Fluxus 2.0

Honestly, I never thought the images on my 2.0 megapixel iPhone 1 (yes, it still works and I'm still using it) would ever find their way into any aspect of my artwork.  The images on the phone are for the most part taken as a reminder that I am a dumb ass for not having my camera on me that day.  But never say never.  In an attempt to submit something to the upcoming Fluxus exhibition at the Cade Gallery I decided to put aside my anti-cellphone photography beliefs.  Fluxus artists believe that everyday life is art, or at least that it can be in a perfect world.  This philosophy has led me to reconsider the possibilities for images taken for purely personal reasons.  Another inspiration for the piece below is Fluxus artist Nam June Paik, considered by some to be the father of video art.  I'm particularly interested in his use of rudimentary technology such as videotape in the 1960s.  So with all that in mind, here is what I made for the show.

I am calling it A Cellphone Dairy From 2008-2010.  Below are some of the individual images I used for it.  The exhibition opens on March 6th.  I hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Cat in Josef Sudek's Garden

Spent the holidays in Prague.  Here's the visuals.

 

 

 

 

A cat in Josef Sudek's famous garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

urban cows 

 

 

 

making pasta

 

 

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Paradise Lost

My mother is losing her home.  Sometime in the next 90 days my mother, my two sisters, and my stepfather will be forced to leave.  I wouldn't say I'm sad about the loss.  The house itself is just a facade for a lot of other things going on in the family. But I am sad to see the stress the loss is causing for them.  Recently, at what will be the last Thanksgiving in this house I decided to photograph it as a way to help reconcile what is happening.  Out of respect for the family I'm not going to discuss the reasons for losing the house.  Instead, I offer these photos as peek into the life of my family as they make the transition to a better future.  Enjoy, 

Matthew Moore did not take a photo with Instagram

One of the best things about teaching is that the enthusiasm my students have for analog film techniques that most people only experiment with in college tends to rub off.  Of course we all know what these techniques look like because they have become popular as filters on Instagram.  I don't use Instagram but I can certainly understand the desire to trick out your cell phone images.  (I can also imagine how awesome star filters must have been in the 80's).  But it's nice to get back to the origins of what makes the look of analog photography so appealing.  Below are some examples of images that I made over the last few months using paper pinhole cameras, Holga cameras, infrared film, and red-scale, which involves shooting film backwards.

 

First some Holga pics.  This one is done on Kodak slide film (now discontinued) and the two below are on negative film.

This image is made with Rolli infrared film loaded in a paper pinhole camera that I spent all of Christmas day assembling.  (Thanks mom, it works)!
 

More infrared...

 

This was the ONLY photo I got from two motion sensor cameras I put up in Costa Rica last spring.  I have no idea what kind of critter that is.

And now for a few red-scale images.  This was my first time trying red-scale.  The first step is to break open an unused roll of color film and roll the film backwards into an empty film canister.  Color film is assembled in layers, with three of the layers being sensitive to a different color of visible light; blue, green, and red.  When the film is shot backwards the red layer is exposed first and because there is a yellow filter between the green and blue layers, blue is left out of the exposure.  You can learn more about this technique here.

 

 

 

 That's this months post.  Time to go vote!