Expression

Art of Human Expression
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"What better way to express your true self than to wear it on your skin?"
http://www.helium.com/items/999796-tattoos-a-case-for-self-expression

"Tattooing is claiming your body for yourself, with a story in it somewhere that reminds you who you are."
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/04/local/me-tattoo4

"Tattoos", Tuttle said, "are a practice. They've always seemed to me like travel marks or souvenirs of certain experiences. In some primitive cultures, that's exactly what they were. You went through some rite of passage, and you were given a tattoo to prove it."
 http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/04/local/me-tattoo4/2

"Tattoos show self expression, commitments to special people in their lives and milestones in that someone has achieved in his or her life.  (Biggs, 2009)  People who get tattoos get them for a reason with a meaning behind each one of them.  There is always a story for them to tell that will bring back memories of not only the day they received the tattoo but also the memory of the meaning of the tattoo."
http://hubpages.com/hub/Thebeautyandmeaningsoftatoos

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All of the sources above basically all say the same thing.  Tattoos are a form of self expression.  They show what a individual finds so valuable in there life thay they choose to express it on their bodies.  All of the sight say in one way or another every tattoo has a meaning wether it is what it represents, the process of the pain from getting it done is the meaning, and many other reasons.  There basically is no tattoo that can go without any explanation, feeling, story or representation behind it.  People have them done to declare their bodies as their own and express their true inner self.
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This is basically what my project is about.  I am expressing two of my ideas through my work every tattoo has a meaning and you can get to know and understand a individual through learning the meanings of their tattoos.  I am showing two subjects in my work whom I got to know on a personal level through learning the meanings of their tattoos.  Tattoos are a very important part to both of my subjects  expressing themselves whether it is for the world to see, personally for themselves or to what their tattoo represents. Through what all the quotes sources said about tattoos is what my project is about or what my models deeply feel about with tattoos.  It is letting people get to know a part of you by showing them what you find most meaningful to you that you decided to have it placed upon your body for them to see.
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Funny comic to go with what I have been saying..
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Laurel Nakadate Visiting artist questions

Why did you choose to use underwear as a main theme in your photos?

How did you come about to decide to choose that theme and what inspired you?

Man Ray

I choose to research this artist because both of my models love his work.  This gives me insight to understand my models further who they are and maybe even further ideas into how to take there pictures.

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BIO
Man Ray was born in 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He was a photographer, painter and a filmaker.  He lived in also hollywood and Paris where he eventually died in 1976.

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QUOTES

"An original is a creation motivated by desire. Any reproduction of an originals motivated be necessity. It is marvelous that we are the only species that creates gratuitous forms. To create is divine, to reproduce is human."

"A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him."

Both quotes by Man Ray
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Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWobFGfxULc


Gallery
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=2036


Home Page
http://www.manraytrust.com/

 

 

Thoughts on my project so far.

This post is not for Idea or Artist entry.  I have realized one  huge thing about this project is that it hasbecame about getting to know my subjects personally through a common interests we all have.  All of us have many similarities and differences.  This project is not mostly about the meaning of tattoos but about getting to know a person over time through learning the meanings of their tattoos,  spending a long period of time with them and involving them in my project not only as models but for their opinions, ideas an advice on everything so far.  I want to make a book to be available at the end of the show with pictures that wont be displayed in the open of all of my models and myself working on the project to show more of how personal project became between all of us.  These are all ideas but this is what I have found so far.  I have realized also I want to make frames for at the end my models and myself are all going to work together to make the frames.  I realized what this project really became about by how much I was involving my models and how well I got to know my models by this project over time.  Now I just need to rewrite my artist statement.  I also was thinking about having a photo or two involving both of my models to show the things I found similar about the both of them.

Emotional aspect

"Tattoos have become therapy, they have become solutions to making people feel better about themselves."
"Chris Pfouts, the editor of "International Tattoo" magazine said "Many, many people get tattooed at low points in their lives, and the work is therapeutic that way. They feel boxed in, jammed up, unable to force a change anywhere in their lives- so they change the one thing they can for certain, their skin. This is one of the few times when tattooing flips its usual role. In other cases, people are taking what's inside of them, their pain or happiness, and putting it on the outside. Getting tattooed as a last resort method of change takes what is outside- resistance, barriers - and possibly brings it inside, cuts it down to a size where it can be handled and overcome (4).""

"The tattoo will never go away which fascinates some people and scares many, it will not change unlike the world. If a person can choose to wear something on them that will not go away and not change then they feel a sense of power, the power to control oneself in a healthy yet rebellious way."
 
