The Ostermans

The Mark and Scully Osterman's are a husband and wife team who has given up lectures in stuff class rooms to pursue their love in the art. By using their knowledge and expertise of old film processing to crate there master pieces. These pieces create a sense of wonder and amazement. Of a time that we all have forgotten, where experimentation and discoveries was an everyday thing.
 

 They led the first collodion workshops in the US in 1995, and in Europe beginning in 1998. Together they published the quarterly publication, The Collodion Journal from 1995 to 2002

 Mark Osterman is Photographic Process Historian at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, NY. He teaches the technical evolution of photography from Niepce heliographs to making gelatin emulsions. 

 France Scully Osterman is an artist-educator, and lecturer at Scully & Osterman Studio and guest scholar at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, both in Rochester, NY.  Scully is recognized for her extensive knowledge of early photographic processes including photogenic drawings, wet-plate and dry-plate collodion, albumen and salt print methods. 

 They mostly use a processes called calotype. Calotype is a photographic that uses a negative to produce onto a piece of uncoated paper, and creating a paper negative. A positive print can be made by pressing the negative under piece of glass against another piece of sensitive paper and exposing it to sunlight. The texture that is produce on to the can be seen by holding a piece of copier paper up to to light. This technique was in use principally from 1840 into the 1850s, when it was di Jones.

The amazing part of these images is the way they create an open mind to the viewer. A glance into what the viewer can image this is what they where doing in the late 1800's.

Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin was born April 1, 1933, Died November 29, 1996. He studied for the priesthood at the Immaculate Conception Preparatory Seminary in Brooklyn. 1952 left to join his fraternal twin brother in the Air Force. During military service in 1954–55, Flavin was trained as a air weather meteorological technician. Upon his return to New York in 1956, Flavin briefly attended the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts and studied art under Albert Urban. He later studied art history for a short time at the New School for Social Research, then moved on to Columbia University, where he studied painting and drawing.

 Flavin's works is with fluorescent light as a medium. He main focus is the light play on the walls and objects around the light. He embrace the fluorescent fixture as an aesthetic object. This forward thing placed him at the forefront of a generation of artists whose use of industrial materials. 

 greens crossing greens (to Piet Mondrian who lacked green), 1966. © 2012 Stephen Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: David Heald © SRGF

What he was able to create space out of nothing using different florescent colors in dark rooms to give a new quality of art. This engages the view to respond to the patterns of light that is created by the fluorescent lights.

Dan Flavin was an American Minimalist who focus was on sculptural objects and creating a repetition in his installation. This gives the view a sense of wonder and ideas of how he can create artworks out of light. 

 Dan Flavin, untitled 1973

 The fluorescent light wash over the walls creating color. These colors mix, so the white walls seem to be painted. They bathe the area and any visitor with a warm and completely artificial glow. This artificial glow creates to piece and brings the view in closer to the artwork.  

 Dan Flavin was a very unique artist who could influence a room with his dancing light. Bring life to a room as it inhabits the space around it. Often  Dan Flavin evoke a cheerful response from visitors, he does have darker pieces. One piece called Monument 4 maned for those who have been killed in an ambush. Was created in response to the Vietnam War, is made from blood-colored tubes that jut off the wall aggressively. This piece invades the viewer's space.

 monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death), 1966

Flavin was one of he most influence artist in the last 30 years. 

Please help promote our collective - made up of people who either are or were in KCAI's photography department!

CC:KC Kickstarter

Seeing Yourself as Others Do

Jen Davis featured on the NY Times Lens blog.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/seeing-yourself-as-others-do/

I found Bill Morrison's vimeo account, for those of you interested in seeing more of his work (without the technical/sound issues at school). This one in particular strikes me as emotionally haunting and visually stunning.

What We Build from Bill Morrison on Vimeo.

'The Herd' Kickstarter

Greetings photo enthusiast! Below is a link to my kickstarter page, share the link, 'Like' the page via facebook on the link, tweet it, and if you can donate!

All is appreciated, and I thank you for your time.

The Herd

Parisian Alix Malka

I found this stunning fashion photography by Parisian Alix Malka, one of the new talent in fashion photography and well sought after by magazine photographers internationally.