Artist Statement
My main vision for my project, was to capture my life story through doors. To do
this I took pictures of familiar doors that students have seen around campus. I strived to
avoid any doors with signage to make my audience guess where this door is. I have
listened to the critiques from my classmates and Cebe and used it to make better photos. I
have used different angles, people in my photos, and manipulated light to my advantage. For a few of my photos, like Barrier
I used a chair and a welcome mat to my disposal. I strategically placed the “Welcome” mat in between two red doors while one of the doors
was blocked off by a leaning chair. I wanted the audience to ask themself if they are
really being welcomed into this space. As in life your goals, which are my doors, may not
be welcoming you at that time.What I have learned is that it is ok if it is not time for you
to be at that point in your life. That there will be a time for everything. My favorite photo out of the 10 is Dark Times
. For this picture I found a dark room with illuminated Exit signs and used a aperture of f/29 with a exposure of 13 seconds. My goal was to create a
ghostly figure looking back into past before it moves on into the light. A dark place, was
looked at as a lesson to use for future transitions through more doors. I genuinely enjoyed
playing with the camera to capture different emotions that I once felt at a specific time in
my life. The project started off very bland, and monotone but with few revisions I believe
I have captured my story through these doors. A story that the viewer must dig up by
analyzing the different aspects of the picture with the help of its title.
For this project I was inspired by Andre Vicente Goncalves, Jim Nilsen, and Rashmi Rai. Andre Vicente Goncalves has been known for his work of Windows of the World,
where he traveled the world and took pictures of different windows and their perspective. His new ongoing project, Doors of the World
, compiles photographs from different cities and regions, highlighting the many beautiful doors along the way. And
what’s surprising to see already in the first four collages are the many different details
that exist, even within the same region. From the modern bright red doors with charming
details in England to Spain. He was able to capture the beauty in the doors of our worlds
by taking still pictures positioned directly in front of them. I enjoyed his choice of doors
and how we was very critical of the details of them. What intrigued me the most is his
ability to make these doors around the world feel welcoming and familiar. That
familiarity and attention to detail I wanted to capture in my work.
Jim Nilsen along with Andre has compiled a collage of photographs of windows
and doors. His work of windows and doors draws in the viewer with different vibrant
colors. The pictures are taking of the door and the exterior of the building itself. They
capture the fine detail of the architecture that went into building and its components.
Despite taking a picture of the building and its components the door/window color is the
main focus of the image. I enjoyed how he was able to still draw the attention of the viewer to that door despite the colorful exterior of the building. In his image the Chicken Joint,
he strayed away from the common front end picture of the door. He began to take
images using different angles to show the beauty in what we don't normally see. The side
visuals of steps, the chipped wood, and door handles are all from an angle that we don't see often. I was inspired by his attempts so in my picture, In Between,
I managed to take a side profile of a reflective door. It is almost as if the door is transparent with the same
visuals on each side of each door handle. The beauty in the little things.
Rashmi RaI a 44 year old photographer from Delhi, captured the beauty of doors
as she sees them as “new beginnings or a trip down memory lane or just a window into an
era gone by.” Inspired by nature, light and its effects on emotions, she tries and depict the
unseen elements of what seems real in our everyday life and the wonder and awe of
nature through the lens. I was inspired on her take of pictures of doors in such that they
are transitions to a new world. Perhaps from a dark time to a brighter one. Her ideas motivated me to create Dark Times
, which I aimed to show the pondering of the past before transitioning to the future. A dark but subtle picture with a meaning.
I am not a very creative person but with the past assignments I was able to play
with each picture how I wanted them. I felt connected to my art in a way I haven't before.
It couldn't have been done with the help of Cebe and my classmates. I have learned how
to manipulate light using different apertures, slow shutter speeds, ISO, and white balance.
With my doors I have been able to tell my story in hopes that others will understand.
With the help of the above artists and visiting lecturers, I have created an art I am looking
forward to seeing in the open studio.
APPLENNNN
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