Quiz #3 - Reflection on The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton

I responded most favorably to the tableau photography in Chapter 2 "Once Upon A Time".  My work from last semester fit very well into that category, as did my first assignment.  I love seeing a story play out in a photograph or series of photographs, whether it be a concious intnetion of the artist's or something I myself viewed in the image or images.  The dramatic scenes of the photographs in the chapter by Tom Hunter and Izima Kaoru of women lying seemingly dead or unconcious reflect back to stories we are familiar with or a dramatic interpretation of our own.

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I also very much liked the documentary style photography displayed in Chapter 6 "Moments in History".  Seeing the aftermath of certain events in these photographs is much more interesting to me and helps me form a better interpretation of what when on than seeing the action itself.  It was interesting to read about the amount of time it took for many of these series to come together, such as Luc Delahaye's History series in which he only included 4 photographs a year into his work. His photograph Kabul Road is haunting.  The mass of people seem terribly calm considering they are standing around dead bodies.  This strange calm in the aftermath of military conflict carries more weight in my opinion, than seeing a photograph of the actual fighting.

I feel as if my own work for my final project fits best into Chapter 4 "Something and Nothing".  I discuss in my artist statement that I am photographing nature at a more intimate level than it is normally shown. As the beginning of the chapter states, the photography in this chapter consists of objects that are normally passed by, and that is exactly what I am photographing in nature, or more so how I am photographing nature.