Period 1 -- Critical Analysis #20

4/20/2017

Today you will be writing about a photograph by artist Lori Nix. This image is from her series titled The City.

Write 4 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember, refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image.

Before you write, read the artist statement:

I consider myself a faux-landscape photographer. I build meticulously detailed model environments and then photograph the results. Through the photographic process, the fictional scene is transformed into a surreal space, where scale, perspective, and the document of the photograph create a tension between the material reality of the scene and the impossibility of the depicted narrative. In this space, between evidence and plot, the imagination of the viewer is unlocked, engaged, and provoked. I want my scenes to convey rich, complex, detailed, and, ultimately, open-ended narratives.

Several common themes prevail throughout my work: the constructed photograph, the landscape in turmoil, and danger married to humor. I present these elements as the raw materials of stories with messages, but without conclusions.

The photographs I create do not reflect the tradition of the grand idyllic landscape. Rather than showing the beautiful or heroic vista, I look to the darker corners of life. I am interested in the forces of entropy, in the ruins left in the wake of human pretense of grandeur. My scenes are usually devoid of people, and this emptiness becomes an important element. In this way, the impact of civilization is shown by what remains in the absence of humans. Evidence of humans may still be visible, but the cause for their absence is left unclear, allowing the viewer to complete the narrative.

In my current series The City, I focus on the ruins of urban landscapes. I have chosen the spaces that celebrate modern culture, knowledge, and innovation: the theater, the museum, and the library. Here the monuments of civilization and material culture are abandoned, in a state of decay and ruin, with natural elements such as plants, insects, and animals beginning to repopulate the spaces. This idea of paradise lost, or the natural world reclaiming itself, becomes more forceful as we face greater environmental challenges in the world around us.

Olivia Iskander

4/20/2017 06:28:12 am

The City by Lori Nix was a recreated scene that she made and photographed with her friend Kathleen Gerber. The image is of a classroom that looks abandoned or ruined. The colors the image is using are bright colors. Although the colors are bright the lighting is dark and gloomy. The objects included in this image are classroom objects.

In this image it seems the classroom hasn’t been touched in years. The image looks perfectly exposed. The image is also in focus. The color looks correct because the white looks white. There is no pixilation in this image.

The rule of thirds isn’t being used in this image because there is not just one object or subject to be focusing on. The photographer took this picture at the angle of a person maybe lower to show the full layout. There is no focal point the whole classroom is the focal point. The lines that attract my eyes the most are the window lines because they’re dark and bold. The frame crops off some more classroom chairs and the rest of the classroom.

The themes in this image is of an abandoned classroom that hasn’t been touched in years. We can tell by looking at the moldy walls, broken windows, and the dusty floor that no one has been in there for who knows how long. I really like how Nix put every detail into each piece of work and not one object goes without detail. Overall I love the image and the artist and after getting some background info on her I think she’s very interesting and her work is so cool. I think the photograph is successful because its something new and fresh and hasn’t been done before.

Alexis Parsons

4/20/2017 06:28:45 am

this photo was taken by Lori six and is part of her collection called The City. the photo is to of a real place, its a diorama. Lori spends up to 7 months making these dioramas. in her collection of The City, the theme of all the photos is post apocalyptic with human absence. Lori works with her partner Kathleen Gerber.
This photo is a diorama of a class room. the rom has mold building on the ceiling, does the walls, and on the floor. Everything has a thick coat of dust. this classroom was an anatomy class room. there are posters and models of organs and more in the human body.
on the left there is a shelf with human skulls in it. the shelf is broken on one side so the skulls have slid to the right side of the shelf. there are some chemicals under the skulls. the drawers look like there falling out and the wood has warped. the roof is caving in from the lack of resistance and non warped support beams.
you can see in the right side bottom corner that nature has seeped into the walls and into the room. there are plants growing in from the sides and windows. this photograph looks very real and predictable if an apocalypse were to happen. the whole room looks like it hasn't been touched by a human for many years and was never disturbed.

Zachary Perkins

4/20/2017 06:29:52 am

In this image there appears to be a room filled with objects from the human body. This room looks old and moldy, and some of the shelves are broken. The lighting in the room is coming from the windows. There are no people in this image. Each object is a miniature replica of a real object.
This image is not overexposed nor underexposed. The entire image is in focus. There is no pixelation in the image. The used studio light to make this image because this is a diorama. The quality of this image is spectacular.
I find this image really pleasing to look at because you are not looking at real size objects, you are looking at miniature replicas. The rule of thirds is being used by the edges of the back corners of the room are placed on the thirds. The focal point of this image is the table in the center of the frame. This was taken from the point of view of the person who would walk into this room. The subject completely fills the frame because the subject is the diorama.
Overall I really like this image. The form of this image is really interesting. I think tat this photo is successful because of the use of a diorama. I think that the use of a diorama is very interesting, and allows some advantages over traditional photography. It amazing how detailed these photos can be even when you use a diorama as the image.

