Grapevine: Soramimi: Roxana Azar

above photo by: Melisa Fernandez

Roxana Azar has created a fun project for all photographers really, the chance to jump off of others ideas in a public forum-- cyberspace. Who said whisper down the lane was for kids? The objective is self explanatory, put your brain to work.

This body of images draws connections not only visually but from mind to mind. It brings into question individual interpretation, of the various photographers supporting the group, but also the Curator that is piecing the language together, making sense of it all in her own way. I wonder how many times the Artist thought “no not that one!” when he/she realized what work they were being shown next too, or how many times the Curator had to throw out multiple photographs because they just didn’t seem to fit. It is visually appealing in a gentle sort of way, which some might say, is enough. But I would be curious to see the visual flow when composition is thrown out the window. It is almost too easy, when different objects float at the same place on both frames, I want more. I want the words that I cannot see behind the photograph to create their own conversation, less reliant on a color correlation or physical aesthetics. These are all important however, all crucial to image making, and the integrity of ones work, but I believe it should go beyond that, otherwise it will cheapen something that has the potential to draw links between opposing worlds, a tribute to the universal thought, perhaps.

Get involved if you can, it is a great opportunity to sink into a collaborative experience with other photographers.

GrapeVineTumblr

GrapeVineFaceBook

xoxo,
Charlie

Bridgette Larson- Not In Our River

Bridgette explores the communal life of activists. These people have a cause, a way of life they are willing to push for. Seeing these people reminds me that we all have something to stand up for, and that in the process of believing deeply... we can deeply connect. That we show our passion in a variety of ways, and the artist joins in with her own passion by documenting these moments. This body of work becomes a mingling of beliefs, rights, and a gritty reminder that you have to fight for both, nothing is sacred.
Opening Reception: Dec. 15, 2011
Tyler School of Art: Atrium Gallery
6pm-9pm
I hope to see you there!
Well done Bridgette,


xoxo,
Charlie

G. Steiner- Plastique Bitches

Reception tonight from 6pm-9pm, and guess what? LIVE MUSIC. Gotta love the multi-dimensionality! Come check it out, and don't forget Molly's show- same place, so you can hit up both.
xoxo,
Charlie

Molly Dwyer: Viscosity

The more you look at art the stranger the world becomes, or rather your own psyche. Molly's work has me questioning substance and the very atoms of humanity. Where does this dark material come from-- what is the very thing seeping out of all of us...or into us. What has "gotten into you". There is a kind of sick tension made so painfully human by the warm skin tone, the desire to remove myself from this persons alien quality but drawn in by how simply....human it is. As though saying this is every being- every being has the potential to find themselves with the sensation of splitting apart and being consumed, slowly- completely- wholly defeated.
But as always, you must see to make your own framework---
Closing reception: Friday December 2nd
Atrium Gallery
Tyler School of Art

Congrats Molly!
xoxo
-Charlie

Luke Cloran: Wake

Wake- we rise from a trance and seem to enter into a new one, continuously sinking into another strand of reality. We are pulled from our recognized world into another and back again. This mixed media presentation is stimulating in a variety of ways, we are not handed the answers, rather a norm is challenged, our complacency is tested. I have the ability to be mesmerized by beautiful images, to swoon over graceful gradations... but do I want to know more? I do, because the beautiful doesn't capture me for long, the work begins the testing of my own boundaries as a video piece wrenches my gut in a way I cannot remove myself from. Captured in this world of the artist's making, captured in disembodied hands that tell a story I could never express so accurately.
Well done friend,
xoxo
-Charlie

Dec. 8th 6pm- 9p.m.
Stella Elkins Gallery
Tyler School of Art
You all have benefit of hitting up TWO awesome shows by some exceptional people, take advantage of it!

Rachel Kotkoskie: Treppenwitz

Rachel's show, Treppenwitz:thoughts from the bottom of the stairs, is an incredible body of work that has me smirking and thinking. It is hard to evoke both of these within one individual, I'm terribly excited to see this presented, her work speaks for its self... literally, you can practically hear the mumbled comeback and the silent tension. The words that lay on the tip of your tongue before you get the gumption to say them- photographed without hesitation. I am committed to this play between the individuals portrayed, and they are no longer individuals but characters that make mental jabs at one another. A tribute to the silent language of facial expression and the need to say what you cannot speak. Check it out.

