Studio 3Exhibition TextSeptember 2016
Photography Title; "Corroded Grace" In this photography project titled "Corroded Grace", my inspiration comes from Aaron Siskinds work that consisted of his photography of decay and waste patterns, in which he able to portray some aesethic appeal. My photography was done by capturing the decomposition of metal materials at a local scrap yard. Inspiration & ResearchAaron Siskind is a well known photographer of 20th century, and was known to be associated with the expressionisnt movement. His work consisted of mainly up close photos of items and the capture of details while excluding the surroundings of the focal point of the photograph. This resulted in much of his work being considered abstract. The photography of Sisking had begun when had recieved a camera as wedding gift, which lead to him taking multiple photos on his honey moon, he said that there, he realized the artistic potential. Sisking had multiple common elements through out the many years he took photos, the ones I decided to focus on in terms inspiration, were his abstract qualities and his attention to capturing a photo as if it were a flat surface. These elements had been set aside before finally choosing to apply them to metal decomposition, at first I had researched the possibility of doing a photography project that revolved around textures of peoples hands, an idea that was suggested to me by a proffesional photographer, Paul Calhun. This idea seamed appealing but I came across another idea to attempt to caputure the elements I set aside within interior design, and I had even begun to take photos of the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, although after reviewing the photos, I decided the elements of Siskink couldn't be applied to these photos. Then after more consultation I decied on Metal decomposition.
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Process & ExperimentationThe process began by going to my local scrap yard and looking for possible areas that fit my requirements. Requirements being, having abstract qualities and fitting under the category of metal decomposition. I had very much to choose from in terms of metal decomposition, because the climate that I live in, snow catalyzes the rust process faster than in any other area within the United States. Something I needed to look for was the possible asethic and abstract qualities that were present, for this I used the work Siskind as a guide in determining. Then after all the photos were captured, I began experimentation with the photos and their manipulation. After some consultation with a proffesional photographer, I was able to decide whether some photos should be retained due to some of their questionable features and qualities. The most experimentation was done with black and white applications, which I believed would be more suitable towards the project becuase my inspiration had done their work in solely black and white. Although after experimenting with black and white I had decided that it took the abstract qualities away within my work, and I had instead decided to focus on cropping manipulation and rotational zoom functions in order to emphasize the abstract qualities that were present.
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ReflectionThis project is one of those that I've completed that the area for improvement is not as large. This is due to how I believe I have accomplished my goals of representing Aaron Sisking like qualites within my work. An area where I do see for improvement could be the capture of more textures with a more high definition camera, beacause in the case of this project, this was done with a smart phone. While, the additon of more photos would allow for more diversity within a single work. In comparison to the work of Siskind and my final piece, I believe that I have suggested a strong enough connection between the two that can be obsered without explanation.
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ACT Questions
1. Clearly Explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My work and the cause effect relationship between the my inspiration can be identified through the similarity within the qualities of the work, and the inspiration has set the guidlines for the process of creation of the piece.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author(from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my resarch would support my interpretation of the work of Aaron Sisking because the interpretation I was able to make very easily coincided with biography and reading that I did before completing the project.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc, while you were researched your inspiration?
A concusion that I came to during the resarch of my topic was that, in order to achieve and create work of great qualities, the type of work does not need to start from an early age.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research was abstract qualities, and being able to find asethic appeal in places in which it isn't searched for.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
An inference that I made during the earlier stages of my research was that my source of inpisration was very experienced since the very beginning based on the quality of photos, which turned out to be false, because my inspiration had begun this type of work at a later age in life.