Tuesday, January 20, 2015

I Can See Ahead of Me



I Can See Ahead of Me from Lucy B. on Vimeo.

I took the approach of forming a video idea from the vague ideas of “time” and “space” and then applying the reading to my final product. My very general idea at the beginning was to show the passage of time through filming every time I walked somewhere (the changing sky also helps) and speeding it up, and to show space by the various places that I walked within the wide and yet constricted space of the Lawrence campus.

Now I find that the final product relates to the passage, “Information pours upon us, instantaneously and continuously. As soon as information is acquired, it is very rapidly replaced by still newer information” (63). What seems like a clear path gets extremely confusing and overwhelming with the speed and the blur. The viewer is bombarded with shaky, confusing images, but can still make out that it is meant to be a path to somewhere. The real-time footsteps in the background could be metaphorical of us attempting to catch up with all the new information. Yet, the footsteps also somehow work with the video, and the door opening at the end matches with the video as well, so this could mean that we are caught up. It is open for interpretation.


The title comes from something that I said to my friend while recording that I thought I might try to put into the final product, but it didn’t quite fit, so it is only in the title. It seemed appropriate.

Jason Yi

I found the zip-tie project annoying, a manipulation of the word "collaboration" to get free labor out of art students, and a waste of perfectly good unused zip-ties (and, let's be honest, it does not look that awesome, either). However, after hearing his lecture and seeing his exhibition, I found that Jason Yi has some interesting ideas.
Piece from Jason's exhibition
I like how he draws his inspiration from his family and his childhood in a Korean household. Most of his work seems to connect back to that somehow. I think it is incredibly cool that his sculpture work is based off of his father's landscape photography (and other things about his family, like his heritage). I do not remember the name of the piece, but I like the one he showed us of the Korean mountains made out of packing peanuts. The idea that it would disappear if someone doused it with water would be terrifying to me as an artist. I would not want to make something so fragile, but at the same time, I understand that the fragility was a part of Jason's point.
Piece from Jason's exhibition
His work in the gallery was very intriguing to me; I like his use of everyday things, like wrapping folding chairs in saran-wrap, or covering wooden rods with colorful tape. It was definitely an aesthetically pleasing room, full of bright colors. It was fun to look at. I did not get much else out of it, though. It evoked less landscape imagery than the mountain range (and others from the lecture), even though he mentioned the landscape idea in his statement on the wall. Though perhaps that is just Jason expanding on his own ideas and getting more metaphorical. I liked the pieces in the gallery much more than the zip ties, that much is for sure (partially because I know that he actually made them himself).

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

My creative evolution

My name is Lucy. Photography is my medium. I prefer analog photography to digital, but I definitely appreciate the accessibility of and necessity for digital photography, and I won't try to pretend that I don't go a little crazy with a digital camera in my hands. I understand that if I want some sort of career in photography, I should learn more about the digital side.

Photography was not always the main way that I expressed my creativity. Throughout my childhood, I always wanted to be a writer. I had a hundred different notebooks that were half-full with unfinished stories and plays. Sadly, my motivation to write waned as I got older and now I barely even write in my own journal because I can't find the time. When I do find the time, writing still comforts me.

Music has also been a big part of my life since I was young. Throughout the years, I have picked up piano, flute, guitar, and ukelele. Practicing my instruments is another thing that I have hard time finding time for, but I do still play them all occasionally; the one I practice most often these days is the guitar.
My guitar, picture taken with my SLR

I have loved taking pictures my entire life, and I got much more into it in high school. I would take my little point-and-shoot with me everywhere and annoy the hell out of my friends by taking countless pictures of them, including plenty of ugly ones that I refused to delete because every photo meant something to me. I eventually acquired a Flip video camera and took that everywhere as well. Once I had a good amount of footage, I would make extremely amateur music videos featuring my friends.

The first "friend video" I made, junior year of high school.

My senior year of high school, I took my first photography class from a curmudgeonly, but hilarious old priest we called Father V. It was from him that I first learned the processes of film photography. It quickly became my favorite class and I would spend most of my free periods developing film or making prints. That class made me realize how prevalent my passion for photography was and influenced me to look into it at college.

My freshman year, I was not able to take photography classes, but I dove into it on my own time. I took a lot of pictures with my SLR, and eventually acquired a Polaroid, a TLR, and a Diana F+. Later on, I also got myself an Actionsampler. Experimenting with different cameras has always been extremely fun for me. Once I was able to take the photography classes my sophomore year and learn more about the medium (as well as experimenting with even more cameras), I knew that I wanted to declare my major as Studio Art.

Taken with my Polaroid

Taken with my Diana F+

Taken with my Actionsampler

My most recent projects, including the one I am working on for my capstone, have been done with a large format camera (the kind where you have to go under a sheet to look through it). It can be very frustrating but it is also very rewarding and makes me be as precise as possible with every shot.

I was abroad in London during Fall term, and before leaving, I got a nice Canon DSLR so that I could document my trip. I took an obscene amount of pictures there, including a lot of land- and cityscapes. While I am entranced by the beauty of nature or of a thriving city, my favorite subject matter will always be people. I am very excited to get back to my portrait work in the studio.

View of Windsor Great Park and Windsor Castle

From atop Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland

While in London, I also had an internship with DegreeArt.com, a gallery that promotes and sells work from art students and recent graduates. It taught me a lot about the inner workings of an art gallery and the art world as a whole.

I have dabbled with other mediums at Lawrence (mainly because I had to for my major), such as ceramics and drawing, but I always end up back with my cameras. However, I do have multiple creative outlets. My creative energy as of right now will be going towards my capstone, random fun with my DSLR and other cameras, practicing guitar and occasionally piano, my art therapy coloring book, my Wreck This Journal, and my regular journal.

If you made it to the end of this lengthy post, I congratulate you.

Congrats

Monday, January 5, 2015

Diana F+ (2012)





A collection of personal photos taken with my lomography Diana F+ camera.

What Should I Do? (2013)








A selection of prints from my final project for ART 230 (Beginning Photography)
Subjects were brought to an open snowy space and told to do whatever they wanted

Feelings™ (2013)




ART 110 thematic sketchbook, logos for feelings