Artist: Barry Underwood

 Blue Line, 2009, Archival Pigment Print, 39.5 x 50 inches

Aurora (Green), 2009, Archival Pigment Print, 36 x 36 inches

 Headlands II, 2009, Archival Pigment Print,  39 x 50 inches

 Fish II, 2009, Archival Pigment Print, 38 x 50 inches

Lightning Bugs, 2009, Archival Pigment Print, 36 x 36 inches

Bio:

“Barry has received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Indiana University Northwest in 1990 in Theatre and 1992 in Photography. He earned his Masters in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1995. In 2007 Barry participated in a thematic residency Imaginary Places, at Banff Center for the Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada. In 2008 he participated in an Artists’ Enclave residency at I-Park in East Haddam, Connecticut.
Last summer he participated in a residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California. His work has been exhibited internationally: Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition, in Santa Monica, California, Photo Miami 2007 in Miami, Florida, Altered Landscape, a two person exhibition at Summit Gallery, in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Recently, Barry’s work was recently exhibited at NEXT 2009 The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art and Scope in Basel, Switzerland, and Earth Engines a two-person exhibition at Johansson Projects in Oakland, California. His work is included in several corporate and private collections. Upcoming exhibitions include Staged a group exhibition at Skew Gallery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in January 2010, and a solo exhibition at Skew Gallery in May 2010.”

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Barry+Underwood/114861.html

 Relation to my work:

I have always loved Tokihiro Sato’s work and came across Underwood’s recently, which is quite similar. I really enjoy Underwood’s use of color. His images have such a theatrical quality that I can appreciate. His use of light exaggerates the landscape and plays with the viewer’s imagination. I can relate to his use of defamiliarizing common objects.

Inspirational Quotes:

“I’ve started thinking more about environmental issues. Wondering about the kind of damage that photography is doing, the damage that even I as an artist am responsible for, and how can I help change things.”

“What does it mean to be an environmentalist as a photographer? It’s almost in contradiction.”

“I think about all that and try to make these images very subjective, kind of hyper-real, or surreal, or a kind of heightened activity or performance. That’s kind of how cinema plays into it a bit. It’s an exaggeration, a stylized way of looking at something.”

Interview:

http://photographyinterviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/barry-underwood-metamorphoses.html

Gallery Representation:

http://johanssonprojects.com/default.htm

Artist Site:

http://www.barryunderwood.com/

 

Idea: Self-sufficiency

Self-sufficient

1 : able to maintain oneself or itself without outside aid :  capable of providing for   one’s own needs

2 : having an extreme confidence in one’s own ability or worth

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-sufficient

I have been looking at my own personal relationship with nature as of late, and also asking others about their feelings and experiences. While my work will focus on those of us who live in urban environments, Mark made a suggestion that I should research those who live exclusively in nature.  I think it’s remarkable that people are able to do this. I am very interested in how much physical and mental strength this must take. Being isolated in the woods everyday must take its toll on the mind and body. Do these people ever miss their old life? Will they ever go back to a so-called “normal life?” Those who live of the grid are fascinating.

Key Quotes:

“I can only speak to myself, but living the way I do allows me more time to digest the news and make sense of the world. I am fully engaged and aware of the world.”

“It’s a matter of temperament. What I see is that I have a more fulfilled life if I limit my stimulation, that’s my personal taste, that’s why I came to the woods. It’s all about what you want your stimulation to be; are you stimulated by running errands and the rush of the city, or watching the trees blow.”

-Jane Dawson

Living Off the Grid in Style: An Interview with Super-Homesteader Jane Dawson

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/living-off-the-grid-in-style-interview-homesteader-jane-dawson.html

“I started figuring this out a long time ago, one piece at a time. I came to it pretty slowly. I came to RE just because I wanted to live in the woods. But the more I learned, the more I felt I couldn't merely be a consumer (of knowledge or energy), I had to help pass it on.”

-Jennifer Barker

http://www.altenergymag.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=08.06.01&article=jenniferbarker

“I grew up on the 47th floor of a building in downtown Chicago, and I was so disassociated and alien to the world. Anyway, that was when I found my center in a way, you know I found my things made more sense to me when I was in nature. Things kind of pinned together and I started feeling more of this world. And I’ve always kept that connection.”

