February 22, 2010 Artist Entry: Ryan Schude

I remember first seeing Ryan Schude’s work years ago on a Flickr account he’d created to highlight his studio work. It’s amazing to see the transformation he’s undergone from amateur to true professional who lives and works out of Los Angeles, California. His work is reminiscent of Gregory Crewdson’s in that he stages these highly elaborate narratives that utilize light and shadow in such a way that tells very interesting and bizarre stories. His use of dramatic lighting and color really exemplifies the essence of a tableaux. In my current work, I am very interested in creating a more elaborate and personal environment in the studio. I am trying to overcome the confines of a studio setting and bring more of myself into my portraits by defining the environment to create a more intimate space. Seeing Schude’s work inspires me to push my concept further and really try to create successful narratives.

February 15, 2010 Artist Entry: Todd Hido

I’m really not sure why or how the name “Todd Hido” came to float around in my brain or when exactly came across his work. In the middle of my search for photographers, his name popped into my head. Unaware of the reason my mind remembered his name, I typed the words into my search bar and came upon some truly amazing bodies of work. Hido’s latest body of work “House Hunting” has Hido roaming the streets of suburban Los Angeles to photograph scenes of these homes with only the ambient light that peeks through windows from the light indoors and street lamps that illuminate the exterior and surrounding areas. Hido has the ability to create these film noir-esque scenes that evoke a sense of loneliness, despair, and isolation. The images he takes of these scenes are unique portraits that each have their own eerie personality. I really enjoy Hido’s design aesthetic and his use of ambient light to tell a story. I too search for abandoned homes and buildings to photograph. I like to explore these sites to photograph them as a sort of visual record that tell a story of the people that once occupied these spaces.

February 18, 2010: Idea/Research Post

I really want to photograph things with my headlights...anything, all things, people, rooms, homes, streets, back roads, all desolate...just lit with headlights. There has been this park that is literally right down the road from me and I wanted to take a model and go out there to shoot, but trying to get someone to come with me at all hours of the night is difficult. I have a habit of just wanting to go out and shoot by myself, but I know that it really isn't the wisest choice. I want to start lighting scenes or subjects with headlights. TOMORROW!

Artist Lecture #3: Hank Willis Thomas

I always like to come to each lecture without any prior knowledge (if I can help it) of the artist, their work or their intentions so that I don’t any preconceived expectations for the lecture. Today was one of those lectures that I was so glad to know nothing about because it absolutely blew me away. For the first time in quite a while I felt motivated and inspired to create new work. Hank Willis Thomas was undoubtedly one of my favorite VCU lecturers to date.

From the start of his lecture, he revealed his earlier work and I cannot even begin to explain how invaluable that was for us as student’s to hear an artist talk about their real beginnings. I found it interesting that he said he was unprepared, as it came across as one of the most intelligent and well thought out lectures I have ever attended. His motivation was resonant throughout his talk and in turn I felt that his passion and desire to create things he was passionate about rubbed off on me.

I loved the intro to the lecture when he showed the two images side by side of President Ronald Reagan and Mike Tyson in the 90s and then the complete shift to our world today with President Barack Obama as our nation’s leader and Wladimir Klitschko as the Heavyweight champion of the world. Most of his work “is a result of an exploration and subsequent appropriation of the language of advertising.” He said that he thought of “logos as our generations hieroglyphs” as we as a consumer culture become slaves to corporate branding. His work had me think back to Penelope Umbrico’s work and related the two- how both artists utilized advertisements and imagery in similar ways. One of the most powerful things that Thomas said was in reference to his cousin’s death. That during the process of laying our loved ones to rest we are still making decisions about what casket is best (we are told that it is the most expensive) so even “in the process of grieving, we are still being marketed to.”

Winter in America was amazing. His cousin’s death obviously had a tremendous impact on his life and explained his series “Pitch Blackness” as a combination of 3 ideas that congealed. This series dealt with loss, and exploring the complexities of black and white all the while he was trying to “learn to see or be myself without his shadow.” The stills from this film appealed to me with vibrant color and shallow depth of field- they were a fantastic compliment to the film he created about a tragic event that drastically changed his life. I also really felt inspired by his “Bearing Witness: Murder’s Wake” series in which he attempted to photograph people that knew his cousin in hopes of reconnecting with him through those that knew and spent time with him. I loved how he used blank spaces to indicate those people that his cousin had affected or come to know in his lifetime, but that Thomas had never known. Those were moments of his life that were unknown to Thomas and in turn he was unable to document.

