Art space gallery/ Morgan Cope

Although I could not go to the Art Walk-In at the Moose Exchange due to the fact I had to work two jobs that Thursday, I got to visit the Art Space at 221 Center street in Bloomsburg. When I first walked in it seemed to me that there was so many colors and so many different type of art work and my eye could not focus for one second on one particular piece of artwork. To my surprise I would be talking to one of many artist at the gallery who would tell me about her background and what she loves to do for a living, and the type of work that she enjoys making. She was very kind and gave me lots of useful information that explained the process of her artwork in very fine detail. Not only did she show me her collection of artwork but she told and showed me all of the other artist artwork and shared some background information on them.

The lady that I got to interview at the Art Space's name was, Sandy Lentz. She first told me a little about the gallery as a whole itself. She told me that the gallery had 15 other members/artist that were apart of the gallery, she explained that they all had to pay a annual due to have their artwork displayed and sold in the galley. She explained that each member of the gallery must work at least 8-9 hours a month and during holiday like Christmas they usually work more hours. Sandy told me that every 6 weeks they had new openings, with new pieces of artwork and sometimes new artist, which usually take place on a Thursday. The way that they pick the artist are juried in the gallery and that the gallery originally had 5 members and first started on Main street in an old hotel. As a whole Sandy explained that all of the members do very well with selling there work and they make enough money to live off of.

Next I interviewed Sandy about her own experience as an artist and asked a little bit about her background and the type of work that she does and how she does it. The first thing she told me was that her type of work is pottery and she actually went to college and studied pottery at College of Art design in Detroit , but also tought pottery at a college. She told me that she grew up in Philadelphia and also in Maine she decided on pottery when she was very young. She explained that her father made a wheel for her and she would dig up clay out of a cove and used it to make pottery and eventually moved to Danville where she resides now. I asked her about pottery and some of the responses that I got from her was that it doesn't take long at all to complete one piece of pottery. Sandy explained the process of making the pottery that she throws and trims the clay and needs to to be a certain dryness. She first throws the clay then puts in it a biscisk fire at 1800 degree and then puts a glaze on it, which this process is called "Rako" A gas kiln is used to fire the pottery and then she puts the glaze on which she makes herself out of gram scale, chemicals, and different recipes and waits for it to melt. Next she takes tongs and takes it out and waits for it to cool and puts it in cold water to shock it. Her work can cost anywhere from 10 dollars for a small bowl to about 200 for a big bowl. I really enjoyed talking with Sandy and learning about the type of work that she enjoys making.

Richard L KIng Assignment # 2

The artist i picked for this assignment was a photographer named Joe Mazzatesta. He is from Bloomsburg originally, and has been photographing seriously for around 12 years. He chose photography as his medium because it was somthing that he did in his everyday life (family activities etc) and really enjoyed.

He also likes photography as his medium because he likes how he can capture everyday events in an instant. Also, he works mostly with digital cameras because of the lack of working with film, plus all the possibilities he has to work with or alter his pictures. When it comes to choosing subject matter, he doesn't really choose it, it chooses him or he just gets inspired randomly.

Joe is a self taught photographer. He photographs mostly still lives but is not limited to that genre. He started as a hobby but he claims it quickly consumed his life and became more of a full time thing. Now he makes money off of his prints and has a gallery, as well as takes pictures for all sorts of events.

Seth Trump Assignment #2

I went to the Art Space instead of the Art Walk because I couldn't make it. There was an exhibit there by Sara Mika who made quilts that was called "In Stitches: Mended Mistakes." I would describe her quilts as almost bold. They reminded me of something I would see in the '70's maybe? She hung them hanging on the walls. I think all of the quilts worked well together. They were the same type of material and they all compositionally seemed to be similar. However I feel the fact that they are quilts just took away from it.

My favorite piece in the exhibit was untitled. It was a post card. It reminded me of a quilt my grandmother made for me. It had a white background with a flowerish type of design in the center fanning out that were a blue color. It also had some dot designs around it. To be honest I don't think I would even like this piece at all if it wasn't for my grandmother's quilt because I wasn't really drawn to any other pieces.

I'm not sure the meaning behind this piece. I think it could be more of a meditative process though more than anything else. You can tell it took time to stitch the quilts and decide the design and where to possibly even put buttons but it definitely seems to be meditative process as well. I wish I could have appreciated these pieces more than I feel I did but this was my first experience to this type of art on quilts or other material of the sort.

Kelly Geist Assignment #2

I did not get a chance to attend Art Walk. However, I did go to Art Space and viewed an exhibit by Sara Mika which was called "In Stitches: Mended Mistakes". Basically, the exhibit was a bunch of small quilts which were made from 200 blocks of material which the artists bought online. She mended all of the small squares into several different quilts which had different fabric and were different colors but pretty much all looked the same as they all had flower designs on them. They were all hanging on the walls except for some pieces of quilt which were hanging on a clothesline from the ceiling. The artist also created postcards from pieces of quilt.

I wasn't that interested in the quilts hanging on the walls because they were all so similar and really didn't express anything to me except for the fact that someone stitched small quilts from random fabrics. I was more interested in the postcards that Sara Mika created because they seemed much more creative and personal to the artist. I was not able to take pictures of the exhibit but the postcard that stood out to me the most was called Peek a boo. It was made of pink fabric with black, pink, and grey buttons on it which seemed to be sort of randomly place. The postcard also had what looked like an x-ray of a human skull on it. The skull x-ray picture was towards the bottom right hand corner of the postcard in a circle and the buttons and pink fabric were surrounding it. There was also black and pink stitching randomly around it. Some of the pink fabric seems like it was dyed.

