Terry Boarder [Contemporary Artist]

I came across this artist, Terry Boarder, and I couldn't help but blog about it. His art is unique and funny. I know it isn't photography, but I think I can learn from this guy. He has learned to express himself in a different way.

Fruit with Experience

Cereal Killer

He uses everyday objects, ordinary things that someone would think twice about. He turns them into art.

Lee Friedlander [Contemporary Photographer]

Lee Friedlander, born in Washington state in 1934, had, like most good photographers, an obsession for the camera. Friedlander avoids fancy post processing and photography tricks. He likes to let the picture speak for itself. How is he able to photograph everyday things, avoid fancy edditing, and still create an interesting photograph?

Fridlander works in black and white photographing things such as street and city scapes, landscapes, portraits and self-portraits. Walker Evans has a significant influence on his work, as you can tell. He experiences a lot with reflections and opacity.

Washington, D.C. 1999

Walker Evans: Historical Photographer

Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an American photographer who wanted to capture aspects of what makes America American. He studied literature and had a passion for writing, however photography became a hobby and a new way to express himself. Evans began working as an advertisement photographer to earn some money. He soon moved on to a more documentary style photography. The photographs he took were a real America. He did not try and show the clean, upper class parts. Nor did he photograph only the beautiful nature. He captured what he saw around him. Evans was probably best known for his documentation of the Great Depression. Philippe de Montebello, the director of the Metropolitan Museum, said, "Walker Evan's compelling images of Americans and American life convey masterfully the poetic resonance of the ordinary as transformed by a personal artistic vision. With keen intellect, astounding visual acuity, and superb technical skill, he captured for us the very text and texture of 20th-century America."

Subway Passenger, New York. 1938

This is similar to my project of photographing everyday things and transforming them. Montebello described Evan's photographs well and I would like my art to bring about similar feelings. He mentioned three things that Evans had which helped him to achieve these images:

1. Keen intellect. He had a will to learn and discover in terms of the camera and the subject.

2. Astounding visual acuity. Oh gosh...I don't even know what that means, much less have it. Turns out it is a sharpness or precision. He pursued perfection.

3. Superb technical skills. I'm working on it..

I think you have to have the keen intellect before the skills. You have to be willing to explore, learn, fail, and discover before you can really achieve successful art.

I'll leave you with another one of his images. This one is called Shop Front, New Orleans. 1935.

Inspiration

We were all created differently. We all have something different to offer that no one else has. This inspires me to embrace my differences and create something new.

Didier Massard: Contemporary Photographer

I think the perfect word to describe this photo is epic. The fog, the heavy, powerful rhino, the dark sky, it all contributes to making this picture extraordinary. I think epic is something I would like to be able to describe my pictures as...

This is another one of Didier Massard's photographs. I really like the composition of this shot. It has a good balance with the vertical flowers and the horizontal stream. The stream leads the eye throughout the picture allowing each flower stem to be noticed. This in turn creates great depth in the shot.

Concept: Broken to Beautiful

The list of things available to photograph is practically endless. Subjects such as people, places, buildings and nature are usually on the top of the list. Almost everyone who has owned a camera has at some point taken a picture of a sunset. With photography, it can be difficult to be original. I realized that people always take pictures of beautiful things. Waterfalls, kittens, and flowers. All beautiful, and all somewhat easy to photograph because the subject makes up for an average composition or a slightly underexposed photo. I want to challenge myself. I want to photograph the ugly. I want to photograph objects that are broken and useless, things that people want to throw away. My vision is to take pictures of things that have lost their purpose and by manipulating the photos on the computer, I will show the subjects in a new light. I will give them a purpose, to be art, hung on a wall (hopefully) and seen by people. These objects can be anything: a broken down truck, and abandoned barn, a cracked vase or a chair that is missing a leg. My hope is for the viewer to see themselves when they look at the objects and realize that no one is broken beyond repair. Going from broken to beautiful, it's the story of my life.

While at camp last week I saw these old inner tubes behind a cabin. I want to experiment more with Photoshop, but this is an example of what my project would be like.

Tom Chambers: Contemporary Photographer

Many contemporary photographers use digital photography in order to create a certain feel or mood of the photograph. While this can be accomplished with film, there are many more options with digital. Tom Chambers takes advantage of the digital world by adding a dramatic tone to his photographs. In his series on photos entitled "Entropic Kingdom," Chambers photographs animals and people together to show
their relationship and how they co-exist. He uses the two subjects in a way that makes the viewer question if the animals are real because of the poses and interactions between the people and the animal. In this photo, Flying Big Blue, there is a woman on the shore in the distance that almost looks like she is using the bird as a kite because she has its foot by a rope. It appears as if the bird is trying to fly away but the woman is pulling it down. Chambers tried to record the tension between man and animals. He says, "This tension has escalated with man's increasing disregard for the fragility of the environment and abdication of his responsibility to care for the earth." He was able to display his thoughts in an abstract way that evokes emotion and thought. I would like to incorporate a dramatic mood into my photographs. I think it draws the eye and changes the tone of the picture. I think it has to work well with the subject and content in order to display a certain message.