Week 7 Wrap-Up

DIS. Positive Ambiguity (beard, lectern, teleprompter, wind machine, confidence). 2015.

Hello everybody!

This week, we went to MoMA and saw "Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015" (Link for the show is here).

We also discussed "reading" photographs (in other words, how to look at and analyze a photographic image).

We looked at two ways to analyze a photograph--
Firstly, what the image denotes: what information is contained explicitly in the photograph ("This photograph is of a middle-aged woman in a black dress, standing on the stairs. Her arms are held out and there is a diamond ring on her right ring finger")
Secondly, what the image connotes: what we interpret from the photograph ("this image is about elegance and sophistication").

I've included two articles this will help you understand this better here and here.

In class, we filled out a worksheet analyzing three different photographs from the exhibition. If you weren't in class, the worksheet can be downloaded from the Dropbox.

Which leads us to this week's homework:

1. Choosing any one artwork that you analyzed in class either:
-- write a one-paragraph opinion piece on the artwork (what it was (image, material, etc.) and your evaluation of it (did you like it? was it successful? why or why not?)  
--or create a photographic response (an image using a similar composition or technique, or that is in response to or interpretation of) to an image from the exhibition.
If you weren't in class, you can pick any photograph from the MoMA's online archive, found here.

2. Next week is our second critique. Bring 10 new photographs from your series with you to class. It's okay if you haven't had a chance to process them in Photoshop or Camera Raw yet. Have them separated into a folder labelled with your name. We won't have time at the beginning of class, so come prepared or come a little early to sort out your files.

3. We are starting with brainstorming for our Artist Statements. We will talk more about this next week, but for now, free write  three sentences about your projects and email it to me before next class. Don't think too hard about this--we are just in the early brainstorming phase...the sentences don't even have to be complete. If you still aren't completely clear on what your topic is about, just write a description of some of your photographs--what's in them, colors, shapes, composition, etc.

That's it! Please be in touch with any questions or concerns, and have a great week!