Theme: 'Life' | 1st year

This is a task allocated to the year one students at the beginning of November. Each student was asked to produce an image, or a series of images, which relates to the theme ‘Life'. The task had no set criteria, it was not graded, not directed to any great degree, and was open to the students interpretation of what the term or the theme ‘Life' encapsulates. A discussion about the possibilities of how to conceptualize the theme, plus a few suggestions of approachesto take, artists and photographers to look at, were the only imput from the tutor.

The theme itself is wide open: 'Life' is everywhere, and everything is life. The term could suggest both negative and positive connotations. It could relate to society or the inner world. It could signify natural biological cycles or the great wrestle of life. There is a necessity, however, for each student to justify their image as it relates to a particular aspect of the theme. The images needed to translate an aspect of life - to be, somehow, 'meaningful' and to form the basis of discussion about our personal, social experiences and how we use photography to express something about what we see and feel.

The work was selected by a ‘jury’ of 2nd year students who made choices of the work on two levels – firstly on aesthetic merits, secondly the work which, for them, best connects to the theme. Presented here is a selection of the jury’s favourites. 

- Martin Cregg, 1st Year Tutor

Images: Justyna Kielbowicz c. | Antonia Kenny c. | Michael Bors c. | Ronan Melia c. | Piotr Kadziolka c. | Lisa O'Malley c. |

Link of The Week: American Suburb X

Contemporary Photographic Magazine - with interviews, links, debate: http://www.americansuburbx.com/

Photographer of the Week: Lee Freidlander

Lee Friedlander is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 70s, he worked primarily with 35mm cameras and black and white film, helping to push and evolve the visual language of urban social landscape photography. Freidlander also turned the camera on himself throughout his career,  juxtaposing and imposing his own frame and shadow into his immediate environment.

According to John Szarkowski, Friedlander visibly struggles with the notion of self-portraiture, shooting himself in household mirrors and other reflective surfaces. In many of his photographs, we see shadows of figures (usually Friedlander himself) overlap and intervene into the image itself - creating a ‘dialogue’ between his own physical frame and the American Social Landscape of his time.

I Am My World | 1st year Theme

The subjective document is always, in some respects, a mirror image. Through this small task, notions of ‘the self’ are re-examined and one’s own immediate enviornment is explored.

First year students have adopted several approaches to creating subjective documents. Some are intimate and introspective accounts - showing us inner and private worlds.  Some are consciously challenging notions of the self through the ‘act’ of self portraiture. Here, issues of cultural identity, anxiety and loss are addressed as are the self-affirming notions of self through friendships, relationships and family.

What is presented, in this selection, is a broad expression of students’ present and past experiences, perspectives and perceptions.

Images: Brian Carroll c. Claire Boshell c. Justyna Kielbowicz c. Dee Kenny c. Ciaran Cummins c. Paulina Golebiewska c. Beata Cierzniewska c.

Exposure 2011 - St Kevins College Graduate Exhibition

This year the Complex Gallery in Smithfield plays host to twenty six graduates who have come through the first level 6 programme in St Kevins College, Dublin. The exhibition also represents the diversity, energy and uniqueness that the course provides. The work exhibited in the Complex Galery reflects the broad demographics within the college itself. While some students concentrate on the minutae of their own personal environments and share with us a sense of their own experience, others demonstrate a photo-essay based view on everything from election campaigns to the theme of old age and great wrestle of life. The show spans the spectrum of the commercial world to the personal world – each with its own approach and style, strengths and skills. The exhibition is testament to the students themselves, to the investment they have made in their own work throughout the year and the efforts they have made to produce what is the largest and finest St Kevins College Graduate exhibition to date.   

Exposure 2011 in the Complex Gallery, Smithfield opens in to the public @6pm on Monday May 16th.

Images: c.Lucia Gutierrea, c.Lorna Colllins c. Rae Motsoane, c. Noel Phelan, c.Fiona Scott, c.Josh Whelan, c.Stefan Hoffamn, c. Luca Truffareli, c. Enrico Fuga, c. Noleen Kavanagh

Text: Martin Cregg, Year Two Tutor, St Kevins College

Link of The Week: 500 Photographers

500 photographers is an excellent weblog that posts 5 active photographers a week for 100 weeks. The photographers can be from any discipline within the photographic range, but they have to be worth looking at and have a certain level of quality.

500 photographers is a bolg byPieter Wisse - a photographer himself based in Rotterdam, NL and owner of Four Eyes Photography & Art Gallery.

 

http://www.500photographers.com/

Smedia Awards

Well done to Noel Phelan (2nd Year) who was shortlisted for the Photography section of the SMedia awards this week.

1st Year Theme: "Life""

This is a task allocated to the year one students at the beginning of February. Each student was asked to produce an image, or a series of images, which relates to the theme ‘Life'. The task had no set criteria, it was not graded, not directed to any great degree, and was open to the students interpretation of what the term or the theme ‘Life' encapsulates. A brief discussion about the possibilities of how to conceptualize the theme, plus a few suggestions of photographers to look at, was the only imput from the tutor.

