HW1: Finding Your Voice

       Dawoud Bey uses photography as a way of having a voice in the world. Bey has a hearing loss and compensates for it with his vision and impressive photography skills. He speaks beautifully about his work and artwork as whole saying, “art has the capacity to create a transformative experience for each person that stands in front of it, and hopefully when they leave the work they go back into the world with something they didn’t have before seeing the work”. I think that statement is really important and reflects his work well because after seeing some of his pieces I definitely felt differently, not only about a particular shot, but him as a person and art as a whole. His project that really shifted my perception and stimulated my emotions was the Birmingham church bombing series. By putting an image of a person the victims age, next to an image of a person the age the victim would be today, was a great way to have the audience connect with a tragedy that happened many years ago. 

       Carrie Mae Weems uses approach to photography is very personal yet very understanding and relatable. Her setting couldn’t be any more private. She photographs people in her kitchen with a single light source being the one right above her table. Her subjects were people who appeared to be family members or people close to her. These images are all very powerful and show a very honest reality. Her main goal was for these images to be a voice for all woman and as she said to show “the battle around monogamy” and I believe she delivered her message beautifully. The image that really captured my attention above all is the one where the man has his chin on his hand reading the newspaper while a woman stands behind him. I think this image speaks very loudly in many different ways. The man doesn’t look very stressed as he relaxes and reads over the newspaper. The woman is standing behind the man which I think is a very important point as woman are always hidden behind a man while he is front and center. This point leads to the shadows and contrast; there is much light on the man while the woman is almost just a shadow and extremely contrasted. The placement of the woman’s hands also stood out to me she seems nervous and almost like she may be fidgeting. I get a sense of insecurity and uncertainty from the woman. Overall, I think they’re all incredible images.

       Their approaches are similar as they both send very strong messages through their photos. They understand the story they want to tell and deliver is perfectly through their images. They allow for their audience to really tap into their emotions when seeing their art, but both do so differently. Dawoud Bey takes you to historical areas while Carrie Mae Weems brings you into her own home. Although they stimulate your mind Carrie Weems does so much more personally than Dawoud Bey does. But they both have mastered the skill of making you feel something in the present even though the photos or moments are plenty of years old.