I'm not entirely sure what the artist was trying to say by putting a skull x-ray with this fabric. It just seemed very odd to me because typically when I think of a quilt, especially a pink quilt, a skull would be the last thing that would come to mind to pair with it. The rest of the postcards had things like shoes, or pretty designs on them. I think maybe the artist just chose to put a skull because it is so opposed to what you think of on a quilt. Peek a boo was very different from the rest of the pieces and seemed somewhat dark or creepy compared to the rest. It seemed like the artist wanted to make a piece that wasn't necessarily pretty or expected. When I saw this piece I just liked that it was sort of weird. I guess it sort of makes me think of how old ladies usually make quilts so maybe a skull could represent these old ladies who make quilts then die. It could also be that all the different fabrics that the artist collected once belonged to someone else and the skull could represent them. I don't know how the artist wanted viewers to interpret this piece or if it really has any meaning at all, it could be that she just liked the way it looked. That is what made me like it, I just thought it was an interesting piece to look at.

Kelly Geist

TJ Brandt - Blog Assignment 2

Michael Shanoski (Self Portrait)

When I went to the Moose Exchange, I was immediately attracted to the artwork of a man named Michael Shanoski. I was amazed at the various types of artwork he had done, especially his abstract work. It wasn't until a woman approached me and asked if I would like to learn about him and his artwork. This woman turned out to be his mother and she informed me that Michael had passed on almost 10 years ago. Although I wish I could be able to talk to him directly about his artwork, his mother knew more than plenty about his works and his life.

Michael was born April 20th 1957 and according to his mother, was an artist all of his life. She claimed he was born to be an artist. He attended several schools to broaden his education and art skills including Bloomsburg University, Temple, and PA Academy of Fine Arts. Michael has also had several shows to display his art. He first started to work with typical still life type artwork, but eventually branched off into a more expressionistic and abstract styles. According to his mother, Michael was severely influenced by ballet and dance as he was obsessed with movement. This was portrayed in several of his works.

Michael used a variety of medias for all of his works. He experimented with such things as graphites, polaroids, photography, paint, pastels, and many more.

One of these abstract pieces I had mentioned before was a piece called "The Garden".

This piece was made with pastel and graphite on paper as Michael tries to show the stresses of being a waiter, which was once a job he held. His mother explained that this piece shows all of the waiters lined up as stress is portrayed as the dark lines coming out of their heads. This piece was one of my favorites in his collection as it really made me think and the colors just came together so well.

In conclusion, I was amazed at these works of art and I'm very saddened that I was not able to meet Michael Shanoski in person. However I am very honored to have been able to see his artwork and learn more about the man who created these pieces. I'm certain that he will live on through his artwork and continue to inspire young artists today.

Katelin Bolig Assignment #2

James Evans

I choose James Evans as my artist to interview. Looking around at all the different artwork his stuck out to me. The colors of his paintings were all warm and inviting. Evans has been an artist for over 50 years now. He lives 12 miles east of Bloomsburg; where he has a studio in his house. For College he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

For his painting Evans uses Arches paper, because he believes that it is the best paper that you can buy. Other than that, the only thing that he uses watercolors because he likes the way that they transfer onto the paper. Every one of his paintings is done outside, looking at what he is painting. He has done almost all of his work in, and around Bloomsburg, capturing the essence of this town. He has also done a lot of work in Cape May, NJ. Which if I may say so is one of the most beautiful places.

As an artist he also had to have a full time job to maintain a living. He has candle business, however, he is now about to retire from it. Now he is focusing on selling more of his artwork by going to galleries, art fairs, and other places where he can sell his artwork. He has artwork for sale at the store As Nature Intended. Other advice he has for current art students is to just keep drawing, he says that is the best thing that you can do.

Caitlin Atchison Assignment #2

There was a large variety of different types, styles, and artists at the ArtWalk. There was photography from professionals, amateurs, and students along with sketches, ceramics, sculptures, and paintings. Each piece was unique and interesting from the paintings of first year students to the expensive work of professional artists.

I stopped to talk with Michelle Conner who has been working as a full time photographer for many years now. She graduated from Antonelli Art Institute in two years and has been working as a full time photographer since then. I asked her what she felt was her biggest challenge was as a photographer and she responded with a groan. She answered honestly and told me that she disliked working Weddings, she just doesn't like them. On the other hand, she loves shooting photographs of animals. She mentioned that if she had a really stressful week, she would go find a cute puppy to photograph and then she would be alright.

As she fell more in love with photography she traveled to Europe to take photographs of the architecture. She enjoys working with the film in the dark room, although she admitted that it was much more practical to work with digital photographs. One of her favorite pictures was taken in Prague and she used a 4x5 camera. It was printed metalically and was out for show on her table. I asked her for one piece of advice. She told me that if it was something that I loved, that I should stick with it because it would make me happy in the long run. She also informe

d me that living on the salary of a photographer alone was challenging and told me to marry well.

disa turner. assignment 2.

Ralph Hinkle’s favorite subject matter is undoubtedly the human form. Every painting in his exhibit is a striking portrait. The artist explains the evolution of his work: from “playing with color” to his gradual discovery that portraiture allows him to explore spirituality and the interconnectedness of all people.

Unusually, he starts the acrylic painting with a dark background instead of the traditional white gesso on canvas, though he explains, “It’s not meant to be dark emotionally, I just don’t like starting with a white background.” It gives the painting a dramatic depth and makes bright colors seem even brighter. He occasionally works from photographs he takes, saying “I see something and go, ‘I have to paint that.’” At times, random splattering of gesso on canvas creates the human form on the canvas, abstracted.

