Response to Jennifer Cognard-Black’s Reading

At her packed reading, JCB read two poems, a letter written from Harriet Beecher Stowe to George Eliote, and three of her short stories. Her two poems were written about her daughter, whose 11^th birthday was the day of the reading. One of her stories was metafictional, a story about a story. I really loved it. I think that most amateur writers fall into the trap of writing a story about a writer who is having trouble writing a story. Those stories rarely are any good. This one was miles better than any other metafictional stories I’ve read (which aren’t too many, to be honest). I loved how there was still a story (an abused farm wife leaving her family), along with the commentary on writing.

Her second story that she read was a collaboration between her story and a painting by Carrie Patterson. The story was entitled “Gifts”, I believe. I don’t remember how the collaboration started or who had the original idea, but the overall origin of the story seemed to come from a cathedral. Carrie Patterson started with sketches and paintings of the cathedral, which evolved into a much more symbolic painting than an actual depiction of the cathedral. Although we were not privy to the revisions that JCB did in her story, the story became to be about more than just a cathedral as well, just as the painting was more than just a picture of a church. The story took place in a cathedral at a man’s funeral. The in-home nurse attending the funeral spent the time remembering the good and bad of the man she served.

Her last short story was from a collaboration her Advanced Fiction class and Professor Caldwell’s Photo Book class. The project was entitled Eye and I. Since every fiction student was paired with a photo student, JCB and Colby paired up to create “Blink”. The story was about a young girl growing up and her love of photography, along with the story of a female photographer from the 1800s, during the birth of photography. Sometimes, the photos appeared to be ones that the characters (whether the girl or the 1800s woman) would’ve or could’ve taken. When the young girl became obsessed with taking photos of round objects, the photo next to that block words was full of round objects. Sometimes, they appeared more tenuously linked.

In all of her stories, there was no dialogue. I found this very interesting. I didn’t feel that her stories suffered any from the lack of dialogue, but it is usually such a key element in other stories that it was surprising. I wonder if this is a common trait in all of her stories or if that’s just how to worked out this time. All of her main characters were female as well. I don’t know if people are more likely to write from main characters that are their gender. It would be interesting to examine.

Sally Mann Response

Sally Mann's work expresses the truths about life, even when they are often unseen or not wanted to be seen. She used to photograph her children in their every day lives. She often photographed her young children naked, which created a huge discrepincy. Many people questioned if this was right or not, and about the morals surrounding her photographs. Now that her children have grown up she needed to find new subject matter. Then there was a bitter sweet occurance, a prisoner was headed toward her house and they shot his hip then he shot himself in the head. This started her fascination with death and the organic elements of it. The Flesh and the Spirit revolved around her collections about life, but mostly death and her experimentation with new mediums.

As you entered the exhibit the first thing you saw was a large grid of self portraits which she had used a process called wet plateing on black glass. Although very distorted the pictures were mysterious and made me want to look at them closer to figure out just what her facial expressions were or even what I was seeing. I remember one on the grid reminded me of a famous picture of Harriet Tubman. The next room focused on her husband and distinct parts of his body. I did not learn until later during the documentary that he had a disease. his disease is eating away at his muscled and on one side of his body it is noticible. She is trying to show through her work how life really is and what death approaching looks like. She then focused on battle fields and how they look different then a normal landscape. As if the earth is different in those areas because of all the blood and lives lost.

Her fascination with death continued into what I thought was the most disturbing part of the exhibit. She traveled to a forensic site where they studied decaying bodies. She photographed the decaying bodies from different angles and expressing particular parts of their body. One man she photographed she enphasized the wrinkles of his foot via her perspective and vantage point. She then took pictures of a rotting face, a skeleton a pulled out view of the site and many more disturbing photos. To me this series of photos from the forensic site were the most stomach turning and shocking photos.

Overall Sally Mann's exhibit was very successful and interesting. I loved the Documentary at the end of the show it helped tie up all the lose ends I was questioning in my head. Unlike what she said in the movie, she has not disappeared and became an old news photographer, I think with this show she has proven herself to not being old news. She is still a dynamic artist.

Links for info on Sally Mann Field Trip

Check these out before our Field Trip on December 3:

Show

Review

President Obama's portrait

This is the official portrait released by the government of President Obama. This picture was taken by Pete Souza who is the, new, official White House Photographer. One interesting fact is that this is the first presidential portrait to be taken with a digital camera instead of a film camera.