-Daryl Hannah

http://www.off-grid.net/2005/03/04/daryl-hannah-on-being-off-grid/

Lydersen, Kari.  “Green living: Off the grid families pioneer sustainable energy  

            lifestyles.”  Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2010.  EBSCOhost. Web.

6 Oct. 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=112&sid=7eed8f5e-3796-482c-8b46-8e5f6587c44f%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVybCxjb29raWUsdWlkJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=52737744>

This article explains “off-the-grid” living without relying on the government or utility companies to provide electricity, heat, water, and gas. Many people are converting to self-sufficient living using sun, water and wind to provide heat and electricity.  There are about 750,000 self-sufficient homs nationwide. It has been estimated that this is increasing by about 10 percent each year. Some live on their own, while others form tiny neighborhoods and help each other in their lifestyle.  There have even been times when public power outages forced some to visit a man’s self-sufficient home for heat during a snowstorm.

This can be a costly shift in life, but in the end, these people’s investment will be paid off and beneficial. "There's a lot more return on investment than just money," Cirone says. "I believe inside our own basic spirit is the fact we want to do what's correct for the environment and, ultimately, the universe. We hope this proves to anyone who even considers [going off the grid] that if you don't want to give up anything in your lifestyle, you can use alternative energy and still have all the amenities you want." Many of these people have televisions, computers, and other electronics. They live pretty comfortably. 

Images from Keliy Anderson-Staley's series Off The Grid

 Hansons' Root Cellar, Whipple Pond, Maine

 Corbin's Laundry, Sebec, Maine

 A-Frame Outhouse, Unity, Maine

http://www.andersonstaley.com/gallery.html?gallery=Off%20The%20Grid

Julika Rudelius Lecture Question/Response

In many of your pieces you chose to omit your voice and questions from the piece. In what ways does this absence strengthen or add to the piece? How would the viewer's perception change if your voice was audible? Was this your initial plan, or did it come about after editing the footage?

In your piece "R+J," you found the young couple, then had them remain still for an extended period of time. Why did you choose to make this an almost still film piece rather than a photograph?


In many of your pieces you chose to omit your voice and questions from the piece. In what ways does this absence strengthen or add to the piece? How would the viewer's perception change if your voice was audible? Was this your initial plan, or did it come about after editing the footage?

In your piece "R+J," you found the young couple, then had them remain still for an extended period of time. Why did you choose to make this an almost still film piece rather than a photograph?

Response:

After the lecture, I felt that slightly disappointed. Seeing as how none of her work is available to view online, I was hoping to see more of it. Also the fact that she was hesitant to show her work because of the poor projector quality was frustrating. I would be able to better understand her work if I could view some of her work in its entirety. I thought it was very interesting to learn that she used to be only involved in creating documentaries and how this falseness led her to create art. I also found it interesting how much she controlled the subjects. Before the lecture I assumed these people were just documented then edited to her liking. This answers the first question that I had. The lack of her voice makes these appear as small documentaries, but really she is "creating" these characters and their events by directing. My second question was not touched on but I think that the slight movements of breathing and ripples in the water add to the irony of the piece.

Three words to define Rudelius' practice and artwork:

1. Truth

2. Interaction

3. Control

The most interesting quote of the lecture was in reference to her piece "Economic Primacy." She said that finding the subjects was, "almost like a sport if I could get them." Finding subjects became like a game, full of excitement and challenge. She became exactly like the men she filmed. They are powerful, wealthy, and charismatic, and use these qualities to gain more. Their clients are money and they "sell" themselves to generate more wealth. Rudelius, in the same way, must "sell" herself to these men in order to be granted permission to film. While she wants these sort of clients for her art, instead of money, she does profit from this. She and these men are both business people. 