The artist's most recent work is something new for him: on unstretched, raw-edged canvas, he protests against the country's health system, depicting impersonal, mass-produced medical care and the struggles of the average person in paying for health insurance.

Leanne Schenck Assignment #1

The "Adapting Spaces" gallery was all together amusing to me. The artists set their work up to tell stories with images. John Mann had four pieces in the gallery. He had flowers, a hitch hiker, a lone tree and "Sleeping Spot" which displayed a piece of cardboard under a tree. His pictures had no border to them. I think his display worked very well together because the viewer can easily understand his narrative. Ryan Adrick had a white border with tan framing. His pieces confused me. I couldn't easily understand where he was going with his work. At first I thought it might be an individual and then their living and/or work place, but I then realized that wasn't right. Tracy Longley-Cook had a great display of black and white images with black frames. The pieces were small with thick borders, forcing the viewer to focus directly to the picture. Her theme was "piecing the world together". She practiced in and out of focus images. Daniel Kariko did no have frames or borders to his work. His theme was "disappearing landscapes". I thought his pieces were a bit freaky, but interesting. I think all of the artists had their work displayed in appropriate ways.

This image "Planting Season" by Tracy Longely-Cook displays black and white colors. A pattern I noticed was the repetition of the cracks in the ground which also resemble the branches on the small tree. The shapes in the image would also have to be the cracks and tree branches. There are not many things going on in this image besides one-fourth of a person's lower body and a lonely tree.

This image really stood out to me. It is a piece you really have to think about because it can mean something different to any individual that studies it. The name of the image also makes sense to me. It is called Planting Season and it displays a small person tending to a leafless, dry tree trying to survive. It is a way of remembering where I started in life and how far I have come. Once I was at that small tree and have had to plant many more in my years that pass. Some of my trees have grown as tall as they can be, while others are still where I left them when I planted them, trees meaning my goals and achievements.

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gallery

The exhibition, Adapting Spaces, included photgraphy by four artists exploring the link between person and place. John Mann drew his inspiration from his, and others', experiences hiking the Appalachain Trail. Tracy Langley-Cook took a surreal approach, using black and white images and creative use of focus to draw the viewer into specific parts of the picture. Ryan Adrick's photography was more literal, and showed people and buildings from all different areas of the world. Daniel Kariko's photos were particularly stunning, showing different buildings in Louisiana which were in vaarious states of disrepair, and the surrounding landscapes. All of these photographs fit within the theme of the exhibition as they all showed humans, the spaces they occupy, and the variance between those people and spaces.

My favortie photo from the collection is the one included above. As an anthropology major, I'm interested in the ways which people live their lives. It reminded me of a previous exhibition I visited at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Anthropology and archaeology called the Righteous Dopefiends. Anthropologists followed various drug addicted homeless people, and documented their eating, sleeping, and using habits. While these pictures are intended to illustrate a different kind of "homelessness," the sight of a flattened cardboard box immediately brought all those emotions back to me.

This photo shows a flattened cardboard box upon which more than one someone more than likely slept. I feel that this photo really gives the viewer a sense of how exposed and vulnerable one is when sleeping on a carboard box along a trail in the woods. The box is tucked into the clearing, but still easily seen and accessed from the trail. The artist captured this feeling by including some of the surrounding area and not just focusing on the box itself.

The exhibition of photographs by Ryan Adrick included an outdoor theme of various people and places. These photos were set up horizontally and framed. The photos did not appear to be influenced by one another but shared similarities. The exhibition was cohesive because all of the photographs were in a natural setting and a relaxed atmosphere.







The photograph "Lindsay", consisted of neutral colors such as brown and green. The horizontal background vertically progressed from dark to lighter colors.



I feel that the work appeared to take place in a natural outdoor setting, the exposure focused on the woman standing in the center of the photograph. Both the woman and the landscape consisted of basic neutral colors. The woman's pose implies that she is focusing on a person or event outside of the photographic view. The woman is dressed casually, her mood appears to be reserved. I like the neutral colors displayed in the photos, as well as, the photos hazy appeareance. The thing i like most about the photo is the woman's unemotional gaze, it is mysterious to wonder what she is thinking about or looking at. Is it a friend? Is it a family member? Is she thinking about the past? The future? I feel that the pose and stare are both intentional and effective stimulators of curiousity meant to challenge the viewer to make assumptions and personalize the art emotionally. The photographer had the opportunity to elicit much more emotion but instead chose subtlety

Brittney Logan | Assignment #1 |

Four photographers put the exhibition of adapting spaces in the works by establishing a connection between all theirs works. All four of their works were displayed on the walls; each artist had their own wall to display their series of different photographs. Each photographer’s work was completely different from the next; each artist has a different approach on their photography and why they do what they do. The only artist’s work that I believed could be understood by the viewer was Daniel Kariko, his panoramas of different areas of Louisiana showed the different effects that nature has had on material things, the other three artist although their work was creative and nice to look at, the artist was the only one that knew the story. If they did not tell the story you would not know what they were trying to reveal. Daniel Kariko was the only artist in the show that decided to show his work in a panorama and there was no framing around his. I believe the work is cohesive in its own way, although each artist photographs different things, I believe they make it work by adapting spaces, meaning using their surrounding to their ability and adapting and taking great photographs in their space.

