Sunday, February 27, 2011

Emily's Statement

As a photographer I strive to tell a narrative in a physically compelling way. As a

video artist I use my foundation of photography and give the concept a new platform. I

am working this double-edged sword so that I may be able to choose the most

appropriate medium and create resonating art. With these two mediums, I can either

create a documented narrative or present a staged scene to achieve the appropriate

concept.

In my most current video art project, I use still photography to create a stop action

narrative in a staged environment. As my art grows within video, I would like to

experiment more by using a documentary approach to tell the narrative of an individual.

In both documentary and staged approaches, I enjoy using humans as my main

subject. Whether it is a model or a person off the street, I like to capture my human

subjects within their environments to create an evoking imagery. I believe that my work

in both photography and video ban be linked by my use of human subjects, the telling of

a narrative, and the formal characteristics I chose to emphasize, like composition,

consideration of color, and the use of space and depth.

My practice first requires a concept. Then I chose which approach, documentary

or staged, would be most beneficial to portraying that concept. From there I search for

the right human subject. If I am searching for a person to document, I research and talk to

people groups in order to find a person with a relative story to share. If I am looking for a

model to use I take into consideration whether I want them to look natural or staged, the

gender, and their personality in front of a camera.

I enjoy the relationship between photographer/videographer and subject,

especially the opportunity to get to know their life story, or in a staged situation, it is

intriguing to create the subject’s story. This is important to me because I believe that

the value of life is found in relationships. I would love to harness this value of life to

influence and inspire others. We are shaped by the relationships, big or small, positive or negative, in our lives. My practice with both mediums allows me to personally grow

through my relationship with the subject. It also enables the viewer to be influenced

by their relationship with the subject and concept. I am continually attempting to

successfully display one’s story or reveal one’s personality within a single image or

a small series of images, which will then enable me to better display it with video. It

excites me to join together what I love to practice and what I value most in life.

Through this connection between my subjects and I, I hope to create photography

and videography that evokes a response and leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

This can be a difficult task, but when executed properly, it can result physically and

emotionally as something beautiful. This deep beauty captured within art is what drives

my practice.