Jessica Photography: April 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Artist Lecture/ Lennie Mullaney/ Painter

During her M.F.A. Thesis, Lennie Mullaney shared her experiences as an observational painter completing her bridge series. She has always paid close attention to composition, light, color, and detail in the landscape but made a transition with her work and techniques later on in her life. She decided to move away from landscapes and began painting city-scapes to convey her appeal towards the "tension between natural beauty and urban settings". This transition to a fast moving world allowed her to let go of her obsession with detail and focus more on shapes and color. Her work became more impressionistic and "spontaneous". At one point during her talk, she describes "the sense of freedom when you give up control". I find this to be very true for myself as an artist. After finishing a semester working with the 4x5 cameras I was pretty discouraged. I ended up being too wrapped up in the technicalities rather than my subject matter. When I was able to work with the Holga camera, where the photographer has little to no control, I found it liberating. It was nice to focus simply on composition and subject matter. I found Mullaney's paintings to be a great depiction of time passing and movement, and I connected a lot conceptually.

Artist Lecture/ Clara Coleman/ Painter

Throughout Clara's M.F.A. Thesis, I found a lot of her struggles and concepts relatable. She spoke of her journey to find her voice as an artist. Finding her desired subject matter, color palette, speed at which she works, and influences. She found that "going with her gut" and finding inspiration through artists she enjoyed was the best way to truly convey her voice as an artist in the art world. She descried art as a "necessary language" and said how it "serves as a great energy outlet". She also mentioned how her reasoning for her pieces typically comes after the fact and a lot of reflection. Although I am rather unfamilar and unexperienced when it comes to painting, was able to connect through my experiences with photography as an art. I too struggled to find my voice as an artist. For a while I was focusing too much on pre-planned meaning rather than simply, "going with my gut" and trusting my initial appeal. Once I was able to trust myself as an artist, I slowly came to find my voice through my composition, subject matter, and desired contrast. I too find my artwork as a great energy outlet. I am extremely fast moving and scatter-brained and shooting photographs, specifically digital or holga, allows me to focus my energy towards something and ends up being quite therapeutic. Although artists may use different mediums, or say dialect, we all speak the same language and experience universal obstacles, questions, and realizations.

Possibility for Final Project

For my final project, rather than trying something new, I wanted to further a past project of mine. I have done two series of work that I feel I have unfinished business with. The first is my homeless series. I did several trips to Boston where at first, I simply asked then photographed my subjects. Later I went back and sat down with each subject, asked their name and to tell me a little about themselves. Some just chatted with me, others told me of how they fell into their unfortunate situation, and some just wanted the company. It was the most rewarding project I had ever done; however, I do think I could shoot far more people and perhaps visit different cities. After my critique, my peers and professor suggested I keep going with this idea and keeping writing. I was hoping to publish a book on my own of this series along with some of my writings. My only concern with this option for the final is the cost of making it to and around a city. These are some of my favorite shots from the first series.

"Michael and David"

"Ray"

"Herbert"

My second option for my final project would be furthering my surf photography. For about six months I shot surf photography. It wasn't for any school project, just work I really enjoyed doing. This was another rewarding series of mine. I would wake up before the sunrise, check the surf report to find where there were big waves, and drive with some friends to an often times deserted beach and shoot for hours. I would bring blankets, batteries, and music and it was my therapy. Not only was the process and experience in itself enjoyable, but I was almost always pleased with some photos from the morning. The surfers I was photographing always loved to have their successes and progress documented and loved having me around. I got to know some of the New Hampshire surfing community and really learned to appreciate the sport. I would really love to push this series further, and my only concern for this project is that is can be weather permitting. These are some of my favorite photographs I shot during those six months.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Favorite Ocean/Beach Photographs

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the class field trip to Odione Point. I am hoping to visit there soon if the weather gets better to shoot; however, in the mean time I wanted to post some of my favorite ocean shots.