Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Able.

I am able.

Whatever Happens........

.....just keep working.

I Found This Place.....

 

.....and I feel the need to keep going back.  It is like every time I go I find something new and more interesting than the last time I visited.  I am satisfied with the images from this place but I feel that there is more to it than what I am coming up with.  This might take some time.

Reading List-

Was Reading-

How the Other Half Lives- Jacob Riis

I put it down for a while because I just didn't find it that interesting right now.  I feel like I am not in a place mentally to read non-fiction at this time.

Reading-
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and The Dubliners- James Joyce

Picked Up-
A collection of titles by Charles Dickens;
Oliver Twist
Great Expectations
Bleak House
Nicholas Nickleby
Hard Times
A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and A Cricket on the Hearth
David Copperfield

Where Are We? Why Are We?

Patterns, shapes, lines, form; placement, format, representation, relationships.  Where we put things.  We build, shape and form our surroundings to fit our needs.  External forces act upon our creations.  We react to the forces to preserve our creation.  The forces can be natural- out of our control; not of our making as human beings.  The forces can be synthetic- of our own doing; man made.  The places in this series represent man altered land forms; places of our own creation that survive because we do.  We make them and preserve them for our own purposes.   

Where Are We?

Another location.  The relationship between man made structure and natural forces.  How do the changes we make impact our surroundings?  How are the changes we make effected by our surroundings? 

The place was there before we were.  When we got there we decided that this place could be used for this purpose.  We went in and made changes to the place.  We dug; we filled in; we built; we tore down; we rebuilt; we laid roads, railroads, etc.... the original place still exists and it can be seen if we look closely.

 

Change happens but, why does it happen?  How is the decision come to for a specific place to be changed?  What goes into that decision?  What is taken into consideration when the decision is made?  Why was that put there and not somewhere else?

 

The way our places are laid out is an interesting puzzle.  The thought process is interesting and I want to find out more.  It deserves investigation.

Reading List-

Reading Now-

How the Other Half Lives- Jacob Riis

Lost Images

Made earlier this year.... found them.

Where Are We?

Still working on the premise of placement or place.  Maps show us where things are; a graphic representation of the placement of places. 

These are hand drawn from a computer rendered map.  I believe they are unfinished at this point but I thought I would share them anyway.

Some things I am considering while working; thoughts,etc.-

Natural features, man-made/manufactured features, boundaries, organic vs. geometric shape, interaction of man-made and natural elements, modern processes vs. traditional processes, functional and aesthetic placement and purpose, etc.

A Portrait of the Artist

2010

1 Image

Sycamore, Illinois

Space - Place - Placement - Purpose

 

          

Why do we put things where we put them?  What is the purpose behind location?  What makes one location preferable over another?  How does environment impact an object?  How does the object impact the environment?

I believe that a great deal can be said about our values- both cultural and personal- by how we place things in our lives and environments.  I will use the terms; objects, structures, things, items, etc to describe all of the paraphernalia of life.  All of the tangible and intangible objects that we have are dealt with purposefully.  I want to explore what things we have, how we use those things how we arrange them and what that means in our lives.

Girls Softball in Sycamore

Chloe's softball team is up to bat. 

Reason to be Happy #7

Mt. Rushmore. South Dakota.

[Ahh, the memories.]

Three Images

There is a difference between 'making photographs' and 'taking a picture'. 

When you make a photograph you are creating an image with a camera.  You are seeking a confluence of elements in a three dimensional world and using the camera as a tool to transfer those elements on to a two dimensional surface.  As you are creating an image you are taking into consideration concepts such as; scale, composition, line, shape and other elements of design.  You are also concerned with subject matter and communication of said subject matter.

When you take a picture you most likely have none of this in mind. 

Reading List-

Finished-
Lord Jim- Joseph Conrad

Reading-
How the Other Half Lives- Jacob Riis

Holga Playtime...

I tried the 645 frame on my Holga.  Played with the bulb exposure while driving at dusk.  Sometimes it is fun to just play around with the camera and see what it can do.

Possibilities abound.

Change is in the air my friends. 

Reading List-

Reading Now-

Lord Jim- Joseph Conrad

Up Next-

How the Other Half Lives- Jacob Riis

Reason to be Happy #6

Reading the Signs in Preparation for the Future

{the writing on the wall, so to speak.}

Relations? And a List or Two... Yes, Two Lists.

I have been really struggling with trying to figure out why I am making these images.  I think the more I look at them that it becomes a little bit about a relationship/association/connection/link with the natural world.  Almost all of the work I have done is about this idea.  But it is more than just that; it isn't that easy.... thus the struggle..... OK so lets try a list here;

List of ideas;

• 
  
  Light
• 
  
  Man made
• 
  
  Natural
• 
  
  Living
• 
  
  Inert
• 
  
  Land
• 
  
  Clay
• 
  
  Dirt
• 
  
  Grass
• 
  
  Ugly Vs. Appealing {or, is ugly actually an appealing quality?}
• 
  
  Dead
• 
  
  Growth
• 
  
  Consumption- man and/or nature as consumer
• 
  
  Objects
• 
  
  Abandoned or Tossed out
• 
  
  Neglect
• 
  
  Waste

More later I think.... need to digest.

Reading List;

Finished-
It Can't Happen Here- Sinclair Lewis
A frightening story of what would happen if the fascists took over in America in the 1930's.  The scariest part about it is that it was written in 1935 before all of the Nazi atrocities were realized.

Reading-
Lord Jim- Joseph Conrad

I'm Looking in Different Places Too.

I realized over the last few days that I have not been looking at the bigger picture. 

Different places = different directions = new ideas = more interesting images = new outlook/perspective

Holga Image

From the first roll I put through... flash ... night .... tree.