Ansel Adams

Since photography is my “thing”, I thought I’d take a moment to write about an idol of mine, a man that developed a style of black and white photography that has been unmatched by any other photographers since.  Ansel Adams is a legend in his depiction of the American west; using filters to give his images a dimension, texture, and meaning ~ photos that are recognizable to this day in reproductions on calendars, posters, and books. 

Adams was born in San Francisco, CA, in 1902, and raised as an only child.  He didn't attend college, in fact his education was a mixture of private schools and home schooling; receiving his diploma after completing the 8^th grade in 1917.  Adams love of photography was born when his father gave him his first camera on a family trip to Yosemite National Park in 1916 ~ a Kodak Brownie box camera which he used to take his first photograph.  He was enthralled by the light in Yosemite, writing “the splendor of Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious… One wonder after another descended upon us… There was light everywhere… A new era began for me.” (1)  Adams expanded upon his photography by acquiring better cameras, a tripod, and learning basic darkroom skills while working part-time for a San Francisco photo finisher. 

Throughout Adams life he honed his photography skills, capturing the beauty of the American west in black and white and gaining notoriety and praise from esteemed artists worldwide.  While Adams did branch into color photography, he didn't enjoy it as much as black and white, feeling he didn't have as much control while shooting in color and that color was distracting to the artist. 

Yosemite Falls 1953
Yosemite National Park

When I look at Adams work, I see beauty in his color photography.  His landscape pictures are what I seek to capture; the blues in the water, red in the sunsets, snow-capped mountain peaks.  But his black and white photos are mesmerizing.  The way he is able to capture so much focus in his depth of field while seizing the many tones of black and white have establish him as a master of his craft.  Most people think it’s easy to capture a shot in black and white but it’s actually quite hard.  When you take out color, you really have to strive to have texture and depth in your photography.  You have to be aware of your exposure time, your depth of field, how the light is playing off the object and how to capture that light to highlight the essence of a scene.  Adams not only achieved perfection in his black and white photography, he set a standard for all photographers to work towards.  It is something I am conscious of when I look at my black and white shots ~ and it is something that is extremely difficult to accomplish.  But it does give me something to shoot towards!

Mt. McKinley and Wonder Lake 1947
Gelatin Silver Print
40 in. x 48 12 in.

Tetons and Snake River 1942
Gelatin Silver Print
15 38 in. x 19 38 in.

Work Cited:
(1) Ansel Adams. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams

James Turrell

James Turrell was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943.  He studied psychology and mathematics at Pomona College, but ended up earning a MFA from the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California.  Turrell centers his work in exploring light and space, speaking to his viewers with a spiritual awakening.  By utilizing his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusion, his work seeks to allow his viewers to see themselves “seeing”.  He accomplishes this in the use of artificial and natural light within the space which enable the viewer to become one with the space.  You are no longer space yourself, but instead one with your surroundings in a realm of pure existence.  You are part of a sunset of color that spans the light spectrum; from bright pinks, to sky blues; from tones in violet, to the deep reds of a fire. 

 His installment at the rotunda of the Guggenheim in 2013 has transformed the organic, curvilinear space into a space that changes from tones of blue, to shades of violet.  The viewer is placed in the space, giving a surreal experience as they intermingle with the color that’s surrounds you. 

Aten Reign, 2013

James Turrell

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC, NY

He also creates geometric spaces such as The Light Side, by placing the viewer in a corridor of color that flows towards the background.  The viewer can walk through the space of blue, violet, or red and find themselves at a spot where you are among the bracket of the piece.  So I wonder what the focal point of the space is.  Is it the space in general?  Or the tone of color placed at the end?  Is it the person who has walked through, bracketing them so they become the focal point while the space becomes the background?  I don’t think I’d know until I can place myself within those brackets… maybe it’s different for each person.

The Light Inside, 1999

James Turrell

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

James Turrell - Roden Crater

James Turrell was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943. He studied Pomona College in psychology and mathematics, but ended up earning a MFA from the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California. Turrell centers his work in exploring light and space, speaking to his viewers with a spiritual awakening. By utilizing his studies in perceptual psychology and optical illusion, Turrell work seeks to allow his viewers to see themselves “seeing”.

I became intrigued in Turrell’s work when I saw that his objective is to place viewers in a realm of pure existence, and he accomplishes this task with his use of light within the space. His work seems to span the light spectrum, from bright pinks, to sky blues; from tones in violet, to the deep reds of a fire. His work gives me the feeling of a sunset, with all the glorious colors that one can experience for that brief moment of time. While he has many pieces of work that illuminate color and light within a space, I became awestruck when I stumbled upon Roden Crater. Roden Crater isn’t your typical piece of art, instead it is a monumental structure that Turrell started in 1972, and is still working on it today. Sitting on the southwestern edge of the Painted Desert in Northern Arizona, from the exterior it looks like a mound in the desert, albeit a big mound in the desert. Within this crater, Turrell has constructed a series of chambers, pathways, tunnels and openings which will allow the viewers to enter and experience celestial events with their naked eye. Depending on where you are within the structure, you can either witness the beauty of the sun as it rises, or the sun as it sets. You can witness the illumination of the night sky, and measure time by the movement and shifting of the constellations. Roden Crater’s objective is to give the ability to see the sky and time, not represent it. Which in turn gives the viewer the ability to experience our understanding of the universe, and ponder our place within it.

