Contemporary artist

   http://kelliconnell.com/this-morning/
     The artist I chose that interested me the most was Kelli Connell. Her

works that she did of herself in two different perspectives in one photo. The

 first time I saw her work, I was intrigued by the many different messages

that I got from just one photo. Once I listened to her own words about her

 work, it confirmed some of the things that I thought about, as well as gave

 me another view on the works. She described her works as expressing the

relationships that we have with ourselves. This series of photos were not all

taken in one situation, or one mood. They varied is so many different styles

 and colors. There were some that were lighter and happier, there were some

 that were dark and gloomier, there were sad ones, and well as romantic

ones. I really don't think there was any other artist that did the work that she

 did. I've seen things that were similar, but none have had more meaning

 than Kelli Connell's.

     When I first looked at her work, I thought deep into the photos. I thought

 about what they were, I thought about what they meant, I thought about

 what could have inspired this work. When I realized that both of the people

 in the photo were the same person, it confused me at first. I knew the

 purpose was to get you to look at yourself, or think about something that

every person goes through but never thinks really deep into or it is

something that it a private matter and is not shown to the public. After

hearing Connell speak about her work, I had a complete understanding.

After I thought about it for a while, I started to be able to relate with the

work more. It made me think about those different relationships that I went

through in my life, or what I've seen others go through in theirs. It was

interesting to see those relationships expressed in photos.

     I think this series of photos were made to respond to those people who

are not quite sure about themselves and the way they feel about themselves.

I don't think this work leaves anyone out. I feel like anyone can relate to

this work if they think hard enough. It may seem weird to people at first

but if they would actually think about the different feelings that people have

about themselves throughout their lives, it would all make sense.

     I believe this work was very successful because it was a very good

representation of the relationships that people have with themselves. I

believe that the goals that she set for her work was very visible, although

I don't think it will be that obvious to everyone at first glance. I definitely

believe that the fact that she took different series of the relationships in

different years, it expressed those relationships that much more. The

transition from teenage years into adulthood showed how much more

intimate relationships with ourselves get as we mature. I think this work

is amazing, and very intriguing. I love it!!

Made by a Man

     The exhibition "Made By a Man" was shown by the artist J. Casey Doyle. The show consisted of about 6-8 different pieces of his work. All of his works were hung up on the wall. They were interestingly made by ribbon that you would put on gifts. He created his works by knitting or knotting the ribbon together. All off the pieces were very bright and colorful and had a slightly rough texture. They were all very aesthetically pleasing to pretty much anyone, especially when people realize that they are not real blankets. All of the works were enormous, they looked like real blankets or curtains.
     I honestly had a hard time interpreting Mr. Doyle's work. I don't feel like he was trying to prove a point, but I think he was a more modern artist that felt like the subject of the work was the artist himself. I feel like his pieces drew people closer to see so they could think about how the piece was made and how long it took. I do think he challenged the stereotype of people who knit or make blankets. Most people would only think of a woman making something like that. I think he sort of emphasized that thought by naming his group of works "Made By a Man".
     Mr. Doyle's works were definitely pleasing and absolutely amazing to think about. I couldn't even imagine sitting down and taking the time to make something so massive. I couldn't guess how long it took him to actually create just one of the pieces.

Final Project!

            In this series of photos I wanted to the theme of relationships. I wanted to capture many different types of relationships such as husband/wife, brother/sister, boyfriend/girlfriend, coworkers, parent/child and cousins. I wanted to show how relationships are something that can easily be captured in any setting. I also wanted to show the ‘bad’ in relationships instead of just the good. I tried capturing photos of many different people who were not just looking at the camera with their arms around each other smiling. I wanted to capture the mean looks and funny faces that people make when communicating with someone they have some sort of relationship with. Another big thing I wanted to capture is the difference in men and women when around people they have some type of relationship with. I captured how a group of men place themselves when communicating with other men, how women place themselves when speaking to other women, and how men and women place themselves when interacting with each other.

            I went about this project in a rather simple way. I did not want any of these photos to be stages or photoshopped. I wanted to capture the purity of relationships and how they show in our everyday lives without us even realizing it. I wanted to focus on the idea of relationships because most people only think of relationships as something that you have with a close friend or a boy/girlfriend. People forget about the relationships they have with their coworkers or their boss even though they don’t think of it as a relationship. Relationships are all around us, whether good or bad.

