Idea-Attachment

I've realized that what I want to talk about more than loneliness is attachment. I started thinking about this really broad concept at the end of last semester but didn't develop it in to a more specific concept. The relationship between attachment and possession, and need vs. attachment. It may be far-fetched but I have been questioning the meanings of words like 'Uncle' or 'Best Friend' and why those titles have such significant positions and importance attached to them. Are we just attached to people with these tites because we feel we are supposed to be? What does it all mean? Or why is it when your Auntie Muriel who  you may have met twice dies, bosses and teachers will excuse you, but when your most beloved childhood dog dies its not really an excuse for anything. Is it just because of the status of titles an the attachment we are supposed to feel in relation to them? It may be sort of a tangent, but this is the first time I am acknowledging these thoughts in relation to this project and now I am seeing how I could incorporate them. 

     Issues with attachment have been effecting me very heavily this past week and my project has become so in sync with my life that every time I feel the emotions I address in my concept, I immediately recognize it and end up thinking of new ideas for the studio every time I have a bad night. For my images and source this week I have included a link below to a show on PBS called "This Emotional Life" where a different emotion was profiled each week for 5 shows. I loved it when it first aired in january and wanted to share the clips on the website, especially chapter 2: You're Friends Can Make You Happy, and chapter 5: The Lonliness alarm. (I couldn't figure out a way to re-post them on this blog) 

http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/perspective/connection


Quotes:

"Loneliness is associated with a variety of mental and physical traits. 

If you feel disconnected to others, it manifests itself as a low level threat feeling." 

"We need others to survive and prosper. The reason we have the conveniences and resources we have isn't because each of us stands as individuals, its because we exist as a collective."

-both from Chapter 5:The Loneliness Alarm 

Bibliography:
"This Emotional Life: Connection"

"The Emmy Award-winning team of Vulcan Productions and the producers of NOVA have created a three-part series that explores improving our social relationships, learning to cope with depression and anxiety, and becoming more positive, resilient individuals.The series was produced by Kunhardt McGee Productions.

Harvard psychologist and best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness, Professor Daniel Gilbert, talks with experts about the latest science on what makes us “tick” and how we can find support for the emotional issues we all face.

Each episode weaves together the compelling personal stories of ordinary people and the latest scientific research along with revealing comments from celebrities like Chevy Chase, Larry David, Alanis Morissette, Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Richard Gere." (source: http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/series)

Artist-Bianca Brunner

Bianca Brunner's work is interesting because of what she doesn't show. There seems to be something just about to happen, or something missing that we need to look for. They are similar to my own in their sense of isolation and I am also attracted to their sense of confusion, which I would like to add more of in my own images. They are uncomfortable and provoke the viewer to ask questions in a way that I hope to do also. The minimal quality of these images is a theme I am constantly attracted to. 

Bio

'Bianca Brunner was born in Switzerland and has graduated this year with an MA in photography from the RCA. This follows earlier degrees in the visual arts and photography both in Zurich and London. In 2004, Bianca was selected to show her work at the ‘reGeneration: 50 photographers of tomorrow’ exhibition, which started at the Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland. The exhibition has continued to tour world- wide.'

http://www.commentart.com/artist/Bianca_Brunner

"Brunner's characters and interiors probe into the representation of spiritual presence, absence, transcendence, the possibility of transition and rebirth via all these states in a world that may, at the same time, be seen as silent, empty, and only perceivable as a beautiful play between surface, light, and darkness."

'When we touch things, or move in certain ways, the thoughts attached to these bodily functions can pop up"

"Or it can be the other way around; remembering something can unleash certain physical feelings or even movements. This phenomenon . . . the displacement in time that takes place when a latent image suddenly emerges and disrupts the scene of the present . . . is what this work is all about" -the artist

Bianca Brunner "Limbo 1"

Bianca Brunner "Limbo 2"

Bianca Brunner "Limbo 3"

Bianca Brunner "Limbo 5" 

artist

http://www.commentart.com/artist/Bianca_Brunner

camara oscura art gallery, Madrid, Spain

http://www.artfacts.net/en/institution/camara-oscura-galeria-de-arte-8512/overview.html

Review

http://www.shanelavalette.com/journal/2008/08/25/bianca-brunner-wood-and-star/

Artist-Helen Van Meene

Helen Van Meene's photos seem to go beyond portraiture to me. Tom and I talked about how it looked like something was just about to happen in each one, a moment of suspension. I mostly relate to them because of the feeling I think they collectively give off - one of contemplation, of frustration or confusion, of aloneness and solitude. I am going to explore a more documentary type feel to my photos and wish to capture some of these emotions. I am very intrigued by how simply these images are composed, but how much they communicate at the same time. 

