thesis show costs

now that it's all over, i thought it might be helpful to make a "shopping list" for the semester you're having your BFA thesis show. here's everything i bought:

1 box of 25 sheets of 17x22" epson ultra premium photo paper luster--$73.56 (denver pro photo)
1 test/spare frame and 10 frames, 22x28", white wood, plexiglas, hanging hardware, and shipping--$307.59 (amazon.com--craig frames inc.)
11 sheets 32x40" crescent board--$91.12 (meininger)
11 windows cut in mat board--$29.66 (frame de art)
photo corners--$21.09 (meininger)
250 postcards, uploaded photo front, uploaded photo back, and shipping--$51.71 (vistaprint)
avery mailing labels--$13.45 (office max)
100 postcard stamps--$29.00
avery CD labels--$4.86 (walmart)

$622.04 TOTAL

i think it's smart to have about a $100 buffer, too, in case things don't work out the way you thought they would, you need to rush order something, or, like me, you think you can cut mats well but actually cannot and need to buy 11 more sheets of mat board. for that last reason, i absolutely recommend having frame de art on broadway in englewood cut your mats if you have any doubt whatsoever in your skills. frame de art charges $2.50 per window, any size. they have a computer mat cutter so the beveled edges look perfect and they are such a great, small, local company. their competitor, fastframe of lodo, charges $8 per window.
also keep in mind that since the group of graduating BFA candidates was so small this year, i was able to have ten pieces in the show but, obviously, you'll have to spend less if you're presenting less pieces.
another note--to get lower prices on vistaprint postcards, google "vistaprint postcards" as opposed to searching their site.
(if you have any questions about specifics here, feel free to email me.)

thanks for a great semester. i really enjoyed looking at and talking about everyone's images, and i think all the work in the show looked great. good luck! :)

i licked all your prints

looking for feedback

hey guys,
thanks to bethany's help, i was finally able to find and photograph a fox for my project this weekend. i'm wondering if y'all could help me decide which image to print? i know the crops are a little close, and that can be adjusted, but which memorial set-up do you like the most?


1


2


3


4


5

i only have a couple of pieces of paper left, and i wanted to use them all making an edition of this image. thanks for any feedback!

print exchage

i am really hoping we can get metro's class in on our end-of-the-year print exchange.

my thoughts are:
-each student will make 20 identical 8x10 prints in their medium of choice (8 students in our class, plus carol, and 10 (?) in metro's, plus tomiko. i'm waiting to hear back from tomiko to double-check)
-on an evening or class period during finals week, we hold a potluck and sign and number prints and put together portfolios
-for anyone who will not be able to attend, i will collect and assemble portfolios
-everyone who is interested must commit, so no student is "wasting" paper providing a print for someone who in turn does not provide one of theirs

i have also toyed with the idea of creating a print-on-demand book with a couple of images from each student in the program. if students were interested, they could buy a $20 printed book representing advanced photographers of the auraria campus (this is perhaps only if the UCD/metro print exchange does not work out).

i will let everyone know whether or not tomiko's class is in so we can all plan on how many prints to make (9 or 20).
i think everyone's work is looking great, and i'm so excited for the thesis show.

notes from wednesday's critique

bethany, i found this article about the cleanliness of women's vs. men's restrooms that some of us were talking about during the critique. "womens restrooms just get more traffic than mens rooms. women use the bathroom more often and stay longer?" crazy.
i also noticed in your pictures that there is a pay phone in the restroom?! that is so funny to me. i think including a lot of pictures of how often girls are on their phones, even when they're out, supposed to be having fun, would add a really interesting aspect to the work, especially since you are using your cell phone to make the images.

loon, a year or so ago a found this old photo album at a dump in boulder. i kept it, thinking i would do something with it, but you're more than welcome to it for your project. it's pretty damaged and weird, there are about 40 or 50 pictures i'd guess and most of them are of people with fish they've caught. the emulsion is peeling off of a lot of them and maybe you could use that for some photograms? i also have 9 national geographic magazines i'm not using if you're looking for some "found" imagery.



for playing with composition using found images, i think you should look at olivia parker. not photograms, but i think the way she sets things up is really successful.



dominic, i was thinking about how someone in critique said some of your images make them think of sound. there is a radiolab story about cities, particularly this segment, that i think you might like. might be totally irrelevant, but i am trying to think of ways we use technology to experience place, whether or not we've actually been there, and this keeps popping into my head. maybe thinking about this sort of "pace of place" will give you some ideas?

