Aura's Photography!

It's finally time to present what I've done for this final project. I chose the theme of collections, specifically going into the history of their owners and the meaning behind them. It took a lot of hard work but it was a lot of fun. Enjoy!

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In 1942, Graciela Iturbide was born in Ciudad de México, where she still resides today. She is a successful Mexican photographer whose work focuses primarily on indigenous people and culture. She began hosting exhibitions in 1980, beginning at Casa del Lago in Ciudad de México. As of today, she has done eighty-seven exhibitions globally, her most recent one being in 2013 at the Chobi Mela VII International Festival of Photography in Dakha, Bangladesh. In that same time, she won a total of 22 awards and grants from different organizations. However, she didn’t initially begin with the intention of becoming a photographer. At first, she had the desire to become a film director. Thus, in 1969, she enrolled in the film school Centro de Estudios Cinematográficos at the Universidad Nacional Autónama de México. At this University, she came into contact with a professor named Manuel Alvarez Bravo. He was a modern Mexican photographer. Iturbide was intrigued. Therefore, from 1970 to 1971, he mentored her as they traveled across Mexico, ultimately changing her career path. She took this experience as a jumping off point and set out on her own trips, expanding her scope beyond Mexico into Latin America. Her work was eventually noticed by the Ethnographic Archive of the National Indigenous Institute of Mexico. They requested her in 1978 to capture photos of indigenous Mexican people. The following year, Mexican painter and sculptor Francisco Toledo asked that she visit Oaxaca, Mexico to photograph the native Juchitán population, leading to some of her best work.

She published a book titled Juchitán de las Mujeres, which translates to Juchitán of Women, with the photos she took from 1979 to 1988. As made clear by the name, the series focuses almost exclusively on the indigenous women of that community. She uses a combination of candid photos and staged photos, yet the staged photos still feel natural and genuine. There are many portraits, all very unique in their own way. Iturbide effectively captures the culture of the Juchitán people by capturing interactions with animals, family and other people, traditional clothing, and indigenous community events. The photographs themselves are gelatin silver prints on baryta paper.

I very much enjoy the emotional quality of the series. It is full of joy, pride, and life. There is a deep sentiment that makes the viewer feel as if they are there despite the fact that these are two-dimensional black-and-white photos. From my perspective, the monochrome presentation puts more focus on the content of the image by not distracting your senses with color. This, in combination with my personal identity, makes me feel close with Iturbide’s work. Although I am not part of the Juchitán community, I am Mexican and there is an overarching unity in that way. Iturbide’s work in Juchitán de las Mujeres is very inspiring in its raw authenticity. It is very dynamic and is a wonderful example as to how even staged photography can be made to look candid. Staged doesn’t always have to mean stiff and posed.

References:

Iturbide, G. (n.d.). Graciela Iturbide: About. Graciela Iturbide RSS.

Iturbide, G. (n.d.). Graciela Iturbide: Juchitán. Graciela Iturbide RSS

Matt Black is a contemporary American photographer born in 1970. He is acclaimed for his commitment to telling the stories of the agricultural community. Given that he was raised in the Central Valley of California, he has a personal connection to the topic. He communicates his visual narratives through his focus on geography and the people associated with it. His interest in photography started shortly after he graduated high school when he got a job with his local newspaper. Since then, his passion has only grown. He has done works such as The Dry Land—exploring the effect of California's drought on agriculture—and Monster in the Mountains—covering the disappearance of forty-three students. His photos have been shown in museum exhibitions and in magazines such as National Geographic and TIME Magazine. He has earned a place in many fellowships and won many awards, notably winning the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Prize three times. Though, one of his most significant career accomplishments by far has been his book American Geography, where he traveled more than 100,000 miles across forty-six of the fifty United States to capture photos of the country and its people. This was a six-year project, taking place from 2014 to 2020.