Reception: Thursday December 8th
6pm- 9pm
Tyler School of Art- Atrium Gallery

xoxo,
Charlie

Movies For Photographers: Andrei Tarkovsky's "The Mirror"

Made in 1975, Andrei Tarkovsky formulates a loosely auto-biographical picture blending childhood memories, newsreel footage, surreal dreams, and beautiful poems by his father Arseny Tarkovsky. Using his traditional slow pans and long takes, Tarkovsky suspends the viewer within the time between spaces and subjects. The film wages a non-linear narrative with characters who appear and reappear keeping our memory at bay for most of the picture. All of the motifs, the themes, the poetry (which is breathtaking btw) plays into the hands of each and every artist who has ever dealt with memory and the consequences that come with forgetfulness through visual interpretation. I can probably watch this film over and over again for the sheer density instilled in each frame, the compassion it creates, and the atmosphere that vibes so brilliantly within the subjective space Tarkovsky provides.

See it.

xoxo George

Dont FORGET!!!!

Dont forget guys, Philly Photo Day is coming up.

Poing+Click+Send=Success.

For more information hit up the PPAC's website.

Deadline is the 28th to send, and the reception is on November 10th.

Hope to see you there!

xoxo George

If you're out there...

I want to talk about you nuts that are close to home, it's all well and good to write about artist's that are being written about already...but I want an early wack at it, what can I say? I love to start off the gossip chain. So, send me some jpegs and I will post them and talk about it. This is an open call, I don't care who you are, or when you read this, just send me something I can sink my teeth into.
Please e-mail them to charliedieignos@gmail.com
And again, whenever you happen to see this post just send me a few pics, it is a standing invitation.
xoxo,
Charlie

Michael Meyer- Direct Forms

Come check out Michael Meyer's Exhibiton in the Photo Gallery!
Also look at his website which I linked in his name above, a pretty exciting variety of work overall. The pieces shown are rich with detail and mood and a bunch of other things you will have to see for yourself.
xoxo,
Charlie

Facades and Fabrications

Should art challenge its viewer?

Of course!

Should accessibility be the forefront of such challenges?

Not always.

As artist, our initial goal is to communicate. This is easy. Anything objective is able to communicate with its own presence. Even absence can speak (it almost all the time yells). The hard work however is not the work’s will to beget a dialogue, but rather to sustain a dialogue that presents itself intentionally under the artist’s demands. Whether under a Morse key or through the Cinema, a message must always be clarified. Deconstruction is inevitable no matter how many facades a piece of work proposes. In these seams we can detect the honest and call out the bullshit. These facades (which can sometimes be fabrications) are Japanese sliding doors ready to be opened as we seek the space laid out in front of us. Many artists seek to substitute the sliding doors with a bank vault door, bolted and screwed into the surface. There is such a range for this complexity! This brings to question the usage and misuse of accessibility in art. It’s almost like accepting text as visual art. By adding new laterals such as references, parodies, or text the artist not only places more obstacles for the viewer to bear but also a whole new array of different perspectives to peer through (i.e. a photograph of a poem. Not only do we have to dissect the piece as a photograph but now, knowing that the emphasis is on the text, we must anatomize the poem word for word in conjunction with its presented medium.) No longer are we just visual theorist, in combination, we have been given the right, by the artist, to be historians, pop-cultural pathfinders, and literary critics. Again, these are just examples of the perspectives artistic facades can administer to us: the viewer.

As I stated earlier these facades can easily morph into fabrications. This is where it gets tricky, because a fabrication is essentially a trick. This is the area where art has the capability to leap, but with this notion comes the dangerous potential for fabrications to bleed right off the page onto the artists hands. Clear delineation between the art and the artist is imperative while handling such lies. The artist can tell lies but he must never become a liar. Almost crazy right? These lies, these fabrications, must work for a common truth. If the fabrications are too stagnant and too off-handed then we may just have to call “bullshit!” before another inconsequential conversation sprouts.

Ahh… I’m not done with this yet. Join me next week where I “try” to come to a conclusion here.

xoxo George

Look at these crazy kids...

So I don't know if you were all informed about the epic battle, the rolly chair race-off between departments a few months ago, but I just found this great shot of the Foto Team. We may not have won, but that race was rigged! Can't count on Art Students for a fair fight.
To see more photos from the event go to Tyler Exhibitions Facebook Page.

xoxo,
Charlie

Lighting 10/14

Hopefully a relatable ramble.

to relate: to bring into or establish connection

In the art world the "relatability" of work tends to deal with how the miscellaneous art connects to the viewer, how much it is made tangible to them due to their own life experience. Based on this idea, when I look at work I can immediately decide if it deserves my connection. If I can't "relate", it is outside my interest base and I am given an allowance to dismiss its validity.For some reason this way of thinking doesn't sound so great anymore.

