Creative Journal Cynthia Dugan-Terrell

     

 Creative Journal Contemporary Photography

Photo 202C

Instructor: Elizabeth DiGiovanni Cypress Community College

Cynthia Dugan-Terrell

Fall 2011

First Note

Our instructor, said that she HEARD, some students had not started their journal entries. Am I one of those students or does my thinking about what should go in my journal count? I made a couple of posts in my Photo School News Blog and saved some ideas in a word folder - but I guess that is not the same as writing in a journal.

Suggestions for entries:

Answers from questionnaireImages from magazines & printed from the internetDon't forget written entries about the imagesDrawings or sketches, thoughts or research of potential projectsLogs of the shutter speed and f/stops used for photos takenReviews of movies, of books, or music that inspire you and whyResearch of Photographers, Artists, and Art movements talked about in classFound examples of composition, Iphone dairyLearning To Love You More assignments

ww.learningtoloveyoumore.comDo not fill your journal with all images you have taken=portfolio (some are ok)

What is your experience with photography?

My dad was a photographer. In his "day" job he was a "Redcap". One of those men who stood on the platform helping customers who needed assistance lifting their luggage onto the train. We knew he had a college degree in biology but we never questioned why he was lifting suitcases- it was just what he did to care for his family. On his days off, or at night it was different. He did event photography- weddings and such, and dabbled with some "personal work" in the little studio and darkroom he built off the patio in our backyard. It was there, Daddy was happiest - a big smile on his face when he emerged after hours working with lights or chemicals. My dad had a few pieces published and our mom was always proud to point out his work. We only have a few of his prints and some color slides - so glad we could see their value before we let them all slip through our fingers.

Here is a youthful Cynthia - captured in my dad's backyard studio:

More on my experience with photography.

So I guess I was influenced by my dad's love of photography. I certainly never acted on it through my teens or my young adult life. It was not until after retirement - imagine that - life beyond your "most productive" years. Once I retired, I started traveling with my parents - they were getting older and a bit fragile - but they still wanted to go - so I went with them, Thailand, Europe, Alaska and so many places in the good ol' USA. I bought a camera - a film camera - and began to have SO MUCH FUN.

I bought my first digital camera when my husband and I took a trip to Africa. I brought back wonderful images - but realized that I missed a bunch too, and that is what brought me to Cypress College. I wanted to know about the technical aspects of using the camera and was sure I knew everything I needed to know about the artistic aspects - boy was I wrong. I remember telling Jerry Burchfield - that I simply wanted to "find" beautiful pictures - he nodded sagely and continued to teach me to THINK before picking up the camera - I'm finally beginning to understand.

Posing Beauty

What is it that is so exciting about being on a college campus? The excitement of young people just emerging from their chrysalis, the qualityof the discourse, the challenge of the work or the opportunities for the future? It doesn't matter if it is a class or a visit on campus - it is always energizing for me.

This should be an interesting series - and perhaps inspirations will fly by my window.

This is a photo of a very young Susan Taylor. We are so used to seeing her in her role as the editor at Essence Magazine, with long braids it takes a minute to recognize her.

Black women and their hair - considered by many as a visible marker of our political and social marginalization - a topic that has been explored ad infinitum, butthere may be a way of presenting the issue that is insightful and unique - maybe.

USC_Panel Discussion_Posing Beauty Posing Questions

A lively conversation examines and challenges conventional perspectives on identity, beauty, cosmopolitanism and community in Africa and the African diaspora.

The event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture, on display at the USC Fisher Museum of Art September 7 through December 3.

Moderated by Deborah Willis, curator of the exhibition, and chair of photography and imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, this panel will feature artist Carrie Mae Weems, Los Angeles County Museum of Art curator Franklin Sirmans, and USC history professor Robin D.G. Kelley. They will consider various artistic, theoretical and regional perspectives about aesthetics and the politics of black beauty. They will also encourage the audience to conduct diverse visual readings of the portraits in the exhibition.

A reception will follow. http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/32/event/894326

I thought it was an interesting discussion and question and answer period - but after all these years why are we are still discussing what it is like to live in a world where the standard of beauty is not reachable :( I wonder if it is at all possible to create your own standard ofbeauty.

