Assignment 007: Photography as Contemporary Art & Stephen Shore

"Photography as Contemporary Art"

Review
 

"Photography as Contemporary Art" recognized some key players in the contemporary art movement for photography.  All of the photographers mentioned have been able to change what is accepted as art, and what will in the future be accepted. Even photographers who were not of the same period, may have shared the same ideas, and stirred a movement.  William Eggleston and Stephen Shore were both huge players in making color photography a viable art form outside of the commercial field, for example.  Bernd and Hilla Becher were a German couple that brought notice to the vernacular forms in photography.  They are highly recognized for their black and white grids of architectural images.  Their images bring together the idea of history and modernity.  In today's community, art is often geared towards what the audience wants and the possibility of being in a gallery. Works from photographers like Seydou Keita, David Goldblatt, and Ralph Eugene Meatyard did not give this idea much attention and their work boomed in the 1990's.  During this time it is also when color photography began being the main form of photography where before it was considered for commercial use only.  The Malian Seydou Keita brought graphic and simple beauty to the contemporary art photography field.  He brought international notice to the impact of apartheited.  Keita was key in making documentary photography notice, and bringing light to a very troubled history.  All of these photographers, regardless of their work or ages, collaboratively helped shape contemporary photography and bring new meanings to photography as an art form every day. 

Stephen Shore

Bio: Shore is an American photographer born in New York in 1947.  He began his career at a very young age.  At the age of six, his uncle gave him a dark room kit and since then he has been a photographer.  When he was only 14, he met with the then curator of photography at MoMA.  After this meeting, the curator bought three of his photographers.  By the time Shore was 17 he began spending time in Andy Warhol's Factory and photogrpahing the characters that passed through there.  At the age of 24, Shore became the second living person to have a solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  While he spent the beginning of his career working only in black and white photography, in 1973 he began using color.  Shore's color work was a crucial player in making color photography a valid art form.

 Paul Morrissey, Edie Sedgwick

1965-1967

black and white photograph

12 3/4 x 19 inches

Diana Hall Pointing a Gun at Andy's Head

1965-1967

black and white photograph

12 3/4 x 19 inches

Assignment 006: Susan Sontag

Bio: Susan Sontag was born in New York City in 1933.  She traveled a great deal throughout her life for studies, but eventually ended up back in NYC where she passed away in 2004 due to a a blood related medical condition.  Sontag was an author, feminist and political activist, and literary theorist.  She was open about her bisexuality and was rumored to have been in a committed relationship with famous photographer, Annie Leibovitz.

Review:

“Photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe.” –Sontag

I found Sontag’s first chapter of “On Photography” to be very interesting, and rather poetic.  She used great metaphors and brought up a lot of points about photography in general that I have never thought of before.  For the large majority of the article I would have to say that I strongly agree with her views.  I have always believed that photography is complex, and Sontag compares it to a new language.  She says that photography creates a new language for it’s viewers and actually creates its own world by piecing together bits of our real world.   While in today’s world it seems that many people take a film or something on television to be a more reliable account of an event, Sontag says the polar opposite.  She believes that with the hundreds of thousands of images pieced together to create a film or something on television, that each image actually deletes the last.  By doing so, our mind cannot individually relate to images and thus losing the meaning behind it.  A photograph stands alone, and stands strong.  Even if a single photograph is not necessarily a work of art, the lone image will hold something that is unique to it and unique to what it means in our mind. A photograph holds undeniable evidence that in the past a painting, or possibly a written account could not hold.  Whether it is for criminal purposes or family purposes, a photographer is a moment frozen in time. 

“Although there is a sense in which the camera does indeed capture reality, not just interpret it, photographs are as much an interpretation of the world as paintings and drawings are”

-Sontag

Photography has become a part of our culture and our everyday life.  The idea of family relies heavily on photography.  While I had never connected the two together, it is blatantly obvious this is true.  The perfect wedding picture seems just as important as the actual event.  A graduation picture with your entire family, a picture from your family vacation, or pictures of your newborn baby are all huge parts of today’s culture.  Photographs will outlast our memories, and will often time outlast us.

“The Polaroid owner for whom photographs are a handy, fast form of note-taking, or the shutterbug with a Brownie who takes snapshots as souvenirs of daily life.”

 -Sontag

Probably the only part of Sontag’s writing that I disagree with is her connection between a photographer and their camera being a sexual one.  While there is undoubtedly an indescribable bond here, I would not say it is a sexual one.  I think that Sontag has confused passion for sex and I think there is a huge difference.

