Take a look at the website of photographer Rania Matar.
http://www.raniamatar.com/index.html
After reading through her biography,summarize the life of the artist, and her photographic vision. After doing so, look through her portfolio and choose an image from her "Photography in the Middle East" series to write a formal analysis. Finally, share your reflections of Matar's work, and the emotions you experience when viewing her work.
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4 comments:
This artist has a great touch for photography. She definitely has the eye. My favorite type of photography is war/post-war photography, because it almost puts you in the shoes of the subject matter. I'm not a huge fan of the middle-eastern style photography, but this person is awesome.
I chose an image from the aftermath of war series. It's called "Looking for his Belongings" I love this image because it shows a boy going through rubble, what's left of his house, looking for things that he owns. War destroys everyone, not just the soldiers. It shows how this boy/family has been affected by the war they recently experienced. It's so sad to look at this boy stuggle to find something of his own, while we take for granted things we have at home. It makes me feel very fortunate that I don't have to deal with something like that. All of that rubble makes me never want to join the military, so I won't have to witness this first hand. This photographer has a lot to work with, and he/she definitely captured some awesome work.
Ryan Hamlin
Period 5
Rania Matar started her life in Lebanon. She went to college to study architecture and then left to America to study photography. Her work is mainly focused on women and children in Lebanon and other countries that seem to be misunderstood. Her goal is to help viewers understand the life of humans. For people who can’t be heard, she photographs to give them a voice. Photo: Botox Consultation, Beirut 2006. This image, along with a few others, was mind blowing to me. I had absolutely no idea that women in these countries with their religious beliefs and choice of wardrobe would ever consider plastic surgery of any kind. I feel rather ignorant because of this. I have always been under the impression that these women did not believe in external beauty. I first notice the woman’s cheeks being pinched. I then look around to come up with an answer for why that woman was touching that woman’s face in that manner. When I could not find an answer from the picture, I looked at the title, which revealed that this woman was at a Botox consultation. With that knowledge, I wondered why the woman who was pinching had a veil on and the corresponding outfit. I assumed this woman was a doctor but I did not understand why she was not dressed like one. Maybe the women there do not dress according to their occupation. Maybe women cannot become doctors there. I had no idea.
I really enjoyed the work of Rania Matar. I thought she expressed every single thing that she was trying to express. The work is a brilliant showcase of the life of women in countries such as Lebanon and others. When I look at her work I am surprised, educated, bewildered, curious, and concerned. In my opinion, Matar’s work is excellent, and I enjoyed it very much.
Latendresse
5-6
period five
It seems a majority of photographers never intentionally aim to become photographers at first. Rania Martar is an example of one of those people as a woman who started her education in architecture. There must be something about photography that during the pursuit of another career, it traps you in and eats you whole. Every photographer has a different explanation as to how photography caught them.
Rania Martar’s reasoning is clear (this is my personal interpretation anyway). There is a limited amount of room available for expression with architecture (architecture can only express so much), while photography has an infinite amount of space. There are two types of photographers; those who have a creative eye and are capable of creating mind-blowing imagery, and those who shoot more subtly and create a mind-blowing story. Even thought Martar is among many who have shot or shoot in the Middle East, her message is certainly unique.
There is an image in the subcategory Deserted Spaces that I can’t stop looking at. It is a photograph of a deteriorating bathroom. All the indoor plumbing is exposed, the tiles on the wall have chipped and cracked and have fallen into the bathroom sink revealing the insulation and concrete beneath. It doesn’t look possible for the walls to have fallen apart on their own, they must originally have been demolished before the project was put on hold and never completed.
I am quickly becoming disinterested with all photographers that focus in the Middle East. Beforehand, I was never that impressed with imagery of the Middle East, it bored me. After seeing so many photographers shoot here I have come to believe it’s too easy. Anyone could take a snapshot here and receive an award for insightful photography of a decaying culture. This is the problem I am welcomed with when viewing Martar’s portfolio, I really do not see anything exclusive or appealing.
Straight away when i look at these pictures, it is like i am watching a movie. they all look like they have a climax and it resolves itself within the image.
at the same time you see a lot of foreign culture. but it is all similar to the culture in the united states.
for most of her pictures she only focuses on women and children of the middle east.
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