Carrie Mae Weemes

Deborah Willis the curator (orange scarf)

The Exhibit

OK - here is my chance - I ask Franklin Sirmans if he will be available to speak to our class when we visit LACMA. No that is not me in the white sweater. I'm the one with the camera grabbing shots - in a gallery where they have concerns with people taking unauthorized photos...

Posing Beauty Posing QuestionsI finished my Gallery report last night. Writing is always such a kind of out of body experience to me. I like telling the story but I can always find one more paragraph to revise , one more sentence to add, another thought comes to mind. It is never finished.

Photographing the female body continues to be a favorite subject of many photographers. Perhaps less so, than in the past because there are more women photographers, but still a substantial percentage of subjects.

What do you hope to get from this class?

A greater understanding and appreciation for Contemporary and Conceptual Photography.

What are of photography interests you the most?(fine art/fashion/journalism, etc.)

I started this photographic journey capturing images of my travel experiences but soon found myself interested in people work - the commercial end of portraits - yes BABIES and CHILDREN. I think this field may be considered in the "working class" arena. Nevertheless, I think it is interesting and I love working with the little ones - I especially want to find a way to create beautiful images for families whose experience has most often been mass market studios and introduce them to something different than "say cheese".

I'm intrigued with creating what I call "think pieces". Visuals that cause us to question elements in our lives.

I put my "Descansos" project (photographs of road side memorials - not morbid but unexpectedly beautiful) and "Sunday Go to Meeting" (photographs of how different people dress to attend worship service). My "Where Two Are Gathered" (photos of churches established in repurposed buildings) These are really interesting projects, but take such a long time to create. At first I, wrote complete) but I'm not sure this type of project is ever "complete" - at least not for me, YET.

What Inspires You?

Many things inspire me. Looking at other's artist's work, Seeing babies and watching children run and play, a beautiful vista and a room full of people, dreams and random thoughts are all inspirational. Reading poetry, talking to my friends and people watching get me tugging on my camera. Travel to far away places and bringing back mementos to share with friends and family. Lately I've been inspired by political issues - no not the the Democratic, Republican fiasco that has gotten our country into such a mess - but broader issues, like hunger and the "plight" of women around the world. I went to the Skirball to see "Women Hold up Half the Sky". The exhibit was very moving - it made me want to contribute in some way - will keep thinking… I hope I will forever be inspired

What films have you seen in the past year that you thought were visually inspiring?

I rarely go to movies. I did see "The Help". Laughed and cried with the rest of America, but going to movies is not something I do on a regular basis. I would much rather go to an art exhibit, visit a museum or go to a concert.

I actually like the Oscar Awards frenzy between the announcement in December and the awards ceremony in February. That is when I try to see all the nominees for Best Picture - but here it is a year later and I don't remember one I saw…. I guess I could look it up..

What are your hobbies or interests?

Hobbies, I never seem to take on things in half measures - I'm all in, or I'm bored - so i'm not sure "hobby" describes any of my relationships with activities…. I tend to think of my activities as "passions". Who knew my decision to take one photography class just to be sure I was able to use my new camera - would lead to thousands of $$$$ invested in equipment and education.

I do belong to a couple of women's groups - we raise funds and do good works :) sometimes I am more passionate about my involvement with them, than at other times. It is fun to be with them - but much of the time I find it all a bit boring - How much tea can one drink - even if it is in the most "darling" tea house? So I guess these groups could be considered my hobby - wait.. let me look up the definition:

hobby (ˈhɒbɪ) — n , pl -bies 1.an activity pursued in spare time for

pleasure or relaxation2.archaic , dialect or a small horse or pony3.short for hobbyhorse

1

4.an early form of bicycle, without pedals

OK - so I was right - spare time and relaxation are significant words in the definition of hobby..

I think it must be something my parents instilled in me - that "relaxation" is nothing to be sought after. I have some kind of "work" ethic - even at this age

Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

Don't know where I harvested this piece but it sounds like me - perhaps when I am 80 years old things will be different…

What art class have you taken?

No art classes yet - hence my confusion at some of the ideas presented by conceptual photographers - I think. Maybe next semester I'll dip my toes into that water.

