Artist Inspired

ATTENTION: This subpage includes a link to my PAPER, a link to my PRESENTATION, and my INSPIRED PHOTOGRAPHS as well as my ARTIST STATEMENT for those inspired photographs. All of this is below. If a component of the project is in the wrong place/supposed to be turned in some other way, I apologize for the confusion. Feel free to email me about it at paige.gelhar@students.rsu5.org .

PAPER— This link below should bring you to the document with my paper on it, however, Mr. A, I will directly share it with you via email in "view only." If the link doesn't work, the direct sharing should.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VnyACjFViSU3Uw7aUrXadLW3wyUf8NVee6FGgzs8KLw/edit

PRESENTATION— This link below should bring you to my google slides presentation, in case you want to view it outside of my presentation in class. Mr. A, I will also directly share this with you via email in "view only" mode, which should allow you to go through the presentation.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QpcmTSK77kIO_IF6TF2MRPZ90ITUQ5fyFnvIIYiWgJc/edit#slide=id.p

Now, here are my 2 inspired photographs. The artist statement is below them.

Paige Gelhar, Stranded, 2018

Paige Gelhar, Freeport At 3:30, 2018

For this unique component of the assignment, I was required to take two photographs inspired by the work of the two contemporary photographers I researched. The photos above are each inspired by one of the photographers I researched: the first, including a lonely wooden trailer, inspired by the work of James Rotz; and the second, with a scene near the Freeport Village Station, inspired by images taken by Gina Grillo. With a few general notes of inspiration for each, I set off into the world (also known as Freeport and my own backyard) and took as many pictures as I could. Eventually, I chose these two for compositional reasons and/or a connection to what elements of these contemporary photographers' work I was inspired by. Stranded is clearly more connected to the work of James Rotz. In Rotz's project "The Region," he aims to capture the features of a landscape that are made by humans in order to give the viewer a sense of what that area is like. The lighting in his photos, taken at night, can be described as eerie or unnatural, leaving no dark corners yet still showing shadows. His photos draw the attention to something like a tower, some pipes, or power lines. In this inspired image I intended to do some of these same general things. A trailer, an object created by humankind, sits stranded in my backyard as light from the flash of the camera makes it clearly visible. Taking the photo at night, capturing a human-made subject, and attempting to create an unnatural and unique aura were all things I gathered from Rotz's work. Even the title of the photo took inspiration from Rotz's titles. They were often one-worded and straightforward, but Stranded simply references how the trailer seems stranded in the middle of the yard. My second inspired image, Freeport At 3:30, is inspired by the work of Gina Grillo. Grillo's photos, in black and white, intend to capture culture. While her photos aim to show the distinct culture of children of immigrants in America, a select group of people, I took a slightly different approach and aimed to show the general culture of a place. While buildings and many other aspects of the photo are important, I also included people, a nod to how Grillo's subjects of her photos of culture are pretty much always people. The line of cars, the signs on the sidewalk, and more all add up to what the image generally represents: "Freeport At 3:30." I'm fairly satisfied with my finished products, however, I would have liked to explore the concept of inspired photos a little more. I enjoyed putting my own twist on the work of others, and exploring their techniques and general styles was nice.