Inspiration

During this semester I have spent a lot of time looking at two photographers in particular that Christine suggested, Ryan McGinley and Christian Patterson.

The following photos are from Ryan McGinley, the body of his work are of nude young people in dramatic landscapes. He is a bit of a celebrity artist which sometimes seems to make his work ‘poppy’ but he captures expression and moments and dramatic and unexpected ways.

I am drawn to his work by the sense of adventure embodied in the subject ground relationship and the way the photographs portray a sense of movement.

Unknown Title

Dakota (Hair) 2003

Jack (Cannes) 2005

Elliot (The Nose) 2013

I am also interested in Christian Patterson’s work by the way a narrative is tied together by seemingly unrelated objects.

According to an article

“The story of the book: Redheaded Peckerwood is a work with a tragic underlying narrative – the story of 19 year old Charles Starkweather and 14 year old Caril Ann Fugate who murdered ten people, including Fugate’s family, during a three day killing spree across Nebraska to the point of their capture in Douglas, Wyoming. The images record places and things central to the story, depict ideas inspired by it, and capture other moments and discoveries along the way.”

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/christian-patterson-redheaded-peckerwood

His work represents a way to tie seemingly unrelated photographs through narrative, in this case the dark and twisted nature of the narrative talks with and changes the meaning of the visual information in the photograph.