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Pipilotti Rist is a very interesting artist! watching her interview this week was very extraordinary. She gave incredible insight about her works and her way of thinking is truly insane in the best way! I've never seen her work before and I am pleasantly impressed. I enjoy the chaotic-ness and how out of this world her videos are but are able to express her statements very well!!

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House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home.
I love this new series and the 1967 version body of work so much! It truly speaks volumes on the commentary of the Vietnam War and sadly is very relatable to our current times as well. Learning about the Vietnam War and the introduction of the Anti-War movement, this body of work is so important and needed to be created. I enjoy how strong these images are and how the work is composed. Just like the 60s, we have access to information and knowledge of the horrible acts and terror being played out against the palestinians in Palestine. we "bring" the war everywhere we go, we bring it home still now. Though some may have a hard time digesting the sad truths of what is going on in Palestine, placing these scenes in a home setting creates this sense of reality, relatability and accountability. The way I perceive this piece, it showcases how us Americans obtain the privilege of being in our homes safe, while other people in different countries are facing a different reality that is due to our government's complicity.

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Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" is one of the first pieces that comes to my mind when the question "what is Art" is brought up. Before this week's lecture, Conceptual art has always been a hit or miss for me. But as the lecture proceeded, my mindset shifted. I wholeheartedly agree with the understanding of how Art does not need to be created by the artist to be considered art BUT they do need to create new thought and ideas for the object for their work to be considered "art" - but when it comes to Duchamp's "Fountain" I saw myself refusing to believe it is art. After this lecture and giving this a more thorough thought (and being more open minded), I can understand more clearly how this readymade piece is "Art" and I'm extremely fascinated with the conceptual art world!

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For this week, Rauschenberg’s Blueprints series, created with Susan Weil, were one of my favorites! It’s a very beautiful way Rauschenberg references Jackson Pollock’s Drip Paintings and Picassso’s Light Paintings. I enjoy art like this where it makes you have to “trust the process”. You have less control in a fun way and it’s a very interactive experience when creating art in this way. I’ve experimented with lumen printing before and this work with blueprint paper really reminds me of the thrill and fun you can have when experimenting with shapes, light and chemical reactions!

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Watching the Sally Mann video about her piece “Picturing The South”, I admire her eagerness and fearlessness. I appreciate her willingness to push herself to try new things regardless of not knowing what the results will be and being able to have that fun relationship with her work process. The visual textures and her play with focus is truly what makes the photographs stand out.

Another artist that I also wanted to mention due to similarity in theme is Dawoud Bey. I enjoyed viewing his pieces “The Birmingham Project” and “Night Coming Tenderly, Black”. It’s inspiring to see how he creates a platform for African American history. “Night Coming Tenderly, Black” is so deeply fascinating. From the title and it’s meaning to the execution of the piece. I enjoy how the photographs are dark to signify the title and emphasize the experience would have been for slaves escaping through the Underground Railroad. One of the his quotes that really resonated with me was “it's important to him for the photograph to move beyond being an object to being an experience.”. He really captures and displays that effortlessly throughout the pieces.

Both artists bring awareness to the African American experience of living in the US, but are very different. Both visually strong and emotionally moving. In a way, it’s like they are opposites. Sally Mann contains a lot of motion and light, brightness while Dawoud Bey’s piece (Night Coming Tenderly, Black) is very sharp focused, and plays around with his use of darkness.

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Viewing Jacob Riis’ and Sebastian Salgado’s work in our lesson on Documentary photography was very eye opening. I never thought of the difference of portrayal one could have when talking about journalism/documentary photography. Viewing the side by side of Riis’ and Salgado’s work, it’s interesting seeing the differences they had while also sharing an identical message. In “How The Other Half Lives” and “Ethiopia: Children’s ward in the Korem refugee camp. 1984”, the photographs shown display the message of motherhood and the struggle of the mothers during these tough and critical moments captured, but when viewing Salgado’s work you receive more of a sense of art and influence from art history, while Riis’ photograph is more of the classic journalism.

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Watching the video about Latoya Ruby Frazier's "The Notion of Family" was truly inspiring. I've been toggling the idea of photographing my family but wasn't so sure how or what it could look like for me. I found it interesting how she mentioned that she "always" kept in mind that these photographs were parts of the book she was creating and she was adding chapters the more she kept photographing.

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Watching the Sally Mann's video was like a breathe of fresh air. I loved how human and relatable she was in the video. It gave comfort knowing that though she is an icon, she as well has her moments and is human at the end of the day.

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I haven't been introduced to Martin Parr's work until this weeks content. The few quotes that stuck with me about his work are "I can show people the flaws that we all know we have" and "it's not my job to tell people what to do & how to respond them, I'm just happy to have to have to have a platform to show". I love how his work is a mix of documentary/commentary and shot in style of advertisement photography due to his use of color. For me personally, his style go photography keeps me entertained and engaged when looking at his work. This photo is part of his "The Last Resort" series, I like his the critique about society's relationship with the litter at the beach.

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I enjoyed watching this week's videos about Gillian Wearing and Nikki S. Lee. I love Gillian Wearing's work and the idea of "masks". The photos they display in the video are so eerie in the best way, i love the ways she has been able to elaborate with this theme - from her "Rock N Roll 70" series to the series of her photographing herself wearing her loved ones' face.
Nikki S. Lee is a photographer's work I've viewed before and have loved a lot. Watching a deeper insight to her pieces and look inside her brain was very interesting and very inspiring for me. My favorite was her "Projects" series. I find it amazing how committed she is to her work! I love how Lee commits to adapting to these groups of people and documenting her experience. I can see how to a certain extent she could be crossing lines, but personally when I view these photographs I don't think they would have the same impact if there was a lack of commitment.

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Richard Avedon has always been one of my inspirations and I was so glad when i saw his name mentioned in week 3's content for class! I love how unique his photographs are, they carry such strong emotion. There was this one series they mentioned in the video that always has stuck with me. The series I'm referring to is his series about his father where he documents his father experiencing the stages of cancer (they mention the piece after the 46min time mark we were required to watch). Hearing the background details behind the relationship with his father and how it felt documenting, i find it extremely interesting. I can see the argument on how it can be seen as invasive but also in the other hand how it's his way of making peace with his father and this traumatizing experience of seeing his father pass and become weaker as the series continues. It's a tough argument that to this day I'm not so sure where I stand. Is he honoring his father?