Self-Portrait as Ansel Adams

Cindy Sherman is the master at making "self-portraits" that aren't self-portraits. She uses her own person to portray iconic and not-so-iconic figures from American culture. I was recently given an assignment to create a piece in the spirit of Sherman, yet the piece should be somewhat relevant to my own practice. Since I dable in landscape photography, who better than Ansel Adams to use as my persona? After all, he is probably the most iconic figure in photography. One of my professors (who also happens to be the resident photo. historian at Columbia College) says that he gets a book of Ansel Adams' photographs every Christmas from someone in his family. He's a photo historian, right? So he's bound to be into Adams! Another interesting thing...I tend to be "behind the times" when it comes to my thinking and interests. At my review in the fall I told the faculty that I'm greaty inspired by Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Well, supposedly one of the faculty exclaimed "Thoreau? He's so OLD." Haha. This is another reason why I find the old man beard so fitting. I may be "young" on the exterior, but supposedly I'm a crusty old man inside.

Robert Adams write up in the NY Times

Robert Adams has a new book out called "Turning Back" that traces the course of the Lewis and Clark expedition. A show for this new work just closed in New York and Michael Kimmelman of the NY times has a write up of the Adams' work on the Times website. The title of the article is "Picturing the West: Scarred, Flawed, Beautiful." Adams shows us that people do belong in the landscape (much like Colorado photographer Eric Paddock). However, he also shows us the negative consequences of people being in the land and the marks that we leave upon it. Apparently Lewis may have committed suicide after the expedition. It's understandable how such a burden could bring one down. I must confess that I am a big fan of Adams. He shows us what remains, the damage that has been, and is always reminding us that we can do better. The American wilderness is still out there...not as a seperate entity, but as a partner. There is a symbiotic relationship between people and the land that they live upon. We depend on it and it depends on us. Adams is truly a prophet and we have much to learn from his vision.

Christina Craigo

Christina Craigo was part of a group exhibition in Cleveland during the summer of 2004 called The Buddha project. This exhibition featured contemporary western artists who were dealing with some aspect of Buddhism in their work. In the spring of 2005 I wrote a paper dealing with the issue of Buddhism in contemporary art and Christina Craigo was included in my paper. She makes these angelic sculptures out of simple materials that radiate with beauty. The title of her body of work is Ordinary Glory, which is such a fitting title. You can check out her website here and see for yourself.

Back to Work

 

 

 
The semester is back in full swing and that means new pictures. These three images were made during January and February, and though I'm not completely sure what to make of them, I'm excited about the direction that they are going in.

I'm continuing my exploration of outdoor places in the urban environment, yet I'm not going to think about the content for a while. My goal is to make a lot of work and to let the content develop organically. My love for photography and art is basic: I love being outside, walking and exploring. I love natural light and the way it provides a completely different palette depending on the time of day, year, and weather. Art theory and criticism is not what gets me out there. These basic principals will lead me to deeper meaning.