Beloved Daughters by Fazal Sheikh

All of these photos were well taken but they were not memorable and I’m glad I went when the museum was free because otherwise I would feel as though it was a waste of my money.  The victimized women were shot as typically as one would take them: colorless and without expression.  Each picture had about a paragraph worth of text containing a little story about the woman.  Some photos were grouped together in six, two rows of three, and together told a story.  One photo that was displayed alone was Kamla (hands) and I enjoyed this picture the most because of the directional focus.  The arms came from the top two corners and came together with the hands held together at the bottom middle of the picture.  It was interesting that one hand had short nails and the other hand had long nails.  There was a row of three  young girls and all of the shots were blurry.  I understand that the background would be blurry if the forward-most object was in focus, but nothing in the photos were focused.  The girls looked blank and bothered.  There was also another picture of a baby with the most innocent eyes that light reflected from.  This picture seemed to be a crowd pleaser because a few people were standing around this one.  Overall the exhibit was mediocre and I say that because it was forgettable and uninspiring.

Infrared Quiz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An My Le

The Military and Vietnam

I had a hard time appreciating Le’s work.  Maybe I don’t have enough interest in the subject matter, but I just wasn’t very impressed by her images.  The artist’s series made her seem a bit incompetent too.  She would have military soldiers asking her simple questions and there were be an instant confusion and miscommunication.  Why did the series have to include Le not understanding simple questions?  I thought that was odd how the series portrayed her.  It adds character that she uses an old school camera , but overall her photos are okay.  The landscapes and reenacting were very elaborate but the photos didn’t capture all the effort and extraordinariness.

Quote by An-My Le from the 21st Century Artist Series: “I am not categorically against war but we need to avoid it as much as possible.” I would assume that there would be some sort of support for war considering her fascination with the military.

Egypt/Lebanon Montage Canon 5D Mark 11 Video

This video by Khalid Mohtaseb was amazing! I got really into this documentary and was in complete awe of this!  The colors were so vivid and breath taking.  Each image and scene was so clear, clean, and crisp in contrast to a dusty town that looks far from manicured.  Time stood still in each shot and he made the documentary feel like a breath of fresh air when the town was much less glamorous.  I can’t get over how vibrant and gorgeous the colors looked in each image!  

Carrie Mae Weems

Maya Angelou was the first thing that came to mind when Carrie Mae Weems started talking.  Everything she said felt poetic, passionate, and true.  She also reminded me of the famous choreographer Debbie Allen.  Carrie Mae Weems had such conviction in her voice and work.  I was impressed by her attempted lawsuit with Harvard college.  Not only was she ready to take Harvard on but she had them back down and even pay for her work!  Carrie Mae Weems was a dancer while her boyfriend was a photographer.  She fell into photography and took it by storm with bold scenarios.  She said “I don’t know that this work is important but its important to me.”  I liked her outlook on her work because it showed that she produced what she wanted, not what she thought everyone else would like.  Her work felt a bit too preachy for my taste but I can appreciate her intentions.

 

 

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman has a really unique way of looking at people and making her perceptions clear through her art.   Her clown collection was a bit disturbing for me because I really don’t like clowns, but I still respect her unique and original idea. With herself being the subject and photographer, she had complete control of the outcome and produced exactly what she wanted.  She wanted her subjects to feel like real individual people and not look like herself.  I think she achieved that goal in her photographs, especially in this green photograph here.  The characters she portrayed were so alluring and made me want to stare and figure out what experiences the subject has lived through to get the way they are in the piece.  Cindy blew up these photographs to take up entire walls because she said men always make their work very large and why can’t women?  I’m glad she thought of that idea because the photographs were more effective and eye popping in their large size. On a completely unrelated side note, I loved her excessive organization and giant pull-out cabinets that were all neatly labeled; it’s exactly how I would want my studio!

Weeds (8×10 prints)

PDF

Flickr Account

flickr.com/elainejamir

Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elainejamir/show/

Honoring Military Veterans Art Gallery in Clarke Field House

I’m not big into honoring military veterans as I maybe should be so this cozy little event was nice to go to.  The mixed media art was nice to look at but the photographs were more typical and borderline boring for my taste.  The photographs included images of soldiers walking in front of camouflage vehicles and  their aircraft.  I went to the Miramar Air Show so I’m comparing the images at the event to those in the Air Show and the images weren’t as captivating as those in the Air Show.  My favorite piece of the gallery was a gold heart made of bent metal with a black sword stabbed diagonally across the inside of the heart.  That piece was gorgeous and immediately caught and held onto my attention.  There was plenty to look at around the room and a video was playing over the projector at the same time.  I thought that was a nice touch to the event and provided as something to listen to while looking at the art around the room.  I’m trying hard to avoid commenting on the food but really it’s worth mentioning.  It was yummy.