Assignment No. 1

Simon Cherin-Gordon was born in Berkeley, CA. He is a BFA candidate at Sonoma State University, with an expected graduation date of May 2017.   

I see the world through a viewfinder. There are multiple times every day in which I look at something, whether it be a specific object in front of me or the landscape I am surrounded by, and the photograph I would take becomes instantly clear to me.

It is this innate sense of pre-visualization that has—as a surprise to myself—led to the installation work I am now doing. After working exclusively with film for a number of years, I now work with digital photography, video, sound and other forms of media such as sculpture and etching. In “2001 (Epilogue),” a recent installation, I projected a video comprised of found footage and sound onto a wall with digital prints mounted on it. The layering of the motion and color changes on top of still imagery allowed my work to achieve a level of dimensionality that I have long been striving for.

http://simoncheringordon.com

Photographs not taken No.4

I haven’t been my usual self this semester,
I’ve fallen off course and am slowly returning back on to it.
If you didn’t know, I’m usually zealous about life and school, zealous about the work in front of me and any obstacles there. I used to carry a camera with me 24/7 and to be honest, I haven’t been in that mood to lug around a camera older than my parents.

To be completely more honest, I haven’t felt I missed a photograph or at least I haven’t thought of it.

I’m sure I will look back, and think dammit “why didn’t I take more pictures during the semester?” But for now, I’m perfectly content where I have currently been, I also can’t stress out about missing a moment in time, because that’s not going to help for the creating of new images, of new work and of new stories.

Single Image No.?

Photographs Not Taken No.5

On my way to work in the early morning somewhere on the 101 between Rohnert Park and the 12 exit in Santa Rosa when ther was a break in the rain on the East side of 101 and there was a solid beam of light that crossed the road and lit up the side of some warehouse on the opposing side of the road. It looked fake it was so perfect, like God had a flashlight and was peaking through the clouds to see if it was all good down here on the surface, and as fast as this little cloud patch popped up it disapeard again and the gloomieness of that rainy morning took over again.

Photographs Not Taken No.2

From this evening, while celebrating my dutch grandmothers (Oma) 80th birthday. It was that time of the night when dinner is done and the cake is coming out and everyone is starting to sing that annoying song (but she is a diabetic so we gave her sugar free jello instead) and the look of her sitting at the head of the table with a big ‘ol grinn on her face, tears in her eyes, and a bowl of jello with a single blue candle burning  in the center of it was perfect, and I wish I had the forthought to have a camera on hand for that.

Photograph not taken

I was sitting on my grandmothers couch in her living room. My cousins and I had just finished helping her decorate her whole house for Christmas. Sitting there tired, I took a second to admire the work we’d just done. The fire was burning and the mantle was covered with holiday decor. The garland and Christmas lights were twinkling and framing the fire place perfectly. The brick wall as a back drop created an incredible pattern. The vibrant orange of the fire and the green of the garland made it a harmonious image.

Photographs not taken #4

With the weather getting colder and continuous rain becoming a thing once again in California, I am always in too much of a hurry to take a photo. Especially in the rain. I always admire shots in the rain, but when it actually does the idea of coming out with a camera is not on my mental to-do list. Watching the landscape transform with the moisture and the sky being a grey neutral color is perfect for photography. As well as seeing the lights reflect off of wet pavement at night, which would be stunning to capture, once I muster the courage to leave my warm car.

Photographs not taken #3

Whenever I work in Oakland I always pass by neighborhoods, trucks, and bridges with the most intricate and colorful street art on it. A mixture of tags, full on art pieces, and the rugged backdrops to the art make a stunning scene. The dull grey of the neighborhood contrasts against the shocking colors of graffiti all around the area. Not even fire hydrants or the tops of the tallest most decrepit buildings are safe from street art. I’m far too tired to pull over in traffic and go explore, but knowing the location, one day I will capture the hidden art and graffiti of the locals, before it’s washed away or painted over. Especially the trains that pass through the area, each car yielding a different crop of street art.

Photographs Not Taken #5

Retreat is one of the most important and exciting times for my sorority. This is when we get our Bigs and Littles. It may not seem very exciting to some, but it is for us. We look up to our Bigs and love to take care of our littles. The reveal is always done in an exciting way. This year, we had the new members (littles) pop balloons to find out who their Big is. When  I was taking photographs of everyone’s reveal, my camera started acting weird. Obviously I can’t stop the reveal just because my camera is messing up, so I missed a few shots. One of them was when a girl was sitting on the balloon, trying to pop it. She was smiling a big, exciting grin. It would’ve been such a cute picture to get because no one else had sat on their balloons in an attempt to pop it.

Photographs not taken #5

Over break I ended up going to visit my sister and sharing Thanksgiving with her close-knit community. There were points that were incredibly stressful in terms her neighbors themselves, and hearing about several break ins mark a heightened sense of fear in the neighborhood. A sign near the parking lot meant to say that there was a neighborhood watch, however it had been degraded to the point of barely recognizing the lettering. I wondered why they hadn’t replaced it – the worn look would have been a good photo examining the push and pull between those trying to steal valuables and the idea of security failing. A metaphor about the lack of communication in a seemingly close community.