Idea 5: Scale

Scale 

“A scale model is a representation or copy of a larger or smaller than the actual size of the object. For instance, when an architect wants to sell the look of new construction will create a scale model to be evaluated by the buyers. There is a scale model of the Tower of London inside the Tower of London.” (Ask Jeeves)

Scale models specifically are a copy of an object that is usually larger in size.  Scale is an important factor in my project I want my photographs to fit in the dollhouse as if it was really in the dollhouse.  However I want to play with the scale factor making the people and objects I place in the dollhouse standout.  I have been looking more specifically at the scales of objects as I have been working on my project.  When I place a photograph of a person or of another piece of furniture in the dollhouse space the scale is often slightly off.  I am attracted to this awkward look of objects slightly being out of place. 

“Children's dollhouses are commonly in 1:16 or 1:18 scale (3/4" and 2/3" scale respectively, 1 foot is represented by 3/4 or 2/3 of an inch)” (wikipedia)

 

Restaurant scale model, Archiform 3 D

Sites 

http://www.archiform3d.com/scale-models/07-rocksugar-scale-model/rocksugar-scale-model.php 

http://answers.ask.com/Reference/Other/what_is_a_scale_model 

Artist Post 4: Mark Cohen

Mark Cohen

Mark Cohen was born in 1943, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  Cohen attended Penn State University as well as Wilkes College.  Although, Cohen was almost completely self taught.  Cohen received his first camera at age thirteen from his cousin Sylvia.   In 1966, Cohen opened a commercial studio. Cohen’s first photography exhibit was in 1969, Vision and Expression.    Cohen has also been awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships. Cohen has permanent collections of work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the George Eastman House.

 Cohen is known for his street photography.  Cohen shoots mostly wide-angle photographs of people from his hometown, Wilkes-Barre (a coal mining town), and Scranton, PA.  According to Cohen, “I was trapped there for the next fifty years and became a surrealist because I kept walking around the same blocks. I took a picture of a guy’s shoe.  I don’t know what I was doing exactly; I was just being led by whatever I saw.”  Cohen took photos of streets and people he would just run into.  Cohen said, “With the flash in the one hand and the camera in the other, I would be looking at somebody’s ear. And click.” Cohen would just go up to people and photograph things and people that attracted his eye.  Police would often visit Cohen, due to the people who would be upset with Cohen taking photographs of them on the street. 

Cohen’s photographs especially the photos that are featured in his book “True Color,” appear to be similar to documentation. Cohen’s photographs make me think that most “hometowns” during this era of 1970s-1980s would have similar events and people around. I am attracted to the casualness to Cohen’s work.  

Mark Cohen, Family Walking, 1977

Young, Limbs, 1981

Mark Cohen, American Taxi, 1975-7

Mark Cohen, People on Porch; 65, 63, 1977

Mark Cohen's last exhibit was in 2005, at Grim Street Bruce Silverstein Photography in New York.  However, Cohen has permanent collections of work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the George Eastman House.

Interview with Cohen: I could not find

Although I could not find an interview link, here is a link to a you tube video of Mark Cohen talking about his work, and films him while he walks around taking his "Street Photography." 

Mark Cohen: Street Photography

Text: Mark Cohen: True Color, Powerhouse Books, Brooklyn, NY

(Cohen's book, based on color photography he completed throughout the 70s, and 80s.)   

Works Cited

Mark Cohen (photographer). Wikipedia.  26 June 2010. 21 September 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cohen_(photographer)>. 

"Mark Cohen: True Color."  Powerhouse Books. Brooklyn, NY 2007.

Idea 4: Repeat

Repeating Event

–noun

-the act of repeating.

-something repeated; repetition.

-a duplicate or reproduction of something.

-a decorative pattern repeated, usually by printing, on a textile or the like.

The definition of repeat is a duplicate reproduction of something.  Recently my parents began converting family home videos from VHS to DVD.   Excited by this new change I began watching these old movies and realized that all the events that took place were all in the same chronological order.  The only differences were the location and the people being filmed.  Each movie followed the order of Christmas, my sister’s birthday, my brother’s birthday, my birthday, Easter, summer vacation and thanksgiving.   and then it would start all over again a new year on a new DVD.   

“Repeating events,” the idea that people share and document similar memories in the same way throughout time is where my project is heading.  People share the same memory although it is all slightly altered based on the individual and the location.  With my project I am accentually trying to show how memories and events are shared and repeat over time.

Artist Post 3: Georges Rousse

Georges Rousse

Georges Rousse was born in France in 1947; he received his first Kodak Brownie camera at age nine.  While Rousse attended Medical school in Nice, Italy he began to study professional photography.  Soon after, Rousse opened his own studio and became a photographer.  Rousse primarily focused on architectural photography however after discovering Land Art Rousse began to alter his focus.   Rousse started to make installations dealing with the relationship of painting and space.  In 2008, Rousse was granted as an associate member of the Belgian Royal Academy. 

Rousse began photographing primarily architecture later he began to expand his creative work by adding illusions to space, Rousse stated, “… I wanted to speak on the photographic space itself.  Not on the image but the reality directly.” (Menossi) Rousse mainly creates illusions in abandon or close to being demolished spaces.  Rousse paints geometric shapes in these abandoned spaces creating a two-dimensional illusion in a three-dimensional space and then photographs it.   When looking at Rousse’s final products (the photographs of the space) they almost could be passed off as Photoshop altered images.