What is your college major & do you plan to transfer?

Heavens no - I don't have a major and although I sometimes think it would be great to pursue another degree - most of the time I'm much more reasonable and know that spending thousands of dollars to attend "Design Center" just doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm pretty content, taking courses at the nearby community colleges and attending a few workshops and conventions. It probably would make sense for me to look at workshops that were not so commercially oriented (but the thought of making enough money to pay for the equipment and software is very intriguing).

I could probably spend a lot more time shooting the subjects I'm most interested in, if I did not take classes at the community college level, but am also my foundation would have been much more fragmented. Having these assignments that I would never have tackled on my own has helped me become a much stronger photographer.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

There are so many places in the world that fascinate me. I'm so lucky that I still have the health and stamina to travel and enough money - if I am very careful - to take me places (not first class mind you - but I can get there, and enjoy the stay). This summer is was Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria with a group of ladies -next summer I'm off to Cuba. Where else do I want to go?

I would love to return to Italy and I can't imagine ever tiring of Paris.

Across Canada by train - traveling West to East - just on the cusp of fall so I will have a chance to view the leaves as they turn colors.

The Greek Isles - perhaps I should wait awhile until some of the turmoil ends - but you never know - I might go if the opportunity to buy an inexpensive ticket hits the internet, and just take my chances.

The British Isles - How can one be well traveled and never have seen London? I don't have anything special I want to do there. I think it will be sufficient to see some of the places described in so many pieces of fiction I devoured as I grew up. The Moors and castles described in The Secret Garden, Wuthering Heights and Jayne Eyre - (Perhaps I should read them all again).

I am anxious to see Ireland. Not the cities, but the hillsides and little towns. To be reminded of Maureen Ohara and John Wayne in "The Quiet Man…" I would like to see the Great Barrier Reef, meander through the alley ways of Rio, dance the Tango inArgentina and lounge on the white sands of all the Caribbean Islands (or

at least a couple more).

To see more of the great continent - Africa: Madagascar (where my mom insisted our family origins lie), Senegal and Goree Island (the departure point for the West African Slave Trade) Kenya and another Safari (this time with much better photography skills) and the sand dunes near Sossusvlei in Nambia:

I would love to travel across China to The Great Wall and see the Cherry Blossoms in Japan - Turkey, Morocco and Egypt OK. I think you get it - the world beckons me. All I need is a little more time and just enough money.

What is your Zodiac Sign?

I am a Capricorn

Stumbled Upon

So I stumbled upon this site this morning... I wasn't thinking about Contemporary Photography, in fact I think I was just trying to update my calendar - so how I found this I don't know.

I couldn't believe the prices of these books:SONGS OF EXPERIENCE and SONGS OF INNOCENCE, by Joel Peter Witkin, PLATINUM SERIES EDITION titles with PRINTS $37,000.00

THE ODES OF PINDAR, by Greg Gorman, SCARCE MUSEUM EDITION with 11 PRINTS $25,000.00

The only artist I recognized was Sally Mann. SALLY MANN, 21st Platinum Series with 11 prints her book was ONLY $12,500.

There might be something in this CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY thing - maybe I should take a fine art class or two :)

Atlanta Celebrates Photography

Every year, since I was introduced to it, I keep tabs on Atlanta Celebrates Photography. It is a city wide experience of photographic art for the whole month of October. It is interesting seeing the photographs and instructive to read the artists statements

The prints to be featured in this exhibition reflect Simone’s long-term quest to “invest the print with the emotional resonance that I felt when I first saw the picture.” Made largely in and around Atlanta and the photographer’s home state of Massachusetts, the photographs showcase Simone’s sensitive response to the visual rhythms of his environment. Simone describes his work as spontaneous and improvisational: “Like jazz music, the photographs resonate with the eccentric impulses and private curiosities that led me to them. These are the most intimate images I’ve ever shown, not for what they depict but for what they reveal.

http://acpinfo.org/pdfs/2011_ACP_FestivalGuide.pdf

USC Words in Public Spaces

The celebrated contemporary artist joins USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett and Professor Alice Echols for a provocative conversation exploring public art and American democracy.

