erwitt image because I really love this photograph, and it is one of the few photographs that makes me wonder what the story behind it is. I want to know everything, who is in the photograph, where they are in California, what are the circumstances, how Erwitt got this shot, where he was in relation to them, if he knew them, etc. This image is somewhat iconic, I think, in a way other than the fact that it is recognizable. It's not very disturbing or startling, which are usually the tupes of qualities I look for in photographs, but it just IS and that's why I think it works.

Meghan's Studium/Punctum

I chose this photograph taken in Sudan by Kevin Carter because of the disturbing quality that serves to the punctum of the image. I think the studium is the vulture eyeing the victim in a very mundane setting, and that the punctum is the fact that this victim is a young child. It is very unsettling to see her ribs so prominently and to see her huddled up as if in fear or sheer exhaustion.

Sam's Punctum/whatever it is called photo with the actual photo

This is a Emirites A330 taking off from London Gatwick at night.

Sam's Punctum/whatever it is called photo

Different Idea

So in class I thought of doing a "Moving On"/transition focused assignment but that's kind of changed. I've been working on two ideas. The first, is the sense of nostalgia, but in a more personal way as opposed to an overall American way. I was just wondering for you guys if there's anything in particular that rings "nostalgia" for you? I was in DC at my aunt's over this break and she has a lot of antiques and stuff that's been in the family so I took photos of that, but I know that's really subjective to my experience. Second idea--vices. I was thinking of going the extreme route (drinking, smoking, etc.) but I was thinking of taking vices and kind of normalizing it. Like watching too much tv, always being messy, I don't know. That's what I've been working on. Any ideas/thoughts would be extremely appreciated!

Caitlin's Studium/Punctum

This is a photo is from the personal collection of Kalle Gustafsson called "Speakeasy". For me, the studium is the sense of nostalgia (of the 1960s). Due to the lighting it kind of implies or suggests that there's an air of mystery, and due to the lack of color variation maybe a notion of homogeneity? That might be reading a little too much into it but I feel that this could very well almost be a still from a mystery movie. Though I think it's interesting that while they're physically near there seems to be a disconnect between the man and woman. For me this is kind of the punctum. But more specifically, the packet of the cigarettes are the punctum. It's directly on the middle line, and the whites of the filter seem to be very obvious, and yet there's the slight golden lining around it which is different color scheme wise than the majority of the photo.

Collage self portrait by Tristan Eden

(Click to enlarge.)

JOHN CAGE

John Cage, American, born in LA, 1912-1992

Cage briefly studied at Pamona College and UCLA. Cage knew that the music he wanted to make was unlike anything being made at the time. He had ‘no feeling for harmony’ and his teachers thought he would not be able to write music. Cage quickly realized that there were other ways to make art with music.

Cage collaborated with dancer Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg at Black Mountain College, a North Carolina-based art college. Cage made music for performances, interested in how music composed by ‘chance’ could ‘sound beautiful.’ Marcel Duchamp was a great influence on Cage. Cage liked Duchamp’s attitude to art––his ‘ready-mades’––and felt similarly. Cage ‘found music around him and did not necessarily rely on expressing something from within.’

Soon, Cage really began experimenting with music and musical instruments. He put metal fragments and screws between piano’s strings, for example. Then, he found new instruments altogether. He was very interested in chance and found sound.

‘Imaginary Landscape No 4’ (1951) was made up of 12 radios played at once. The sound of the piece depended entirely on the quality and content––‘chance’––of the broadcasts at the time of the performance.

Notable works:

‘Water Music’ (1952) used shells and water in an attempt to recreate the natural sounds ‘we find around us each day.’

‘4’33”’ (1952) is a three-movement composition for any instrument. It instructs the player to not play a single not for the duration of the piece. Generally believed to just be ‘four minutes and 33 seconds of silence,’ it is actually supposed to make the listener hear all of the sounds around him. His most important and controversial work.

‘Cartridge Music’ (1960) was made by amplifying numerous household appliances.

He was also very interested in literature. Silence, his first book, came out in 1961. At this point, Cage, inspired by Thoreau and Joyce, began in incorporate literature into his music.

While Cage is one of the most important composers of the 20th century (he composed much ‘straight classical music,’ too), his importance goes far beyond classical music. He changed the way people heard: it was impossible to look at anything––a painting, a book, a person, a tool––without thinking about what it might sound like.

