Blog Assignment !

For Monday, (for full credit) I want you to post on one or more of the following questions:

Describe the film techniques that Leni Reifenstahl uses in Triumph of the Will.

Specifically, how do these films employ the use of music, camera angels, edits?

Some people argue that “Triumph of the Will” is a propaganda film while others argue that is a documentary because it was made up of “actual” footage of the Nazi Nuremburg rallies. How would you categorize it and why?

If you argue that "Triumph of the Will" was a propaganda film, then what could Leni Riefenstahl have done differently in order for this to be a documentary? Would it have been possible for this to be a mere documentary and not a propaganda film?

Many people argue that “Triumph of the Will” aesteticized politics: it made the Nazi movement look beautiful. Does it make the Nazi movement look beautiful? Is this dangerous? Why?

This film is also good launching point for two of the questions that we will discuss in Unit 3: Manifesting Vision:

What are the potential repercussions of misguided vision?

What are the potential repercussions of misguided action, or of inaction?

CITY LIES

Sifting through the pictures available, I am drawn to one that says “City Lie” in western style lettering. The original sign must have said “City Life” since there is a large gap where it appears an extra letter should be. The words are arranged on two wooden boards parallel to one another mounted on a grey wall. They have neon coils inside of them visible because the red facing has been shattered off the surface There are only a few jagged edges of the original red letter-front present.

I believe that this piece is making a statement about society and popular belief. Within the cultural metropolis that is a city, there is an attitude or vibe that comes along with it. For example, they say the people of New York never sleep and that southerners are laid back. The photograph, to me, aims to destroy these notions by knocking out the F in life to say “City Lie”.

I believe that the photographer was trying to imply that we should follow personal intuition and go against the grain of what is normal or popular. 

American Teenager

Described: I see a photo with a somewhat hi-resolution; there are no pixels to be seen. But they're obviously all there. There is a man, most likely in his early twenties, holding a skateboard and standing in front of a grey wall. The wall is colored a darker grey in a rectangle around the upper left half of his torso, including his face. The picture is from the waist up, for a portrait feel, I assume. The man has a buzz cut, two earrings, one on each of his lobes, and then an additional on his cartilage. He has blue eyes, a shaven face, and bleach blond eyebrows. He is wearing a bright blue-green wristband and has a tattoo on his opposite arm that is not in the viewer's complete sight. He is also wearing what looks like a cotton or cotton blend maroon and baby blue plaid long-sleeve shirt with a white crew neck underneath. The skateboard he is holding across his chest with crossed arms has clouds and a hand outlined in blue on it. It has a dark graphic on the bottom, but it is indistinguishable.

Analyzed: It doesn't seem like the artist wanted the photo to be visually appealing or unappealing for any particular reason. The photos, as I read, were intended to create character. The main interest in this photo and rest were the facial expressions, posture, and wear. But, however unintentionally, the skateboard creates movement as a line through the photo from the bottom to the top and then leads into the top of the rectangle. The colors are bright and for lack of better words; go with each other. The skateboard is roughed up and looks like it has been used quite a bit. The composition is centered around the torso and face to exclude as much posture information as possible, I suppose. This is to make the viewer focus on less to get the same amount of information.

Interpreted: The artist created the photo(s) in an effort to create these characters for a project. I believe the object was to see how much you can know about a person without actually meeting or knowing the person.  He does a lot of portraits like these for what seems like the same purpose, but in much different situations and social climates. In another he chose to do all of the photos in black and white for what I assume is an effort to create some sort of mood. In this photo, in particular, I'd interpret the man's facial expression as anxious or scared, but confident. He is not detached from pop culture, because he has a tattoo, wristband, and plaid shirt, which are all signs of a hipster. He is holding onto his skateboard as if it is the only thing he has left. I get this feeling because it is across his chest, instead of to his side, in one hand.

This is good. It definitely achieved the objective and I feel like I know the character in the photo. The colors are stimulating and the facial expression and posture paint a picture (or photo hah).

