Evan Baden

I recently came across some work by Evan Baden titled Illuminati. As a video gamer and a father of two young DS owners I identified with his work immediately.

Pearl Harbor Visit

Kyle's Opinion

One of the biggest tourist attractions on Oahu island is Pearl Harbor. It is one of Americas most sacred memorials. There are 1.5 million visitors per year and most times there is a two hour wait to visit the Arizona. I was very surprised to see so many Japanese tourists there. The strange and surreal seemed to have come to life. I have hiked numerous WWII sites in the Pacific, specifically Guam and Iwo Jima. I thought it was only appropriate that I photographed at the location of the United States entry into the war. Although there was a somber feel to the place, it had a bit of Disneyesque feeling to it. Again, I took on the role of the tourist and had my photo taken by the facilities photographer. As I was having my picture taken I thought about what Joel Meyerwitz said in the August 2008 Focus Magazine.

"It's what photography can actually do best, to describe a moment in "the present", whatever that present is. It's the "eternal present". We sit here in 2008 and we pick up something from 1860 and we look at it from 2008 and it's in our lives. It fills us with wonder ... suddenly you're there and you forget where you are."

What will my son think in 20 or 50 years when he looks at our tourist souvenir? The meaning of the faux newspaper certainly has multiple meanings because of his mixed heritage. The issue is a complex one in which I am exploring in my work.

The Ugly American

As a photographer I have a very difficult time when others take my picture. Whether this a control issue I'm not sure. The work that I have been doing in Japan was to photograph the hybridization of my children, myself and my wife. I made attempts to do some self portraits in one particular Japanese hot spa facility with no success. For this picture I thought that it was only appropriate that the Yunessun facility photographer did a portrait of me with my family. I wanted to de-skill most of the process. As with many portraits the truth is not always evident. For this one I intentionally made myself look bad, with no shirt (they provided all men with beach tops), stomach sticking out and looking strangely. I was one of only 16 gaijin in this facility and I wanted to externalize my anxieties. I wanted to take the roll of the Ugly American.

According to wikipedia:

Ugly American is an epithet used to refer to perceptions of loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless and ethnocentric behavior of American citizens mainly abroad, but also at home. Although the term is usually associated with or applied to travelers and tourists, it also applies to US corporate businesses in the international arena.

Fish Eye Fun

You probably couldn't tell by the last few posts with the views from tall hotels. But, I am deathly afraid of heights. As I type this on my hotel balcony, my muscles are tense and I'm a bit dizzy. There is only a one inch thick railing that is between me and 9 floors down. AHHH! Well at any rate, I wanted to post a picture that I did the other day with my 10.5 mm lens. The problem with a fish eye is that it's all about the lens and not the image. Hey what the heck. It looks cool anyways.

View of Wakiki From The Sheraton

I recently bought a guidebook to Ohau and in it there was a section called the "best of " Ohau. As a photographer I was curious if the book had any suggestions for places to photograph. (I know, I know) Well, there was the "best" view of Wakiki. It was listed as the view from the thirtieth floor of the Sheraton Wakiki. Last night, I headed straight for it. At first I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't a guest of the hotel but none the less I went for it. I initially went to the thirty-first floor thinking that the higher the better. But, I had no luck. The floor had no windows from the hallways. I, then went to the thirtieth floor and found a restaurant with the most spectacular views. I first ran into the hostess  of the Hanohano Room. She realized what I was up to and kindly suggested that once I finish photographing the east view to take a look at the west view because the sun was setting. Fine Art photography or not it was still very beautiful.

Waikiki

Well, I've made it to Hawaii safe and sound. The flight wasn't so long if you compare it to the Boston to Tokyo flight. I have started shooting right away. Hawaii seems to have the elements that I'm looking for as it pertains to the hybrid nature of my children's two cultures. From the onset my kids have been enjoying themselves alongside their Japanese cousins. I haven't yet started my residency summary. Oops! I will get to it in a few days. I'll leave you with two views from my hotel room.

Astushi Okada

I have only a few more hours in Japan and I find myself struck with an acute feeling of melancholy. Time passes quickly and there is so much more I’d like to do. I try to avoid the inevitable (leaving Japan) in every possible way but I know that's impossible. I recently picked up a book called I Am by Atsushi Okada. I am struck by the simplicity of his photographs and how it represents the topic of self-mutilation. I have included two photos that I pieced together and his artist statement. His statement seems heartfelt and sincere which is unlike a lot I have recently which use obtuse art-speak as a justification for their artwork. It seems a bit tired at this point. Alas! I’m off to Hawaii.