Her piece "Rites of Passage," was the most compelling. It was such a strange relationship she showed/created between the older men and their young interns. The pairs talked in such a programmed language, it didn't seem human. Everything was a tactic, from their dress to their movements and expressions. It was all to emotional reach others and gain their support. The thing that I thought was most interesting about the piece was that she was manipulating the man, who was in turn manipulating the young intern. She calls the people in the pieces her "creations." I am wondering how much of that is true. While yes, she tells the subjects what to say and when to move, they still put part of themselves into it. She could tell ten people to do and say the same things. All would do it in their own individual way. Therefore it seems like somewhat of a collaboration between the two. 

  

Artist: Maria Friberg

 alongside us # 6, 2007, c-print, 140 x 113 cm

 alongside us # 1, 2007, cibachrome, 36 x 98 in

still lives # 11, 2005, c-print, 170 x 248 cm

still lives # 3, 2004, c-print, 150 x 197 cm 

 still lives # 8, 2004, c-print, 155 x 150 cm

still lives # 2, 2004, c-print, 120 x 163 cm

 Still from Blownout, DVD, 1999

C/O, 1999, c-print, 197 x 146 cm 

Me, myself and you, 1995-1997

Bio:

“Maria Friberg is a Swedish based photographer. A traditionally trained artist, she moved her medium over time from large-scale painting into large-scale photography. Her show “Transmission” is currently on show at Conner Contemporary from March 20 – May 8th, and features photographs larger than life making the audience sucked into them almost instantly. She’s exposing the vulnerabilities of men and further exploring how those vulnerabilities are, in fact, attractive. Friberg contrasts power suits and exposed poses in order to open a discussion on “how men think they should be” versus “how they truly feel”. This makes the men in her work not so much human beings but “signs of men”, trying to find their place in time of turmoil.”

http://i1.exhibit-e.com/connercontemporary/70c28665.pdf

Relation to my work:

I love how minimal Friberg's work is. I'm a big fan of the negative space. They're so simple, yet say so much. The interaction of the figures being engulfed by their surroundings provides a great deal of tension. The faces are glazed over and lack any definite emotion. This makes me more interested in staying with images because of the sense of mystery. It is also important that Friberg uses random people as models and allows for some level of chance. I believe that if too much of a shoot, or image, is planned then there isn't room for the situation to create itself and the outcome can become static. Allowing things to have a more natural flow will yield better results. 

Inspirational Quotes:

“I’m trying to let go of my need to have so much control. It’s impossible to have full control, and maybe not so interesting. I think more and more that it makes the art works too predictable, and that we need the uncontrolled.”

“The scale is very important. I like that the viewer can be a part of the photo physically. They are not windows that you’re supposed to peep into.”

“I ask people in the street, so I don’t really know the models. Basically, I just direct them the way a movie director would. Where to stand, how to move, etc. But they do add something with their presence. Since they are not professional models or actors they can not be totally controlled, which is a good thing in this case.”

“Most of my work revolves about themes of power, masculinity and man’s relationship to nature. In my images, I create ambiguous tableaus that challenge preconceived notions about identity, gender and social hierarchies.My most recent pieces look both outwards, to the challenges in contemporary society, and inwards, to a meditative state of mind. In these photographs and videos, the isolation and solitude of the individuals reflect issues in society at large.  The men in my images are signs for men, trying to find their place in times of turmoil.”

Artist Website:

http://www.mariafriberg.com/

Gallery Representation:

http://www.gallericharlottelund.com/

http://www.connercontemporary.com/

http://www.galica.it/

http://www.galerievoss.de/

Interview:

http://i1.exhibit-e.com/connercontemporary/70c28665.pdf

Idea: Nature

–noun

1.

the material world, esp. as surrounding humankind and existing independently of human activities.

2.

the natural world as it exists without human beings or civilization.

3.

the elements of the natural world, as mountains, trees, animals, or rivers.

4.

natural scenery.

5.

the universe, with all its phenomena.

6.

the sum total of the forces at work throughout the universe.

7.

reality, as distinguished from any effect of art: a portrait true to nature.

8.

the particular combination of qualities belonging to a person, animal, thing, or class by birth, origin, or constitution; native or inherent character: human nature.

9.

the instincts or inherent tendencies directing conduct: a man of good nature.

10.

character, kind, or sort: two books of the same nature.

11.

characteristic disposition; temperament: a self-willed nature; an evil nature.