“Like guns and cars, cameras are fantasy machines whose use is addictive.”

 - Sontag

Assignment 005: 3 Contemporary Artists (non photographers)



Artist 1: Kathleen Metaxas

Bio: Metaxas is a print maker, hand made paper maker, and book artist.  She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and is influence by nature and her surroundings.  She studied printmaking at a local community college in her area.  Since then she has continued to study body forms and nature through her woodblock prints and paper making.

I chose this contemporary artist because I have always been fascinated by prints, especially woodblock prints.  I find that I am most fascinated in works of art when I can not fully comprehend how to create or re-create it in my own way.  I enjoyed the simplicity of her compositions in the prints, yet the pops of color and attention to detail is what really makes them beautiful in my mind.

 

"Flower Show IV Plum

Hand pulled woodblock print is part of an ongoing installation project inspired by the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show. There are currently five images available in various colors to mix and match. Unique edition of 50. Unframed."

12"H x 12"W

"Flower Show II Red

Hand pulled woodblock print is part of an ongoing installation project inspired by the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show. There are currently five images available in various colors to mix and match. Unique edition of 50. Unframed."

12"H x 12"W
 

Artist Review: While I found quite a lot of information about her work, I don't believe that she has formally been discovered and has no reviews of her artwork posted to the internet.

Represented Gallery URL: http://kathleenmetaxasart.artspan.com/large-view/Flower%20Show%20Series%20-%20Woodblock%20Prints/1112741-5-0-90381/.html?thumbnails=on

Artist Website: http://kathleenmetaxasart.artspan.com/

Artist 2:

Bio: Banksy is a British street artist who is completely anonymous.  Most of his artworks would be labeled as grafitti, and he completes these works of art in the most obvious places.  It is astonishing that in all of these years he has not been caught "tagging" any of his locations.  He is known for his controversial subjects and words all over the world.

 

I chose Banksy because of his extraordinary talents, not only in the art world, but in his impact on so many global communities.  This summer I went to the largest Banksy exhibition ever.  They brought his works in from all over the world, from the streets of New York, to walls in Iraq.  The idea that he is an anonymous artist, even after having gained so much fame is very humbling.  While it is fairly evident that he is anonymous largely because he would be arrested if discovered, being anonymous is part of his grand allure. 

 Kissing Coppers, Brighton. 2005,

Framed dimension: 89 x 65 x 3.5 inches (Weight: 450 pounds)

  Stop and Search, Palestine, 2007

83 x 63 Inches (Weight: 2.5 tons)

Review of Artist: 

"London Calling

artnet.com
by Joe La Placa

The graffiti artist Banksy is London's phantom celebrity. Millions have seen his work. But few have seen Banksy. Preferring to be thought of as a "quality vandal," he winces at the idea of being called an artist. "I'd never write that word on my passport, it's a bit precious sounding" says the skinny 28 year old. He has a silver tooth and sports an earring. "I'm not trying to recast graffiti as an art. The word vandal would suit me fine, a 'quality vandal' that is. I'd like to reclaim the word 'vandal' the way hip-hop reclaimed 'nigger'."

