Artist #4

Artist: Todd Hido
Date: 2008
Title: A Road Divided

Todd Hido has always been one of my favorite photographers. Use of natural strange color and eerie  quietness are predominant in most of his photographs. He's very good at setting mood and tone and giving somewhat normal places his "feel."

I was also surprised to find that Raymond Carver's publisher requested for his photographs to be used on the covers of his books. In a way, his photographs could be described as snap shots because they are taken so quickly with little preparation, but they seem "fuller."

Artist #3

Artist: Judy Linn/Robert Mapplethorpe
Date: 1960-70
Title: Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith

Robert Mapplethorpe is known for his large black and white portraits, often of nude males. He's known for eliciting controversy with the homo-eroticism and blatant view into the world of BDSM in his work. Disregarding the vast array of metaphors and imagery in his portraits, his photos are often clean and clear cut with their composition.

For me, it was hard to pick between Mapplethorpe and Chuck Close, mostly because I'm a fan of large clean black and white portraits. However, the culture behind the former's is so interesting (and I've already done a project on Close), I was forced to pick him.

Personal Project 1

Artist #2

Artist: Nikki Lee
Date: 2003
Title: Part (3)

Nikki Lee's photographs follow in style of Cindy Sherman's, but she brings a more modern, gritty, contemporary feel to her work. I found it interesting that there is a documentary on the real Nikki vs the fake Nikki—and that even the real Nikki is not unveiled in the movie. Lee says that she is not truly Korean-American in the sense of being immersed in this culture, which makes it even more interesting that her photos paint an entirely different image.

This series, Parts, almost reminds me of Back to the Future by Irina Werning, in how it takes a moment and shows it in a completely different light.