This collection of photographs is all in black-and-white. It is put together in a published photo book, but has also been presented in museums. American Geography was first shown in the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg. The series was originally titled The Geography of Poverty, but later changed to its current name in favor of the intended message. Black wants the viewer to understand that poverty is not an isolated issue, but instead a significant problem embedded into American life and society as a whole. This is the primary motivation behind the 100,000 mile trip: to show that these conditions are universal and not constrained to a single location. He notes that the American Dream’s ideal of picking yourself up by your bootstraps is often ineffective—that your state of life is determined largely by your surroundings. If you are born into poverty, it is much harder to progress forward. To share this message with others, Black deliberately sheds light on the less glamorous side of America. He points his camera at the people and places that many look away from; he gives coverage to the underrepresented. It is a critique of hierarchies and the romanticized definition of America.

This series has a very deep emotion in it that intrigues me. Whether the photograph is showing part of a human figure or the whole person, Matt Black finds a way to draw connections between the subject(s) and their surroundings, lending to the message. Some pieces that called the most to me are the two shown below. The first one is very interesting to me because of the lightwork; the unique pattern of shadows and high contrast blanketing the woman and her house gives the impression that she is part of a whole. In the second photograph, I was drawn to the use of value and movement. The hand lays steadily on top of the wooden pole and goes past the frame to the right, the similarity in value making the man’s hand feel like an extension of the wood.

Matt Black’s careful consideration of the way the American people are connected to their physical circumstances is something that I can apply to my own work. Since my final photography project is going to focus on how collections of objects reflect the personality and life of their owner, I will keep in mind Black’s compositional choices.

References:

Black, M. (n.d.). American Geography — thumbnails. Matt Black.

Black, M. (n.d.). Matt Black Bio and Info. Matt Black.

David Bradford is a man with a long journey through the art world. As a young boy, he indulged in musical interests, such as playing the trombone and dancing. He was later unable to dance due to an injury, thus, he found a new passion in a different medium of art: drawing. He committed himself to this pursuit, ultimately earning an illustration degree in 1978 at the Rhode Island School of Design. His career led him to New York City where he was hired as an art director and advertiser for Saks Fifth Avenue. However, he was looking for more freedom; he took to the road in 1990. He started to drive a taxi cab in hopes of finding more inspiration through traveling. What began as him taking photos for drawing reference eventually became a love for photography itself. Starting in 1993, he initiated an official photography project that lasted ten years, eventually leading to the publishing of his first series, Drive-By Shootings.

The title is a double entendre for gun violence that often occurs in high-traffic cities and for pictures shot from a moving vehicle. The book captures the latter, however, the title may have intended to allude to the location and intensity of the series. It was very successful, selling out within three months of its first printing. This black-and-white photography collection takes place in the bustling city of New York. Using a 35mm Yashica T4 point-and-shoot camera, Bradford took photos from inside of his taxi cab. The photographs are carefully organized on the pages, varying in size and placement depending on the intention. Some are a full-bleed spread across both pages; others show an isolated photo with thick black margins; there are also grids of multiple photographs on a single page. Furthermore, the organization is based on similarities. Similar topics—such as dogs in cars, a community event, or the connection between organic and inorganic—are put together on the same one or two pages.

Bradford also experiments with focused versus blurred photography. In the same way topics are grouped together, so are compositional choices like this. Altogether, Drive-By Shootings is separated into five chapters, each depicting a different time of day or weather than the last. In between every section, there is a short writing from Bradford himself. Each is very immersive, structured like a story instead of an explanatory article. It provides information using narratives in the third person, with the exception of the opening being a first-person introduction from the photographer.

Personally, the organization of the photos was my favorite part. It’s impressive how despite the great volume of photos taken, Bradford was able to put them together in a comprehensive way. Using topic, composition, setting, and overall context to group photos together is a very clever way to build a visual narrative. It feels very cohesive. Additionally, the dynamic energy of the series creates a great sense of interest, the organization lending heavily to keeping the viewer engaged. Even though the book was thick, I felt the desire to continue flipping through the pages. The execution is well done. In general, my favorite set of photographs are those taken of the taxi’s driver-side mirror. It provides a frame within the picture itself while creating a sense of depth. A car mirror is meant to reflect what is behind the viewer, therefore, we as the audience of these photographs feel as if we are there. The choice to use a mirror in the shot extends the world within the photo past the limits of the physical pages.

References:

Bradford, D. (2000). Drive-By Shootings [Photobook]. Ullmann.

