Task #3- Alex DeMelo

I was inspired by Alex Prager for this work. At first, I was EXTREMELY exited to give my own spin on her work, but my dreams got crushed (slightly) when I remembered that it looks like Eight Below outside. Her work is nostalgic, and summery. Two hard concepts to grasp considering the most nostalgic thing in my life in gameboy color (no "u") and the groundhog lied about there being two more weeks of winter. Anyways, I tried my best to copy her aesthetically. I read in an interview that she uses wigs for all of her models, which I found very interesting, because she is not concerned at all with presenting a model naturally, but instead exactly to her vision, which I respect. I put my own spin on her work in a more awkward, less colourful way. Not sure which colour to make the top, any suggestions? What do you think? Am i spanning too many decades with the coca-cola, persian rug, chihuahua combo?

Task #2 Alex DeMelo

I decided to take a photograph that channels the ideas Amy Stein's "Domesticated" series. On her website (amystein.com) she says, "We at once seek connection with the mystery and freedom of the natural world, yet we continually strive to tame the wild around us and compulsively control the wild within our own nature". I interpreted this as humans are intrigued by the natural world, but above this curiosity is a strong urge to tame what we think is wild. In this photo is a little boy who appears to be feeding the rats he finds in his house. He has set out bowls for them to drink from. There is a contrast between the 'wild' rats, and the clean order of his room. Much like Amy does, i've tried to combine the wild and domesticated. I wish I added more small bowls and rats, but I couldn't find any more.

Alex DeMelo Task #1

Thomas Struth's family portraits focus on position and character. Struth tries to bring out the characteristics of each individual, without posing them in a way that would be an obvious statement of their personality. I've tried to capture his same spirit in this photograph of my uncle, grandmother, and her dog.
Personally, I didn't like Thomas Struth's work. There is a hostile atmosphere in many of his photographs that I tried to create within my own, but struggled. Many of his subjects hold a gaze that almost seems robotic and lifeless. I couldn't make my family replicate this gaze, because to put it simply, they do what they want. I think Struth's portraits lack life and and story. When I look at his family portraits, I don't see what they might have been doing before, nor can I picture what they are going to do after. It seems as though the family has been put into a background they are unfamiliar with, and the only familiarity they can find is behind the camera.
I think I will try this assignment again, with strangers. That way, it will be easier to obtain a feeling of hostility, because they won't know me, or my story.