Grant Kahl

4/20/2017 06:32:27 am

i find this image really interesting. personally i love the look of ruin and lack of human presence. it looks primitive and reverted back to a natural state. n this specific image it is a classroom but with no students. it is probably a biology room since the room has organs,skulls and human anatomy. along with body parts the classroom is in shambles with wood pieces and broken parts littering the floor.

I think that this room being a Biology room is really ironic. The authors intentions was to show the lack of human interaction yet in this photo the viewer sees nothing but humans just in little pieces. Notably are the body parts ironic but they also add to a large creepy factor. For me nothing is creepier than seeing a overgrown place with a bunch of human skulls.

Evan with the insane detail given by the photographer the image still seems fake. if you look at the lights they seem to be off in shape. and the chairs art perfectly uniform like in school. and the overall size of some object throw of the prospective of the viewer. i know this is just a model from the reading but some context clues reveal it too.

overall i like this photo. the main idea this image captures my attention. it is properly photographed which is expected from a serious photographer. the way the set was composed made i believable but not quite like reality. the concept of this photo intro me and the author fulfills my expectations.

Preslee Vanlandingham link

4/20/2017 06:35:02 am

This image is of a post-apolyptic classroom. There is little spots of color but since the idea is more grim and dark, that ambiance is more present. There is dark shadows and one spotlight brightness in the image. It is more of a classic depiction of a classroom, presumably a science class. The desks, chairs, chalkboard, and grand windows depict a classic classroom thats not present in schools today.
The image is exposed correctly to capture the idea of the image, but it could be underexposed if someone were to make the argument. The detailed focal points are in focus. The whites do not look white because of the decay. Its pleasing to look at because of the angle i was shot at. Nothing is completely centered but more of a human way of looking at it.
The point of view is as if someone was coming throw the door of the classroom and seeing the wreckage firsthand. There isn't a subject but a scene so there isn't a specific focal point. The lines of the walls help direct and box in the image. It is asymmetrical. The edge of the image crops off the rest of the school and classroom but since its studio set-up, its not cutting off anything.
When looking at this image, thinking about the cause is predominant. There is something lonesome about abandoned places and recognizing the lack of human presence. Her series are powerful in that way, to engage that sadness in people and their curiosity to how it happened. Post Apocalyptic images have been widely interesting in many cases. Her goal to instigate the imagination is successful in her theme.

Simon Bruhn

4/20/2017 06:36:25 am

The image by Lori Nix depicts an old, abandoned classroom, probably for anatomy or biology. The attention to detail is very strong, with dust laid out throughout the image, and many small jars and such on the shelves. The image uses the regular color palette, though it does have a lighting gradient from the front of the room to the back. The small diorama uses studio lighting to shoot the image. Otherwise, there is nothing else going on in the room.

The image is pleasing to loom at, and it provides plenty of detail for our eye to look at. However, the image does not use the rule of thirds, as it is trying to attain some natural feel. The point of view of the image is from what would be about standing height (if a person was, of course, proportional to the diorama). There is no single focal point of the image. However, there are many leading lines that direct your eye to different objects (for example to the jars on the shelves, or to the diagram of an eye).

The theme of the image is what happens once humans leave the habitats we have created. There is a story being told here, but it is up to the person viewing the image to determine how exactly that story goes. Mostly, the story centers around why humans have left this area, and the image does not provide a definite answer. The image reminds me of a model museum in France I have visited, where someone created models like these (though slightly smaller) for movie sets and such. The image is interesting, mostly because it is done on such a small scale.

I like the image. I think it does a good job of making people think about what the artists wanted the viewers to think about (detailed in the artist’s statement). Also, the fact that the image in practice is actually taken of something very small puts the views in wonder. The artists also do a very good job of presenting the diorama, the pieces all look very realistic, and that takes great attention to detail. For these reasons I also think the image is successful.

Raven

4/20/2017 06:37:40 am

This photo by Lori Nix is an image of a class room, it has been abandoned by humans. There are a large range of colors being used; blues’, browns, greens, yellows, red. The colors work for this image because it is a class room and these are the colors you would find. The lighting is studio set-up, but has the aspect of sunlight coming through the windows. This image is post-apocoliptic, the paint on the walls is pealing, the windows are broken, every thing is in a messy state.