I've been banging my head into this brick wall lately, asking myself over and over if my work is relatable or as some verbal magicians might call it "accessible". Thinking myself sick, speculating on what to change, how to change it and what to do with this information. I go over and over my own life and think it is not so different then the majority, at least not at it's basics... is it possible that this truth has yet to translate into what I'm making, or is not wanting to connect just an underdeveloped reaction.

I have a serious confession...I do this all the damn time. I write something off if I can't find myself in it. Which is why I fight it, because along with this compulsion to instantly connect and be engaged comes another desire; to find a connection that I believe is always there...hiding, often in plain sight. If I ever loose my thirst for wanting to understand another persons perspective I shouldn't be allowed to talk about Art. If I become unable to boil down specifics into the meat of the experience I don't deserve to see what you are making.

This isn't to say to hell with all the other things that go hand in hand with art, this is only one facet of interacting with whatever you may be looking at. But there is no doubting that it is a big one. This is especially hard for me to take a side on, I want to relate... but if I don't I should take new information away from it. I don't think one or the other is better... I think they need each other, they fulfill this side of us that is curious to a flaw, and they remind us of our humanity.

Sometimes by being "unrelatable" we can draw attention to the shared experience, the ones without faces or names, the ones that float into black spaces, the ones we can't put our fingers on. We are forced to find commonality...or we aren't and we miss out on wrapping our heads around something new.

xoxo,
Charlie

We have finally arrived.

For those of you who know Michael Becotte, and those of you who don't-- we have a couch. I mean...the basement always felt like home in a weird kind of way, but now we aren't limited to rolly chairs (the mark of the photo bizarros). Thank You Michael, this is a gift that keeps on giving. Not only would my artistic growth be drastically different without having this man as a professor...but now I can say to the grads with confidence... "I too can sit on a couch"

xoxo,
Charlie
p.s. When finals roll around...I've got dibs.

Photographic Lighting 10/07

PotLuck

You are all down for eating, I know this, I've seen it in action. Bring some foods...

Oct. 10,2011
12 p.m.
Photo Seminar Room


Oh and you get to hear a lecture by Martin McNamara (director and owner of the 339 Gallery)
You have no viable excuse for not going to this, I guarantee this will bring up some hugely relevant stuff about what you are doing with yourself, and what you want to do.


Presentation topic: "How to approach a Commercial Gallery and Art Market perspectives"

See? told you.

xoxo,
Charlie

Photographic Lighting 9/30

"The term for this kind of look in the photo industry would be 'fucking rad'". -ML

Photographer of the Week: Clare Strand

As much as I love scamming Barnes and Nobles by reading Aperture without ever paying for it there was one instance where I honestly felt it was a real crime not to buy the issue. It was issue #200 and on the cover was a deranged woman wearing a striped dress sitting at a desk in front of a graphed white-board. On the desk was a clock used for film processing. As if the woman was graphed herself and not real, the clock assures us what Roland Barthes once stated about photography, "the photograph possesses an evidential force, and that it's testimony bears not on the object but on time." Barthes' ideas on photography rings through the work of Clare Strand compressing each chord into the most minimally executed progression you'll ever envision.

Goddamn.

Strand understands both the capabilities of the medium and it's constraints. A great example of her intelligence with the medium is her renowned series "Conjurations (2009)". A body haphazardly floating, a severed little girl, a standing figure underneath a cloak, all referencing the comparisons between photography and magic. Barthes again resurfaces with this notion, "...the realist do not take the photograph for a 'copy' of reality, but for an emanation of past reality: a magic, not an art."

By staging her subjects in the middle of each magic trick, Strand emulates this emanation of the 'past reality' while also showing the polarization of such reality through the absurdity of their being. Strand also leaves everything undone. As the operator she takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary leaving the viewer marooned, waiting for the ordinary once more. Obscuring the proper indications of photographer and magician, Strand acquires an ingenious example of how this medium functions and the ways a photograph can press you between two planes of glass endlessly waiting for reality to return.

Me and Julia are psyched on this girl.

To see more of her works go here.

Each week I will be posting a small column about a contemporary photographer/artist.

xoxo George

The day the basement dwellers have been waiting for...

PHOTO CRIT NIGHT.
For those image obsessed students, for those angsty artists who just aren't getting enough from their classmates, for all you crazy kids yearning for someone (anyone!) to talk...and talk...and talk about your work.
Sunday Oct. 2nd is your time to shine.
But in all seriousness, this is a really great opportunity to meet with a group of genuine people to talk shop ( and not have them roll their eyes at you because DEAR LORD this girl can't stop talking about art!)
Starts at 6 and will go till around 12 most likely. Sign up sheet for a crit slot is right outside the cage.
DO IT NOW.


xoxo,
Charlie

p.s. bring food, and "juice" a staple for every critique night.

