If I could be any artist, I would choose either Cindy Sherman or Ansel Adams. After learning about Sherman's work in various art classes this year and seeing Adams prints in museums since childhood, I've come to really admire their work and I would love to leave that kind of impression on the history of photography.
Cindy Sherman embodies a lot of what I want my art to focus on. She has the confidence and creativity to model for her own photographs, and her work has a feminist edge that raises questions about women in society and the different roles we are expected to play. Her Untitled Film Stills series is probably the most recognized collection of her work, and it's fascinating to go through the photos and see the transformations she makes both to her physical body and her photographic style. My dad recently sent me this article and I was in shock. I don't even consider that specific photo to be one of Sherman's best, and it's selling for $4 million?! Even though that's a testament to the crazy world of art auctioning, it also shows her impact on the medium and the universal appreciation for her talent.
While Sherman inspires my love of portraiture and more fashion oriented photography, Ansel Adams is the epitome of a landscape photographer. His images are breath-takingly beautiful, and I can only dream of capturing such raw, awe inspiring moments in nature. I have great admiration for photographs who worked with earlier forms of technology, because their work is the result of skill rather than mere digitalization. Adams is probably one of the most well known photographers of all time, and even though my goal in art is not to reach such levels of fame, his success is well earned. I saw this photograph in a gallery a few months ago and thought it was striking (obviously in person is much better quality than reposting to a blog, but regardless):
Oak Tree Storm, Ansel Adams
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ReplyDeleteRandom comment - Happened upon your page after a google search for "Ansel Adams and Cindy Sherman"... Had been reading up on the NYC graffiti scene in the 70's and Keith Haring. Everyone knows, or has seen w/o knowing, a Keith Haring image, but in my reading I came across Tseng Kwong Chi, a photographer who did shoots of Haring's work. As well as Jean-Michel Basquait (another favorite after seeing The Radiant Child). Anyway... Chi did a number of self-portraits which he described as 'A cross between Ansel Adams and Cindy Sherman.' Consisting of himself dressed in trad. 'Maoist' garb in front of US landmarks in B&W.
ReplyDeleteAnyway(again)... I have always loved Ansel Adams but had never heard of Cindy Sherman, a copy and paste to google search later and your page was the first to pop-up. So, kudos to being my introduction to Cindy Sherman :)
Enjoyed your work, best wishes.
B.Lupo
Eh, sorry for the del post wanted to edit/add this link to a Tseng Chi portfolio: http://www.tsengkwongchi.com/port.html
Alas, no edit button.