Jason Hanasik, Or: I haven't been posting enough to the blog so I'm posting something now, but even if I had been posting I'd still write something

Jason Hanasik
7 November 2008
'Family Matters' and 'He Opened Up Somewhere Along the Eastern Shore'

So on Friday there was an artist lecture over yonder at the photo building, as well as a little Obama press conference teaser (but you had to go home to see the whole thing. Sneaky...)

Jason Hanasik paid us a visit from CCA to talk about some of his work, particularly focusing on his thesis project, 'He Opened Up...' This is a project depicting men in the Marines- predominantly his best friend Patrick and a friend of his Steven (whose brother died in Iraq) in various poses, locations, etc that centers around a discussion regarding prototypical 'maleness' and heteronormativity. The project aims to critique gender presentation and representations of the 'classic' male figure. Hanasik photographs his subjects in unlikely poses, such as the one you can see below that Deirdre posted the other day. They are not all so obvious however- my favorite photo was actually one of his friend Patrick casually standing in front of an open door; displaying indicators of 'prototypical maleness,' such as his strict haircut, but his posture, gaze, and relaxed nature invited questions about what was being challenged regarding male representation.

One of the things I appreciated about the lecture was his language. Hanasik was careful to speak about 'making' pictures, which I prefer to hear (rather than 'taking' which denies important elements of the photographer's agency and process in creating work), and tried to tease out the differences between questions regarding gender presentation, maleness, sexual orientation, etc- he noted where these potentially intersected, but also suggested where they might part ways. He also said something about "photographing people in the places we find each other." I appreciate the attention to detail in his language and the reflexivity this statement implied. He recognized the reciprocal nature of such work as well as his agency as a photographer, involved in a collaborative project with a participant, as opposed to the classic, 'detached' observer.

I'm beginning to lose it here. I don't have my right brain on. Too many sociology articles later... Anyway- I'll stop here, but leave off with a list of themes he presented that I found interesting:

-equipment's (i.e. specific camera) influence on work- what camera suits a particular project
-small town politics
-comfort of subject vs. comfort of photographer
-"learning images"
-big color, size
-"constructed documentary"
-essentializing of the "gay look"

Rolleiflex Twin Lens Digital Camera

At first glance this seemed to me a little like the retro-chic "rotary phones" that are actually push button, but this one actually functions like a twin lens reflex camera, only the capture is digital.
I don't know what the crank arm does, though.
dv

Tattoos, Individuality, and Susannah Slocum

I mentioned Susannah's work in the discussion about Sarah's Hello Kitty tattoo. Once at her page on the Pecuniar website, click on 5 to start viewing the nautical star tattoo sequence. Her other series are included here as well - Bruces, vanity plates and more.

dv

Artists on my mind - Carlos Diaz, Glynnis Reed

check 'em out - both carlos and glynnis make really interesting work - their names are linked to sites.

Invented Landscape 80F-NY (2005)


Carlos Diaz


Water No Get Enemy, 2008


Glynnis Reed

Anthony Golcolea

Jason Hanasik--TOMORROW AT LUNCHTIME

LUNCHTIME ARTIST TALK
Friday, November 7th

Please join us tomorrow, Friday the 7th of November for some art and some pizza (and a small celebration of Obama's election.) 12:00 noon in the photo classroom.

(x-tra credit available)


JASON HANASIK

"I am a graduate student at CCA in the MFA Fine Arts program. I mainly work in photo, video, and installation. I am currently working on a project called He Opened Up Somewhere Along the Eastern Shore. This project looks at the liminal space between the gay male civilian and the heterosexual male Marine returning from war.

You can see a very small selection of the work at www.jasonhanasik.com

Photo Alliance

The next artist lecture that Photo Alliance is sponsoring will be Barbara Bosworth. Her lecture will be on Friday December 5th at 7:30pm at SFAI on Chestnut Street. You can view some of her work at http://eyelevel.si.edu/2008/07/barbara-boswort-html
The Photo Alliance website is also a good resource for any Bay Area photographer. They have workshops that are $35 for students and can teach you valuable skills, like digital self publishing. I'd check periodically and see what new workshops/lectures they are having...Both the lectures and workshops could be great places to network and find collaborators. The Photo Alliance is also a non-profit and is a possible place to do an internship. There website is www.photoalliance.org