All qoutes are from the article below
"Tattoos and Mainstream Culture." 123HelpMe.com. 23 Feb 2011
    <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=14067>. 
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I decided to research this article Tattoos and Mainstream Culture because it gave me a different insight and other aspects to why people get tattoos that most the information I have read so far.  Giving negative reasons (as in the reasons people hate most why people get tattoos) and other reasons (not negative) that people get tattoos that we usually do not think about most.  One reason was people are getting them now because of their attraction to their fear of getting them.  Second reason for people getting tattoos is to show everyone there serious commitment to something by getting it permanently placed on their skin.  Third reason culture now has gotten more into important ways to express themselves.  Fourth reason which I find why my models gets tattoos also is the therapeutic aspect of it.  Wether it is going through the painful process of recieving the tattoo or what there getting tattooed is there way of dealing with something internal or external going on in their lives.  Tattoos give them the therapy to find their answer to a problem they have.  Fifth is to record something import to them.  The last reason they talked about is the experience.
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The article definitally covers many emotional reasons why people get tattoos one of the biggest reasons I was interested in reading about was why people get them because of what they experience when getting the tattoos placed upon their body.  It gave me emotional reasons for why people recieve them for commitment, therapy, important, experience, attraction and painful process.
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GRADUATE SCHOOLS

For  graduate school to apply to I choose two first one being School of Visuals Arts and the Brooks Institute in California.

Why Interested?
I choose to apply to svu because it is a school I have been highly interested in since I was in high school.  I am really impressed with there student work and it is in the city I have always been interested in living in eventually.  I think it will help me grow further as a artist and improve my work visually and conceptually.    

Why here instead of elsewhere?
I choose svu because it is one of the top two places recommended to live in the us to promote yourself as a artist and a photographer.  I have always want to live in that city and I am highly impressed with their faculty and student work when compared to other schools.

What makes it unique?
Its being in a big city gives more opportunities and unique experiences and also it being a strictly art school I think helps its students become more successful.

Professor: Charles Traul (the chair of photography)
I choose Charles because he is the head of the mfa photography program.  He is the highest influencing person in the program so I decided to research him because he is the one who run the department helps create programs for the students

This is taken from his biography from his site.

http://www.charlestraub.com/#


He got is BA at University of Illinois, Masters and Institute of Design, Illinoise Institue of Technology ad University of Louisiville. He has been in several books and publications including aperature.  He has has several awards such as Mendricks Foundation Award and is represented by Gitterman Gallery and Daniel Cooney Fina art.

For grad student I choose Nick Sheppard.  http://www.nickshepard.com/

I choose to highlight him because I found is work exciting and interesting technically and visually.  i could not find a bio but I found a link to interview with him http://svaunderexposed.com/nick-shepard.

Response to Alexandre Singh (11/16/11)

Qoute:
He was talking about all art when he said this qoute..
"Everything is understandable even if it takes 1000 words to describe a picture everything is understandable, mystifying art is bullshit"

3 Words: (about his work)
Original
Complex
Narrative

One person in audience said his work to be about dreams and uncognitive association.  I agree along with complex story telling that is what I would say most all his work is about.  I would say he is a very educated intelligent artist who researches his work heavily and makes complex pieces either about uncognitive associations or complex story telling.

Intresting thing learned from lecture:
I found Alex a very interesting artist.  At first in the beginning I did not realize he was doing a performance piece and that his work was about associations but once I figured that out his work made sense became very interesting to me.  I would have to say what he does is very original which is hard to say about many artists currently time that along I found fascinating.  I think really interesting he makes his work complex either with storys or his work with uncognitive associations an dreams.  At first you or lost when or if you do not realize what his work is about or that it is performnce piece but once all of that is realized his work easy to understand and keep along with as he talks.

Answers to Questions:
What interested you in making work about dreams?
From what I gathered what interests him with making work about dreams was about how your dreams have uncognitive associations or explanations for what you dream about which is really interesting. 

Where did you get your inspiration/idea for unclehead from?  
I do not believe he showed this work.  But his inspirations and Ideas for all his work are either about stories or uncognitive associations with dreams and making his work show that in way people understand how that works.

Most Compelling Piece:
His very large complex space he built that started from walking into room imitating a meth lab and leading you all the way to room imitating very nice imitation of art gallery and last walking into a bunker containing all the ingredients for the show.  I believe it was called Hello Meth Lab in the Sun.

New Questions:
Does it take  you long time build diagrams for your complex pieces such as making layouts with all the associations that you want it to contain?
How long did it take you to create Hello Meth Lab in the Sun from start to finish?