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Grad Research Artist Statement and New Semester Work Documentation

We tend to view ourselves as superior to animals, but when we develop relationships with companion animals it becomes clear that the notion of human superiority is an illusion. When we sympathize with them, acknowledge human characteristics, and speak to them as we do to other humans, we raise them to the status of people. Personifying animals and befriending them is a normal and natural human characteristic, and one that can be emotionally fulfilling. Perhaps pet keeping makes us more aware of our connection with animals and the natural world, and may help lead us from our delusions of superiority.

Blog 10

Elliott Erwitt

Read an Interview

Bio: Born in Paris in 1928 to Russian parents, Erwitt spent his childhood in Milan, then emigrated to the US, via France, with his family in 1939. As a teenager living in Hollywood, he developed an interest in photography and worked in a commercial darkroom before experimenting with photography at Los Angeles City College. In 1948 he moved to New York and exchanged janitorial work for film classes at the New School for Social Research.

Erwitt traveled in France and Italy in 1949 with his trusty Rolleiflex camera. In 1951 he was drafted for military service and undertook various photographic duties while serving in a unit of the Army Signal Corps in Germany and France.

While in New York, Erwitt met Edward Steichen, Robert Capa and Roy Stryker, the former head of the Farm Security Administration. Stryker initially hired Erwitt to work for the Standard Oil Company, where he was building up a photographic library for the company, and subsequently commissioned him to undertake a project documenting the city of Pittsburgh.

In 1953 Erwitt joined Magnum Photos and worked as a freelance photographer for Collier's, Look, Life, Holiday and other luminaries in that golden period for illustrated magazines. To this day he is for hire and continues to work for a variety of journalistic and commercial outfits.

In the late 1960s Erwitt served as Magnum's president for three years. He then turned to film: in the 1970s he produced several noted documentaries and in the 1980s eighteen comedy films for Home Box Office. Erwitt became known for benevolent irony, and for a humanistic sensibility traditional to the spirit of Magnum.

Exhibitions:

Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA
Art Institute of Chicago, USA
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
New South Wales Museum of Art, Australia
The Barbican, London, UK
Camera Work, Berlin. Germany
NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Germany
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland
Photokina, Cologne, Germany

James A. Michener Museum: Dog Dogs

Review: Nearly every one of the 500 black-and-white pictures in this book is a miraculous blend of composition and content, placing photographer Elliott Erwitt right up there with the other postwar, 20th-century masters of moment and meaning. Erwitt writes in his introduction, "This is not a book of dog pictures but of dogs in pictures." It is the photograph that counts, above and beyond its subject, for the photographer of genius. But Erwitt is bound to be called a sentimentalist because he photographs dogs, whom we, in our species-centric way, tend to think of as, well, animals. If Erwitt proves anything, however, it is that our close relationship with these furry fellow travelers is due to mutual resemblance. There is a Native American myth that when the world was created, a great fissure began to split the earth. Humans were caught on one side of the chasm, animals on the other. The dog, however, seeing the gap widen, leaped across to the human side, where he has been ever since. This book captures the pleasures of our loyal, dependent friends, as well as their sorrows and disappointment when they are forced to adapt to human callousness, neglect, or even love. Erwitt sees the dignity of the ankle-high Chihuahua; the anxiety of the homeless hound; the smugness of the adored dachshund, sitting on its chaise longue in the noonday sun; the patience of the pom-pommed poodle; and the gormless joy of a homely but well-loved pug. In his vast range of emotion, and in his easygoing but precise mastery of the abstract elements of composition, Elliott Erwitt has made himself the Cartier-Bresson of the canine world. --Peggy Moorman (Amazon.com)

Blog 9

• Did anyone critique your work this week? If so, what were their impressions?

not yet, but there are images on my blog entitled "the suckage." which are open for critique.

• What was the most motivational or creative moment of the past week?

the anticipation of photographing snake lady.

• What do you want to achieve in next week's studio practice?

start printing and nail down what i want from my subjects.

• What did you achieve in your studio this past week?

i did photograph however, i shot images of my pets. i can't get away from it. which isn't helping me in the long run. i need to get more comfortable with strangers.

• What has been an artistic failure this week?

not being comfortable to tell my subjects what to do. its not pleasant for me to dictate strangers.

• What was the most profound thought in relation to your practice this week?

i'm stuck trying to make the images my subjects want, that i can't get the images i want. or maybe its so ingrained in me to make these cliched images due to societal influences. how do i break free from that?

• If there was a visiting artist this week, what is your impression of their work and process in relation to your own?

N/A

the suckage

Blog 8

Isabella Rozendaal
website
Bio: Born April 9th 1983 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Dutch/Brazilian Nationality, based in Amsterdam
Just graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts, Isabella studied photography with an emphasis on advertising and fashion.
However, she mostly enjoys photographing the remarkable and humorous things she encounters in real life, sometimes
expanding her fascination into substantial documentary projects. Although she has an awareness of and love for the
aesthetics of photography, conveying her wonder and surprise at the world is her main objective.

Explanation: This collection of images by Dutch photographer Isabella Rozendaal attempts to capture the bizarre and touching way that humans express their love for their animals. Long-haired dogs with braids and barrettes, sedated and post-op cats, retired show animals, horses with mouths bloodied by the bit and stuffed taxidermist's specimens all feature here.
Her book On Loving Animals
Interview: Its in Dutch, unfortunately. All her reviews, etc. are in Dutch. :-/
http://www.hetgesprek.nl/archief/1409/

Gallery Rep: http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/

Barwood Grad Research Assignment: Discussion ?s on Article

What kind of effect does our perception of animal consciousness have on our relationship with animals?
Most people would say they feel closer to their pets than a wild animal because they believe to have an unspoken bond with the animal. Some would argue that their dog has more consciousness than someone’s pet Boa or hamster because their brains are larger and therefore must be more developed than that of an amphibian or rodent. These perceptions are often biased and ignorant. We want to believe that we have cultivated our pets to be close family companions who can decipher our emotions and desire to be loved.

If new studies reveal that animals are not as conscious as we once thought, how will that affect our relationships with our pets?
I believe that most people who have pets will not change their behavior and attitude towards their pets. People want to believe their pet companions are aware and conscious of the bond between them. They won’t believe that their pets are incapable of accepting their friendship or that they merely depend on them for their basic needs, i.e. food and shelter. People who have had pets throughout their lives will never believe that the “bond” they once shared with their pets was a fabrication and myth create in their heads. However, I do believe that people who have never had pets before would find it easy to believe that pet owners were wrong all along and that their pets served as a warped place to put their love. Perhaps they would say that pet owners had convinced themselves for so long that they could never see it any other way.