Comments on: Irina Werning – Back to the Future 2 https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Sat, 18 Jun 2016 11:24:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: Bunch » Blog Archive Adults re-create childhood photos, https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-162664 Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:37:13 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-162664 […] Click here for some of the latest photographs in Irina Werning’s series […]

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By: Tropical Data VII: literatura, curiosidades y encantamientos con swing traídos de Internet | Pijamasurf https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-161635 Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:01:07 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-161635 […] El tiempo pasa de prisa, tan rápido que ni siquiera nos dimos cuenta.  […]

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By: Pozycjonowanie https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-152364 Thu, 16 May 2013 21:56:53 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-152364 […] pozycjonowanie asd […]

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By: PJL: May 2013 (Part 1) - Cooklin's Blog | An Amalgamation of Photography https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147948 Tue, 07 May 2013 10:42:39 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147948 […] Werning: Back to the Future 2 (burn […]

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By: PJL: May 2013 (Part 1) - LightBox https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147536 Mon, 06 May 2013 10:27:26 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147536 […] Werning: Back to the Future 2 (burn […]

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By: kathleen fonseca https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147532 Mon, 06 May 2013 01:42:24 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147532 Hi Bob:

I was right with you until the thing about the “Navigational Point” and you lost me a bit. But generally speaking i get what you are talking about. I very much agree with you about misery photo-journalism.

By the way, the photo in the Joe McNally Conversation should be titled “Bob Black, Running”. heh.

Thanks for writing and clarifying..

Best
Kath´

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By: Frostfrog https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147527 Mon, 06 May 2013 01:17:20 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147527 Not only that, Akaky, but as Bob ran out the door, typing, he was drinking coffee and reading the morning paper.

Multi-talented man.

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By: Akaky https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147450 Sun, 05 May 2013 18:00:04 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147450 Bob, isn’t it difficult to run out the door and type at the same time?

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By: bob black https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147430 Sun, 05 May 2013 16:43:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147430 kathleen:

maybe i should clarify. will make this simple, as i’m literally running out the door:

1) by ‘technique’ i meant that this project isn’t about visual technique as the driving energy. of course it is ALL about technique: construction, appropriation, the technique of building together both a photograph and time’s rebuilding. it is not about the technique of a camera/light/style etc. that is what i meant, but wrote quickly. my assumption (poorly done) was that folk would understand that. but, of course, the project’s heart is all about building something from parts and labor from the smallest detail (clothes/props/framing, etc) to the largest, and the technique (finding the stuff/location/people etc) is at its heart, only the technique here is not about photographic techniques but about conceptual and physical technique. that is what i meant

2) what i meant about the world’s misery journalism, what i suggest is that too much of the world of journalism (albeit important) is predicated on a kind of ‘invasion’ of the moment/subject for consumption with often times little invested in locale/subject etc. i, surely you understand, am not denegrating journalsim (it is part of the world i once inhabited) and there are documentarians whose lives are committed to more than just the splaying of images of misery (i was referring to a particular type of journalism, btw, not the field of journalism writ large). in other words, i was suggesting that the ideas here speak more to me over time, and of the moment, than much of which i see (past my initial emotional and visceral experience)….

3) of course about construction. i’m not speaking of conceptual/art work, i’m talking about ‘documenting’ work. my world, generally, of the art practice is of course focused often on the notions of construction or appropriation of the image and its uses/commodity/application..and of course that navigational point is what i love to look at…so yes, its not absent in that world, i was referring to, again, the ideas of a different photographic community….

in the end, its a simpler calculus, and i shouldnt have been so quick to write generalizations without being more precise….i guess summing up: either it works or doesnt for folk, and that’s i guess the extent to that one can hope to suggest…

anyway, must run…cherry blossoms wait ing
cheers
b

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By: Ross Nolly https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147288 Sun, 05 May 2013 09:02:27 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147288 Imants; the first Fleetwood Mac song I heard was “Albatross”…

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147269 Sun, 05 May 2013 08:13:50 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147269 It all depends Kathleen if you are a Peter Green fan then the albums Fleetwood Mac and Mr Wonderful come to mind and Rumors is by that mediocre”other band”

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By: Frostfrog https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147261 Sun, 05 May 2013 07:55:28 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147261 Irina, you have really brought the comments section back to life! That is a significant accomplishment right there.

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By: kathleen fonseca https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-147202 Sun, 05 May 2013 05:58:36 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-147202 I have read a lot of the comments here, and re-read several, specifically Bob’s and Jeff’s..I like Irina’s work. I don’t love it. It’s intriguing, well crafted, poignant and if it was a book i might buy it because over time i might even grow to love it.

But a couple things caught my eye in Bob and Jeff’s comments. Bob..i disagree with you that this project is not about technique. I think it is very much about technique. i doubt there is a single person looking at this essay who doesn’t wonder “Wow, how’d she do it?” And that’s fine because it’s one of the ironies of the essay, it represents new digital technology and the artfully crafted image vs. a simple lo-fi analog snapshot.