Banksy's first major exhibition "Turf War" was one of England's best -- and briefest -- shows this season. Staged in a warehouse on Kingsland Road in London's East End, the exact location was kept secret until the last minute.
"Turf War" was supposed to be open from July 18 to 24, but police closed it down two days after the opening. Why? Because artist Banksy is a wanted man.
Guests packed the space to see Banksy's provocative work that included a smashed up police van, vandalized monuments and graffiti-coated live animals.
Many celebrity fans like chef Jamie Oliver and DJ Sara Cox wanted to meet Banksy at the opening. So did the police. But the elusive vandal was nowhere to be found. "I have warrants out for my arrest and besides I don't like dealing with the public," he said.
Banksy's been busted before. He has a penchant for branding London's public buildings and bridges with his well-crafted black-and-white stencils of visual puns and slogans. Banksy's form of self-expression has put the police on his tail. Graffiti may still be a hot cultural form. But in London, it's punishable with a prison sentence of up to ten years.
All this makes Banksy a "cultural gangster" at large. And crime seems to be paying. Banksy's numerous products are selling. The pop band Blur asked him to do the cover of their recently released album, "Think Tank." You can buy Banksy's posters at Selfridges department store. Pop stars and night club owners are clamoring to commission him. Banksy's brand can be found on t-shirts. His canvases are selling for up to 10,000 apiece. And as demand is high, it's only a matter of time before prices follow.
Would Banksy sell work to Charles Saatchi? "He can keep his money. I would rather my work was in the hands of thousands than in the hands of one man."
Despite his fame, Banksy turns down many lucrative offers. The latest was issued from the world's biggest sneaker pimp, Nike. Banksy turned them down flat. "I'm not worried about selling out. I concentrate on the work." Spoken like the true outlaw.
Many think that graffiti's jump from the trains to canvas -- from breaking the law to entering the art market -- has been responsible for the death of the movement.
But canvas is the car of the art market, the vehicle that everyone uses to transport their visual message. In the mid-1980s, New York graffiti was the hottest commodity on the international contemporary art scene. Invited to mount an exhibition at the Basel art fair of 1984, my partner Guillaume Gallozzi and I sold 72 paintings and 40 drawings in three days. An ironic outcome, given that we flew to Switzerland with $50 between us and left with over $250,000, much of it in cash.
As an art fad, graffiti was soon played out -- though it lives on in advertising, where the look of graffiti is used to give products the street credibility that is needed to reach the multibillion-dollar youth market.
"Our culture is obsessed with brands and branding" says Banksy. He hasn't done a bad job branding himself as the mysterious vandal, famous yet anonymous at the same time. Even his parents are unaware of his secret identity. They think he's a decorator.
"Turf War" features live cows, sheep, lambs and a ewe literally branded with Banksy's trademark spray-painted stencils. "I'm taking the idea of branding back to its original roots, which is cattle branding. I call it Brandalism," he said.
But there's also a less serious reason he used farm animals. "I'm from Bristol," says Banksy, "and if you come from outside London they [London's snobbish graffiti establishment] give you a lot of shite about being a country bumpkin. So I thought, right, I'll give 'em country bumpkin -- I'll just get all these animals together and paint them."
Watching over this menagerie is an enormous stencil painting of Winston Churchill sporting a green Mohawk with the word "Thug" branded underneath.
The seemingly small and insignificant act of unauthorized writing in public spaces still evokes crisis in city administrations around the world -- including London. Last year over 100,000,000 pounds was spent on cleaning graffiti. It boggles the mind to think what could be done with even a fraction of that money if were given to gifted vandals like Banksy.
Surely London mayor Ken Livingstone would appreciate Banksy's baiting tourists with his meticulously stencilled sign on the base of Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square reading, "Designated Riot Area"? No ground is too sacred for Banksy's form of prose. At the London Zoo, Banksy managed to sneak inside the penguin enclosure to leave a calling card saying, "This place is too cold."
So what's in it for Banksy -- the thrill, the money, the fame, les femmes? "I'm doing it because I can. Painting sucks, art sucks -- hopefully I'll get out of it soon and find something a bit more worthwhile to do with my time," he says audaciously. Throwing a final dig at collector Charles Saatchi, Banksy adds, "I don't like the gallery system. These days, the value of art seems to come down to whether one millionaire likes it or not." But with paintings going for 10,000 a pop, who else could afford one?
Despite his success, Banksy still gets the biggest charge from his covert stencil-and-run operations. "Nothing is as exciting as doing a painting where nobody wants it," he says. "Even a major exhibition at the Tate Modern couldn't compare with that."

Represented Gallery URL: http://keszlergallery.com/

Artist Website: http://www.banksy.co.uk/

^Banksy mocking Hirst ^

Artist 3: Damien Hirst

Bio: Hirst is an English contemporary artist.  He is largely known for his paintings, installations, sculptures, and the coveted skulls. Hirst is the most well known member of the YBA's (or Young British Artists). 

I chose Damien Hirst because I find his work very unique.  Each of his pieces leave you asking questions and wanting to know more about his process and meaning.  I respect his artwork but also his work as an entrepreneur.  He has built an incredible empire through his business skills along with his artistic talents.

“For the Love of God,” 2007

platinum cast, covered in 8,601 diamonds. 

"Albumin, Human, Glycated," by Damien Hirst, oil-based household paint and synthetic polymer on canvas, 7 feet by 9 feet 8 inches, 1992, The UBS Art Collection

Review of Artist: http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/art/reviews/11602/

Represented Gallery URL: http://www.gagosian.com/artists/damien-hirst/

Artist Website: http://www.damienhirst.com/