I could really go on and on about this lecture for days, but perhaps I should save that rant for my own personal blog. I felt that Hank Willis Thomas’ lecture was extremely relevant to us as students and artists that appreciate his willingness to share his ideas and beginnings with us. His work is truly to be admired.

Artist Lecture #2: Paul Pfieffer

I always enjoy going to lectures at VCU, but some I feel are more stimulating and interesting than others. Today I attended Paul Pfeiffer's lecture and found it interesting that he was grouped into the category of sculpture rather than video artist. Pfeiffer's work involves appropriating appropriated films that vary in lengths and played over and over again on a loop.

One of my favorite series he created was his "24 Landscapes" in which his source was a number of found images of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe removed through the photo editing process from beach scenes as if to imply that these landscapes were about her even in her omission. Although she was physically moved from these images, she is still directly associated with them. Pfeiffer stated, "the origin of these pictures are both important and not important- it's counterintuitive. The intention was to take these images and manipulate them, but also to call attention to the origin of the photographs...but once that information is lodged in your brain, that information is there forever...You forever associate those images with that which is omitted." In the case of the 24 Landscapes, there is no evidence that would lead you back to Marilyn Monroe, other than the fact that those photos once contained her image...as a result you will forever associate these landscapes with her.

"I like the absurdity of taking a still or almost still image and calling attention to the fact that what I am doing is intended to be something that is viewed more as a still." - Paul Pfeiffer

February 11, 2010: Idea/Research Post

Last semester I took a filmmaking class with Jake Dodd. At the beginning of class I felt really enthusiastic and excited to create a film, but the excitement quickly turned to dread as I found programs like Final Cut and DVD Studio Pro, etc. to be extremely time consuming and difficult. I really struggled in that class until the very end when I really pulled my final film together into a piece that I was really proud of!

As inspiration for my film I was told (by Jake, and now Paul) to check out Alan Berliner's film "Wide Awake: Portrait of an Artist as Insomniac." The film was absolutely brilliant...and the fact that Alan Berliner was not only a filmmaker, but fellow insomniac, made me optimistic about creating work about it. I recommend this film to everyone, because his films leave no detail overlooked. It is obvious, after seeing such a personal film, that he is not only talented, but extremely successful in creating his films.

My idea is to create work similar to the footage I captured for my short film. I really enjoyed filming and thinking in a still photographer's mindset. It was hard for me at the time to figure out how to film or what to film, but after shooting some footage, I came to realize that utilizing my knowledge of still photography (composition, lighting, mood, etc.) really helped me create a story...

More recently I have been photographing homes at night, taking careful notice to shoot the subtle evidence of fellow insomniacs that dwell and exist within these houses...by shooting the glimmer of light that leaks out onto the lawn from the window during the late night hours, the street light that illuminates the asphault at 4am, etc.

More recently, my idea is to not only shoot these night scenes, but to also try and blur the subject to help illustrate this sense of the surreal that insomniacs feel as a result of being extremely overtired...

February 8, 2010 Artist Entry: Amanda Friedman

I have no idea why I have never heard of Amanda Friedman, but I want to say that I am so glad that Paul told me about her! Friedman, a photographer from Los Angeles, shoots night photography. The very first image that I saw of hers were these beautiful trees...I don't even know what kind of trees they are but I want them to exist in my yard. The colors and organic texture and shapes of these winding trees are absolutely gorgeous. OK, enough about the trees. The images look like scenes from a movie I would love for it's cinematography. There isn't a lot of info about her, but her photography is really awesome. She really uses the ambient night light to paint her scenes.

For some reason I couldn't pull her images off her site, so here is her website: www.amandafriedman.com

February 4, 2010: Idea/Research Post

My insomnia has gotten worse and worse as I have gotten older. It's funny how I never thought back far enough to examine my sleep habits. It seems upon closer examination that I have had a problem sleeping from a very tender age. For as long as I can remember I have absolutely positively resisted sleep. When I was a young child, putting me to bed was absolutely futile, as I would sneak out of my room and tiptoe down the stairs and hide out behind the sofa watching television with my mother and father without ever being noticed. The millisecond that I heard the click of the TV turn off, I was literally racing up the stairs (in complete silence) into my bed to feign sleep when my mother and father came in to check on me. I would wait another hour or so until they were asleep and I would sneak into their rooms in hopes that in their presence I could find sleep...

