New Book

On Christmas i received a gift card to Barnes and Nobles so decided to buy a book that was on my Amazon wishlist, I got Ed Ruscha "Photography" book. It is a nice book for its value but was somewhat disappointed on the size of the images in the book, i do wish they would have been a bit bigger. The read is quiet pleasant and interesting on how a skilled artist used photography to create his art. Over all the book seem like a good value for its price but if your like me you want a big bang for you buck none the less im am pleased to have this book in my collection.

Larry Sultan

I just found out that Larry Sultan passed away a few weeks ago. I had known who he was but did not look into him to much. One series he did that i found intriguing was "The Valley". To some it up in as little word possible, it was behind the scenes of adult movies scenes and sets.

More than Just Music

Im not a huge fan of Linkin Park but like them enough to listen to once in a while. A friend of mine had showed me the work of one of the singers but did not really have much time to look into it on a greater level. After examining his work and watching videos of him explain his work i was drawn into the whole concept he is dealing with.

project 2

Well im done color correcting my images to the best of my ability, im sure they are still somewhat off. My original plan was to put them in a book but i could not find a book to my liking, so for now they will jut be prints. Hopefully i can find a book before Tuesday.

Took a chance....

So today I decided to try and get back on track with my final project and scanned my images. I was debating on going to class or not because i had to scan my film so i can start working on my images. Not knowing if it was lecture or lab i asked 3 people but they also didnt know, funny thing was that those 3 people also did not go to class. Later on I was told i missed a quiz, sucks for me. Well at least i was able to scan my images and make my contact sheets and this time I will have more stuff to present kyle for the process part of the project.

The Ruff Start To My Project

So these are a few images of what i started off shooting. At first the empty space is what caught my attention but I felt the way i was shooting was not getting to the point I was trying to get at. One other thing that was out of my control where subtle things in the images like cars parked in the parking spots and signs on the buildings that where getting cut off.

Project Duce Progression

Originally when i talked to Kyle I wanted to do something with the abandoned space in mini shopping malls because of the space they are creating in the building. For some reason I am always attracted to buildings and architecture maybe because they are anchored to that location or what i like to call an immovable object, even though there are exceptions.

As i started shooting for this project i did not feel satisfied with the images i was acquiring. At the same times i was taking images of areas i believed held a presences of an individual that was no longer there. Still I did not feel satisfied with the idea so I took a few days off to focus on my experimental project and try to come back with a fresh perspective.

When I came back to the project I came up with a new idea simply by coincidence from a previous picture i had taken that was on the previous roll of film i had shot. This project will be discussed in a later blog with images to show my progression.

(Images to be posted later)

The Rape of Europa

I had heard a lot about this movie but kept forgetting to look it up. So this week I came across a copy of it and watched it. I kind of knew what its was about but had no idea the scale of it. It is a length movie on how the Nazi party went on acquiring and destroying art from Europe and all the ramification it caused.

David Choe

This video is an interesting approach on how artist go about talking about there work they create and how they go about looking for work.

Wanna Buy Art

I was lurking around on the web and stumbled across a website i had totally forgotten about. It is a website that allows you to buy art at a reasonable cost but there a catch to it. The cheaper it is the more prints are in the edition and the more expensive it is the less there are. I see it as a good way of seeing what other artist are doing and what type of things people that are purchasing are into. Plus as an artist or individuals in the art scene who wouldnt want to purchase art. www.20x200.com

Robert Polidori

So while looking up another artist i came across Robert Polidori. He is an architectural photographer and is considered to be one of the leading photographers in this field by Edwynn Houk Gallery. Two bodies of works that caught my attention were the aftermath of both KATRINA and CHERNOBYL. He has several books published and looking forward to purchasing a few.

Adding to the Collection

In seminar we came across an artist, James Fee, that caught my attention due to his dramatic printing quality. I decided to purchase his book which i found on amazon for 20 bucks. I just received it today and was surprised on the size of the book. I was expecting a small book but actually received a large book and was worth every penny spent. Im looking forward to reading it and examine the images even more.

Csulb Galleries

Today before my first class i had some time to kill so i decides to go to the galleries on campus. Knowing it was Monday i knew a new show would be up which made it more interesting.The first one i walked into was the Merlino Gallery that i call the small room. The video in that show is what called my attention. The second one i walked into was the one right across from it. I was very amazed on the size of the prints and could only imagine how much time it took the artist to complete all 7 pieces. The last and final gallery i walked into was the large gallery which contained work from csulb instructors. Over all i think it was one of the best gallery showing i have sen in a while were every galley entertained me in a different way. It was to much for me to see in the little amount of time i had so i must make a second trip to enjoy it any further.

Polaroid

So on Veterans day i had my first experience with polaroid film. I went shooting for another project and started thinking about what to shoot for the final but took Denise with me. She wanted to know how to shoot with a 4x5 and I did not mind the company. She took some of her equipment and just my luck it was a medium format mamiya with a polaroid back. She showed me how the film worked and how to load the film. Funny thing is that the first picture didnt come out, cant tell you why but it looked interesting. The second picture came out better but it was overexposed. I never really shot with a medium format but looks like im gonna be in the market for one.

Mister Cartoon

So if you know about music, like lowriders or into urban art im sure you have heard about Mister Cartoon. He has pretty much become the tattooist to the stars. I found this video on him through other linx i was looking at and found it interesting how he described the canvas he works on. He also describes his struggles and what it takes to become a successful artist.

