Susan Mah's Loss Project Finds New Home

Los Angeles-based support organization HealGrief.org will now host Loss Project, an ongoing body of work by AAU graduate Susan Mah. Loss Project is "a merging of psychology and photography, an artistic exploration of the human condition as it relates to loss." Says Mah,

"My images, along with stories from those who participated, are there as an empathic display of grief and mourning. Additionally, there is a "call for entries" to the public, i.e., an invite for others to share their own imagery about their losses. Thus the Loss Project becomes a therapeutic intervention, so to speak, wherein anyone in the world can share their story, whether or not he or she identifies as an artist."

To view more of Loss Project or participate in the online community, click here.

Portfolio: Jen Frase

bluebirds

I gave birth to twins eight years ago and although I knew it would be life changing, I really had no idea what a complex period of time this really is. My days are filled with moments of joy, stress, wonder, love, fear, humor and wistfulness. Not only do I experience a wide gamut of emotions, but they can all happen simultaneously. This series, entitled bluebirds, is a personal story about my life with my children, but it’s also a universal story about this peculiar, complex and beautiful time in life.

These images tell a narrative – a universal story of childhood. They tell the story of this remarkable time in life. The images illustrate the sweet, the profound and the peculiar – moments that are sometimes sensitive, sometimes odd, sometimes humorous, but always filled with love and appreciation. Each image can be taken at face value - the moments illustrated are unremarkable, just snippets from our daily lives. However, they are more complex than everyday depictions, as there is a deeper story embedded. They somehow embody a child’s world, a parent’s feelings and everything in between. I believe the images transcend the everyday to tell an evocative, universal story of this time in our lives, as a scrapbook of light, color, love, humor, telling moments, meaningful gestures and metaphor. There is beauty and poignancy in the complexity of it all. This stew of all things childhood is the essence of this body of work.

This series is an exploration into the world of childhood and I would love for viewers to see the images and relate to them - either as a memory of a simple snippet from their own world or a stirring of deeper emotion in what this time in our lives means to us. However, as a mom and a photographer, this work has also given me some power; choosing what images to capture and determining how I do that, allows me to slow the pace of our lives and gives me some control over something that is essentially uncontrollable – the passage of time.

More of bluebirds can be seen at http://www.jenfrasephotography.com/bluebirds/

Portfolio: Ruth Lohmann

Northern State was a working hospital from the early 1900's up until its closure in the early 1970's. The patients admitted during that time had various illnesses that were either misunderstood, or where the public didn't know what to do with them. Ever since the hospital's closing, the buildings have slowly been taken back by nature, but still show traces of its history, as well as new life blooming from the wear and tear of the buildings' structure.

This series reflects on how the buildings and surrounding areas of the once functioning hospital will forever be tied with the patients who lived there. All of them were diagnosed, treated, and then left to their own devices.

See the complete body of work here: https://www.ruthlohmann.com/

Lenscratch Student Prize, Honorable Mention: AAU's Troy Colby

By Aline Smithson. Lenscratch originally featured this article on July 17, 2016.

For many parents, the camera comes out only to capture the ideal: grinning children at birthday parties, a sunny day at the beach, stiffly posed portraits in front of the Christmas tree. The house is clean, the family composed and reality dismissed in favor of perfection. These are the staged memories carried with us into adulthood. Fortunately, there are parents who use photography to explore something deeper–truths about parenthood, childhood revealed as a time of stress and insecurity, familial dysfunctions, aging parents, and raising a family in a time of turmoil and uncertainty. In sharing these realities, the stories or narratives that felt once so personal, find a universal appreciation in their truthfulness.

Troy Colby garnered an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Lenscratch Student Award for his project, This will pass. I promise you. His work is at once revealing and poignant as his photographs speak as much to Troy’s concerns as a father as to his participant observer role of documenting his son as he moves through the landmines of childhood.

Troy was born and raised in a small rural farming community. Living in rural America has been the backdrop and setting that have helped Troy refine his vision. In the past few years, he has chosen to work with his son in creating handcrafted worlds. Together they have found a love of recreating dreams and haunting emotions.

Troy holds a BFA in Fine Art Photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and is currently working on his MFA. His work has been seen in Black and White Magazine, Plates to Pixels, F-Stop, Adore Noir Magazine and is a 2015 Critical Mass finalist; along with galleries from Miami to Portland.

© Troy Colby

This will pass, I promise you.

The nights are long and our days are short. Sometimes the moments slip past us. Other times they move so slow that you unable to hold still. Your determination keeps you going until your body is tired and hurting. This frustration of having to stop is tough and I know that it puts a pressure on you that we are unable to see. Same for your migraines, I know that it is frustrating. No child of your age should have this pain or feel this way. Yet you keep on going. You have always felt the need to always keep moving and busy. I am sorry you have picked up this trait from me, if I could change it I would. I am still learning to deal with and handle your mood swings from total excitement to the sudden changes of fear, anger and sadness.

