Terror's Advocate

At first I had no idea what to expect about this film. I heard it was about a lawyer for terrorists, but that did not narrow down the possible focuses of the documentary. Parts of the film were difficult to follow because there were numerous names, years, and organizations spoken about throughout the film. I wish that the editor cut down the film by an hour, but the talking heads combined with the numberous names made the film hard to follow. I did think it was interesting to hear about the battles between Algeria and France directly and indirectly. I never knew that there was so much tension between the two countries.

3/24-Photomontages

After discussing photomontages, I thought about my brief work with Adobe Photoshop. I worked for a photo paper company for several summers, and the last summer I learned a little about how Photoshop works. With new technology, art in every form is re-inventing itself. Photographers are always trying to be different and unique, and thus change a traditional photo into a more complicated image with symbols and metaphors. When photographic artists like Hannah Hoch created their pieces, it was more difficult because several photos would have to be developed and superimposed by hand. With technology, laying photos is easily done. Because it is easier and more common to make collages today, it seems like it is not viewed as important as it was years ago. I realize that in the art world, you can only become famous if you attempt to create pieces which no one has ever seen before. In other words, one must start a new movement or at least be one of the co-creators to become famous and make a decent living.

3/10, lower class

Many of the images we studied reminded me about some of the propaganda documentaries I have seen in other classes. During the great Depression in the United States’ President Roosevelt started a variety of programs to help different groups like the Tennessee Valley Association. I have seen documentaries made, like The River, to sell these groups as propaganda to show the work the government is doing to help the economic situation. These photographs we saw in class show the emotion and depression of the people in lower class by focusing on them rather than on the country as a whole or large group of people. We, as the viewers, feel close to the subject because they are looking straight at us in many cases. The background of many of the photographs makes it credible because it looks real rather than a backdrop. Images such as these helped show the public how the lower class lives.

3/3-The Body

I thought our discussions about Robert Mapplethorpe were interesting because his portraits reminded me about several statues from Greek history like Octavius and Augustus. His photographs of the African-American male looked similar to the ancient marble statues yet his skin color was black. In this way, Mapplethorpe brings back the Greek form of sculpture into more modern times. Knowing Mapplethorpe’s sexual association, I wondered if he might have had a relationship with this man because it seems that he has several photographs of him. I begin to wonder what every photographer’s relationship is with their subjects. Sometimes it is easier to tell than others through the name of the piece, but other times it is more difficult. It is the same way with paintings. I wonder why artists choose to paint certain people or places over others. Mapplethorpe also has his subjects lay or stand in specific positions which appear to be either statuesque or sexual.

2/25

Some of the shots that stood out the most to me were the photographs of Denver. My home, Dallas, has been and still is growing rapidly. The rural areas used to be so much closer, and there was much less traffic before the suburbs grew. A store that may be ten minutes away can take twice as long to get to because of the growth. The natural beauty of the land is gone with the invasion of mass crowds of people. This contrasts so much with Ansel Adams’s photographs of the west. One shows America as a vast country with grand mountains and beautiful rivers while Robert Adams represents America as a country being destroyed by people removing its natural beauty. It makes me question where the constant building will end.

2/19

I am excited about studying photography because I know very little about historical photographers. I worked at a photo paper company for many summers, so I know about modern-day photographs and Adobe Photoshop. I have discovered my favorite portrait photographer, Cindy Sherman. She brings film and photography together by portraying a character. Because each of her photographs has a different character in a different setting, I like to see and compare each one of her photographs. That is one exhibit I would travel anywhere to see. By using herself as the subject, she makes each photograph strong by giving it meaning through representation. The fact that it is the same woman in every photograph has meaning in itself. One woman can have many faces and look physically different from day to day but be the exact same woman otherwise.
Her photographs raise feminist questions like what natural beauty is and who is the woman behind the appearance. Sherman portrays different classes of women (lower to upper) and has a realistic expression to each one. She makes the viewer think about how we look at women in film by having one still shot at a specific angle. In several of her photographs, the camera looks up to her and gives her a sense of power. There is a photograph where Sherman portrays a dead woman, and the camera looks down at her. This focuses more on her dead gaze out rather than our gaze at her.