Week Eight: Tod Papageorge - An Essay on Henri Cartier-Bresson

Tod Papageorge

After making such a bold statement in the opening line of his essay, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Two Lives, I agree with writer and photographer, Tod Papageorge. “I’m going to speak today about Henri Cartier-Bresson, arguably one of the greatest photographer who’s ever lived.” As Papageorge begins his talk about photography at Yale, he leaves no room for argument, interpretation, and examination. With the photographs produced by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Papageorge provides a powerful analysis that allows for him to make this daring assessment, that Cartier-Bresson’s work and him, as an artist, is truly, not just one of the best, but the best.

When we look at a black and white image, we try to examine it for the simple elements that make up the image. We look for a subject or object, and once we move past those steeples in the image, we begin to consider vantage point, shadows, highlights, framing, and positing. At the bottom of this list, comes to story that all these different components make up within the single structure. I believe this is exactly why Papageorge singles out Cartier-Bresson as being the most talented photographer our world of artists has ever seen. I came to this conclusion by viewing a few pieces of Papageorge's and immediately seeing the similarities between his work and Cartier-Bresson. These similarities that can be seen between these two distinguished collections of photographs, are in actuality, the basis for creating a successful picture, in general. Thus the presence of these themes in Papageorge's work and Cartier-Bresson proves that these qualities in composition make the most pleasing image to view.

In this essay Papageorge points out the technical’s that makeup Cartier-Bresson’s works, but he also acknowledges, the impact of the feelings and emotions that can be translated through his works as well. This also sparked Papageorge's, examination of what category of work and artistry that Cartier-Bresson truly falls under.  “On the heels of producing an unprecedented body of photographic poetry, Cartier-Bresson begins to inflect the deeply focused energy that had been required for what he had accomplished by cross-cutting it with extra-personal, political, and artistic concerns…this ardent photographer-poet assumed another identity.” Identity is crucial for not only an artist, but for that to be translated through the work. This ties into my understanding of Papageorge's utmost respect of Cartier-Bresson as an artist. The poetry and identity that Papageorge speaks of coincides greatly with all of the different pieces that make up a single photograph. It is the combination of those essentials that allow for the poetic interpretations to be perceived, and the identity of the photographer, which allows for a consistent theme within collections of work, to be recognized.

In both collection of works by Papageorge and Cartier-Bresson, the portrait is the most featured piece. Both of the artists focused on taking photos of the individuals that they have come across. Shooting post World War II, Cartier-Bresson captures the aura of each human he came in contact with. By traveling all over the world, Cartier-Bresson presents street photography as a wide range of images that not only show bodily and facial features, but also an environment that resonates as unfamiliar to a certain audience. By composing each one of these images the way he did, Cartier-Bresson proves to fall into this category of poetry and identity by creating a feeling of mystery within each one of these places that he photographed, but by doing so he proved the identity of each of his subjects. These being crucial components of his work, ties into not only allowing him to create a “free” identity and the artistic method of poetry as a comparison, but also allow him to define his work in these manners, as Papageorge interprets.

Week Seven: Garry Winogrand

After examining the works of the contemporary photographer David Hilliard, last week, I decided that this week I would view the works of Garry Winogrand By viewing such vastly different collections of work between these two artists, the ability tor recognize time within a photograph has become more abundant within my analysis of photography. With Winogrand's work, the essence of the 1950’s in black and white is clearly being depicted, but unlike other collections by other photographers from the same time period, Winogrand’s work has a much more lighthearted and joyous feel.

My fascination with photography as an art form comes from the specific style of street photography. I enjoy creating my own stage and setup and can also recognize when it is done incredibly well in professional shoots, but for me, nothing compares to taking a candid photography while walking around place that becomes so familiar day after day. I didn’t truly start to understand and appreciate street photography until I came across the incredibly large collection of photographs by Vivian Maier. Learning of her story and her anthology of undeveloped negatives, I was absolutely fascinated to experiences the essence of the 1950’s that was captured and then buried in storage. It’s this concept of capturing an era in time that not only does photography permit, but particular street photography. It allows for the citizens living at the time to display the features, the wardrobe, the expressions and the environment at one, natural concept, because at that time, it was natural for them. To me, there is something very special about the idea of being a witness through an image that was taken via the eye of another individual. Especially when it was taken almost seventy years previously.

With born New Yorker, Garry Winogrand’s compilation of photos that he took during the postwar decades all over the United States, we see something a little bit different with his street photography style then compared to Maier’s work. This clear depiction is what sparked interest in me of Winogrand’s work. It is not only seeing that one specific style can display so many different traits and characteristics, but also show, what I would almost say, two different sets of populations. It is clear that across the board American is surrounded by an incredible difference in socio-economic class, and to see that displayed in Winogrand’s work, emphasizes many ideas that are distinguished within his works.   