She said we think to much, I've been thinking about it.

I was sitting with a group of visually interested people when a "discussion" broke out. It was, of course, art related. From what I can recall it seemed to center around commercial (such a tricky term) vs. "fine" art. To fully understand this discussion I have posted the video/audio... who says you can't record without permission? pssshhh amateur's!
This is how it went. (<--click)
Do you understand now?
I'm sure we all often feel this way in general, but I had to laugh. When you finish talking with people and you ask yourself "what just happened?!" I can almost gaurentee you were engaged in the most intricate of all conversations, the kind often based on personal taste, the environment, individual histories, ect. Unfortunately these conversations (the ones without clear guidelines, directions, points of view) often leave all parties disoriented and wondering...did he say salami? or provolone?

So, ask yourself this- are you the one speaking Italian...or are you trying to get by with a mustache?

xoxo,
Charlie






(did you seriously ask yourself that? jeeze)

SuperMoon (the greatest super hero, although less well known)

Supermoon (March 19's Supermoon, the closest the moon has been to earth in 18 years)

Come check out Elizabeth Tubergen's show, Supermoon
(it has nothing to do with a superhero)
But certainly has something pretty spectacular going on. What better word to talk about the moon then Spectacular? I can't think of one.
Hope to see you there!


Opening Reception
When?:Saturday, September 24th, 2011
What time?: 6 p.m.
Where at?: Tyler Photography Gallery (my home in the basement)
*Show runs until October 8th
*Hosted by the Photo Grads

**Edit**

Since posting this I made it my mission to get a little more info on Elizabeth, seeing as I was having trouble getting much about this specific show. And can I say awesome? Please, Please look through her blog archives, specifically the 2010 images. Truly an excellent example of a multidisciplinary artist. I am ridiculously stoked to see what she is up to. Even if you miss the opening...check out her work because I guarantee it is seriously exciting.

Journey and Product Laid Down Their Guns

In this world of creatively driven people there exists two different schools of thinking. We have exhibit A, "Product People", those who work within a start-end mindset. These individuals are less concerned with how they get to their point and more focused on what they have to show for it. They cringe at the idea of a messy breakup, or, (for those who shamefully watched the Bachelorette last season) "the dot-dot-dot". This idea of creating for the sake of creating is foreign and more then that it is uncomfortable in its ambiguity.

Exhibit B, the "Journey Junkies", this strange breed tend to make without knowledge of the end result, but have also excepted in advance that there might not be one. Their interest tends to be rooted in the way they are progressing forward...and sometimes backward. Failure is non-existent when the pressure of finality doesn't weigh heavily upon them, it is merely a fork in the road.

As Troward said, " This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by stage, each stage being necessary as preparation for the one that is to follow."

Admittedly, I tend to reside in Exhibit B and I apologize for any bias you may feel. However, the real issue at hand is this-- both modes of thinking are rooted in a common ground. Creating, no matter what form it takes, is coming from the same basic desire in all of us to make sense of....everything and anything. What has occurred to me while seeing these processes in practice is that perhaps they are complementary, "Each supplies what is wanting in the other (Troward)." Perhaps, saying you cannot relate to these other ways of working is to do yourself a disservice. I think the Journey deserves a Product and the Product is deserving of some fluidity.

xoxo,
Charlie

p.s. after years of e-mails from K. Scott, I finally opened one. Guess what? FREE coffee in the gallery every Monday morning. Thanks K.Scott, for truly knowing your audience.

**Edit**
Exhibit B could also be referred to as Maximalist
Exhibit A deserves more credit then I gave it, and I plan to expound on their attributes at a later date. Stay tuned Product People, you do have worth and value!

-Valerio Spada-

I have laid eyes on his winning Blurb book "Gomorrah Girl" and let me tell you a thing or two about it.
The best way I know how to describe this is how I imagine it would be to play therapist for a day.
Let me explain, when I look through the images I am an observer into a way of living that is unfamiliar not only in location, but in culture, and experience. But there is the essence of the lives captured that also captures me.
Lucky for you, this off kilter explanation isn't all you have to go on, come see Valerio Spada speak on Monday September 26th.
1p.m.
Tyler Auditorium.
Please attend so I don't feel as though I have done this work a great injustice.

xoxo,
Charlie

Tricks and Tips to be Advised

I am passing along some wisdom to the rest of you for upcoming K.C. or L.D. scenarios-altercations-battles- or generic (almost pleasant) visits.

