EVENTS AT GWU THIS WEEK + TRIP TO NYC

Check some of this out!!!

Thursday: Artist Phoebe Greenberg will be at the Hirshhorn for a "Meet the Artist" talk at 7pm. Ms. Greenberg's film Next Floor was awarded Best Short Film, International Critic’s Week at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Friday: The New York City bus trip is this Friday, February 26. This trip is free for FAAH students and there are many spots still available so please email art@gwu.edu or stop by the main office to sign up.

Sunday: Prof. Patrick McDonough has an exhibition at The 29th Street Gallery and Project Space at Gateway Arts Center in Brentwood, MD. The artist’s talk and reception is Sunday from 3-5pm.


More information about all of these events can be found at http://www.gwu.edu/~art/events.html.

This picture was taken during the height of the civil rights movement, at the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. To me, it evokes a wide range of, sometimes contradictory, emotions: unity, loneliness, strength, perseverance, defiance, solidarity. There’s the “leader” Tommie Smith, gold medalist, holding his fist up high, seeming to tell the world, “I can do this, we can do this, and we will not be defeated.” Yet I can’t stop wondering what he is actually thinking, as he looks very pensive and cerebral in his stature. There’s his “sidekick,” bronze medalist John Carlos, the loyal follower - happy to be assisting his teammate, and with a slight hint of a satisfaction on his face, perhaps happy to have won a medal as well. And then there’s the Australian, who seems either oblivious or purposefully ignorant to what’s going on behind him, or is it next to him – it’s hard to tell.

The photograph is simple enough – three men in clear focus, standing on a podium for all the world to see. Yet no one is looking at the camera. The two Americans seem to be perhaps closing their eyes, or looking at the ground. The Australian seems to be staring into space, missing the incredibly rebellious moment of the two men next to him. We can’t recognize any other people in the photograph. It makes me wonder – who is their audience? Who was watching this incredible moment? Did Mexicans, Australians, and other people in other countries understand the magnitude and importance of the civil rights movement in the U.S.? Were there Americans who were burying their heads in the sand or staring into nothingness as well? Perhaps these two bold athletes left it up to whoever was watching to join in the cause and make the next move in the fight for equal rights.

Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically in view of other individuals’ actions during the civil rights movement (Rosa Parks spending time in jail, for example), these two men were suspended from the U.S. team as a result of their actions. The powers that be would not tolerate political statements made during the Olympics, which should be about sport and competition.

Yet the picture remains a classic image in Olympic history and in the civil rights movement. These men took a bold risk for their noble cause, and ultimately for their country.

Australia

This image of Australia evokes many emotions for me. I was originally supposed to go abroad to Australia in the second semester of my Junior year, but it did not for a variety of reasons. I had had this image stored as my desktop image for a very long time because it manifested an extraordinary possible and opportunity to me. Having read about Australia’s offerings from its rich animal life to beautiful scenery including its beaches I associate all of these qualities with this image.

The water in this picture is set with a beautiful light that makes it look most serene and soothing. Water has presented a sense of calm and relaxation to me since I was young as I have always treasured beaches more than any other place. Seeing the water in this picture, even with the bridges in the background and the well-known sculpture I still associate the water with beaches since I have done so much research including reading and looking over many pictures of the beaches of Australia.

Having not been to Australia and appreciating its allure so much from every picture I see of it, especially this one, my inspiration is to one day make it there, whether it be for a vacation or to live there for a certain amount of time. Therefore, this picture is especially important to me because it embodies the hope and possibility that Australia is there and will hopefully still be there in the same beauty it is in today when I eventually make my way there.

Photos That Inspire

This image of me and my little brother fills me with nostalgia every time I look at it. The warmth of those hot, sudsy baths I took as a child is instantly palpable to me, especially in the frigid February weather of the present. I took so many baths as a young kid that I think I permanently associate them with childhood and can very easily shut off my mind and melt away the rest of the world. While it’s only on rare occasions that I get to enjoy one nowadays, I still relish slipping into a nearly scalding hot bath and just soaking for a while. The repetition of a simple action from my childhood has a meditative quality for me.

Of course its not as though any old image of a bathtub would stir up the emotional response that this one does. This particular image has a number of things going for it. As far as color is concerned, my family never did like this “Twinkie yellow” shade in the bathroom, and it wasn’t long after this picture was taken that we redid the tiles. Yet in this instance I think the yellow only accentuates the warmth of the image and helps bring out the ruddy, healthy complexion of our skin. Our young vitality pops out at me.

The moment that is captured here is really something special. Faint traces of bubbles in me and my brother’s hair and on our faces remind me of the “bubblebeards” and “bubblehats” we always gave ourselves, and I have no doubt we were either sporting them moments before or are just about to build some. It’s also evident that this is a genuine instance of laughter. My brother and I look like mischievous co-conspirators, exceedingly pleased with ourselves, and conspicuously secure in our nakedness. To us, at this moment, the world is a place to play and we feel at home in it.

I can’t make up my mind which I enjoy more in this image: my brother’s wholly satisfied downward gaze or my own subtly indirect eye contact. They complement each other so well. If both of us had been looking at the camera or both of us looking away, I feel the picture would lose its natural quality. The mixture makes it clear we know we’re being photographed, but suggests we find other sources of amusement more compelling.

Nostalgia is a mixed emotion, so the reaction I have to this image is not entirely positive. Looking into the eyes of my eight or nine year old self I’m struck by his readiness to laugh, and I find myself worrying whether I’m relatively neurotic and humorless today by comparison. I feel the weight of time firmly dividing me from the kid that I was, yet I long to access him, to ask him questions, and to truly know what it feels like to be him.

