Erika Marquez

This years’ concentration will be focused on Oversized Details using interior abstraction on a particular building located in downtown Chicago. These three pictures presented are an example of what my concentration will look like.

This photograph is a doorway/bridge:



What appeals to the viewer about this photo is the shapes used to demonstrate the ideal surrealism affect.

This picture is an actual reflection of myself using the interior space to make the picture have a feeling of surrealism incorporated with the architecture details of the building itself:



In the third photograph the colors are rather different than the other two described above. The photo itself is a parking garage staircase and the colors used are a middle tone gray which also gives the surreal feeling:



The colors used in all my photographs give an illusion of the future architecture.

Andrew Vega

My photos in this series demonstrate the effects long exposures have on the presence of light and color. To create these photos I set my camera to a very small aperture and a very long shutter speed. The photos in my concentration average over 25 seconds of exposure. I don’t manipulate my photos, I believe in experimenting with the camera instead of with the computer. I feel like it requires more skill to know what you’re doing with the camera.









Andrew Vega
Curie Metropolitan HS

50% Grey at the Museum of Contemporary Photography

Hi, I’m Leif, a student of the A.P. Photography Program at Gallery 37. On March 4th, we visited the Museum of Contemporary Photography, owned and operated by Chicago’s Columbia College. We viewed a collection of images from both contemporary Czech photographers, as well as images donated by the Baruch Foundation. Many of these images faced danger of destruction in the late 60’s due to the Soviets who invaded Czechoslovakia, where they attempted to “normalize” the country, destroying many works of art in the process. Art dealer Jacques Baruch and his wife managed to save many pieces which we were fortunate enough to be able to see. The photographs in the contemporary section tended to concentrate on more simple subject matter, while the images from the Baruch Foundation tended to be more surreal and in my opinion, interesting.

Of the many interesting photos we viewed, one of my favorites was “Hand with Watch,” a gelatin silver print by photographer Emila Medkova:



The image has a cracked egg in a holder nestled in a nook and a large piece of bark, as well as a hand with a watch in the palm emerging from the top of a gap. The ragged, cracked texture of the bark alone matched with the interesting cream colored tone of the print serves as an interesting photograph in and of itself, not unlike something we might expect to see in the contemporary exhibit. The hand is nestled in a break in the bark, which provides a three-sided frame to this strange hand holding a watch. The watch looks more like an eye, peering at the viewer and warping reality. The egg in the holder matches the hand in both juxtaposition and composition, effectively creating a visually interesting, and conceptually stimulating image.

In the Vernacular

Hello, my name is Bethany. I am in the AAEP photography class at Gallery 37. On Monday, February 22, 2010 we went to the Art Institute of Chicago and saw the exhibition, In the Vernacular. This exhibition featured pieces from many artists including but not limited to Walker Evans, Andy Warhol, Lee Friedlander, Cindy Sherman, Martin Parr, Nikki S. Lee and Garry Winogrand. Vernacular photographs are photographs pertaining to a specific period of time, type of people or place. One of the pieces we saw was titled, “Lee and Maria Friedlander. Cannon Beach, Oregon” by Lee Friedlander, it was taken in 1997 and is a gelatin silver print:



One specific thing that interested me about this photograph was that the photographer himself is indeed taking the picture; however, he is not looking at the camera. His wife is though. The background is also rather eye-catching; there is a beach and mountain along the left side of the frame and the inland coast on the right, giving off a nice mood for the viewer. I myself felt calmer just seeing a beach. And last but not least, while the overall tone of the picture is flat, the blacks are rich and the highlights very detailed, it is very well printed.

Hello, I'm Deja. I really liked this image by Garry Winogrand:



It's a moment of action caught. Football players leaping, running, are scattering about. The referee stands on the sideline ready to call a penalty. A packed audience watches with anticipation and excitement. This climatic photo is dramatized even more by the angle it is captured at. Because the photo is in black and white it enhances the intensity of the picture. Texture is everywhere, from the tarp of the field to the full crowd in the stadium seats. Tones and shades of the rich black, white, and grey vary. The whites and light grays contrasts with the dark grays and blacks. Horizontal and vertical lines dance around the image helping balance the space, while filling it. Motion throughout the photograph creates a powerful rhythm and flow.

Surrealism

Surrealism is a perfect assignment for photography, as the idea behind surrealist art is to bend, not break, reality. Photography is rooted in the real world; it is based on what is in front of the camera. But that reality is distorted through compositional choices, light, color, lack of color in b/w photos, time/motion, etc. Often times surrealist photography is based in fantasy, the dreamscape, or matters of the mind. It can be humorous, sad, and often strange. The human figure is also a common theme. With the ultimate goal to challenge people's imaginations:


Marlene Arteaga


Ivette Contreras


Gabriela Lopez


Juana Merino


DeAndre Watts

Winter Open House

AAEP hosted a Winter open house to close out the 2009 calendar year. The event showcased the best work from students in the visual, performing, and culinary arts. With the aid of their teachers, AAEP students planned and installed their work in the 5th floor gallery of the Gallery 37 building. Here are some installation and event photographs:











You can see more at the Gallery 37 AAEP Flicker page, which is found if you click HERE.

There will be another open house in the Spring.

Environmental Portraits

An Environmental Portrait is a portrait and then some. The student must focus on the subject and the environment around the subject. In the best photographs the viewer learns something about the person from not only their body language, dress, etc, but also from their surroundings. Students are asked to establish a foreground, middleground, and background in their photographs. This forces them to consider the entire environment and how it relates to the subject.


Ben Lozano


Ben Lozano


Amanda Marco


Sannya Munir


Dolly Rivera


Maritza Vales


Maritza Vales


Andrew Vega