Public Bath

Over the past two days I’ve been shooting a lot and I feel that I’ve been fairly productive. Time is passing quickly. As of tonight (Wed) I have only four more days here in Japan and then we’re of to Hawaii. Tonight I went to one of my favorite restaurants and then topped of the night with visiting a local public bath. For me there is something very relaxing and comforting about going to a Japanese bath. The water is about 112f and this particular bath has a section the sends electric shocks through any part of your body that you put in that area of the bath. You can only stay in the bath for about 8-10 minutes. After that you start to few light headed and your blood pressure begins to increase. The bath that I went to is in the city Yamato. It’s a fairly large city with a good amount of unsavory characters. After paying the 420 yen fee I asked the attendant if I could take a few photos inside. As you can see from the photo above he said yes. I don’t think he would have said yes if there were customers inside. I did have the opportunity to share the bath with a local Yakuza. I am surprised that they let him in because a common policy concerning public baths is that no tattoos are allowed. I kept my eyes to the ground and my mouth shut because you’ll never know what could happen.

Stand Up

I’m a big fan of Japanese TV Dramas (soap operas). The ones I particularly like tend to take basic daily oddities and push them to extremes. The protagonists usually dig deep within themselves to ponder the rudimentary source of their ills and find some kind of acceptable solution. One of the better dramas was called Stand Up. It is about four high school friends that try to acquire something they think they need but find out in the end it’s not what the really wanted. Because I worked in the Japanese public school system I particularly indentify with this drama. The characters whether a P.E. teacher or vice principal are archetypes of their positions. It is hard to explain is so few words. I found out where it was filmed and went there by train to check it out. I met a nice elderly man who explained to me about the production of this drama. Below you will find a picture of him from a screen capture and my own photograph. He opened this shop in 1946 just after the war. He could have retired twenty-five years ago but he told me he enjoys what he is doing and would like to continue as long as his good health prevails.

Japan Trip

I’ve been here in Japan for four days now. It has taken me a few days to adjust to the oppressive heat. Yesterday I went with my extended family to a modern day version of a Japanese onsen (hot spa). There were many types of baths including, green tea, coffee, red pepper, port wine and others. I tried to photograph as much as I could and happened to make a few blunders. (I walked into a women’s only section) I have been photographing my children along with some self-portraits but I am having some kind of creative block. After the last residency at AIB something within me has changed. It’s as though as I’ve lost that “fire in the belly” The only saving grace has been the book titled The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer. It is the antithesis of the critical theory that has become mainstream of grad schools. But I digress. I am going to the heart of Tokyo today in order to find that “fire” which I referenced before.

NYC Gallery Visit

I travelled to NYC this weekend with my mentor, Jim Dow to visit some galleries. The list of galleries is long and to put it simply we went to about 12. I did get to see the Crewdson show and many others. The best part of the trip was the travel to and from NYC. Jim and I discussed everything from art to politics. I got a lot of great advice and hope to use it in my work. I had the pleasure to meet Janet Borden the owner of Janet Borden Gallery.I can't stress enough what a pleasure it has been to have Jim as a mentor. He is so giving and authentic. In a couple of weeks I will be accompanying Jim on a photo shoot. This is something I have been really looking forward to. We ended up our gallery trip at his gallery to see his work (which I love) before it was taken down.

Over the past month I have gone to numerous artist talks, the last being Larry Sultan at Mass Art. He certainly was the best. All of this information will be the focus of my last paper. I have taken more pictures this month than the previous and hope to continue this right up until our June residency.

Second Portland Visit

I went to Portland ME. again for a family day trip. I didn't get a chance to take a lot of photos though I did bring the fisheye to better emulate the Rackstraw Downes technique. I also couldn't help myself at the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse. Today I took a few photos in Somersworth NH.

New Work Posted

I've posted 11 new images. With the warm weather coming I expect to take a lot more photographs. Recently I have been reading a lot of John Brinckerhoff Jackson. Actually he played a large role in the research for my 3rd residency paper. I went to see Ralph Gibson at a PRC talk at B.U. He is an old school type of photographer. I didn't hear him once talk about photography as a post-modern form of representation. LOL. I ran into a few AIB students there too. Next week Larry Sultan will be at Mass Art and Tina Barney at another PRC talk. I plan to go to both. Jeff Wall, well what do I say? I've been reading quite a bit about him and still haven't made up my mind about his work. Here is a link to an iTunes podcast by him at an artist talk. It's very good.
I recently picked Jeff Brouws's new book Approaching Nowhere. I have an affinity to him though he's a bit more pessimistic about the future.