12.

the original, natural, uncivilized condition of humankind.

13.

the biological functions or the urges to satisfy their requirements.

14.

a primitive, wild condition; an uncultivated state.

15.

a simple, uncluttered mode of life without the conveniences or distractions of civilization: a return to nature.

16.

( initial capital letter, italics ) a prose work (1836), by Ralph Waldo Emerson, expounding transcendentalism.

17.

Theology . the moral state as unaffected by grace.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nature

While it may seem like on obvious choice, seeing as how my pictures contain plants, I am currently trying to figure out what this word actually means, not only to me, but also to modern day society. With all the definitions present, it’s easy to see how vague this word is.  I found Mike Smith’s quote to be especially interesting.  It is now rare to see a horizon void of skyscrapers and billboards. It is now almost “natural” to not be in contact with “nature.” 

“Nature is a human invention.”

Smith, Mike Deri. "Forest for the Trees." November 17, 2008

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/galleries/forest_for_the_trees/

“With our attempts to cultivate nature, humankind causes the rising of a next nature, which is wild and unpredictable as ever. Wild systems, genetic surprises, autonomous machinery and splendidly beautiful black flowers. Nature changes along with us.”

Next Nature

http://www.nextnature.net/

“The dividing line between nature and culture is difficult to draw. When a bird builds a nest, we call it nature, but when a human puts up an apartment building, suddenly it’s culture. Some try to sidestep the problem by claiming that everything is nature, while others claim that nature is only a cultural construction. It’s tempting just to lump the two together and give up thinking about it.”

Koert Van Mensvoort

http://www.nextnature.net/2006/11/real-nature-isnt-green/

 Photos:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/faketree.htm

Choate, Dave. “Opponents to fight fake-tree cell tower at Odiorne Point.” Seacoast

Online, 14 August 2010. Web.  <http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20100814-NEWS-8140317>

Nowadays, cell phone companies are disguising their towers as trees. It is happening in various places in the country, with the artificial tree imitating those of that region.  In this case, Verizon plans on building a 105-foot fake pine tree at Odiorne State Park in New Hampshire. There is a small group fighting against this. The metal tree will stand 24 feet taller than the actual trees in the park.  The tower also requires an 11.5-by-30-foot storage facility, taking up additional room.  The tower also seems to go against the conditions of the land being used by the state. The land is supposed to remain for recreational and educational purposes, which don’t seem fit for a cell phone tower to be built. 

Artist: Ron Jude

Indianapolis, IN, 2007. Archival Ink jet print. 23.5 x 30 inches. Edition of 5.

 Pasadena, CA, 2004. Archival Ink jet print. 23.5 x 30 inches. Edition of 5.

 Gallup, NM, 2007. Archival Ink jet print. 23.5 x 30 inches. Edition of 5.

 Near Donnelly, ID, 1995. Chromogenic print. 30 x 38 inches. Edition of 5.

Golf Course Conominiums, McCall, ID, 1998. Chromogenic print. 30 x 38 inches. Edition of 5.

Bio:

“Ron Jude is a photographer and teacher whose work has been exhibited at venues such as the Photographers' Gallery in London, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Roth/Horowitz Gallery in New York, and San Francisco Camerawork. His photographs are in many permanent collections, including institutions such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the George Eastman House. Jude's work has been published in The New Yorker, Blind Spot and DoubleTake magazines, among others. In 2006, he published an artist's book entitled Alpine Star, which consists of appropriated images from his hometown newspaper in Central Idaho. An excerpt of this work was published in issue 35 of Blind Spot Magazine. 

Other Nature, a collection of photographs from 2001-2007, was recently published by The Ice Plant. For information on Other Nature, please visit The Ice Plant's website. A selection of Jude's recent work will be featured in a one-person exhibition at Gallery Luisotti from May 23rd through July 11th. 

