squirrel monkey
Friday, February 6, 2009

JR's beautiful photography

This image is incredibly powerful to me in that the artist "JR" put the eyes and faces of women on the side of the favella (a community or city in Rio de Janiero) creating a powerful image and a powerful statement. In the artist's words "To pay tribute to those who play an essential role in society, but who are the victims of war, crime, rape, or political and religious fanaticism... women." These women's eyes have been integrated right onto the side of the building structures- homes. Allowing their gaze to permeate the community and to acknowledge that they are a strong part of the community that has been abused in various manner and can no longer be overlooked. My exposure to the images was through the magazine Juxtapoz- which I love and can't wait for the next issue.
Posted by Lawrence M. szalay at 2:04 PM 0 comments

Do we live in a theocracy?

I took this photo in front of the Statehouse in 2003 during a Constitutional Convention of the Massachusetts legislature. Same-sex couples had recently been granted the right to marry in Massachusetts–the first state in the country to do so–via the Goodrich decision that had been handed down by the Supreme Judicial Court. Opponents of equal marriage rights were trying to get a question on the 2004 state ballot to amend the constitution. If passed, the amendment would strictly define “marriage” as an institution held between “one man and one woman.” While the legislature met to decide whether to allow a question on the 2004 ballot pertaining to amending the constitution, hundreds of same-sex marriage supporters and opponents gathered inside and outside the statehouse to let their voices be heard. I stumbled upon this man as I was documenting this historical event via photographs. This photo captures how some misuse religion to oppress (or try to oppress) others. He is pushing the bible in my face; his expression is smug. He, and what he represented, scared me. This photo (although not my best, as it is fuzzy) is important to me because it reaffirms the importance of the strict separation of church and state. (by Sharon Winston)

Chewbacca Throws 1st Pitch at Red Sox Game

This photo of Chewbacca (copyright: Boston Globe) is very important to me because I set up the media event back in September 2005.  It was my first large public relations campaign that I handled on my own for the Museum of Science in Boston.  Ironically, I had never see a Star Wars film prior to my work on the Star Wars exhibit for the Museum.  I researched Chewbacca costumes and purchased this one.  One of the exhibit designers, Mike Horvath, is the person wearing the costume.  Before the pitch, I brushed him out and hair sprayed the fur into place. Most importantly to me, this photo made headlines around the world and was the most downloaded photo of all time on Yahoo (in 2005, it may have changed over the years)!  I also won a Bell Ringer award from the New England Publicity Club for my work with this event.  This photo gave me a place in PR history and I'm very proud of it. 

Copters and Soldiers

This image of a black military helicopter in the air dropping something and a soldier running on a red/sandy ground came from the New York Times. Week in Review section on January 25, 2009. The image accompanied an article with a byline of “Obama’s War – Fearing Another Quagmire” and is about troops in Afghanistan.
But the image could be set anywhere.

Typical media images are sharp and locate the contents to a specific place, people, country, or action. This image is blurry and yet we can still make out the contents. Because of its unspecificity, we don’t know which war, where it is taking place, yet we still get the gist; the image itself has become an icon.

When I first looked at this image, I was surprised that it was printed intentionally blurry. One doesn’t expect that in a newspaper Why did I notice it, I wondered. I realized it was precisely because it was blurry, it caught my eye. By this point in my life, I have seen dozens of images of helicopters and soldiers -in fact, I’ve become immune to them - and yet I wanted to read the article that accompanied this one. Why?

Typical images of war in the media are strong, hard-hitting, gut wrenching images of specific people, refugees, war torn towns and homes, destruction and fire. While informing us, these images have also made us become numb to the effects of war. Because it is not happening near us, or to anyone we know, these images have depersonalized war and its victims. Most of us don’t know what it feels like to be a victim of war. We are safe in the U.S. it seems for now, from our homes being bombed, our children taken away, death, and the destruction of our families and our livelihood.

The media inadvertently does a disservice in reporting about all the different wars in so many locations around the world, with the objective of informing us and engaging us to outrage. War images in media become synthesized as one “war” image in the viewer’s mind. These images become iconic, for we no longer have to think about their origin, specifics, and relevance. I wonder then, do iconic images still engage? Do specific destruction war images with pictures of victims engage ? If helicopter and soldiers are common and iconic, does the form of presentation of the image (ie, blurry and arty) engage? Did this image engage me as an artist first because it is beautiful, moody, and blurry?

As a final thought, I want to contrast the very powerful emotion that I still feel, looking at the image of the naked girl child running from the bomb blast during the Vietnam War. I’m sure most of you have seen this image at some point. This image, although specific, is also iconic, but it has retained its emotion and its significance as a reminder of that war, its effects and its folly.

by aparna

An image by Harry Callahan

Fire Sale at Brandeis (Rose Art Museum)

The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University will be closing its doors. According to the Boston Globe:

Rocked by a budget crisis, Brandeis University will close its Rose Art Museum and sell off a 6,000-object collection that includes work by such contemporary masters as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Nam June Paik.

The phrase "cutting the arts" isn't nearly descriptive enough. I think "erasing" is a better word.
Here's the Globe to the January 26, 2009 article by Jacob Berkman
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/01/26/brandeis_to_sell_schools_art_collection/

The director, Michael Rush has curated some amazing new media and multidisciplinary exhibits. He has also written the book we are using in our Power of the Image class, New Media In Art. He has written a response to the closing of the museum, and here is a quote:

"Art cannot be treated as a liquid asset. Seeking a solution to dire financial difficulties by selling precious art that was given (or bought) in the deepest trust between donors and the university (via the museum) is an aberration. History will record this as a desperate action that flies in the face of all intellectual and ethical standards. "

You can sign a petition sponsored by "Concerned Alumni of Brandeis" at
ttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/in-opposition-to-the-closing-of-the-rose-art-museum

Also of note: the museum is open until April 4, 2009. For more info, here are visiting hours and information:

http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/visitus/hours.html

Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday Noon to 5pm
Thursday Noon to 8pm
Friday Noon to 5pm
Saturday Noon to 5pm
Sunday Noon to 5pm

Admission

Entry to the museum is free for members, senior citizens, children under 12, present and former students of Brandeis, and all other students with a valid I.D. For all other guests there is $3 fee.

-sam smiley

PAPAPAPA

Today we will be looking at filmmaker Alex Rivera's video, PAPAPAPÁ. This is an experimental documentary about his father, and his relation to his land of birth, Peru, and life in the United States. He uses stop motion animation, humor, and family footage to weave a tale of pop culture, potatoes, immigration, and assimilation.
From his web site: " Papapapá examines how bodies (people and vegetable) are remade within the new societies they encounter."

His web site (showing this and his other productions) is http://www.alexrivera.com