Cedric Smith

Review: http://www.artandantiques.net/Articles/Photography/Cedric-Smith.asp

Supporting Gallery: http://www.dillongallery.com/index.php?p=exhibits&id=archive&exh=200704_playing_god&i=23

Web Site: http://cedricsmith.com/html/homepage.htm

Bio: "Cedric Smith was born in Philadelphia in 1970. He grew up in Thomaston, Georgia, where he moved with his family when he was a young boy. He currently resides in Atlanta, Ga.
Smith is a self-taught artist who while eschewing the “so-called rules of art”, has created a personal genre of work. He draws on a wide range of influences and sources, both traditional and contemporary, and which include landscape art, pop art, brand advertising and photography to express his poignant observations of life in the rural south. A prolific artist, Smith works with a honed discipline on his compositions, seamlessly morphing photographic images into his richly textured pieces, applying and removing layers and lettering.
Much of his current work is devoted to redressing an observation that dogged him as a child - the absence of Blacks in advertising and on the labels of popular brands." (aviscafineart.com)

New Work: "Smith’s color photographs, all modestly sized and priced, feature the same sort of old-fashioned studio portraiture of black subjects, each vintage print pointedly re-photographed in front of a Southern landscape: A nervous-looking young man in his Sunday best is placed at a church’s entry, a startled child finds herself perched atop a fat cotton boll." (Art and Antiques)

Smith's work deals with bringing images from the past and using them in the present for his art. He is using these old black and white photographs, not taken by him, and making them into something unique and original. He is giving these pictures a new life and a new voice and making it something he can call his own. I thought it was interesting to give these people in the photographs a second chance at being heard. Having their portraits re-done. I felt that I could relate to this project. He is redefining these portraits for what he is trying to say, just as I am using my family videos to explore thoughts and make my own statement in the present.

Birth and Long Term Memory

Simpkin P. Birth 1992 Jun;19(2):64-81.

Abstract of a study:

"Twenty women who attended the author's natural childbirth classes between 1968 and 1974 were the informants in this study of long-term memories of their first childbirths. The data from each informant consisted of 1) a labor and birth questionnaire, including an open-ended account of her labor, written shortly after her baby was born; 2) a similar questionnaire and account written in 1988 and 1989; and 3) a transcribed interview during which her memories and perceptions were discussed and any discrepancies between the questionnaires were explored. The questionnaires were compared for consistency of recall, and the interviews consulted for further clarification. Specific memories were excerpted, compared, classified, tabulated, and summarized. Findings were that, years later, women's memories are generally accurate, and many are strikingly vivid, especially of onset of labor; rupture of the membranes; arrival at the hospital; actions of doctors, nurses, and partners; particular interventions; the birth; and first contact with the baby. Most memory lapses or confusion were minor. Evidence of a halo effect was observed as well."

I thought this study was interesting. A lot of my projects in the past have dealt with the distortion of memory over time. Many of our memories become either hazy or take on a whole new life of their own. Many of the memories we have from childhood are probably very different form the actual experience. In this study, it was found that woman can remember their labor accurately. Their memories weren't glorified or distorted and unclear. Rightly so. Child birth is one of the most life changing and important things in a woman's life. I also find it interesting that, for the most part, no one can remember their own birth. There is a disconnect here between the mother and child. And this cycle can come full circle. Just as your mother was there to witness the first few moments of your life, which you are unaware of, you can witness your own child's birth and first few moments in the world. Looking at this study just reinforced my feelings for this project. The amount and intensity of emotion and memory that come with child birth is fascinating. Everything I read or study or look at that deals with my subject matter brings gives me a deeper connection to my subject.

I turned in my VMFA appllication!

Jaques Henri Lartigue

"Photography to me is catching a moment which is passing, and which is true."

Bio- "Jacques Lartigue was born in Courbevoie on June 13, 1894. He took his first photographs at the age of six, using his father’s camera, and started keeping what would become a lifelong diary. In 1904 he began making photographs and drawings of family games and childhood experiences, also capturing the beginnings of aviation and cars and the smart women of the Bois de Boulogne as well as society and sporting events. An unfailingly curious amateur, he tried out all the available techniques, tirelessly recording the fleeting moments and meticulously arranging his several thousand images in large albums." (Official Web Site)

Supporting Galleries/Museums/Magazines- Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Life, and Museum of Modern Art

Article- http://www.slate.com/id/2106598/

I have always been a fan of Lartigue's work. I loved his quote about how photography is catching a true moment in time. I am hoping to capture a moment in time with my project. Although I am capturing pieces of my family history that I was not able to witness, I still feel that these moments are true and pure. Lartigue worked on his photography for most of his life. In the end he had a sort of family album. His photography was a family history.
I have also always been drawn to "old fashioned" pictures. I love how the people, clothes, cars, and cities looked back then. Taking pictures from my family videos, that were shot in the 1930's, is my way of being able to photograph what is impossible to photograph.