            My goal was to make a series of photos that were aesthetically pleasing. I wanted to capture photos that brought a reaction out of the viewers, whether it is laughter, or a simple ‘awww’. I wanted to capture things that will make people think more into the idea of relationships with the different people around them, and not just the close friends and family. A lot of people think that relationships with family is all in one category, but if you think about it, the relationship between a child and a grandparent is a lot different than the relationship between a child and a sibling or cousin. There are differences always many differences that people never think about. 

Work in Progress

     The goal in this work is to show the good and the bad times in relationships. I want to have a combination of stereotypical photos of siblings hugging as well as photos of siblings fighting. I want to show how no relationship is perfect. I plan on showing all types of relationships, siblings, couples, spouses, cousins and friends. I plan on putting a lot of images into a album. I plan to do this because albums usually contain all the photos of people looking at the camera and smiling and all nice, but my album will contain photos of of the traditional photos, as well as the ones that no one usually sees. I expect people to get laughter as a reaction to my photos. I also expect to get an "awww" every now and  again. I hope it works!!

Final project!!

     For my final project I am going to explore the concept and importance of relationships. This subject is interesting to me because everyone has relationships. Whether it is relationships with your family, friends, co-workers, and classmates. No matter who you are, you have relationships with everyone that you encounter, whether on a daily basis, or a weekly basis. Relationships are important to everyone. They are extremely to me because I like to build relationships with anyone that I know I will spend time with, even if its just 15 weeks in a class. Everyone's relationship with a different group of people change that person and the way they act. When people are at work, they usually don't show any negative attitudes. My goal for this project is to show the good, the bad, and the ugly in all types of relationships. I want to capture different faces, different actions and different expressions that people have with people that they have any type of relationship with. I think it will be very interesting.

Assignment 5

   The purpose of my photos for this project was to create somewhat of a game. I wanted to people to see the photo and do a double take at what it really is in the picture. I don't want it to be blatantly obvious of what the photo is. I wanted to have different people have different views on what is really going on in front of my camera. It was kind of difficult at first to think of a good idea since I'm not a very creative person.
    I thought of so many different angles to take with this project, and with limited time, I had to come up with something fast. Everyone plays games right? People always like to have a little fun! I tried to make it entertaining and kind of veer away from the traditional "see the picture of ____". I like challenging the viewer, make the viewer try to figure out what is the photo of? How was it done? What is going on?
     I wish I would have had more time to think into this project, and I have to admit, I am not very satisfied with it. This project did make me pull out a creativity I didn't know I had. I loved the challenge. Hopefully I can come up with something a little more interesting for the views next time! Enjoy!!

Sontag reaction

   Sontag says that photography is "A way of certifying experience......also a way of refusing it." I understood this statement. She used the example of a tourists photographing themselves by something that they've seen, but just because they have seen it, does not mean that they have experienced. To any one that looks at a photo of a person by some beautiful monument, he or she would believe that this person experienced this place inside and out. A person would think that the person in the photo could any questions about the building and know more. I feel like Sontag was trying to show how photos can be deceiving to a person who looks at a photo. I agree with Sontag, I believe that photos can be deceiving to the person viewing it. They only tell a part of the story, they don't tell the entire story. It is definitely a difference between someone just snapping a photo in front of a beautiful building than someone going inside the building and learning about the construction and when and how it was built. It's easy to snap a picture and move on to the next place.
  Sontag also said that photography is "momento mori". I believe that she said this to tell about how photos can capture a person at that moment but as time passes they can look back and see how they change. If nyou take a picture of someone at a young age, and then they take a picture after they begin to get older, it reminds that person that you will not live forever. I believe she is trying to say that people can become more aware of life when they see old pictures that they could have remembered like it was yesterday. Time can go fast to a person but nobody really thinks about it until they see an old photo. I agree with this statement because I've seen photos that I remember exactly what I was doing that day and I realize how much time has really passed. I know that it is the same way for people who are in their 40s and look back at a photo of them in their 20s and think about how things have changed. Sometimes its a sad thing for people to do.