Joseph Mougel: Artist Now Lecture Series

Joseph Mougel: Artist Now Lecture Series

by Lainey Koch

Joseph Mougel's work as a photographer started during his time in the Marine Corps. Today, his work ranges from performance art, to video, to photography. I was interested to learn more about the work of his since he's a familiar face in the photo department that I frequently interact with, and his lecture did not disappoint. 

I appreciated hearing about Joseph's performance art and how he incorporates photography as documentation of these processes. As a photography major it's easy to forget that you can use your photography as documentation of other forms of art you are creating. 

Luscinia Xanthoplasticus (video still)

Hearing more about the series Blanc was something that caught my attention because it's work that I always think of when discussing work with Joseph. This was work heavily inspired by his time in the Marines and his subjects were chosen based off of characteristics that Joseph knew to be things recruiters looked for. He discussed the "moment of erasing and becoming" when preparing his subjects to be photographed for this body of work. 

Blanc, 007

It was inspiring to hear one of my instructors speak so passionately about his work in a lecture setting. It's a valuable experience to learn about the perspectives of other professionals in the photography field, especially someone that we students interact with on such a regular basis.