© Troy Colby

For me as your dad, I wonder many times where and what did I do wrong? I know this is not necessarily the case. It leaves me searching and wanting to understand. I picked up my camera really not knowing where it would lead. I know you do not want your image taken and for that I am sorry. I have found in using my camera in capturing these moments. I am able to approach this with a new level of understanding and peace. It allows me to be in a state where I can be a better dad for you during this time. I hope that all of this will pass as time goes on for you.

All images © Troy Colby

In October, Photo at AAU Galleries and Beyond

AAU Galleries feature a wealth of photography this month, including work by alumna Jessie Janine and MFA student Gregory Beams.

435 Jefferson Gallery: Jessie Janine - Abandonment

Abandoned houses can be a wealth of inspiration to those with the artistic curiosity to explore them. Formerly the focal points of peoples' lives, their timelines have been diverted, or permanently paused. Jessie Janine’s Abandonment captures the frozen narrative and allows us to consider our complex relationships with things we leave behind.

“There is an undeniably artistic element to decayed sites, abandonment, and an immense number of social and philosophical questions they pose.” says Janine. “Why do we abandon? What does our relationship with abandonment tell us about ourselves?”

Jessie Janine grew up on the tiny gulf coast Island of Cedar Key, Florida, where her love of photography developed as a way to preserve the natural beauty that surrounded her. She completed her BFA in Photography at Academy of Art University in 2016.

Image by Gregory Beams

625 Sutter Gallery: Gregory Beams - Technology's Promises

Gregory Beams has always thought of himself as something of an outsider, a sort of independent viewer watching life unfold from behind a window. His photo series Technology’s Promises reflects that sense of separation and observation.

“It’s important that my photography be based in reality, that they reflect an urban environment that feels familiar to people when they see them,” says Beams. “Equally important is the sense of something missing, something not quite right within the photograph that requires the viewer to resolve.”

Born in the suburbs north of Seattle, Washington, Gregory Beams didn’t begin to seriously explore photography until later in life. In 2011 he began to pursue his MFA degree at Academy of Art University, where he is expected to graduate in the fall of 2016. Beams still lives and produces most of his work in the Seattle area.

Last week, Beams offered AAU Lens insight on the Cinematic Image.

Also not to be missed is the group show Palette, featuring Full-Time Faculty Connie Begg. Says Ampersand International, where the exhibition is featured:

The idea of a painter’s palette was used as a starting point for the curatorial process and developed as an analogy for the way artists compose their own vernacular. The resulting exhibition features an eclectic mix of found objects, research materials, actual palettes, studio accidents, works-in-progress, studies, music, collections, sketchbooks, and ephemera illustrating the unpredictable nature of inspiration and the value of creative thinking.

Ampersand International: 1001 Tennessee Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. Exhibition Dates: September 15th through October 14th, 2016. Gallery Hours: Thursdays and Fridays 12pm-5pm or by appointment.

Segments of this post were originally featured on the AAU Galleries homepage.

Portfolio Flash: Sasha SchumacHer, AAU AA Student

Sasha's Schumacher's subjects are present and not present, merged with either their natural or urban environment, often to the point of suggested erosion.

In her composites, Schumacher explores psychology of place; how we come to know it, how we'll leave it behind.

Says Schumacher, We are all of organic matter that eventually goes back inside the earth -- when the blood stops flowing or the water runs out; we begin to disappear into something timeless, unlike our existence.

Goodbye, Summer . . .

School of Photography MFA Graduate Stephen Parsons next to his 2016 Spring Show entry, "Bonneville Salt Flats."

It seems just yesterday we mounted an incredible Spring Show 2016, with the usual impressive caliber of award-winning student work. Photography's industry guests included newcomers Eirik Johnson, Jonathan Blaustein, and Alyssa Coppelman. We were grateful for their insightful reviews of selected student portfolios.

August 11, 2016. Several students from PH493/903 Italy Study Abroad at our culminating exhibition, hosted bySanta Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy.

During the summer semester, Academy students from more than five departments -- photography included -- studied drawing, painting, photography, art history and architecture in Florence, Italy. Students outlasted the Tuscan heat and pulled off a stunning final show -- stay tuned for a second exhibition of participating students' work at 688 Sutter Gallery, coming in late November.

Meanwhile, Academy of Art joins the photographic community in saying goodby to Brooks Institute, which announced this month it will shut its doors for good. A number of Brooks students have been granted the opportunity to complete their Brooks degree here at the Academy. Let's make them feel welcome.

As Fall Semester 2016 commences, we'll profile the summer's events in detail with an eye towards the future fun. For all the latest news and insights, subscribe to AAU Lens now.

Sincerely,

Katty Hoover, AAU School of Photography Online Faculty