I wasn't sure of a good place to catalogue twenty photos for my Intro to Digital Photography final. I thought more about it and decided that since my decision to purchase a camera began with a decision to go to South Korea, this place would make the most sense.
1. Still-Life of Foreign Currency
Although the task of creating a still-life was never assigned, I felt like something needed to be done with the resource of a lighting studio. The currencies represented here are bills from Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Turkey, and North Korea. What countries choose to represent on their currency is always a matter of no small interest. These countries displayed are relatively unfamiliar to the West, and so looking at their currency offers some insights. Mao Zedong is displayed on every Chinese bill, likewise Kim Il-Sung, former leader of North Korea, is displayed on this bill in the top right from 1992. The South Korean bills, in close proximity to both of these countries, instead feature prominent figures from Korean history, as well as beautiful landscape paintings.
On the UAE bills, there is a falcon on one side and a janbiya on the other. Both of these are important symbols to Arab culture. The janbiya is the curved dagger used in many ceremonies worn at the belt. Although the janbiya is a weapon, it is unsheathed only during times of extreme conflict. The falcon is important to Arab culture, 1/3rd of all falconers in the world hail from Arab countries. The bird symbolizes force and courage. The fact that the UAE uses symbols important to all Arab cultures reflects the very new ideology of statehood in the so-called "Middle East." Next time you get a chance, have yourself and someone else look at a map and write down all of the countries you consider to be Middle Eastern. The results will tell you the extent to which the term is politically defined, as opposed to being defined geographically.
The bill from Afghanistan, the blue one underneath North Korea in the top right, has an interesting history as well. The Afghan monies were created by the United States in order to flood the economy and devalue the currency of the Taliban. On one side of the bill there appears to be an airport, the other side is the Blue Mosque. The bill from Turkey, although it is buried under coins on the far right side with the crescent moon peaking out, reflects the secularism of politics and science important to many Turks. Some would say they are both Middle Eastern countries, but clearly see themselves very differently.
Much more could be said about the currency, including the chrysanthemum on Chinese coins and how its meaning differs from our negative symbolism of the flower in the West.
For myself, the image makes me think of what we display on the U.S. currency. Presidents, buildings located in D.C. (an incredibly small, unrepresented part of our much larger country), Roman symbolism of politics, and mysterious pyramids of power with an eye at the top. The meaning portrayed by our own currency seems to communicate fear. This is fear of those in power, perpetuated by an assertion of dominance by the few. When you consider American money it actually communicates the very antithesis of democracy, and is much more disturbing than even Mao Zedong's gaze.
Considering North Korea, despite obviously being one of the most horrifying nations of the planet, the idea of a great leader confers pride to it's people. Even having one "great leader", you at least know who is responsible for what happens. The government of the United States is so densely assembled you are never truly sure who is responsible for what. The power of free speech may allow me to write what I am writing now, but whether any writing actually makes a difference that would change the way we interact with those in power is worth questioning.
Last, a quote from the movie Kiss Me Deadly, "First you find a little thread, the thread leads you to a piece of string, the string leads to a rope, and from the rope you hang by the neck."
Other photos from my studio session:
2. The Phantom Skyline of Shanghai
Shanghai, since its explosive growth in the mid-1800's, has been the site of decadence, usurpation, sex, drugs, and refuge. It seems to be a living set from a film noir movie. When I set up my tripod that rainy night on the side of the Huangpu river, I decided I would want a photo that would reflect the shadiness of the city's history. While most photos of this skyline seek to display how tall the buildings are - a sight which is no doubt impressive - I wanted to reflect the nature of progress.
Shrouded in the fog is a building which will be 122 floors high when it is complete, with each floor being completed in the space of a week. I stood beneath three of Shanghai's tallest buildings. They are the Jinmao tower at 88 floors, Shanghai World Financial Center and the under-construction Shanghai tower. Looking straight up at these buildings in the middle of the day, the smog was so dense that there was no way to see the tops of these buildings. Instead, what I saw was construction hooks come from out of the haze. It looked like some sort of heavenly power was going fishing.
