Joseph Mougel

Still Moving

Patty and Rusty Rueff Galleries

Artist Talk

February 3, 2016 12pm-2pm

Joseph Mougel

Photography, Video Media, Performance

Received his MFA from the University of New Mexico in 2008

Very interesting techniques and playfulness, linking conceptual aspects of social and political views of the military, and his own experiences. He was a Marine combat videographer. That is how he became interested in photography and video media. While on reserve he began to play around with the ideas of the military in his work.  The imagery I related to most was he Blanc series of white painted individuals in uniform blending into the background.  I quote Mougel in saying “I had to paint everyone a light grey color to make their eyes pop out as white and not yellow… it is a play on how we called everyone green in the military.”  I enjoyed his whole videos where he and his surroundings rotated with the direction of the sun, as he slowly dug himself deeper into a foxhole.  The imagery involving these videos is also quite stunning itself as a stand still image.  He also started a project where he changes a scene to reveal a new one.  He performs an action like mowing an area of tall grass for a period of around 9 hours and photographs it before and after.  The likes how “The camera makes the performance of what happens invisible.” Overall this was an interesting artist talk and experience.

Mougel in active service

Mougel at Lamar Dodd School of Art. Athens, GA 2003

"Blanc 003"

Archival Pigment Print 24x30

2005

Training Videos- Hole

Still Moving

Other Artists Shown 

Cecelia Condit

Charles Gick

Kevin Cooley

Hans Gindlesberger

Stephen Hilyard

Walker Pickering

Min Kim Park