in class artists 03/36/09

Sally Mann
-dogbone photos
-her naked children
-landscape
One of the main things that stood out to be about this particular artist was her basic philosophy on art: "Art for fun." When she said that, I realized that I never think about why artists do what they do, and always assume that there is a specific reason behind it. So when she said that, I admired her for her ability to do something that she loves and not turn it into anything else but simply an entertaining activity/pastime.
I also took a liking to her dogbone idea; it reminds me of myself. I am not an artist but sometimes I find myself collecting random things that do not mean anything and yet I keep them because I want to and not for any other reason.
The photographs of her naked children I found interesting. They looked like models and she said that she wanted the pictures to look effortless, and they did. However, apparently they took multiple attempts at creating that particular image, which makes me realize that things aren't always as easy as they appear to be.
I also enjoyed her scenery photography. It was beautiful

Mel Chin
He loves to make things with his hands
images of burning homes and he had to change them
-take internal organs of a place and use it in a whole other way rather than just reconstruction
finding value in things that arent considered to be valuable anymore (burnt houses)
-conceptual art?
-two fold contribution: create something that is living when hes gone and at same time, reclaim an icon from what it has been depicted now as
-making art is not just one method
-idea of using video games to respect tribes that area dying out?
-things that are dying but can become inspiring
-art for 21st century is the same as its always been-it is never the same

James Turrell
-not seperate from teh sky; one with the universe
-go inside to see the light within
-idea of tunnel in crater to see the moon
-light tunnels were escape from busy streets literally right above them

Gabriel Orozco
-in grocery store: put catfood on watermelon;
-pictures as awareness
-no studio, means he always has to be in reality
-no technique
-clay
-games. created new ones out of traditional ones like ping pong (four people playing with pond in middle and no net) and pool (round table with rotating ball, the way the universe moves)