Kendra Brea Cooper
Everyone is a photographer these days with access to the internet and cameras on our phones. The photograph remains one of the most influential art forms in human history and photographers are the most feared and revered people in society with their ability to capture the truth.
Edward Burtynsky gives us a vision of human carved land in Manufactured Landscapes. At the mercy of ideology, technology, and human hands the earth has been altered in epic ways. He does not attempt to come to conclusions about what is going on but instead Burtynsky wants the viewer to have a visual experience. The pictures speak for themselves while telling stories of beauty and destruction.
Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) takes us on a walk with his camera on the streets of New York City. His famous blog is stacked with photos of fashionable people on their everyday routes. Here is a look at renegade photography where the only rule is to live in the moment. Who doesn’t want to do some NYC people watching?
Actor Adrian Grenier gets behind the invasive paparazzo camera with a 14 year old celebrity chaser. Austin Visschedyk is a young pap who is persistent with his camera flash and desire to get the shot. The doc addresses our celebrity culture and how the fame photograph has become the only story that seems to matter. The celebrity picture is plastered on magazines and all over the internet which makes it difficult to ignore.
Easily one of the most interesting people ever, Bill Cunningham is a street fashion photographer with obvious passion. His raw talent and prolific photography has everyone in the fashion world vying for his attention. Even with all this fame he remains completely humble and totally devoted to his craft.
This Paparazzo has taken a few hits (literally by Marlon Brando) just to take a picture. Ron Galella walks the line of public and private when he looks back at his history as a pap. Some serious questions are asked about this kind of art and the permanence of a photograph. Locking a moment in time is a personal thing for both the photographer and the subject.
This documentary about photographer James Nachtwey takes the viewer on an intense and emotional journey. To experience what it would be like to stand behind a camera in times of war is to examine humanity through an unfeeling lens. Here is where questions about where the photographer’s ethics stand in becoming involved in the situation or standing back and letting life be. The choices that are made are never easy but the photo will provide the truth.
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
