5 artists - Angel

5 artists 

For the first video, I watched a video on photographer Richard Misrach. One theme that he addressed was that things are “never the same.” An example of this is when he shows the photos he’s taken of the Golden Gate Bridge. All photos were taken in the same location, yet they’re all different. A challenge that Richard faced was when he got booked to display his work at a clinic. This happened during the pandemic, so he wasn’t able to shoot new photos. He had to work with photos he already had. Watching this video has reminded me that I should always have an open mind. Although Richard has many years of experience, he’s always experimenting and learning new things.

Secondly, I chose a video at random and landed upon Shaun Leonardo. At the beginning of the video, he addresses the theme of vulnerability. He also elaborated on how he grew up with the idea that men aren’t supposed to be emotional because that’s not considered “masculine.” One challenge that he faced growing up was being an outcast in high school.  He states that he was an easy target because the only different race on his football team. One thing that I will definitely incorporate into my life is simply to be myself, and know that I don't have to fit with society's standards. This video is impactful on a person.

The third video I saw was on photographer Richard Mosse. Most of his work consists of documenting crises and landscapes and his overall goal was to capture what the camera can’t see. Richard did face a few ethical issues when he was filming and saw people in need of help. He had to balance being human and being a photographer. This video has inspired me to use my craft to spread awareness of things that are happening. Whenever I shoot, my goal is to always get a flattering photo. Maybe once in a while, I could shift from being an editorial photographer to a documentary photographer.

The fourth video I saw was by photographer Elle Perez. Her work resonates a lot with me because we are both portrait photographers.  She also explained how her photo seems effortless because she had a relationship with her subject. This is very true. Some of my favorite photos have been of people that I'm close with.

Lastly, the last video I saw was Theaster Gates. The overall video was on collection. In this video, I didn't notice that Theaster had any challenges, but he probably did. I was drawn to this video because I noticed that Theaster creates art as a body of work rather than focusing on a single piece. Creating a collection of work or series of works is something that I struggle with a bit. I’m so used to focusing on working on a single piece. Getting to see theater thought process was helpful.