Beate Gutschow

I wish i could have found this artist before the mid-term and maybe it could have helped my project to the point were at least i would be satisfied with it. Beate is an artist who works with compositing landscapes. Im not sure or know his methods of working but tends to print large. At first glance i could not put my finger on what was going on with the images until i asked Mark about it. It was his class and book where i found out about Beate.

BCAM

So on monday i went over to lacma to check out the new exhibit, seeing it was a furlough day. I decided to start off at the bottom of the building because i wanted to see the Richard Serra pieces. I saw one then moved on to the next which i spent more time on. This second piece allowed you to walk through it rather than around it like the other one. I wanted to spend more time with this piece because last time i saw it i started to get a variety of emotions and ideas i did not get to complete. One reason was the person i was with was not making the experience fun and the second was because of time issues. One feeling i was getting while walking through this piece was vertigo mainly because the walls were slanted and curved . Seeing it was a Monday and it looked pretty slow i decided to stay in the piece so i found a spot and sat in it for about 10 mins. About 8 mins into it the security guard came in and asked me if i was ok because he saw me walk in but did not see me walk out. I told him yes and then he moved on as if nothing had happend.

Frame work

So i got a copy of Contacts Vol. 3 and was watching it when i came across John Hillard. He had several new approaches to an idea that was presented in crit. on Thursday.

Warhol inc.

Just finished reading an article on Andy Warhol over on the ArtNews website.

It is amazing how one person can change so many things and generate so much buzz. It is an interesting article that include how much his pieces were being sold for if your interested in ever buying a piece.

http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2784

Project 1

I had a real tuff time deciding what to do for this first project. I believe many of us did. Well for this project i decided to do a composite of buildings inspired by two artist Ed Ruscha and Jon Measures who teaches computer art 149. It has been a pain trying to figure all the little thing out but i am almost close to completing the project. Im not completely sure if i am satisfied with it because I came up with new ideas regarding it but might be to late to change. Considering how much free time i have left to work on it I am gonna try my hardest to see if can do these new changes. These two images are work that inspired my project.

Cube's

Well for experimental i had to do a presentation on Sol Lewitt who is known for his wall paintings and cube shaped structures. One thing that really caught my attention while reading through several of his books was that he stressed the idea of understanding an idea to its fullest before actually starting to do any work on it. This is something that many of us dont do. I know I am someone who starts with a rough idea and lets it form while I am working rather than having it planned out.

America's Pass Time

I recently received a book i purchased from Amazon sometime ago. It was a book by David Levinthal titled David Levinthal: Baseball. I found it pleasing how you can do so much in photography using so little. He photographed small baseball figurines in what seemed to be iconic moments in baseball history.

Dinh Q le

This week in seminar one artist that we talked about was Dinh Q le. His method of printing and manipulation of the images he uses is what caught my attention the most. Dont get me wrong his subject matter is filled with a lot of content that people can talk for hours about but found his final presentation amazing. He used the technique of weaving to physical combine his images. Even though the weaving process is a very old technique it gave a sense of pixelation which is very current with digital images.

Lighting experience

So the other day Manny asked me to help him out with some studio work. Seeing that i have not had studio yet i jumped on the opportunity after he offered to buy me lunch. He pretty much gave me a crash course within an hour then one thing we did not go over was the boom. One thing i gained from it was a new understanding of what light can do. It is somewhat intimidating at first but you get comfortable with it pretty quick just like everything else. Just like in the darkroom you can really lose track of time and get lost in your work.

Upperplayground

So i stumbled across another video where an artist is doing something to try and help out a drifter. I am guessing it is a series of videos this gallery that is associated with Upperplayground is doing. it is interesting on how the drifter opens up and tell his life story with being hesitant about it.

USUGROW

For year i have been attracted to Usugrow's work but never could see myself doing something with such high contrast till our first project. He is a Japanese painter with a style streets style or at least thats how others describe it as. He has been involved in many projects along with designing shoes for vans, skateboards for several companies, along with making album and lp covers but his primary work revolves around paintings and prints.

On Campus gallery visit

So i had a few minutes to kill before i went to talk to kyle about my project so i went to see the galleries on campus and as surprised to see what i saw. There was one gallery that was show Black and white prints by Michelle Rogers Pritzl which i found to be something interesting due to the fact that they were all full frame prints. One image in particular that really caught my eye was the one which contained a ladder in a hallway. Even thought it was a bit to much contrast for my taste there is something magical about the lighting in the image.

Inspiring Video

I was looking around on youtube about videos that might help me come up with an idea for my digital photo project and came across this video. It is about a painter named David Choong Lee, who is sponsored by a gallery based out of San Francisco called UpperPlayground, who does something real special for a drifter.

What do you do with stolen art?

I was sadden and surprised to have read this article about Warhol's painting. Sadden because who know what is going to happen to those silk-screen paintings. Surprised because we as CSULB student had at chance to view them in our very own school museum. Im not sure if it was those exact same ones or if he only made one of each but i do remember seeing OJ, Pele, and Dorothy Hamill. One question that comes to mind about stolen art is what do you do with it? How can the new owner appreciate it knowing its

stolen?http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090912/ap_en_ot/us_stolen_warhols