Bradford, D. (n.d.). Bio. Drive-By Shootings.

For my final theme project, I wish to delve into themes personality and humanity. I intend to do this by examining how physical collections of objects reflect who the collector is as a person, focusing specifically on my family and friends. Many people collect things like figurines or retro merchandise. To be a collector is not as simple as it may seem; it requires commitment and passion. Several of my loved ones have collections of vastly different subjects, respectively reflecting their personal interests and values in life. By taking this specific concept and narrowing it down to my friends and family, I have better insight into who they are as people and can more effectively execute my theme.

As an individual with multiple collections, I am already invested in this topic. For instance, my room is decorated with vintage clown dolls and rabbit figurines. These collections reflect my interest in the uncanny and unconventional. Visitors have expressed to me the eerie nature of my collections, yet, I believe there is a charm in the aesthetics of vintage items. The strange caricatures of the clowns and the peculiar nature of the rabbits intrigues me with their creativity. Being an art major, I derive pleasure from the stylization and expressiveness. There is a love put into these older dolls that I admire. In this way, what I collect is an extension of myself. This is what I seek to examine: how collections are a physical manifestation of the owner.

To construct this visual narrative, I will capture shots of both the collector and the collected. There will be photographs of the objects as well as photographs of the owner interacting with their collection. The scenes will be indoors, given that most people keep their items at home. Since my subjects are going to be my loved ones, they are generally accessible. Once granted permission, the shots will be carefully composed to draw a visual connection between the live subject and their possessions. Cohesion will be established particularly through color and composition. Subject direction will be involved; I will have the individual dress in a manner that connects with the collection through color and style. I will guide the subject while encouraging them to interact naturally to include candid shots in this project. To capture the story properly, I must use a portrait lens and a flash.

Juan Rulfo, born 1918 and deceased 1986, was a modern artist from Acapulco, Mexico. He was a man of many talents and practices. He was not only a renowned writer of Mexican stories, but also a screenplay writer and a photographer. In the world of literature, he is best known for his 1955 novel Pedro Páramo. This book was very influential in the future of Latin-American fictional writing, even becoming the base inspiration for another very famous novel, Cien Años de Soledad, over a decade later in 1967. He was also well known for his shorter stories, such as Luvina. His interpretation and personal experiences with post-revolutionary Mexico translate strongly into his work, both in his writing and his photographs.

Most of Rulfo’s photography career took place in the mid-20th century. He took thousands of photographs. One of his photo collections titled Juan Rulfo’s Mexico was captured over the 1940s and 1950s. It is presented in monochrome 6x6 cm negative silver gelatin prints. The series of sixty-two photographs was shown in the BYU’s Museum of Art. It gives insight into the genuine, unfiltered life of common rural indigenous folk around the Mexican countryside. The manner in which the photos are composed and presented places emphasis on the connection between people and the natural world.

I deeply appreciate the honesty of the images Rulfo captured. In fact, I believe capturing candid photos of humanity are the most intriguing and exciting. His work may encourage me to delve more into that subject. I have often taken photos of my cats and flowers since they are more accessible to me, however, Rulfo’s photography makes me want to branch out more. I may be more inclined to bring my camera to social events. Also, researching Juan Rulfo’s Mexico has given me more ideas as to how to compose my shots for different effects. In the first photo shown below, Rulfo places a photo of an old indigenous sculpture next to a portrait of a similar looking man. Both of them being side by side and connected by posing creates an incredible story without words and therefore teaches me more about the importance of photo organization.

References:

Juan Rulfo's Mexico. Photographs by Juan Rulfo. Text by Carlos Fuentes, Margo Glanz, Jorge Alberto Lozoya, Eduardo Rivero, and Victor Jimenez. Smithsonian Institution Press, Herndon, 2002. numerous duotone illustrations, 11¾x11¾".

Powell, Megan. “Rural Mexico Through Juan Rulfo’s Lens.” Kennedy Center, Bridges Alumni Magazine, 2006.

This project was very interesting and quite challenging! I did my best to capture a variety of locations and subjects.