Crater's Eye

Roden Crater

East Portal - Inside

East Portal - Outside

North Space (under construction)

South Space (under construction)

Alpha East Portal

Sun/ Moon Chamber

Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in December of 1941. He received his MFA from the University of California for his work in film products after studying physics, mathematics and art at the University of Wisconsin in the early 60’s. Nauman creates his work by using science and technology, and sees his work as more of an activity and less of a product.  While Nauman has worked in a multitude of mediums, it’s his use of lighting either to create or within his pieces that captivated me.

In this day and age, neon lights are everywhere; advertising any and everything available to a society. Nauman has taken the neon media and placed it back where it originally came from ~ sex. Neon sold sex; from the fluid movement of the images of girls dancing on poles, to the words “SEX” illuminating in the dark; sex was advertised and sold by the bright flashing lights dancing in the dark. Nauman has utilized neon tubing in his naturalistic representations of the male nude in various sexual positions in his Mindfuck exhibition. Between the erotic action of the piece, and the enormous size, the viewer is engulfed in the sexual act before them. Sex and Death/ Double ‘69’ has a staccato action playing out in front of the viewer, with each portion of the male nude engaging in a homosexual act with another male. While the pictures placed online only portray the piece in a 2D version, I can imagine that viewing the piece in person could be quite erotic to some, and uncomfortable to others.








Sex and Death/ Double '69', 1985
Neon tubing on aluminum monolith 227 x 134.8 x 34 cm / 89 3/8 x 53 1/8 x 13 3/8 in
Private Collection. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth









While I enjoyed the work that Nauman created using the neon tubing, I’d have to say my favorite piece of his is Green Light Corridor. This piece is very minimalistic, by illuminating a brilliant green color onto the interior walls of the piece. There is very little space between the walls, but the viewer is able to squeeze themselves into the piece, becoming one with the work. I’d imagine that each viewer would be able to take something different away just by placing themselves inside of the work. Does the constricting space minimize you? Does it make you feel larger than life? Does it evoke panic or peace? You really wouldn't know until you've put yourself into the space and experienced what your mind and soul speak while you stand there and ponder it.

Green Light Corridor), 1971
Wallboard, green fluorescent lights
10 x 40 x 1 ft.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Panza Collection, Gift, 1992

Maya Lin

Maya Lin was born in Athen, Ohio in 1959, and studied architecture and sculpture at the prestigious Yale University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in 1986.  While a student, Lin submitted a minimalistic design into a national contest for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that was being built in Washington, DC.  Though her design was quite controversial due to the material and color it was picked as the winner!  Since then, she has worked on monuments and pieces placed in parks around the nation giving individuals a place to seek out memorial within the landscape that surrounds. 

The piece for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial portrays this landscape use around it, as you can see when you view the piece from above.  The landscape is level to the top of the wall, which forces the observer to step down into the piece.  To me this portrays a metaphoric meaning of the piece, aligning it with a low time for our country; sullen, depressing, and horrific.  But Lin uses the beauty of the material to pair it with the beauty of the landscape, beauty that was present in the souls of the lives that were lost.  Lin’s piece for the Vietnam Veterans memorial is quite large scale, not only horizontally but also vertically.  The piece is comprised of a long, rectilinear gabbro wall that consists of two 246 ft. 9 in. sections, and stands at 10.1 ft. at its highest peak, tapering down to 8 in. at the ends.  The geometric shape is constructed of a black, reflective stone which shows the viewer their reflection as they view the names of the servicemen who lost their lives.  I would imagine that standing in front of the piece would bring a cloud of sorrow, not only from what the names etched into the stone represent, but also due to the amount of names etched that would create a wall so vast in size.  Each name represents someone that lost their life in the war, which would become more ominous to the viewer as you walk through passing name after name.  This piece represents a sorrowful day in our nation’s history, and the way Lin is able to connect the viewer to the sorrow that happened so long ago makes this memorial powerful while giving beauty to the lives etched in stone. 

