Artist Research & Inspiration

Artist Book Inspiration 

I was very inspired by looking through the Lawrence Art Library and finding image based books that appealed to me. I was originally trying to look for books that stood out to me based on their size and shape because I was really drawn to the size and unique style of the LA book of night and day photographs that was sampled in class. However, I found myself lost in several book’s content, for their vibrant colors and image sequence. Each book has a different layout design that successfully matches the idea behind the book. I chose each book for different reasons and each inspired me in different ways.

Richard Prince ‘Spiritual America’ 

Published by ‘Aperture’

As I flip through the pages of Richard Prince’s book, I notice his media based imagery and the use of vibrant color manipulation. I enjoy the pages 34 and 35 for a several reasons, one being the black color that bleeds to the end of the pages and covers the entire background as if it were a movie screen. I also enjoy the stylization of the small rectangular images and I like how they are not the only subject to the pages, the text and naming of the people below is also a part of the pages. The vibrant color choices make a big impact in the page design and I enjoy this format technique. Prince continues the grid style of his images throughout the book to show his collection of work and I think this was a successful way to display the sequencing. I also enjoy the quotes that appear on various pages that compliment the ambiguous imagery of the adjacent pages, such as on page 18 and 19. 

Corrine Day ‘Corrine Day Diary’

Published by ‘Kruse Verlag’ 

I really enjoyed this documentation of the character ‘Tara’ in this book of Corrine Days’s collection. The image seem to be snap shots of Tara’s life over the course of a few years with other characters involved such as her child. The images don’t seem to represent a specific theme, rather random moments in life captured a collected for remembrance. I’m curious as what the relationship is between Corrine and the characters in this series of images and she chose to place them in a collection together. I enjoy the layout of images placed on each page and I think the hand written text is a nice touch to the book as a whole, giving it a more personal feeling. 

Miles Aldridge ‘I Only Want You To Love Me’

Published by ‘Rizzolio International Publications’

I find Miles Aldrige’s body of work in his book, ‘I Only Want You To Love Me,’ fascinating both because of the beauty in the images themselves and the conceptual idea that supports them. Aldridge creates an alternative, luxurious world in this collection, where females are hyper-sexualized and presented to depict robots. In the spread of pages 124 and 125, a woman is placed next to a sink faucet with her mouth open to drink the water pouring that looks like it is pouring in. Besides the idea behind the image, I think the vibrant colors are gorgeous and the clarity of the image is extremely successful. Another great example is on page 86, where a woman is shown laying on an extremely detailed carpet with a game of cards and dice is thrown around her. I’m inspired by these pieces for their exaggeration and beauty. 

Diptych Response - Taylor

Tia Hay 

January 20, 2015

Diptych Response - Taylor

I’m really drawn to Taylor’s presentation of the images in your diptych project. The placement of the two images side by side is clean and symmetric and I enjoy the spacing between the two images and the ends of the sheet of paper. As for the images themselves, I can see the relationship between the two with the open book and the person reading the a book. I’m not sure if it is the same book in each image, although the sizes appear very similar. I remember Taylor explaining the image of the book being a past project she completed in a design course. I take this information into consideration when analyzing the image so I can try and see what the message might be. I enjoy the angle of how the shot was taken of the book and can see how it would be a good fit for a portfolio project based on a specific model. If the book in the image on the right is the same book as in the image on the left, I’m wondering why the person is reading the book and why they are choosing to read the text. I’m wondering if they are reading out loud to someone or to themselves and whether this was a staged photograph or action shot. Aesthetically, I enjoy the two images side by side, however I think by themselves they could be stronger. I’m curious to see the work Taylor compiles together for her final book project, especially the design details, since she has noted that she feels this is her strong suite! 

Project 1 - Part 1 - Self-Portrait

Rebecca Senf: Creating Artist’s Books

Tia Hay

January 18, 2015

Rebecca Senf: Creating Artist’s Books

In her article, Creating Artist’s Books, Rebecca Senf describes her experience as a juror in rating a collection of books, specifically what made a successful book effective. Senf considered every aspect of how the maker created the book and carefully constructed each decision. She found the most effective books to be ones that payed close attention to the typeface, image sequence, placement of text, and the scale and trim of the book. The most successful books were those that created an experience for the viewer by making the form match the creator’s intent. From this reading, I’ve written down tips suggested by Senf, including, “creating a powerful sense of concept.” Also, when making decisions for your image sequence, print little pictures out on inexpensive printer paper and play around with the image’s order to get creative in their placement on their future pages. Another tip I took from this reading was to consider the placement of the text because if the text is placed directly on the image then it is just as important as the image. This makes me question if there is any purpose to text, depending on the image’s content. Another suggestion I plan on keeping in mind is collaborating with other artists, photographers, and designers to gain insight on their ideas and opinions on what works and doesn’t. I’m inspired by the books shown in class so far that are unexpected, for example the ‘Holy Bible’ book, but I am even more inspired by the book of the day and night images of LA. I think the simplicity speaks as loud as the book’s content. 

ICE # 1 - Past/Future Aspirations

Past + Future

As a photographer, I’m inspired by fashion and grunge style, with manipulations done in post production. I do enjoy taking the photograph, however I am most interested in what I can do with the image afterwards and what else I can incorporate to make it more interesting in post production. I think my skills with my digital camera could be improved to create a more quality original print, which is why I hope to further build my knowledge in this course. I would like to explore night, or low light photography and play around with slow exposures, while also keeping my interests in fashion and vibrant colors in mind. I’m inspired by a Los Angeles based photography by the name of, Derek Perlman. Perlman has a distinctive stylistic approach to his work, it seems it could be called ‘high end grunge.’ Famous from his Instagram and Tumblr accounts, Perlman engages with friends, models, celebrities, and his girlfriend to create photographs that show rebellious acts in society and fashion trends. I’m inspired by his work because I enjoy the attitude his photographs depict. I’m hoping to create a similar style in my work this term, with some twists in post production.
http://wefucktards.tumblr.com/

Who Cares About Books

Christina Hay
January 12, 2015
                                                           Who Cares About Books

      In Darius Himes writings on the significance of books, he explains the importance of connecting and building a relationship with the physical object. Flipping through each page and connecting with its content on a deeper level is an critical part of the viewers experience and the reason why publishers work so diligently on creating such value in photography books. There is two parts of the book, one being the creation and craft of producing the book itself, designing the finest details down to the smell of the pages. The second part is the content of the book is the images in which the book is made up of and the text that explains the body of work. I have never made a book of my own photographs before, but I am imaging it might be similar to the order in which I have placed my photographs in a portfolio for my peers. The order matters greatly in the way you obtain the image’s information and how you process the following image. I think having a physical book of images makes them more sacred and special for not only the creator, but also the viewer; An experience that is more memorable and can be revisited. A single book can hold its own fascinating world and just by touching the binding you can establish a deep relationship with its content.