One of my most vivid memories was one night coming downstairs after literally just being tucked into my bed. I heard faint screams coming from the television and my interest was instantly piqued. I came downstairs and hid behind my favorite chair that was situated in our living room directly behind the den in our first house. All I remember seeing was blood everywhere in the water and boats and beaches and screaming and panic. I was absolutely horrified by what I heard and saw that night and it haunted me for what seemed like ages after that evening. We all know the film well...it was Stephen Spielberg's Jaws. Needless to say, I slept with my parents for what seemed like the next 2 years...

If I could have it my way I would sleep all day and be up all night. At around 11pm-1am I get this tremendous surge of energy that keeps me awake into the wee hours of the morning. My level of productivity during this time is sky high, but when I am actually supposed to be awake, alert and working during the daytime all I want to do is sleep. This is a problem.

Insomnia definition according to www.wikipedia.com:

Insomnia is a symptom^[1] which can accompany several sleep, medical and psychiatric disorders, characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Both organic and non-organic insomnia without other cause constitute a sleep disorder, primary insomnia.^[2] One definition of insomnia is "difficulties initiating and/or maintaining sleep, or nonrestorative sleep, associated with impairments of daytime functioning or marked distress for more than 1 month."^[3]

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the year 2007, approximately 64 million Americans regularly suffer from insomnia each year.^[4] Insomnia is 1.4 times more common in women than in men.^[5]

Types of insomnia

Although there are several different degrees of insomnia, three types of insomnia have been clearly identified: transient, acute, and chronic.

1. Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired psychomotor performance - are similar to those of sleep deprivation.^[6]
2. Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of between three weeks to six months.^[7]
3. Chronic insomnia lasts for years at a time. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. Its effects can vary according to its causes. They might include sleepiness, muscular fatigue, hallucinations, and/or mental fatigue; but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness. Some people that live with this disorder see things as if they are happening in slow motion, wherein moving objects seem to blend together. Can cause double vision.^[6]

[edit]Patterns of insomnia

1. Onset insomnia - difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, often associated with anxiety disorders.
2. Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia - Insomnia characterized by difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking too early in the morning. Also referred to as nocturnal awakenings. Encompasses middle and terminal insomnia.
3. Middle insomnia - waking during the middle of the night, difficulty maintaining sleep. Often associated with pain disorders or medical illness.
4. Terminal (or late) insomnia - early morning waking. Often a characteristic of clinical depression.

[edit]Insomnia versus poor sleep quality

Poor sleep quality can occur as a result of sleep apnea or clinical depression. Poor sleep quality is caused by the individual not reaching stage 4 or delta sleep which has restorative properties. There are, however, people who are unable to achieve stage 4 sleep due to brain damage who lead perfectly normal lives.

Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when a sleeping person's breathing is interrupted, thus interrupting the normal sleep cycle. With the obstructive form of the condition, some part of the sleeper's respiratory tract loses muscle tone and partially collapses. People with obstructive sleep apnea often do not remember awakening or having difficulty breathing, but they complain of excessive sleepiness during the day. Central sleep apnea interrupts the normal breathing stimulus of the central nervous system, and the individual must actually wake up to resume breathing. This form of apnea is often related to a cerebral vascular condition, congestive heart failure, and premature aging.

Major depression leads to alterations in the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, causing excessive release of cortisol which can lead to poor sleep quality.

Nocturnal polyuria, excessive nighttime urination, can be very disturbing to sleep.^[8]

[edit]Signs and symptoms

A survey of 1.1 million residents in America conducted by the American Cancer Society found that those who reported sleeping about 7 hours per night had the lowest rates of mortality, whereas those who slept for fewer than 6 hours or more than 8 hours had higher mortality rates. Getting 8.5 or more hours of sleep per night increased the mortality rate by 15%. Severe insomnia - sleeping less than 3.5 hours in women and 4.5 hours in men - also led to a 15% increase in mortality. However, most of the increase in mortality from severe insomnia was discounted after controlling for comorbid disorders. After controlling for sleep duration and insomnia, use of sleeping pills was also found to be associated with an increased mortality rate.

