+of+DSCN2645-pola.jpg)
Oh, and because the last post has effectively been about me being a big fat art nerd, and just because I think it's awesome, in an ode to geeks everywhere, here is the talent show clip from Revenge of the Nerds. If you take a look at the synth/computer type things they are using, and consider that the movie came out in 1984 - before I was even born - you start to realise how ahead of their times these nerds were.
Nov 29, 2008
Tony, Andy and Gursky
So lately I've been slightly concerned that my life is tilting more and more towards the un-intellectual side of the scale. As much as I do love the Sopranos, I've been seeing a little too much of this guy...
and really not enough of this guy...
Fortunately for me, this was remedied by a trip to the NGV with the lovely Bianca. As much as the gallery itself calmed me down, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the Andreas Gursky exhibition, which is on until early 09. In all honesty I knew nothing about Gursky before going. I can now tell you that Andreas Gursky, b. 1955, is a German photographer specialising in highly detailed shots taken from a massive distance such that the subject matter - factory workers, rubbish dumps, fields of cows - is reduced to a tiny miniature version of itself. These photos are then blown up to 2x3m high resolution, life size images. It's hard to capture in words just how awesome this all ends up looking, so the best solution is for me to post a few of my favourite images.
(For those who are interested, the images are Pyongyang I, 99cent II and Man Day V.)
The NGV has put an explanatory panel beside the doorway as you walk into the exhibition, which tells you that some of Gursky's images are as-is, and others have been either manipulated or spliced together via Photoshop. Feeling like a challenge had been set, Bianca and I were unable to avoid searching out each image for signs of digital manipulation. In a way it's interesting, cause it ties in to the age old idea about photography being an inherently 'true' image, particularly when compared to painting, and the way 20th century photographers have blown that idea apart, and showed that photography has just as much potential for dishonesty as it does for truth. But it was also a bit sad that the gallery had given us that info before we even saw the images -- whilst we most certainly did appreciate them for themselves, that appreciation was still prefaced by our search for trickery -- our mindset had been predetermined.
One of my favourite photos was one of a giant block of flats in the Montparnasse district of Paris (Paris, Montparnasse).
Ever since my time in Poland, where concrete apartment blocks loom here there and everywhere, I've always been fascinated by council flats, particularly the fact that they all seem to have some aspect of colour added, be it painted window frames, doors, or balcony walls. It's like some sick joke by whoever built the flats -- hey, you have to live in this dingey, dark, shoebox on floor 19, but you get pink windowframes, so isn't life great! Maybe this is just me, but as a result, I have wanted to take a photo of the Melbourne council flats off Lygon st or Malvern Rd for quite some time now, but have been scared off by the worry that someone who lives there will be offended by my la-di-da photoing ways, and tell me and my camera to piss off. Big hotshots like Andreas Gursky are in no way intimidated by disgruntled residents and as such he has produced an awesome image of the Montparnasse flats. Maybe my jealousy of Mr Gursky is what it will take for me to finally overcome my trepidation and take the damn photo. Pardon the pun in advance, I'll keep you posted.
and really not enough of this guy...Fortunately for me, this was remedied by a trip to the NGV with the lovely Bianca. As much as the gallery itself calmed me down, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the Andreas Gursky exhibition, which is on until early 09. In all honesty I knew nothing about Gursky before going. I can now tell you that Andreas Gursky, b. 1955, is a German photographer specialising in highly detailed shots taken from a massive distance such that the subject matter - factory workers, rubbish dumps, fields of cows - is reduced to a tiny miniature version of itself. These photos are then blown up to 2x3m high resolution, life size images. It's hard to capture in words just how awesome this all ends up looking, so the best solution is for me to post a few of my favourite images.
(For those who are interested, the images are Pyongyang I, 99cent II and Man Day V.)
