Art 21 Project

By: Tyrai Mason

Robert Adams Title: Around the House 2015

I was inspired by this artist because Adams went around taking black and white photos of things that he loathed. He took pictures of things he actually hated such as suburban houses, trailer parks, and freeways. He decided that he loved it because there was a hidden beauty in the things he thought he hated. He liked that the pictures he took also told the truth. It allowed him to see that people have to accept the things they cant change. Robert Adams also used the seduction of light “light vs. dark” hence why he loved the black and white on his photos.

My Response to Adams

This artwork is in response to Robert Adams work. In this photo I used my own house. We have done a lot of remodeling of our yard. In this photo you can see the dirt and the sad looking bush. I decided to do this because when you look at this photo it is not particularly beautiful. As Adams said that once he took a look at these photos he saw the real beauty. I think that in this picture you see little things of beauty which make this photo attractive. Such as the stone walk way that leads to the stone steps. The windows also look so cool because there is a variety of windows shown as well.

Trevor Paglen Title: Reaper in the Sun, 2013

Paglen gained my interest by the fact that he goes out of his way to capture certain pictures. Trevor Paglen uses special equipment to photograph sites of secret government activity, or “black sites”. He wanted people to know the truth and get the whole picture. Which is why Paglen caught my attention, I like to see what really goes on. What the people don’t know, his work really helps shed some light on certain things. Paglen also used something I thought was cool, he used a telescope to take pictures of buildings that were 30-50 miles away, which is something I didn’t know was a thing. I never thought about how it would be a challenge to create a photo like that as well.

My Response to Paglen

In this photo in response to Paglens photo I decided to use the same set up almost. Instead of using the mountains in the background I used the tree branches. In this photo I also used the flash which made the photo appear as if it was black and white. He also called the photo reaper in the sky due to a drome that was flying by at the time. When I took this photo there was a few birds flying past. Because of the flash it makes it impossible to even locate them in this photo. I was inspired to take this because of the natural beauty we get to experience almost everyday. Paglen uses photos of things like military bases, these places surround us and we pay no mind to them just like nature, sometimes we ignore the beauty of it.

Hiroshi Sugimoto Title: Marina City, Goldberg Associates

Sugimoto saw photography as a time machine which is what caught my eye. All the pictures that we take are for us to remember for years to come. It allows people to remember the good, the bad, and even the ugly. Sugimoto also believed that photography allowed humans “the ability to see things in a different way”. We tend to look at things with one perspective but art allows us to see multiple sides.

My Response to Sugimoto

I took a picture of the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. I decided to edit the photo such as Sugimoto did. I turned the photo black and white and did a little blurring of the picture. I love that Sugimoto captures photos that look so plain but have a meaning behind it. Such as the buildings he shoots or the sacred areas. Sugimoto seems pictures as memories. This photo was a great memory from my visit in New Orleans and I will always remember it and photos will help more.

Source• http://www.art21.org