Moving Forward, Taking The Good With The Bad, The Beauty With The Ugly

'Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal it's difficult to score.'

So today I had one of the most impacted phone conversations with my friend Sarah. To start off I would like to say that usually I am not the biggest talkers on phones I find phone conversations sometimes the most tedious of things. You can sit on the phone to someone for hours and not digest any information that is coming from their mouth. The good thing about mine and Sarah's conversations is that I usually come from them feeling some sense of growth, whether it be as a person or the influencing of each other. It is great when you have one of those friendships were by you can learn from each other and almost share a journey together, that's what it feels like I have with Sarah.

It must have been around 4pm yesterday and I was still laying in bed thinking to myself I haven't done a single thing today that could be considered productive and I don't like the feeling of going a single day thinking that I haven't moved forward in some way or another. Then I thought to myself to ring Sarah as it had been a while since we last had a long conversation, knowing full well in my head that I would probably use up all my minutes for this months contract on my phone. Our conversation consisted of us both bouncing ideas off one another consistently helping each other on our beautiful road in to the art world.

It has been a difficult few years for myself and in a huge way I know Sarah relates to this because we have gone on this journey together. I couldn't help but feel that when I finally changed courses and moved to Fine Art that a part of me was leaving Sarah behind. For the past couple of years we have been around each other and built up a friendship that is clear to the world. So when I made my decision to change from Photography, the course that we had both been doing together, I couldn't help but feel a huge part of me would deeply miss her company. Getting to the point, our conversation today made me realise that regardless of whether we are under each others feet mine and Sarah's purpose as a friendship is to help each other along what has been considered 'a dark road' and I regained some happiness that I lost when moving from Photography because I now know that she can push her ideas forward and become a successful artist... and there is no doubt in my head that she will continue to live and breath creativity.

Have Computers Made Life Worse?

For this blog entry I wanted to give my opinion relating back to the question 'Have computers made life worse?'.

When we think about how much time we spend on computers and not learn enough it is safe to say that computers can most definitely be a waste of valuable time.Time is something that is limited and to be fair most of us waste it on our computers and everyone will agree that when you are sat at a computer time usually flies by. I think there is definitely good purposes for using a computer depending on what we are searching for. When you think of how large the Internet is half of this is probably a waste of space having no value to most of us. However I do also believe that the other half is valuable and can give us great knowledge. On a social level I think the Internet can also be both good and bad depending on how it is used.  For example the Internet can be a great place to network and speak to other artists, exchanging tips and knowledge within a specific area. However most people today, usually teenagers, are spending most of their time on social network sites, including myself. I will find myself wasting so much time skipping though pages on facebook that have no relevance to anything whatsoever. I think on a social level it is not such a good thing, instead we should be spending time with our friends and family face to face instead of talking to them on facebook. The Internet takes away from the importance of connecting with your friends and family, spending time with them. We are now relying on the Internet to do most things for us instead of using our own minds.

In my opinion although I do gain valuable knowledge from the Internet I think computers have made life worse.

Naa Teki Lebar

Gallery Location - Secret Den / Pure Evil Gallery

Australian born artist currently practicing in the UK, Lebar is interested in re-encountering memory, space and the self. Taking inspiration from mythology and fantasy she tries to archive a blending of opposite realities in the secret of nature and the nature of secrets, the idea of lucid dreams and its connotations and symbolism is played with.

In particular I really liked this image out of the series in the exhibition. It was less obvious as the what the message was. I like the use of nature and taking a portrait in an unusual setting. This image is not really my style but I can definitely appreciate it from an artistic point of view. The image is almost like something out of a fairy tale, yet at the same time gives an essence of something quite eerie and sinister. I would have liked to have seen more images from this photographer at the exhibition however the venue in which the images were displayed was rather small.

Reading List :

http://naateki.carbonmade.com/

Modern & Postmodern Photography

Postmodern is the movement away from modernism and acts as rejection towards trend in modernism. Were as modernism is more so the rejection of tradition and pushing boundaries within the art world. At the start of the 20th century modernist art was becoming more popular and it was the first time that the term avant-garde was used for the arts. Meaning that modernist art is advanced and represents a pushing of boundaries.

Hans Hofmann's painting - The Gate 1959-60

Hofmann was not only recognized for his modernist paintings but also for being a teacher of art and a modernist theorist. Through his teaching and work Hofmann managed to widen the understanding of modernism in America. In my opinion I believe that Modernist art has widened the possibilities within the creative world. It allows people to express themselves a lot more freely and gives us something that is different.

