Embedded Files
Curatorial Rationale
Photography has been something that I’ve done ever since I started to go to school. I had disposable cameras that I used to capture different things throughout my youth. As I’ve grown older, I came to the realization that photos are worth way more than we give them credit for. They are able to capture things that we sometimes can’t. My main goal for my artworks is for them to show a personal narrative, of different moments of life at different age periods. Seeing the many hardships my own dad has gone through in order to give my family a good life, my sister’s hardships, and seeing the new lives coming into my family, I’ve wanted to capture these different moments in our lives and see how these occasions shape who we become. We all go through different things and Snapshot photography is the type of photography that is able to capture things in a raw form, and shows the reality in things.
Each of my artworks connect in a way where the audience is able to see a digital timeline of life. Over And Done With, shows the beginnings of my nephew’s childhood and how cheerful he is in his naivety. My own beginning of life was filled with a bunch of joyful and carefree moments. My nephew and I share a very similar childhood, which is why I decided to photograph him in order to create a sense of nostalgia for myself. In Robotic, we start to move to a different stage in life. This photograph shows how technology has become a big thing for the youth. As generations come, there are more things that get tangled into our lives. Technology is one of those things that you either hate or love, but nonetheless it has become a prominent aspect in the lives of a lot of toddlers. Reminiscent is the type of photo that is able to insert a self of nostalgia into the viewer, putting my own stuffed animals on my bed when I was younger, it always gave me a sense of content within myself.
At one point, I stopped caring and I don’t care anymore about how my bed looks as long as it’s clean and I can sleep in it. The day before I took this photo, my little niece came over and brought her stuffed animals and blankets in order to have a sleepover. It reminded me so much of the way I used to care a lot about how I sleeped.
In contrast to the joys of childhood, in Diligent and Tension, the audience is able to look at snapshots of hardships in adulthood. Diligent highlights the materials that my own father uses for his job and the things he goes through in order to have a decent life. Tension highlights the struggles of education. The audience can remind themselves of the many struggles that the education system set upon them at one point.
As the audience enters my exhibition, they will be surrounded by a lot of moments in life that help shape us: the hardships, but also the happy moments. When the audience looks at Reminiscent I want them to be hit with a wave of nostalgia which is why it has a bigger scale compared to the other and why it’s in the middle of the rest. The rest of my artworks are at different size scales so that the audience can look at them at their own accord, and not feel overwhelmed. They are placed from left to right, following a chronological order that shows a timeline of life. It starts with Over and Done With on the left, other artworks with themes of youth in between, and ending the left side with Robotic and Ménage. Then jumping straight into Reminiscent. Finally culminating with the artworks on the right, the audience will be able to look at the pieces that show more matured topics like, Diligent, Tension and other two. Rather than hanging up my artwork in a complicated way, I want my audience to focus more on their own experiences and emotions, which will leave a big impact on them.
Diligent
Diligent
Digital photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
40.64 x 50.8 cm
My father has gone through a lot in order to give my family a decent life. His adult life has always been consumed by a 9-5 job where he has gone through many struggles. In this photograph, I wanted to highlight some of the materials that he uses for that job and tools that he uses for his construction. Some are worn out which helps show that many adults go through different difficulties in order to achieve something wonderful at the end.
Not Available
Over and Done With
Over and Done With
Digital photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
40.64 x 50.8 cm
Most people recall wonderful moments from our youth; our lives were carefree, joyous, and beautiful then. As we grow, we start to face harder things and realize everything is not the same. I took a picture of my little nephew while we were out in the city and having fun. I captured a moment where he is in a bubbly, carefree state of mind. Being nostalgic through documentary photos like this where we see the good times that we had in life is always nice.
Available, minimum bid $10
Robotic
Robotic
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
30.48 x 40.64 cm
Technology has become a big thing in these recent generations; the way he is just laying there without a care shows how the youth are becoming more “lazy” and “inactive”. In this photograph I captured my little nephew using his tablet. This has become a daily routine for many young children and I wanted to capture this moment in order for us to think more about this topic. Is technology a good or bad thing?
Available, minimum bid $10
Reminiscent
Reminiscent
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
50.8 x 76.2 cm
Using my own bed and my little niece’s sleeping teddies, I was able to capture a moment that most little toddlers and adults can look back at. Leaving a little bit of color on the teddy helps it stand out more in order for it to have a sense of innocence and how these things help us. Through this perspective we can feel like we are actually in the bed and can be reminded of our younger days when we felt comfort and didn’t have anything to worry about.
Available, minimum bid $10
Ménage
Ménage
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
30.48 x 45.72 cm
Family is one the things that I can always count on that will always make my life better. The small moments we have are always important and I wanted to capture one of those moments in this photograph. I have my sister, niece, and nephew laying down and watching a movie with me. I want this photo to evoke a sense of contentment to the viewer and remind themselves of how important being with family is, and all the nice moments we might have with them.
Not Available
Revive the Memory
Revive the Memory
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
30.48 x 45.72 cm
At some point everyone leaves the place where they grew up. Our beds might be insignificant at the moment but as we look back, those beds can bring a big sense of nostalgia to us. The way the sheets are messed up help show how little kids don’t really know about “adult stuff” and how they only really care about having a fun time. I took this picture from a high view in order to give it a sense of “looking back” at these types of moments.
Not Available
Tension
Tension
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
30.48 x 30.48 cm
My sister is currently in her mid twenties and is studying to be a dental hygienist. She has gone through a lot of stress and anxiety throughout this course and it made me think about how many other people have experienced the exact same thing. School is never an easy thing, and I wanted the viewers to think back to those moments. A book and pencil are things that we connect school with. Seeing those items can help you think back on those moments and decide what types of memories you have with school.
Not Available
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing
Digital photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom, and photoshop
40.64 x 50.8 cm
Having a little nephew that I see often has made me realize a bunch of things. He is just in his toddler years and is already addicted to playing different kinds of games. Here, he is playing an innocent card game. In Photoshop, I made a sticker of the cards in order to enlarge them in size, making the cards the focal point. A lot of things that we do in our childhood help shape our adulthood. I’ve always wondered, can innocent children games lead to different addiction problems in the future?
Not Available
Ama de Casa
Ama de Casa
Digital Photograph, Edited with Adobe Lightroom
30.48 x 45.72 cm
My mom has always been a housewife. She often talks about how she sometimes gets bored or lonely at times. She often jokes about how her cooking has always been the best due to always being at home though. I took a picture of one of the meals she made and took it from her perspective. My goal is to show a perspective of the things my mom sees everyday. Makes us think about how many different adults live different lives but all are important.
Not Available
Contact the artist at Jgonzalez120301@yahoo.com
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