Professor Jude has been teaching photography since 1993, and has been in his current position at Ithaca College since 1999. He is represented by Gallery Luisottii in Los Angeles.”

http://faculty.ithaca.edu/rjude/

Relation to my work:

Other Nature and 45th Parallel are two of Jude's series that really stuck out. I really enjoyed his shots of artificial wood grain and floral carpet patterns. This integration of nature, or artificial nature in this case, into everyday life directly relates to some of my newer images. What I found most interesting about this work is the Jude's intention. After I read the artist statement explaining Other Nature, I was very surprised to learn that I misread the images. The images don't have some underlying message. They are exactly what they are, and the viewer can take what they want from them. I think this "concept of Nothingness" is very important to look at seeing as how the subjects in the images are obvious. 

Inspirational Quotes:

“I had the idea that I would approach the landscape from a perspective that runs through most of my work, one that questions our capacity to “know” things, and addresses the limitations of rational thought.  I wanted to make images that pretend to fulfill the dubious empirical and narrative promise of a photograph, while quietly pulling out the epistemological rug.”

“Since there’s no clear narrative, no attempt at creating a sense of “place,” and no larger polemic being established, the photographs sort of stonewall you into looking for what else is there. And of course, there is nothing else there—just you.”

“There’s an unfulfilled suggestion of further meaning in my photographs, but in the final analysis, the only meaning in the picture is what’s in the picture. This is this, and that is that—there is nothing else. The frustration that comes with this realization is key to experiencing the photographs in Other Nature. So, “other” nature suggests that the physical world can act as a conduit for ideas about pure existence.”

“The concept of Nothingness may potentially lead to despair, but not necessarily. It can also lead to a sense of freedom.”

Interview and Quotes:

http://www.ahornmagazine.com/issue_4/interview6_jude/interview_jude.html

Artist Site:

http://www.ronjude.com

Gallery Representation:

http://www.galleryluisotti.com/

http://www.artnet.com/gallery/684/gallery-luisotti.html

Idea: Anthropomorphic

Anthropomorphic:

1.     described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes

2.     ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things

3.     attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthropomorphic

“It appears we give animal stories to children and encourage them to be interested in animals because we see children as inferior, mentally ‘primitive,’ not yet fully humanized, thus pets and zoo animal stories are ‘natural’ steps in the child’s way up to adult, exclusive humanity—rungs on the ladder from mindless, helpless babyhood to the full glory of intellectual maturity and mastery.”

Ursula K. LeGuin

http://www.articlemyriad.com/150.htm

The more I study nature and biology, the more I see that anthropomorphism gets in the way of understanding animals as well. Certain birds, cats, dogs, and even rodents are intelligent, but thinking of their intelligence merely as inferior to humans is not the whole story. Different forms of intelligence have to be understood on their own terms — not through starting with an archetype of human intelligence and making incremental modifications to that archetype. That sort of thinking can lead to anchoring.

Michael Anissimov

http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/2010/02/revisiting-beyond-anthropomorphism/

Cady, Jasmine, Ana Norenzayan, and Ian G. Hansen. “An Angry Volcano? Reminders of

            Death and Anthropomorphizing Nature.”Social Cognition Vol. 26, No. 2, 2008,

            pp. 190-197. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Sept. 2010.

This article explains that anthropomorphizing nature is a powerful and pervasive cognitive tendency. People see faces in clouds and hear voices in the wind. We name our automobiles and scream at electronics. Food items in the shapes of religious figures sell for thousands of dollars.

Anthropomorphism has been around for centuries and is closely tied to religion and mythology. In some aspects of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, nature is viewed as a separate realm from humans. Some Western religious cultures associate nature and the wilderness as sources of threat and uncertainty. In this study, religious and nonreligious participants were asked to assign human characteristics to two natural objects, one being a tree, and the other was a potentially threatening volcano. In the end, the volcano was anthropomorphized less than the tree. They concluded that death awareness reduced the tendency to assign human traits to natural objects and that this effect did not interact with religious background.

Silverstein, Shel. "The Giving Tree." New York: Harper and Row, 1964. 

In relation to my work, this concept has been brought up in my meetings. The subjects in the photos are obvious but the presentation can change everything. The light is “making” the tree and has the ability to make it otherworldly. Depending on how I use it, the plant can convey many different emotions. It can appear real or artificial. Loved or disregarded. Anthropomorphism is also closely related to religion so I feel it is necessary to keep researching in regards to the ritualistic qualities of the images.