Buffalo Zoo Gate Sculptures at Sarah Wichlacz

I finally shot the animal sculptures surrounding Buffalo Zoo; I only wish I could tell you more about them. Again, I shot digital with the lens baby; I just can’t get enough of the selective focus.

The Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest institution of it’s kind in the country; it was permanently established in 1875. I live near Delaware Park, home to the zoo, my husband and I often walk our dog around the the perimeter of the zoo. I’ve always enjoyed these animal sculptures that are posted on either side of the now unused zoo gates. I don’t know anything about these sculptures; the zoo was slowly constructed over many years. I guessing they were put in as part of or sometime between the construction of the famous elephant house in 1912 and the large WPA project that built the reptile house finished by 1942. Hopefully more information on the origins of these beautiful sculptures forthcoming. 6-13-06

Buffalo Zoo Gate - Mountian Lion Buffalo Zoo Gates - Seals Buffalo Zoo Gates - Bears

Preliminary Scanner Camera at Sarah Wichlacz

I just wanted to put up some of my early scanner camera work (2005) - this is just a taste of a few early series. There is more to come…

From the artist statment-

These scanner camera images are cubist, allowing us to see multiple angles and perspectives on a subject in action. They are photographic equivalents to futurist motion studies, revealing the frenetic nature of the animated world. They are the discrete time photomontages of David Hockney bound within a single frame. But even more, they are all of these things in real-time, drawn directly from the real world

03 - the_faculty 10 - a_breeze


Issues of Narration: Voice-Over in Film

I wrote this essay for a film theory course I took from Brian Henderson back in 2004 when I was a grad student at University of Buffalo. Ironically, when I was researching the topic I found that Brian Henderson, my prof, had written one of the most important essays on voice over narration. I guess he liked my take on it, because he gave me an A. I was intrested in termonolgies and structures; but I was mostly intregued by where these structures break down. So, I’m offering it up here on my site publicly for the first time.

Narratives that transcend simple labels are often the most innovative and groundbreaking; these hybrid narratives can also lead to greater understanding of the forms, systems, and terms themselves. Not all voice-over narration can be neatly divided into two categories; those of first- and third-person narratives.

Taxi Driver Big Lebowski

Margaret Bourke-White and Mary Ellen Mark: Documentary Heritage

More golden oldies from Sarah’s vault. I wrote this essay as an undergrad (1999 I think;) it’s not bad, a little naive, but I make some good points and have a few great examples. Mark and Bourke-White certainly have much in common.

Mark and WhiteBourke-White marks the evolution from the machine aesthetic to the more human approach. She was perhaps the most famous and respected photographer of her time, she moved the art of photography and science of journalism ahead. By exposing the truth and documenting the time Bourke-White has made a positive impact on this world. … Mark has followed Bourke-White’s humanitarian calling. Mark continues to photograph the small people and the everyday problems, unlike Bourke-White who was the best photographer on the scene, Mark wants to be the only photographer.

Raised By Wolves as a Non-Fictional Multi-Media Narrative

I was reminded of this essay when I recently posted about Antoine D’Agata’s social documentary work. I wrote this essay back in 2001; I was taking an English course on narrative from Rick Fehrenbacher. Being a fan of Jim Goldberg’s work I saw great a great opportunity’s to address the story at the heart of his work. Jim Goldberg’s Raised by Wolves is purely narrative. It is a story, as true as any story can hope to be; it is a story told through many mediums; it is the story of the streets. Jim Goldberg, a photographer by trade, spent ten years on the streets of San Francisco and LA “documenting” the citys’ homeless teens. Raised by Wolves is the story of Goldberg’s experience with these teens. This story takes on many forms: a traveling art gallery exhibit, a book, a website, and an experience. All of these radically different modes of narrative function to tell the same story. Raised by Wolves is the fabula at the core of these different manifestations, altered by different mediums and orders. But multiple venues are just the tip of the multimedia iceberg.

Goldberg

** In Rick Fehrenbacher’s Narrative course I also created where the class posted great links and essays about many types of narrative - I highly recommend taking a look.

Narratech: Storytelling in the Digital Age

Dance Club

Dance Club Header

This is yet another older project (2003) that I wanted to repost on my new main page. Dance Club is an experiment in New Media documentary. The project is the result of a collaboration with Shawn Rider, who created the multimedia interface. The project is based on my research and writing, and also utilizes video and photographs I collected on-site.

Urban Legends: An Electronic Art Exhibit - Sarah Wichlacz

I was just reminded of this series by a student of mine (Michael Burch) so I figured I’d make sure I linked to it through my new homepage. As a part of my 1999 BFA show, I collaborated with Shawn Rider to build an online version of my mixed-media installations. These pieces are retellings of contemporary urban legends. The images below are, from left to right: a gallery installation montage, 2 stills from the Bad Neighbor movie, and an image from the Letter Home.

Installation

The Name Game

I’m trying to re-post a lot of my older work, this was my obsession in 2004. The Name Game is a very large project, encompassing multiple elements in a variety of media, static and dynamic. First exhibited at the Carnegie Art Center, North Tonawanda, NY in April 2004, the Name Game is also my MFA thesis project. You can visit the site at http://www.name-game.org.

The Name Game is an exploration of network semiotics. It is a work of collection and display, reaction and analysis. The practice of naming and labelling is endlessly fascinating.

Name Game Screenshot 2 Name Game Screenshot Black and White Still

Preliminary Love Canal Shots

I’ve just posted a gallery of images from Love Canal -Preliminary Love Canal Shots at Sarah Wichlacz Some of the images were shot with the Lensbaby 2.0.

I was taken by how much illegal dumping takes place there today. I was also surprised by the number of people using the area for recreation. I encountered a wide spectrum of users including mothers and children to paintball players.

101st Street at Frontier AveDumped Drum100th Street


Polaroid Transfer Tutorial

Finished TransferOne of the first alternative processes I learned, and one of the easiest so far, the Polaroid Transfer is an all-time photo-demo favorite. This semester, I noticed there aren’t too many good tutorials for making Polaroid Transfers, and it’s definitely the kind of process which gets easier with a few basic tips. So I collaborated with one of my students, Rachel Abbot, to document this year’s demonstration.

Polaroid transfers have a unique visual style that is a little ghostly, a little impressionistic, and often very moody. Needless to say, it’s a fun way to spice up found slides and staged photos. With a few readily-available supplies, we can make a whole bunch of transfer prints.