Reading Discussion I

While the first chapter brought up many different points, varying from the invention of photography, the iconography of The Migrant Mother, modern/postmodern theory, and technique vs. content, what I most found interesting is how photography acts as the bridge between art and science. I am curious to see if, in the context of a photography studio-art class, we are more apt to think of photography on a content-based art-sense or if we are more likely to value technique and the documentary/scientific quality of photography. I also cannot help but wonder what we think the average public more readily-accepts photography as. While I initially want to say that I interpret photography in more of an artistic sense, I have to admit that I have a hard time accepting photography that is strictly content-based and does not exhibit an understanding of aesthetic technique. 

On a separate note, I am also intrigued about how photography very uniquely relates to concepts of truth and reality in a way every other medium (minus video) simply does not. I feel like even in today's society, where images can so easily be manipulated or faked, there is a certain psychological response to seeing a photograph that makes us trust it more than any other artistic medium. I would like to know if my classmates agree with me, or if they feel there is more suspicion around photography now. I am also curious to see if they see photography as more of an art or science, or equally caught between art and science. Lastly, I am interested in finding out if they find themselves more impressed by technically striking photography or photography that is content-based. 

Google Reader Post #1: What is The City But the People?

The particular article I found interesting this week is from SIP (http://thesip.org/2011/08/what-is-the-city-but-the-people/#more-2127), and focused around the portrait photography of Erica McDonald, which I found exceptionally compelling. I am heavily inspired by the figure/portraiture in my own work, spanning across many different mediums and outlets. I enjoyed reading about the philosophy the article applies to portrait photography, which is explicitly stated as catching "the soul and spirit of a person by unveiling the hidden without letting the photographed subject feel 'naked'," largely because I agree with it entirely.

My favorite photograph out of the collection contained in this blog is of a heavy-set black man sitting on a bed (Erica-McDonald-03.jpg). This photograph is heavily saturated and feels very uneasy & unsettling. The man, who would in any other setting perhaps seem intimidating appears rather vulnerable, and after reading more of the article it is revealed that this man is living in an Adult Home for mentally ill people. Even without reading the article, though, the viewer can get a sense of this from the uneasy color palette of complimentary yellow & purple which clash for attention, and the strange expression on his face.

I really enjoy portrait work which allows for a narrative of some sort to take place or that forces the viewer to fill in the blanks about the person presented before them.

Artist Selections

1. Helen Van Meene
2. Sally Mann
3. Cindy Sherman
4. Justine Kurland
5. Richard Billingham
6. Ed Ruscha
7. Andrea Modica
8. Kelli Connell
9. Katy Grannan
10. Sharon Lockhart

Chapter Selections

The chapters I would most like to cover for the class discussions are:


1. Chapter 4 - The Subject as Object: Photography & the Human Body
2. Chapter 5 - Spectacles and Illusions: Photography & Commodity Culture
3.  Chapter 7 - Photography in the Age of Electronic Imaging