© robert kjendlie

For this project I thought about family and approached both versions using a member of my family. My basis for using the family is due to the realization that I moved back to Wisconsin to get to know them. The first image is a portrait of my nephew Austyn. I have had the pleasure to get to know him for the past year and we have become very close. I have taken thousands of photos of him over that time. The reason I choose to use him for this project is because he actually staged this portrait. He wanted to be sitting in grandma's chair reading a book with his 'night night.' Given that he is 2 I was rather proud of him for having the vision and therefore felt this moved beyond a typical child portrait.

The second portrait is of my dad, John and his wife Ellen. I thought to use this exaggerated style to capture the happy and playful aura about them on this day. This was more difficult than the other due to the fact that they are not yet used to me having a camera all the time and I was a little uncomfortable to shoot them.

Project: Out of Context

flabbergasted. © Robert Kjendlie

For my work during the rest of the semester I am creating and compiling stop motion and time lapse photography of object oriented performance. With this project I hope to accomplish two things: 1. I will explore and produce the idea of object performance with focus on lighting, form, texture, shape and color. 2. As a way of exploring decisive moment, I will be choosing stills from the collections that best represent the decisive moment(s) within the duration of each performance.

self portrait. © robert kjendlie

Robert Kjendlie, the oldest of 3 plus 2, grew up in Janesville, WI. Being mechanically inclinded, Robert spent much of his time fiddling with various objects in hopes of deciphering how they worked. He first touched a camera and a mac on the same day in ’92. He then spent time as a dj in Madison and on a day not eleven years and 13 days ago he boarded a Greyhound and headed west towards California. The experience was life changing. Robert spent the next ten years learning floral design and event planning from the best in San Francisco while at the same time was pursuing electronic music and culture. Photography found Robert again in 2003 while working an event in New York. However it was a trip to the Philippines in 2006 that really sparked something inside him and in 2008 he began attending the Academy of Art University to study photography. Currently, he is in Milwaukee, WI studying photography and communication design at MIAD while working as a freelance photographer.

Great Shot: Richard Avedon

Malgosia Bela © Richard Avedon Foundation

I find myself drawn to the sculptural qualities Avedon achieves in his work. And, like the Baroque sculptures of Bernini, Avedon's photographs allude to movement and depict the subject at the precise moment within that movement where the essence of intent is captured. Avedon's access to the closets of the world's most famous designers meant his subjects often wore otherworldly attire. The combination of those two worlds is well evidenced in the photo above which was taken in New York during March of 2000 on 4x5 film. The model, Malgosia Bela, is wearing a dress by Yohji Yamamoto. The organic formation of material dance with Malgosia thus creating a truly dimensional experience within the confines of the photographic plane. In this case, the two subjects expertly mold into one. Each stands isolated from the environment in which they normally exist. Avedon creates a sculptural object. There is strong connectivity between the subject and Avedon, giving the image the breath of humanism. The quality is evident throughout his body of work. Looking at any one of his images one could quickly discern Avedon's love for his work.

More of Richard Avedon's work can be viewed on the Richard Avedon Foundation website, www.richardavedon.com.

mowing © robert kjendlie

Thinking on this assignment and looking back at the work I did over the summer I found that my camera was primarily focused on family. Years passed with only brief visits. Not only has it been great seeing all of them again but the experience of spending time and getting to know them is most rewarding. They are all getting fairly used to me having my camera all the time. The work has come about rather unconsciously so I will not be actively pursuing this as my focus at MIAD. I hope to capture them being themselves. This is how I want to remember them.

These two spend hours mowing.