1. Be prepared in general (a pen, a course list, possible bribes,people skills, a gentle spirit--the works)
2. Know your stuff (this falls in the be prepared category, but still needs repeating)
3. Go early, in terms of the time of day and probably semester. If you go early they haven't had the chance to hate the student population, their paperwork, and life in general.
4. Do not for any reason let them out of your sight, there is a huge possibility they will not come back. As soon as your face popped around the corner, they began plotting ways to get rid of you... DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE.
5. Ask them for their approval, preferably a signed copy stating that you are a genius and a master schedule planner because you WILL be graduating in under 7 years. (well done, well done)

And now I send you off into the wilderness of a new semester. Mama loves you, make good choices
xoxo,
Charlie

Pinkie Promise?

I am living in a world of pre-nups, verbal agreements, written agreements, contracts, insurance, living wills, covenants and yes, pinkie promises (which I still do on a regular basis). Why? we just want reassurance in a life that is more often then not full of twisted surprises.
These were created for a reason... a tried and true way of keeping the balance... of course if you are an avid watcher of People's Court you might doubt their value.

In a recent "assignment" (you know the word makes me cringe) I was challenged to see routine as a kind of assurance, or rather a promise that creating is timeless. That rut's or "artist block" is a farce of the greatest kind. It is limiting in the word alone.
If we are regularly and repetitively engaged in whatever our chosen expression of creativity is you will never fail. Unless your definition of success is limiting you, stay en route on a single idea, and the process can take you to greater heights. Typically I have found that it morphs into strange new territory... a stepping stone for another place to reach. Like rock-climbing... you are on the same wall,or mountain or whatever but you are constantly reaching for the next gripping point. The climb is changing rapidly even if it all looks like a muddled array of beige and grey.

I won't sugar coat it, there is a huge probability that it feels like you are going nowhere, it is all a matter of how you think about it, and if you are willing to muck through regularity.
Gasp! regular? middle? routine? mediocre? boring?
LAME ART
say it ain't so. I never said show it to everyone, routine is personal until it is ready to go public. Keep that in mind, it might never be ready, but there is a good chance it will. It might really never ever be ready, but I bet it will push you into something else that will be ready, just singing a different tune.
It is important to establish habitual creating moments otherwise you leave yourself open to attack... or floods, or an impromptu divorce, or a shady landlord (thanks people's court!). Artist block is only a block if you believe in it.
Be regular it is underrated (like hoarders)
xoxo
-Charlie
p.s. see you soon, ready or not.

Charlie's 10 commands of the Art-Heads

1. Stop spitting out exactly what the requirements tell you.
Just stop...unless of course you are just learning your way around yourself, are a freshman, or are brainless. If you don't carry a single shred of self awareness then always follow the requirements, you need them desperately.
2. Stop being so friggin' anal. Sometimes we can't give 100% to everything we do, and it is okay. You will never give 100% if you are being anal anyways. Think of all the energy you are wasting!?
3. Don't waste time doing things. Waste time doing nothing, you need space in yourself.
4. Spend time talking to your peers, ask them questions about anything you can think of. Art touches us deeply in unexpected ways.
5. Do not rush yourself. Enjoy the process of figuring out what you want to spend time on. The process influences the product. Being "stuck" is only that when you are trying to get somewhere. Stop focusing on that.
6. Try to stop hunting for a higher calling with your work. It will wind up being forced and awkward. (i.e. I always wanted my work to be political, when I had no real ambition to deal with those issues)
7. Remember that you are not so "different", "special", or "unique". Your Mom lied when she told you that. We are all more similar then we think. Do not isolate yourself with these ideas of your exceptional artsy fartsy personality.
8. Always collect things. Hoarders are just misunderstood.
9. Force strangers and friends and professors to look at you and what you think and what you make. People can be shy with their own opinions, especially if they feel like no one wants to hear them (a frequent occurance amongst the jaded artists).
10. Love talking, Love listening. Learn to look into other people. It will serve you well.

xoxo,
Charlie

For anyone interested...

Summertime: A Much Needed Break

So we're about a month and a half into our summer vacation and I hope everyone is enjoying it. For some, it's a great time to kick back, drink a beer, listen to some CCR, meet up with friends and family, go to shows, go somewhere far far away from the photo basement. For others, like myself, it's somewhat of a halt. Considering that most of the seniors from last year are graduating in January, there is undoubtedly a sense of a want to finish up and move on. This is how I've felt of recent weeks (living in my dad's basement, one can understand), however, realizing that only one semester (two for others) stands between you and graduation, it is essential to ease into a much needed break from academia.

