Quinn Mehler - artist post

"I am obsessed with the way things look around me, from the inside of my fridge to the alignement of the shower creams in my bathroom. This obsession is positively influencing my work and the way I shoot. Anything that is repeated looks aesthetically pleasing to me."

Ophelie Rondeau 

Ophelie Rondeau is a London-Berlin based videographer and photographer. She is currently known for an ongoing project Ophelie and the Girls, which deals with female and girlhood relationships, expressed through repetition.

Two is better than one. At least in this series. These girls are communicating to the viewer a perspective of girlhood and feminism with their eyes and body language. None of the subjects in the photos are far from each other. They are grouped together as a figurative connection. The girls are wearing feminine pink and red suited for for teens.

This work impresses me with how much detail and planning went on for this series. Many coordinated outfitting happened. Ophelie is right--repetition is hypnotic. It's naturally occurring all of the time. For me, this work reminds me of a girlhood that I never had. Rondeau uses the pairs and groups of girls figuratively and in uniform with each other. These pictures are symbolic in a way only a girl would understand.

Jeremy Shepherd- Artist Post

Anna Ogier-Bloome









Anna Ogier Bloome was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has a Masters degree in photography and currently lives in New York City.

The three pictures capture the sometimes monotonous side of mother hood. The first picture captures the mother feeding her child while trying to use the bathroom. The second photo shows an exhausted mother still with child. The third photo includes the mothers breast. While color and light all play an important role in these portraits the subject matter dominates.

These portraits stuck out for me because they open a dialogue about female sexuality and how it can collide with motherhood. The artist puts a glaring light on breast feeding which in many cases has somehow become taboo in society because of the relationship between breasts and sexual exposure.

Jalisa Marino - Artist Post

Vitor Schietti







Vitor Schietti is photographer in Brasilia. Not only is he known for his photography, but he is also known for filmmaking. His work mainly focuses on studio, travel, underwater, aerial, and fashion.

One thing that really drew me to these pictures is the the amazing contrast between the foreground and the background. The first picture shows a woman that seems to be in her late teens, early 20s, in what seems to be celebration attire from her tribe. The way the yellow and red bounce against one another along with the greens from the background is just amazing. The second picture is of a man sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree while playing the guitar. You can see in his face the emotional connection he has with the music he is playing and singing. The third picture is of a woman making a funny face at the camera while the wind is blowing her hair in her face. No matter what the weather, she seems to make the best of it.

I chose these pictures because I love to see people express their happiness. All 3 pictures show different people from different areas of the world showing what makes them happy or something that had occurred to them that made them happy. It is always a beautiful sight to see.

Darek Imadi - Artist Post

These portraits were taken by Guillaume Bression a free lance photographer and founder of the photography collective Trois8. He has won numerous awards for his artistic and documentary projects. These portraits are from his series "Retrace Our Steps" where he returned to the town of Fukashima  with former residents after the nuclear meltdown in 2011. There he photographed residents in places that they would frequently visit and then asked them to pose as if nothing had happened.

In the first photo a man in what seems to be some type of Ramen shop stares blankly in the distance. I like the distinct lighting on the mans face as it focuses our attention on his expression. I also think that the foreground and background being somewhat blurred gives the viewer the feeling that the man is lost in his thoughts. The second picture is of a man staring blankly out of the frame. I like how the lighting on the man makes him brighter then the surrounding room that he is in. The greenish red colors of the machine next to him provides a nice contrast to his blueish shirt and smock.  In the last photo he again makes use of bright exaggerated lighting to make us focus on the subject. This time it is more obvious that he is using some type of stationary light to illuminate his models. I like the contrast between the light side of the photo where we see the two women, and the dark side, where their is a bar left in ruins.

I chose to share this series because it showcases the dangers of what can happen when nuclear power goes wrong. I don't think the human cost that the Fukashima Diachi disaster has been covered adequately enough by our media. The United States has a number of aging reactors that are located close to the coastline, and as climate change continues to exaggerate weather patterns the likelihood of such disasters will only increase. These photos of a once vibrant community now in ruins should serve as a cautionary example of the human costs of nuclear disasters.

