Here is something I just handed in for class, we had to shoot environmental portraits. This is Dave, he is one of my subjects for my "Generation Y and the economic crisis" piece. He is a recent UD grad that landed his first full time job here in DC at a non prophet. For the next few months I will be studying him as well as others in the age bracket.
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I have to say Erika, I'm not crazy over this image. I think the idea behind it is getting somewhere.. the emptiness of the room as well. I could see you fooling with lighting.. other camera angles to make the isolation, emptiness, and slight loneliness ooze from the image. I guess it seems too snapshot to me right now and I want you to craft your image to tell the story for you.
ReplyDeleteWell, I see what your saying from a fine art point of view, yet I don't think this is fine art. this is a documentation, and its not about the loneliness, it is about how he is living. Its about the economy. Lighting is something that is tricky when you are given a space to work in, you have to use what you can and be crafty. This was like I said the beginning. I'm not showing isolation, I'm most certainly not showing emptiness, I am showing gen y. Journalism is about giving clues, showing what you can from a photograph to tell a story diplomatically as well as sticking to ethics. So yes, I could light the room, or have him pose a certain way, or use a lens that distorts my situation, but I only want to show the truth. Maybe next week I will post the entire picture package summary and captions included. I am moving far away from the art world, or way of thinking, which I think for me, is ok. I'm not sure where anything is going right now, PJ can be an art and I believe the decisive moment is after all that is what sums up PJ. But it is also story telling, and learning to hone the skills to tell a story with as much information in it in 5 images as possible. Its all very tricky, It's like being told to tell the history of the world in 100 pages, is it even possible? Sometimes you have to simplify or make pictures within pictures.
ReplyDeleteerika, how do you make your decisions on where you put the camera when you take portraits? i feel like there is a consistency from images of yours 2 years ago to this particular image, so it doesn't seem to be just a pj perspective. how/why do you make that decision? are you wanting a particular response from the viewer based on the angle of the shot, are you trying to capture as much of the scene as possible, or something else?
ReplyDeletei understand that you're trying to go for an ethical documentation. but here's the thing, if erin is feeling isolation, loneliness, emptiness (and frankly, i'm 100% getting that feeling as well), then that's what your image is saying, at least to some people. so, does that matter? maybe not, maybe it does. i don't know.
i know you're going for document, but for whatever reason this actually feels like fine art. it feels like mary ellen mark or even diane arbus. it feels like social commentary more that unbiased documentation. i guess its the camera angle, the blank stare of the sitter, and perhaps what you've chosen to include and not. in general, i think your el salvidor work is way stronger. that being said, erika, i have an increadible amount of respect for you and your work and your new focus on a pj approach. its really interesting to hear about your new direction and see the corresponding images. i look forward to seeing more of this work and the conversation regarding your progress. keep up the good work!