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November 12, 2005

MFA Assignment

1. The wooden floors under my feet as I walked through the exhibit gave me sense of sturdiness. The wood was solid and simple, which gave the photographs being exhibited an even stronger sense of simplicity. This allowed me to just relax and focus on the images that were before me. There were no busy patterns in the room to distract me from what I was there for, looking at images. Even the walls were white enough so that the photographs on the wall actually stood out more and more attention was drawn to them. Some photographs were on the walls on the side of the room and others with a small portion of wall in the center of the room. The small strips of wall in the center of the room gave the exhibit a sense of distance and solidarity, so that the photographs were far enough away from each other to truly appreciate them. Everything about the exhibit had a quiet appeal so that I wasn't distracted by any other interference. The best word to describe the tone of the experience is "still", with nothing drawing away the essence of the art.

2. When I first walked into the exhibit and read a portion of the biography about the artist, Ansel Adams, I assumed that he only focused on nature and the changes that occur. When I started looking at the photographs at the entrance of the exhibit, I noticed that most of the photographs were about the appreciation of nature and noticing the change in weather. However, when I started working my way through the exhibit I saw how Adams not only captured different aspects of nature, but that he also captured people's emotions or images that brought about a sense of emotion. No photograph that Adams took was void of emotion, and all of them evoked some sense of feeling. Adams could do this by capturing images of people, buildings, homes, fences, and roads. The variety in his work, shows that he is not biased by a certain type of photography, but that he has a broad range in his art.

3. The Ansel Adams photograph that I thought was a landscape was called "Moonrise" taken in 1941, which was photographed in Hernandez, New Mexico. It shows a scenery with hills in the background and tiny homes spread about the land, while the sun is barely visible behind the mountains. Adams captures the sun just as it is about to set on the horizon. Adams took this photograph while he was traveling in his car through New Mexico and quickly took out his camera, being fortunate enough to get a picture of the sun just about to dissapear in the horizon. What is important in this image is the sun. The way it casts its final glimmers of light across semantic aspect of the sun setting behing the mountains, the literal interpretation of the sun and mountains, and the emotional aspect of that the setting sun brings across to the viewer.

4. The photograph that I considered to be a portrait was "Trailer Camp Children" taken in Richmond, California in 1946. This photograph was taken of three children. An older male child holding a younger male child, and a small baby girl standing next to them. The photo brought about a concerned sense of emotion for me. I wondered what state the children were in, since there didn't appear to be any parents with them. They seemed to be left all alone to fend for themselves, having no one else to depend on. The place they were photographed in appeared to be their home. It was torn down and beaten up, but it seemed to be enough to get them through another day. Adams captures the weary expression of the oldest male child, showing that he is the one responsible for the younger children and has to take care of them. He evokes the tragic situation that many people forget about, and pretty much brings it to the observer's attention.

5. An abstract photograph by Adams was "Leaves", which was taken at Mills College in Oakland, CA. This photograph showed an array of leaves representative of how Adams enjoyed portraying nature. The designs of the leaves were different, some round and some more pointed than the others. Each of the lines within the leaves could be seen giving the photograph a stronger sense of design. This photograph was taken so well that most people that view it mistake it for an actual painting. The fact that the picture resembles a painting without it being Adams actual intention gives it an abstract appeal. The photograph has an ambiguous representation of a photograph and a painting, which Adams conveys as life being the template for art.

6. The photograph that spoke to me the most out of this exhibit was "Freeway Interchange" which was taken in Los Angeles, CA in 1967. This photograph was so simple, but I was able to draw so many emotions from it. It was really just a picture of one of the freeways in Los Angeles taken from a birds eye view. I could stare at this picutre for hours and feel something different the whole time. The words that came to mind when I observed this picture were "rushing, puntual, small, large, confusing, mixed-up, cyclical." Sometimes when I looked at the photo I just saw then cars on the freeway trying to get from one point to the other. Then I thought of being on an airplane and seeing these cars, so tiny, reminding me of seeing ants on their way to an anthill. Finally I thought of being confused not knowing where to get off on the freeway being stuck in traffic during "rush hour" and not being able to get off of the freeway. I think that I connected most to this photograph, because it was something that I had experienced so I could relate to what Adams was trying to show.

--Yasmin

Posted by lcisperez at November 12, 2005 05:43 PM

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