I'm not saying shutting off your brain completely is the conclusive element, but rather taking comfort in knowing you got 2 more months before things start heating up again. We're so wound on school and finances that sometimes we forget about the recreational moments that we most wholeheartedly enjoy. So yeah, take a day to sit on your ass, go to the zoo, visit a friend abroad, take a walk with a family member, get to know others. Do something now because honestly it may be a long time before vacation time awaits us in the "real world".

xo George

I know it has been awhile

How does the summer get more crazy then school year? Whew, well it is good to be back on the blog, I hope all of your summers are going well, all the internships, the job hunts, the endless search for meaning!
I would love to give you a word for word description on all the fabulous art I've been making, but let's be honest... it has sadly gotten pushed to the side. It is painful for me to say it, but for those of you in the same boat-- feel no shame! That can happen in school. The rush of the deadlines and crits inevitably ends with a burned out artist. However, what I like to focus on is that creating and thinking are intertwined in every aspect of life.
Maybe my art is taking the form of a conversation, an outfit, sidewalk chalk drawings, or painting my butt wiped-haggard-transportation-device I like to call a car. It is everywhere my friends, it is in our blood. No matter what form you are taking at this point in your life-year-summer-day-hour you are carrying your perspective with you. Your life-lense does not just disappear. But that being said,
do something with it.
Take notes.
Write.
Tag a Do Not Enter Sign (but don't vandalize, it is against the law you know)
Read a book.
Watch people.
Watch yourself.
And then you take it all in, you carry it around and let it grow on you, this changing that we will always be going through. Look and see how you change.
Then show someone, not "reality", everyone knows that is a lie. Show us your own version of truth, because that is what I want to see, be genuine, the world will know. Or at least someone will.
Yours Always,
xoxo
Charlie

No rest for the wicked...

Hello! Greetings from Suburbia, I have officially left the basement, but my heart is still in the cold dark cage with my fellow photo neurotics.
The semester has ended, and it is past, in the past, past-tense. Which can truly be a beautiful opportunity. Remember all those things you needed tweaking? those skill sets you needed to brush up on? GET CRACKIN' and if you forget what they are... I am happy to remind you (only kidding, maybe)
I would like to share this thought with you
"Success is less interesting then struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort" -Willa Cather

And Pt. 2; 'why we make stuff'

Because nothing else I do gives me as much frustration or satisfaction upon completion, it makes it worth everything. (Megan Bogart)

So people can eat it. (Kelly Talbot)

I don't know how else to communicate; I create because otherwise I'd be mute. (Keristin Gaber)

Because dick drawings will always be funny... (Jesse Ruskap)

To make sense of me. (Steph Hedges)

My creations tell me what I'm trying to say. (Rachel Kotkoskie)

Because the world is stupid, some of my work documents the stupidity; some of my work, which I like better, is about the meditative process of creating...which allows me to escape the idiocy. (Bridgette Larson)

Because my ADD is way too bad to work in a cubicle all day (Ana Tamaccio)

It makes me feel sexy. (Brittany Beltramo)

xoxo

-Charlie

Katie Ames "I Am Not" BFA Thesis Show May 20th

Katie's Show will be opening from 6-9pm on May 20th. This year has been a constant struggle for Katie. Going back and forth with different images and concepts, we have had many discussions here at the photo department about her work. Needless to say, her growth as a visual artist has reached exciting new levels these past couple months and she has now produced what will be an outstanding show. I have had the pleasure of seeing her through this strenuous

process and coming out of it with a bold understanding of not only her work but also her own personality as well. Please come witness and celebrate with us on May 20th as we begin to kick off the summer.

Congratulations Katie,

xoxoGeorge

This is why...

It is just about that time, assignments are over, those intimidating class crits have (mostly) come to an end. Your professor won't be asking you that terrifying question ("how is it going?"). No more deadlines, for some this is a scary thought... for others, it is a relief.
The summer is a perfect time to play, there is no one peering over your shoulder, there are no expectations. After all, isn't that our true love of what we do? To create freely?
So I am here to remind you, and to share with you...why we all do that thing we do

Artist's in their own words...

- Because it's way more fun then writing papers ( Mike Perry)
- To express an inner thought ( Molly Dwyer)
- It's all I know...well, and how to communicate with whales; but only one of those talents has a place in society (Ashley Scriv)
- To process life (Christi Fail)
- To explore on the inside (Chelsea Mahaffey)
- The day I stop making art is the day I stop learning (Eunice Yu)
- Because a lot of the time I am too shy to say what I think out loud (Tiffany Shelly)
- How else would I be able to make giant paper airplanes just for the hell of it? (Matt Giacomucci)
- Because I forget how to follow guidelines, and keep losing the syllabus (Jess Stewart)

Keep it legit people. Graduating Seniors-- I will miss you all dearly, it has been an honor to see your work, and to work alongside you.

xoxo,
Charlie

Well, well, well

Juniors have received their portfolios today. Perhaps not the moment of truth we all thought it would be.
Someone wise said to me, "You have to know the rules before you can break them."
This, I think, is the artist's mantra. More importantly, people need to know that we know the rules before they accept the breaking of them. Maybe we have to fix some things up, re-do something else or maybe we are just fine. But let's keep it all in perspective.

