Cyanotype final shots

Cyanotype

For this project, I am unsure how some of these photos would read with the blue hue so I am going to try some landscapes and some portraiture, to get a feel of how digital files translate into cyanotypes.
Here are some of my ideas.

La Photographie à l'envers (Photography Inside-Out)

"Inventions, they say, are always made when they are needed." The photogram was the artists' response to new scientific and technological discoveries. "Modern science has denied the duality of matter and spirit". A mistrust arose for the sentimental, the spiritual, and personal interpretation. "Truth" and realism became highly valued and many artists found the photogram to be the truest form of art.  Painters were criticized; and Tristan Tzara went as far to say, "Originally this slight quivering was a weakness that called itself sensitivity in order to legitimize itself".  Many artists were interested in the "physics of poetry", "mathematical objects", and "automatic happening". They felt it was more scientific, truer to the human eye, therefore holding more value. 

At the same time, assembling photographs using materials still portrayed an expressive quality and sensitivity. I see a connection between using a Polaroid camera and utilizing the photogram process. When using a polaroid, it is decisive, quick, and there is limited control for the photographer. They seem to make "truer" images. Photograms also grant control to secondary sources such as light. The artist has limited control in both processes. 

The process of making a photogram enables an artist to create a "harmonious contradiction" between matter and spirit, often seen as "the most polar extremes imaginable".

Self Portrait

Equivalence

The other day I was sitting out on my porch with a new friend and we were staring at the yellow street lights' reflection off the wet pavement. We were getting to know each other in a late-night kind of way; telling stories, thinking in silence. While I was thinking how wonderful my view would look as an 11x14, Mike was thinking about how he hated the hue of the lights. He felt as though the street lights looked old, and the yellowish glare was nothing more than distracting. I said how the glow gave me nostalgia. When I saw the street lights I made connections to my old neighborhood, being out too late, scraped knees, my father, basketball courts, and corner stores. Our current perception of everything we see is a sum of all our past experiences. Photographs are the same way and I feel this reading did a great job explaining this concept I've always struggled with. Every photograph I take, I take because it makes me feel a certain way and I am able to make connections to my past; however, every other individual will experience my work differently for it will evoke different emotions through the connections they are making and their history.

Why take photos?

I take photographs because I can't stand seeing something beautiful when I don't have my camera. I am very selfish in my desire to take photographs. I do it to not feel anxious; I do it to interact with and understand my environment; I do it to make a memory permanent, and never tapered with. Some things are just worth capturing.