Photo Salon

Posted by Melissa Dow in Photography

On Nov. 2, the Photography Department held a photo salon, giving students a chance to be critiqued by their peers and mentors. Matthew Anderson, Whitney Wernick and Lexi Malone were featured, each bringing in examples of their work paired with artist statements about their pieces. Both Anderson and Malone brought in their unfinished BFA thesis projects for critique, and Wernick re-showed her BFA thesis and exhibited the changes she has made to the project. Wernick’s thesis, Body Positive, consisted of black and white nude photos of women coupled with the subjects’ handwritten messages about how they perceive their bodies. The statements and the photos were originally exhibited side by side but Wernick found that displaying the statement over the picture, like a veil, better suited the photo series’ message. Reactions to her changes were positive during the salon and Wernick walked away with new framing ideas.

Malone and Anderson received the most constructive criticism as their works are the developing stage right now as their BFA thesis projects are due this coming May 2018. Although they’re constructing their ideas right now, both artists have good ideas of the concepts they want to display. Malone’s art has been drawing from the Pop Art Era, taking minimalistic materials as they relate to each other conceptually. Anderson’s focus is also on the materials, but his goals were to show raw expression. “I do a lot of process orientated art,” said Anderson. “Mainly, I will say the materials and process are the most important part of my thesis.” The salon’s main critique was the medium he chose to show these ideas, as photography was used more as a documentation of the process rather than the art itself but it’s all part of the workshop process.

These photo salons have been able to give students constructive criticism and professional critique, which is just as valuable to the art process as much as the work itself. The next photo salon will be on Thursday, Nov. 16; photography students are encouraged to participate in these forums.