Event Review - Kevin Miyazaki - Artist Now! lecture

Kevin Miyazaki
Event Review
Raven Mrozek

Kevin Miyazaki's artist lecture was not only interesting and thought provoking as far as subject matter and concept, but it also was very beneficial in regards to his discussion on commercial photography. He spoke on where his photography began and how it grew commercially. He began as a simple newspaper photographer creating documentary photographs that were mass spread. From here he landed jobs with the Cincinnati Magazine as well as the Milwaukee Magazine. The calm aesthetic in his images aid him in his freelance commercial photography, having taken many portrait and many portraits of artists. 
 
Kevin Miyazaki's discussion on commerce showed me that it is possible to go anywhere with your photography, and sometimes the best place to start is small at a local paper. From there you can create your own archive of public images tracing back to you allowing your photography to grow in the commerce element of art; it can even take you to other countries. Kevin Miyazaki's statement on how when photographing in other countries, a smile is the most universal language stood out to me. My mom always told me this same thing when growing up and I feel it is important understand this especially when photographing where people may not speak the same verbal language as you.

Aside from commerce, there is art. I resonated most with Kevin Miyazaki's photography discussing his family history. He utilizes family images his works as well as uses his family history to drive his concepts. Intertwining re purposed images and stories from his family's past is something I am currently working on in my photo project on family memory.

Commerce and Economics - Jesse Burke

Jesse Burke
Commerce and Economics

by David Kieckhefer

Jesse Burke divides his time between personal art projects and commissioned work. His work deals with themes related to vulnerability and identity, as well as human's complicated relationship with nature. Burke received his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, where he is a faculty member. Burke's work is held in private/public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. He was recently named one of Time Magazine’s top 50 US photographers to follow on Instagram.

Buy Wild & Precious here for $50

Burke's Wild & Precious is work from a series of road trips traveled over 5 years with his daughter Clover to explore the natural world. Each image is named after a song that Johnny Cash wrote or recorded. His music and lyrics were a big part of their collective experience while on the road. The goal of Wild & Precious is to encourage parents and children to spend time together connecting with the natural world.

Watch a film on Wild & Precious here.

Intertidal

Intertidal is an investigation into the delicate balance that exists between the heroic idea of masculinity and the true reality of men. It explores the presence of vulnerability and sensitivity that act as forces against the mythology of male dominance and power.

Father

Gladiator

Open Country

Flannel

Blind

Blind explores the complexities of the awkward, beautiful, and romantic relationship we share with nature. It looks at concepts such as death and power, fragility and vulnerability, identity, mutability and camouflage through the lens of hunting.

Hidden

Shell

Drake

Jack

Low

Low explores the world of inner demons and displaced persons.

"Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith the springs from conflict is often strongest and the best." 

- Robert Turnbull Life Pictures: From a Pastor's Notebook 1857

Maxim Montagno

Clarence Momolu

Steve Tsang

Yannick Jolin

Kevin Miyazaki

Kevin Miyazaki

By Mandy Litwin

Kevin Miyazaki began his talk by mostly showing us a huge range of the work he has done in a more commercial setting. His craft and technique with his photography is very admirable. With every photo of his you see, there is an obvious sense of care. This includes his attention to lighting and composition, no matter the subject matter. During his talk, the audience learned about his experience with shooting all over the world, and for many different occasions and events.

The way he talks about his work also feels very confident. He knows what he is doing – and he does it. This is not only applicable in his commercial photography. As an artist, Kevin has a pretty clear mindset. A lot of his work is influenced by his family’s histories. His Guide to Modern Camp Homes project was very interesting. I like that he, in a sense, remixed a past real-life template to portray his concept. The presentation is unique and informs people on an important piece of history.

As someone who enjoys portraiture, his Perimeter series sat well with me. Though it is simple, I enjoy the idea of documenting people relatively casually. The images are beautiful and executed again with great care.

Commerce / Economics - Matt Black

Matt Black

By Mandy Litwin

Photographer Matt Black's work portrays issues concerning poverty, migration, and the environment. Some may compare the work he does today to the photographs that were made by Dorothea Lange for the FSA program in the 1930's. Born and raised in California, Black has seen first-hand the issues of migration and poverty.

His project, The Geography of Poverty, requires him to travel – 48,000 miles across 44 states – to various cities in which the poverty exceeds 20% per the population. His images are visually dramatic, using black and white photo-journalistic style. They are hauntingly beautiful when placed next to stark captions such as below:

Keep yourself updated on the current progress of this project is at http://www.geographyofpoverty.com/ which presents his most recent postings of images in his journey. Black is also trying to utilize the geo tagging feature in social media to give recognition to poverty stricken locations and give them the attention needed to help create solutions to the poverty affecting these areas.

MSNBC article [ here ] describes his documentation as “the struggle and triumphs of the people at the heart of these communities”.

Question:  Do you think projects like this have actual potential to make an impact on making the changes necessary to lower poverty rates and help this suffering communities?