It is clear that with each one of Winogrand’s well framed shots, that he is harness the world of a certain group of individuals that at this time in history, weren’t expressing the struggles that one can come across in the complicated lives we lives. A great picture can be made, I believe, by featuring a strong human that is clearly depicting a powerful facial expression of true emotion. With these elements featured in one singular photograph, the viewer can be drawn closer in, in order to resonate with that feeling being depicted. This is usually done with images that show suffering, sadness, anger, or curiosity. I was immediately pulled into the photographic work of Winogrand because his images depict happiness, which is something that sometimes a viewer looks to and can also need to connect to when understanding a photographic piece of art.  

Week Six: David Hilliard

Between David Hilliard and Martin Parr, two photographers addressed during my critique in class on Wednesday, I chose to analyze Hilliard’s work more closely. As I view collections from both photographers, I concluded that it is Hilliard’s work that not only applies slightly more the work that I have created and intend to continue to create, over Parr's images, mostly due to the idea of space over content.

Parr’s work features the strong presence of people in their natural environments, dealing with everyday tasks within their career or daily lives. The images show perspective, but do not provide enough clarity or detail in portraying these individuals as the center of the pieces. Not only the people around them consume them, but also by the backdrop that doesn’t aid in providing a context that makes the subject all the more intriguing. I found myself becoming distracted by the other surrounding subjects, including other human presences and cropped sections of background environment.

As I clicked the tab next to Parr’s work, I was immediately consumed by the work of David Hilliard. Before I begin to break down Hilliard’s vast collection of pieces spread out over a numerous number of years, I would like to briefly acknowledge the “artist impact.” This is an idea that I would describe and emphasize as a crucial component to not only the distinguished eye of the viewer, but also the power, skills, talents, and abilities of the said artist, photographer. I believe it is beyond recognizable when a viewer can be so instantly drawn to one artists work over another. I viewed Parr’s work and in comparison to Hilliard’s, I did not feel the same attachment, interest, and over all feeling of beauty that I felt when I made my way through Hilliard’s website. Perhaps this is due to my personal preference, what I prove to be aesthetically pleasing, which can then relate to how to artist presents his or her work, or it can be a clear depiction of a single artistic component of decisions that creates an identifiable barrier between one photographers work next to another’s, especially when they seem to be focusing and representing the same form and shape of ideas.

With that being said, Hilliard’s work, I find to be the most well represented, well rounded, symbolization of the idea that not only I have decided to express as a concentration in my photographic work, but also in his. Expanding my interests in portrait photography, I have decided to concentrate not only on the subject of my photograph, but also the environment that surrounds them and allows the essence of the subject to grow and become well embodied. By not only making the artistic decision to create one image via a break down of separate images, ranging from two to five, Hilliard’s eye allows for him to see the whole in all of its parts. This is an idea that I find incredibly crucial to photography. One can never be sure how a viewer will perceive an interpret the work, they might just chose one singular section and have that be the focus of the work than then the piece in its entirety. With Hilliard’s method he is creating that process already for the viewer.

Many of Hilliard’s pieces, from 1993-2012, contain one singular or a multiple of different human forms, however, with these wide, almost panoramic vantage points, nothing is being over powered, where the focus of the piece would vanish. These images are visually beautiful as a whole, and when I find myself covering up the other section of the piece, I am not discouraged or turned off. It becomes its own piece of art that tells its own story. By slowly revealing the rest of the sections, the viewer has to ability to have their own story unfold. After viewing these astounding pieces, I have been inspired to expand my very close and clear focal point. This was something that I attempted and succeeded in doing within my Asian Market series; however, I have made a more concrete decision on how to expand with the ideas I have been exploring in my latest works. My goal is to keep the human form as the subject, but like Hilliard, I have recognized that the environment can enhance the perception of the individual and create a more diverse image that can evoke a more question filled analysis. By using a wider lenses and expanding my foreground of the human form to the background of the outside world, I can create a more insightful, thoughtful, and extensive image.

Week Five: Shore and Sante

It’s difficult to define a photograph. Clearly it is an image, a still shot, taken of something that is present in our daily lives. The image can contain strangers, friends, or even ones self. It can capture a moment, it can preserve history, or it can create a beautiful depiction of a singular subject. However, aside from these strong traits and characteristics, there is still so much more behind the definition and impression of the photographic image. In the Nature of the Photograph, an interview between Stephen Shore and Luc Sante, the two artists discuss the ideas that hide behind a single photograph and all the elements that can interpret and emphasize the photographer’s skills that truly create the artistic work.