Rousse said, “When I arrive in a space it’s like painter in front of an empty canvas, he’s intimated by the emptiness of the space or the emptiness of a canvas and to break into that empty space is a joy for an artist.” (World News)

I am attracted to his work because of the way it tricks the eye.  For my project, I want to try and find a way to blend my images within each other.   I also appreciate how Rousse’s work makes you think, “what’s painted and what’s not?” it makes you linger longer and spend more time with each image. 

Georges Rousse, Vitry, 2007

Georges Rousse, Metz, 1994

Georges Rousse, Geneve, 2003

Georges Rousse, Dravert, 2007

  Video of how Georges Rousse's work is made  ( I can't figure out how to add a video on here sorry) Georges Rousse video  (http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=8QC7JfSX62Y&feature=related)

Interview with Georges Rousse

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.evene.fr/arts/actualite/interview-georges-rousse-photographie-1418.php&ei=lA-UTIv5LcP48AaK4diSDA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgeorges%2Brousse%2Binterview%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Dvo

Georges Rousse has two upcoming solo exhibitions, one is at the RX Gallery in Paris November 12, 2010- January 12, 2011 and the other exhibition is at the Catherine Putman Gallery in Paris November 6, 2010- January 7, 2011.  

Works Cited

Georges Rousse.  World News. 17 September 2010. <http://wn.com/Georges_Rousse>.

Menossi, Matthew.  Photographer of the Invisible.  Evene, Toute La Culture. May 2008. 17 September 2010. <http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.evene.fr/arts/actualite/interview-georges-rousse-photographie-1418.php&ei=lA-UTIv5LcP48AaK4diSDA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgeorges%2Brousse%2Binterview%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Dvo>.

Georges Rousse Biography. Georges Rousse Website. 17 September 2010. <http://www.georgesrousse.com/english/informations/biography.html>.

Georges Rousse. Wikipedia.  21 January 2010. 17 September 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Rousse>. 

Artist lecture- Wafaa Bilal

Waffa Bilal Questions

Your history and past has left a huge impact on your artwork, being the inspiration of most your work. How do you work with a topic that is so personal to you?

With your recent piece “…and counting,” was it difficult to decide to use your body to create this permanent map of Iraq on yourself? 

Artist lecture- Wafaa Bilal Response

Lecturer Wafaa Bilal was very informative.  I was very uncertain when I first glimpsed over Bilal’s work but after hearing him explain each piece I appreciate and am fond of his work.  Bilal’s concernment for connecting his audience to his artwork was endearing.  Bilal’s project, “Domestic Tension” permitted people to shoot at Bilal with a paint gun and also allowed Bilal’s “bedroom” into his audiences homes 24 hours a day for a whole month.  Building an audience and artwork relationship appeared to be very important to Bilal and his work which represents strong messages and therefore seems necessary that his messages connect and leave an impression on his audience.  I value how Bilal finds ways to include his audience with his work as it is occurring. 

Wafaa Bilal seemed to answer both of my questions during his lecture.  Bilal noted that he created most of this work due to his brother and fathers death as well as the Iraqi citizens who died during the war.   Bilal’s artwork reflects Iraqi culture and the war issues because he has personally and emotionally been affected by it.  Because Bilal’s work is so personal to him, he physically puts himself into his artwork. Bilal stated that he “I allow myself to go through physical pain which transfers to my audience, it’s painful but I know it’s for a good cause.”

I admire Bilal for not getting discouraged after running into so many difficulties with each project in the past. Knowing that Bilal still managed to carryout the majority of his projects by finding solutions was enlightening to be aware that every artist has obstacles.  It is interesting to recognize how many limitations there are towards what you still can and cannot do in the art world.   I found Wafaa Bilal’s lecture refreshing, the fact that Bilal puts himself into his work both physically and emotionally makes me appreciate it that much more. 

Idea 2: Nostaglia

Nostalgia     Dictionary. Com

 –noun

1.

a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.

2.

something that elicits or displays nostalgia.

1.a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc

2.the evocation of this emotion, as in a book, film, etc

3.longing for home or family; homesickness

Nostalgia

When looking up the word nostalgia I was surprised to discover the definition had more to do with family and homesickness than I would have guessed.  Nostalgia to me is something that is old, familiar, and almost like an idealistic scenario. 

“The term of "feeling nostalgic" is more commonly used to describe pleasurable emotions associated with and/or a longing to go back to a particular period of time.” (wikipedia)

As I mentioned in the past I want my work to reflect a vintage feel.  Also, I want to recreate scenarios that are familiar to everyone as well as nostalgic memories that most people share.  Memories are familiar and reoccurring, people retain the same memories but remember them in different ways.  A Christmas family portrait is almost always taken in front of a Christmas tree.   Even though the family changes, the room and the size of the tree may differ it is still a portrait of a family in front of a Christmas tree.  I want to try to expand on this idea and topic with my project.  Therefore, I want to recreate nostalgic scenarios (memories) in the present day and put them in these old scenarios that I am going to create. 

Text on subject:

Book that references this topic: Nostalgia : sanctuary of meaning

Wilson, Janelle L.  Nostalgia: sanctuary of meaning.  Lewisburg.  Bucknell University Press, c 2005.

Works Cited

Nostalgia.  Dictionary.Com. 14 September 2010.  <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nostalgia>.

Nostalgia.  Wikipedia. 14 September 2010. 6 September 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia>.      

Wafaa Bilal Questions

Your history and past has left a huge impact on your artwork, being the inspiration of most your work.  How do you work with a topic that is so personal to you?

With your recent piece “…and counting,” was it difficult to decide to use your body to create this permanent map of Iraq on yourself?