Sukha

"When we feel a sense of lightness and openness within, then we are experiencing the opposite of duhkha, a state that is called Sukha. The concept of duhkha plays an important part not only on Yoga but in every significant philosophy of India. There is duhkha at different times in the life of every human being." (T.K.V. Desikachar)

Desikachar, T.K.V. . "The Heart of Yoga" Inner Traditions International. Rochester, Vermont. 1995

Desikachar is the son of Krishnamacharya, the "founder of modern Yoga". He has devoted his life to studying and teaching Yoga. He is an international teacher and widely respected in the Yoga community.

This idea that good and bad, suffering and joy are two aspects of life is why I am using tihs quote. One is not without the other. In my project I am trying to show that both the trauma of birth and the beauty of this same experience are part of the same thing. There is a balance of the good and the bad. One would not exist without the other. The ideas of duhkha and sukha are a bbig part of Indian culture and philosophy. A more recognizable idea would be the Yin and Yang. The light and dark, good and bad.

Friedrich began filmmaking in 1978 and has produced and directed eighteen 16mm films and videos.

Review:http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/friedrich.html

Galeries:Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art.

Su Friedrich's films, such as "First Comes Love", investigate the political and cultural ideals of modern society. In First Comes Love, Friedfrich makes her commentary on the issue of gay marriage through personal "home" movies of four dfferent coupled getting married. I chose to dicuss her work because I am impressed at her ability to combat this issue with a personal piece of art. Although the movie may sound simple enough, four couples and four weddings, what she is saying is much bigger than that. I was alos very drawn to her fiml stills. I have started to really like the grainy, blurry, dream like quality you get from film stills. I was very pleased with how some of the pictures I took from my home videos turned out. When you take an image from a moving image there's a lot behind that one picture that isn't completely recognizable by the viewer. It has a mysterioius quality. Seems to take time out of the linear.

Anicca

Anicca(Impermanence)

"Impermanence is one of the Three Marks of Existence. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all things and experiences are inconstant, unsteady, and impermanent. Everything we can experience through our senses is made up of parts, and its existence is dependent on external conditions. Everything is in constant flux, and so conditions and the thing itself are constantly changing. Things are constantly coming into being, and ceasing to be. Nothing lasts"(Wikipedia).

"Nothing in nature is identical with what it was the moment before"(Huston Smith).

Smith, Huston. "The worlds Religions." Harper Collins. New York, New York.

Huston Smith is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. He has taught at Washington University, M.I.T., Syracuse University, and the University of California at Berkeley.

This idea of impermanence is an extremely important part of Buddhist teaching. Buddha taught that the only way to be truly free was to let go of all things permanent and accept time and change, loss and gain. While looking through these family movies I have seen relatives who have passed away or who I no longer see. I have been able to watch my grandmother grow up. From her birth to her first steps and even one of her first dates with my grandfather. Life is a continuous cycle. Everything starts an d every will at some point come to an end. These family videos act as memories. These otherwise intangible things that cannot be seen are able to be seen. Being able to capture that which is impermanent, through still or moving images, is extraordinary.This is probably one of my main attractions to photography. The Buddhist teachings I have brought up so far are interesting components to my project.

Alan Berliner

"Alan Berliner's uncanny ability to combine experimental cinema, artistic purpose, and popular appeal in compelling film essays has made him one of America's most acclaimed independent filmmakers"(Web Site).

"As an independent filmmaker, Alan Berliner has dedicated the majority of his work to the legacy of the family album and the personal histories embedded within names" (Walker Art Center)

Statement-" I tell personal stories. I work from what I know. You can use the personal to explore very broad, wide-ranging kinds of experience relating to identity. I try to make my films windows and mirrors for the experience that I’m exploring and allow people to see themselves in aspects of the film or to learn about parts of the broader types of experience I’m exploring through the film. I want to try to touch everybody with the warm and friendly shock of recognition."

Review- http://www.ce-review.org/kinoeye/kinoeye23old2.html

Interview- http://www.filmfestivalstv.com/sanfrancisco/2006/05/wide_awake_with.html

Web Site- http://www.alanberliner.com/index.html

Photos- http://www.alanberliner.com/photo/photo.html

Supporting Galleries- Walker Art Center Minneapolis, MN , Museum of Modern Art, International Center of Photography

Berliner's statement about touching people through recognition is what caught my attention. I have not yet seen any of his film, but plan to do so very soon. At the moment my project is focused on my personal story and my family history. The home movies that I am working with are all dealing with subject matter that can be recognized by everyone. What also caught my attention was Berliner's statement about working with the personal to in order to explore a broader range of topics, such as identity. My project is still in its beginnings. Berliner's films and statement about his work are inspiring. I can relate to what he says about his work and using the personal experience to make a bigger statement.