Joseph Mougel: Artist Now Lecture
Claire Haggarty

 Joseph Mougel, in addition to being the head of the photography department at UW-Milwaukee, was a guest speaker at our Artists Now! Lecture series.  Mougel uses a variety of styles and mediums while creating work and seems to draw quite a bit of inspiration from his time in the military. This is especially evident in his series Blanc. This specific series takes men and women in uniform and “white washes” them in away in order to strip them of an identity of sorts. I think it also allowed for a strong sense of disconnect as well as, in a way, erases traces of individuality from person to person.

Overall, I found the lecture to be very encouraging in the sense that our teachers have been able to find their own success with their work and that they will be able to advise us as well as we enter that stage in our own future careers.

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. 

Report - Artist Talk- Joseph Mougel

Joseph Mougel

by: Allison Krenz

On February 15th at UW Milwaukee, Milwaukee resident and artist Joseph Mougel shared a part of his process and his story. Having enlisted in the Marines, Mougel spent his time in the Marines looking for moments of humor. The humor he found carries itself into his other work, such as Yello-Cake, a project in which he actually made, canned, and marketed his own special brand of Uranium. The most interesting thing about Mougel's work is that the process that goes into making his work is almost always a part of the final piece. No one piece stands alone as one final image (despite his being a photographer) but rather each body of work can be viewed as a performance from start to finish. 

Joseph Mougel in the kitchen for Yello-Cake

Joseph Mougel stitches together art, photography, performance, science, and media, which makes him an artist worth watching for a large audience. The biggest take away from Mougel's presentaton is to never ignore any part of your process. Living and performing your work is the best way to explore every facet of it, and make the best experience possible.

Event Report - Joseph Mougel - Artist Talk

Joseph Mougel
Photographer

By Kylee Jo Diedrich

Recently Joseph Mougel treated Artist Now! students to a lively talk about his artwork. He gave an overview of projects he completed while a Marine to his current work as a professor and Photography Area Head at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Joseph went from handing out slide projectors to his fellow Marines, to creating videos of himself digging holes.

I found his most memorable body of work to be Blanc, a series of portraits of people painted stark white, in military uniforms.This work creates a discussion about the invisibility and uniformity the uniforms gave people.  He explained how his feelings evolved as he wore his uniform and he used this projects to meditate upon his new civilian life.

Blanc 004

Another project in which Mougel focused on his life in the military is Rabbit to Bee, showcasing the altered life he now leads. Arguably, most of his work relates back to his life as a Marine when everything was systematic, organized, repetitive, and inquisitive. His hole digging recalls when he had to dig numerous holes on the base. His videos of people following orders links back to when someone was telling him what to do or say.  I find the meditative nature of Mougel's work revealing to those who never experienced military life.  

The way Mougel approaches his work is similar to mine.  I think about the way the images can subtly discuss a topic and work many iterations of a project until a good solution can be made.  He is a great mentor and his process in creating is spread amongst all of his students.  Mougel uses humor, satire, environmental interests, and his military career to fuel his work.  I too use my past to influence my work as I grow as a photographer in today's world. 

Joseph Mougel - Artist Talk

Joseph Mougel - Artists Now Lecture Series

by Mandy Litwin

Joseph Mougel gave a great artist talk at UW-Milwaukee this past week. It was an enjoyable experience as I have not heard much in depth conversation about his work prior to that talk. I had not known about the way that Joseph was introduced to photography – through his time in the service. It makes it easier to understand his documentary style approach to the photographic art world a lot more. 

From what I heard him speak about, it seems that the process is the most important part of creating work. While there is an outcome to each piece that he is working towards, he is very careful to document the whole process along the way. This became evident in the works he made where he would dig a hole at specific time intervals throughout the day, and then use the hole as another element to his work. It is very much a performance of concept for him.

From Blanc

With his Blanc series, we see many portraits in which Joseph has photographed people who have not served in the armed forces. However, they are all within an age range that is of most priority for recruiting. The figures are all completely camouflaged white against a white background. What initially becomes visible is various outlines of a military uniform and the eyes of these figures. He refers to moments of “the unknown” and “transformation”, as he puts it.

Event Review - Joseph Mougel - Artist Now! Talk

Artists Now! Guest Lecture Series: Joseph Mougel

February 15 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

By Rebeka Schmieder

Joseph Mougel is a videographer, photographer, sculptor and performative artist. All of these techniques have been methodically used in his projects. His work explores specific places and experiencing the place in its entirety. 

Mougel generously introduced us to his early work and the artists who have influenced him. All  artists are all influenced by other people, events, politics, etc. In most artist talks I have attended, the speaker failed to include influences which helped them create their work. Inspiration is part of the creative process for artists and research is important. Students need to be aware of other artists who tackle a subject, concept, or esthetic that relates to their own developing work.

Mougel's experience as a marine influenced his early work. Rabbit to Bee questions how he came to this place and his travels influencing the man he is today. He photographs himself doing different actions. While photos themselves have an empty feeling, I see them being a small moment in Mougel's life that he is capturing. Although these scenes are choreographed, Mougel still wants the viewer to perceive the images as discrete moments, he wants the viewer to literally stare at them and witness the scene. 

Cowboy

Mougel continues to use his history as a marine in his series Blanc. This series revisits the time in a person's life when they transform into a new recruit for the military. The idea of unification of individuals is the process when someone joined the armed services. What I found beautiful was, as Mougel states, "Even though these figures are fully covered in paint and camouflaged into the background, you couldn't fully erase the identity of the person behind the paint." This notion contradicts what the government's desire to transform individuals into a unified being. No one person can be blended into being the same as another.

002

In my own work, I have started to realize that my interest in landscapes and documentary work is purely based on the discovery and documentation, but there is this underlying theme. I need to show the identity that a body of people give a place. Whether this is a town or a vast landscape, I want to  identify the uniqueness of a land has and how it came to be. The human footprint is what I am interested in. In his work, Mougel explores/discovers, how a place came to be. He settles on a place and studies the landscape in depth rather than photographing it and moving on. This is why he documents his process with different media. Perhaps his influence can help me shape and strengthen my work through examination of one landscape at a time.