3. Pemmaquid Lighthouse
This is a photo taken when my family finally went on vacation again. It had been years. The lighthouse is the same one featured on the state quarter of Maine. I am lucky to have captured a silhouette of a solitary figure standing in the tower. It serves to perpetuate the dream of this structure's glory days, when it actually was used to save lives. A fellow by the name of Marcus Hanna used to live here in the early 1900's. He is the most famous lighthouse keeper in the history of Maine. During a blizzard, in freezing temperatures, he saved the ship the Australia which had crashed on the rocks in the foreground of this image. Admittedly, with the blue of the sky, it's hard to imagine this scene.
4. Fear of Success
In this New York Times reviewed pizza place run out of a traditional Korean home in Seoul, a former blacksmith uses his knowledge of fire to make his famous pizzas. I ran into so much good food in Seoul, a complaint from owners seemed to be that they had too much business. Pizza, like coffee, is a fairly new avenue for Korea. With white pizza, they will sometimes serve a side of whipped cream or honey. It's actually quite delicious!
The image is able to reflect the pressured environment under which many of these successful innovators suddenly find themselves. It was all I could do not to get in their way.
5. Bohemian China
I did all I could to surreptitiously snap this photo. This woman looked almost as if she was posing. The neighborhood of Tianzifang in Shanghai is filled with all of these neat alley-way shops. This one offered a great view out of the window of the hustle outside. All of the shops here, due to their increasing tourist value, are incredibly expensive. The person I came with had a beer - I just sort of tried to soak in the environment. They had books all over the walls with all different languages which you could just pick up and read. They also had board games. One was a matching game with photos of Shanghai life. I was tempted to make off with it because it looked so neglected anyway. The person I came with was more pious about it so unfortunately I didn't grab the souvenir. I walked up to a few other Europeans inside and had a joke with them about how random the book choices were. I'm not sure if the owners realize how preposterous it seems to read Shakespeare on a casual whim.
1. Still-Life of Foreign Currency
Although the task of creating a still-life was never assigned, I felt like something needed to be done with the resource of a lighting studio. The currencies represented here are bills from Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Turkey, and North Korea. What countries choose to represent on their currency is always a matter of no small interest. These countries displayed are relatively unfamiliar to the West, and so looking at their currency offers some insights. Mao Zedong is displayed on every Chinese bill, likewise Kim Il-Sung, former leader of North Korea, is displayed on this bill in the top right from 1992. The South Korean bills, in close proximity to both of these countries, instead feature prominent figures from Korean history, as well as beautiful landscape paintings.
On the UAE bills, there is a falcon on one side and a janbiya on the other. Both of these are important symbols to Arab culture. The janbiya is the curved dagger used in many ceremonies worn at the belt. Although the janbiya is a weapon, it is unsheathed only during times of extreme conflict. The falcon is important to Arab culture, 1/3rd of all falconers in the world hail from Arab countries. The bird symbolizes force and courage. The fact that the UAE uses symbols important to all Arab cultures reflects the very new ideology of statehood in the so-called "Middle East." Next time you get a chance, have yourself and someone else look at a map and write down all of the countries you consider to be Middle Eastern. The results will tell you the extent to which the term is politically defined, as opposed to being defined geographically.
The bill from Afghanistan, the blue one underneath North Korea in the top right, has an interesting history as well. The Afghan monies were created by the United States in order to flood the economy and devalue the currency of the Taliban. On one side of the bill there appears to be an airport, the other side is the Blue Mosque. The bill from Turkey, although it is buried under coins on the far right side with the crescent moon peaking out, reflects the secularism of politics and science important to many Turks. Some would say they are both Middle Eastern countries, but clearly see themselves very differently.
Much more could be said about the currency, including the chrysanthemum on Chinese coins and how its meaning differs from our negative symbolism of the flower in the West.