The lowest mortality was seen in individuals who slept between six and a half and seven and a half hours per night. Even sleeping only 4.5 hours per night is associated with very little increase in mortality. Thus mild to moderate insomnia for most people is associated with increased longevity and severe insomnia is only associated with a very small effect on mortality.

As long as a patient refrains from using sleeping pills there is little to no increase in mortality associated with insomnia but there does appear to be an increase in longevity. This is reassuring for patients with insomnia in that despite the sometimes unpleasantness of insomnia, insomnia itself appears to be associated with increased longevity.

It is unclear why sleeping longer than 7.5 hours is associated with excess mortality.^[9]

February 1, 2010 Artist Entry: Brian Ulrich

Last semester Brian Ulrich came to lecture the School of the Arts at VCU. I admired his work before, but after his lecture, I came to love it. I am amazed and inspired by his beautiful 4x5 images.

My favorite quote from his lecture: "Nothing cures depression like some new shiny stuff."- Brian Ulrich

Here are some thoughts I had after the lecture...

I am so thrilled to have gone to the Brian Ulrich lecture this afternoon. I very much looked forward to this lecture and was so glad I was able to hear him speak about his body of work. First of all, from the start he was extremely laid back and made the audience really feel comfortable. I felt as if he spoke very candidly about his work and revealed his process in a way that was very accessible. . His use of medium format and 4x5 cameras really drive his point home and reveal his skill in capturing these perfectly exposed outdoor scenes. Throughout the lecture, Ulrich joked with the audience and had us all giggling at his found photos that were truly bizarre. In reference to the photograph of the family with the patriarch holding a giant hulking video projector, it is certainly one of those moments when you ask yourself…“really, are they serious?” His series Copia really brought much needed attention to things that as he said we would just walk right by. His use of the title “Copia” for this series was so fitting in addition to his use of “Dark Stores, Dead Malls and Ghost Boxes” as a way to reveal his imagery of the dilapidated, abandoned and desolate remains of these massive stores and buildings that once sparkled and shined. These images are of copious amounts of things, materials, possessions, stuff, that have all been discarded just as quickly as they have been acquired. These giant piles of junk are a commentary about consumer culture and our desire to buy, buy, consume, discard, buy, and consume some more. We go through periods of binging on excessive amounts of stuff and then purge a little by “donating” our things to charity to somehow convince ourselves that we are doing good, when in reality so much of this stuff ends up unused, undiscovered and in massive piles that seem to multiply exponentially. There was a point in his lecture when he said “Nothing cures depression like some new shiny stuff” and oh, how right he is. I found myself emphatically nodding my head in agreement as I often run to the store with an very precise idea in my head of the object/ article of clothing/ shiny new thing that I feel at that moment will bring me the most happiness or joy. Another part of his lecture that I really enjoyed was his explanation of these “portraits” of people in some of these environments. The expressions on their faces are exactly what I was describing. People really do arrive at stores and meander through the aisles and aisles of stuff with such emptiness. It’s as if they really aren’t there and that is evidenced on the expression found on the many of the consumer’s faces. The example that stood out most to me was the “portrait” of the man in the sports store buying a fishing rod. He holds the rod and stares blankly ahead. Buying just becomes compulsory and empty. It’s an instinctual and automatic response to depression, stress, anxiety, and denial that the state of the economy is not doing so great. That feeling is so addictive and also entirely fleeting. After a few days go by, I forget all about the joy that object brought me at that moment in time. There are a lot of memories that come to mind when I think about September 11, 2001, but for some reason, the president’s message to shop to show your patriotism does not come to mind. I find it interesting that both Penelope Umbrico and Brian Ulrich both found such tremendous inspiration from September 11^th that it has brought them to continue work that has been started more than ten years ago. It also gives me great hope for my future that if you remain dedicated and true to your vision and concept that eventually you will get to a place in your work where you become really proud of what you have created. Even if I don’t receive a Guggenheim fellowship award, (even though that would be great!) but produce a body of work that I feel so passionate about that I pursue it for more than ten years, I think I’ll feel pretty successful. Ulrich’s lecture was very informative and inspiring. I have more recently been experimenting with shooting long exposures at night, and it makes me want to get right out there and dive right in.