c07_a5 Client Words/Phrases

art on paper:

print, artist, paper, retrospective, collection, books, sheets, edition, contemporary, exhibition

spe:

discussion, educate, portfolio, exposure, photography, foster development, scholarship, criticism, print, history

memphis photo:

first and finest, amateur, professional, service, photographer, memphis, mid-south, friendly, knowledgeable, certified photographic counselors

Strike That, Reverse It

Artists to look up:

douglas prince

andy batt

jamey stillings

kyohei abe

rita maas

david trautrimas

solitare miles

sisso chouela

frieke janssens

christopher tovo

glen wexler

marc wuchner

Edio Kawa

david stewart

Moreno Monti

eric johansson

dominique piccinato

filtre studio

kurt stallaert

manuel archain

josh sommers

ryan robinson

nyoman widyantara

herman churba

andreas smetana

thomas herbrich

edwin ho

brian walker

elisabeth hoff

jacob sutton

jill greenberg

Impossible Image- first thoughts

New Project: Impossible Image

Contortion

Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is an unusual form of physical display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of acrobatics and circus acts. In general, contortionists have unusual natural flexibility, which is then enhanced through gymnastic training.

For this project I want to use my own body and Photoshop in order to become a contortionist. I still need to shoot of images for this. I will probably wear all black or something while shooting. At first I just wanted to manipulate my body back into those ballet positions that I can no longer express but I think that contortion is a lot more visually interesting and has more of a universal psychological interest.

Final- Heaven and Hell

wallsa_co6_a1.doc

Alecia Walls

10-12-09

Heaven and Hell- Statement of Intent

Wedged

Having grown up in a small and conservative southern town. Suburbia, trailer parks, dead-end jobs, and lots of babies surrounded me, keeping me closed in. Few people ever make it out of that town once they’ve settled. College gave me a chance to break out and ever since I have considered that feeling of being stuck or “wedged-in” my own personal hell. I chose to depict this concept of hell, with images associated with the place I am from: babies, perfect little houses, beat up pick up trucks, and county fairs. The images were composited the images together in Photoshop, leaving a collage affect in hopes of creating a sense of claustrophobia and oppression.

Fluid

Heaven is another word for paradise or a place that is a place that is harmonious and positive. Paradise can also be understood as a mental or emotional euphoria. When visiting my family recently I discovered that their lifestyle is the best definition of hell for myself and so my heaven would have to be the opposite. The opposite of feeling stuck is possibility and fluidity. Heaven is weightlessness and costal life, not small town Middle America. In order to depict my heaven I used imagery of water and scarves. I brought them together in Photoshop in order to create the idea of being between the coasts, in the open and mobile.

Impossible Image- Thoughts

For me it is still incredible that photographic imagery can be created outside of the camera. What can one create without using the camera? What sort of imagery could I produce that requires additional steps within the computer and its software?

I am very interested in the scanner as a way of making digital work. In a sense, the scanner is just a larger camera, but its process requires a computer and some kind of software to reach the desired product. Therefore, if the scanner is necessity to your process of creating the work, then I suppose what ever comes out of that process is "an impossible image.?" Honestly, I am very confused and bamboozled by this concept.

Heaven and Hell Statement of Intent

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To for me growing up in a small town was comforting and yet claustrophobic. I have recently developed this fear of being stuck some place, as now I am out on my own. In going home recently I found that many of my family members' lifestyles and situations are probably the greatest realization of these fears. I yearn to find conformability and stability in my life but somewhere next to comfort is settling down.

I grew up in Central/Rural Arkansas and for me ending up there for a lifetime is frightening. In order to illustrate a sense of claustrophobia and oppression (hell) I could use images of objects/landcapes/figures that remind me of po-dunk places such as old broken down pickups, dated signage, unkept lawns, suvs, high school football fields, two story houses, people with no job advancement possibilities, camouflage, baptist church fronts, etcetera. Using tonal processing and color balance, and obvious collage techniques I could create a sense of a cold and oppressive (tense) environment, as well as a similar psychological experience.

For my heaven, I see experimentalism, freedom, diverse cultures and ethnicities, travel, chicness, intellectualism, growth, city and coastal life. In order to create this visually I will most likely have a less constricted and compressed space using less imagery, and warmer tones and color. I could include images of books, technology, the sky, the sea, warm city lights, and apartment buildings. I don't want this image to feel at all cold or pretentious only full of possibilities and movement (evolution).

My heaven: movement; my hell: motionless. I want to avoid creating a sense of either/or, or that one lifestyle is better than another, only to express a sense of being stagnant and evolving.

Heaven and Hell Research

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Images with positive associations:

The first image is of a man on his cell phone smiling, standing in front of what seems to be a large office building in a urban/ city environment. He looks professional and successful. The cell phone appears to be an interracial and helpful object in his daily life. This ad, or promotional image, to me, sends a message of the connivence and and support that technology can bring. The composition of the image is very dynamic: diagonal. The second image is of a couple with two glasses of wine. In this image the couple seem to be romantically involved and the wine is seen as something pertaining to and or fostering romance. The image gives off a sense of sweetness and class, being in black and white, with two figures dressed very elegantly. They appear to be toasting to something, drinking to celebrate life, but in a very sober and appropriate way of course. The image is very clean, very simple. The third image is one of the promotional stills from the very famous Quinton Terintino film, Pulp Fiction. Here is the this character, laying in the bed smoking a cigarette. She is seductive and yet relaxed, she is cool. This image presents a very sensuous and provocative scene with the stark lighting. Cigarette smoke is something that has made this image so appealing and inviting. All in all these images compel you and pull the viewer in with a feeling of warmth and comfortability.

Images with negative associations:

The first image in this grouping is of another man with a cell phone to his ear. In contrast, this cell phone has become menacing and seems to have the ability to cause severe head trauma or even death. This of course has the context of technology's seemingly adverse affect on human productivity and overall lifestyle. This image is shocking and slightly gross. It causes me to be afraid of what cell phones may be doing to my body and my life. The second image is an anti-drinking poster geared toward women who may be heavy drinkers. Its selling point: drinking can make you look old and even like a very old and ugly man. Though it is a bit comical, it is horrifying still. The poster is leaning on the society's ideas of what is attractive and what is not. Age is not attractive in our culture, and neither is a obvious hermaphroditical person in most cases. This image is off- putting and not enjoyable to look at. It is harsh. The third image is an anti-smoking ad featuring a child's face inside a plastic bag, simulating the effects of second-hand smoke. This image is disturbing and again, the image makers are relying on the society's accepted ideas about appropriateness and moral code. Most people would have a problem with a baby in a bag. These three images exhibit a strong use of shock and terror in order to reach the intended reaction.