Rainer Research

Here's some of Rainer's work that I used as a reference point for my emulation project:

Emulation Project

Arnulf Rainer believed that it was crucial for the photographer to have a visible hand in their work , and is thus famous for his blackening, overpainting, and masking of photographs, primarily portraits. My goal when undertaking this emulation was to end up with a final product that could evoke the same level of emotion, while remaining slightly less disturbing than some of Rainer's works. During the long hours spend on these prints I progressed through the desire to work in several different mediums, and was tempted at countless points to stray from the task at hand. In the end, however, I stayed true to the black smudging and scribbling that is so typical of Rainer's works. Each print in this piece carries its own emotional holding power and is distinctly different from the others on the level of the photographs themselves, but the three are tied together by their manipulations. It is interesting that what some would call destruction actually adds another whole dimension to the work, and can tie it together and give meaning in places where otherwise the prints would not hold nearly the same power.

Mapping Project

A few minutes north of Oberlin, in the middle of a field and at the end of a long-ignored driveway sits a small farmhouse. Back in the day, when they were Oberlin students, my friend's parents lived there. I've heard many stories from their time at Oberlin, and having the context of their youthful, carefree years spent in the house made the desolation in which it now sits even more accentuated. Clearly they were not the most recent residents, as the house is now littered with children's toys and clothing. Ashtrays and broken glass suggest that the house also serves the occasional squatter or curious college student. Considering a space by focusing not on any of the properties it possesses, but on the various people that have occupied it lends a very different perspective to the way we interact with our surroundings. In this piece I tried to capture the feeling of absence that hung so heavily in the house. The images have a strange and eerie quality when taken out of the context of a bustling family life, and carry a nearly tangible feeling of memory. Although this mapping task could be taken very literally, I chose to view my personal project as a more figurative mapping of the house's previous occupants, as represented by the traces they have left.

Utopia search

For some reason "utopia search" became "cool enhanced nature shots". I was looking for pictures of teens in childlike situations in nature, I know we've seen examples like this in class but I couldn't find any. Googling "Utopia photography" gets you some interesting things, few of which are that cool or relevant. =P

I am excited about thissss!

Cyanotypes. I think I will teach them to my chem kids this summer.

Sourcebook 4/13 - Favorite Persona Projects

Yujin

I like these, mostly just because they are well executed and pretty to look at.

Ezra

This project is exactly the idea that I've been harboring for the persona project since hearing about it. I think I plan to do something similar, minus the photos of the objects.

Cubby

This persona project is incredibly relatable for me. I have two younger sisters, and our photo albums are filled with pictures of the three of us and my dad. We've often discussed how sad it is that my mom isn't in them, because of her role as photographer. This is so well done.

Three people I know