It is hard for me to see rules, regulations, or (god forbid) assignments as having much merit or value. However, they are put it place for a reason (depending on what you make of them) and are tools to push us forward, or challenge us.
Truthfully, I have gotten some of my most exciting ideas from weeding through the "guidelines". Test the boundaries, you have to do this to move forward. Let go, lay it out there, and when it fails, or doesn't work how you want it to, try another angle.
This is how we learn.
Try for the sake of trying.

xoxo,
Charlie

To The Weary Ones

Approximately 2 weeks remain. We have been challenged, distraught, uplifted and shot down. More then that-- life throws us curve balls and we are still expected to crawl out of bed and spew emotion onto sheets of paper. We have made entire projects in 2 hours and we have spent 200 hours on projects that have never been seen.

It takes courage to lay out our thoughts for people to see, often we know they will be picked apart till the last bone is sucked dry, and yet we do it anyway.
We do it until we have exhausted all efforts and then we will do it again.
The more work I look at, the more I am struck by the almost-there quality of it.
We are all just on the cusp, at the waters edge, still clinging tightly to the fear that keeps us safe. The part we hold back is what holds us back.

"How fortunate we are to make our life's work centered on experiencing life with depth and creating a soulful response to it" -Linda Saccoccio

Play, she said...Play, in playing our subconscious releases that which we previously held with clenched fingers and knotted necks.

And so, I wait, with a willingness to learn from you, the visual artist, for I am certain you will show me something that only you can show.

xoxo,
Charlie

Junior Portfolio Review

Tomorrow is the big day.
Doomsday.
Judgment Day.
The Day of Reckoning.

adj-
given to or marked by forebodings or predictions of impending calamity; especially concerned with or predicting future universal destruction

20 prints, 10.5 hours.

With this in mind please know the signs of panic/anxiety related attacks.
these include:

Racing heart
Feeling weak,faint, or dizzy
Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
Sense of terror, of impending doom or death
Feeling sweaty or having chills
Chest pains
Breathing difficulties
Feeling a loss of control

Best of Luck
xoxo,
Charlie

Natalie Piserchio BFA Thesis

Natalie's opening for her show Emergence will be tomorrow from 6-9 p.m.

In viewing this exhibition I was instantly struck by the sheer loveliness of each individual piece. They quietly reflect change and growth, as if slowly distancing the viewer from a former world. A world that was perhaps clouded with the foggy self doubt we all encounter at one point or another. It pushes me to search inside of myself to find the parts I wish to leave behind and the parts I will cling to, for I have found their strength and value. I am drawn in to make connections to the subject within my own thoughts. Natalie has removed the distractions that often sidetrack us from being able to take a look at the quietness we carry. The glimpses of the figure become a glimpse of myself.

I'll see you at the opening,
xoxo
-Charlie

Gabriela Bulisova: Within The Constant Struggles of Humanity

Here at the Photography Department of Tyler School of Art we had the pleasure of having Gabriela Bulisova give us a unique presentation enabling her to speak of the work she does and the stories behind each of her photographic series. Starting off the power point, she introduced us to a timeline that spanned across her whole career as a Documentary Photographer. Within a fraction of a second, seen through the years she spent abroad in ever-fluctuating states of Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, I quickly fine-tuned my ears and cemented my eyes to the screen.

Riveting, potent, and dynamic are just a few words that can begin to describe her imagery. These are just words however, and as Bulisova explains about her subjects in her series "Chernobyl Revisited", which deals with "the worst environmental catastrophe" in the history of humanity located in Ukraine, she specifically states,

"But what does the 'worst environmental catastrophe' actually mean in the every day lives of the people of Ukraine and Belarus, cannot be any dictionary".

This is how the photographic medium, in the hands of a sensible human like Bulisova, can help propel such words into visions, and visions into emotions. A tragic overflow that embodies the struggles of humankind constantly spreads across the ground. In Bulisova's photographs, she not only captures what's seen on the surface, but rather, makes an attempt to dig deeper and deeper relinquishing all stereotypes and absolutes. There's authenticity in what the Documentary Photographer initiates between herself and her work. Whether it's through the individual exchanges Bulisova had with an Iraqi Refugee, or witnessing the unshakable silent ideals of many foregoing a revolution in Iran, there is always something progressing showing knowledgeable adversity against what sometimes can be perceived as insurmountable odds.

