Research —
I. Photo books
I enjoyed the approach the French photographer Bernard Plossu had in this photo book. He was drawn to capturing people, landscapes through black and white photography.
https://aperture.org/shop/vamonos-bernard-plossu-in-mexico-books-signed
This photo book allowed for me to think about my relationship to the people, landscape and political history in Chile. I spent seven months living and traveling through the country and its interesting to see photographs of places you’re familiar with, through someone else’s perspective.
https://aperture.org/shop/paz-errazuriz-survey
The Places We Live is an authentic capturing of the realities of those families that live in over populated cities, shanty towns… but there’s more than that. This had me thinking about old facts and realities in our healthcare and general welfare systems and a need for reform to better cover all individuals.
https://aperture.org/shop/the-places-we-live
II. Newspaper
The Great Empty by the New York Times is a collection of photographs of landmark places in the world – empty because of COVID-19. I’d like to capture something similar of the areas of the City of Chicago.
The empty streets of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain. I also lived here for seven months last year.
View of Rome from the Spanish Steps, another site I have been to. These stairs were packed when I think of the mental photograph I remember.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/23/world/coronavirus-great-empty.html
III. Photographs
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/conflict-time-photography
This photograph is from an Exhibition at London’s Tate Modern called, “Conflict, Time, Photography.” It almost made me think of its description of the current times we’re living in. Although we aren’t in a war, the streets are as still and silent.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/talking-point/making-art-isolation
I appreciate how artists like Mark Ruwedel have been able to find inspiration for their photography through the stillness of isolation and remoteness. The scapes which he is able to capture are able to become the subject, because of their permitting us to consider the space and its details.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/vandenberg-battersea-from-the-series-on-a-good-day-p13477
This photograph comes from a series called, On a Good Day by Al Vandenburg. The photograph is labeled taken in 1975, and the collection features people who might’ve been prompted to pose, but naturally also are able to share their smile. In this photo, I got the sense that these women, given their body language, are friends and have a self-confidence. What might’ve been a “good day” might’ve just been this, moments where people are just enjoying their company.
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/100089/chicago
Closer to home, both the Art Institute and Photography Museum at Columbia College have photos of our city – quiet. The Art Institute’s is a winter stillness. Columbia College’s is a photo three days after the Financial Crash of 1988. The streets now, are definitely something similar to both of these photographs.