For more than 30 years, Jenny Holzer has presented her work in public places and international exhibitions, including 7 World Trade Center, the Reichstag, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

http://ninadigiarts.umwblogs.org/artist-reports/278-2/

Wow!

Rose Kallal

I was a bit late for class yesterday. The class viewed "The Day of the Healing Sun" by Rose Kallal. I just saw it this morning.on U Tube, I suppose it was shown as an inspiration for our project on light. Four PRINTED images due next week.

Let's see what I can create...

It was difficult to find out much about Rose Kallal. I found a short bio on a brochure about one of her installations...

http://www.mercerunion.org/archive95/345.html

Biography

Rose Kallal was born in Edmonton Alberta in 1965. She studied at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and at the off campus programme in New York City. Solo exhibitions include YYZ Artist's Outlet, Toronto (1992) and Willoughby Sharp Gallery, New York (1989).

Kallal's photographs have been published in The Culture of Nature. North American Landscape from Disney to the Exxon Valdez (1992) by Alex Wilson and

Public VI: Violence (1992).

I'm always stunned to find out hou much older I am than EVERYBODY :)

Light I started looking at the light -and just capturing any ol' images with my little G11. Uploaded today and will look at them sometime tomorrow - I hope.

Here is one that caught my eye - probably a little syrupy for this class.I will try to get something a bit edgier later today or tomorrow - prints are due Thursday afternoon - Look out Costco - here I come.

I was right… I turned in four images for this assignment - a similar one to this image was removed from the set. It made sense. It really did not fit with the others I turned in -but I was not thinking of a set-just four disjointed images of "light". I guess I was not a good listener.

Wow! I wonder if this is a composite

The Sun

I started clicking right away. Have already learned to make an interesting "sun" image requires some forethought. Shooting the sun low in the horizon and selecting a location that allows you to place some kind of filter between the camera and the sun….

Here is one from http://www.slideshare.net/pauloeugenio/german-salon-photography-sgw

This is the most interesting one I have captured so far….

Night Light11/3/2011

I found these interesting captures. Taken at night while riding as a passenger in the car.I set my camera to manual focus and started clicking. My husband thought I was a bit kooky. I didn't know the light would be this beautiful.

Elinor Carucci

I ran down a rabbit's hole trying to find the answer to Edward Verosky's question in his August Newsletter:

Can you make art from photographs ofyour life and family?

Carucci did. She has a showing currentlyhappening in NYC.

I actually like this one

But this one? Not so much - who wan't to look at someone's armpit?

and these????

I was pretty uncomfortable with many of her images. I don't thinkI'm a prude - but some of this seems so banal - I think that'sthe word I want. No, maybe I need two words - banal and repugnant.I guess I have a way to go to understand what makes "good"contemporary art.

http://sashawolf.com/artists/elinor-carucci/closer/

YOU ARE HERE: HOME / PODCASTS / ABOUT-PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST #19: SARAH SMALL

September 20, 2011 By Ed Verosky 1 Comment

Sarah talks about her on-going project, the Delirium Constructions and her ambitious, Tableau Vivant production. Listen to the show by clicking the player button here, or subscribe to download our podcasts on iTunes. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:22 — 16.9MB)

Sarah Small More about Sarah on her website, SarahSmall.com

In this episode:

The Delirium Constructions and Sarah’s processHow nudity is not the point, nakedness isTableau Vivant, how it came togetherWhy do people get involved with art projects?

Related Links

Sarah Small’s websiteTableau Vivant of the Delirium ConstructionsVance Garrett: Sleep No More

She does give a good explanation of why she chooses to photograph so many nudes - or as she would say - naked people.

Asco, Firsthand at LACMA

Some of this was so interesting. Other pieces left me puzzled. Young people having fun and speaking out.

David Nightingale

Looking at CL workshop - David Nightingale. Thought this was going to be mostly aboutpost processing procedures but some conceptual ideas seem to be creeping in.

"You are going to leave your cameras in here and we are going to explore the alley."

"Slow down in the way you are looking."

"The key here, is this thing about imagination."

