Exhibition

 

I hope to see you all there! 

Moving Forward

It seems things are slowly but surely moving in a direction, a good one. My images are being published and soon exhibited as well. All the details will follow closer to the time. 

I would like to share a quote by Steve Pavlina who seems to have the right idea:

Head directly towards the peak until you reach an obstacle you can’t cross. Whenever you reach such an obstacle, follow it around to the right until you’re able to head towards the peak once again.

Sometimes I forget that.

As artists we seem to hover over a project or concept not noticing any progress and only when it all comes together we suddenly forget how lost we felt before.

It is over

Today everything is quiet. After exhibiting my work yesterday, I feel that I can finally rest!

Click here for a link to the showcase.

Showcase November 2013

Things have been quite hectic lately. The last assignments had to be handed in, preparations were made for my final exhibition, exams are coming up and finally I am starting an internship very soon. In these times I question how far I can push my stress levels. The only thing my mind is filled with is what still needs to be done or arranged and how I will possibly fit it all into my oh so busy schedule. 

But then again, is it just me who stresses? Some people seem to cope with so much work and just wing it somehow. They just do the things they feel are necessary and all seems to be working out fine. I will need to learn that!

But this post has a different purpose because as mentioned above my as well as my fellow students' final exhibition is coming up. Here the details:

Hope to see you there!

The Three Corners of Reality

By Karolina Rupp Photography

There are three layers to our mind, the good, the bad and the grey areas in between that influence our understanding of things and our reality. We can't escape them, they are part of us inherently.

This photograph, taken on 120 film with a medium format camera, explores exactly that concept of being caught within our own realities and that everything is subjective essentially. We are fixed in that position, and still are trying to think outside of the box and explore even more profound topics just to realise over and over again that the moment a new thought is explored it becomes a cliché. We never stop discovering things but once found, place them neatly into one of the three corners of reality. It is the restlessness of blindly searching for answers to everyday questions that freezes us in time until the hunt is over, for now, and the collection of thoughts and ideas within the mind has been expanded once again. This process continues throughout life and only ends with death, this library we carefully construct through everyday living, that helps us to survive and cope with the reality we are living (in). To draw the concept closer to the photograph, it is necessary to explain the visual elements within this image. 

Firstly, a woman is portrayed a little blurry in the just off-center of the composition with the sleeves of her jersey rolled up, ready to run and explore. Behind her head three different types of walls meet, which represent the three corners of reality by having different shades of grey as one of their properties. These walls hold her within the composition and thus shows her being stuck and caught in her own reality. On the left a door can be recognised which demonstrates the human need to escape and think differently every now and then, but also to show that it is not used (it is closed) for a reason. On the right towards the back of the composition of this photograph random objects can be seen. These show that not everything is explored within our thoughts but at the same time if you would move closer you would know what these objects are, which reinforces the concept of the cliché as mentioned above.The setting was chosen as it is a familiar structure, our reality we live in. The fear of knowing what is out there and the subjective interpretation of the latter is shown through the closed eyes of the woman. Also having to fight your way through this reality, but doing so with closed eyes (eyes are closed towards ideas and things of others because they can only be subjectively perceived and thus become one own's thoughts and ideas) plays a role within this composition. In addition, the woman is a little unsure of her position within this/ her reality which is another reason her eyes are shut as she is essentially hiding away. Through that feature, the viewer of this photograph has the ability to judge and see but the subject decides to not perceive being observed in order to protect herself, like many do within this reality.

This photograph of mine will be exhibited at the end of the year. Watch this space for more details. 

Planning an exhibition

Planning an exhibition is a quite a task. But I find that by starting with a theme things might fall into place.

At the moment I am still conducting research with regards to the artists I would like to showcase who fit the theme, who would enhance the visual experience of the audience and so fourth. The theme here I won't mention yet but I will showcase a video that might underline the ideas I have. And forget the dolls, feel how you feel.






And to add to this post, a further video that has the same effect, or rather affects us in a certain way. That feeling we get when watching it is what is important!

Target: Art

Its time to write something thoughtful again... something that possibly could contribute to my understanding of what is happening... but to what? To this world? To me? To everything? To words that I throw in here that sound bold and all-encompassing? But I guess what I forget is the "you"? You as the reader... are you the one I write this too? I would hope this is not the case as this is my creative study... but I do... it is unavoidable!

What does this have to do with photography? It's all about concepts! Concepts, concepts concepts! And yes they are arty concepts... the ones by the people who stand in an art gallery or exhibition and have all those thoughts and interpretations of the piece on the wall, which, frankly, could be portraying anything or made out of any material you can think of.. but it is relevant? Maybe yes as it presents a concept possibly targeting a social issue or thought we all share and can relate to. Or maybe no... because it is in fact just art. Art doesn't do anything except make the people who create it feel even more confused about themselves and seem to enlighten the audience about what is happening around us or to them or in them. And now what? Nothing! I don't think people actually remember the piece they saw but rather the feeling, the emotion which they discovered through the piece. So this would essentially mean that art is good as it makes us more aware of things... but is it not a form of indoctrination as well? Just targeting more vulnerable issues? Like advertising, art advertises issues, reminds us of them and pulls them into our reality. And according to some followers of positive thinking this would mean these issues would become more or increase in intensity because we are reminded of them in a  problematic negative light and are not urged to think positively of solutions. Of course, this can also be seen as naive, faulty thinking... but it would make sense if it were to be true why things haven't gotten better yet... ok this last sentence can be ignored... it is too far fetched... but maybe thus useful for a concept in art?!

To conclude, peeling a plum and actually experiencing the texture of the flesh underneath and seeing the skin lying at the side loosing importance... as this texture is just so human like, a human without skin... just mixed with more sogginess... and the colour... it reminds me of cut open purple cabbage mixed with red berries... This violence of judging the inside, I do notice a resemblance to art?! Do you?

Exhibition

Yesterday I went to an exhibition at the University of Johannesburg called Discordance by Michael Meyersfeld. He has interesting work, especially his series Urban Disquiet.

What I find fascinating is how he approaches social issues in a contemporary fashion and at the same time still delivers high quality photography with exceptional lighting!

Here some images from the series Urban Disquiet:

Title: Two White Bitches

Title: Used

Title: City Prey