Yeltsin Penado

Week 3

Catherine Opie: she is a photographer who takes pictures of subjects that seem to be inspired by historical portraits and their meanings. She engages with the community by going out and taking photos of people. She also works on portraits that tell a message about a fringe culture. She is inspired by her family’s collections of political and American artifacts; her work reflects how important being an American is to her. It’s interesting how she engages with the people around her by taking pictures of them in their natural environment. It seems like very unconventional portraits that are really well done. Its more than just a photo or portrait, she really wants to tell someone’s story in an image. Catherine knows how to engage the viewer and allow them to have a relationship with her work and the subject.

Ai Weiwei: “art should be for everyone” Weiwei, does not work alone and every project must have some sort of learning outcome. I would consider him a political activist and artist. The government is constantly watching him because he is an artist. He doesn’t fear the government watching him and he makes his practice transparent. There are people who come from all over to work in his studio, so he seems to be influential in more than an artistic way. His fits into the conceptual realm. His work can’t be defined by images but it is project based work on specific issues. His work is able to make people think about issues and create a forum for people to talk about his work. Some of his work is also installed outside in public spaces which are where the viewer is engaged with thought.

El Anatsui: He is interested in how an artist can exist in modern time. He works with recycled objects that have been used by humans. The bottle caps talk about his culture and how alcohol affects everything, he connects that to slavery and how people were traded for alcohol. The bottle caps have a color combination that reflects traditional textiles from his community. His work reflects the environment and is a social commentary to imperialism.