For myself, the image makes me think of what we display on the U.S. currency. Presidents, buildings located in D.C. (an incredibly small, unrepresented part of our much larger country), Roman symbolism of politics, and mysterious pyramids of power with an eye at the top. The meaning portrayed by our own currency seems to communicate fear. This is fear of those in power, perpetuated by an assertion of dominance by the few. When you consider American money it actually communicates the very antithesis of democracy, and is much more disturbing than even Mao Zedong's gaze.
Considering North Korea, despite obviously being one of the most horrifying nations of the planet, the idea of a great leader confers pride to it's people. Even having one "great leader", you at least know who is responsible for what happens. The government of the United States is so densely assembled you are never truly sure who is responsible for what. The power of free speech may allow me to write what I am writing now, but whether any writing actually makes a difference that would change the way we interact with those in power is worth questioning.
Last, a quote from the movie Kiss Me Deadly, "First you find a little thread, the thread leads you to a piece of string, the string leads to a rope, and from the rope you hang by the neck."
Other photos from my studio session:
2. The Phantom Skyline of Shanghai
Shanghai, since its explosive growth in the mid-1800's, has been the site of decadence, usurpation, sex, drugs, and refuge. It seems to be a living set from a film noir movie. When I set up my tripod that rainy night on the side of the Huangpu river, I decided I would want a photo that would reflect the shadiness of the city's history. While most photos of this skyline seek to display how tall the buildings are - a sight which is no doubt impressive - I wanted to reflect the nature of progress.
Shrouded in the fog is a building which will be 122 floors high when it is complete, with each floor being completed in the space of a week. I stood beneath three of Shanghai's tallest buildings. They are the Jinmao tower at 88 floors, Shanghai World Financial Center and the under-construction Shanghai tower. Looking straight up at these buildings in the middle of the day, the smog was so dense that there was no way to see the tops of these buildings. Instead, what I saw was construction hooks come from out of the haze. It looked like some sort of heavenly power was going fishing.
3. Pemmaquid Lighthouse
This is a photo taken when my family finally went on vacation again. It had been years. The lighthouse is the same one featured on the state quarter of Maine. I am lucky to have captured a silhouette of a solitary figure standing in the tower. It serves to perpetuate the dream of this structure's glory days, when it actually was used to save lives. A fellow by the name of Marcus Hanna used to live here in the early 1900's. He is the most famous lighthouse keeper in the history of Maine. During a blizzard, in freezing temperatures, he saved the ship the Australia which had crashed on the rocks in the foreground of this image. Admittedly, with the blue of the sky, it's hard to imagine this scene.
4. Fear of Success
In this New York Times reviewed pizza place run out of a traditional Korean home in Seoul, a former blacksmith uses his knowledge of fire to make his famous pizzas. I ran into so much good food in Seoul, a complaint from owners seemed to be that they had too much business. Pizza, like coffee, is a fairly new avenue for Korea. With white pizza, they will sometimes serve a side of whipped cream or honey. It's actually quite delicious!
The image is able to reflect the pressured environment under which many of these successful innovators suddenly find themselves. It was all I could do not to get in their way.
5. Bohemian China
I did all I could to surreptitiously snap this photo. This woman looked almost as if she was posing. The neighborhood of Tianzifang in Shanghai is filled with all of these neat alley-way shops. This one offered a great view out of the window of the hustle outside. All of the shops here, due to their increasing tourist value, are incredibly expensive. The person I came with had a beer - I just sort of tried to soak in the environment. They had books all over the walls with all different languages which you could just pick up and read. They also had board games. One was a matching game with photos of Shanghai life. I was tempted to make off with it because it looked so neglected anyway. The person I came with was more pious about it so unfortunately I didn't grab the souvenir. I walked up to a few other Europeans inside and had a joke with them about how random the book choices were. I'm not sure if the owners realize how preposterous it seems to read Shakespeare on a casual whim.
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