Sebastian Maselli

Last, but certainly not least, is Anthony Coleman’s blog.  His freeway lights and grid pictures  immediately pop out at the reader.  Nicely done.

http://thebeardedant.wordpress.com/

Another one of the blogs I enjoyed in class was Caitlin Skog’s.  Her pictures of nature were amazing, especially the one of the tornado.  Additionally, her final project, which was about former gang-members and ex-convicts, was courageous, inspiring, and eye-opening.

http://skog001.wordpress.com/

One of my favorite blogs in the class is Aaron Katzen’s.  I really enjoy looking at vast landscape pictures and Aaron has a plethora of beautiful desert shots.  The blog itself is clean and helps to showcase his talents with eye-catching pictures and videos.

http://aaronkatzen.wordpress.com/

The past three months have flown by for me.  The fall semester is coming to a close and I am feeling the usual pressures that come along with the end of the term; it’s crunch time.  Being a father and husband does not make things easier because sometimes I am torn between spending time with my family and getting my schoolwork done.  This semester was not much different than the rest, but there are certainly more holidays in the fall, which makes things a little trickier to juggle.

I feel that having a family allowed me to understand What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann a little better because I can relate to some of the difficult artistic decisions she has had to make throughout her career.  In no way am I comparing myself as an artist to Sally Mann, I just do not have the experience or breadth of work that she has accumulated over the years, but I do have a family and I have used them in some of my projects.  However, there is always the question of whether you should or should not use your family in your artwork.

I can only begin to imagine the amount of criticism Sally Mann received for the controversial pictures of her children.  I have to admit that I was somewhat uncomfortable looking at them before I knew the story behind the pictures.  Sally definitely has a different way of looking at things than the majority of the population.  Sally said many profound and meaningful things throughout the documentary, but one thing that resonated for me was: “You need to photograph the things you love the most.”  For me, as with many people, family is what comes to mind.

This was the moment that her photographs “clicked” for me and I was able to understand where she was coming from.  Her last project mentioned in the film was about the decomposition of human remains (hence the name of the film).  I found myself to be disgusted at first glance, but then mesmerized as I stared into the photographs for longer periods of time.  The main thing I have learned about art throughout my life is that anything can be art; it just has to be viewed through the correct lens.

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Natalie spoke about her experiences as a photographer and an artist.  She also shared some memorable stories from her past that came to life as she showed the audience the pictures she took during those times.  Her photographs of bears, salmon, eagles, and people in all types of extreme conditions were amazing.  I felt that she made a good point about cameras being “passports to experience” because she traveled to all types of remote locations and met a great deal of people.

She mentioned that she likes to show personality in her pictures and they absolutely capture a breadth of emotions: from complete misery to overwhelming joy.  The Exxon-Valdez oil spill was definitely a sad event and her photographs were able to capture the horror and despair of both the animals and the people cleaning up the spill.  She also spoke about her salmon project, how she persevered, “believed in herself” and “believed in her projects.”  This gives an artist like me hope, because I certainly believe in myself and my projects.

I think I should start with a brief explanation of what the TED Prize is; TED stands for: Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

“The TED Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, “One Wish to Change the World.” Designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources, the Prize leads to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.” (www.tedprize.org)

The winner of the TED prize this year was “JR”, a French graffiti artist whose real name seems to be a mystery. JR’s recent work consists of taking close-up pictures of people’s faces, creating larger than life art galleries with paper prints, and then gluing them in strategic parts of a town or city. My favorite piece was the one done in Africa with the pictures of people’s eyes on three moving train cars as they completed the faces glued to a mountainside village; it was amazing. His other projects span around the world: Paris, Rio, Israel, and Palestine to name a few. These projects are astounding and seem to have a positive impact on the communities.

The fact that JR started out as a graffiti artist just goes to show that he is not afraid to take risks. Gluing his artwork on government buildings, gang-controlled Brazilian favelas, and different places in the Middle East certainly takes some guts. JR was asked: “Could art change the world?” He replied: “Art cannot change the world, but it can change the perception of the world.” I agree; once people step back and look at something as art, it allows them to keep an open mind and consider things from various angles.