Updated Thesis Statement

The objects that occupy domestic spaces and how these spaces are constructed by their inhabitants can say a lot about who they are or where they have been. This principle is depicted in the quiet scenes that a person encounters in someone’s home.

This group of people shares an interest in fire and all have experienced or witnessed the primal issues of comfort and fear with this element; they are either fire spinners or their fellow friends and collaborators. Their different personalities and lifestyles outside the tying element of fire becomes evident when visiting their homes, and the most intimate of domestic spaces: the bedroom, is so comparatively different from the last bedroom and its inhabitant. These are the quiet, everyday scenes that speak too much to not listen and document.

This series serves to document the domestic spaces of men and women in a community brought together by fire. To observe and record at first glance how the objects found in theses physical spaces relate to their inhabitants’ lifestyles, and to question whether our assumptions based on what people own are actually correct. At first glance this group of people does not seem to share a common interest in fire, however, it is their differences that makes this group’s bedrooms interesting.

Adrienne Salinger—New Inspiration; Teenager series

http://www.adriennesalinger.com/

New Inspiration

Adrienne Salinger's Teenager series documents teenagers in their bedrooms. I find that her close proximity to them, the documentation of their intimate space and belongings, and the way she maintains technical cohesion throughout the photographs successfully captures each teenagers individuality. To further emphasize their individuality she had them write a bit about their themselves; a memory, goals and dreams, etc. I found this series inspirational and decided to guide my exploration of domestic spaces down a similar path with fire spinners and their friends.

Updated Thesis Statement

The ___name of documentary______ serves to explore the life of a man with a vision. Within these scenes Richard Horner daily life, dream, and life passion will be documented to capture the primal issues of comfort and fear with fire that Horner has spoken of, and experienced first hand working closely with fire as a fire spinner. However, there is always more to each story; this documentary serves to capture the true essence of Horner’s relationship with fire and how fire and its importance as a primal element comes into play within multiple aspects of his life through his relationships, and spirituality. To document how his vision and passion for fire came to be and how far it has brought him.

Fire Spinning at Rusty's in Austin

A small clip from the footage recorded. Unfortunately I am unable to post footage from interviews with Richard and footage from his home.

Fire Spinning

After meeting The Knights of Texas and all their friends and collaborators I was inspired to work with them, I had to collaborate with this group of really interesting individuals. I have been wanting to make a short film for a long time now and together we decided that a documentary of Richard and the fire community was the way to go. So I moved on from documenting domestic spaces through photographs to a film documentary about the life of Richard Horner.

Installation Mock-Up

This is a mock-up of what an installation of this series would look like. I want them all to sit fairly close to each other and in a straight line to focus on the content and find juxtaposing and common elements from one domestic space to the next.

Exhibition Installations

Alec Soth's Broken Manual Installation at the Sean Kelly Gallery

Alec Soth's Broken Manual Installation at the Walker Art Center

References

Alec Soth, Sugar's, Davenport, IA 2002, http://alecsoth.com/photography/

Feng Bing, Hutongi nocą, http://photography-now.net/feng_bin/portfolio1.html

Henrik Knudsen, http://www.henrikknudsen.com/

Joakim Eskildsen, http://photography-now.net/joakim_eskildsen/portfolio1.html

William Eggleston, Downtown Morton, Miss., circa 1969-70, http://www.egglestontrust.com/

Other References:

Janelle Monae, "Cold War"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqmORiHNtN4

Janelle Monae, "Tightrope"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc&ob=av3e

ArtTherapyBlog.com

http://www.arttherapyblog.com/c/videos/

Thesis Project Proposal

Long story short; about 2 months ago my ex and I separated after what ended up being a four year long unhealthy relationship. We were high school sweethearts and ended up changing through the years and growing apart. This winter break I found myself escaping reality basically, and creating my own reality by constantly interacting with friends, working very little, and avoiding family. I was basically couch surfing with no need to do that... I made many mistakes, but also gained a lot of great memories with friends. However, I completely shoved my family aside and behaved in selfish ways... I realize now I need healing. I want to share with my audience how I felt because I know that anyone that has experienced the end of a serious relationship, which is many of us, will understand the thoughts and feelings that come from trying to cope. Our relationship had been rocky for sometime, so two months ago I accepted the idea that we would no longer be together and therefore tried to cope by keeping myself busy. That sense of false happiness you seek to hold on to, trying to convince yourself you are fine, when truly you are not is the feeling I want to portray with this series.

I will visit places I visited during this winter break, at the same times that I encountered them the first time, and try to recreate how I was feeling at the time by creating images with the appropriate mood and tone. I will photograph what I saw in a way that depicts how I felt when being there. This series will evolve with time, it will be a narrative essentially; beginning with images that will serve as a type of prequel to where I am now, and working towards images of the honest effort I will make to repair my relationships and my health.

I am interested in art therapy. Art Therapy and my undeniable need for therapy influenced this concept. I am also a night owl and love night photography; at least half of these photographs will be shot at night to represent the correct time I encountered these places. In this series night plays an important role; most of the entertainment we took part in was at night. I will explore the night scene in Austin further, but only in places that I went to in the last two months. I will also interact with friends and family in the same way as before and photograph them, then I will work on improving my relationship with my parents and document that in such a way that the mood of the image demonstrates a personal improvement.

I will be photographing digitally and printing on Epson Premium Photo Luster Paper as of now, but the paper type may change if a different paper works better with the concept. I will print the images no smaller than 13” x 19”. The images will all be in color; rich saturated color and high contrast images is what I will capture. I want the first few images to have a gloomy feel to them and the series will gradually lighten up in mood as I too improve with the series.

Images such as those from Joakim Eskildsen, Feng Bin, Peter Gasser, Henrik Knudsen, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, and Alec Soth have inspired this series’ concept a bit, but mostly their style is what has influenced me. I want to capture images with saturated bright colors like those seen in William Eggleston, Joakim Eskildsen, and Henrik Knudsen. The content of these images will resemble that of Stephen Shore, Henrik Knudsen, and Joakim Eskildsen. These images will be colorful and will naturally have people in them because I will be shooting public places and home interiors. I will aim for a level of contrast like that seen in Peter Gasser and Feng Bing’s work. Although, their work is in black and white and I will be working in color, I aim to obtain the same level of clarity and contrast that they did with their work.