Semester+exam

Ariana Worcester

William Wegman
When he was a kid wanted to be a painter. He earned his BA in fine arts at Massachusetts college of art and masters in fine arts at University of Illinois. While he was teaching in Long beach he got his first dog named Man Ray, he would become the first of countless Weimereiners Wegman would record and photograph for decades following. In 1992 he was on the tonight show and played a video called “Dog duet” it also featured Fay Ray, though it was a video from almost twenty years prior of Man Ray and another spaniel dog. Now he has permanent exhibits in LA County museum of art, Montgomery museum of fine arts, Hammer museum, and the Smithsonian American Art museum

He used video for his works from the 70s onward and created dozens of short films. Photography was the other thing he used and captured his dogs in costumes and in strange poses. His work uses some alternative display but technology is how he created many of his finest works

You could compare him to Rene Magritte because he uses everyday things and adding other objects it makes them look totally different. He isn't as deep into it as Margritte but he uses the thought of taking something like a dog and putting it into a situation you'd see people in.

I chose this artist because when I was in 5th or 6th grade I read a book about his work and I never forgot it. The way he used his dogs sparked my interest in animals plus a good laugh about how much personality they have. When I saw his profile I remembered him and in all the artists there he was the only one who I recognized easily. Also up until now I was unaware but he was one of the first artists I ever had seen work from as he made some of my favorite videos when I was about three or four watching Sesame Street.

Dog Duet video (1975) 

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Other photos

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Eleanor Antin
Her mother divorced her father and went on to marry a poet and artist named Peter Moor. She went on to attend the Music and Art High school and then went to City College of New York and then on to the New School for Social Research. A year before graduation she was offered an acting job and modeled for artists to get money. She went back to college. Her first work was called Blood of a Poet Box and it took three years to complete. She is now most famous for her many "100 boots" pictures.

She falls into the category of modern art because much of her work is photography and videography as well as performance. Because she uses modern media to make her art she fits into the technology driven section of the 21st century mold.

She can be compared to Julia Margaret Cameron because she uses photography in such an innovative way. Much like how Julia pioneered photography Eleanor has pioneered videography.

She appealed to me because she did two of my favorite sections of art. Along with her photography she also draws. Those two are my greatest skills and enjoyments in art. So when I saw that she did both and was so revolutionary in it I had her as another one of my top choices.

Some of her famous 100 boots pictures: Video at: http://www.getty.edu/pacificstandardtime/explore-the-era/archives/v61/ _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Catherine Opie
Born in Sanduskey Ohio she has had an interest in photography for years. She got her degree at California Institute of the Arts in 1988. She focuses on aspects of the community and her work has included surfers, portraits of everyday people, and now high school football players. She has several domestic and international galleries and now is a professor in photography at UCLA.

She is a 21st century artist because she uses the camera for her work and thus falls into the technology driven section. This is further supported because unlike many other artists she doesn’t do anything other than photography, so without using technology she would have no works.

You can compare her to Jean-Francois Millet because she creates things the way they are. Unlike many photographers she uses only real people and her pieces are not idealized. With the football players they often have dirt on their jersey and sweat on their face, likewise Millet would show flaws. Unlike him though they aren’t the poorest of the poor and farming related subjects are far from what she does.

I chose her because the section of photography that I myself do and would like to further in is sports photography. Also when reading about how she photographed football players it also ignited that interest because I live in and was raised in a football loving family and the game has become one of my greatest loves in sports. __