John Baldessari: 'Ugly' L.A. is inspirational [Video]

From the LA Times_http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/

The art of John Baldessari is deeply rooted in Los Angeles. The city plays itself in many of his creations and the artist has depicted it as a playful, energetic, surreal and thriving metropolis.

But that doesn't mean Baldessari thinks L.A. is a beautiful city. Quite the contrary, in fact. In his Tuesday appearance at the Hammer Museum with Times art critic ChristopherKnight, the artist made it clear that his adopted hometown is not much to look at.

"I live here because L.A. is ugly... If I lived in a great beautiful city, why would Ido art?" he said. "I always have to be slightly angry to do art and L.A. provides that."

Here's a clip from Tuesday's conversation, in which Baldessari explains how L.A. inspires him…

http://www.latimes.com/videobeta/cc93b3a6-95c5-4ddd-a73c-4c81ff00023e/Entertainment/John-Baldessari-Ugly-L-A-Conducive-to-Art

The Hours

Here is another thought. Photograph buildings or store windows with clocks.

I kind of like the idea of finding a number of buildings with public time pieces (analog or digital - it does not matter that they are not operating). Include the actual time of capture on each image. The actual time of capture for this image was 5:22 PM.

The Hours, is already the title of a movie. Thinking about giving this collection the title of "Pacific Standard Time" but learned there is a "ginormous" exhibit all across Los Angeles titled "Pacific Standard Time". I guess great minds really do think alike.

Thinking About Deadpan|Simon Norfolk

OK so I'm working with a partner on a photo project. We've been discussing the possibility of trying a Deadpan experiment. Nothing like the new mommies and babies I love to work with.

Something From Nothing11/10/2011 2:08 AM

Jon Seeman/Captured Motion

Interesting Text

Pin Interest is an online bulletin board where people post interesting notes and lots of photos. The posts seem to change everyday. Not sure it is inspirational but I get a lot of laughs and "aha" moments when ever I take the time to visit.

http://pinterest.com/vpcrafts/signage/

A NOTE RETURNS - Postsecret

When she was 12, Brittany McArdle left a note on a plane. Years later, she learned through the public art venture Postsecret that it had inspired a wedding proposal.

See the postcard which includes Brittany's note

Something from Nothing?

We have become so accustomed to these roadside memorials that appear at thenews of someone's death. They are poignant but ephemeral. Questions: can each tableau be considered art? Is it Something from Nothing?

I wish I had gone out looking for these tiny memorials - to include in my own collection of "Descansos".

Appropriation

From Wikipedia: Appropriation of visual culture, in some form or another,has always been part of human history. Art History and art historical practice has a long tradition of borrowing and using styles and forms from what came before. Students of art and established artists have always learned and progressed by copying and borrowing. The same is true in music. Cultural creation began with appropriation; borrowing images, sounds, concepts from the surrounding world and re-interpreting these elements. Appropriation can be understood as a key component of the way in which humans learn, communicate and progress.

Looking at images and studying the great photographers as a way to jump start their own image making process may be the first step for all creatives, but it is those who go beyond these first baby steps that become iconic.

One of the questions at the Posing Beauty, Posing Questions panel discussionWhy are minority photographers not recognized in the FineArt community? I don't see one artist (from the African Diaspora) in the Cotton book…is it because they are more replicative in their attempts at sharing their understanding of who they are within and outside the majority culture? Are they not inventive? Do DeCarava, Parks, Vanderzee, or Weems fall into the latter category? Or is it that there is just not a critical mass and they more often work in the commercial world? Or perhaps it is just that I have such a limited sphere of knowledge.

The Photographs Not Taken

The Photographs Not Taken is a collection of essays by photographers about the times they didn't use their camera. This collection is a series of photographs not taken with a camera, but, instead, lived and remembered. Here the basic set of rules that apply to making a photograph are put into reverse; instead of looking out into the world through a camera lens, this series of essays looks directly into the photographer’s eye and mind and focuses on where the photographs come from. The photograph is stripped down to its barest most simple and primitive form: the idea, instinct, reaction, the before, while simultaneously opening the door for reflection, meaning, content and the after. I have asked each photographer to abandon the familiar tools "needed" to make a photograph: camera, lens, film etc, and now make a "photograph" with another set of tools: the memories, experiences and poetry of the world that didn’t go through the lens, the negative photographs, the anti-photographs, the photographs not taken with a camera but with the heart and mind.

a camera but with the heart and mind.

