Family

Family is not like the happy households of the 1950's; where kids play catch with dad, and mom cooks meatloaf for supper time, while sister sally plays with her dolls and skip chases his tail around the single-lot yard in the summer sun. Family is far more elaborate, and far more grueling, and far more intense than any story book can show. The lives of 5 people, all intertwined but still separate, commingle and try to make their situation work. Togetherness is the fabric of a family, to be apart is to tear it apart thread by thread. Every family is different, but I know for a fact you cannot go into the richest of neighborhoods and see that every one of them is perfect. I think it would be ignorant to say that any family is perfect, or at least perfect in the same way as you would read from a book, or see on T.V., or see on the cover of a home and garden magazine. I know my family isn't like that, no way in hell could my family be considered "normal" by any account. But it you wouldn't know that by looking at us, you would only assume that we are a "normal" family and you would take it for face value and move on. Game over. But its the little things, and maybe the bigger ones too, the things that we keep in our own circle, the things we don't want the public to know about us, and the things that we would possible be ashamed of others finding out about.

This is why I love the series Ray's a Laugh by Richard Billingham.

The series shows a look into a real household, where nothing seems like the typical "pretty" or "normal" lifestyle. The family is that of the photographer Richard, and shows his Obese mother Liz, and his alcoholic father Ray, and the life they live.

I find this one of the more real and beautiful collections I have seen, and I feel like we can all connect to it somehow. The people may seem dirty, unhealthy, negligent, maybe even unworthy of this earth to some, but they have more love in them than many families I have seen myself - that is easily seen on their faces, and in their eyes. Even though it may be a struggle, and that struggle is apparent, these images capture what is real, and really make me question what it truly means to be a family.

My own father often throws our cat.

Blog response

I reviewed the I heart Photo blog, and found this piece by Tobias Rehberger, "Untitled". While it may come off as pornographic, the emotion conveyed in the subject's face is unbelievable to witness, and the random accent of colored paper bits make the whole attitude change towards abstraction. I am unsure if this man is sucking toes for pleasure or for wealth, maybe even it's being forced upon him.

The I heart photo blog is one of the most widely varied blogs I have seen, and it conveys many different sides of photography in the modern world. I enjoyed the wide range of images but this one above still sticks out as the most unique. Real human emotion is very hard to capture, and while the man may be sucking on toes, I still believe it to be a touching example of the human heart at one of its most vulnerable and personal times.

I believe this blog to be one of the best and I definitely recommend it to everyone out there, as it has something for everyone and an almost limitless amount of possibilities of things to view.

Sequence

Duane Michaels uses a very unique means of artistic thought to capture not moments, but emotions and deep thoughts of the human condition. Instead of photographing questions we all commonly ask, and instead of following traditional techniques and theories, Duane Michaels takes a photographic standpoint to capture real human emotion and form to describe the real human condition. A surreal artist, he does not call himself a photographer, but instead “An artist formerly known as a photographer.” And captures expression and real ideas that most may pass by if used to a “normal” stance on life.

The sequences Duane Michaels creates reflect human emotion and philosophy, as well as beauty and ugliness of people. The links shown through his art commonly show the evolution of an idea or a feeling, and they change as the sequences move on. He does not merely capture images, but conveys expressions as they develop through life. He shows the true meaning of what it is to be, and what it is to feel, and what it is to dream. His work does not convey a literal meaning, and to just look at his work would not tell you what you think about it. The deeper meanings are that of an advanced and very thoughtful creator, where one needs to open his mind and really feel, not just view, what is being depicted.

When I see his work, I feel greatly intrigued by the details and messages conveyed by very intricate and mysterious details though his work. I see the beauty, the sadness, the placement of the human element in the universe, and the delicateness of the human soul. I find his work to be some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.

Thoughts on Sequencing and Shorts

I photographed Shorts on his Birthday. (Photo by Gregory Halpern, my beloved Photo Arts teacher)