Written Statements P2

Interpretation: The left image looks like a film still. They have a likeness or similarity to Cindy Sherman's work. The mask makes the subject more generalized so that it can apply to all housewives.


Evaluation: It would be nice to have the full figure in the left image. The face being covered leaves the identity ambiguous so that you can place anyones identity in this context. The line that is created started by the shoe leads you nicely through the image.


Extension: I could go further into the idea of a housewife and their role in society. More images could be taken to demonstrate the desire to not want to lead this lifestyle.

Interpretation: The photo of the guy with crossed legs works. It is interesting that it is a intense, strong man and crossed legs is a powerful pose for a woman.


Evaluation: The images work better now that the table is aligned and horizontal. The poses could be more exaggerated. Maybe incorporate more guys or have them in feminine attire. More contrast would also be nice.


Extension: The idea of pushing how men and women are expected to be a certain way or have a certain body positioning. It could go either way such as having men with feminine poses or men with manly poses.

Written Statements P1

Composition: I wanted her to be centered in the kitchen and for the perspective to be about equal with hers.

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: I think the concept is about the typical housewife that is playing this role of order and perfection. The glove mask takes away her identity and therefore she stands for every and any housewife. The setting along with her attire support this concept.

Method: When I thought of masking someone I initially thought of taking pictures in the kitchen and little by little it led to this idea. I looked around for things to mask her face and found the glove and everything came together.

Motivations: This picture combined with the other kitchen seen has the intention of giving my opinion of a housewife and the way I feel about the whole concept.

Context: I think this idea of the past relates to works now because it is still occurring and I think it is an intriguing idea.

Composition: The subject is not centered and instead is off to the side. The perspective draws you in to the subject as well.

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: I think my image is about the housewife that does not necessarily want to be in that role or does not always want to be perfect. It is as though she is drained and tired of the day to day work.

Method: After going back to a second shoot I took contrasting images that did not fit the role. I used the same scene, but with a different feel.

Motivations: As previously mentioned. I wanted to show my opinion and I think paring the two does this. I do not really agree with the whole housewife thing and personally know I would completely hate having to put up with it. I guess this is my interpretation of how I feel about the issue.

Context: Similar to what I said before, I think this is still a prominent idea. Even more so, the idea of having to fit into a role that you may not agree with and/or like is something most people deal with every day.

Composition: I wanted the framing to be the same for all three of these images so that the only difference would be the positioning of the subject and the picture.

Concept/Aboutness/Idea: I think my images are about being able to get rid of an identity and placing any new identity to fit into that place. At the same time the interior identity is still there which is present with the body displayed which does not change.

Method: I did not brainstorm, I just looked through magazines to find the most opposing images so that they would have the greatest contrast.

Motivations: I wanted the subject to take on the new identity, but at the same time to be true to their own.

Context: I think most photography is about giving the subject a new identity to fit the idea that is trying to be conveyed.

Blog Prompt #24

A. Pick two images from any of the “constructed reality” photographers presented in class or linked on the assignment sheet. Describe how you could recreate these two images on a “smaller scale”.

Ideas similar to Cindy Sherman's would easily be done small scale. To re-enact film stills is an idea that I both like and think work well once recreated. Also, Tom Jackson's work could be brought down to small scale. instead of making a full room or set up of a still life, a miniature still life could be set up. Objects like dolls or mini items could be used or just items that are not large enough to take over a whole room such as bottles and lamps.

B. Describe your plans for your self-proposed final project (if the plan is the same as before, paste it here again and give a bit more detail). During the final critique for Assignment #5, you will discuss/present these ideas to the class.

I thought more about just using film stills from certain movies and specifically from (500) Days of Summer. I realized I like certain parts of the movie that showed Reality vs. Expectations side by side. I thought this would be an interesting thing to do and I could use both images from the movie along with ideas of my own. These will work as tryptic images.

Works In Progress

Written Statements P2

Interpretation: It is a really soft image. It is really about the form of the body, the jewelry is not competing with anything. The image focuses on jewelry, but is still about the person.
Evaluation: Stronger contrast may help the photo. There are not many whites and you kind of lose the left shoulder. The bottom right corner works well, it would be nice if that were happening over the entire photograph.
Extension: Jewelry adds with jewelry placed in non traditional placements.

Interpretation: Looks like a magazine add. The focus and repetition is nice.

Evaluation: Might look better if color

Extension: Advertisements with numerous amounts of the products, and repetition.

Interpretation: Bottom photo is more peaceful along with the contrast of the one on top. Bottom photo could almost be a fashion shot as well.

Evaluation: An angle change to distort the body more in the top photo might look better. It might also be more interesting taking from view outside of the door.

Extension: Juxtaposing crime scenes and restful places, but positioning the people the same in each separate photograph. Scenes juxtaposed foreshadowing death and then the actual death.

Blog Prompt #23

In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?

People construct their identities to fit the people around them. Around your friends you are goofy, joke around, and let loose more. In front of your parents you try to be that responsible person that is focused on school and grades, or even the opposite, you act like a child again and argue with them at times. In front of people such as professors or your boss you try to be professional and hard working. For each separate circumstance people try to perform for the role, which seems most appropriate.

Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.

My personal culture is constructed for the fact that I am mainly responsible for the atmosphere I put myself in. I chose Michigan State along with the culture that comes along with that. Therefore that culture in impressed upon me. If i had chosen a different college my social environment would be entirely different. I also choose my friends and the people I want to be around, which affect my culture and environment.

Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.

We construct the places we live in because we choose the location we want to live and the environment around us. In addition, our rooms and our space are constructed by the way we decorate the area or the objects we place within these spaces.

In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?

I think most everything everyone does or says on facebook is constructed. Overall, in the back of peoples minds there is more going into what they say than the immediate person they communicate with. So many factors are contributed that I think it is impossible to say the things expressed on facebook are real. However, I think daily communication in person is real with people you are close with and on a level that you trust. Even most of time in person communication is fake. For instance, when it is with people that are not as close with you because there is a push to come off a certain way.

Describe a narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. A narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” ( Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler , 34).

An interesting idea would be to have a family play out both typical family roles and roles that seem inappropriate for families. For instance, photographs of a family dinner or an evening at a proper families house. In contrast, it would be interesting to also takes photographs of people playing out a fight amongst a family or something on the lines of a family not functioning in a way that socially acceptable.

Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34).

It would be interesting to have toys, not dolls, act out scenes that normal humans would do. Going off of that idea, also having them play a role like in Toy Story where they come alive when humans aren’t watching.

Roger Fenton

Fenton constructed this scene in a studio in London. It was taken no where near the location that is perceived. The woman even has her hands held up by strings so that she won't move. The subject is orientalist which refers to romanticizing depictions by European artists of Muslim culture in the Ottoman Empire. These scene depicted were usually fiction. Western culture had a tendency to have a bias toward this idea. These scenes would be displayed on paper or canvas and was the only source of this information. Many people therefore believed in the ideas depicted in these images.