With this task we were not concerned with technical limitations – the work could be taken on a disposable camera, and i-phone or any available medium. However, the image needed to be ‘somehow’ meaningful, to connect to the theme and form the basis of discussion. The theme itself is wide open:'Life' could suggest both negative and positive connotations; it could relate to society or the inner world; it could signify natural biological cycles or the great wrestle of life. There is a necessity, however, for each student to justify their image as it relates to a particular aspect of the theme. The work was, again, selected by a ‘jury’ of 2nd year students who selected the work on two levels – firstly on aesthetic merits, secondly the work which for them connects to the theme. Presented here is a selection of the jury’s favourites.

Images:c.Theresa Moynes; c.Laura Byrne; c.Fergal OSullivan; c.Tony Kidd; c.Sandra Cobos Gonzalez; c.Mel OReilly; c.Mary Kate Hanlon

Link of the Week: Eyemazing Magazine

Eyemazing - a unique magazine dedicated to contemporary photography. Its high quality, large-format quarterly publication, and Winner of the prestigious international Lucie Award for Best photography magazine.

This new edition features Laura El Tantaway, Salvatore Arnone, Tim Hetherington, Victor Cobo, plus others.

http://www.eyemazing.com/

Some Afterthoughts on the Critical Review (February 2011)

The Critical Review process was introduced as a central part of the evolution of the two-year photographic course in St Kevins College. Students will, at the beginning of each year, propose a project which will be developed ‘photographically’ throughout the year - culminating in an out-of-house exhibition in May. This process is supported by a series of critiques, with all tutors and students, which help the individual to focus on a thematic ‘Body of Work’ which can be refined through research and a picture-by-picture development of a pre-conceived idea or subject matter, in the course of eight months. There is a necessity, however, of a bond or a connection, between the creation of images and an overall thematic position.

Through this process, students are encouraged to find their own photographic personality, through a balance of freedom (of expression) and self-discipline (of strategy). Students are also encouraged to consider the complexity of the photographic practice and the multifarious considerations of building a body of work: Idea & Treatment, Fundamentals & Technique, Sequencing & Structure; as well as an awareness of contemporary aesthetic approaches to their chosen subject matter.

This years work is diverse – reflecting the multi-cultural dimension and broad demographics of the college itself. The subjects chosen by the students touch on key non-traditional and traditional disciplines such as Documentary, Fashion, Portraiture to Diaristic, Experimental, Abstract, etc; as well as issues relating to social, cultural, historical and personal enviornments. Presented here is a small selection of some ongoing works:

Images:
c. Fiona Scott, c. Lucia Gutierez, c. Marco Navarro, c. Joshua Whelan, c. Alex Hutchinson, c. Luca Truffarelli

Photos:
Claire Purcell

Text:
Martin Cregg

Link of the Week: Lens Culture

Lens Culture is an online magazine celebrating international contemporary photography, art, media, and world cultures. The site is run by Jim Casper and contains a current link with a slideshow of the 2011 World Press Awards.

http://www.lensculture.com/

A Contemporary View: Newsha Tavakolian

Newsha Tavakolian, 1981, Iran, is a self-taught photographer. Her work has been published in magazines as Time Magazine, Newsweek and Stern. She started out as a photojournalist, covering stories in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon amongst others. Slowly her work has shifted towards a more documentary and creative approach. In her series "listen", she photographed six female singers who are not allowed to sing solo, perform in public or produce CD's due to the Islamic tenets. She then created six images and turned them into CD covers for these singers. As a statement she left the CD cases empty.

Her most recent work, Mothers of Martyrs, is a series of portraits of mothers holding photographs of the sons they lost in the war between Iran and Iraq. ‘These mothers have been searching for solace in the pride of their sons’ patriotic deaths,’ she says. ‘Now, with the revolution thwarted by problems, are beginning to ask themselves whether their deaths served any purpose.’ This subject is very different to those she previously chose to cover in Iran: young Iranians with tight fitting clothes, large sunglasses and revealing some of their hair from beneath a veil that Tavakolian herself only wears in Muslim countries, and only in certain situations.

See an insightful interview with Tavakolian on Cafe Babel:

 http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/18035/newsha-tavakolian-irans-inside-story.html

The Social Image (1st Year Task)

This is a task allocated to the year one students at the beginning of January. Each student was asked to produce an image, or a series of images, which relates to the theme ‘The Social’. The task had no set criteria, it was not graded, not directed to any great degree, and was open to the students interpretation of what the term or the theme ‘the social’ encapsulates. A brief discussion about the possibilities of how to conceptualize the theme, plus a few suggestions of photographers to look at, was the only imput from the tutor.  

With this task we were not concerned with technical limitations – the work could be taken on a disposable camera, and i-phone or any available medium. However, the image needed to be ‘somehow’ meaningful, to connect to the theme and form the basis of discussion, by the student, which would justify their image as it relates to a particular aspect of the social world. The work was selected by a ‘jury’ of 2^nd year students who selected the work on two levels – firstly on aesthetic merits, secondly the work which for them connects to the theme. Presented here is a selection of the jury’s favourites.

(Top to bottom)
c. Kate Cromer
c. Laura Byrne
c. Mel OReilly
c. Tony Kidd
c. Anthony Courtenay
c. Damien Broderick