Abandoned Places

November 2nd, 2009?

Continuation on the photographs within the hospital. Worked at an abandoned mental facility in New York as well. The series is combined because they are similar in subject matter. The photos are in black and white because John was inspired by Brother’s Quay interviews and their description of the usage of Black and White.

What was interesting in these spaces were: the trapped animals, abstractions of looking at burned remnants that resemble space and galaxies, texts that are left-over, and the emotional impact of the space.

Critique:
Erin Zerbe: “The Black and White really works and it seems less documentary compared to the last series. Excited to see where it goes.”

John McNeil: I am never really interested in just documentary. I want to do both narrative and documentary.

Erin Zerbe: “Are you drawn to composition or moving images to create what you want?”

John McNeil: I usually photograph as is; but moving them to work together is difficult. I would like to do more of that, they might be more successful. Sometimes I might have the idea of “times zero” and it does affect the working process. But it is more of a post-construction.

Timothy Druckrey: Frederick Sommer – I recommend this because of the themes he’s dealt with and he is known to engineer his photos. “Ghosts of the Mississippi” – photographer found dilapidated constructions along the Mississippi River and some of the images were very literal. How to move into the world while constructing the fantastical elements. Re-look at the Surrealist movement.

John McNeil: I want there to be enough reality to allow people to recognize the element of the photograph while still putting into question what is going on.

Timothy Druckrey: You are dealing with something very delicate between the limit with both documentation and a composited reality created through your own setting.

Craig Kalpakjian: Joseph Campbell – The complete mastery of symbolic interpretation. Thinking about surrealism, the breakdown of symbolic systems. Exploring that could create more details and a more elaborate interpretation of the images.

Timothy Druckrey: It’s very presence is a mystery within itself and not needed to actually imbue it with even more mystery.

Recommendations:
Frederick Sommer
Clarence John Laughlin – “Ghosts Along the Mississippi”