The colors in this photograph above are natural shades of green and brown. The technique used to create the photo was strictly from using a camera and his surroundings; you can tell the image is not digitally manipulated in any form. The focus of the camera is focused in one spot on the photograph. There are three sections to this picture, the ground, the sky, and the center. The frame is black to control where the viewer looks and so the viewer can focus on the picture and not what the picture is framed in. The photographer’s intention was mainly for the viewers to focus on the center of the photograph. I feel like I can be inside the picture its almost like the picture is a circle after staring at it for awhile.

I really liked John Mann’s photograph of the tree standing alone, I really do feel as though I am standing right in front of the tree looking at it. It makes me think that out of all the trees this one endured the toughest battles and overcame them all and is still standing, although there are little bushes of trees and taller trees father in distance, this one stands alone. It’s standing alone and battling all the weather that comes at it, I feel as though the way the picture is taken really shows the viewers how beautiful the space really is, there’s a bright light that focuses just above the tip top of the tree, its hard to explain how it makes me exactly feel, when I am looking at the picture I feel a sense of calmness overtaking me, and making me focus just on the tree, its almost relaxing to just sit there and look at it. I feel as though the artist wanted people to be able to connect with the tree in their own way and thats exactly how I feel about the tree.

Allie Pugliese Assignment #1

I think most of the pieces in the show had a good working relationship with each other. Each different theme of picture had a different frame. The photographs taking place in the woods or fields had black frames. The photographs from other countries had gold frames, the black and white photographs also had black frames, and the last set of pictures from different highways is wide with no frames. I think the photos had a good relationship because they all included nature and human effects on nature. For example, the lone tree standing can represent how humans destroy forests. Also, the last photo by the water shows how humans change the beautiful scenery multiple times and destroy even their own history.


The colors used in this photograph are very earthy and natural. They are mostly green and different shades of browns that complement each other and create movement for your eyes to flow around the photo and take everything in. The lighting of the picture makes me look at the woman first. Then the color of her shirt makes me look at the leaves above her. The interesting shape of the plant pulls my eye around the top to the right, and then to the bottom to take in the rest of the picture.




I think this photograph is a good representation of how much the world is connected and how people are so similar to each other. When I first saw this picture, I thought this woman was from the U.S. I saw the tattoos and her style and thought she would be a rock chick from L.A. Then I saw the plant climbing on the building in the background and thought it was very interesting because I have never seen anything like that in the U.S. I read the tag to see where the photograph was taken and it said Italy. I thought it made sense for the plant to be from Italy but I was still surprised about the woman. Thinking back to the photo makes me think of learning about globalization in an Economics class I have. One of the major parts of globalization is that everyone in the world is connected by similar taste. Most countries in the world have McDonald's, heterosexuality is more accepted than homosexuality, and people wear jeans, parkas, and boots. This photo shows how young people in Italy are just like people in the U.S. and other countries. They like to express themselves through tattoos and their clothing.

Bridget Ford Assignment #1

I thought the exhibit was very interesting. It seemed like the exhibit as a whole was cohesive in that I thought all of the pieces had something to say about how people see the world and travel through life. I noticed how the work of the different artists were displayed. Some of the artists had their work in frames with a white border and another had just the canvas with nothing else around it. I liked how there was no fame on some of the work, because it made them seem more open and since most of the pieces were of outdoor scenes I thought that decision was very appropriate.

The piece that really caught my attention was what looked to be an urban graveyard. There wasn't much color to the piece. The composition was very open towards the outside and had more going on in the middle of the picture. There were many straight lines, crosses, and triangles in the picture. The colors consisted of white, grey/slate, splashes of red, and brown.

I read that the pieces the artist was displaying had to do with his past in a different country and his present in our society. When I looked at the urban graveyard it seemed very dismal, sad, and out of place to me. The colors and composition made it feel very desolate to me, because everything was so simple and end empty. I was saddened by it, because it's a graveyard and I thought there should be flowers and grass to make it softer, but I understand that there are places where this is completely normal. The picture made me think that this graveyard had been forget in time, because it had looked like no one had taken care of the crosses or stone and the fence had blocked it from the outside world. The splashes of color did make me hopeful that this place that seemed so empty could become vibrant again even if it is just a graveyard.

Assignment 1-Michael Rothenberg

Ashley Wingate Assignment #1.

After looking at the exhibition "Adapting Spaces," I realized that the works created by the four artists really went together quite well. The photographs all complemented one another by means of the association between the subjects and the places they are in. The story that I interpreted from the photographs was that people affect the environment, as well as the environment affecting human nature itself. The more I walked around and studied the photographs, I could see how people ruin the environment by tearing down forests to building more houses. Then I saw how nature takes form and ruins the "destruction" the people have made through natural disasters and so forth. Starting with John Mann's work, showing people in the environment; you can see they aren't being destructive with it, but they are treating it with care as they explore it. Then as you move on to Ryan Adrick's work, it becomes more about nature compromising with people. You see nature surrounding what appears to be an abandoned building in one photograph, while the others appear to be a continuum of this. Next, you view the work of Tracy Longley-Cook, as she appears to show nature as unsettling. Her photographs seemed as though the were taken in ob secure settings where people need to be more perceptive to their environment and what surrounds them. Lastly, looking as the work of Daniel Kariko, you can see the destruction by the change of the environment over time due to natural disasters and so on.

