Personal Project 2

Artist #6

Mike and Doug Starn ,ATL Film Still #2, 2002-2003

Mike and Doug Starn, Attracted to Light #1, 1999-2002

Both of these images immediatly cought my eye when searching through the artist profiles. There series 'Attracted to light' is extrememly beautiful. The fact that they use the moth as their main subject is what makes these photos so interesting. Moth's are not usually categorized as beautiful, yet these photos have something magical about them that make you forget you are merely looking at a dull colored moth, instead of a bright colored butterfly, or other insect that people describe as beautiful. In Attracted to Light #1, i feel as though the moth is looking at me, and it makes me wander about this particular creature. What his life consists of, what he thinks when he is looks at a human, or if he even knows that he is looking at something. This moth takes on a personailty, and is no longer just an annoymous flying insect that we come into contact with in our day to day lives.

Artist 5

Uta Barth
Field # 9
1995

Uta Barth is known for her "blurry backgrounds created by focusing her camera on empty foregrounds" (guggenheim.org). I was immediately drawn to her work because of its abstract blurs. I enjoy these because you cant make out objects just a general shape and color. This photo appears to be headlights and what looks like either trees of telephone poles in the background. The color of this photo draws me in, or should i say, the lack of color. This photo unlike the saturated color in Hildo's photos, gives me a sense of life. Even though you can barely make anything out, there is a sense of human energy in these. 

Tech 3

Artist 4

Todd Hildo
8350
2009

Todd Hildo's photos in series fragmented naratives tell a story. These naked women sitting in hotel rooms in the dark make you ask questions. Why is she in this hotel room? Why is she naked? Is she a prostitute, or simply waiting for her husband to return? Why is the only light coming from the window? When reading about this series the author wrote that the window light seemed to make the outside world seem like too much to deal with. When i look at these photos i can relate to what the author was saying. These photos make me think that these women are hiding. Maybe they are not too sure what they are doing in these hotel rooms either, but they are alone, hiding from the bright outside world that might not understand them.

Tech 2

 

Artist # 3

Title : Opera Di Arnulf Rainer
Artist : Arnulf Rainer

       Arnulf Rainer was a Surrealist painter and photographer. After seeing Jackson Pollocks painting and other abstract painters, he started to emulate their work. In the beginning he painted over other peoples photographs. Now he paints over his own, many which are self portraits. Like the piece Opera Di Arnulf Rainer, he took a self portrait and put a separate medium on top of it. His strokes that lay upon on the image remind of a lot of Jackson Pollocks brush strokes. There is definitely a similar style being represented in Arnulf Rainers photo collaborations.
    I chose this photo because when i looked at his work this was the first piece that grabbed my eye. The black dot above his lip reminds me of marilyn monroe. I also like that he is yawning and it is just his face in the frame. The photos that he has that show the whole body of a person are not as interesting to me because i would rather focus on the painting and pencil that he applied to the top of the photo. This is what is interesting to me about the photos. He also has a series that are painted over with different colors that i find quite interesting. To me it is no longer about the person but the abstract form and personality that the photo takes on when a separate medium is added to it.
    I had a difficult time finding this photo in any online collections, so i do not know the date this piece was made. But i was committed to this photo from the start and would not change my decision.