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1982

Stone

493 ft. 6 in. x 10.1 ft. (highest peak)

Washington, DC

Body Project Artists Journal Entry

1.  Jana Sterbak

Remote Control I and Remote Control II show Sterbak’s interest in the body and how you can restrict a female while taking away her power.  Created in the form of an 1800’s crinoline, the piece holds the female in a rigid position where she is suspended while her feet can’t touch the ground.  The piece is placed on wheels with a remote that guides the piece and the wearer around a space.  By placing yourself into the piece you are giving up control of yourself to whomever holds the remote.

Remote Control II

2.  Matthew Barney

Barney created a series called CREMASTER cycle; an 8 year project documenting his artist exploration of cremation.  Using video, Barney perfects the sculpture position, lighting, size and shape; documenting the transformation he has created to his body and others for the end product of sculpture.  His use of the body involves dressing it in clothing appropriate to the vision of the person as well as morphing the face into creatures that resemble anything from mythical to an animal.  The people as props range from a Satan to a female cheetah, dressed to covered nakedness, erasing of the genitalia, or just projecting the genitalia into something different.  His work was pretty creepy to me with a surreal and eerie feeling, almost demonic.

CREMASTER 5   

3.  Janine Antoni

Antoni is a contemporary artist who has been known to use parts of her body as tools in the creation of her work.  In her past pieces, she’s used her eyelashes, mouth, hair, and even her brain with the use of technological scanning.  Her piece Butterfly Kisses was comprised by using her eyelashes as the tool, fluttering mascara marks onto a canvas in an abstract pattern.  In Loving Care she uses her hair as her tool, dipping it into a bucket of Loving Care black hair dye and mopping the gallery floor from her hands and knees creating more of a performance art.  Her pieces convey power, femininity, and an abstract form, but you can definitely say it’s not static.

Butterfly Kisses

4.  Paul Thek

Paul Thek explores the body in his work by creating hyper realistic body parts out of wax.  His pieces in Relics consist of cast versions of his own body parts, such as an arm, encased in Plexiglas.  Thek also created pieces that resembled the body from the inside like organs or muscle.  My thoughts on Thek’s work is that he was trying to show the healthiness of the body ~ parts that weren't sick from the AIDS disease that attributed to his death.  I think he wanted to show himself as more, more than the disease, more than the artist.  A person with individual limbs that were strong and healthy, and organs that could sustain the disease, even as they weren't sustaining him within his own body.

Warrior's Arm

5.  Robert Gober

Like Thek, Robert Gober is known to replicate body parts for his installations.  His realistic representation of the male leg shows the leg, typically protruding from a solid space such as a wall lying on the ground with the foot pointed up.  The leg is created from beeswax, with a pant leg that partially covers the leg enabling you to still see the sock and leg hair that is created from real human hair.  As a final touch to the leg, Gober places a shoe on the foot, a dressier style shoe worn in a professional setting.  Opposite to his leg installations, the work that includes the male torso is more random.  In the leg installations, the leg always has a sock and shoe placed on them, and almost always has a pant leg (the exception is Untitled (Man Coming out of a Woman), where the leg is between a woman’s thighs, alluding to it coming from the womb).  Sometimes the torso is covered in clothing (pants, socks, and shoes), and sometimes it’s not.  The solid space the torso protrudes from can be a wall, antique sink, even a bathtub with the knees bent and the feet resting on the bottom.  While Gober does have other pieces of work showing other parts of the body, I felt that his work with the leg was something that he recreated over and over.   

Untitled (Man Coming out of Woman)

Rebecca Horn

Rebecca Horn is a German Visual Artists who attended the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts for one year, pulling herself out when she came down with a severe case of lung poisoning due to working without a mask.  While in recovery, she lost both her parents causing her to feel isolated, and due to her weakened state had to change the medium that she produced her art in.  The shift in her art resulted in Horn turning to creating sculptures using cloth and balsa wood, and started producing pieces that helped her explore her surroundings while bedridden.  These sculptures became what she is best known for ~ extensions of the body.  In addition, her isolation pushed her into creating cocoon like sculptures, exploring the way she fit within the space that was around her.  It’s said that she may have also needed an outlet to protect her from bad things around here, hiding herself away in her cocoon. 

White Body Fan, 1972
Fabric and metal

The Feathered Prison Fan, 1978

Feathers around armature











While her pieces are quite interesting, and watching her work with them is truly amazing, I’d have to say I’m drawn to her rendition of her cocoon which represents “images of confinement—cocoons, swaddling, bondage, prostheses”.  The Feathered Prison Fan looks warm and inviting to me, a place to shut out the world.  It seems like a safe place, a quiet place, a place where you can just be within yourself and your own mind and not have to worry about the cold, harsh reality that is outside of the soft feathers.  The light color seems peaceful, like placing yourself inside would be meditative to the mind, body, and soul.  After reading about the life Horn encountered, I can understand why she would want a place that is all hers, a place where no one or nothing can get to her.  And with the daily stresses of life, I too would love a cocoon to crawl into, a place where I can shut the world out and just be.