In the first section of the interview, Shore takes note on some of the basics that make up the process of taking and developing a single photographic as a physical object. Shore breaks down the practice of photography in the essence that it can be considered a synthetic process like the creation of a painting, however in actuality it is truly an analytic procedure. A photograph does not consistently build off one core value; with an image presented in a photographic form it is an analytical representation because of the amount of precise thinking and anticipation of what attributes are needed to take the picture to create a clear and concrete composition, with proper framing seen not only through the view finder but via the mind of the photographer, but also to think so far ahead of how this image will look when it becomes the print, the physical object.

As the interview comes to a close, Shore expresses a key component of the art of photography when Sante and him begin to discuss the makeup of a photograph when they break it down to its simplest element, color. For me, the black and white image can never be replaced. It emphasizes the movement being captured in its purest form. You are given the ability to not be distracted by a range of colors. It also evokes one imagination. When viewing a black and white image, you can take it in for its grays, blacks and whites and how each one of those heavy handed colors creates a picture that can take away time and simply allow focus on the subject. However, after that examination of the image as a whole in a classic format you can begin to expand even further and place your own ideas into the image with its purest meaning, but also with what it would look like in your own mind. You can apply your own color scheme, then slowly the personality and sounds of the subject or people being featured. A black and white photograph, truly allows and exponential amount of growth in perception and interpretation that the photographer is providing for the viewer.

Shore makes the statement after referring to the distinct representation of “1970’s color,” and says that, “I believe that color carries cultural information – and that cultural information does date.” I agree with Shore with his analysis of color in photography. Color captures a time, just as black and white does. Color at certain points in time, for instance the 1960’s and 1970’s; clearly depict an era in a way that emphasizes the subjects that were representing that era. It provides almost a definition of what this time period was and did look like. Black and white has the power to not only provide and capture the purity of a more simplistic time period, before color was able to show a world that could only be seen through the eyes of the every day individual. But, the other component of a black and white image, no matter the time period, allows for a deeper and darker perception that creates a more personal and wider range of interpretation. A black and white image is pure, and when its presented on film, I believe it is truly the purest and truest most artistic representation of a photograph.

Digital photography as medium is also mentioned in this interview between Sante and Shore. As a photographer, I almost refuse to use a digital SLR camera. I find that whatever piece is produced within that medium is not a true depiction of the image that was being taken. It loses its core, its detail. For me an image on film, color or black and white, is much more beautiful and unique then an image that can be produced one hundred times over. Digital photography to me loses its originally and personality. I know I have to grow in the filed of photography, but when it comes to a negative, there is truly no more of a genuine, beautiful, photograph. To pull away from my bias of digital photograph compared the my film photography work, I used the discussions between Shore and Sante in the Nature of the Photograph to examine four of my black and white, 35mm, 400ASA, photos. The two portraits were taken last year and the wider images that contain one singular image with a wider perspective, that were taken last week, have truly proved to me that I have grown as a photographer and as an artists. I shoot people; my subjects will always be the human form. However, with this stranger’s assignment, I pulled myself back. I was able to continue with my love of the human form, the human facial expression and expand my vantage point. I realized that it is not the closeness of the singular human subject that can make or break a good photograph, if the surroundings, the environment that subject is in, are crucial to the representation of the subject, than they should be seen. The human and their environment can easily become one in a photograph, which I have realized, does not diminish the subject at all.

Week Four: Angela Strassheim

As I entered the darkness of the room that guest artist lecturer, Angela Strassheim, was halfway through giving, I wasn’t aware what style of images I was about to see. As I sat down in the last row, I looked up to see a color photograph, that I immediately assumed was done digitally, of a distressed mother in a car with her husband and three young boys. As she talked about the depth and meaning that this one singular photo had and its representation of the hardships that she has faced in previous relationships and a connection to her now currently being a mother, in just a few minutes, it was incredibly emphasized what a true artist was speaking in front of me.

Angela Strassheim was born in Bloomfield, Iowa. She currently lives in Connecticut and works in New York and Israel. Her college education in art began at the Minneapolis College of Art in Design. She then went on to receive a Forensic and Biomedical Photography certification from the Forensic Imaging Bureau in Miami, Florida. Strassheim finished up her higher education in the arts at Yale University and received an MFA in photography, after originally coming in with a focus in sculpture.