ashley, during your critique i thought of a radiolab story about alzheimer's and dementia patients in a german nursing home (the segment is only about 15 minutes). i also realized that there is a retirement home, hirschfeld towers, in my neighborhood and i thought about the possibility of you photographing in places like that? i know many of the people who live there are physically disabled and since their lives are not so regimented by a more hospitalized atmosphere, although support is offered by the institution, maybe people would be a little looser and more willing to chat with you and be photographed at places like this? i don't know, just a thought.

our next and last critique before the final is november 7. especially for editing down and out, i think posting here between now and then could be really helpful!

notes from monday's critique

will, i think your new images are beautiful and you're well on your way to making a solid series. i'll be thinking of examples of the figure interacting with the landscape, but for now i actually just today found out about this artist, josh winegar, whose work i think you would like. check out "folds." i don't think your concepts are related but you might be interested in some of his imagery.



i've also been thinking about bodies of water where you could shoot:
bear lake in rocky mountain national park
montezuma hot springs in las vegas, NM, and pagosa hot springs, or the river nearby (a little man-modified but you could work with the location, especially if you were interested in close-ups, and also not freezing. both are (sort of) on the way to/from santa fe)

conor, i can't remember who in the critique mentioned marla rutherford, but i checked out her work and it might be really inspirational since you brought up adding a few more images with people to your series. her work is definitely more straight than yours, but i think some funky portraiture would be good for you to look at! along the same lines, i also thought of david lachapelle. some surreal portraiture/imagery in general.



jesse, i saw this and thought of you. have you considered recreating classic artworks solely photographically, or are you only interested in making digital collages using collections? if you are still thinking of aiming for ten final pieces this might be a fun, relatively easy way to add some pieces to your series.



also, i think those vik muniz pictures of garbage/junk/thread that were mentioned during the critique are great to look at.

i really appreciated everyone's input in the critique this week. sometimes it's really helpful to just go through each image and hear "yes" and "no." thanks!

portfolios, haters

came across these two articles recently, thought some of you guys might appreciate them.

http://www.noahbradley.com/blog/2011/i-hate-your-portfolio/

http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/haters-hurt-your-feelings-good/

DAM events surrounding robert adams

here are some photography-related things going on at DAM through the end of the year (some might be great things to write about if you're in Carol's Photo Now class).

Looking at Photography
Weekly starting Sunday, October 9, 1:00 pm
Hamilton Building, Lower Level
This four-week course is designed to enhance your ability to approach any photography with imagination, confidence, and critical skill. DAM curator of photography Eric Paddock will explore the pleasures and mysteries of looking at photographs using example from the DAM's collection and images from a variety of sources—museums, historical archives, Flickr, and old family snapshots. The course will emphasize looking over historical context and investigate how photographs fuse together subject matter, technique, and creative energy to convey feelings and ideas. 
Sundays, October 9–30, 1–2:30 pm
$75 DAM members, $85 others
Registration begins September 6 for DAM members; September 13 for others. Call 720-913-0130 or register online.

Takes on the Changing West
Thursday, October 20, 7:00 pm
Sharp Auditorium, Hamilton Building, Lower Level
$12 DAM members, $16 others
Join renowned historian, New York Times columnist and MacArthur fellow Patricia Nelson Limerick and DAM curator of photography Eric Paddock as they discuss competing images of the American West and how they affect our responses to art, government policy and the everyday challenges of living in the region. Limerick will present a talk on lessons she learned from her experience at the center of a controversy surrounding the Smithsonian's notorious 1991 The West as America exhibition. She and Paddock then will have a conversation about how the work of Robert Adams challenges popular thinking about photography and the Western environment. This lecture is given in memory of William Cooke-Daniels of Denver and his wife, Cicely Cooke-Daniels.

Reading Robert Adams: Beauty in Photography
Wednesday, October 26, 6:00 pm
North Building, Lower Level
Join curator of photography Eric Paddock as he leads a discussion based on Robert Adams’s book, Beauty in Photography, to be followed by a private tour of Robert Adams: The Place We Live, A Retrospective Selection of Photographs.
$12 DAM, WWA and CPAC members, $15 others.
Reservations required; space is limited to 25 people. 
For details or reservations, email info@workingwithartists.org or call 303–837–1341.

Conversation with Curator: Eric Paddock
Friday, November 4, 4:00 pm
Hamilton Building, Level 1
Join Eric Paddock for a discussion about the photography of Robert Adams and our understanding of living in the West in conjunction with the exhibit Robert Adams: The Place We Live.
All Conversations are free with general admission and no reservations are needed. Meet at 4 pm on level one of the Hamilton Building.

there should also always be a docent-led tour of the robert adams exhibition weekdays at 2 or weekends at 3 through the end of the year.

