ARTIST STATEMENT:
By using a gradual lightening from almost pitch black to multiple shades of grey in my work, I use the tangibility of light and dark to convey the message of tangibility of life and death. I originally never set out to photograph things that represented life and death, but rather landscapes and the natural beauty of the work around us. In turn however, the darkroom allowed this underlying message of the world to be brought to light. When creating my portfolio, I wanted to go with a theme of landscapes, but alternating between close up images and far away images by using some of my favorite photos. When arranging them by point of view, texture, and lighting, I realized that my work also conveyed a message as it goes from a dark night shot photo with little light, to gradually lighter photos that depict the fragility of life and death, to the ultimate end of a light grey scene of a graveyard. While I had no intention of conveying such a taboo topic in my work, the upcoming anniversary of a friends passing may have influenced the final product.
INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST:
An artist I find particularly inspirational is Mary Ellen Mark. While her photography is starkly different from mine in subject matter, message, and tonality, I truly connected with a lot of messages she conveys in her portfolios. One portfolio in particular is of Ward 81 in Oregon State Hospital, or better known as an asylum, psychiatric ward, “loony bin”, etc., for I am currently studying mental illness and how it affects not only the person, but the others around them as well. Some of the photos depict the peeling paint, a psychotic episode, smiling patients, distressed patients, those strapped to their beds and receiving electroshock therapy, and even those who are suicidal.
One specific photo really struck me as powerful is of blankets being brought up just above someone’s ankles that are strapped down to the bed to prevent them from moving, leaving, or injuring themselves or others. This image struck me because it brought to life what I have been learning in my psychology classes, that those who were considered “insane” or “dangerous” were treated worse than animals and were locked away from society and even from roaming about in a world that was supposed to help and accept them.
http://www.maryellenmark.com/index.html
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By using a gradual lightening from almost pitch black to multiple shades of grey in my work, I use the tangibility of light and dark to convey the message of tangibility of life and death. I originally never set out to photograph things that represented life and death, but rather landscapes and the natural beauty of the work around us. In turn however, the darkroom allowed this underlying message of the world to be brought to light. When creating my portfolio, I wanted to go with a theme of landscapes, but alternating between close up images and far away images by using some of my favorite photos. When arranging them by point of view, texture, and lighting, I realized that my work also conveyed a message as it goes from a dark night shot photo with little light, to gradually lighter photos that depict the fragility of life and death, to the ultimate end of a light grey scene of a graveyard. While I had no intention of conveying such a taboo topic in my work, the upcoming anniversary of a friends passing may have influenced the final product.
INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST:
An artist I find particularly inspirational is Mary Ellen Mark. While her photography is starkly different from mine in subject matter, message, and tonality, I truly connected with a lot of messages she conveys in her portfolios. One portfolio in particular is of Ward 81 in Oregon State Hospital, or better known as an asylum, psychiatric ward, “loony bin”, etc., for I am currently studying mental illness and how it affects not only the person, but the others around them as well. Some of the photos depict the peeling paint, a psychotic episode, smiling patients, distressed patients, those strapped to their beds and receiving electroshock therapy, and even those who are suicidal.
One specific photo really struck me as powerful is of blankets being brought up just above someone’s ankles that are strapped down to the bed to prevent them from moving, leaving, or injuring themselves or others. This image struck me because it brought to life what I have been learning in my psychology classes, that those who were considered “insane” or “dangerous” were treated worse than animals and were locked away from society and even from roaming about in a world that was supposed to help and accept them.
http://www.maryellenmark.com/index.html
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