Cannon Gallery

The exhibit that I attended at the Cannon Gallery was called On Flowers and it was a collection of drawings and paintings of all flowers. The piece that I really thought was great was called Path. it was by an artist named James Lorigan and was an acrylic painting. I walked through the whole gallery and was only really intrigued by his work. They were all huge acrylic paintings with so much detail and color. It was really amazing

ordover gallery

The gallery that I attended was the Ordover Gallery that is located in Solana Beach, CA. It was a very small place but held 3 lead photographers that were just amazing. The first artist I came across was Lou Montrose and his exhibit was called India in Black. It was an exhibit of about 15 pictures that were all black and white and were shot in India. The first half was all portraits of various people in the country. I was really taken aback by the photos. There was so much intensity in the eyes of all the people that it was scary. The picture I came across later turned out to be my favorite of the whole trip. It was called Taj Mahal Studies 1 – From Across the Reflecting Pool. It was just the most beautiful shot of the Taj Mahal with the reflection so clear in the pool in front. The whole picture made it seem like it was just the more gorgeous, clear day when it was taken. It was great. I walked on and found the John D. Clark exhibit. These were all scenic pictures which I thought were great because they looked like something I would take a picture of. While my pictures are not as good, there was a slight resemblance which made me feel pretty good. The picture that I really loved was Grapevine Mountain-Death Valley. It was just a flawless scenic photo. I then reached the exhibit of Heidi Fickinger which was called Garage Lights. This was my least favorite exhibit because I found it odd. All the photos were taken in what looked like a parking garage at night. I didn’t think any of them were extraordinary. To me they were just weird pictures taken in a parking garage at night. I thought it to be the strangest concept, but then again I’m kind of new to this artist concept thing so I probably just didn’t get it.

diana willow

i really liked the piece that she built of the big rocking chair like structure. I liked that it was functional in the way that she wanted it to kind of take the person sitting in it back to the comfort level of being a child being rocked. It seemed to really serve its purpose and it looked really comfy.

brandenburg

so after seeing part of the video about this artist, there was one thing that he said that really stood out in my mind. He did his one photo a day book in order to get back to the roots of why he loved nature. It was his way of detoxing his craft. This is a very important lesson that many people don't realize is needed. You start a craft early, mine is music, because you love it. Everything you do with it is purely because you love it and it makes you happy. Then, more than likely, you start to get influenced by other aspects such as money, fame, etc. You lose site of the root, the love. Your craft has become a job. Its just what you do and not what you love to do. I really respect his view of getting back to the root and that he challenged himself so much in order to get back to that point.

Richard Misrach

I really enjoy the night shots that Misrach is able to capture. Its hard to try and capture things at night, especially capturing the world of colors during a sunset which he does beautifully. Trying to shoot a sunset is difficult because it is constantly changing so you have to just constantly shoot and hope you come out with one you like. I also like that all of his photos seem to cover so much space. Even though it may be a picture of a small object in the middle of the shot, there is so much captured around it that seems equally as important.

book works

so far my book is starting to really take shape as an inspirations of music idea. here are some works in progress

collier schorr

So there were a couple of things that she said in her video that i found to be quite interesting. The first was during the wrestling shooting where she said that this project came from the larger idea of photography a body of work that looked the same without actually being the same. The pictures provided the same expressions and same body language without being the same people constantly. I also could really appreciate her idea that she stated in the end about her wanting her work to unveil desire and repression and removing the myth and making it into something human which I think is harder than people imagine. This is kind of a hit or miss idea where most mainstream ideas about it, mostly advertisements and such, really miss it. Showing such a thing as desire is easy, its the humanizing of it that is missed most of the time. It just makes you think about how your work speaks. Is it really saying what you are? Interesting.

roni horn

one of the first things roni stated in this video really stood out to me. She said that it hard to balance self, work, and audience which everyday i'm finding to be more and more of a challenge. It's difficult to reflect yourself clearly in your work as you as the artist see it, but then adding what an outsider will see while still trying to reflect yourself is increasingly difficult. this is at least something i struggle with in this class. i know what i want to say and how i want my work to reflect it, but am afraid that more misinterpretation that not will occur. That no one will get it and that my message will be ruined. so i try and clarify my point, which i find only makes it clearer to me. but maybe thats as good as its gonna get.

adventures in brushing

sagmeister

the most important idea that i got from stefan was that the image is more important than the words because ultimately the image is what the artist is going to be remembered as. It is their best representation of who they are as a person and as an artist.

david carson...again

so here we are with some more david carson wisdom. so in the video tid bit that was shown second, he showed what could be made of so little. There are many interesting things that are common "accidentals." Things that aren't ever really meant to be seen but it takes one person's good eye and creative mind to make a masterpiece. i particularly liked the whole lyle lovette spread. The way that the picture was a persona and not a person and that the text really jumped out at you. It really made the subject seem so much more interesting.

david carson

i can appreciate the views that come from a person like david carson. I like the fact that he puts more emphasis on what is being said without words rather than what text is on the page. i like that while his ideas are not always simple, he has a very simplistic way of presenting them. One of his examples was a paper saying "explosion." He wanted to see an explosion...not the actual word. I think that an idea is better translated without words but this can be very hard to do. It is cool when you can get someone to look at your art piece or picture and just get what you meant. its powerful.

accordian card

some work in progress

My hometown in the middle of the desert. If it was really this vibrant and colorful, more people would live there.

Dusk in the San Marcos Hills

This is Brian. He is a 6 month old cutie with a twin. More pictures coming soon.

sunset over CSUSM

edward burtynsky

The second photographer that was featured was Edward Burthnsky. He did a whole series of photographs of China and their culture. This photographer, much like the last, was taking very raw contented pictures. Nothing was sugar coated or made to seem like it was much different than the reality. Even though both photographers were out to prove the same point of truth, Burtynsky effected me much less. I couldn't tell you why. Both hit on very important and active issues. Perhaps its that this effected me and hit hard but the war photos hit home. Being a friend and relative of many active military and veterans, it was just easier to relate to that message. Also, Burtynsky's view was more of things. He showed a lot of buildings and objects while previously it was more about people and emotion.

james nachtwey

the first photographer that i've gotten to experience is james nachtwey. the video of him talking lasted for about 20 minutes yet somehow had a time span of 20 years. amazing. i found that this video was one of the most honest views of the world. the kind of thing that makes people uncomfortable and emotional. the kind of thing that will make you think, evaluate, and in most cases re-evaluate life as you know it. the kind of thing that everyone should experience as often as possible. its the story thats doesn't have the happy ending, just the harsh reality. the most important kind of story. i feel that this kind of work is a thing a beauty. there is so much beauty that is found behind the horror and the pain. especially with the state of the world being as it is in the present. so much war. so many stories to be told. there is a great need for more realities like this. i believe that what is going on in the world is so often forgotten at home if its not directly affecting it. there is a kind of view that if its not in my face and making my day change then its not my problem. sad. or at least i think so.