––Tristan Eden

Bresha's studium/punctum photos

Kara's Narrative Lighting Assignment

For the narrative lighting assignment, I've decided to continue to chase the Americana idea, but in a creepier way. More specifically, I'm planning on capturing a specific aspect of consumerism, or post-consumerism, if you will, by photographing vacant parking lots at night. I think I'm going to drive over to typical warehouse-type places, like Wal-Mart and Target, and snap photos of shopping carts not being used, lightposts, of vacant parking spaces, and of the empty space in general. The photos will probably be taken with pretty harsh flash, and I will probably be utilizing the strobist kit. If it's done right, I guess my project will be a cross between Nan Goldin/Richard Billingham's flashy stuff, and WIlliam Eggleston's American-archetype spaces. Tell me what you think :)

Studium/Punctum

Kara's Studium/Punctum Assignment

For this assignment, I decided to call upon William Eggleston, as I felt like he always had a pretty clear studium (he was the guy who always shot the "Anywheresville, USA"-type shots, so it kind of went along with my Americana trend). This photo shows up in several locations, but I found it here. The studium for this photo is quintessential American diner scene, and for me, the punctum was the row of pins in the woman's hair. Although potentially a very obvious point of punctum, what came to mind later on for me was the sense of eerie, attempted perfection with these pins, but the fact that the pins were not entirely straight nor perfect. This, in turn, seemed somewhat symbolic of the idea of the "American dream", and took on a whole new meaning.

Narrative Idea

I am still going to explore the chasing the light idea that I discussed in class, but a few days ago my boyfriend and I went to a park and I was kind of inspired by the idea of this goofy-looking guy randomly in a tie on a swing. I feel like that might be a more interesting narrative. Thoughts/Feedback please!
-Mariel

Mariel's Studium Punctum

I took this picture yesterday in Whoknowswhere, OH. The studium is the house being taken over by these vines, and the punctum (at least for me) is the animal peeping out in the bottom right corner.

Rebekah's Studium & Punctum

This photograph is Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother:

This photo “Studium” is the raw beauty of the scene, how vivid every detail is such as the women and her children clothing.


The women’s facial expression is what provokes the “Punctum” it is interesting, it makes you wonder what she is thinking. Also the fact that you can’t see the children’s faces makes you wonder what they are feeling as well. The air of mystery that this picture gives off makes it one of my favorite pictures.

Studium / Punctum

In this shot, studium is the cluttered, cozy feeling of a desk mid-study session, lit by warm light. The punctum is the shadow cast on the subjects cheek, giving him a gaunt look, very much at odds with the studium.



In this photo, studium is the odd feeling that the mask evokes, a sense of false perfection. Punctum is the contradiction created by the water droplets, almost erotic.

Studium | Punctum - Tori C.

Here is my Studium/Punctum photo:







The studium for me is the strange, unexpected nature of the photo and the punctum is his nose, the way the rocks make it look. It's from Wolfgang Tillmans, the photographer I'm considering doing my presentation on. This is titled "Anders" from 2005.

Marin's Studium Punctum Photo

I'm a foody, so any photo that makes food look good is going to attract my attention. Not surprisingly, for me, the studium of this photo is the sandwhich. The puntum is the proximity of the mustard bottle to the beer glass and the child's bright blue/purple shirt. I love the way the colors play off each other and draw the viewer toward them.

The photo was taken from : Pat Castaldo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/truthdevelopment/4024132788/in/photostream/

Narrative photos - Johan

If I don't end up finding something during fall break I have a couple of ideas for when I come back. Either I want to follow a day in the life of my friend Sue who works at Curtis and give her perspective of a day at the dining hall or I want to do something with the early morning hours of a Denison day, that is: receiving the morning mail in the mailroom, re-stocking slayter, employees arriving to curtis, booting up radiostation, denison security meeting, etc etc. Thoughts and/or suggestions?

Narrative Idea

So I have two ideas...
I really like Cindy Sherman. (if anyone went to the art 21 screening on wednesday, you can understand why, if you didn't go YOU SHOULD HAVE BECAUSE YOU'RE MISSING OUT) I like how she transforms herself into different characters...
I'm also inspired by a shoot on aAmerica's Next Top Model a few cycles ago when each contestant had to act and look like a male and a female, and they combined both shots. (specifically they were celebrity couples) which was really cool.
So I would prefer to shoot a person; I like the warehouse idea/putting people juxtaposed with setting and or outfit but I don't want to use someone else's idea so..

OR
I could d the whole nature taking over or becoming a part of what we create like I talked about in class...

Thoughts? Opinions? Criticisms?
Kirslyn

F-Stop vs. Shutterspeed Chart

Though this might help.. /Johan

Una Idea

I'm thinking about reproducing Avedon's style by taking pictures of my roommate against a white background. To attempt to reproduce the light in his "In the American West" series I plan on bouncing the flash off of white foam board and perhaps using the umbrella. I also was thinking of asking my subject a question, or telling him a story designed to catch him with his guard down. What do you think?

I remembered his name...Kehinde Wiley

I know this isn't the purpose of the blog, but I just wanted to show a painting by Kehinde Wiley whose work seems similar to that of Yinka Shonibare, despite obvious differences in medium.

Marin's potential beginnings to narrative...

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bresha's experimentation with the strobust kit :(

Light is Fun--Caitlin

I believe in magic...

A couple of Marin's experiments with the strobist kit...

now i'm a strobistist

The Eeriness of Abandoned Buildings, Pt 3

The following photos were taken on an expedition with Johan to the abandoned Newark Stove Works, which at one point was the biggest cast iron stove factory in the world (supposedly). They were taken with a Canon Rebel XT using a 18-55mm lens with no image stabilization.

The Eeriness of Abandoned Buildings, Pt 2