photography reading journal

Read Jeff Wall, “Marks of Indifference”.

PART 1: STREET SEEN

Using what he calls “near documentary,” from your reading, Jeff Wall plays with the tradition of street photography by directing and photographing models to reenact scenes he witnessed on the street.

TO DO: Observe - Look for an interesting action on the street or in another public space.

JOURNAL ENTRY Part 1: Write a brief description of the moment you have noted and observed and why it was memorable. Start thinking about scenes in real life and/or movies that you would like to build a body of work out of for your final projects. This can be fictional, experienced in the real world? Why would an observation from the real world inform your art practice? Answer in your typed journal entry. 1 page typed.

PART 2: IMAGINING A CHARACTER

JOURNAL ENTRY Part 2: Write a brief description of your character and include a printout of the Crewdson image and tape into your journal.

Imagine. Develop your own identity of a character in one of Gregory Crewdson’s photographs (from the film in lecture or from a photograph of his found online).

Write. Print out the Crewdson image (simple print - screen capture to show your reference image) and place it in your binder entry Answer the following questions about the character from the Crewdson image: What is the person’s name, occupation, and personal history? What happened just before the scene pictured and what happened just after? What does this photograph represent or is there a message? What is it? What is your opinion about staging photographs? Why?