Matika Wilbur is a Native American contemporary photographer. She comes from the Swinomish and Tulapip tribes along the coast of Washington. She was born in 1984 and as of the time of writing, is currently 41 years old. Her work as a photographer began in the fashion industry before her focus moved toward portraiture. Her work became more personal; she went from photographing people’s physicality to photographing their stories. Wilbur being a Native woman herself, she became determined to capture genuine depictions of indigenous people. This motivation has led to one of her most renowned bodies of work to this day: “Project 562: To Change The Way We See Native America”. She set out on a three-year journey of visual storytelling, taking and collecting photographs of contemporary Native people from all of the 562 federally recognized tribes within the United States. She started her travels in 2012, building up contacts through social media and funding the costs through Kickstarter donations. She traversed all fifty states through driving, horseback, train, and even on-foot. She alternated between a Canon EOS 7D digital camera and a Mamiya film camera, preferring the latter. The photos are digitally archived on the internet. Each image is accompanied by some form of writing, be it a poem or other caption.

“My goal is to unveil the true essence of contemporary Native issues, the beauty of Native culture, the magnitude of tradition, and expose her vitality.” -Matika Wilbur

I admire Wilbur’s dedication to dismantling the stereotypes around Native American people. Project 562 is incredibly important in social and historical fields. It humanizes Native Americans in a way that pop culture has not for a long time. They were often subject to romanticization, erasure, and even made into mascots. Wilbur’s emphasis on connection, individuality, and how individuality creates a diverse yet harmonious whole is very inspiring. It gives me more ideas in how I can tell a story with only one or a few subjects and how the background or environment enhances the narrative. Her color and lighting work is very impressive as well. The diversity of composition (such as her alternation between close-up and landscape shots) are keep the series intriguing. Below are only a few of Project 562's breathtaking photos:

Learning something new is best fostered by an understanding of the basics. Photography at its simplest can be experienced through the use of a pinhole camera. It is easy to build! Fortunately, I had a completely black shoe box available to me, which I reinforced with black duct tape. The lens is a square of aluminum cut from a can of Arizona Iced Tea (my favorite!) The pinhole (that I poked with the finest needle I have) is the only point through which light enters the box. I covered it with black electrical tape when it was not in use.

The more technical aspects of this process starts with the dark room. Working with light sensitive film and learning how to develop it was tedious, but interesting and ultimately rewarding.

It took a lot of experimenting to get used to my new handmade camera. The aspects of a camera that we've been studying—ISO, shutter speed, F-stop—are no longer easy to control in this scenario. Though there are mathematical solutions that can calculate these, this assignment is less technical. Thus, it was a lot of trial and error. The weather changing from sunny to cloudy made it difficult at times, but it taught me about the correlation between exposure and the amount of light in a photo. All the photos came out inverted, so when I inverted them back to see the true light values, I was surprised with how much detail I captured!

After hours of trying, I finally worked out the best timing for my camera. The first photo is a low landscape shot of a parking lot; the second is taken along the ledge of the art building's second floor; the third and last is my personal favorite. I sat a small penguin plushie of mine on some smooth rocks to sunbathe and took a photo. For these photos, I timed them each around 1:30 mins.

Honorable mentions! The first shows two animal keychains of mine sat on a ledge. I love this one, but the exposure might be too low. The second photo is of the courtyard; it accidentally came out hazy because I did not close the box lid all the way and there was a light leak. Regardless, I thought these two photos were still charming and worth mentioning. Not all photography has to be technically proper to be interesting!

friends...

or pets!

Experiencing life together can be casual or planned, but it is all special in it's own way. I find happiness in the simple things, such as opening the water tap for my cat to drink water or sitting with my mom on the couch. In planned events, such as my arts-and-crafts friend hangout and a Super Bowl party, love can be seen in the consideration people have for each other. It means that we think about one another and actively seek out one another's company.

Hello! My name is Aura (pronounced Ow-ooh-dah, or just ask me how).

I'm an art major with an emphasis in illustration. Although I do not intend to enter the work field of photography, I am excited to see how it affects my drawings. I have been infatuated with drawing since I was in elementary school, expressing my interests and striving to get better. I am looking to apply the techniques I learn from different classes into my art. What I am most interested in gaining from this class is a better understanding of composition.