Rackstraw Downes

I've recently started reading a Princetown University book about Rackstraw Downes. He was recommended to me by my mentor because it could possibly lead to some insight into my own work. Downes, who is a British born painter who produces:

"realistic landscapes painted on decidedly horizontal canvases (some, only as tall as a standard sheet of paper, stretch several feet wide), Downes focuses on freeway overpasses, cement factories, ventilation towers and traffic intersections, but neither these constructions nor the ecological and market critiques they imply are Downes' "subjects." Downes is a "hard-core 'eyeball' realist" Storr tells us in a thoughtfully elegant essay. Storr's efficient moniker cuts to the quick of Downes' practice: Downes paints by looking deeply; he shuns the assistance of photography and, instead, returns to a site several times during as long as a two- to three-year period to render each scene as faithfully as possible. The goal is not to recreate what can be explicitly seen, but to reveal what can be apprehended only through attention sustained across a vast span of time. In an essay contributed by the artist, Downes describes his process as "pitting all-out empiricism against habit, memory, formulae, precedent." As this book shows, Downes makes "the facts," subjective though they may be, beautiful things to see."

I am so much fascinated by his work that today I went to two locations in Portland, Maine that he painted. The way that Downes interprets the scene at hand is very intriguing. And, his commitment to his art is admirable. I plan to visit more of his locals in the next coming months. Above you will find a photographic study that I did today.

Met With Mentor

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet with my mentor Jim Dow. We spent about three hours discussing photography, my work, his work and some possible directions I should take. To describe the meeting in just a few sentences would be very difficult. The meeting was a nice shot of inspiration in the arm. I have submitted a few new pictures above. Jim referred me to look at the painter Rackstraw Downes. I must say that after seeing it ended up purchasing one of his books. Also, I've come across the fortune of going on a day trip with Jim to NYC for a bit of intense mentoring. :-) I'm looking forward to that in April. To put it simply I think I've come out of my funk.

Standing Still

Over the last few weeks I've found myself at a creative stand still. I've lost albeit temporarily my creative drive. The more I read the more depressed I get about photography. It seems as though quite a few theorists posit that photography particularly the viewer is unaware that they're being sold a bag of goods that were broken before the sale. I particularly find Susan Sontag abhorrent. She feels American photograph is predatory and that photography violates people and turns them into objects. Alas!

Mentor

I'm VERY happy to say that Jim Dow agreed to be my mentor. This is a great opportunity to have Jim as a mentor. I'm looking forward to getting started and hope to use this opportunity to grow as an artist. Photographing my family has been very difficult for me. I have strong feelings against doing such a thing. It is so hard to avoid the trite and the cute. Feedback and suggestions appreciated.

Just A Few Shots

Follow this link to see my most recent work.
http://www.pbase.com/macuzr/mfa_work

NYC Trip

I got back late last night from visiting NYC for a couple of days. The main purpose was to visit museums and galleries to see the latest exhibitions. I just missed the Richard Prince show which was very disappointing. I did get to see the Lawrence Weiner retrospective. http://whitney.org/weiner/artist.html
I was most impressed by Beth Campbell's Following Room.
On the trip I also had a chance to buy about a half dozen critical theory books which I've already started reading. The list will be included in my next update along with a few photographs that I took.

Am I suppose to start disliking photography?

I ask this in slight rhetorical fashion. But after reading:

Looking at Art Through Photographs
Photography and Representation
Time Exposure and Snapshot: The Photograph as Paradox
Touching Photographs: Roland Barthes's "Mistaken" Identification
Understanding Photographs

I find myself distraught by the fact that photography or particularly the photograph, according to the critics and intellectuals, is a mistaken and disingenuous representation of fact and more appropriately not the truth. I've been photographing for about 20 years. I'm not naive. I understand and appreciate the delicate nature of the photograph and it's somewhat fragile regard for the truth but why do so many hold photography disdainfully? I'n a lot of ways I agree with what has been written but what's with the negative tones? I believe that I will eventually be able to answer this question myself but as for know the answer eludes me.

I've been thinking about the concept of storage and it's connection with consumption in the American culture. Part of this has to do with the crap that fills my basement. Is there some connection between happiness and junk? Or more importantly "Why do I have some much sh..? Stay tune for more on this. I need to clarify and articulate my thoughts.

I have also posted two new shots from last night. Does black and white suit my subject better? I think only experimentation and trial and error will answer this.

Rethinking Photography

I recently read an interesting article SEMIOTICS FOR THE HISTORIAN:
PHOTOGRAPHERS AS CULTURAL MESSENGERS by Robert Levine. It deals with the early images in the context of their time. It's an interesting read and I'll try to post it. I also got a few shots yesterday which will be posted above.

Think outside the box?

I've tried to put myself in the position of a passive observer. But it's damn hard. I need to read more about Sally Mann and others.

I did find Society of the Spectacle online here:

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord/1.htm

My First Attempt

I feel as though I've just leaped off a cliff. How is photography a representational tool for cultural identity? 

Just Starting

This is the first post in my blog. Stay tuned.