Jennifer Barua-Artist post

Piotr Zbierski

Piotr Zbierski is a photographer from Poland who studied at the National Film School. He is best known for his three famous works, which include White Elephants, Here, and Love has to be Reinvented. In 2012, he won the Leica Oscar Barnack Newcomer Award in photography. He currently now works and resides in Lodz, Poland.
These three portraits stood out to me because of his need to capture some sort of emotion on his subject through his photographs. The first picture shows an elderly person wearing some sort of black cloth over their head. They're still happy and smiling though, and I believe this represents the common quote, "Ignorance is Bliss". The second photo shows a little girl that seems to be whispering to the photographer. This could be interpreted in many ways, but to me, it seems like the little girl is trying to get a message to us, even a call of help. There is a man in the background, which could be her father, who she seems to be hiding from. In the third picture, a little boy is perfectly blinded by one ray of sunlight through his eyes. This could represent how, if controlled, a young person's judgment and thought can be blinded.
I really enjoy the stark contrast that Piotr uses in his photos, and how his portraits portray so much emotion and allow for a lot of room for interpretation. His projects focus on emotions, relations, and gestures which allow the viewer to interpret the experience on their own. 

Matilde McCann - Artist Post

1) Gabriele Galimberti is an Italian photographer focused on a documentary style of photography. He specializes in capturing the peculiarities of culture and does so by creating stories in his portraits. He let's his subjects tell their story, their surroundings a product of who they are and what they belong to. Galimberti effectively provides the viewer with the ability to compare and observe, not with the intention of critique, but moreover with the objective of awareness and as a reflection of beauty. 

2) I choose these three photos due to what they represent, their subjects and the photo series they belong to. The first one belongs to the set titled "Toy Stories" and involves a child in their bedroom surrounded by their most prized possessions. The boy in the photo is from Cahuita, Costa Rica. I chose that particular photo because I think the expression and stance of the boy says a lot regarding Costa Rican culture and stigma. He looks like a little "chulo" ready to beat up anyone that dares messes with his cars. I also like the purposeful positioning of the cars, Galimberti artistic aesthetic shining through. The second photo belongs to the series titled "CouchSurfing" and consists of photographing families from all over the world in the living room. The family depicted in the photo is Australian. I chose this photo because they all look alike, and have similar faces. There is also a high quantity of people, and analyzing the expressions one by one, it was probably difficult to get a photo where everyone was acting serious. I love the positioning and lighting of the two girls on the actual couch, and the clearness of the baby to their immediate left. She is clearly going somewhere but her motion is stopped. The last photo belongs to the series titled "In her kitchen" and similar to the others centers on women from different nations in their home kitchen cooking their favorite dish. The subject is from Armenia and she is cooking Tolma. I chose this photo because of the colors and my familiarity with the dish. Also I like her face and how her dark features jump of her pale skin. 

3) I like this photographer because he crosses the borders of anthropologist and artist almost unintentionally. There is a clear message to be read into from the entirety of his photo sets yet each individual photo becomes their own story independent of the others. Like my last photographer, I like how photo as a medium is used to express more than just art. It goes beyond what you see in the photo relating back to society, and therefore used as a tool towards explanation of a message. I have found in this process of reading and searching for artists that I am inclined towards a documentary style of photography where the individuality of a subject can shine through. 

Jennifer Barua-Artist post

Lee Friedlander

1. Lee Friedlander is an American photographer that began photographing the American landscape in 1948. He tries to bring a comedic perspective within the American life. His most famous work includes Self Portraits, which he began in the 1960s.
2. In the first picture, two different people are walking in two seperate directions. This shows how everyone is going a different path and going through different events. In the second picture, a frustrated man is shown driving. We don't know what his destination is, but everyone can relate to his emotions and unknowing of the future. In the third picture, a woman is shown working with machinery. This is against the common view where the woman should be at home cleaning the house. This woman is doing man's work.
3. Lee represents a lot through his photos even when they seem very simple. I enjoy his black and white photos and his representation of the American life.

Jennifer Barua-Artist Post

Philip-Lorca diCorcia

1. Philip-Lorca diCorcia is an American photographer that uses photography as a narrative. He documents and stages pictures. He uses Gregory Crewdson's methodology in his photographs where he 'dramatizes' elements. He studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
2. In the first picture, the figure is blacked out. There is another black man standing behind him. I think this is vocalizing the constant 'blacking out' black people face where there are only seen as simply black people. In the second picture, there is a homeless person sleeping on top of a celebrity's star. Instead of this street being used for a home for someone in need, it is being used as a tourist attraction. In the third picture, the same woman is being seen two different ways. No matter how a woman is dressed, she will always be sexualized in some manner.
3. This artist faces and documents everyday struggles that we can all relate to. I enjoy the way he dramatizes certain elements in his photographs

Matilde McCann - Artist Post

1) Boris Mikhailov is a photographer born and raised in a former Soviet Ukraine. Living through the entire splendor and prominence of the USSR, his photography sheds light on the reality behind a soviet Ukraine. He is described as "one of the most important artists to have emerged from the former USSR." The photo series I am concentrating on is titled "Case History" and depicts the homeless and displaced people who were not able to find their place in the new social system of the former Soviet Union. Mikhailov aims to highlight the superficiality of society photographing those most ignored.

