• Madeleine Shiff: Christopher’s Night Out

    Christopher

    Posted on April 6, 2012 by Madeleine Shiff

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    For this series of portraits, I was influenced both by Diane Arbus’s photographs of so-called “deviant or marginal” individuals, as well as Nan Goldin’s candid style of photography. I admire both of their photographic styles for their abilities to create photographs that are blunt and honest. They also both raise questions about a photograph’s ability to reveal hidden truths.

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    Christoper

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    My series depicts a man getting ready for a night out, and in the process of transforming himself into a woman. Each photograph is a different step in the process and conveys him methodically putting on makeup and changing his clothes until the transition is complete.

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    I chose to explore the boundaries of gender and sexuality through my series. In the process, however, I also learned about the boundaries of photography. Diane Arbus’s work is controversial both for the starkness with which she depicts individuals’ defects, and for the questions it raises about a photographer’s potential exploitation of his or her subjects. My friend Christopher, the subject of this series, has never before dressed in drag. This raises questions about the authenticity of the photographs. Is it enough that Christopher was eager to explore a side of himself that he had always been curious about, or must a photograph always depict reality for it to be credible? Does Christopher’s background really matter? Christopher explained to me that as a gay man he is far more open to exploring his sexuality and femininity than a heterosexual man. His point lends itself to questions about the very nature of the society in which we live. If individuals are born with a range of sexual orientations than why does society impose restrictions in which one must adhere to one of two categories completely. Contemporary debates in American society regarding gay rights, address the core of these questions of societal restrictions on gender identities. I became interested in these issues when I moved to America two years ago. I am Canadian and unlike the United States, gay marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005. Although Canada is by no means perfect, it has provided equal rights for those considered by other countries to be “marginal or deviant.” Nevertheless, it is likely that sexual orientation and gender roles will continue to be explored and debated in both Canada and the United States for the foreseeable future.

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    Christopher

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    With regards to the question of the authenticity of these images, one might argue that my photographs are inauthentic because Christopher is not a “real” drag queen. However, I do not believe that any photograph can truly be “authentic.” Every photograph demonstrates either the subject or the photographer wishing to portray himself or herself in a certain way. The power of photography to distort reality yet also reveal hidden truths about its subjects is a concept that I find particularly interesting and have explored throughout all of my photography assignments this semester. As Diane Arbus once said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”

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    Christopher

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    Christoper

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    Madeleine Shiff: Self-Portrait 2012


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    About The Author: Madeleine Shiff is enrolled in the College of the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2013.

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    Editor’s Note: To access additional articles by Madeleine Shiff, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.


  • Avi Chanales: Overcoming Suicide

    Emily

    Posted on April 27, 2012 by Avi Chanales

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    ……….Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi sat in trial awaiting his sentence regarding his alleged hate crime against his former gay roommate, Tyler Clementi. The resurfacing of this news story almost a year and a half after Tyler’s suicide forced the world to re-confront the harsh reality of gay teen suicides. Tyler’s suicide in October 2011 marked the fifth suicide in just a short three-week period and prompted a nationwide awareness effort regarding the serious danger of gay teen suicide.

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    Emily


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    Three weeks ago, my friend Emily, also sat in a room awaiting her sentence. After 21 years of hiding her identity, Emily courageously came out in a public speech in front of the entire Orthodox Jewish community at Penn. She bravely spoke of her struggles growing up gay in a traditionalist community, but the main portion of her speech focused on her struggles with suicide. For the Orthodox community, gay teen suicide was no longer a news story; it was personal.

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    Emily

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    Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center estimated that between 30 to 40% of LGB youth have attempted suicide. A major factor influencing suicidal ideations is internalized homophobia that leads to self-loathing and deep internal conflicts about their sexual orientation.

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    Emily described her constant questioning of her own self-worth. She described days that were so overwhelmed with depression that she could barely find the energy or motivation to do anything. She would just sit, numb and immobilized.

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    For many gay youth, it is their religious beliefs that add to their internal conflicts. Emily described times when she simultaneously hated God but also felt like He was the only person she could turn to.