What Should I Create?

K Anders Ericsson's research and Malcom Gladwell's book Outliers has popularized the idea that hard work trumps genetics and that anyone can become an expert if they put in 10,000 hours of practice. Let's see: at 24 hour days it would take more than a year to become expert - but, one would be so sleep deprived that it would not be possible to use the expertise amassed.

So let's look at something a bit more pragmatic. 12 hours a day - no you still need to do other things like eat, bathe, work, make love - or at least be friendly to your spouse and family. So how much time can one actually give over to practice? One hour a day is 10, 000 days which translates into more than 25 years - so obviously that will not work for me. Even two hours a day - which is a over 12 years is no solution. So what should I try for?

How about 4 hours a day - that will amass 1,460 hours in a year. I will be an expert in no time - six years from now when I am 78 :(But - joy comes in the morning… I can take off all the hours I already put in - so maybe I will be an expert sooner than that.

OK, I know I didn't answer the question

EXACTLY - but it's my answer.

Under My Bed

So this is what it looks like under my bed... it's a storage closet. My bed hides a huge mat cutter that I need to learn to use (so I don't spend all my little dollars with my local framer), some ankle weights I plan to use again - one day, a yoga mat, I have never used, and the mirror from my grandmother's chest, wrapped in a black plastic trash bag. (It is too beautiful to throw away and I have no where to hang it - yet.) Doesn't look much like "art" to me.

There is more of a story here...

Where Two are Gathered

In the urban core there are so many buildings that are repurposed for places of worship. Old theaters, strip malls, office buildings and even a basketball arena.

Faith Dome - built on the South Los Angeles Pepperdine Campus

Yesterday I saw a repurposed building in Gardena. The church was onthe corner of the building, next to a cocktail bar and below a dance studio.

It is hard to see the dance studio sign from this perspective. There are silhouettes of dancers in the windows but I don't think noticeable enoughwithout seeing the sign. and that darted telephone pole. How darethey put all that "stuff" in front of my building...

The sign is great from this perspective but I can't seethe cocktail bar :( Maybe a wider lens whole do it.

I started this project a couple of years ago but I haven't taken it very far. I have quite a few images - I should pull them together, see which ones are most interesting - and start preparing them for print.

Seal Beach - A Tragedy in Our Backyard

I worked in the inner city during a period when gun violence was the frequent cause of heart break for families whose children attended our school. During the first year I was assigned to this site, I attended a funeral every month. I never got used to it, and I never understood why our country could not create a policy that allowed hunters to keep their rifles at the same time we kept urban youth safe from gunfire. I decided we did not want urban youth safe and that it was a depopulation strategy - unfortunately sometimes a deranged person turns it on those who live in the suburban enclaves surrounding the urban core. This time, it was our turn.

Hiatus hi·a·tus [hahy-ey-tuh s] Show IPA noun, plural -tus·es, -tus. 1. a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc. 2.a missing part; gap or lacuna: Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript. 3.any gap or opening. When we started this project we thought capturing images of empty houses in the style of German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher would be the best example of Dead Pan we could create with limited time and equipment and technical resources. We used post capture processes to convert the digital files from color to black and white as a way to increase the sense of distance and aloofness within the viewer. Like other Dead Pan constructs, we are aware the viewer will bring his/her own

experiences to the understanding and the significance of this work. Exploring beyond the obvious, these empty houses could stand as a metaphor for our economic and political system. We think, perhaps, some will see these empty houses as symbols of a greedy class focused on get rich schemes, and some will see them as proof that government policies should have no role in the distribution of housing resources. Others will see the houses have been empty just a short time, and suppose they will not be empty long. These viewers will recognize the short break between occupants as a hiatus. We are left with the question, will our houses stay empty or is this simply a hiatus? “Wake up! Pay attention! The world you are living in has fundamentally changed. It is not the world you think it is. You need to adapt, because the health, security, and future of the country depend upon it.” George Kennan 1946

Exploring beyond the obvious, these empty houses could stand as a metaphor for our economic and political system. We think, perhaps, some will see these empty houses as symbols of a greedy class focused on get rich schemes, and some will see them as proof that government policies should have no role in the distribution of housing resources. Others will see the houses have been empty just a short time, and suppose they will not be empty long. These viewers will recognize the short break between occupants as a hiatus.