2) I chose these three photos for their subjects, the way they interact with each other and the aesthetically pleasing way the camera captures their poses. In the first one it seems to be a homeless couple. He took more than one picture of them, and I like the contrast between the two as well as the coloring of their skin, eyes and clothes. They seem to represent a conjunctional solitude and I like the medium in which the picture was taken. The second picture I think is iconic and due to its shocking effectiveness has almost become a clique in the photography world. I think the skin tone of the two children in gorgeous, coming across as a honey hue due to lighting. I enjoy the coloring of the clothing and as for the intention of the subjects, they are aware of what they are doing and most likely that it is wrong, but yet no one seems to care. This is not the only photo Mikhailov has of children smoking. The last photo I chose because it confused me. The background is a little washed out. The people jump off the page due to the lightness of their surroundings. I also like how attractive the children in the photo are. Poverty and homelessness aside, their happiness tells of an alternative reality where they are well fed and long hair grown out. The pose in itself is vulgar, but not for them, and it makes you wonder where they lived.

3) I really like this photographer due to importance he gives to something I thought was a no no in the photography world which is memory making. He documents the soviet world in a way that each photo belonging to the 400 set had a caption tag, with a little localizing footnote. He captures history and in doing so has helped write it. His intentionality trumps all artistic goal and I like how important that makes his photos. Lastly, I believe Mikhailov felt compelled, to the point of social obligation, to take pictures of these people, as he states "and I did not miss it. I did not ignore it" which demonstrates of his work.

Marcus Welch- Artist Post

http://davidcampany.com/



David Campany is a distinguished writer and a well-known photographer who has published several books and also a number of photography projects. These pictures are from his project titled a Handful of dust, which is a collection of pictures consisting of old scenes and some very dusty antiques. These pictures compelled me because I am always taken back by the majesty and nostalgia of an object that has sat still for so long that microscopic particles have collected and formed a blanket of time. It is also interesting to me how Campany was able to capture the grittiness of the scenes by making the dust the star of the show. I am a fan of any art that can re-crerate something most people consider a nuisance into something timeless that can be enjoyed by generations and transcend moments of time and space through the infinite.

Jennifer Barua-Artist Post

Alberto Garcia Alix 
 

1. Alberto Garcia Alix is a Spanish photographer from Spain. He is one of the leading figures of a movement called La Movida Madrilena. His entire collection is make up of black and white photography. 

2. I chose these pictures because they stood out to me and seem to have a lot to say. The first picture shows a young man alone staring off into the city. Although there is a lot of "young punks", this one young man can see how big of a world they are confronting. The second picture shows a young woman dressed up and lower than everything else. I believe she might be a courtesan, and everyone behind her is judging her and giving her disdaining looks. The third picture shows a woman in a black leather mask. This pictures shows that woman are sexualized and used and don't even need to have a name or face to be seen as objects. 

3. I enjoy these photos because I think it shows the cultural youth movement and truths that people have a hard time speaking about.

Darek Imadi - Artist Post

Paul Eis is an 18 year old photographer and student based out of Berlin Germany. His series attempts to show there is more to these cities than white and grey facades, and believes the addition of color can help highlight the interesting and unique qualities of buildings.

All the photos are of buildings that are removed from their typical backdrop and placed in front of a bluish background. By cutting the buildings out he is able to make them look more imposing. He also uses alternating colored patterns rich in contrast to draw your eye in. All the vertical straight lines make for very stoic looking images.

I chose to share this series because it really shattered all the boundaries in terms of what I thought photography was. The heavy use of post production editing to impose a dazzling array of colors onto geometric buildings was a clever use of photography.

Darek Imadi - Artist Post

Jiwei Han is a former computer scientist turned photographer based out of Beijing China. He received his MA in Documentary Photography from University of Wales, UK. These photos are from an untitled work in progress which attempts to capture the culture and atmosphere of China's capital city Beijing.