Logan Lectures Fall 2011: O Zhang
Wednesday, October 5, 7:00 pm
Hamilton Building, Lower Level
Chinese artist O Zhang divides her time between East and West, and she brings an acute awareness of cultural difference to her work. Using film and photography, she is provocative and ironic in her allusions to journalism, advertising, popular culture, and revolutionary propaganda. O Zhang’s depictions of Chinese youth and cultural cross-pollination draw attention to—and offer alternative views of—the power dynamics that emerge when East and West collide. 
$8 students with ID, $12 DAMC members & artists, $15 DAM members, $18 others
Doors open at 6 pm; lecture begins at 7 pm.  Registration is required. Call 720-913-0130.

http://www.denverartmuseum.org/

robert adams: the place we live, SPE

hey all,

just wanted to remind you that the robert adams exhibition at DAM opens this weekend. this important retrospective, organized by the yale university art gallery, showcases nearly 300 works of the american photographer's 45-year career.

there is a members only preview saturday, september 24, from 10 am to 5 pm. there will be docents in the gallery 11 to 3, exhibition curator joshua chang from yale in the gallery 11 to 1, and eric will be there 2 to 4. so if you're a member and can make it to that, it will be a pretty cool experience (also, if you come see me in the gift shop, i can probably get you member tickets). the gallery will be open to non-members sunday, september 25, and the exhibition will be on view in the gallagher family gallery on level one of the hamilton building through january 1, 2012. tickets to the museum with a student ID cost $8.



i also wanted to share with you that this is happening at DAM:

Looking at Photography
Sundays, October 9–30, 1–2:30 p.m.
A four-week class will be offered in conjunction with the Robert Adams exhibition. Explore the pleasures and mysteries of looking at photographs with DAM curator of photography Eric Paddock. Cost is $75 DAM members, $85 others. Registration begins September 13, September 6 for DAM members; call 720-913-0130 or register online at www.denverartmuseum.org/.

i don't know if you're all going to SPE or if you've registered yet, but last weekend the price went up (only by $5) and will remain at this price tier until october 15. remember there's a cap of 200! the events schedule has been posted as well.
fyi, the $62 per night rate at the santa fe sage inn is for two people; it's $10 more per person for a four-person room. i also calculated that it takes 6 hours, 23 minutes to drive from denver to santa fe, and it should cost a little over $100 in gas round trip :)

http://www.spesw.org/2011/03/2011-regional-conference-santa-fe-nm/

notes from wednesday's critique

ashley, several artists working with the elderly came to mind when i looked at your work today. both phillip toledano and tearney gearon make photographs of their parents and their ailing physical and/or mental state. toledano's "days with my father" is incredibly touching. it also incorporates text, since you said you were toying with the idea of using your subjects' written stories.





gearon's work is called "the mother project" and there is a great documentary about it.
view trailer. it's available from netflix.

toledano's series has great shots of his father's objects, and gearon's work includes a lot of imagery of her mother's space.

as for thinking about ways to include text, maybe look at duane michals



jeffrey wolin ("written in memory: stories from the holocaust")


and tony mendoza ("stories")


could be inspirational! i like the idea of keeping the text physically separate, though, since the narratives are sort of separate for the subjects themselves.

mark, your idea about depicting literal sayings reminded of me an artist named jordan tate's "contemporary dictionary of sexual euphemisms."



it's pretty funny. i'm excited to see which direction you go for this class!

dominic, i had to think about your project for a while. what i took from your critique today is that you are making images about what information we gain from experiencing space and the landscape, and about how we think we know a place but only know/remember bits of it. you said that we remember specific points, like "A-1," and i really liked that in regards to the aspect of the grid (like battleship and connect four).
there's this artist who used to work in denver that i actually found out about while i was living in baltimore that you might want to look at, jason demarte. i don't really get his work.


from "utopic"

i also think you should look at john pfahl's "altered landscapes" and think about the decision making of georges rousse in his work like "construction/deconstruction."



i loved looking at and talking about everyone's work this week. our next group critique isn't until october 10, so i hope we can keep this blog in mind as a place to share things with each other.

