There is incredible beauty in the everyday, in the everyman. Being that is what I live for, what I wake up for, it has been nothing but natural for this beauty to also be what I photograph. My camera, my film, my process is all as unobtrusive as I can make it without taking my persons out of the making. All the lighting is natural, all the moments are real, my camera and film are of no great quality, my postproduction is minimal. I rely almost exclusively on my lack of indifference towards the world and the incredible gift of joy. I feel an extreme passion day in day out and like a magnet it draws me to others who feel the same. The people I know, the places I see, they somehow always point me in the direction of blissful idealistic beauty. My camera comes with me everywhere I go and gradually it leaves the mind of those who keep my company and I am able to capture the utopic existence that can be had when the only expectation of ones life is to be truly enveloped in the exquisite existence we live. My goal is not to say that all is well all the time, only that life is incredible long and beautiful and its not just taking time for the small things, its hunting them down, its finding every good speck and holding onto it, collecting them, so I do.

Steph Krim

Curious alienation and the exploration of boredom within individual narratives set the overarching theme of my work. Using singular perspective and personal invention to depict my surroundings and thoughts, the authenticity of the image comes into question. "Experiments in Spaceland", is a fictional narrative documenting the journey of myself, as a single person space crew, as I complete my mission of rotating around the Earth for reasons unknown. With the primary medium of photography, and found images, I see each individual image as being a unique narrative only giving the viewer a small part of a larger story. Each image is shown as being the climax of the designated story.
My art right now is exploring the ideas of alternative realities and the life they have in a photograph. J. A. Wheeler asks, "May the universe in some strange sense be 'brought into being' by the participation of those who participate?" and this thought forms the very core of my work. The reality of "Experiments in Spaceland" is that I'm creating the scenario inside a studio, but because the photograph is bringing the plot into consciousness it begins to have a life inside the medium. I'm starting to wonder if I build a whole universe using photographs, does this alternative reality exist only in the layers of a .tif file? My hope for the future of my work is to start making more 'dynamic' self-portraits, have more surroundings shots of the spaceship, have still lives of things on board, and exterior shots of outer space which I create myself.
-Jessica Camp

My practice is twofold. The photographs are premeditated only to the extent that there has been a specific location that has been decided upon, (shooting in the woods, in the park at night, a portrait of my neighbor etc.). There are no restrictions--tableau, still life, portrait, landscape are all acceptable forms. What interests me (in the shooting stage) is the happenstance and unpredictability, allowing myself to fall upon scenes. I am given scenes and all that is required of me is the documentation. The lack of control on the shooting side allows for a wide and strange swath of imagery. I am convinced that the openness and inclusivity that I allow in shooting allows for a wider variety of "seeds" that can come to fruition in editing. The editing process is much more cerebral. In this stage the images are critically approached for their content--their possible suggestions, there formal qualities--light, color mood etc. and most importantly how they interact with one another. This stage is a collective process between myself--"my decisions" and the decisions that the photographs make on their own. I think that "positive ignorance" or allowing oneself to clear preconceptions, to give up control, and to cease in a means ends game brings about the most enlightening results. Results and realizations that, at times, are not even able to be thought about in a conventional way, but rather first only experienced. This than leads the viewer to open space for fresh and novel interpretations--if interpretations are required at all.

wk1

class,

most important:  please read the entire robert irwin book (you don't have to buy the expanded version)...it is used on amazon starting at $3.98, use the money you save to get it fedexed!

from the syllabus here are your assignments:

No class May 31, June 2, or June 3

Homework:

1.      Read the entire text of Seeing is Forgetting, it’s a pretty quick read.  Type 2-3 pages to hand in summarizing and expanding on the 10 most valuable professional practices/life lessons in the text and be ready to present them to the rest of the class...

2.      Write a blog entry of 300 words on your practice and post 8 images on the class blog

3.      Write a separate blog entry on your proposal of a project you want to work on for the class in 300 words or less and include images (or mock-ups/sketches if it’s new work)

4.     Make work like the wind!

questions?

i respond fastest to jasonlazarus.photo@gmail.com
see you tues june 7th...