Joe Seck

Robert W. Mapplethorpe      Mapplethorpe was born in 1946 in Queens, New York, in 1963 he enrolled at an art institution called Pratt institution in 1963, this institution was influenced by many great artists such as Joseph Cornell. In 1970 he was given his first Polaroid camera by Sandy Daily. Mapplethorpe said it made him feel more honest to use a camera. Mapplethorpe was very well known for his self-portraits and for using his own image in his art. He was also very controversial including nudity, but in 1986 he was diagnosed with HIV. He continued to work until his death in 1989.      Mapplethorpe creates some very interesting self-images, if we look at the image above he is sitting in a chair in a pose that I see as powerful as well as thoughtful mainly because of the position of his hands and the way he is sitting while also looking proud and looking strong. I found this image above compelling because of what he is wearing. The robe that he covers hims...

 Irving Penn Joe Seck 2/22/22 Art 250           Irving Penn was born in 1917 in Plainfield, New Jersey, he attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts from 1934 to 1938 where his interest in the arts was sculpted. He worked three years as a freelance designer where he took his first amateur photographs. He took his first photographic cover for Vogue  in 1943. In 1944 he was offered by the Office of War Information in London offered him a job as an artist-photographer where he drove an ambulance in support of the British Eighth Army. He took photographs of soldiers, medical, and camp life. He worked for Vogue  for the remainder of his career where he specialized in Fashion and still-life photography.      In this still-life photo by Penn, he took a photo of chicks and eggs in a jar and I believe this image is one of my favorites that I saw going through his work. I think I enjoy this image so much because of how u...

 Ernst Haas Joe Seck 2/8/22 Art 250      Ernst Haas was an Austrian American color photographer and photojournalist, he was born in 1921 and lived until 1986. He was considered one of the main pioneers in color photography. His early works consisted of photographing the Austrian returning prisoners of war that soon brought attention to his name in magazines like Life. Haas was known for intentionally taking his photos out of focus as well as his reflection works.                                                                                                                         Ernst Haas- New York City, 1...

 Steve McCurry Joe Seck Art 250 2/1/22     Steve McCurry is an American photographer born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and is one of iconic figures in contemporary photography, which is basically creating photos with a digital or analog camera. McCurry then took only a bag of clothes, film, and his camera and began to travel.      During his travels, he came across a small village in Pakistan, which held a group of  Afghanistan refugees that help McCurry cross the border into their country. The images that he took during his time showed the brutality that was the Russian invasion into Afghanistan. As well as showing the brutality of the invasion his work showed off dying cultures and traditions that have been almost forgotten. All of his work also kept that grounded human factor that I will talk about when going over some of his work.  Steve McCurry – Afghan Girl, Pakistan, 1984     In the image shown above "Afghan girl" is one of McCurr...

               What does photography mean to me? 1/24/22 Joe Seck           Photography's meaning to me has changed over time because when I was young I would always see my father who would always be taking pictures of everything. He would always be carrying his Canon camera to sporting events my brother and I had and just anything that would catch his eye at any particular moment. To be honest it got on my nerves because he wanted everything he took to be as perfect as he could make it. So if there was any kind of event going on he would take out his camera and take time while I would stand there with my family members just getting my eyes abused by my father's flash on his camera.      While those things used to annoy me looking back now and seeing all of those events and moments in my life that have been captured in time by my father's Canon camera. The realization of what photography means came...

 Chema Mabaldoz Joe Seck Art227  12/3/20 Chema Madoz is a Spanish photographer, who specializes in surrealist work as well as still life. His still life works are very creative, the way he positions objects, Chema is one of the most influential Spanish photographers. I took a lot of influence from his work and I thought it would be fun to try and replicate his still life picture of the plates in the storm drain but it didn't work exactly to plan.  This is the work I was talking about replicating this picture just seems fun to me and not really out of place as it is supposed to be. The out of the ordinary works of his are so fun and really enjoyable to look at. Chema's still life work all have that characteristic to them.   This photo is also one of my favriot out of all of his work. The photo is what looks like an upside-down egg with a mug handle on it. The way it is done seems like the handle might have been glued on to creat that effect, I also think the ligh...

 Herb Ritts Joe Seck Art 227 10/22/2020 Herb Ritts was an American photographer and director, his works include pictures of models, actors, and other celebrities. His works are in primarily black and white photography, most being portraits. Ritts also worked on music videos with some of the biggest stars of all time such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Brittney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez. This was the first picture that caught my eye, this is Jack Nicholson in his Joker makeup and costume. This photo shows the madness that runs through the Jokers mind, always with a huge smile and the crazy look in his eyes. This photo captures the madness that is the Joker. Ritts did a wonderful job in this portrait. The Framing was done so well so you look right into his eyes and see his ghastly smile.   This portrait of Michael Jackson by Herb Ritt was also really well done, you see him looking off in the distance so you can show of the jawline and the smile that Michael has. The lighting...