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.

Landscape - Julia Fullerton-Batten

Julia Fullerton-Batten
Constructed Landscapes
by David Kieckhefer

Julia Fullerton-Batten is a worldwide acclaimed and exhibited fine-art photographer. Her body of work now encompasses twelve major projects spanning a decade of engagement in the field. Julia’s use of unusual locations, highly creative settings, street-cast models, accented with cinematic lighting are hallmarks of her very distinctive style of photography. She insinuates visual tensions in her images, and imbues them with a hint of mystery, which combine to tease the viewer to re-examine the picture, each time seeing more content and finding a deeper meaning. These distinctive qualities have established enthusiasts for her work worldwide and at all ends of the cultural spectrum, from casual viewers to connoisseurs of fine-art photography. - juliafullerton-batten.com

Teenage Stories 

2005

'Teenage Stories' portrays the emotional dynamics of the female adolescent - self-consciousness, mood swings, uncertainty and vulnerability; experiencing over time, changes in body, psychology, emotional and social identity. Adolescent girls often spend time day-dreaming, just staring into space, immersed in their own thoughts and fantasies. For a while they inhabit an imaginary world. At this vulnerable age their imaginary world appears to be bigger, grander, more real than their own mundane suburban surroundings. In this fantasy world girls feel that they have much more power than in their everyday lives.

Fullerton-Batten shot the images on location in model villages so that the girls appear to have outgrown the world they live in, as in their day-dream existence. All of her models were street cast, with no formal training whatsoever. Young, vulnerable, awkward and uncertain, as they already were as models, she directed them to be static and show no emotion.

Airport, 2005

Beach Houses, 2005

Broken Eggs, 2005

Girl with Baby, 2005

Awkward

2011

In ‘Awkward’ Fullerton-Batten shows the social limitations and anxieties that girls endure in their relationships with the opposite sex. Her choice of location, sombre colors and the use of subtle lighting techniques to increase the tension between the sexes, and in some instances between the same sexes. She emphasizes the lack of understanding between boys and girls, despite the fact that they are close to adulthood and have gained at least some meaningful worldly experience on the way. 

They are aware of the underlying sexual overtones, but they still don't have the emotional maturity or social skills to know how to handle their hormonal impulses.

 

Bathroom, 2011

Bike in Living Room, 2011

Girls in Bedroom, 2011

Sports Hall, 2011

Night-dress, 2011

Yellow Dress, 2011

The Act

2016

Fullerton-Batten examines the lives of female sex-workers, women who choose to earn their living by exploiting their bodies as escorts, dominatrices, porn actresses, web cam and live sex and peep show performers, striptease, lap dancing artistes, or sexual surrogates as therapy for clients, and transgender people. She interviewed 15 women for the project. During her meetings with her models, she sensed that they tend to live their entire working lives as if on a stage.  They are women who are proud of their bodies and choose to use their bodies in order to make an income. Many have had physical enhancements in an attempt to be more physically attractive to their client. They live in the present and think little of their long-term future. 

Most are single, but some have relationships. Some are bold and confident while others are very vulnerable.

Fullerton-Batten created the backdrop for the images in the form of mini-theatrical sets. Each setting is relevant to the individual woman and her profession. The mini-sets were mounted on a stage as if they were giving a performance. She avoided sexually explicit scenes – the images are sexy and provocative, but also playful. The role of the sex industry in today’s society is heavily debated. While many feminists believe that sex work should be abolished, others on the other hand claim it as a contribution to a woman’s freedom of choice as to the work she engages in.

Bentley and Jade, Pornstars, 2016

Eliza De Lite, Burlesque Dancer, 2016

Jaye Rose, Webcam Girl, 2016

Lola Marie, Escort, 2016

Mouse, Ping Pong Girl, 2016

Veronica, Aerial Artiste, 2016

Their stories accompany the images in text form and can also be seen in here in this ‘behind-the-scenes’ video.

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.