This image has good exposer. It is in focus. The whites in the image are white. The photo has good resolution. The rule of thirds is not being used. The photo is well lit, and well composed.

This photos composition functions well. The image is very interesting, there is a lot of things going on in it. The photo doesn’t really have one focal point. The lines in the photo are going every where, nothing really points to just one location. The photo doesn’t have any negative space, the space in the photo is all used. The photo may has some parts busier there others , but none of the space was wasted.

The theme Lori Nix was trying to get acrossed was post apocloiptic. In this image the class room was abandoned, we don’t know why, all we know is what is in the photo. This photo reminded me of the movie Godzilla. When the boy and the dad go back to there home that they where evacuated from. Lori Nix did a good job on taking that idea and making it in to a photo.

I did like this photo. I do believe this was a successful photo. Lori Nix spends months working on each diorama, and you can really see all the work that she did. I think photos like this should be big eye openers to some people who think nothing back like this could happen. It can. I really like this photo and the maker, Lori Nix, she is very devoted to her work.

Caden Fincke link

4/20/2017 06:42:04 am

The image is of a small abandoned science classroom. The windows are broken, the walls are falling apart, and then shelves ad desks are disheveled. There are multiple desks with chairs, shelves with fake human body parts, and a white board with a diagram dangling in front of it. The lighting is fabricated to look natural as i it is coming from the sun through the windows. The building appears to fall over any second with parts of the ceiling across the floor, and dust covering almost everything. The colors used in the image are mainly monotone, but with a few exceptions that give the image almost surreal feeling.
The image is properly exposed and in focus. It give you a slightly off centered angle somewhat using the rule of thirds. This angle allows for one to see more of the intricacies in the image and gives the viewer a better perspective on the lighting to make it seem natural. The image is not symmetrical and a bit unbalanced as the left side only has windows while the has large shelves and the photo is taken off centered to the left. The photo does use lines to direct the viewer's eyes to things in the room, but not necessarily any main subject.
The photographer appears to be showing an idyllic society lost and slowly crumbling. By showing a place such as a classroom where we learn and grow crumbling represents a juxtaposition and offer some dark humor. The artist is showing a wonderful society that is educating its youth in a state of decay as the natural world reclaims itself. I don’t think the photographer is necessarily making any broad statements, but rather just wanting to show a fallen society. Although there is now broad statement i enjoy the image for its intention and its dark humor.
I think the image is very successful as it creates a surreal world that at first seems like it is real. At first glance most will think this was a real image that just appears surreal, but it is actually fabricated. I also enjoy the artist for her intentions of the image and find what she did very successful. I enjoy the elements of the image and how the artists does not beat you over the head with a huge theme, but is rather much more subtle. I enjoy the image of its beautiful and surreal diorama, and it’s subtle theme and humor.

Caden Fincke

4/20/2017 06:42:13 am

Kyle Meister

4/20/2017 06:43:45 am

This image is of a an abandoned school classroom. In the photograph the classroom itself is cluttered, and unorganized. The walls of the classroom look to be old, feeble, and probably at the point of collapsing in. The cracks and mildue on the wall gave that conclusion. The image looks rather balanced in color. Defiantly the light source of the image is light shining clear through the windows.

In the photograph bright sunlight is represented as the light source shining through the windows. The image is a classroom like is rated before. The same items in a classroom are displayed here. The image withholds objects like desk, chalkboards, teacher desk, lights, skeleton models, cabinets. The image represents a classroom most likely being abandoned and forgotten. The mildew on the wall, the grass and or roots making there way in to the classroom, the cracks and disaffirmation of the wall, the clutter are all examples or points to say that this classroom is abandoned.

The overall view of the image is balanced. The image does not poses a certain object being the focus but instead having the entire image being the focus. The image is in focus having no blur. The color in the photo is correct and clear. In the image the light from the window gives the room light, but not the entire room. Only the objects the light comes in contact with is exposed as positive spots. Some areas of the image where the light from the image doesn't come in contact with are negative areas of the image. The point of view of they image is straight forward. Its proportional.

This image in my opinion is great. Not only the visual side of the image but also the story that can be told from the image. The artist represent the dark side of life and uses landscape scenes to do that. The image above shows it to be an abandoned classroom, forgotten, overpowered by nature. All ideas of negativity. She expresses here view of being dark side of life by presenting images that are extremely detailed in work but art perfect. By that i mean the image above isn't a clean, well put together classroom, but an image that is unique and express here dark side of work through nature overcoming something once beautiful. An example that can be seen as life and its struggles.

