EXHIBITION STATEMENT

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Introduction. 

Solace Through Skateboarding is a photography project centered around a young skateboarder named Jonathin Zheng. The goal of the project is to attempt to illustrate how a passion can be an outlet and an escape from reality.

Literature Review.  

This project draws stylistic influence from many of the great documentary photographers of the 20th century as well as more current photographers in the skateboarding scene. 

One of the most notable influences would be Robert Frank and his work “The Americans”. Frank, a Swiss photographer, documented an American cross-country trip from 1955 to 1957. His photos are evocative in their raw nature, not worrying about the traditional conventions of photography up to that point – which was much more planned and prepared at the time, mostly posed portraits and carefully constructed compositions.

Take the photography of Walker Evans for example, who documented the Great Depression during the 1930s; his most notable photos are stark, well-posed portraits with intense eye contact (Evans). Compare that to Frank, who was unconcerned with perfect focus or even horizon lines in his photos, instead choosing to experiment with exposure, grain, composition, and motion blur (Martinique).

Another influence for this project would be the contemporary style of skateboard photography. Mike Blabac, a skate photographer, was one of the main influences. Blabac has shot some of the most iconic skate photos with some of the biggest names in skateboarding. His style is very clean, with very accurate focus and compositions that incorporate the extreme wide-angle shots that are associated with documentation of skateboarding. 

This project aims to incorporate some elements of Frank's style of experimentation and intentional disregard for photographic norms while combining it with more technically focused contemporary styles of documenting skateboarding.

Methods. 

The medium I used for my piece is digital photography; more specifically, using a Sony A7ii digital camera. I was between using digital photography and 35mm film photography for this project – however, film photography didn’t really make as much sense for me financially or practically. Digital photography also allows me to shoot many more photographs in a single session than I would be able to with film photography.  This is more in line with a more modern style of documenting skateboarding.

Audience & Impact.

This work is intended to be an illustration of passion. This means that anyone who is passionate about something should be able to relate to it. Though it more specifically focuses on skateboarding - the project is meant to be a case study on to a person’s dedication to something that they love. Another group of people that may be interested in this work are fans of Robert Frank. His work was a large influence to this project and those who enjoy his work may be able to enjoy this because of the inspiration drawn from his photography.

One impact that this project had on me was on the more administrative side of things. I’ve always made art without justification. Having to produce my own reasonings instead of just presenting the art to speak for itself was a challenge. Working through this will definitely help me adjust to a process that a creative professional will need to be well versed in. 

References.  

• Evans, Walker. Alabama Tenant Farmer Wife. 1936, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

• Martinique, Elena. “How Robert Frank's Book ‘The Americans’ Redefined American Photography.” Widewalls. October 22, 2017, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/robert-frank-the-americans-albertina

Acknowledgments. 

I would like to thank Jonathin Zheng for agreeing to be the subject of this project.

I also would like to thank Harold Burgess,  my faculty advisor, for assisting me throughout the entire process and giving me advice on how to refine my capstone project.

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