Accomplishment

I chose A Girl With School Medals 1988. I see in this picture a fence, a wall, a window in the background. From the look of things, I just get a vibe that this might not be in a good neighborhood. That was my first thought. I then notice all the medals she has on her shirt and how proud she looks to have them there. To me, she seems to be saying, "You said I couldn't do this. Well, look. I did." I think that the artist did the things he did such as, the black and white color of the image to show the condition of the neighborhood she lives in, or as a symbol for something else. It creates the mood of the image. I get the feeling that it is an old picture, just based on the black and white color. 1988 is not exactly old however, that is not what I'm trying to say. I just think that the black and white color really is a key part to this image. Like I said before, I think this picture has something to do with stereotypes. If it is actually in a run-down neighborhood like I imagine, then I feel like this is supposed to be this girl showing off her accomplishments. She proved that she was capable of such things, whereas most people don't look at the people from bad neighborhoods and think that they will go anywhere in life. This photo reminded me of Our America, because of the breaking stereotypes theme. I really like this picture. I also assumed right away by her clothing that her medals were athletic medals. I realize now that, that might not necessarily be true. She could have won medals for a number of different things, such as music, debate club, quiz bowl team. Anything. Whatever her medals are for, what I am taking from this photo is that someone put her down. Someone told her she would not make it, but she was able to prove them wrong. She won those medals and shut them up. I enjoyed this photo a lot. It reminded me of my own situation in life. I am trying to be a performer, and am constantly told that I will not make it. I want my chance to win my medals and prove all those negative nancys and debbie downers out there that it is possible.

Dawoud Bey

"A Boy on his Bike, 1989"
Dawoud Bey
Street Portraits

1.) In this photo, there is a young man posing on his bike while a young girl standing behind him with pieces of paper in her hands, both of them standing on a sidewalk. The photo is in black in white with the young black man in the foreground while the young girl is in the far right corner. The man is dressed in a white t-shirt with a large graphic design on its front with jean pants on. There are houses in the background lining the sidewalk were both of the subjects are standing. The houses seem to be brick.

2.) In the photo, the houses and the sidewalk create leading lines which helps focus the attention on the young man on the bicycle. He is the largest subject in the photo and is also the most clearly focused subject. He looks very internally hurt which is expressed through his facial positioning and his eyes. Beneath his eyes their is a deep pain that you can see gnawing away at him.  I think all of these aspects the photo had and they way Bey decided on shooting it contributed to the overall expression on the boys internal pain.

3.) I think Bey choose to shoot this portrait of the boy on his bicycle because the image conveys a strong sense of conflict and woe. The young man is exerting both of these qualities by his facial expression. This could be attributed to racial conflict since the young man is black, however i didn't come to that conclusion when i saw it. To me, this portrait was taken because it exerts such a quinine feeling of conflict of woe.

-Alex Cumming

Smile

 http://www.dawoudbey.net/


In this photo I see an older man working at a diner.  He is wearing an apron and is smiling at the camera.  The photo is in black and white.  I can see the creases in his face all of the wrinkles show his age.  There is a woman sitting down at the table to older man is wiping.  She has a cigarette in hand wears a sun hat and does not face the camera.  Behind both of these people is another man who wears glasses but is in the dark so we can't see any of his features besides his glasses.  The diner these three people seem to be in is not the cleanest looking or the nicest.  

I like the fact that the artist shot this picture in black and white film.  Black and white tend (for me at least) to bring out the reality in a scene in a film or a photograph.  Because its not the beautiful colors we're looking at anymore but what is actually going on.  I just get more emotion out of black and white film. 


 In this photo the older man, he is ok with his job because he is happy with it.  Maybe he is the owner, or a chief or just a bus boy either way he is happy and really that's all that matter in life. This happy older man is the key to this photo.  He looks to be in a rusty old diner, but his smile lights up the room.  One can relate this to the question do we make our environment.  In this case, sure the diner is not appealing to ones eye, but the good energy this one man brings to the diner makes it look like a nice place to eat. 

This is a great photo, because of the smile. 

Youth Community of Chicago

Dawoud Bey Photographs
Character Project
Mike, Chicago

In this photo there is a young caucasian man hugging a skate board in his arms. He is wearing a light blue rubber band on his left wrist and earrings on both ears. He is also wearing a white t-shirt under his purple and turquoise plaid button up. His eyes are as blue as the rubber band on his wrist. The hair on his head is sun kissed blonde and the hair on his face is white. His right forearm has a tattoo that is unclear because of the way he is hugging the board.

This man is standing in front of a concrete white wall.

The board design has a cloud on one end and a yellow hand reaching up on the other.

This is one photo out of the artist Character Project. This project is of different people in Chicago. The one photo I chose is Mike. All of the photos are taken with a different person/character in front of the same background, white concrete wall. No person in this Character Project are the same. Each are very unique in they're own way.

I believe the background was chosen to give a simple/plan light to the colorful study. (the study being the character, the person in the photograph)
Dawoud Bey is known for his color portraits of adolescents.
I feel that he was showing the viewer the diversity of the youth in Chicago.
Bey has said, “My interest in young people has to do with the fact that they are the arbiters of style in the community; their appearance speaks most strongly of how a community of people defines themselves at a particular historical moment.”


I enjoyed looking at all the photos as a whole. I believe they are attended to be this way. I thought his photos were a great depiction showing the youth community of Chicago.