With a concrete background in not only the photographic arts, but also the experience of crime scene photography, Strassheim is truly a photographer like no other. As she talked about each photo the passion behind each image proves that she is a dedicated, hardworking, and precise photographer. A few minutes into the section of the lecture I was able to hear, Strassheim showed a self-portrait of herself. However, the image that was taken in front of mirror displayed Strassheim’s use of a four by five camera. This is where the connection to her color work took hold. Continuing to talk about so many distinct pieces within her vast portfolio, it became clear not only the skill required to use such a large format camera but also, Strassheim, as she progressed in showing more and more of her images, she would go into detail about positioning, lighting, choosing models, and even going so far as to recreate pre-existing images. These talents and dedication that Strassheim exhibits, to me, is what makes a truly talented and invested photographer.

As she continued with her lecture, Angela Strassheim made note that she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is now and have to ability to continue with her contemporary and progressive method of photography if it wasn’t for applying and receiving so many grants. She lists on her website and mentioned that she has been on the receiving end of the Lightside Individual Project Grant, the Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship, and the Artist Initiative Grant. I think this is crucial for working artists to know about. By applying and receiving these grants, Strassheim was able to prove and prove again that her work needs to be seen and made, and these grants will most certainly allow that to happen.

Controversy as an artist is incredibly hard to escape. However, once one of your pieces is being scrutinized and subject to higher objection from the people and the government, you know you have done something remarkable that only a pure artist can do, you are making the viewer think. By making the viewer think, that means that this one singular piece evoked so much feeling, translation and meaning that the viewer has truly become invested in the piece, which I personally believe to be every artists goal. Strassheim’s lecture peaked when she began to discuss a photo of hers that was recently being displayed as an exhibition in MOCA Jacksonville. This photo was discussed in the article from the Huffington Post. The article is titled, “City Councilmen Deemed This Nude Pregnant Portrait 'Pornography,” written by Priscilla Frank from December. Strassheim’s simple, elegant photo of nude, pregnant women was considered to be pornography. The article expresses that by labeling this beautiful photographic art work as pornography, the world of art censorship is still overly abundant. The definition of art is being subjected with the designation of this piece as pornography and with this article and the prominence of the idea of a controversial piece within Strassheim’s collection, completely emphasizes that her work is crucial to viewing the human through all their apexes.

I am so happy that I didn’t view Angela’s work before sitting down and listening to her speak at this lecture. With every word she used to describe each one of her photographs, it gave the work its value. Learning about using her family as her subjects and the ties that her family has in the influence of her work, especially with her pieces from Israel that truly come from her husband and new found religious faith in Judaism, I felt more connected to each piece. With each well-constructed image, the color that comes from the four by five traditional photographic creates a feeling of connection and tradition, which after learning about the truths behind each piece, the feeling is genuine. I find this incredible. To successfully convey ones ideas, intent, and feelings within each photographic image of artistic expression, truly depicts an amazing artists that knows exactly what to compose to illicit and awaken that specific and distinct emotion, sentiment, and feeling.

Week Three: Reaction to Current Events - "Meet Homepoke, Toronto's Anonymous Stick 'n' Poke Iconoclast"

We are surrounded by a world full of politics, chaos, terrorism, natural disasters, economics, history, poverty, celebrity gossip, and technological innovations. With news outlets, like the New York Times, CNN, Al Jazeera, the BBC, Fox News, and the Wall Street Journal, we are very much always and fully aware of the ups and downs of our changing society. However, with a news medium such as VICE, we still are presented with the constant occurrences that happen daily. With this, there are always some current ideas, events, and experiences that are also subject to be discussed and talked about. The article, Meet Homepoke, Toronto's Anonymous Stick 'n' Poke Iconoclast, written by Aidan Johnston that originally appeared on VICE Canada, discusses the specific artistic style of tattooing, the stick ‘n’ poke. In this interview, anonymous artist, Homepoke, conveys all of the different elements that make up the distinguished art of tattooing that

has been incredibly judged and misinterpreted, similar to the perception of Photography as an art form.

Homepoke makes several interesting points within this article and interview that are concrete expressions towards tattoo and stick ‘n’ poke art. Within these revelations, these ideas can also represent other misconceptions of other artistic representations, for example, with the art of Photography. With the analysis of stick ‘n’ pokes, it can easily assessed that this style of tattooing has been considered a representation of Russian jail time, the expression of teenage angst, or just pure rebellion. Homepoke states that these judgments made towards this style of art, are misunderstood assessments. Stick ‘n’ pokes are truly made up of so many different components that makes its meaning more substantial. Homepoke believes that the stick ‘n’ poke is much less intrusive and invasive than machine tattooing. He also acknowledges that when it comes to this notable style, the goal of the finish product is to display a design that is simplistic and abstract.

