Blog # 3_ Chuck Close

Chuck Close



Big Self-Portrait, 1967-68.
Acrylic on canvas.
107 1/2 x 83 1/2" (273 x 212 cm).

So I know that this is not actually a photo. And if this post is not okay then I wil do another. But I thought it would be interesting to show Chuck Close because of his photorealism. It is amazing to me how he takes a photo, uses the grid system in a completely innovating way and creted paintings that are so "photo realistic".

In this painting the point of view, how LARGE this is, the contrast, the shallow depth of field( I say it's shallow because not everything in the face is focused, there is some out of focus), and the choice to do this is black and white are the most important features of this image.

People use the grid system all the time, but I think the reason why his use of it is so innovating is how he does it and the product that comes out of it and ho he makes it look so much like a photograph. They are so large and the time and effort that goes into each tiny square of the grid that he fills in makes it so worth it. I think he chooses to do them so large because it is a portrait. This is who he is, take it or leave it. It shows every part of him in the most personal way. Its intimate and beautiful. I feel this is true with all of his portraits whether it is the photorealism or any of his other style. The size is what makes it jaw dropping.


Here is the Link to the website I got the image from:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1998/close/images/close_self_68.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1998/close/&usg=__2fKc9ZL06B0LuWG1Zf3SXFjiF-g=&h=339&w=264&sz=19&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=CNs411FsTd8tvM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchuck%2Bclose%2Bself%2Bportrait%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DcKt%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1

Blog Entry # 2_Myra Greene

(click photo and it will bring to website)
http://www.flakphoto.com/archives/6333_1646490288/297234

Blog Entry # 2
Myra Greene
Untitled, Rochester, New York, 2006 — from the series Character Recognition

Ambrotype on black glass, 3x4"
An Ambrotype is when the photographer creates a positive image on a sheet of
glass using some kind of wet plate process.

SUBJECT MATTER: lower half of face, focus on lips

FORM: black and white, shallow depth of field(not everything is in focus), high contrast, a lot of texture in the skin and mouth. Even though it is a small image the face takes up such a large portion of the frame it looks like it is large scale.

****NOTE - For some reason the photo is being cropped right now when the image is posted. There is a little more out of focus on the right hand side which makes the image a little more square***

INTERPRETATION: Because this photograph is very up close and personal with the face it feels like it is asking a question of, "who am I" or "how do people see me". Now to be honest, I read a little about this series before I wrote my interpretation, which now knowing I should have done the opposite. I like oming up with the idea on my own, then reading what it is about and seeing if I was close. A photograph should speak for itself somehow, whether I agree with the photographer or not. I like coming up with my own opinion before I read about it. Anyway. In the passage the Greene wrote about this series was how she has been confronted with bigotry all her life, she wanted to see how people really saw African Americans. What about the features makes them who they are. Why is it that all people see are the features and the color of the skin and not anything else. I think this makes perfect sense when looking at this photo, it is so close and the depth of field makes us focus even more on the lips. If you look at the whole series Greene sections off different parts of the body...the ears, the teeth, the lips, the eyes...She makes them look more like objects rather than part of the body.
To me this is a very interesting way of looking at the body. The fact that it is in black and white also enhances the idea of being black/white.

I went home this weekend and sat down with my 13 year old sister who was really excited to see what I was doing in my classes so I asked her to help me pick out a photographer and photograph so I can analyze the image. We were searching for a long time until we both spotted this image at the same time, pointed to the screen and said "this is the one!" There is something about this photo that drew us toward it. The beauty of how it was frames, the detail and the contrast lured us in and made us both want to know more about it. Of course she got bored and didnt help me analyse (haha) but that's 13 for you. I feel like I should move away from the body images a little and step into something out of my comfort zone. That will be my goal for my next analysis. I'll maybe even throw some color in there!

Blog Entry # 1_Patrick Demarchelier

Blog Entry # 1
Artist: Patrick Demarchelier
Title: Julio Bocca
(I can not find a size of the image from multiple sites I have checked...)
http://www.demarchelier.net/studio/dance11_00hb/f_dancemain.html

Analysis
Subject: Grounded fist and foot

Form:
Black and White
Close up(macro maybe?)
Intense contrast of dark and light,
Asymmetrical
Balance b/w positive and negative space.

Interpretation
The image creates a feeling more than a meaning. The strength of the body and the composure of the body. It is also a play on they eyes, seeing the fist and the foot next to each other knowing that this normally is not seen in this way. I feel as though the photographer is trying to create a play on words in a way. Which is stronger, the hands or feet? Which create that more emotion. Both are used for such different things, yet are both so powerful. Or this photo could just be a straight forward interpretation of movement. Seeing the other photo's that Demarchelier has in his website, the section I looked at the msot was all about dance and movement. This photo was one of the few that was close up and personal, not seeing the face of the daner. Which is another reason why I think it is about more than just movement, but power and control.

I think Demarchelier's use of black and white and using this kind of lighting which creates such intense contrast of light and dark creates a strong emotion and a feeling of power. The way the hands and feet are positioned in the frame; they are so close up and detailed that you can see the veins and the strain on the body parts, which adds to the drama. It is a beautiful, simple composition that seems straight forward but is an image I can look at for hours and still be intrigued...probably more than that :)