In the first photograph it looks like an older gentlemen is about to take a dip into a polluted river. I love the reddish glow of light on his skin and how the shot is angled from above him so it is as if you are about to jump into the water with him. In the second photo you see a women in a sort of worried and resigned emotional state. The lighting on her face and figure cast a spotlight on her and makes her the central focus of the scene. Her pink sweater provides an interesting contrast to the grey backdrop of the cityscape and the man she is holding on too. Lastly the contrast of colors make for an interesting image in the last picture. The purple outfit of the exhausted women, probably some sort of professional, pops against the white chair and the other women wearing white passing through the scene.

China is a country that is undergoing profound cultural and economic changes. . Though I'm familiar with some facts, history, and the political and economic environment of modern China I have very little reference to the way life in China actual is. Therefore I found it of great interest to see a photographer attempt to capture the vibrant atmosphere of life in a Chinese city.

Darek Imadi- Artist Post

Matthew Connors is a photographer from New York and these pictures are from his series titled "Fire in Cairo," which documents the turbulent uprising in Egypt following the Arab Spring, where millions of people across the Middle East demanded democratic reforms in their countries.

I like the color contrast of the first photo as you see a neon green laser shoot out at you from a white building that lays against the purplish black backdrop of the night sky. It's also interesting how he creatively used his focus to blur the foreground of palm trees while the buildings are held clearly in view. I also like his use of monotone colors and underexposure to capture the atmosphere of eeriness and disorder that follows political revolution.

I chose these photos because I believe the lens (no pun intended) that photography puts on this historical event creates a more immediately relatable understanding for us to comprehend. Many of us are probably unfamiliar with the politics and history of the Middle East and why these events were so significant, but the photos distill the complexity to metaphors and symbolism of what the struggle for social change evokes in a nation and it's people.

Quinn Mehler - Artist Post

Rory Hamovit

"A convergence between reality and the bizzare"
Rory Hamovit describes his work. He is a 23 year old photographer from Augusta, Maine, but currently living in San Fransisco. He graduated from Bard college with a BA in photography. He is one of the people I look up to in a lot of things, but I especially admire the way he talks about his own work. I feel photographers are magicians and what kind of magician would you be if you told all of your tricks?

His series visitations features a narrative series of black and white photos with some bizarre elements to them. Like he describes, Rory uses domestic suburbs to create his own horror-like series. In most of his photos the highlights are slightly blown out and the shadows are a pretty consistent dark gray.
I feel that he has a unique style in which that he portrays different identities of himself.

Once you look at an artist work for a while, you might notice some of the same things...a pattern for example. In many of his photos Rory actually uses himself in his pictures. I suppose he sets up a tripod and works with a remote (very diy). His words and his work both compelled me to start a start taking my work more seriously. If he can create amazing portraits by himself then so can I.

Quinn Mehler - artist poster

Lukasz Wierzbowski

He is a freelance photographer from Poland, who has been featured in an extensive number of exhibitions and shows. He was studying social psychology when he realized that taking photos was a lot more exciting than his current studies. He is very interested in unique poses and illusionistic patterns.

I will forever think this guy as the pose master. The photographer is just as important as the model. They have to work together to create a great image. I feel that the viewer can see the relationship between the photographer and the model. Whether his pictures are at night or day, they have vibrant colors. He chooses the models to wear solids and patterns. I think that patterns can play tricks on your eyes.

His work first captivated me when I saw some of his mirror pictures I was drawn into an illusion that he managed to capture. I also think that his work works in a figurative way. The way that he chooses to drape his models over certain terrain makes me think of sculpture as well. A model is not simple placed in the scene, they are the scene.

Jalisa Marino - Artist Post

Masha Svyatogor







Masha Svyatogor is a photographer from Minsk, Belarus. These pictures are from her project called "My Poor Little Room of Imagination."

One thing that stood out the most to me about Mashas pictures is that they all play with light and shadows as well as color contrast. The first picture shows a woman on a bed in the fetal position. It is as though her imagination has gotten so out of hand that anxiety has kicked in and she doesn't know what to do with herself. The second picture is of a street and streets lights in the rain/fog late at night. The blue light to the left of the picture shows the gloom in which imagination could lead you and the bright yellow lights everywhere else could be the answer to all their problems. The third picture shows a skeleton hanging from a chandelier. Imagination has gotten so unrealistic and difficult to become true that maybe the only answer is death.

I really liked these pictures because as I was scrolling through entire project it, the story of the pictures and meaning was slowly unfolding. I read them as though it was telling a story that leads to suicide. I have had a few close people to me be on the verge of suicide and I, along with a few others, have been able to talk them out of it. It is a very hard process, and I just want everyone to know that it is never the answer.