Gilles Berquet: Exhibit Miami Beach
Month: November 2016
Brian Schoenauer: A Look Inside Eastern State Penitentiary
Photography and Text by Brian Schoenauer, Copyright 2016
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A LOOK INSIDE EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY
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The Eastern State Penitentiary opened on October 25th 1829. At the time of its completion it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever created. The Eastern State Penitentiary would become a model for prisons worldwide. It’s system of incarceration encouraged separate confinement and rehabilitation. Up until the mid 1800’s, systems of incarceration emphasized physical punishment in environments where inmates were forced to work together in complete silence.
The floor plan of the building resembles the spokes of a wheel with each cell block stemming out from the center of the structure. The Gothic architecture was used by architect John Haviland to install fear into those who thought of committing a crime. Gargoyles at the front gates of the prison create an ominous and dark atmosphere. The cells themselves featured small doors which minimized the chance of attacks from inmates. In every cell there was a single glass skylight that reminded prisons or the world and life outside the prison. The yard at the center of the prison features a baseball backstop and football goalposts used by inmates during free time.
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Eastern State was declared a national historic landmark in 1965. In 1988, the city of Philadelphia decided to stop pursuing development of the prison – and in 1994 the prison opened to the public for tours. The cells of notorious criminals, like Al Capone and Willie Sutton, have been recreated in the prison.
Additionally, inmate art is featured in various cells. Inmates, drawing on personal experience in prison, use art to reflect on the ways in which incarceration has changed them. The beautiful ruins, guided audio tours and exhibits at Eastern State draw close to 220,000 visitors every year. Personally, I found the long corridors, gothic architecture, and broken down structures as incredible artistic opportunity to reflect on the alarming way inmates have been – and are – treated in U.S. prison systems.
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About The Author: Brian Schoenaeur is a senior enrolled in the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2017. Brian is also a running back on the Penn football team. To read additional articles by Brian Schoenaeur, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/brian-schoenauer-reflection-emotionality-athletics/
Chi Aguwa: K Vaughn Scarves, Winter Collection 2016
Photography and Text by Chi Aguwa, Copyright 2016
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K VAUGHN SCARVES
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It was truly a pleasure to photograph K Vaughn Scarves; a brand that exudes color, quality, and individuality. I found that each scarf told a different story and that allowed for the creative process of directing the shoot to come naturally. I wanted to make sure that each photograph was more than just a picture. I was able to achieve this by photographing interactions between the models and the subject matter at moments when an emotion was genuinely evoked. Overall, I am quite pleased with the turnout of this shoot and I hope I was able to effectively capture the essence of what it means to wear a K Vaughn Scarf.
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Designer: K Vaughn
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Agency: Main Line Models & Talent
Models:
Christina Cromity
Steven A. Serrano
De’Andre Hariot
Caralisa Pfeiffer
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To see additional photographs by Chi Aguwa, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/chi-aguwa-denim-series/
Casey Egner: Flanuer Photography
Photography and Text by Casey Egner, Copyright 2016
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FLANUER PHOTOGRAPHY
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This series of photographs documents an exploration of the streets of Philadelphia, largely shot in the Rittenhouse neighborhood it is a collection of moments found through a practice of flanerie. Using the idea of street ornament as a guide, I tried to focus on unique moments of intrigue and interest created either through an oddity in architecture or form. Walter Benjamin described the flanuer as a modern urban spectator. Here I am using the strategies of the flanuer to record discrete moments in the urban environment. Susan Sontag wrote in On Photography “The photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes… The flâneur is not attracted to the city’s official realities but to its dark seamy corners, the neglected populations—an unofficial reality behind the façade of bourgeois life that the photographer ‘apprehends,’ as a detective apprehends a criminal.” 1973.
Somewhat separated from Sontag’s definition of flare as she discusses more of a documentary photography with the individual in mind, this project will exist as an ongoing series of walks taken through different neighborhoods in which I focus on peculiar moments in architecture and ornament within the city. Each walk will be taken with no destination in mind but only as a spectator, observing, sauntering, and strolling through the city.
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About The Author: Casey Egner is a graduate student enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania.
Emily Ulrich: When We’re Home Alone
Photography and Text by Emily Ulrich, Copyright 2016
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WHEN WE’RE HOME ALONE
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While fashion is physically constructed by designers, it is the people who create trends and dictate their longevity. People take the designs on and off the runway and interpret them in their own light. By shooting in so casual of a setting, I was hoping to display fashion in a more authentic and realistic way. By having my model move throughout the house—lounge around, get ready, watch the cars passing by—I am showing the movement of high fashion from the runway to the home. And furthermore, the manifestation of high fashion trends in low fashion. A piece as simple as an oversized sweater has a history far more complex than one might think. The loose, billowing turtleneck, the shade of grey, and the levity of the material. This piece may appear to be current season, when in fact, it has been sitting in a closet for over two years, because its “trendiness” was obstructed by tighter-fit, more structured sweaters. The outfits were tied together by two pairs of heels and simple jewelry—both from this past season and belonging to the model—to string a thread of continuity between the aesthetics of the looks.
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About The Author: Emily Ulrich is a senior enrolled in the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2017. To read additional articles by Emily Ulrich, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/emily-ulrich-casting/