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.

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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