Critical Mass: Art of The UO

I actually got this idea last year but never did anything with it, and actually completely forgot about it until last Thursday when I was looking at a drawing of a skull-thing in a bathroom stall. Basically looking at various visual quirks of the University, and not so much at what I suppose would be called "legitimate" art, such as some of the painted murals around campus.

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Maps

Initially the idea that arose from this image was that of being lost: imagery blending together; familiar signs, road markers, telephone wires, all a blur. There's no sense of what's coming, of what's around the corner, only fragmented images of where you've been. In the end this became an image of being lost not necessarily in terms of physical location, but of a person who's trying to remember where he's been, trying to put the pieces together.

With this thought of the image being that of a memory, I took on this idea that the telephone wires were reminiscent of synapses in the brain; thousands of wires connected together. I could imagine the wires all pulling at each other, pulling the various elements in this picture together, but becoming lost in the fog.

When I began working on this image I didn't have any clear idea of what I wanted out of it, where I wanted it to go, I simply started randomly putting pieces together. In the end I find that an appropriate work method for this picture: no clear idea of where your going, or where your at, no sense of conclusion.

More Studio Work

Ceramics Studio, 709 photographs, 1 hour

Painting Studio, 64 photographs, 10 minutes

Painting Studio, 48 photographs, 8 minutes

Singular Image

271 photographs, 30 minutes

Basic Idea: I wanted to look at the movement through a space (a studio in this case) - how the space is used over a period of time. I actually decided to start a series from this concept: looking at how different studio's are used; the interaction amongst the students; seeing how different classes, different setups evoke a certain mindset: how the students work, and how they think about their work.

This has been a pretty fun experience; I've been able to photograph a ceramics studio, painting studio, and a drawing class. I'll post some of the other images later.

Time to Celebrate!

My blog is no longer spam! So it's time for a celebration - sparkling cider all around. Plus a couple of pictures of two Tytonidae (Barn Owls) from early summer.


This was actually quite a creepy moment to photograph. I passed this small white church (that I've driven by hundreds of times), and saw these two wooden brown carved squirrels at the front of the church doors. At least thats what I thought I saw, it took me awhile to comprehend that they were Barn Owls. I didn't have my camera, so I went home to get it, drove back, and to my lucky surprise they were both still standing there.

I was able to get within 4 to 5 feet of them, shooting through this bush for cover to get some shots. What made this a creepy experience was one: the fact that these two owls were out in broad daylight; and two: there was this classical Beethoven music blaring from inside the church. I amusingly thought that these two were standing by the door so they could listen to the music.

Apparently these owls don't see too well during the day, which may explain why I was able to get so close, but also the outer most owl was protecting the other which seemed to be injured. An animal rescue service was called (its name escapes me), so I hope the two critters ended up okay.

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