On January 1st, 2009, four VCU students embarked on a photographic journey. The participants, Amber Bender, Ben Hostetter, Morgan Cofer, and Rachel Rainer, have each committed to take a photo at exactly 1:04pm everyday for one year. The idea is not to plan a piece of art but to make a "spontaneous, artistic documentation." Each person must crop their image to a 5 x 5 inch square and upload the image to the group's blog (www.sametime.blogspot.org) with an accompanying caption.
A few of my favorite images. I love the idea of making art daily, and a photograph at a specific time everyday is an ideal way to realistically make it happen. I believe that the blog is a necessary component of the project as it requires the participants to stay accountable. I really enjoy the cropping of the images to 5" x 5". I have always loved a square format photo and for this project it gives a small twist that keeps even mundane images from being completely generic.
Each person has their own style of sorts and it is interesting to see different personalities shine through in each person's choice of subject matter, framing (or cropping), and accompanying caption. The images that are the most compelling are the one's that seem to have a bit more thought behind them, not simply a random shot of where they were at the time. Each artist seems to excel in this at certain points but not in others. The accompanying caption is also an important part of any given image's success. Simple sentences describing the content of the shot is not as interesting as those that give insight or those that make one think. Thus far, Ben seems to be the most consistent in producing interesting images with equally appealing captions. I am inspired by the work and dedication of all four artists and intend to keep following the progress of the project.
No comments:
Post a Comment