Brezaja Hutcheson - Ken Carter - Post 8

1. Which of the artist's many technical choices are of interest to you and why?

I admire Carter's composition that she chooses for her photos, because each image is unique.  It appears that she underexposes her photos a bit and boosts the contrast, which is  pleasing to me, personally.  The colors that she captures in her photos are saturated as well, which I think is especially useful when she photographs subjects for her portraits, who are usually people of color.

Carter almost uses a "snapshot" approach for some of her photo series, which is another element that I deeply admire.  The situations and subjects that she depicts appear natural; meaning that they have a lifelike quality about them. I also admire the fact that she depicts her subjects in settings that have a significant meaning to them and their lifestyle or routines.

2. What do you believe are the artist's conceptual work and/or thematic intentions?

I believe that Carter is trying to shed light on her subjects, by choosing to highlight people of color, specifically.  I believe that she is trying to convey the message that individuals with darker skin tones are especially beautiful and that portraiture of members of the black community need to be more readily available for the world to see.

Her focus on fashion, lighting, and placing her subjects in environments that suits them are all factors that she considers before making her pictures.  She wants to immerse her viewers into the world of her subjects, and create a relationship between the two.  Her work does not seem so much conceptual to me, rather just observational.  Carter takes what she sees, and creates a feeling surrounding the subject that she depicts in her portraits using her own artistic interpretation of the photos that she takes.

3. How do you personally respond to these choices and intents?

Personally, I find myself very interested in her artistic choices.  One of the first qualities I noticed about her photos upon viewing was her color choices.  Carter has a very strong sense of color - coordinating them together, as well as choosing what colors that will reflect off of the skin of her subjects.  She is conscious about the mood that these colors with create, and when combined with a high contrast, it makes her photos appear especially intriguing and moving.

I admire the fact that her subjects are in different places, along with the fact that they vary in age.  This shows that she is versatile, and can work with many different subjects, which is something that not every photographer can accomplish effectively.

I also love the fact that she chooses to depict the Black experience. Her photos unapologetically expose the day to day of members of the black community, emphasizing their beauty, focusing on the color of their complexion in different types of light, as well as using clothing to convey their own self expression and freedom.