The photograph I was drawn to the most at this particular exhibition was "Divining for Air," by Tracy Longley-Cook. I was drawn to her work the most because I have a passion for black and white photography. This particular photograph was a digital pigment print. I really liked the overall tonality of this photograph, as well as the power behind it. I believe Tracy Longley-Cook did a great job of creating an unsure/energetic/powerful mood in this photograph by the particular lighting that was used, as well as the strong shadows created by the storm clouds. I also feel like she created a texture with the clouds by making them appear very rough and sharp with detail. Lastly, I liked the angle of view in which she took the photograph. She shifted the angle of view to be looking up at the sky, while including showing her subject in the photograph looking up to the sky. By doing so, she truly created the overall power and mood of the photograph by the way she angled and centered her subjects.

I picked this photograph because I truly love black and white photographs. When I looked at "Divining for Air," there were just so many details of the photograph running though my head. First, I was captured by the overall tonality of the picture, as well as the angle of view that was used to take the picture. I liked the angle of view because it makes the viewer feel as though they should be smaller compared to the big subject, being the sky. Second, I really liked the mood that was created by the particular use of lighting, texture, and focus. By making the sky so well focused, it helped create the overall mood of the photograph, as well as the use of the natural lighting. Lastly, I believe that there is a symbolic meaning behind the person holding the stick to the sky. However, the picture leave me to ponder the fact of what it is, just as the photographer has meant it to.

Hannah Morris Assignment #1

The theme of the exhibition was " Adapting Spaces", the artists work focused on human and enviroment interactions. All of the four artists Ryan Adrick, Tracy Longely-Cook, Daniel Kariko, and John Mann all had very different styles, but somehow focused on this central theme. I think as a whole the exhibit did not really flow. Tracy Longely-Cook's work was so different than the other artists' and I feel like it was a stretch for some of her images to be related back to the central theme, or it was just not communicated well to the viewer. Of all the artists' work I think I was most drawn to Daniel Kariko's. I think his work was most coherent with the theme of the exhibition. His work focused on dilapidation in the south due to enviromental causes. I liked his compositions they were very simple and I felt like he wasn't trying too hard with composing or relating back to the central theme. Ryan Adrick's focus was on relating a specific artist to another building that he felt they could relate too, and would help to explain the person. I thought some of the pairing were hard to understand why they were put together. But others seemed to go really well together. It seemed like some of them were forced. John Mann's work focused on the Appalation Trail and the people he came across on it. I liked his work because it was simple and the people were shown just the way they were as he saw them. It was just really real, I also liked the images without people in it too. Tracy Longely-Cook's work was about a character who was telling a story. She was placed outside in different places doing different things. I thought there was an element of mystery in her work because I wasn't always sure of what the person was doing, and it being in sepia tone added to that, I thought it was cool though.

I chose an image by Ryan Adrick entitled Ruth Ann and Debbie Lane, Orange Park, FL. I like this pairing of images because they are so down to earth. I think they both go really well together. They are both have a simple and natural looking style to them. The artist is comparing Ruth Ann a tattoo artist to Debbie Lane, the street he grew up on. I feel like these two photographs go really well together because maybe she lives in a small town like the one he grew up in, and is now a tattoo artist in a shop in a strip mall. At first glance it looks like an average person living an average life in an average town. The photo of the house is very average looking too, but just by looking at these photographs you can only make assumptions about what is going on in her life or what is going on in that neighborhood or inside of that house, i like that about his work, you don't really know, you can only assume things using what he chose to put together.

Brock Minnich Assignment #1

Adapting Spaces: A Photographic Exploration In Four Acts exhibited in the Haas Gallery of Art challenged the viewer to look beyond the camera lens. The exhibit featured photographers Ryan Adrick, Tracy Longley-Cook, Daniel Kariko, and John Mann. Upon first glance the Adapting Spaces exhibit may appear to onlookers as if the the photographers were capturing abstract glimpses of their environment. However upon further exploration, pun intended, the viewer can begin to discover a more intimate relationship between the photographer and his composition, a relationship and dynamic that I was unfamiliar with and wasn't ever exposed to throughout my years as an art student.

Ryan Adrick's contribution within this series captivated my interest and illustrated this intimate relationship best my opinion.

"Ryan Adrick's Artist Series demonstrates the non-endemic nature of the artist. Adapting to various creators and their contexts to re-address their settings through a modified vantage, Adrick juxtaposes the people and the places that he has encountered through his own artistic odyssey. He explains, "My Artist Series is a journey of self-awareness and the connections made with the world around us. Each photograph is based on relationships that I have made with artists and how these interactions would inform my own visual exploration. Inspired by these artists I began to explore the landscape; meditating on the association between person and place." The images, photographed in several regions throughout Europe and North America, are the artist's intimate response to his own negotiation of spaces, and they present a direct confrontation to the viewer in an attempt to achieve a mutual or simultaneous exchange between the two."

Within these paired portraits lies the very relationship being described, where the artist is building and forming these relationships. For instance, in the image above left depicts a woman, and fellow artisan, Adrick met during his stay in Berlin. The image just to the right displays the metro in Berlin, the relationship between the two is found within the lines of the rails, where the woman in the composition to the left often used lines within her own artwork as Adrick found out. Not only is there a relationship between the images themselves, but the artist also creates a his own relationship to the compositions.

Upon listening to Ryan Adrick speak about his series I began to sway my own vantage point, not just on his own series, but on how I view other works of art, and ultimately challenged myself to find and create my own intimate relationship with the objects found in my own compositons.

