Gregory Crewdson
What I found most interesting about Greg Crewdson is that he is not known so much for simply taking photographs, but instead "making" them. I think it is extremely interesting that he stages his photographs and in doing so he has phenominal results. Crewdson captures in great details one moment in time and regardless of how polished his photos are, they are left somewhat undone in that the viewer does not know what will happen next and is left with that for their imagination. I feel that this is a really strong quality in his work because the actual moment captured is so beautiful and pays great attention to detail. However, no matter how much detail is provided, the viewer is also impacted from the photograph with a feeling of perhaps anxiety or fear of what may come next. I aspire to Greg's work because I think that it is really wonderful he can make such an impact on the viewer. He not only provides a beautiful, detailed image, but also leaves the viewer to wonder what will come next and therefore he stands out and his photography is very memorable.
Below I have included the images and titles of a few of my favorite works by Greg Crewdson.
Untitled, Summer 2006
Archival inkjet print
58 1/2 x 89 1/2 inches
Untitled (Ophelia), 2001
The great detail in both of these images really make them outstanding. I also enjoy the emotional affect that the narrative they tell have on the viewer. In the first image I can relate what I see to a personal life experience and I think when an artist can have that affect on the viewer, there work is really commendable. In the second image, Greg leaves the viewer not only wondering what has happened, but what will come next. He has captured this one, eerie, frightening moment in time. The image itself is so captivating, with the woman basically centered and taking the majority of the focus. Yet the furniture she is surrounded by is sinking in the liquid that she appears to be floating on which creates a strong balance in the image. The way Greg's work has beautiful detail yet also leaves the viewer wondering so much is what makes his work successful.
Teun Hocks
Teun Hocks is very interesting because he also manipulates his photography, but he does so by adding paint to his work. He creates surreal and documentary images with both cameras and paint brushes. In his piece Untitled (Man Sleeping in Box) he actually uses himself as the man in the image. He takes black and white photographs, tones them chemically brown, and paints them with transparent oil paint. He says that for him, incorporating the paint helps him to come very close to the image he has in his head. I think the surrealist quality of his work makes it very compelling. The viewer is not really sure what is happening in his work yet is still very captivated. In almost every single piece he has a man as his subject matter that is participating in some form of action. The viewer can't really tell what he is doing or why, but each photograph is very interesting and no matter what the man is doing the interesting and curious quality of his work make it notable and compelling. Amongst my favorite are the images he has taken where a drummer is resting on his drum and appears to be putting all of his weight on the dream as if he is demonstartin exhaustion. He needs a rest and this is perhaps a metaphohor for the idea of someone being tired of what they are doing in life. In another favoite he has a man physically extending his body into a painting that hangs on a wall. This image is so surreal that is poses excitment and I personally felt like that would be such an amazing experience, to be able to put myself inside a piece of artwork like this man is doing. I think what mostly makes Hocks work successful is that no matter what action is taking place in the image, it draws the viewers attention and the surrealist quality makes them wonder what is happening and leaves them with the desire to engage in the photo.
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| Untitled (drummer) 2005, Oil on Silver print 50 x 65 3/4 inches |
Untitled (man with hats) 2006, oil on toned gelatin silver print 48 3/4 x 63 1/4 inches
Jeff Wall
Jeff Wall creates black and white photography and he explains that he does so because black and white creates a peculiar kind of image where only one substance to depict all other substances. Jeff has a passion to work in black and white and he eventually works in large scale black and white which I think makes his work unique and interesting. In an interview with Jeff Wall he stated, "I could begin, in the 70s, to distance myself from that kind of avant-gardism, to try to find other qualities that would go somewhere, without in any way opposing the idea that all contemporary art has to experiment and has not to follow formulae, no matter how correct the formulae might be." Wall's work is considered epic and luminous. The size and scale of his work is ofren grand, measuring on average 6 feet by 8 feet. What is so interesting about Jeff Wall is that his photographs are as grand as monumental painting of the past three centuries, painstakingly staged and constructed, and digitally combined and altered. It has been said that Wall’s vision and use of photography represent a bold step forward in the reconsideration of this medium as a fine art, equal in stature to painting and sculpture. This is what I find most compelling and what makes Wall most successful. Below are a few of my favorite works by Jeff Wall, both with a grand scale and great construction.
Milk, 1984 Silver dye bleach transparancy (llfochrome); aluminum light box, 6 ft 2 1/2 inches x 7 ft 6 1/4 inches
Storyteller, 1986 Silver dye bleach transparency (cibachrome); aluminum light box 90 3/16 in x 172 1/16 in
Cindy Sherman
What I found most interesting and appealing about Cindy Sherman's work is that she uses herself in her photographs, but instead of doing so to create self portraits, she uses herself as a means of creating a commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world including the role of the woman and the role of the artist. I think her idea is unique and I like how she uses photography as a mean of questioning the role and representation of woman in society. In 1976, NYC, Sherman began taking photographs of herself. These photographs would come to be known as the Untitled Film Stills and are considered perhaps the most well known and recognizable work of Sherman's career. In these photographs, Sherman places herself in the roles of B-movie actresses. Her photographs show her dressed up and playing the roles of characters. Many mistake these photographs for self-portraits,but actually these photographs are quite different and Sherman plays the role of a fictional character that is a cliche of particular roles of women including the housewife, the prostitute, the woman in distress, the woman in tears, the dancer and the actress. Sherman carefully communicates to the viewer that these works are not meant to depict Cindy Sherman the person and she does so by titling each of the photographs "Untitled", as well as numbering them to depersonalize the images. I think Sherman's idea was very unique and I'm intrested in that she pursued one set of like images and when it was completed was successful in having it become her first solo show. Below are a few images from Sherman's series, Untitled Film Stills
Untitled Film Still # 13. 1978
Untitled Film Still # 35. 1979
