America as seen on the front seat

[TheRook]

Seriously? Does anyone think this is good work?

Yes, I do.
Each frame gives the viewer a glimpse into someone's life, and as a complete set, says something profoundly disturbing about society. I also find the intentional snapshot-like style of the series quite fitting. I honestly don't think the project would have really worked if the images had been perfectly composed and illuminated, as the depicted scenes would then look staged, less documentary in nature. And the rough photographic style also gives the images a brutally honest, edgy feel... reminiscent of police photos documenting a bloody crime scene.

 

[BradS]

Yes, I do.
Each frame gives the viewer a glimpse into someone's life, and as a complete set, says something profoundly disturbing about society. I also find the intentional snapshot-like style of the series quite fitting. I honestly don't think the project would have really worked if the images had been perfectly composed and illuminated, as the depicted scenes would then look staged, less documentary in nature. And the rough photographic style also gives the images a brutally honest, edgy feel... reminiscent of police photos documenting a bloody crime scene.

Clear and concise - this is the essence of what the reviewer tried to say.
Thanks.

 

[CMoore]

Seriously? Does anyone think this is good work?

Define "good work".
Are the pictures well exposed.?
Are they composed so that the viewer can easily understand the timbre, location and meaning of the photos.?
I would not shoot these myself. If they were exhibited at The Museum Of Modern Art, i would walk right by them, like i would A Lot of stuff at MOMA.
Others would stop at Marvel at these photos, and discuss them at some length.
I do not see the genius in Picasso or Frank Sinatra. Picasso's best work was very early on...it got real bad real fast..... and Frank never had more than an Average Voice.
It is good if you like it.
Carpenters and Painters and Electricians and Concrete Guys do "Good Work". If they do bad work, it fails, breaks, or hurts somebody.
Artists do not do "Good Work". They do stuff that people either like or do not like.
Tell the people at a Britney Spears show (or whoever) that she does lousy work. Tell that to the crowd of 50,000 people that paid to see her.

 

[Joe Jesus]

I really enjoyed these photos. I worked in a cheap tire-n-lube auto shop for awhile, so I saw a lot of "American Interiors" firsthand and usually interacted with the people behind them. It's really interesting what you can infer about a person based on their car.

But, I thought the text was hilariously overdone. Way heavy handed and way too wordy. Shouldn't art be accessible to everyone?

 

[CMoore]

I really enjoyed these photos. I worked in a cheap tire-n-lube auto shop for awhile, so I saw a lot of "American Interiors" firsthand and usually interacted with the people behind them. It's really interesting what you can infer about a person based on their car.

But, I thought the text was hilariously overdone. Way heavy handed and way too wordy. Shouldn't art be accessible to everyone?

 

[andy_shoots_]

Figured I will share my opinion.

I think the photos are interesting and well done. However I think the article is pure rubbish. The Auther seems to have used the photos, of a select group, as a spring board for a grand critic on American Culture. Perphaps he is right about America, but to jump to this conclusions from only only one body of work seems ridiculous.

 

[removed account4]

Figured I will share my opinion.

I think the photos are interesting and well done. However I think the article is pure rubbish. The Auther seems to have used the photos, of a select group, as a spring board for a grand critic on American Culture. Perphaps he is right about America, but to jump to this conclusions from only only one body of work seems ridiculous.

or maybe ... it i s part of the reason the person with the camera made the photographs ... and in his statement ?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

What an interesting idea!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I just looked at the images and formed my own opinion.

 

[jtk]

or maybe ... it i s part of the reason the person with the camera made the photographs ... and in his statement ?

I don't think the photographer/reviewer intended anything more than to carry on about shallow preconceptions, or was capable of more than shallow preconceptions. .

 

[Sirius Glass]

I don't think the photographer/reviewer intended anything more than to carry on about shallow preconceptions, or was capable of more than shallow preconceptions. .

The latter nailed it.



.

 

[removed account4]

I don't think the photographer/reviewer intended anything more than to carry on about shallow preconceptions, or was capable of more than shallow preconceptions. .

so, the person who made the photographs didn't have some sort
of statement or reason why he made the photographs and
the reviewer just babbled incoherent nonsense ?



maybe you should go to the person who made the photographs
website before jumping to such conclusions ?

https://www.mlcasteel.com

 

[faberryman]

maybe you should go to the person who made the photographs website before jumping to such conclusions?