Robyn Burton-Assignment #1

This exhibit was photographers adapting spaces to what they wanted to communicate in a photograph. The whole collection was about person and place and was presented by the artists in different ways. From the quote they used to describe the gallery as a whole it stated "... landscapes are a collection of stories," which is a good description to their intent shown in the photographs. At first when I came into the show I saw no connection other then different landscapes, and people. After the artists spoke about they're work, each were interested in connecting the space with a person, or an idea that had a meaning towards them. I believe the show was set up well in order to tell a story about each of the work and how they were all placed around the gallery in a line telling different stories about different places.

I picked Ryan Adrick's Photograph because it was the first to catch my eye. There are many colors that are bright from the graffiti, with a lot of urban colors of browns in her clothes and buildings. She is placed well in the composition of the buildings and the ground, which directs your eye around the whole image. I believe it was a c-print; also paired with another image that has many different lines in it and shapes like this photograph to make you look at the landscape, as much as her. All together the visual elements of this photograph are extremely appealing to the eye, and shows a strong sense of personality from her face to the landscape.

After listening to Ryan Adrick himself, he told us the meaning behind this photograph. This image is of a woman he had met while he was in Florence teaching. They met eating breakfast one morning out of random, and noticed that she was starring at him. He soon learned that she was sketching him which made him have a connection to her with being artist. They spoke all day about art, and asked if he could photograph her. He intentionally paired another photograph with her that I did not connect at first. The second image was of a railroad track that was used by the Nazis in Berlin, Germany. He had some sort of way of connecting the locations with history, which he stated he was a "history buff." Also her use of lines in her artwork and connecting it with the lines in the railroad tracks. After describing the whole series of photos he said its more about your own relationship with the images, and your connection to the photographs that was more important. This was true for some of the other artist in the gallery as well. I believe this show all together was good, and told stories of artist explorations and of adapting spaces.

Seth Trump Assignment #1

The exhibition "Adapting Spaces" was a different type of photography than I expected it to be. At first when examining the pieces I felt that i could almost tell each artist's from one another and they were just placed next to one another. But then when going through again I felt like it was almost a story of some sort. Oddly enough I didn't really know what the story was about but I felt it flowed nicely from one to the next. I felt each of the artists works complemented each others due to the broad central theme of spaces. The only thing i felt could have worked better is the way they displayed their work. To be honest I don't know how else I would really display it but I almost felt that I was just walking in a circle (even though I know it's just a gallery).

I chose this photograph by Tracy Longley-Cook, titled "Divining For Air." It's a black and white photograph which is one of the first characteristics that drew me in. I feel that because the photograph is black and white it doesn't make you concentrate so much on the color or brightness in the picture but the objects and the story within the picture. I like how she also just used one dark main object in action while the rest of the photo is more of a laid back, calming light color.

I didn't get to hear the artist's lecture but I when I look at this picture I almost get the feeling of hope and power behind this picture. Although the person is holding up a stick in the air possibly waving it or yelling at the time, they are quite powerless compared to the sky and the earth and the universe. I also had the feeling of hope in this picture because they were looking up towards the sky holding a stick. Maybe they were talking to God? Maybe they were talking to themselves? I'm not sure but they seem like maybe they want to be heard. I liked this picture a lot because overall you can interpret this picture in so many ways just because their is one figure and the rest of the photo is just filled with clouds.

Morgan Cope / Gallery.

My experience of the exhibition made me pay close attention to a lot of detail to the photographs and the photographers style of photography. It opened my eyes to types of things that they like to capture and the emotional aspect of the photos, along with the photographers style of shooting. One of the many things I noticed was the presentation of the artwork. Daniel Karikos photographs were on a long wooden board with no framework, the photographs to me seemed like there take place after hurricane Katrina. The photos all had some type of house that was destroyed in a deserted highway or land with garbage and objects lying around it. Tracy Longley Cook images all seemed to be a bit blurry, although it seemed she made them to be that way. Her images were all black and white including the framework, which was black. In all of Tracy's photos she had one persons body part in the image, wheater it being an arm or a feet. There images were simple and didn't have much detail to the work. Ryan Adrick's work consisted of having one person in almost every image he had, his work was very vibrant and it had a lot of color to it. I also noticed with his work that he liked to photograph graffiti, and liked having a lot of negative space in his images. Also his images were surrounded with wooden framework. Lastly John Mann's images dealt with a lot of outside photography, capturing a lot of bright green grass with color. All his images seemed to have dealt with someone being outside and being alone. A lot of the titles of his work had to do with being alone, or being outside alone. John's images were surrounded by a black frame just like Tracy's.

My choice of artwork was this piece, by Ryan Adrick's. Mainly because this was the first piece of work that caught my eye as soon and I walked in the door. The reason I really like his work along with this image his because he like to use a lot of bright color that pops and catches to audiences eye, the color that really draws my attention is the bright blue and the white-ness of the church. I also really like that there is a lot of lighting on the church, it really opens my eyes and make me focus on the church along with the blue background. Another thing that I noticed is that there is a lot of detail in the church. They church was constructed very well and it has picture detail and architecture detail. A lot of the shapes being used to construct the church it seems to me they used mostly triangle and square design, along with a couple circles and arches.

I think that the photographer toke this photo mainly because they liked the architecture and how the lighting was and the sky was at the time when he was taking the photo. I know from my experience of being a photographer I would have taking this picture mainly because of the sky and the color of the sky. It really catches my eye and makes me like at the photo in a "wow" kind of way. The photographer may also have taken this photo because they are stepping outside of what they usually shoot, which is taking images of people. Additionally I think that it could have been because the building holds a lot of detail and along with maybe this building has some type of meaning to the photographer. He toke the photo in Italy and he might travel there a lot and so he might have visited this building many times and wanted to capture the photo in a different angle with the sky looking so bright and vibrant.

