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idea 2/10 - symbols/symbolism

In my portfolio this semester, I have become hyper aware of the symbolism that I am creating within my work. These images are all significant portions of my life that I feel are mirrored in or related to experiences and emotions that every human being is capable of experiencing/feeling. I am dealing with issues such as pain, tragedy, happiness, love, lust, deterioration, etc. What I'm working with now is how to appropriately express these in my images. Obviously I do not want my work to be so explicit that it is easily solved within a minute of looking at it. So I'm playing with symbolism and mood to get the feeling across without having to say "this image is about my struggle with relationships" or "this image is about when my uncle died". Though the original subject of these images are specific to me, the outcome of the image and the way it is perceived should not be so specific but more of a hint or a general emotion.

I am struggling a lot with not putting in specific details that only pertain to me, but I fear that if I make my images so explicit it will make my work weaker. Using symbols/symbolism to intrigue the viewer and give them only hints to what the images contain I hope will allow them to be more universally relateable. And though I know it is far fetched to have work be universally relateable, I want the idea of 'humanity' to come through in these images.

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idea 2/4 - Humanity

Humanity:
1. All human beings collectively
2. The quality or condition of being human
3. The quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence
4. The humanities

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanity

The whole preface of my work this semester revolves around the idea of "humanity" or "being human". Psychology has always fascinated me especially when it comes to how we build relationships and why we do the things we do. When it comes down to it, we see a lot of nurture vs. nature. I'm (ofcourse) looking very intently at the "nuture" side of things. The experiences we go through shape and build our personalities, viewpoints, culture, and religious views.

I'm also really interested in an even simpler side of this, which is the idea of "just being human". Being ordinary, living through joys and struggles without the world stopping for you to figure out which direction is up or down. At the pace this world is going in, we often forget how shortlived and fragile life can be until we lose someone we love. I'm hoping to emphasize the beauty of just being alive by pulling out the moments in my life that are most significant to the person I am today, no matter how big or small. I want the message of "life goes on" to be prominent in the final series of images, and for it to show hope of tomorrow. I touch on some subjects which are uncomfortable for me to remember, recreate, and display - but the reason that I feel it is important to show these images is to represent that the hardest things to remember are often ones that are most important to our development.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."
-Robert Frost

1/31 Artist - blank

Idea 1/27 - break ups

My portfolio this semester is a continuation of my portflio last semester which reflects upon important moments within my own life. I have noticed a trend that a lot of the moments that I have been reflecting on are past romantic relationships. I'm not sure why these stand prominent above the rest. However some clarity came to me yesterday. I went through my second break up in the last 6 months. As with the last I was confronted with the feelings of confusion and a sense of regaining self. I am reevaluating the last 2 months of my life... but then again I am also reevaluating the last 6 months. What moments were important? How did things change? And with a relationship that was not clearly stated for months before becoming "official" what does that mean? Every new relationship brings a new outlook on life. And every new break up no matter what side you are on, changes your perception of everything. Needless to say with all the ups and downs of this recent relationship I think I have found two more images for my portfolio of moments that changed my life and will remain in my thoughts forever.


Tashiro, Ty. Frazier, Patricia. "I'll Never Be in A Relationship Like That Again": Personal Growth Following Romantic Relationship Breakups. 2003. Web.

This article tackles on the subject of breakups and failed relationships. It focuses on the growth of the individual no matter what side they were on (i.e. dumper or dumpee). This article studies all sorts of factors within breakups such as age, gender, social class, etc. This article also touched base on the personal growth between men and women, such as which gender felt they had grown more.

Artist - 1/24

Brandon Merkel

http://www.mustardgasparty.org/Artist.asp?ArtistID=26497&Akey=P7GJQT2H

I do not actually know a lot about Brandon Merkel or his photography. I kind of stumbled upon it recently. What really interests me about him is his aesthetic approach to his images. They capture a sort of dream like and almost nostalgic in a sense. I feel like his aesthetic in his photographs is strongly related to my concept for my series. When I look at his photographs I feel like I am looking at someones or somethings past. A vague memory of what used to be. When I am making my photographs I have that same feel of "what used to be" where things are still not clear and almost half hazy.