Artist Research -- Rebecca Rijsdijk's "fluitenbergstraat 104"

(all from fluitenbergstraat 104, 2009)

As far as biography, there's not much that I can find about Rebecca Rijsdijk.  She seems to be a young, contemporary artist who works in many different veins.  I'm choosing to focus specifically on fluitenbergstraat 104.  Just from reading the images, the piece seems to be about looking back on something that was lost. One thing that Rijsdijk does that I want to perhaps experiment with in my presentation of my work is the utilization of mismatched imagery. This gives the impression that she is showing us a collection of events that have taken place over a span of time and have not been captured only recently.  In other works, she incorporates written pieces and scraps of paper which gives the work more body and soul.  These written pieces do not overpower the images but rather give them a bit of context as well as clues as to what we are viewing.

Rebecca's Website

Photo Critiques -- Part 5

Something that I think is very important to an image is the ability to tell a story.  I don't believe it's necessary for the story to be exactly what the artist intends or had in mind while producing the image(s), the importance is in whether or not the image stays with the viewer and touches them somehow.  That is my main goal in my images. I don't care if the story is ordinary or fantastic. I just want my image to stick around in a person's mind and keep them arrested.

Joel-Peter Witkin - Leda and the Swan

I like that this image is just as much of a photograph as it is a painting.  The elements that Witkin added with his own hand add another dimension to the image, a tension and franticness that is reflected on the model's face.

Eleanor Hardwicke - from the A Secret Place series

http://eleanorhardwick.com/

Admittedly, this image comes off as more of a fashion shot than a fine art piece, but there are still things that I think are worth noting.  I like the delicacy of Hardwicke's image and this image is no less delicate than the one that I posted previous.  I also think that wardrobe is very important in creating a successful image, at least when it comes to constructing the image rather than stumbling upon it.  She looks as though she's just noticed something in the lake and I expect it would be something small and magical.

Nick & Chloe - from the Loewe Strasse 25 series

http://www.nickandchloe.com/

The expression on the face of this woman seems to be a mixture of great relief as well as one of deep thought.  Her features look both serene and intense at the same time, causing a tension in the image that pulls the viewer in.  The haze from the bath house makes the harsh tiles soft, which compliments her vulnerable state.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard - Lucybelle Crater and Her 15 Year Old Son's Friend

There is a strangeness in Meatyard's Lucybelle Crater series that is very appealing to me.  As anyone who is familiar with my work knows, I love masks. I love the way the obscure the features and create an ambiguity between the viewer and the person who they are viewing.  Masks also make an image whimsical and "other" almost by default.

Rebecca Rijsdijk - from the Stiletto Paradoxes series

http://rebeccarijsdijk.com/

The intimacy shown here is palpable and soft, much like the color palette and the florals on the girls' dresses.  There is a tenderness that is expressed by their body language and echoed by the sea and sand as well as the grey sky.  I feel like I'm intruding on a very private moment between two people who love each other very much and have been missing from each other's lives for far too long.

Thomas Macker - Natalie as Ophelia

http://thomasmacker.com/

The concept of an ophelia image has been one of those ideas that I've loved thinking about, but I'm too afraid to attempt it.  Maybe a series of Ophelias would be interesting. Just like in many of the other images that I've posted, the Ophelia is delicate, somber, and beautiful -- all of these are things in an image that I love.  If I were to pursue and Ophelia series, I think I would need to play with the ideas that are associated with an Ophelia in order to make it successful.

Photo Critiques -- Part 3

Before I make these, I try to do some thinking to focus my idea a little further. I did some shooting today so I would have kind of a rough draft of sorts to show for Tuesday. Because I want to do portraits, I thought it would be wise to invest in a good portrait lens for my digital so I'm looking forward to getting that on Friday.  I'm also shooting with my Mamiya if only because I love pretty much all of the portraits I've taken with it.

I've also been thinking about how to narrow down my ideas, and there are two things that I keep coming back to. For one, I like the idea of how people interact with their rooms.  For two years I haven't really been able to decorate my room the way I've wanted to, and that, among other things, made me completely miserable. There's something about waking up to a room that isn't just white walls and cluttered floors but is actually decorated and made the way you like it. It's comforting and really has an impact on how the rest of the day is going to go, at least that's how I feel on it.

The other thing I come back to is how people cope with hardships they've had in their lives. I know how I've dealt with mine but I know that's not the only way to do things, or at least it's not the only positive way to solve a difficult situation.  I'd really like to get to know some of the ways that people have come across milestones in their lives because I don't think that when we see people on the street, in a store or restaurant we consider that they are people with lives and stories. They are just passers by, people who cut us off, people who took the last good looking apple in the pile.

Rebecca Rijsdijk from the Stiletto Paradoxes series

http://rebeccarijsdijk.com/

This picture is obviously staged, but there is a tenderness about it that is breathtaking.  The way that the girl in white reaches out to the girl in the tub is so tentative and gentle.  It's as though the girl in the tub is there incubating or healing and the other girl is checking her progress, making sure she is ok in her vulnerable state.  I also like the surrealism of the image, but the emotion evident in the face of the girl in the white dress is so convincing that I almost believe that this actually happened.

Sarah Faust - Lace Dress and Chaise

http://work.colum.edu/~sfaust/

Here is another example of how you don't need a person's face to really feel emotion.  Just looking at the woman's hands, you can tell she is tense or anxious.  She may even be anxious about getting her photo taken.  I love the framing of this image as well. The lines of her limbs as well as those of the chair keep my eye moving all around the image. The woman's anxiety is also contagious. As I look at the image I find my breathing becoming a little labored the longer I look at it and I'm forced to look away for a moment before I can continue to look at it.  It's this kind of transference of emotion that I'm really looking forward to relaying with my images.

Thomas Macker - Girl Lying on the Grass
http://thomasmacker.com/

I find that the framing of this picture is very engaging as well. I like the voyeuristic feel of peering through the window at this girl in the grass, it's a bit like Nabokov's Lolita in this way.  I'm planning on playing with this kind of framing where obstacles are used as a literal frame for the subject.  There is an interesting contrast in this image as the darkness contrasts the light both literally and figuratively. The foreground is literally dark, but there is also the since of something sinister lurking around in it.  Conversely, the brightness outside the window and the girl laying outside have a light and innocence that is highlighted by the roses growing just outside the window. I like these subtle hints that would push a narrative along.