artist research
Jim Goldberg
Jim Goldberg is an American artist, known for his photography books, multi-media exhibits and video installations that often reflect socially conscious issues. He was raised by a family of candy sellers in New Haven, Connecticut. His interest in photography peaked while he was attending Hofstra University. He was originally a Theology major, but ended up switching to the photo major because a schizophrenic Photo 1 teacher told him he had talent in the field. Following Hofstra University, he went to Western Washington University and majored in photography and education, and then got his Masters of Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1979. He’s had a number of selected exhibitions, almost yearly from 1979 to 2010. Among his most recognized is Rich and Poor (1985), Nursing Home, Raised by Wolves (1995), Hospice, and Open See (2009).
His work is a part of photography that aims for social movement, with his use of narrative in his books, as well as straightforward compositioning within the frame. The work normally tackles sub culture issues that are otherwise neglected and ignored by society. He hopes that his work “forms a context within which the viewer may integrate the unthinkable into the concept of self. Thus diffused, this terrifying other is restored as a universal (Art Forum, 1987).” In his photo book Rich and Poor, the imagery includes people in their homes coinciding with comments handwritten by them about their lives.The combination of both the written comments and the photographs adds another dimension of the book, giving the audience a more in depth look at the issue.
Edward Kienholz
Edward Kienholz was an American artist, known for his installation work that investigated critical aspects of daily life. His topics also range in commentary on aging, mental illness, racism, sexism, classism, imperialism, patriotism, religion, and “moral hypocrisy.” He often created collaborated works with his wife, who was also an artist, Nancy Kienholz. He was born in Fairfield, Washington and grew up on a farm, where he learned a handful of technical skills including carpentry, drafting, and mechanical skills. He studied at Eastern Washington College of Education and also at Whitworth College in Spokane, however at both places he didn’t receive any formal artistic training. After college, he worked a number of odd jobs, until he settled in LA, which is where his career started and he became involved with the avant-garde art scene.
He began to utitilze his technical skills while making collage paintings and reliefs from materials he salvaged from alleys and sidewalks of the city. By 1961, he finished his first large scale installation, entitled Roxy’s, a room sized set up which he exhibited in 1962 at the Ferus Gallery (one he helped to open years before). His next assemblage of work, Back Seat Dodge, in 1966, grew notoriety and controversy because of its content. It was described as “revolting, pornographic and blasphemous” and was only allowed to stay up and be financially supported if the sculpture’s car door remained closed and only opened on request by those above the age of 18. This of course only brought in more people to wanted to view it. His work continued in a similar path, he often uses a collection of found objects that comment on modern day life juxtaposed with figural statues. His installations have a sometimes satirical tone, and create gruesome depictions that forces the viewer to confront questions of human existence and in that same thought question society’s inhuman ways.
In ways it can correlate to the reading we did on creating art in distracting times. I found it interesting that his art works around the distractions, due to both the gruesome nature found in his work and the nature of the installation. The installations have so much going on within them, there is always something visual to look at while exploring through the work. I think some of the pieces of his work are more then slightly disconcerning, making it harder not to take a moment to completely ingest. The fact that the installations are such an experience, it sucks the viewer into the world he's created and breaks momentarily the bonds of other distractions. the
