Chapters 4 & 5

My idea and perception of still life was broadened immensely by chapter 4. I was surprised by how most of the artists discussed in this chapter did not set up their still life, but rather found most or all of the elements already set up, and simply captured it. Orozco's idea of using art as a vehicle for ideas in relation to photography and still life intrigues me. Through photography we are telling the viewer that we took the photo of everyday items for a specific reason. Photography forces the viewer to look at what we want them to look at, and through that gives average or mundane things a very purposeful quality. While the "visual pun" idea of Richard Wentworth's work was interesting, photographing signs and debris of urban streets seems very cliche to me. However, I really enjoyed Tracy Baran's photo "Dewy". The almost heavenly feel of this ordinary scene is radical to me. In general, I loved seeing all of the different artists ways of making me look at ordinary life in a little bit different way.

One of my favorite aspects of intimate photography is the fact that it is raw and real. Mistakes and imperfections are left in, and that makes it real life. Real life is not perfect, and it seems that intimate photography captures that in such an intriguing way. However, this type of photography is very graphic and explicit, and honestly it was something to get used to in reading through the chapter. I can't say that I liked it, but I appreciated it. The work of Juergen Teller and Corinne Day I find very interesting. The idea of "pulling the curtain back" on the fashion industry is great. Also the life in Ryan Mcginley's "Gloria" is interesting as well as his story in bringing a new step to this genre of photography.