Maybe this will help

im feeling vulnerable.

notes from monday's critique

loon, i've been thinking about the importance of text in your pieces. i asked you where the text came from and you said you just made the phrases up, and i think i remember you referring to the text as "one-liners" last semester. the phrases themselves remind me of ones i am attracted to in the work tracey emin and ed rusha. i think rusha's paintings with text in particular would be helpful to look at. i think text is important in your work! i really respond to it when it feels meaningful, as in the red print from last semester.



i was also trying to think of other materials you could use to create different textures and effects. i'm sure you're familiar with robert heinecken's "are you rea" photograms, and i think you could try using materials that have two sides to achieve the effect he does, perhaps double-sided letters or other printed documents?



the museum of contemporary photography in chicago has a lot of the images from that series in their collection online.

will, i'm really trying to think about how the importance of place ties in to your project (i know, i'm really struggling with that one). thinking about triptychs reminded me of the work of bruce myren, who coincidentally not only makes triptychs but also writes short sentences about memories he has of the place he's photographed. to me, the "markers: memory" series is really about that assignment of value to place that you spoke of.



jesse, a couple of "classic" art historical works i thought of were la grande jatte, the scream, mona lisa, the persistence of memory, klimpt's kiss, picasso's les demoiselles d'avignon, and starry night.
i think a way you could reference photography more is to recreate artworks that focus on a certain effect, considering how important "tech"- and effect-driven photography is to our and the upcoming generation. for instance, it might be cool to recreate a classic photograph, such as yves klein's "a leap into the void," often credited as the first conceptual photograph, using HDR.



conor, saw this and thought of you.



also, even just doing a google image search for magritte brings up some things i think could be pretty inspirational to your work, especially if you decide to include the figure in some way, which i thought was a great idea.



i thought critique went really well :) i definitely appreciated everyone's input, and i'm really excited for the coming weeks.

for monday's critique

things i am thinking about as i make this work:




john pfahl's compost pile pictures. i want my prints to be dark and rich like this.


the dead fawn scene from jim jarmusch's dead man.


this image and others from andrew bruce's tender.


joel-peter witkin's cornucopian dog. everything about this image.



this music video.

Our natural world concerning re-birth

So I feel like I'm going to need a lot of honest feedback with my project. It's something that I'm not sure that I fully understand myself but a topic I'd like to explore so any thoughts are really going to be quite useful.

Onward.

This image is going to have no role in my project but is what got me going down the track that I am now on. I was talking to this man ("Bucktail" Jim) about muskie fishing in Wisconsin where the activity is considered a rite of passage. I'm very fascinated with that idea of how a rite of passage, whether it be a coming of age or a search for a higher self later in life, often times, even historically, is centered around wilderness.

To deal with these concepts I've chosen to focus on outdoor baptisms. In order for the images to make sense and to help relate the spiritual aspect of the act to the place, I'm simplifying the ceremony. I'm looking for people to "baptize" themselves. Carol worded it better when she called it a re-birth which I also think is more accurate. In shooting I"m going to experiment with cropping and the re-entry into the world, perhaps trying to capture that moment just before the first full breath (kind of a reference to yoga). To relate the place, I'm going to shoot the location before the act, and again in a few months once the landscape has accepted the winter. This, I felt, might bring in a dialogue about the seasons of life and how they may relate to our natural necessity for the wild. They will be presented in large scale triptychs (estimated 2' tall by 5-6' long). I'll have some sample shots for monday but have nothing to show at the moment.

Thanks for your help! I'm excited to see how everyone's project is coming next week.

Will

hello

this is currently a blog for the students of advanced photography I and II at the university of colorado denver. it will possibly be extended to artists of all media in the denver community at the end of this semester (in january 2012).

my hope is that we can use this blog as a way of sharing news about exhibitions and calls for entry, posting images and artists relevant to each other's work, and having a space for feedback in between critiques in class.

a note about the title: i was trying to think of a phrase that incorporated our course name, "advanced." my friend dan garza, a wonderful denver graphic and web artist, suggested "advanced placement," or "AP art" (did you guys have AP art in high school?). i loved combining the two into "apart." i feel like too often in art communities today, we are kept so far apart. more importantly, the name speaks to my hope that we can post here to keep a part of this little community we are all a part of in class and, ultimately, the art community in denver.

i know we all know a little bit about each other, but please make an introductory post with whatever you like--some of your work, your proposal, your website (i tried to gather everyone's i could find and link to them from the main page). i'll go first.



i transferred here from the maryland institute college of art in january of 2010. so far in advanced, i've been photographing roadkill with memorials i've built around them. i'll graduate in december. i work in the gift shop at the denver art museum (i'll try to update with news about things going on there). i am constantly searching for community and support. i hope i can cultivate that here.