Courtney Martin- Assignment #1

The exhibition titled "Adopting Spaces" was about the relationship between people and space and any changes that occur. The four artists combined all of their work to form this traveling exhibition because they were all working with this central theme. The majority of the images were large, about poster-sized, and framed except for one artist's work which were large printed panoramas.

The image that I chose was Ryan Adrick's image of a woman he met while teaching in Florence, but then coincides with an image of a train stop. The two images go together because the woman pictured is an artist and the image of the train stop shows many lines. I also liked this image because of the story behind the image. The fact that he randomly met her one morning while eating breakfast and that they formed this day-long bond with each other really interested me. The image of the woman shows her off center in a city background with large and very colorful graffiti on the buildings behind her. I think that the graffiti helps to describe her as an artist. The image of the train stop shows the tracks merging at a central horizon line and the space is very empty. Together, the two images were my favorite.

As I previously discussed, the meaning behind these two images are that the woman is an artist and the lines of the train tracks represent the lines that she uses to draw her images. The woman met Mr. Adrick one morning while he was eating breakfast. He noticed that a woman was staring at him, but then quickly realized she was sketching him. They then proceeded to have a three-hour discussion about the arts. He then asked if he could photograph her. These images represent that memory but also the relationship between the artist and the space/place she is in.

Anndei (Adrianne Deitrich) Blog #1

I feel the photos that best captivated me were the ones that, to me, seemed to be that of a natural disaster. They invoke a lot of memories and the feelings of extreme loss. None of them exactly bad for a person to feel either as long as they know how to use them to improve themselves. I guess that brings me to the lighting. With everything in the photos being so clear and bright after an overwhelming situation such as a natural disaster it feels as if the photographer wanted to encourage those effected to take a stand do whatever they can to get back on their feet.
After a disaster there's only two options, to sit and do nothing while wallowing about all that's lost or to stand up, move on and appreciate everything that is still around. I feel these works very accurately show both options of respecting and remembering what has past but moving on and pushing past as well.

Gabriella Antoniello Assignment #1

The exhibition at the Haas Gallery called Adopting Spaces was very well put together. All of the art work was great. In the artwork, the artist displays unique people, and places. The photos look like there telling a adventurous story. Or the artist are telling stories about a time that they visited the unique places and people they encountered. This is how one photograph connects to another by grabbing your attention to look at the other artworks. The photos are vibrant and use a large color pallet. Tt caught my attention to look at the color photos first as apposed to the black and white ones. This is how it holds the gallery together by catching the attention with colors and then also using the simplicity of black and white pictures.

This photograph by Ryan Adrick Santa Croce Florence, Italy bring my attention by the phenomenal amount of detail put into this. The church is captured in a awesome clever light balance. The bright blue sky makes me first look at the painting but then when you look closer, the blue sky makes the church stand out even more. Triangular shapes are used through the church with a repeating pattern of rectangular shapes as well. This landscape is presented in a whimsical, mystical way. The clouds in the sky and the lighting make me think that way and the structure of the church as well. I love the color of the church with the detail it makes it look authentic and beautiful to me. This is one of my favorite pictures by Ryan Adrick.

This beautiful church has so much meaning behind it. It is a place to gather for religious purposes. Where we discuss out religion and our beliefs, to come together as one and share stories about our family and friends. This is a place where the artist felt most meaningful to her and brought her ideas and thoughts to paper and produced a phenomenal picture fulled with memories, feelings and special times. This church makes me feel good looking at it because it makes me think of the time when i travled to Italy. I visited numour amounts churches and temples. A place where god is worshiped is a place i also feel is something very special to me. This is why my attention was brought to this photo of a church in Italy.

Kyle Gosson's Assignment #1

There are all photographs and most of them are quite simple. None of the images are really abstract to me. However, noticed almost every photos have something unique in the middle and leave a lot of space on the sides. Also, they have no mood or emotional feeling in there. That gave me trouble time to be able to understand what the pictures were trying to tell me. Maybe they had nothing to say? I could not able to go to the artist’s lecture. If I went to the lecture then I might understand more about their projects.

There is one photo that I really like, which is Untitled (Lone Tree) by John Mann

With John Mann’s photo of Lone Tree, it makes me think about my home back in New England. That tree looks like one that I have seen before, during rode the snowmobile on the mountains in New Hampshire. Love the fresh air, could smell those cold pine trees. Also, with the fog, that gives more dramatic feeling.

Other photos in the galleries are looking really good, but I could not able to get some good connection with those. So I do not have any farther comments for those, yet, respect their work. Someday I would like to see more of their photos.

-KG

Kelly Geist Assignment #1

All of the pieces in this show were photographs and I thought that all of the artists in this exhibit went well together except for Tracy Longley-Cook. Her work seemed very out of place to me because the rest of the artists' works dealt with places and her work seemed to be focused more on the interaction of people and nature. Her work also seemed out of place to me because it was black and white and sort of dark whereas the rest of the artists' works were bright and colorful. I think that Ryan Adrick and John Mann's art went together the best and complimented each other the most because they both dealt with specific people and places. Daniel Kariko's also dealt with places in a similar fashion but it did not involve people.

The piece that first stood out to me was Ryan Adrick's Lindsey which was right next to his image North Meridian. This image shows a woman standing with her arms crossed and she looks kind of bored or annoyed. Everything in the image is sort of dull except for her green shirt and the green leaves above her. There is a shadow surrounding her except for the wall right behind her where the light is hitting. The tree branches form sort of a square that box the woman in and she is standing on a bunch of smaller tiled squares which are kind of beat up or worn out looking.