I also think it’s wonderful that you are so enthusiastic and as usual, emotionally invested. But to mention that you prefer this project to “90% of the world’s documentation of misery” is to do an entirely different genre (photojournalism) a great disservice. This project is an escape into a surreal world while (and yes, i know you know this) photojournalism is pure raw documentation. You might occasionally prefer an essay like this to news coverage of a conflict zone but do you prefer a pretend world all the time? Really? If so, ok, we all have our ‘druthers. But i think it was something you said with your usual spontaneous zeal. And zeal is a good thing.

Your observation that this project shows a love of play and construction and that contemporary photography so often lacks both is incredibly curious to me. Most contemporary photography i come across is ALL about construction, technique, contrivance, play, whatever you want to call it. That is its strength. It’s an imaginative (and labored) stretch of mental muscle versus the adrenalin fueled spontaneous decisive moment.

Jeff, i think whether a photographer bursts onto the scene suddenly or has been slaving away developing a body of work over many years is immaterial. What matters to me is the project in front of my eyeballs right this minute. Robert Frank burst on the scene with The Americans. Had he had a website i am sure there wouldn’t have been much on it that would have predicted the enormity of this book. Its success was the result of the unique confluence of timing, talent, vision, technology, subject matter and financial backing as well as Frank’s experiences and observations in the USA as an immigrant. And while The Americans is what it is, did Frank ever again produce anything as powerful? Is a genius someone who does project after project that is world class or perhaps just one truly perfect thing? Can you think of a Fleetwood Mac album besides Rumors? I can’t. And i don’t think anyone cares. We have The Americans and we have Rumors and thank God for both.

Best
Kathie

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By: bob black https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146876 Sat, 04 May 2013 16:03:09 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146876 hi jeff :))

will make this quick, just got up and must dash to the water with Dima :))…i agree, for sure, with the assessment of the EPF vis-a-vis Alejandro’s work…i made the point actually when it won, that while i loved the ‘technique’ i was worried at the time (given prior work) that it may turn out to be all about the tilt perspective (a technique that many were exploring prior) rather than a sustained personal vision, it’s turned out that way…Irina’s is much more interesting, because it isnt really about ‘technique’ at all, but a deeper, richer, more playful (and much harder) act to pull off…and the results still make me happy..while the ‘surprise’ of viewing specific photos/projects surely lessens (true with all work upon repeated viewings), the idea enlivens and questions and leads the viewer (me) to constantly consider the act of making…then again, i prefer to have this question at the center of everything i do anyway: not just seeing and snapping, but actually trying to reconstruct what it is i saw/felt/imagined as well as to try to reconstruct a photo to begin with, or rather deconstruct it….

and yes, i wasnt so much trying to counter as to just say that we have to realize that all work bares exhaustion and that i think the richer consideration is to take or try to see why it is a particular artist does something…sometimes it is interesting to see someone work a concept to death and then string it out…sometimes its interesting to see restless change…it all depends, or rather, it all depends to me on the ‘richness’…sometimes it works, sometimes not….Irina’s project continues to work for me..and i do see possibilities for his slight change forward using this basic framework (for example, trying the reverse, shooting young folk and trying to reconstruct their older selves, using others)…but, that’s up to her…
anyway, must run…too beautiful a day

hope to see u soon
hugs
b

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By: Jeff Hladun https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146851 Sat, 04 May 2013 14:26:06 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146851 Bob:

That is a good and considered defence of the essay, although I don’t think it’s necessary to do as a rebuttal against the criticism. This isn’t just any BURN published essay, but the one whose first phase won the EPF grant. As such is it any wonder we go over it with a tighter-toothed comb? The issue isn’t about Wearing’s work as a stand-alone – I can appreciate the novelty, the originality, and the freshness of vision. That holds for today’s Top-Ten music we hear on the radio as well. Give us a hook that stays in our mind, which quickly, quickly penetrates it; how soon until we get tired of it, get past our addiction, and then move on? It was something about comparing my first impression of the essay (now that I remember, it was through Magenta); thinking how quickly it got to me, only to look at it somewhat jadedly when it was first shown here. It was simply a case of easy-come, easy-go. For me, an effective work grows in my appreciation of it – in the very same way my appreciation of a particular artist grows – over time, when viewing their development.

Some of the commentators have sustained their interest in the work and others haven’t. That’s human nature too, I guess. Yet just that separation among us goes to show the aesthetic effectiveness of the essay. It is the judgement over time that gels the artist’s stature; the reference to Chaskielberg’s work since his EPF win is the proverbial cautionary tale. What is so weird to me is that the the EPF judges make their selection based on the freshness of eye and originality of the essay, when it occurs to me they should spend some time – maybe an equal amount – in viewing the photographer’s work from the past. In this way, they can get a firmer feel for the power and sustainability of what is emerging.