"American Interiors depicts the psychological repercussions of war and military service through images of the interiors of cars owned by veterans in the USA."

You see people with messy car interiors who have not undergone war and military service, and neat car interiors of people who have undergone war and military service, so the whole premise is suspect. Obviously an MFA assignment.

 

[removed account4]

"American Interiors depicts the psychological repercussions of war and military service through images of the interiors of cars owned by veterans in the USA."

You see people with messy car interiors who have not undergone war and military service, and neat car interiors of people who have undergone war and military service, so the whole premise is suspect. Obviously an MFA assignment.

maybe ?
maybe not ?
im taking the author of the project's words at face value and don't really
have any reason to dismiss what he said or the premise of his project.
im guessing there are a lot more people coming home from overseas who have troubles
than there are people who don't ...

I just looked at the images and formed my own opinion.

IDK andrew my mind is being controlled by scary pirate in our fish tank, and rachel from credit card services.
TBH im going to have a heck of a time going to the airport
next week with a tin foil hat and a colander ...

 

[ReginaldSMith]

From the few photos shown, I like the project. It's almost like a visual companion to James Kunstler's "Geography of Nowhere." There are echos of Stephen Shore's "American PLaces". This kind of documentary work was done by Dorathea Lange, Robert Frank and many others. Not sure if cars have been done before, but this looks fascinating to me.

 

[faberryman]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc. If I hung out at a Walmart parking lot and took pictures of messy car interiors what would you conclude?

 

[ReginaldSMith]

Take the pictures and see what the crirics have to say.

 

[faberryman]

Take the pictures and see what the crirics have to say.

I'm sure it would qualify for an MFA thesis but I have no interest.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Both vets and non-vets have messy car interiors. Both vets and non-vets have clean car interiors. There is likely no correlation between being a vet and the state of that vet's car interior.

To draw any conclusion, one would have to do a controlled scientific study that would show, for example, 60% of vets have messy cars whereas only 40% of non-vets have messy cars.

I just take the photos for what they are and try not to extrapolate into complex sociopolitical areas.

 

[ReginaldSMith]

I'm sure it would qualify for an MFA thesis but I have no interest.

Then I guess your post was pointless.

 

[faberryman]

Then I guess your post was pointless.

To some. Others, not so much.

 

[MattKing]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc. If I hung out at a Walmart parking lot and took pictures of messy car interiors what would you conclude?

That security should be called????
I see thematic consistency in the photos.
I can see why the photographer started taking them and continued to take them and chose the ones that were chosen.
And I can see what the writer was at least trying to do when the accompanying text was written - suggest a causal connection between the people who owned the cars, their background and circumstances, and the resulting small worlds of chaos.
I'm happy to discuss whether or not the photographers work was interesting or successful, just as I'm happy to discuss whether the theory of the text writer makes sense.

 

[removed account4]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc. If I hung out at a Walmart parking lot and took pictures of messy car interiors what would you conclude?

sounds like a good project, as long as the owner of the car
doesn't get mad you are invading his or her privacy ...
cars are like someone's 2nd home ( 1st home sometimes )
good luck with your project !

 

[jtk]

Both vets and non-vets have messy car interiors. Both vets and non-vets have clean car interiors. There is likely no correlation between being a vet and the state of that vet's car interior.

To draw any conclusion, one would have to do a controlled scientific study that would show, for example, 60% of vets have messy cars whereas only 40% of non-vets have messy cars.

I just take the photos for what they are and try not to extrapolate into complex sociopolitical areas.

I'm sure it would qualify for an MFA thesis but I have no interest.

Yes. My take is that the photographs seem bogus and that with overblown writing the critic has attempted to assign meaning to that bogus work.

 

[jtk]

so, the person who made the photographs didn't have some sort
of statement or reason why he made the photographs and
the reviewer just babbled incoherent nonsense ?



maybe you should go to the person who made the photographs
website before jumping to such conclusions ?

https://www.mlcasteel.com

"Jumping to conclusions" apparently means feeling free to comment on the ridiculous, overblown writing and to express doubt about the legitimacy of the work.