This is a successful portrait of Barak Obama because of the lighting the photographer used. The photographer decided to not use dramatic lighting in order to show Obama’s happiness of becoming president. If half of Obama’s face was dark and the other half bright, then this image would take on a hole other meaning that would suggest that Obama had a dark or unpleasant side to him (which is not something that a newly elected president would want to be told). Instead the photographer uses not too bright or too dark lighting on his face which creates the feeling of soft lighting. This lighting helps the photographer bring out Obama’s sincerity as he is about to lead the United States of America.

The choice of a background is also a key piece on making this a successful portrait of a new president. By choosing to have the American flag in the background amongst a white wall expresses Obama’s patriotism. The American flag is a symbol of strength which is a quality that the American public would want in a portrait of their president. The American flag is also accompanied by a flag with the emblem of the Presidential office, this shows which position the main subject (Obama) is in. The flags are slightly out of focus, because this is not the main subject of this photograph. If the flags were in perfect focus, then it would distract the viewer from the new president. Instead having the flag out of focus, but still recognizable, shows who Obama is representing and what position he is in, but does not take away from the president. Even the facial expression of Obama is important in this photograph. Obama’s face hides his delight of becoming president, but shows his seriousness and desire to perform his job well.

THE PORTRAIT_POSTS

Please post your example of Portrait, and the critical writing in a separate Post here. The writing should include brief context and bio details - but then move into how it signifies the ideas surrounding the Portrait.

Elinor Carucci

Elinor Carucci is a Israeli photographer. She has several series, “Closer,” “Diary of a Dancer,” “Crisis,” “Comfort,” and “Pain.” Each of these series uses portraits to explore personal themes, such as family life, marital problems, or the chronic back pain she experienced for a year. Her portraits bring the audience into these personal situations and experiences. Her series “Closer” invades her family’s life. She photographs her family in intimate situations and different “home” moments, such as her grandfather in the shower, a finger with stitches, or a toilet filled with menstrual blood. This series is a magnification of the private life that strangers are not usually privy to. It’s uncomfortable and endearing.
Another series by Carucci, titled “Pain,” is composed of seven self portraits which detail her yearlong chronic back pain. In the portraits in which her face is seen, the pain is apparent. The portraits also documents the different ways which she uses to relieve the pain. The picture “Pain 11, 2003” doesn’t show Carucci’s face, however the pain, desperation, and despair in her pain is apparent. She is framed by walls on each side, isolating her body in the center of the frame. Her body is draped over a wooden pole balanced on each counter, with a saddle-like apparatus that supports her stomach. Her back fills the center of the frame, making it the focus of the photograph. Her spine meets her shoulders in an almost upside down cross. Everything comes back to her back, to the focus of her pain. Her back is not only the focus of the picture, but the most interesting part even apart from the concepts behind the photograph. The bumps of her spine, her back muscles, even the continuation of her neck from her hair hanging down out of the frame.


(Elinor's website: http://www.elinorcarucci.com/ Pain 11, 2003 is the last picture on this page: http://www.elinorcarucci.com/pain.html)

Steven Gelberg's artist

This photo was taken by Steven Gelberg and to me is a very soft and peaceful portrait. When searching for a photo this one caught my eye because the subject appears to be drawing, an art all her own, while the photographer snaps a shot of her, his art. Yet, then as i began to research the photographer I became more interested in the photo. Gelberg's work spoke to me more not because of the quality of his prints but because of his own life story and the auto biography on his website in which i could connect to because he is a lot like me in some aspects.

He was born in post war suburbia and was once a nature seeker much like myself. He then became a Vietnam war protester and what he calls himself a "counterculture rebel". After one year of college he became a world transcending Hindu monk then 17 years later went to Harvard Divinity school to study comparative religion then in 1994 photography answered his prayers and set a new path in life for him. Photography became his passion and much like myself he fell in love with the dark room and the energy that comes along with it. I believe that imagination comes through in the photographs you make with your hands, and with the chemicals that make images magically appear. Photography was his self discovery, I believe this is true for me also.

Gelberg's photo of a woman sitting in what appears to be a train station caught my eye mainly because of the looking glass and mirror effect of two artists seeing the world in different perspectives. This is a successful photograph for many reasons. First of all the subject clearly is at ease yet still nervous about maybe the person she is drawing. Also the position of her arm and tablet leave much to be wondered about. There is a sense of mystery because we cannot see what she is drawing, also there is a great tonal range that allows us to see her facial expression which leads to many more questions?