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By: Paul https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146790 Sat, 04 May 2013 11:45:22 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146790 John Gladdy…

Thanks for the Tarkovsky’s polaroids. Never seen that before, beautiful stuff.

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146678 Sat, 04 May 2013 04:56:05 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146678 Bob Brodie was mentioned but it was not in reference to comparing work. He was brought into the fray in terms of a work ethic and how photographers work with a narrow concept.

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By: RobertLarson https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146637 Sat, 04 May 2013 02:43:17 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146637 I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed looking through a series of pictures this much! So glad you all funded this project, it’s fantastic!

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By: bob black https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146624 Sat, 04 May 2013 02:10:21 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146624 “I think certain types of processes don’t allow for any variation. If you have to be part of that process, all you can do is transform—or perhaps distort—yourself through that persistent repetition, and make that process a part of your own personality.” ― Haruki Murakami

Well, call me simple-minded or call me easily seduced, but I loved ‘back to the future’-1 and i love ‘back to the future’-2….this version is just as fun and interesting (and yes, challenging, or rather a kind of sluthing game of Clue) as the original version and in fact, i don’t see this so much as a continuation so much (though it is, because Irina has expanded the geography actually, and that kind of expansion has added a lovely depth to the kind of almost anthropological/cross-cultural exploration that even version 1 didnt quite have, given the subjects in Version 1 vs. Version 2) as an addition, or rather the 2nd half of the same book…part 1 being more ‘intimate’ culturally/cultually/geographically and part 2 an extension of that same ‘sameness’ only crossing cultural/geographic boundaries that often the ‘documentary’ world tries to show as ‘unique’ (cultural studies for example as unique iconography)…i mean, the brilliant humor (and depth) in all this is its SAMENESS culturally, existentially of course, which gets played out in its basic technique (sameness, reproduction, facsimilie etc, only its not just about the pics themselves and their reproduction/assimilation but also about the cultural sameness of family portraits)….now, as a book, i’m totally in love with the entire concept…did originally, and that hasnt diminished at all in this version…

its both hilarious and insightful and, above all, just reproduces (for me) the JOY and LOVE of construction and play…something that seems missing in so much phootgraphy, especially conceptual work…i mean, its like making up castles in the bedroom with blankets or drawing imaginary houses as a kid, or just all that damn great stuff we all did in elementary art school that fueled our imagination and heads…and one just cant escape, or i cant, the sheer joy of this project! :))….version 2 still kills me with both its joy and its incredible craft (i mean, the making, the finding, the putting together.)…anyone who likes to work with their hands (i do), whether that art or working a garden or building a wall or renovating, whatever, surely has to see the great underlying joy in that and what this body of work represents…and the fact that the dips themselves are just so interesting (the transformation of the subjects and often the statis (or change) of the environment…heady stuff, but above all filled with so much humor :))))…i’ll take this kind of humor and workmanship over 90% of the world’s documentary of misery any day of the week! :)))

and a quick word about finding a brilliant ‘idea/concept’…that is SO over-rated…it consumes the art world today…and young artist work hard to find that ‘one think’ that will kick ass or call attention…but that’s ok too when it happens…but i think too that work entails not the concentration of this idea and that new idea and than that, but something simpler…some underlying reason to just keep making shit…and that is less about ideas or the need to make something important, but to understand what it is and why it is we slog year after year making stuff…some artists’ work seems the same over the entire life and that works…some artists work constantly change, that’s fine too….for me, i just look for a simple thing: does the work speak to me, move me, or inspire me, whether that’s one project of a life’s work….regardless, this project inspires me…

did originally and still does…then again, i love people making shit (that’s why i still do it)…and it puts a smile on my face…

and a word about Brodie…yes, love love his work and of course the course his entire life has taken…(saw his pics a bunch of years back, before the huge recent acclaim in the last year) but comparing his work to irina’s work is silly, completely silly…

both are interesting image makers…Brodie’s work is married to journey, external journey and intimacy of the lives he spent time with as a way of sharing his own life….authentic story telling as a song of love and celebration…irina’s is about the love and celebration of both construction and how we construct ourselves and families and how time does the more elemental construction as well…

this gets made into a book, brilliant :)))..and if the next version is similar with difference, cool too…if she moves in an entire different direction, that’s great too…

we get bored because the eye, as auden reminds, tends to get bored…well, i only have 1 eye, so i guess i get bored less (or take in less) or maybe i just love when good/interesting ideas still make me smile…

cheers
b

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By: ☂ | Demoabi's Blog https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2013/05/irina-werning-back-to-the-future-2/#comment-146620 Sat, 04 May 2013 01:54:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=15711#comment-146620 […] Back to the Future 2 […]

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