Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is a name that is familiar to us all.  She has photographed magazines including Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.  One of the most recent photographs that obtained attention from the media was a photo that Lebovitz took of Miley Cyrus.  The photographed showed 15 year old Miley Cyrus with her back exposed and covering her front with a bed sheet.  Leibovitz stood by her work saying, "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted...The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."  The media interpreted it very differently.  Overall, I think her work is absolutely lovely.  Her portraits show not only what a person looks like but also seems to capture their essence and personality.

Here are a few examples of her work.

       

   

 

 

Arno Rafael Minkkinen

For our latest assignment, we were asked to pick a photographer and to emulate their photos through their style and subject matter.  After going through the numerous books at USF's library on photographers, there was one that stood out immensely.  I had never heard of Arno Rafael Minkkinen, but his timeless photos truly reached out to me.  He often uses his own body to show the similarities and harmony between us and nature.  He shoots in film and does not manipulate the film to create 'trick' photos.  I personally enjoy his theme because I feel that as our society keeps growing, we will keep growing farther from nature.  I believe having photos of this connection will help reconnect 

the two for many people.

Here are some examples of his work.

     

John Cage's Rules

Now, I'm sure at one time or another every artist has seen this list of rules for students and teachers created by John Cage.  I've gotten them a couple of times from professors - and somehow always misplace the paper that has them.  However, I finally have a copy taped up to my wall where I can see it everyday.  I've decided to post this up here so all of you can have a copy as well.

RULE ONE:  Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO:  General duties of a student - pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE:  General duties of a teacher - pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR:  Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE:  be self-disciplined - this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them.  To be disciplined is to follow in a good way.  To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX:  Nothing is a mistake.  There's no win and no fail, there's only make.

RULE SEVEN:  The only rule is work.  If you work it will lead to something.  It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT:  Don't try to create and analyze at the same time.  They're different processes.

RULE NINE:  Be happy whenever you can manage it.  Enjoy yourself.  It's lighter than you think.

RULE TEN:  "We're breaking all the rules.  Even our own rules.  And how do we do that?  By leaving plenty of room for X quantities." (John Cage)

HINTS:  Always be around.  Come or go to everything.  Always go to classes.  Read anything you can get your hands on.  Look at movies carefully, often.  Save everything - it might come in handy later.

New Art Blog

Yes!...Rabid Rabbit Studio has officially started their new portfolio art blog.  You will see photography, printmaking, sculpture, drawing, and painting throughout it.  This first post is of Amanda Emmett's work.  Currently, she is working on finishing her BFA at University of South Florida and this work is from her digital photography course.  These pictures are some of Amanda's favorites for that project. 

Here is a few sneak peeks at her new photos for her self-portrait series.

Photographs by:

Amanda Emmett