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    Emily

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    In response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay, author Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller founded the “Its Gets Better Project”, to inspire hope in teens struggling with their sexual identity. Emily embodies this mission. Her courage, poise, and optimism instills hope not only in those still struggling with their sexual identities, but to everyone she encounters. The faith she instills? That one day we might actually live in a world that sees sexual orientation as irrelevant.

    About the Author: Avi Chanales is a Candidate for Bachelor of Arts degree in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2012


  • Ryun H. Hobbs: Worry

    Mike: Rain 1

    Posted on February 29, 2012 by Ryun H. Hobbs

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    ……….. Which is the more powerful emotion – happiness or despair?

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    My boyfriend Mike and I have been together for a year. We have made each other very happy on many occasions, and those are very precious moments in our relationship. There have also been struggles and mistakes made, many of them on my part, which have caused us both a lot of anguish. When assigned this task, I had only one image invade my thoughts, which I tried to capture with this picture series.

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    Mike: Rain - 2

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    He’s the kind of person that will let worries take over – if he wakes up in a bad mood, he will have a storm cloud hanging over him all day long. Things have been fine until earlier this semester – I decided that instead of the career route I was originally considering, I wanted to try my hands at musical theater in New York. This meant that he, already having accepted an offer at Microsoft in Mountain View, CA, would be on the other side of the country. This decision has led us to discuss things that we still are not ready to tackle: long-distance relationships, breaking up, our future…

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    Many recent nights have been spent trying to console each other and discuss our situation to no relief. Even though I was scared that making him pose in a sad way would upset him for that night, the image of his worried expressions have completely taken over my mind. I thought to capture his feelings of sadness and paralyzing confusion through the lens.

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    Mike: Rain - 3

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    One night in particular was the hardest. We both knew that we could not avoid the topic that time, even if we wanted to. He asked if we wanted to stay together, and I did – but a long-distance relationship? Many people believe they just don’t work out. I was unable to tell him how I felt, if I even knew how I felt. He just seemed to collapse from the silence. Looking for the right words to say, I remained wordless – as did he.

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    What could we say? We essentially agreed on things – we did not want to break up, but could we hold up a working relationship after graduation? It seemed as if I had more doubt than he did. Yes, I was happy with him, but we are both young and it has only been a year. We both needed to work on our careers and developing ourselves. I began to speak those words…

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    Mike: Rain - 4

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    To get the response that I expected, but did not want to get. It was the most pain that I have seen on his face in the entire year that we have been together. This image has been branded into my mind since. Even though we have been able to work it out a bit since that night, as graduation day looms, the relationship seems to lose the vibrance that it had not too long ago.

    About The Author: Ryun H. Hobbs is a senior enrolled in the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2012


  • Clare Din: Make You Mine – January 16, 2012

    www.ClareDin.com

    Copyright 2012

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    About The Photographer: Clare Din is enrolled in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and is also an alumni of Penn Engineering, Class of 1991.


  • Philadelphia Exhibits: 30 Years of the Aids Pandemic

    Asian Arts Initiative

    Posted on November 29, 2011


  • Lab Work Gallery: UPENN – Photography and Fashion

    Clare Din

    Posted on November 16, 2011

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    Larry Shprintz

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    Carolina Ernst

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    Bonnie Arbittier

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    Ayasha Guerin

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    Renata Siruckova

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    Nicole Malick

    Editor’s Note: Makeup and Hair courtesy Paul Mojica, New York. Model Alison Mastrangelo courtesy Expressions Models, Philadelphia.


  • I Love Your Mind: November 11, 2011

    TWS


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  • Phoenixx Alexander: All About Me

    Phoenixx

    Posted on October 20, 2011 by Phoenixx Alexander

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    ……….Tony Ward asked me to describe my life. Well I can start by saying that I can describe my life as infectious behavior. Being blessed with this gift has given me the ability to interact with people of all walks – races and creeds. They enrich my life with worldly knowledge, and a unique ability to get along with anyone like minded: or not so much. The greatest thing about my life – is that it has enabled me to like and love the person looking back at me in the mirror.

    To Be Continued……….


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