We are left with the question, will our houses stay empty or is this simply a hiatus? It was as we were deciding which houses to display and began to order them that we could see that even though

we used post processing techniques to increase the sense of dispassionate capture, The post capture processing from color to black and white was until we had captured the images and in the discussed what would be the best way to create images that simulated the Dead Pan aesthetic. We settled on photographing empty houses and displaying them in but did notAs in other examples of Dead Pan style the viewer is required to bring their own set of experiences to the understanding of the significance of the work. T he Deadpan aesthetic usually requires a straight-faced delivery of information. In most cases the information being delivered boarders on the questionable to the completely absurd, but the deliverer of the information must maintain a dead serious composure. There is a beauty to the humanity in this because the information involved has

elements of both comedy and tragedy and the viewer has to decide which way to go. Because of this, the viewer becomes a collaborator in the piece. Each viewer looks at these empty houses informed by their own place on the economic continuum. Some see these houses as symbols of a greedy class focused on get rich schemes. Others, see them as proof that government policies should have no role in the distribution of housing resources. “They were constructed with no consideration of so-called beauty and serve their functionality alone. Which means that when they lose their function they are no longer entitled to exist, so they are torn down.” — Hilla Becher I work with readymade systems and personal narrative as a departure point. These structures provide me some parameters to start finding,

hiding, and projecting imagery. I embrace spontaneity and let the work take on its own life remixing the boundaries of the pre-existing source. While I hide personal narratives within the work I am less interested in autobiography, and more so in the viewer recognizing their self within the complexity. and has no a lack of foresight These empty houses abandoned by people who saw them as the culmination of a lifetime of work symbolic of the toxic economy Right now I just want to chill for a while. Take a hiatus from all the craziness. To clean my house, see my family. Just see some movies and pick some strawberries. Lauren Ambrose

We're taking a hiatus, ... I don't know if we're calling it a day. ” ~ Shirley Manson We are caught in a hiatus, awaiting an improvement in the economic data from the United States. ” ~ Stephanie Gerrard

I  created  this  journal  online  using  Evernote,  I  loved  it  and  wrote  so  much  more  than  I  would  ever  have  written  if  I  had  been  writing  with  pen  and  paper.    Yes,  I  could  not  write  as  I  was  driving  along  in  the  car  but  if  I  needed  to  capture  a  thought,  I  either  made  a  note  on  the  notepad  in  my  Iphone  or  on  any  scrap  of  paper  I  could  find  (  then,  of  course  it  was  a  matter  of  remember  where  I  secured  that  piece  of  paper)    It  has  been  helpful  to  review  the  entries    and  because  it  was  an  electronic  version  I  was  able  to    Put  related  posts  together  –  so  dates  do  not  really  Make  sense.    I  will  eliminate  the  dates  on  each  page  if  I  print  a  “perfected”  copy.    The  real  problem  was  moving  the  text  from  the  electronic  version  to  a  printed  document.        I  save  each  entry  as  a  PDF,  compiled  all  the  PDFs  into  a  multiple  page  PDF  and  sent  it  on  to  Mag  Cloud.          I  made  a  couple  of  drafts  and  saw  a  couple  of  errors  but  –  decided  since  this  was  a  journal,  I  did  not  need  a  perfect  copy  –  after  all  if  this  had  started  as  a  regular  pen  and  paper  journal  there  would  be  cross  outs  and  other  indicators  that  a  change  of  thought  occurred.      

Visual Notes - November 18, 2011

It's been more interesting creating this journal than the journals of tear sheets I have created in the past.

Visual Notes seems a good word to use when describing how it was created. I'm not sure I will keep it up - because I already have one blog that displays the images I create for other people and another that where i write my thoughts about assigned work and personal image making.

I understand this arena is more about inspiration and the thinking process that leads to inspiration- not necessarilyabout my images - so, not sure, we will see….