I believe us as people have changed since the start of Postmodern art, we are now looking for other ways to be creative and express are artistic sides and modernist art offers this.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Documentary Photography

When looking into documentary photography I think there are two major points to consider

1. Is it a beneficial way of looking into reality and all things that are true

2. In some cases is it an invasion of privacy gone a step too far 

Enrique Metinides is a documentary photographer working from 1949 to 1979 taking images of crime, murder and disasters in Mexico City. Metinides photographed his first corpse when he was 12 and a year later was working as an assistant for the crime photographer of Mexican newspaper La Prensa. His work not only shows us dead people but it also shows us the gathering crowds and the tragedy as a whole. Although his work is very in touch with reality and disasters I believe we are seeing too much. The imagery is step beyond documentary photography and although it is acceptable to push boundaries I believe what we are seeing is disturbing and in reality we are looking at things we shouldn't.

On the other hand I believe documentary photography can be quite inspirational, allowing us too look into the world and what is going on around us. It keeps us aware and at the same time not all documentary photography includes disasters and death.

German-American photographer and journalist Alfred Eisenstaedt is also a documentary photographer renowned for his candid style images. More importantly he is remembered for his photography capturing the celebration of V-J Day. I think in relation to this style of documentary photography it is safe to say that the events photographed are not disturbing. The type images taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt and other documentary photographers allow us too remember specific events and act as memories in print, for us to look back in the future and remember how far we have came. They give us a sense of reality, images we can relate to which is becoming quite rare considering a lot of photography is now airbrushed and manipulated into looking a specific way. These images aren't what people consider perfection but they are real and speak true to life, which in my opinion has a lot more importance.

Reading List :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2003/jul/22/photography.artsfeatures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Eisenstaedt

My Influences

One of the questions that always seems to come up in any art form is "who are your influences"?

I want to start by questioning whether photographers always have to find influence from other photographers to improve their work. In my opinion I believe it is better to take as little influence as possible directly from something else. I think by doing so it makes our own work more unique and true to what we want to achieve within our work. However I feel I am constantly reminded to take influence and ideas from other photographers and being told this will improve my work.

My personal influences come from people and life experiences, I want to convey my emotions and experiences into an image rather than using someone elses ideas. I think that if everyone was to take influence from something else nothing would be original and everything would be a watered down version of something that has happened before. As an artist I am constantly searching myself for ideas, using my imagination to create something that comes from my own head and heart. I think that by searching ourselves for ideas this then becomes a reflection of our own individual identities. Not everyone needs to understand and relate with an artists work for them to have an appreciation of it. Most people will take what they want from your images anyhow whether it be based on their own experiences or not.

Going back a couple of years I remember what my photography tutor once said to me. When asking me what I was influenced by I said that David LaChapelle was quite an influence to which she replied: "There is already a David LaChapelle why would the world need another?". I totally agree with this statement and I'm not saying it is wrong to find another artists work inspirational but as artists we need to draw a line with how much we take from their work. Within art I believe we can be inspired by other things than art itself, we just have to dig deep into ourselves and our own imagination to realise this.

Fashion And Its Influence

When you think of fashion and how it has influence on society I think there are both good and bad points to look at. For example Fashion allows us to be creative and show our inner creativity on the exterior, it influences us to take risks and to not be afraid of looking different. For example if you look at famous trend setters over the years you can notice how society has developed in the sense that we take inspiration from them and their influence can be visible in the way we present ourselves.

If you look at trendsetters of our time you can clearly notice that Fashion has progressed, it is now a lot more acceptable to have a unique style. Past trendsetters include Madonna and Elvis who back then allowed the younger generations to experiment more with fashion. In society today teenagers generally look up to the likes of Lady GaGa and David Beckham for influence on fashion.

Above is an image of Madonna wearing the famous and highly publicized costume which she wore in her 'Vogue' era. Aside of this image shows also Lady GaGa and Katy Perry doing their own versions of this famous costume. However back when Madonna had done this it was considered more controversial however today it is considered less outrageous. However today celebrities are looking for a way to push the boundaries within Fashion. Today the boundaries within Fashion and the media are far wider and it is harder for an outfit to seem controversial without flashing what god gave us.

But the big question is have we gone too far with Fashion and how far can boundaries be pushed before it is considered distasteful. I believe that today the younger generation are a lot more influenced by celebrities and media. They are reading magazines that are telling us we should be thinner, have the perfect skin, the perfect hair and by doing so is painting a unrealistic image and creating an unreachable target. By doing so this leaves many teenagers feeling inadequate and in hope of achieving the same results from the magazines they may go to extreme lengths with serious consequences.