Ultimately, despite the longing this image incites, I feel that to remember is good. I’m inspired by a sense of possibility from this picture. I am reminded of the impermanence of life, and therefore spurred to live. I recall the countless times I sat in that tub and investigated my rapidly changing body, felt in awe of my simple ability to move my hands and feet, and noted with a mixture of approval and alarm that it was getting harder and harder for me to fit. Remembering all of this reminds me that I once was, I now am, and I will be; and somehow I’m always all those things at once.

Photo's that inspire

The picture was taken when I was about three years old. At the time, I was still living in the village and enjoying my simple and happy life as a child. Back in the days, cameras were evey expensive, and I was delighted that my father was able to purchase one. I loved to pose for pictures. I would look straight into the camera, put on a big smile, and make all kids of poses.

The picture reminds me of all the good memory that I had with my family, relatives, and friends back in the village. As farmers, life was definitely hard, yet simple. I was too young to help out wit field works at the time, but I enjoyed bringing my mother and others water and food while they were working on the fields. I liked to follow her around, observed and tried to learn the ways she plants, waters, and takes care of the vegetables and rice. Other times, I would just run around the village, fields, and small mountains with my friends. We did not care about getting dirty or hurt, we just followed what our hearts were telling us to do and be happy about it. I loved the fresh air, the cool rivers, the lovely frog babies, the strong buffalos, the noisy chickens, the green trees and beautiful flowers. Those are the days that I always remember and miss.

I think that is one of the reasons that I love kids. Their innocent faces and silly behaviors always remind me of my own childhood. I like how kids are so easy-going with their mistakes and anger. They would not calculate the consequent benefits before meeting a new friend or doing something for others; they are simple and straight forward. This picture and the childhood memories that it brings inspire me to be a simple, honest, and forgiving person.

Photos That Inspire

On June 5, 1989, one day after the Chinese government used violence to end the Tiananmen protests, a lone man put his life on the line and became an anonymous hero to oppressed people everywhere. In the now famous image, a man in a white shirt and black pants, still grasping shopping bags, can be seen holding up a column of Chinese military tanks. The tanks, definitive icons of power, are powerless against the man’s dedication to stop their advance. Taking place in downtown Beijing, the nation’s capital, the man’s ability to bring the nation’s military to a halt is an even more defiant image.

The photograph is especially striking to me because it seems like the man made an impromptu decision to take the enormous step of stopping a column of armored vehicles. The fact that the man is still holding shopping bags, and wearing the attire of a normal businessman, gives the impression that it was not a premeditated act. If true, it would mean that even ordinary citizens, not radicals or rebels, were not supportive of what the Chinese government was doing.

Before analyzing the “tank man” photograph for this class, I had never considered the artistic value of the photograph itself. Previously I considered the photograph just as a medium to show this powerful image of defiance. However, now that I look more into it, I believe the stylistic grittiness of the photograph adds to the image’s significance. Just like the man made an impromptu decision to defy authority, it seems like the photographer made a quick, impromptu attempt to capture the image. The slightly blurred features of the man, the streetlight protruding into the image, and the rough texture of the photograph all add to the startling reality of what the man is attempting to do.

Unfortunately no one knows who this man was, or what happened to him, for sure. However, this photograph inspires me because it shows how one person can be a symbol against something greater. Even though his whereabouts are unknown, his defiance lives on thanks to this image.

David Creamer

Photos That Inspire

When asked to think of a photograph that inspires me, two very indelible images come to mind, and for two very different reasons. I could not decide which one means more to me, so I'll discuss both of them here.


The first photo is one of the most memorable images in photojournalism. It is by Eddie Adams, taken while he was on the ground in South Vietnam. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize. He captioned it: "General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer." It was one of many remarkable images coming out of Vietnam, and it reinvigorated the power of photojournalism. It inspires me because it espouses all the values that a good photojournalist should have, values I try to keep in mind whenever I am on the field or working for the Hatchet. You need to have your eyes open to everything around you, constantly aware of your surroundings, and constantly analyzing the situation trying to predict when an amazing image will happen. Because when that moment occurs, you will have less than a second to capture it. You never know when that moment will happen, so you need to always be ready. Adams saw that the soldier was about to be executed, and he successfully captured that split second moment right before the shot is fired. In the chaos of this war zone, Adams makes this scene seem tranquil, almost peaceful, when it so obviously is not. He froze the scene at the exact right time to convey the message he wanted to get across. The image also inspires me because it conveys the depth of human emotion that is so rarely seen in everyday life, and so hard to capture in photography. War can push men to their limits. The image shows us this: the hardened attitude of the executioner, the frantic and panicked emotions of the victim, and the complete disregard everyone else around them is showing towards the situation. This image demonstrates the instinct that every photojournalist needs to have, one that I aspire to attain.


The second image is one I found while wandering through Flickr, looking for inspiration. The image at first is so jarringly simple, and then suddenly so amazingly complex. And that is why it inspires. While the first image appealed to the photojournalist in me, this image reminds me of the creativity and, for lack of a better word, magic that photography can create. At first glance, it is a starkly minimalist photo. A bright blue background. A black tee shirt. And a white liquid that appears to be milk. And then the photo's creativity shines through. The shape created by throwing the milk is so organic and so fluid. It appears completely natural, but still leaves you wondering how such a shape can be created spontaneously. The image makes me feel like a child again, when my mom first took me to New York for Take Your Child to Work Day, and how the grandeur of the city literally left me awe-struck. Another aspect of the image that inspires me the timing and the luck. As with all photography, any great image always involves a little bit of luck: taking your photo at just the right time when life around you is moving faster than you can keep up. Not only is the shape so magical, but the liquid also manages to cover the subject's face, so that the portrait becomes one solely focused on the liquid and its shape. The image stimulates my creative senses and leaves me wondering how else I can use my camera to create such amazing images.