Week 15 Best:

Artist Share: Josephine Pryde

Josephine Pryde is a contemporary artist born in Alnwick, UK in 1967.  She received her BFA from Central St. Martins School of London and her MFA from Wimbledon School of Art in London.  Pryde primarily uses installation and photography as mediums for her expression.  Conceptually, her work has touched on numerous idea systems, including but not limited to, post modernist critiques, human/viewer interaction with art, as well as commodification of imagery.  Her focus on commodity intrigued me to look more deeply into her work, primarily at her most recent show and first retrospective at the Kunstverein Gallery in Dusseldorf.

This retrospective, entitled 'Miss Austen Enjoys Photography,' is not only a retrospective, but a showcase of brand new work that Pryde actually shot and printed on site.  Her subject matter for these images are over 30 guinea pigs of different colors shapes and sizes.  Each one photographed at different angles and depths of field.  These were shot in large format and printed large as well in bold color giving an almost overwhelming 'cute factor' the moment the viewer enters the gallery.  The obvious connotation to guinea pigs as pets as well as their use for lab research as test subjects gives an almost disturbing ambiance to this section of the show.  There is also the connotation of the constantly growing number of kitsch photography revolving around cute pets that fills Flickr accounts as well as the cameras of parents with small children bringing home their new family additions to the household.

The entire idea of creating work and showcasing at literally in the same space brings to question the idea of commodity and consumption through the production of 'cute' imagery that is almost arresting to the viewer, distracting him/her from broader concepts being commented on, let alone the rest of the retrospective.  But this arrest of thought is a fantastic example of the commodification that people experience every day, but nonchalantly absorb.

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2012/03/josephine-pryde-at-kunstverein-dusseldorf/

Week Best 14:

Week Best 13:

Calm Before the Storm Essay

For this essay I chose Camille Seaman’s Crumbling Iceberg 1.  This piece was part of a large body of work Seaman created, primarily based out of the Arctic and Antarctic.  These works consisted of varying landscapes throughout this area, giving a beautiful and still feeling that seemed to emanate from each piece.

  When I first saw this piece, and this show in particular, the shear size of all of the works done by Seaman was amazing and very immersive.  Easily 5 feet wide, each image gave the viewer a true viewing experience, inviting him/her to go closer.  This is where the issues occur.  Upon a closer inspection, the image was extremely noisy.  This seems like a trivial issue for an image with so much going for it aesthetically.  The composition is phenomenal, as well as the vingetting, which added a really nice feeling to the horizon in particular.  The image was shot on panoramic medium format film that Seaman later discussed as being high speed due to the boat she was on during the trip moving a lot during some of her photographs, however this one in particular was shot off of the boat on a still surface.  It may seem as if I am harping on something that could easily be overlooked, but if an image is printed at such an enormous scale, it asks the viewer to go closer and examine it in fine detail. 

In terms of interpretation, the image conveys a sense of pure cold beauty.  A king of stillness occurs that displays the isolative and quiet qualities that surround the areas.  There is also a large environmental aspect to this piece, bringing the viewer to the front row of climate change, literally watching the glacier depicted almost wither away in its fragility. 

In conclusion, Seaman’s Crumbling Iceberg 1, is an inherently aesthetically appealing image.  However the lack of attention to detail becomes detrimental to the work and distracts the viewer from the conceptual basis and meaning.  

Best Week 12:

Find Your Muse: Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Ralph Eugene Meatyard was born in 1925 and began his career in Lexington Kentucky as an optician.  The company Meatyard worked for also sold photographic equipment at the time, and its members were also active in the Lexington Camera Club in the art department of the University of Kentucky.  This prompted him to become initially interested in photography and led to his eventual purchase of his first camera in 1950 in order to photograph his son.  After experimenting with it, he soon joined the Lexington Camera Club and then later became a member of the Photographic Society of America.

During his membership he met Van Deren Coke, who would influence Meatyards work greatly.  He also attended several workshops during the mid 50's run by Minor White and Henry Holmes Smith.  This led to extremely experimental works he would create in his darkroom at his home.  He died in 1972.

His work was shown in numerous galleries and publications and was regarded as some of the most original and disturbing work to be made with a camera at the time.

Meatyard's work consists of various juxtapositions of old and young bodies as well as grim/gloomy representations of the south and midwest.  His images portray eerie yet beautiful narratives regarding human interaction through time as well as identity as it relates to physical form.