As much credit as I can give to Bulisova for giving identity to the man holding a hand over his face and the woman behind the wooden deck railings (figures above), this comprehensive juxtaposition would not be possible without her exceptional keenness to each image. Her compostions and conceptions are particular, neutral, and most importantly true. Going through each series in her slideshow, I couldn't help but acknowledge that right here in front of me was an Artist, selfless, cloaked with comfort and ease, in pursuit of unbiased human reality. Of course the Documentary Photographer, the Artist, and the Human will never have complete contentment with themselves as the stories of struggles persist and a call for identities continue. This and will always be the story of Gabriela Bulisova.

Mac-On-Campus Presentation

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

1:00pm - 4:00pm

GEORGE FENNELL

digital wizard and Mac-On-Campus Rep

Photo Area Lighting Studio

come play with photo equipment!

 

Gabriella Bulisova

Monday, April 4, 2011

4pm

GABRIELLA BULISOVA

documentary photographer

Photo Area

B004

"Distressed" by Katie Ames

Fine Art Photographer Katie Ames presents "Distressed", a series now showing in the lobby of Weiss Hall at Temple University. Each photograph challenges the viewer and puts them in the restless place of the observer/culprit hovering over these women in distress. It's a haunting series that not only comments very strongly on the roles within the domestic space but also on the roles of a photographer as a subject.

"Distressed" will be up till March 29th.

Good Job Katie!

Xoxo

George

"

Ben Chetta MFA

Ben Chetta's MFA thesis exhibition will be up in Temple Gallery from March 23-26th

Opening Reception: Friday, March 25th from 6-9 p.m.

Check out Ben's work, George and I will be reviewing it soon, maybe we'll see you there...

xoxo,
Charlie and George

Annual Student Show

March 15th - 26th
The Annual Student Show is up! Definitely a must see. The photography show is an excellent mixture of styles and subject matter. We basement dwellers pulled through on this one! This is truly an excellent picture (hah) of what this department can do and the willingness to explore different ways to portray the world.
Well done to all those who put work in!


Luke Cloran
Brittany Dimilio
Christi Fail
Keristin Gaber
Cheyenne Gil
Roxana Hojat
Rachel Kotkoskie
Bridgette Larson
Sophia Mariano
Natalie Piserchio
Takara Rahalski
Haley Richter
Jessica Stewart
Ryan Von Schwedler
Annie Zimmerman

CHECK IT OUT!

much love xoxo,
George and Charlie

Emily Rooney MFA Thesis Exhibition "Naked Night"

Spring has arrived early with the much anticipated opening of MFA Photography student Emily Rooney. Being the first show of the season is not only a daunting task, but it is also a grand opportunity to lay the framework of expectations for what follows. With "Naked Night" Rooney presents her viewers an intimate (almost foreboding) expression through solidified artifacts, a transcendental video piece, and a few photographs to help compliment our intake. Making use of all three spaces in the Temple Gallery, Rooney keeps her work grounded making room for breath and reconciling eastern ideals for a mellow (almost affectionate) interaction.

Before the opening, Charlie and I were lucky enough to take our time with each installment slowly deducting and reflecting our opinions with each other. It was clear to us, with Rooney's vast openness, that we had to take everything in slowly and attentively. This was beneficial to our understanding and left a profound emotional impact on both of us. I would advise anyone to do the same.

Emily's show will be on display the weekend of March 18th to 19th. Not a lot of time, but I'm hoping this show will emerge into other galleries in the coming future.

CONGRATS ROONDOG WOOOO!

much love XOXO,

George and Charlie

First Friday

Often, art is reduced to the viewer's (limited) perspective and I can only speak of my own interpretation. Annie's work explores a well known scene (the landscape) and throws the cast of illusion over it. Instantly I was distanced, held at arms length from the natural things I had taken for granted. It is a twist and pull that grabs at our abilities to trust our eyes, when that trust is taken, what do we do with it?

Come see Annie's show in the Atrium this Friday 5-7 p.m.

xoxo,
Charlie and George

From the Basement

We will be updating this blog with thoughts, work and dialogue surrounding the events happening around us.

xoxo,
-George and Charlie



“How foolish of me to believe that it would be that easy. I had confused the appearance of trees and automobiles, and people with a reality itself, and believed that a photograph of these appearances to be a photograph of it. It is a melancholy truth that I will never be able to photograph it and can only fail. I am a reflection photographing other reflections within a reflection. To photograph reality is to photograph nothing.” - Duane Michals