"If you’re taking portraits of someone in their forties, you find they really know what they want, so it’s more difficult to pry them open, to get into their soul, to really get a feel of the person. It’s more difficult because they already know what they want from life, they already have experienced things, either positive or negative; and that results in a different outcome." (source: see interview link)

"They seem to be disconnected from earthy affairs and the encounter of photographer and model appears random. As if Helen van Meene were a shell seeker, who accidentally came across them. However one sympathizes with those beings and almost asumes to be able to touch or to talk to them. But it is only an image of encounter, which Hellen van Meene was searching and finding at different places in this world"

(source: http://www.amadelio.com/vlog/2007/09/21/vlog-videoblog-hellen-van-meene-global-photographer/)

Bio:

'Hellen van Meene was born in Alkmaar in 1972, where she continues to live and work. She studied photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Her work was included in the group exhibition Scanning at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1996, and she will be the subject of a solo exhibition at De Vleeshal, Middelburg in 2000. She is the winner of the prestigious 1999 Charlotte K?hler Prize. Kate Bush Senior Programmer Hellen van Meene has been financially supported by the Mondriaan Foundation Amsterdam, for the advancement of the visual arts, design and museums.'

(source: http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pxid=172)

Helen Van Meene

Helen Van Meene

Helen Van Meene

Helen Van Meene

Helen Van Meene

-sadly, this artist does not include print information anywhere publicly

Interview

http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives a_conversation_with_hellen_van_meene/

Galleries

http://www.sadiecoles.co.uk/

http://www.gallerykoyanagi.com/

http://www.yanceyrichardson.com/

Artist

http://hellenvanmeene.com/

Idea-Self

Self

"...bodily self-consciousness has three major components: self-location (where in physical space we experience ourselves to be located); first-person perspective (our primary viewpoint of the outside world from a place within the body); and self-identification (the degree to which we feel our bodies are part of us)."

"Like most people, you probably have a strong sense that your conscious self is housed within your physical body, regardless of your surroundings.
But sometimes this spatial self-location goes awry. During a so-called out- of-body experience for example, one's self seems to be transported outside the physical body into a surreal perspective—some people even believe they are viewing their bodies from above, as though their true selves were floating."

-both from Me, Myself and My Stranger: Understanding the Neuroscience of Selfhood 

The idea of 'self' is an obviously important part of my art making. Most all of my art has been, and is, about self identity. The article I have cited was so interesting to read  because it brought to my attention an element of self I haven't been thinking about - our sense of self connected (or unconnected) to the location of our body. I have been presenting landscapes to relay my concept of being isolated or connected with other people, but I have been questioning this choice a lot as it is an unusual method for myself. This article made me realize that I might be making a smart connection between my body and its space. The idea of being somewhere else mentally and physically is so intriguing because it would allow us to be introspective at the same time as viewing ourselves from the outside in. There are times when I feel I have achieved this sense of disconnected self, when my thoughts were so overpowering or disorienting that I became detached from myself. I believe my work starts to show a little bit of that feeling and it might be something I want to explore more as it relates to my overall concept. 

Jabr, Ferris. "Me, Myself and My Stranger: Understanding the Neuroscience of Selfhood." Scientific American. Nature America Inc., 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.

This article examines the science behind the body's perception of self. It gives striking examples of people who suffer from epileptic experiences that cause them to become physically detached from their bodies, but mentally aware. It comes forward with what looks like proof of out-of-body experiences. Jabr suggests that our sense of 'self' does not have to be connected with our physical consciousness. 

link to article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=neuroscience-of-selfhood

Shannon McGill, Untitled Twins, Archival inkjet print 11x13in

Artist-Ruben Brulat

Ruben Brulat's work has both conceptual and aesthetic ties to my own. I admire his images for their visual fearlessness and open but isolated message. The artist work is driven by his fascination with humans as a whole and their wide range of emotions, behavior, and modes of living. He has stated that he feels a need to make these photographs and answer his own questions about himself and humanity. I relate to this feeling and feel I am using my series as a learning tool myself. His compositions are very controlled, like my own, and minimal with emphasis on very specific important information, which I am very drawn to. 

Brulat lives and works from Paris, France. He is 21 years old and only started working in photography two years ago. For such a new artist he has been featured in important publications and exhibited in several countries, solo and group. He has established a strong career for himself despite his newness and already has made his work in to books. 

"Among the hostile rocks, the snow and the ice, barely inclined to welcome life, there is a body without identity, totally naked and deprived. Will he succeed to merge in this set, in this infinity of accidents? Will he know how to be similar to the animal that reigns on its own territory? This desperate attempt to transform this being into a body, for it to be accepted or re-accepted by a matrix completely foreign to the human substance, is very moving. This is when he is nothing but a species, a man from thousands of years ago, forced to know himself and to adapt himself to the outside conditions which are nothing but threats."

-Dan Nisand, on the artist's series 'Primates'

"Photography is just a tool. What i have an intense relationship with is my convictions and the things I need to talk about. For some time I have this energy and two years ago i found ways to channel it in photographs that explained a point of view. The technical growth only shortens the distance between what I have in the head and its limits. " 

-the artist, on his process

From the series 'Primates' December 2009

From the series 'Primates' December 2009

From the series 'Primates' December 2009

From the series 'Immaculate' September 2009

From the series 'Immaculate' September 2009

(I could find almost no information on the size or format of these images)

artist

http://www.rubenbrulat.com/

interviews

http://www.rubenbrulat.com/#252614/Read

gallery

http://www.g3-gallery.com/

P.S. Special thanks to Mark Davis for sharing this artist with me!