Homepoke has built a business in his basement that is different than a tattoo parlor, but just a place where he was able to take his hobby and share it with others.  Continuing with his thoughts on the profession he has chosen, Homepoke states, “I like to protect myself. I believe in local marketplaces and DIY, and I don’t necessarily believe in the government having its hand in everything.” This was a crucial component of Homepoke’s discussion, the one trait of stick ‘n’ pokes that should be immensely appreciated of what an independent art expression it is. The interaction between the government and economics with art takes a great deal away from the independent and individualistic of ones own form of personal expression and investments. Homepoke ends this interview on a high note where he states that it is the investment in the art that allows him to be invested in life. For him, the stick ‘n’ poke allows him to feel connected to the world and to the people who live in it with him.

This article is clearly about an artist and his methods and drive to create stick ‘n’ pokes. While reading it, I was able to pull two strong interpretations from it that I not only applied to photography in literal and physical way with my representation of the article in photographic form, but also in a way that is figurative towards the perception of photography. In the images that I took, my representation of this article consists of the false hoods of image perception. We, who appreciate, respect, and greatly want to represent our individual selves in an artistic way with our body as the platform, must go through pain and agony to depict these images. With my photo series, I display a large amount of stick and poke style on several individuals that were simply drawn on with marker. These photos are then contrasted with a man who has had several tattoos done via machine in a very stick ‘n’ poke or sailor style. The idea behind this series is to create a representation between the actual lengths that one must go through and the drive behind it to truly represent them. When we look at applying the ideas presented in this article to the figurative side of photography, it has been greatly been acknowledged that photography in and of itself is a misunderstood art form. This is true for not one, but two reasons. First, Photography, not being a sculpture, drawing, or painting as always received a questionable interpretation on weather or not it is truly a fine art. The second interpretation comes from the fact that, the art that is Photography, can also be greatly misperceived, misinterpreted, or completely unreadable or understandable. Like, Homepoke, and his art of the stick ‘n’ poke, we are surrounded by a world of false impressions, it is truly the individual that knows what the truest of components of our artistic representations are.

 Meet Hompoke, Toronto's Anonymous Stick 'n' Poke Iconoclast

Week Two: Robert Adams

Longmont, Colorado 1973

The power of the viewing eye is a significant one. When it comes to the ability to understand what can make a good photograph and the exact way to go about the taking of the image requires a certain set of skills within the viewing eye. Every photographer has this ability. In Robert Adams’ piece, Why People Photograph, his breakdown of what the capacity and skill that makes up a photographer and the photographs that they take are crucial when understanding not only the power that each individual photographer has, but also what a photographer isn’t fully aware of  these existing traits that can be see through there work.

When we look at the distinguished art of photography, Adams' acknowledges that art builds off photography because photography is an “alive” art form. This is the most distinctive feature of photography. It is the ability to capture a moment. A real life moment that will fade an instant later. I believe that is one of the most powerful attributes that a photograph can have. In a well-composed, beautiful image, a period of time is instantly preserved. Time is an element that will never remain the same. By viewing a collection of photographs that are from a certain era, the viewer can almost instantly be transported back to a point in history that only a limited audience experienced, the photographer and the subject. When examining a photograph, you are placing yourself behind the lens. This is an additional characteristic that a photographer should cherish, by displaying their work, they are the allowing the viewer to look through the eyes of another.

Adams’ continues in his piece to discuss that the whole being depicted may never be understood. When I view my work and the photographs I take, the idea that Adams’ is emphasizing of the misunderstood whole is pivotal to my photographic expression. As a photographer, my drive is to produce images that I not only see in my head, but also through my viewfinder, and that are being successfully captured for the very purpose of not only the ability of a photograph to represent a time and a feeling, but also to take those two elements and create a whole within them. When one views a photograph, as a whole, before the break down of the separate entities that make up the photo and it’s specific elements that are forming the expression and purpose, the first glance has such a strong impact. A misunderstood photograph can provide depth, but to perceive the whole of the image in an accurate and viable way, I believe allows and even more concrete understanding of the representation and then an expansion on the theory can occur.

Another element that Adam’s emphasizes, is the diminished respect for the monograph. I believe the monograph in the artist and photographer world is incredibly important. When I view my photographic work, as Adam’s  states in the beginning of this piece, the influence of other photographer’s works is incredibly influential and essential to knowing and understanding what makes a good photograph and what distinctive characteristics can add to it. When I view pieces by Adam’s I can understand them, see them for what they are, be transported to the time period, and attempt to take his distinguished attributes and transform them into my work. A very powerful ability that all photographers have and can develop from examining the works of others.

Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1968

Pines Peak, Colorado Springs, Colorado 1969 

Longmont, Colorado, ca. 1982