Ethan Austin link

4/20/2017 06:44:19 am

This is a photo by the photographer Lori Nix. In this scene, we see an empty and post-apocalyptic classroom. The scene shows dust and dirt covered floors and shelves, empty chairs, broken shelves and windows, and deteriorated walls and ceiling. The shelves are piled high with jars of different body parts and anatomical models/diagrams. There are no humans or animals in the image.

The image shows a great deal of detail. The image has a very high resolution. Due to its high resolution there is little to no pielation at all. The image is properly exposed in the majority of the image. However, there is a tiny bit of unregistered black in the corner of he image. The image is shot in full and fairly vibrant color to show greater detail.

This image was shot from the back of the room and is primarily focused on the center of the chalkboard up front that hows a dangling screen with the diagram of an eye. This image has an excellent usage of lines. The lines from the shelves and the floors run directly to the chalkboard at the front of the classroom. These lines direct your attention to the eye diagram first which is the center of the photograph. Overall i'd say that this image is pleasing to look at.

Nix took this image of a set of a post-apocalyptic environment to do a few things. She did so in order to present an idea to the viewer. She claims that her objective for the viewer was to make them think and tackle complexion. She wanted to engage and provoke the mind of her audience by providing a scene without a definitive conclusion. This means that the scene is open for interpretation. This idea of seeking to see the end of the human population is very interesting to me.

William Oliver

4/20/2017 01:27:04 pm

This photograph by Lori Nix is of an old classroom deteriorating. It seems to once have been a science room from the props that are positioned on the walls. There are chairs scattered all over the floor. The windows are broken. There is a poster of the human eye that is hanging down from the wall. Dust covers the surface of most everything and the ceiling and walls seem to be covered in mold and water damage and are beginning to fall apart.
This photograph seems to be correctly exposed. The color and pixilation also seem to adequate. The rule of thirds is not being used and the perspective seems to be from the first person. There is not focal point being used. There are lines that seems to lead your eyes to different objects such as the shelfs and even the lights.
This photograph is odd because it has both a dark and bright look to it. The look of the room deteriorating and the walls falling apart with use of the shadows is very dark. Yet the color of tge objects and the poster and the light shining down on the desk is very bright. It is a pleasing photograph. It reminds me of what our class rooms could look like in a few years if we let them fall apart into themselves.
I do like this photograph because it lets you think and it is very pleasing to look at. The photographer lets us decide what happened in the past and why the classroom looks like this. The objects look perfect yet the rest of the room is trash and we can decide why that is. I do think this is a successful photograph because it lets us think. It also is very pleasing to your eyes and overall is a good composition.

Patrick Behrens link

4/20/2017 06:59:48 pm

Splintered wood, collapsed shelves, and peeling paint lay strewn throughout Lori Nix’s image from her series The City. This image, in particular, revolves around a classroom, enshrouded in dark shadows and dark colors, (notably a science room) simply existing in a state of dilapidation. The building obviously lacks human contact, suggesting, that in the universe of this art series, humans either no longer exist or no longer use the building. This lack of sentient life juxtaposed with a science classroom creates an overwhelming sense of irony. Additionally, the room lies lined with human anatomy, only adding to the irony of the situation: Fundamental pieces of human knowledge and scientific achievement lay gathered in a room, yet no one will ever benefit from the knowledge presented in the room.
These testaments to human knowledge scattered across the room somehow make the image function. The pure unadulterated chaos makes the image’s meaning increase tenfold, along with the relatable and nostalgic pieces of school property (desk chairs and science models). Even though everything seems thrown haphazardly across the image, they all point to the center desk, usually where the teacher remained. This lack of teacher hints of a comparison between humans and teachers (seeing how we’re the most sentient). Humans could be called teachers, as we are (as we know it) making the most scientific discoveries in the world. Without us, all these discoveries lose all value. They are nothing.
This theme of nothingness and futility abound throughout the image. The whole point of the piece centers wholly around the fact that humans remain in contact no longer with our materialistic world. For some reason, in the work’s universe, any contact between humans and any infrastructure previously built no longer exists. As mentioned before, meanings pour into the piece because of this. The journey of knowledge (as a personified being) runs rampant. Knowledge and discovery relies solely on human recognition. Without it, it’s devoid of all meaning, as it is in this image, and subsequently becomes nothing except mere writings and scribblings on a piece of paper.
Overall, I really enjoy this image. The fact that all of this exists (or rather existed) on such a small scale and possessed so much detail signifies the power of the piece. The thought provoking nature of the piece adds plenty to the pieces potency as well. Seeing as though Nix proves capable of creating such a scene, this work definitely earns a spot for being successful. It’s hard to work up to the caliber of success of this image. The artists did an amazing job when creating this work.

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Period 1 -- Critical Analysis #20

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