Idea-The Unknown

"Creative people tend to be comfortable living in this space of non-space. When artists are working, such a phenomenon often results in the feeling that, although something is moving them in a particularly creative direction, they are also allowing themselves to be moved."

"To be receptive, philosophically, to the 'unknowing mind'  requires 'fuzzying' the brain, creating a soft focus, a willingness to allow things not to become completely clear all at once, but to remain diffuse at the edges"

(see source below)

I am exploring a spiritual way of thinking with this project. I do not claim a specific religion and don't necessarily wish to discuss one in my work, but my concept does address a connection with myself and the world around me in a large way. By artistically representing my struggling to be my own island, I am almost posing an unanswerable question, exploring an unknown that could possibly lead to no where. I have to open up my thinking, accept that I don't know the answers to my own questions or how to obtain them, that this project may expose itself to me when I least expect it. 

Becker, Carol. "Intimate, Immediate, Spontaneous, Obvious. Educating the Unknowing Mind." Buddha Mind In Contemporary Art. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 2004. 87-95. Print. 

Buddha Mind In Contemporary art contains a collection of essays from people in the art, or academic, or spiritual community, that discuss the integration of buddhist principals/thinking in art making today. More specifically, the essay I referenced today by Carol Becker, talks about "educating the unknowing mind" and her journey through conventional and unconventional thinking. She gives insight on developing concepts and ideas through a teachers perspective and also incorporates buddhist teaching she has adapted to thinking about art. This book is proving to be beneficial to me even though I don't focus specifically on buddhism, I believe there is a lot to be learned by studying other ways of thinking. 

Marina Abramovic "Nude in the Cave" 2005, C-Print 100x130 cm

Julika Rudelius-Lecture Questions and Response

Julia Rudelius, still from Train, 2001

I am very much looking forward to seeing Julika's lecture tomorrow!

Questions:

You are very honest in your descriptions of your video pieces about which parts are staged and who is an actor or the real thing. I am interested in this honesty and if you have ever thought about being less so with your audience. I wonder how these would change if I believed every part to be 'real.'

Your work explores a vast array of social issues from race, to money to power to love. While these all could be considered universal issues, do you feel your personal connection or opinion is evident to the viewer? Is it your intention to show individual emotion? 


Response:
I was lucky, Julika answered both of my questions in her lecture. My expectations were high for her work and I wasn't disappointed. I was surprised to hear her talk about her 'obsession with truth' and then hear her explain that her videos were prompted and staged. I am kind of confused as to why she spent so long scouting for just the right people to represent her ideas, when they all just became essentially actors, and she could have gotten someone who merely looked the part. I would think an obsession with truth would deter her from directing so much. With that said, I wasn't disappointed by this contradiction, I was intrigued when Rudelius said 'real truth doesn't exist' and explained using 'straight documentary' was an over rated concept. her subject matter interested me more than a lot of the lecture artists I have seen here. The use of video as artists main medium is often hard to digest for me and I end up frustrated because I can't connect, this was not so with Julika Rudelius's work. Her process was so interesting to hear about, she really has to immerse herself in the lives of her subjects, try to think like them, live like them, and that seems like such a great career. It seems very brave to make work about the 'other,' about something she is not and wants to understand. 

Artist-Eric Percher

"Work considers the limitations we accept in order to attain success; the restriction inherent to a life in an office cube, within a numbered building, on a gridded city"

"The project does not intend to repudiate individual pursuits of success, but to illuminate the tensions and sacrifices required to achieve success"  (source: http://humbleartsfoundation.org/soloshow/eric_percher/stmt_bio.html)

I'm relating to Eric Percher's Work series because they are almost the opposite of what I'm currently doing, but has similar underlying themes. I am interested in the human need to be self sufficient, that includes life ambitions such as building a career and starting a family, ect. Percher explores the 'Every man is an Island' side of my concept by showing individuals trying to sustain themselves in the workplace but not always finding happiness. He presents the clustered claustrophobic environment and I am currently trying to present the opposite, sterilizing the natural landscape. I originally thought about possibly showing my concept in a similar manner to Percher, showing myself or my subject immersed in an overwhelming environment, but have decided to go a different direction for now. 

'Eric Percher is a fine art photographer working in New York City. The work series is a semi-autobiographical response to his seven-year experience in the financial offices and cubicals of Midtown, Manhattan. His goal is to penetrate the buildings of Midtown to examine the impact of organizational and architectural structures on those that labor inside' (ericpercher.com)

interview

http://humbleartsfoundation.org/soloshow/interviews/eric_percher_interview.pdf

artist

http://ericpercher.com/

gallery

http://humbleartsfoundation.org/soloshow/eric_percher/index.html