Ari Marcopoulos…Inspiration

[Tomas]

If I had to choose one artist who has influenced me tremendously, it would have to be Ari Marcopoulous. Since I started taking photos I have felt that most of my work was done on the subculture of America. I got a hold of his work and felt a great connection with it on how he focuses mainly on the subculture of American youth. Such as music, tattoos, and urban culture.
One piece in particular I found to be a great influence on my work would have to be “Haut Wheels.” Which in fact is one photo in a set of photographs he took for one of his presentations. Ari took two elements, which seem to be very different from each other and bringing it together. The photo contains a girl who is sitting on a set of stairs outside in a neighborhood with graffiti tagged on the walls. She is wearing an off green Versace ball gown that is usually worn at special events. She might seem out of place because around her there are those who to be skateboarding doing various tricks. There attire is deemed to be what there surroundings cast them to be.
This photo in particular showed me that photography can be anything you set your eyes on. That at first your photo doesn’t have to make sense, it is what you see in your lens, for instance having a beautiful model in an urban city surrounded by street kids. Also the photo shows off the true colors that surround each person from the dress the model is wearing to the concrete the skateboarder is skating on.
Any location can be what you want it to be. Ari could have chosen any area to put a model in but he decided to bring the two elements as one. I have to say is work as done wonders for me and I hope others could really appreciate what he has done.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Thanks for sending in your assignment.

I hadn’t heard of this particular photographer but I can see that his photography is quite gritty and raw. I like it!

Here is the photograph you are discussing:

[attachment=2:1hr4fpm1]ari.jpg[/attachment:1hr4fpm1]

This is a great example of juxtaposition in photography.

Juxtaposition is a great way to make a point or just have some fun like this:

two worlds by jordanfischer, on Flickr

The Colonel’s Army by jurvetson, on Flickr

June 2006 111 by Bryce Edwards, on Flickr

Here are a couple more of Ari’s photos:

[attachment=1:1hr4fpm1]ar.jpg[/attachment:1hr4fpm1]

[attachment=0:1hr4fpm1]ari-beastie-boys.jpg[/attachment:1hr4fpm1]

I’m glad that you’ve been able to really focus on these types of cultures in america as your main area of interest. I would try to shoot this as much as you can and really focus on it. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

You might want to check this out:

http://www.subliminalprojects.com/main/current.php

I look forward to your next assignment.

[Author]

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