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Mt. Laurel Cemetery

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Jake Liberatore

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……….Every photograph captures the image of people, places, or things; forever sealing that which could otherwise be heard and not seen in a visible entity. Although photographs may distort what really existed in the brief moment of exposure, rarely do they fail to provide the belief that whatever scene is captured on film truly did exist in some form. As Susan Sontag, legendary writer, On Photography wrote, “whatever the limitations or pretentions of the individual photographer, a photograph — any photograph — seems to have a more innocent, and therefore more accurate, relation to visible reality than do other mimetic objects.” Indeed, there is a prevailing thought that photos capture reality in a unbiased way, but photographers have as much room for interpretation as do conventional visual artists. The ambiguity in every photograph grants it meaning, and therein lies it’s message.

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Mt. Laurel Cemetery

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This pair of photographs taken at Mt. Laurel cemetery in Philadelphia, ostensibly illustrates the slow decay of man’s once beautiful, yet humble tribute to the dead. The faces of the once intricately detailed statues, worn down throughout the decades to almost unrecognizable, half-human forms, project from blurred backgrounds of leafless trees. While a viewer could reasonably interpret the supposed bleakness of the photographs as a projection of malaise upon man’s all too obvious mortality, the intent of the pair was to contrast such mortality with the only thing that is eternal: the afterlife. Without any indication or suggestion of what characterizes an afterlife, the images of the statues represent an omnipresent watchful eye on the living from the dead; a guide through life, which is simultaneously the longest thing we ever experience and yet an insignificant grain in the sands of time.

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Jacob Liberatore: Self-Portrait 2012

Copyright 2012

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About The Author: Jake Liberatore is a sophomore studying Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2014.

A Life Left Behind

Posted on April 20, 2012

Jennie

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Jennie Shapira

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MISPLACEMENT

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……….For me, eroticism tickles the uncomfortable; it’s the delicate play of contrasting themes, acting perversely to make the viewer experience the combative feelings of ease and unease. It’s the product of a dichotomy between overt sexuality and something that both pushes you back and draws you in. What defines erotic as erotic is precisely this interaction. The concept of seeing only enough to force you to fill in the rest plays strongly with my views of eroticism, allowing a not-fully nude image to sometimes be more sexually driven than one where everything is purely raw.

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Jennie

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As a deeper conversation with the viewer, the creation of a scene which beckons for an accompanying narrative causes the interaction to deepen. In the end, it doesn’t matter if the story is the same as the stories imagined by all the others, nor the story imagined by the subject at the time of creation, as long as it is one that spawns a desire to know the character and know how the depicted situation managed to occur.

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Jennie

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In order to embody these themes and appropriately have them relate to the ‘philo’ environment located at UPenn’s College Hall, I imagined one half of the dynamic play to involve the concept of purity and intellectual soundness. The Philomathean Halls are gilded with knowledge, so a fair counter would be one that’s slightly disturbing and somewhat scandalous, which would eject itself from the ‘ivy-bubble’ as much as possible. To show eroticism, I plan to pose myself in an uncomfortable, tied-up fashion, as if just left in this building, for non-specific torture to ensue. Such would invoke much internal conversation, a discomfort with the image, and a great contrast with the neat, orderly, olden feel of the library.

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Jennie

To Be Continued………..

www.MartineBrand.com

Copyright 2012

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Editor’s Note: To see more of Martine Brand’s Artwork, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.

Artwork by Mikel Elam

Posted on April 13, 2012 by A. H. Scott

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……….Even though most of us won’t admit it so easily, we sometimes may judge others by appearance or perception. Yet, as the old adage goes, never judge a book by it’s cover. Leather bound books seem ever so strong. While a dog-eared paperback seems flimsy and easily broken. Just look beneath the cover and find something with a bit of magic inside. Some packaging may be shimmering. And, others may seem rusted. Alas, it is what is inside of that book that truly attracts. What may seem a cactus from afar, can actually be a soft blanket that caresses your flesh and soul.

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ABLAZE

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His fingers were like candles, lighting my flesh with every touch
Virility mixed with sweat and fervency, takes me to places too savage to mention out loud
Tiny hairs on my neck were the wicks those fingers ignited in a tender touch
Heat me up with your body thrusting like gladiator in the arena of lust
No doubt any woman in your midst is always left a humble miss
Sonnet of the bard or philosopher from ancient Rome are recounted with authority from your lips
Behind the grunt, you are a charming chap
No wonder why I ended up in your lap
Strands of my hair cascade over the mattress, as your tempting tide overtakes me
From afar, you seemed like a hard nut to crack
Yet, after a while of knocking on the castle walls, your resistance crumbled to my kisses
The fire is real within me now
Whispered words from you to me are the gift the angels have allowed
Pores are opened and drenched with delight
Ablaze with volcanic encounters with you in the night..

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Editor’s Note: To read more of A.H. Scott’s poetry, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon. To see more artwork by Mikel Elam, do the same.

Sonrya Sanjaraya

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Sonrya Sanjaraya
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…..When asked recently what was the inspiration by this art work: Just a woman always used by men for her beauty. A woman who would have been loved, but also a woman who loved playing this seduction game with her body, her sexiness, her feminine desires. I created a magic witch – which made men come to her but who didn’t find the way to keep one with her forever.

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Self-Portrait 2012

The link between the drawing and this recent self-portrait represents this ongoing search, the cool balance to use the females power over man, and find how to capture more than desires and smiles: find how to be the magic one.
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About The Author: To read more articles by Sonrya Sanjaraya, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.

My Bedroom Door

Photographed on March 25, 2012 at 6:02 PM – Copyright 2012

R.I.P.

Posted on March 24, 2012

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Editor’s Note: To learn more about Mikel Elam’s work, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.

Smile: www.PhiladelphiasDentist.com

Editor’s Note: March 23, 2012 – To contact Dr. Jeff for consultation: 215-592-4747.