When I viewed this image before listening to the artist speak about it I basically just interpreted it as some lady with tattoos who appears to be annoyed and maybe somewhat of a loner. Then, when Ryan Adrick spoke about this image he mentioned how this woman stuck out and seemed very out of place when they were in another country because there were not many people there like her. He also said that the reason that he paired this image of Lindsey with the image of North Meridian was for the same reason, the building just seemed sort of out of place. I think that the story behind it makes it more interesting but it is not necessary for someone to relate to the image. The image itself tells a story of someone feeling alone or out of place.

TJ Brandt - Assignment #1

I thought that the Adopting Spaces gallery at the Haas Gallery was very interesting. All of the works had the same type of feel about them but each of them was unique in their own way or told their own story. The colors in each of them seemed very vibrant and they all seemed as though they should be in the same gallery. The colors in each made me want to examine them closely, looking at all of the details. The thing that i think impressed me the most was that all the works seemed as though they could be from one single artist. They all blended so well that it just brought the whole exhibit together.

The work that I was first drawn to was the piece called Untitled (Traveler 1) by John Mann. The first thing that attracted me to the photograph was the very vibrant green grass and trees which seemed to overwhelm the picture. However, the man who is in the middle of the picture sticks out among the vast color of green around him. He is dressed in less bright colors than the grass and this makes him stick out. By doing this one tends to look at this part of the picture because it is different from the rest of the photo. Another interesting aspect of the photo was how the background behind the man was blurrier than the areas which were closer to the man, a great effect for the photograph.

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the artist's lecture, so the interpretation was up for me to come up with. In my opinion, this work of art tells a little story. I think that the traveler is looking for something more in his life and that is why he is off on his own. I believe that the bright green colors around the man represent how colorful and how much more there is to the world but one has to take the opportunity to explore these features. The man is also dressed in sort of dull colors which makes me think that he is leading a dull life and is now out to do make a change and lead a more exciting lifestyle. The blurry background may even represent how the man is leaving his past life behind. All together I thought this was a meaningful work that spoke it's message to me very clearly. - T.J. Brandt

Caitlin Atchison Assignment #

The exhibition as a whole flowed very smoothly. Each Artist chose pieces that were of the same style, yet compared individually, each artist’s work was diverse. Tracy Longley-Cook chose to show her photographs in a set of black and whites which was a distinct contrast to John Mann’s brightly colored series. Daniel Kariko chose to showcase his photographs on a backboard without a frame which enhances the simplicity of the basics which compliment his photographs. Ryan Adrick showed photos similar to John Mann’s, although each photographer is unique giving the style their own spin. The four artists being shown in the gallery at this time are working together to create a visual experience like no other.

This photo was taken on film and developed in black and white solution. It shows a hand holding vines draped over the top of a brick wall painted white. This piece is framed with a white matte, and a black metal frame. The framing choice accents the black and white format of the photograph.

This photograph can be interpreted many different ways. The hands reaching up towards the vines symbolize the woman crying out for help. The vines symbolize the bad things in her life and she is reaching up towards them which could mean that she is embracing them, or she is trying to get rid of them. The choice of black and which symbolizes the simplicity of how basic the choice of good and bad is.

Assignment #1

Everyone has a different perspective of art. Each piece can mean a number of different things to a number of different people. These feelings can come from personal experiences or just the feelings someone discovers from a piece of art. The exhibit Adapting Spaces made me think of many things. First I walked in and started looking around. I did not really understand how these four artists' work compared to each other. They set up there show in four different sections, with each artist per section. I believe each of the artists exhibits tell a story within their own portraits. The framing was excellent, and the colors in the pieces were very realistic. I like how as you looked along the wall you could start to put together a storyline in your head. I haven't yet decided if I prefer these works to be together or completely separate. I feel like in some aspects they work well, and some they do not. What works well is that they all focus on places, which ties them together very well, however, the style of the artists are all very different which is why I am not sure about them being together.

My favorite piece was really easy for me to pick out. I love nature so this piece spoke to me as soon as I saw it. It is a photograph of a single tree surrounded by more trees. It was taken by John Mann, and is part of his "The Travelers" collection. The colors in the piece are all very natural. You can see that this picture was not edited to look a certain way, but was taken carefully to look a certain way. The piece has a quiet and calming feeling. When I look at this picture I feel like I am am there. I like that there is a single tree surrounded by a jungle of bushes, grass, and other small trees. The tree in the middle sticks out, it is the first thing that you see when you glance at this piece. I love how there is a softness about the picture. The trees seem to fade into the back round.




When I first glanced at this piece I saw that the tree stuck out, and you could immediately focus on it. I can interpret the tree as myself. It is tall, skinny, and it sticks out. The little trees, grasses, and bushes symbolize the jungle that is around me. Everyday things happen that we cannot control, however, you have to stand tall, and get through them. The trees that are fading into the back round are the bad things or struggles that are fading away, because bad times do not last forever. Going to the artists interview Ryan Adrick spoke on behalf of John Mann. He took this picture along the Appalachian trail to symbolize a resting spot, but other than that he leaves it up for interpretation. Putting my life in this picture, or anyone for that matter seems to explain this picture in an abstract yet perfect way.

-Katelin Bolig

Gallery assignment

I enjoyed this artists work the most, it seemed to be the most "real journey." I liked this picture out of all of them the most because it keeps you thinking and wandering. What is he doing? Where is he going? Is he homeless? And many more