Photography 362W

Tim Roda photographs his family and himself in instances of imagined and constructed metaphors of family history in hope that the viewer will find the ambiguity inviting and participate on a metaphorical level with the images, which are often modified or manipulated. Images are often cluttered and complex, offering the viewer much to think about, and perhaps wonder about. Roda’s style is also marked by use of heavy shadow, both in the sense of dark areas and in the sense of actual cast shadows, used to enhance the image, or in some instances create the image.

Barbara Probst’s work consists exclusively of images, with 2 to 12 smaller, related images in a set.  While there is an occasional cityscape or landscape set, her work usually concentrates on young people, mostly female, in relation to an environment. The environments vary. Each set invites the viewer to compare the images within the set, which vary from a subtle difference in posing to images that are wide ranging in camera-to-subject distance, color, or point of focus. This invited comparison is at the heart of her work. As one looks from image to image, one sees more and more similarities, and more and more differences. The more one looks, the more involved in the images one becomes.

Almost immediately upon viewing Misty Keasler’s work, the viewer is struck by her use of color and form. Even when people are her subjects, they are used almost more as elements of form than as human subjects. Colors are very bold and almost always primary and secondary colors (as well as black and white). Again, the statement seems to be more about form and color, than about the actual subject in the image. Another interesting feature of her photographs is the exclusive use of the square format. All that said, her subject matter is unique, ranging from the “Love Hotels” of Japan to orphanages in Russia. Her viewpoint is very unique.

Cara Barer is a Houston based photographer. Her body of work contains and is mostly comprised of a series of photographs that are of the pages of books presented in an uncommon, manipulated and destroyed matter. She transforms the common form of the book into uncommon forms for photography through sculpture, and this allows her to explore a variety of forms with a common basis. This however, allows her work to become quickly redundant and repetitive though her photographs stay consistent and technically proficient.

Sally Mann is an American photographer who gained attention as an artist due to the controversial content of her work. The majority of the body of her work deals with the lives of her immediate family. The images contained in this series depict her children, who were  all under the age of ten when the photographs were shot. Though the children are shown in childish and playful poses in some images, some are shown to be dark and adult. This in addition to the children not wearing clothing made her intentions highly questionable. The photgraphs in this series, though compositionally brilliant and technically printed very well, are very posed and somewhat stoic in nature. The provocative nature of the poses and the lack of clothing are what caused the series to become popular, or at least controversial, which, in turn, led to a notoriety of Mann as a photographer.

Arnaud Maggs is a Canadian born artist and photographer. His photographic work is often presented in a grid style with the rows and columns consisting of portraits. The content of the portraits is usually comprised of different views of the subject, typically shot from the front, side, and back. This allows Maggs grids to have a distinctive style which separates his works from other photographers. His portratis also have a somewhat harsh appearance, the lighting allowing for contrast to be hightened and the images to take on more of a geometric apparance. This helps to support the grid format.

Olivo Barberi’s Model World series is comprised of aerial images. Though these photographs are real, they have the feeling and appearance of a set or model. The images have a distorted perspective and a very clean apparance, which allows them to be brought down to basic forms. This gives them a plastic and fake appearance.

Peter Gasser is a Swiss photographer whose skills are boundless. His series of photographs of members of African Tribes are stunning. Gasser has a way of exhibiting exquisite details in his images, giving them a distinctive lifelike quality. This ablilty allows for emotion to be displayed though expression very easily, though the comprehensiveness of what is shown can be quite complicated. I enjoy that complex realization in his work, seeing an image and having an emotional connection and then realizing the that you have no personal associations with the person in the image. When one can see a photograph that can evoke this type of response, it is a masterful piece.

Joel-Peter Witkin is a photographer whose style I greatly admire. Not necessarily for the content, which always tends to have a haunting and disturbing quality, but for having the instinct to photograph the subject matter that makes his work distinct. Witkin states that he was inspired by a decapitation that he viewed as a child, and this has manifested itself in creation of his diverse works. Witkin uses detached body parts, bodies with severed heads, and other interesting subject matter mainly comprised of cadavers in his photographs. He also uses animals and hermaphrodites in his imagery. Witkin distorts his images, making them look rough and used. This helps to add to the haunting, eerie quality of his work.

http://www.masters-of-fine-art-photography.com/02/artphotogallery/photographers/joel_peter_witkin_01.html

Kiyoshi Togashi is a photographer of whose work is mainly composed of still life and botanical photographs. I admire the simplicity of his work, which is something that I feel I lack in my own photography. Togashi was encouraged at a young age to take whatever path in life he wanted to choose and was greatly inspired by his fathers wet plate photography. This lead him to New York where he began a career in commercial photography. When asked about his approach to photos, he says that he, “constantly challenges himself to come up with unexpected visual approaches to make products look beautiful and unique.” I enjoy the use of light in his images. Though one might argue that this makes the images look plain, I think that it allows for a singular focus with no distraction. This is an aspect I will try to incorporate into my thought process when I shoot photographs, as my images tend to be overcomplicated and intricate.

More images available at: http://www.togashistudio.com/