Lecture Response

I attended the artist talk given by Julee Holcombe, Brian Chu, and Rick Fox talking about their work in the Museum in the Paul Creative Arts Center.

Brian Chu started off talking about his painting of scenery. He said a big part of his paintings was all about traveling. He would paint things that were outside his window but that would get boring so he needed to travel to see the wonders of the world and paint them. He would also always focus on the movement of light. He would love adding shadows and have his painting show where the light is coming from. His paintings also weren't smooth brush strokes, they were almost dotted in a way which made his paintings very unique. Most of his paintings were from when he traveled to France and Spain. He also loves the movement of the road and hills in his paintings because you can see the dimensions. He is a very calm and laid back person and didn't seem nervous at all. He wasn't the best speaker but I loved his paintings.

Rick Fox went next in the group of artists. The most important things for his drawings was the process. His drawings were ideas for his paintings but a lot of the time he would love the drawings so much that he made a collection of them. His drawings call to him way more than his paintings. This series happened to be black charcoal figured that you aren't quite sure what they are. He explained that they showed how much he loved the physicality and love of the world. He seemed to be a very nervous speaker because he was shaking and looked nervous in general but he did a great job speaking. I personally don't understand his drawings but it is great seeing such passion. At the very end a girl fainted which was scary but she seemed to be ok.

The last speaker was Julee Holcombe talking about her photographs. The majority of them were montage manipulations which were huge and printed on large paper. These were multiple pictures all put together to seem like they belong together. They were landscapes and made her feel outside herself and bigger than herself as well as historical. They were also based on Chinese paintings that she has seen in her life changing trip to China which Brain Chu. She also had a wall of progress which mostly had portraiture. These were more personal for her which is why they were so much smaller. They were vignettes into another world. Many of these photos represented decisive moments. The biggest theme was power verses struggle. She was an amazing speaker. She definitely seemed nervous but not even close to Rick Fox. I loved her photography and the concept was nothing like I had ever seen before. They came out extremely well.

Final Project

Contact Sheets for Final Project

Final Project Proposal

Maddie Stoll
Photo
Julee H.

Photo Copy  

           For my final project I decided to emulate Annie Leibovitz who is best known for her photography for the magazine “Rolling Stone”. Her absolutely stunning work of black and white portraits intrigued me and I knew I could work with the many pictures she had taken. The lighting and backgrounds of every celebrity she photographs  as well as her use of space always drew me in. She is considered one of the best photographers of portraiture. She was born October 2, 1949, in Waterbury, Connecticut and enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute, originally for painting and then she discovered her love for photography. As she was working for Rolling Stone, she took one of her many iconic photos which was a naked picture of John Lennon with his clothed wife nearly hours before his death. She then left Rolling Stone and started working for Vanity Fair where her photographs broadened to presidents, celebrities, and teen heart-throbs. There, “one of Leibovitz’s most famous portraits is of the late artist Keith Haring, who painted himself like one of his canvases for the photo.” She also photographed for companies such as American Express. Another great success is when she photographed for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She also has over 200 photographs exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Her more recent successes include publishing a photography book, “Woman,” as well as a collection of her work exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. “She was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography in 2009.” With all her amazing accomplishments and experience she has many gorgeous portraits that I am in love with and will try my best to emulate. A quote of hers that also drew me in is, “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”

I will do several photo shoots of about 10 of her photographs that I attach myself to the most. Using different people I will have them do each pose and then choose which person emulates the beauty of the photograph the best. Through editing and multiple experimental photoshoot I will achieve my emulation project. 

Final Prints

Contact Sheets for Portrait Project

Pictures taken with a home-made pinhole camera

5 Best Still Life

Contact Sheets for Still Life

Artist Statement for Flaneur Project

To be honest, I really didn't think I was going to do a good job on this project. I have really only worked with landscape and doing a "photo shoot" with my friends. I didn't think I could just walk around and find interesting things to photography. But this project taught me something. It taught me that something that could be a "boring photography/subject" could be created into the most beautiful picture. Take the old Ford for example. It's just an old rusty truck right? Well with some editing and placing in a landscape, that old Ford now tells a story that really attracts the eye. Also the open marsh field, I took that from a moving car where it was blurry on the bottom and at first I thought it was just a crappy picture. With a little cropping and editing it turned out to be one of my best pictures that had beautiful depth of field. And the picture of the apples on the group. Apples are so ordinary everyday objects, but when you find them in tire tracks that have water in them with great lighting and a cool angle, editing will make the picture come alive. The biggest critique I have for myself is the print job that I did. Unfortunately I was sick and had to print from home which produced tiny little lines but in my defense, nobody noticed except for me. Over all I loves this project, I am extremely proud of the work I produced, and I learned a lot of what I can do as a photographer. Many of my pictures would be just boring object with everything from flowers to a clock to an old Ford but with imagination, editing, and angles you can truly get a picture to say 1,000 words.

Photos From Flaneur Project