The NGV has put an explanatory panel beside the doorway as you walk into the exhibition, which tells you that some of Gursky's images are as-is, and others have been either manipulated or spliced together via Photoshop. Feeling like a challenge had been set, Bianca and I were unable to avoid searching out each image for signs of digital manipulation. In a way it's interesting, cause it ties in to the age old idea about photography being an inherently 'true' image, particularly when compared to painting, and the way 20th century photographers have blown that idea apart, and showed that photography has just as much potential for dishonesty as it does for truth. But it was also a bit sad that the gallery had given us that info before we even saw the images -- whilst we most certainly did appreciate them for themselves, that appreciation was still prefaced by our search for trickery -- our mindset had been predetermined.
One of my favourite photos was one of a giant block of flats in the Montparnasse district of Paris (Paris, Montparnasse).
Ever since my time in Poland, where concrete apartment blocks loom here there and everywhere, I've always been fascinated by council flats, particularly the fact that they all seem to have some aspect of colour added, be it painted window frames, doors, or balcony walls. It's like some sick joke by whoever built the flats -- hey, you have to live in this dingey, dark, shoebox on floor 19, but you get pink windowframes, so isn't life great! Maybe this is just me, but as a result, I have wanted to take a photo of the Melbourne council flats off Lygon st or Malvern Rd for quite some time now, but have been scared off by the worry that someone who lives there will be offended by my la-di-da photoing ways, and tell me and my camera to piss off. Big hotshots like Andreas Gursky are in no way intimidated by disgruntled residents and as such he has produced an awesome image of the Montparnasse flats. Maybe my jealousy of Mr Gursky is what it will take for me to finally overcome my trepidation and take the damn photo. Pardon the pun in advance, I'll keep you posted.
Nov 23, 2008
A beginning of sorts
Due to a fair few recent developments, I have more free time than I know what to do with, yet creative inspiration of any sort seems awfully hard to come by. Two things are particularly concerning: I head to Italy in a little over a month, and am struggling to feel any excitement or anticipation whatsoever. What's more, in six months or so I will have a BA with an Art History major to my name, yet writing about art outside of an assessment context is something I have yet to master. Considering that my ability to pin down this rather slippery subject will effectively be the basis of my future career, I really need to hurry up and get a handle on it. In summary, I need to get inspired, and get writing, quicksmart.
The blog is a challenge of sorts, from my sometime creativity-fairy, Corinne. My reasoning is that if I catalogue the little things in life which inspire me, inspiration on a bigger scale will be easier to come by. I also figure that a blog is probably the easiest way for me to record everything I see in Italy.
As for the title, I guess you could say it's the first spark of inspiration. At the risk of sounding totally lame, I am particularly excited about the possibility of spending time in Umbria once my course in Rome wraps up - I've discovered that I have an Italian namesake. Not just a person, but an entire town in fact: http://www.bellaumbria.net/Amelia/home_eng.htm. I intend to get there, if only to check if Amelia, Umbria is doing Amelia Marra justice. I know that it makes me sound even lamer still, but I figure that if 'Amelia-goes-to-Amelia' is my way of reminding myself what inspires me, the title works on a more metaphorical level too.
I make no promises as to the regularity of posts, only that I'm sure there will be plenty to report once January rolls around. And to Corinne - YOUR TURN.
The blog is a challenge of sorts, from my sometime creativity-fairy, Corinne. My reasoning is that if I catalogue the little things in life which inspire me, inspiration on a bigger scale will be easier to come by. I also figure that a blog is probably the easiest way for me to record everything I see in Italy.
As for the title, I guess you could say it's the first spark of inspiration. At the risk of sounding totally lame, I am particularly excited about the possibility of spending time in Umbria once my course in Rome wraps up - I've discovered that I have an Italian namesake. Not just a person, but an entire town in fact: http://www.bellaumbria.net/Amelia/home_eng.htm. I intend to get there, if only to check if Amelia, Umbria is doing Amelia Marra justice. I know that it makes me sound even lamer still, but I figure that if 'Amelia-goes-to-Amelia' is my way of reminding myself what inspires me, the title works on a more metaphorical level too.
I make no promises as to the regularity of posts, only that I'm sure there will be plenty to report once January rolls around. And to Corinne - YOUR TURN.
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