As a teenager in Boston in the 1960s, then in New York starting in the 1970s, Nan Goldin has taken intensely personal, spontaneous, sexual, and transgressive photographs of her family, friends, and lovers. In 1979 she presented her first slideshow in a New York nightclub, and her richly colored, snapshot like photographs were soon heralded as a groundbreaking contribution to fine art photography. The Ballad of Sexual Dependency—the name she gave her ever-evolving show—eventually grew into a forty-five-minute multimedia presentation of more than 700 photographs, accompanied by a musical soundtrack.
This therefore links to my project as I will also be capturing those around me and pushing social boundaries, such as photographing flesh or partying. Literally just capturing the true life of a teenager.
I love this photograph below, as outside of the toilet they probably look like very strong and independent women, due to the bold makeup and courageous outfits. However put them in an all women environment and they make themselves look vulnerable and unattractive. I like the use of flash in this photograph and color scheme of reds and browns, which are colors which compliment each other nicely.
The two sets of photographs work well together as they show perhaps a pre-drinks gathering and also a after party. Or it could just be the same event but just showing the contrasts from before a drink to after a drink. The photographs are well shot as Goldin captures them from slightly a raised perspective, therefore capturing a lot more detail than just a straight on shot.
I like the way these photographs have a red tone, creating a sexual and energetic vibe to them.
Corinne Day (1965) is a British photographer whose influence on the style and perception of photography in the early 1990’s has been immense. As a self taught photographer, Day brought a more hard edged documentary look to fashion image making, in which she often included biographical elements. Day is known for forming long and close relationships with many of her models (most famously Kate Moss), which have resulted in candid and intimate portraits. The most notable of these being the photographs of Moss in the 3rd Summer of Love editorial for the FACE magazine in 1990. Days approach as illustrated within the lifestyle and fashion magazines of the 1990’s, came to be known as grunge and grew into an international style.
In 1993 Day photographed Kate Moss in her own flat for British Vogue. In the context of a fashion magazine the images appear to have a documentary feel about them and when published caused a certain frisson of discomfort.
For the following seven years Day spent much of her personal time taking photographs for her first book, Diary (Kruse Verlag, 2000), an intensely personal visual record of her life and friends. It is bleak but also a tender, poetic and honest chronicle of young lives. Day also continues to take photographs for fashion magazines.
Her style of photography links really well to my project as Day brought a documentary look to fashion image making, in which she often included biographical elements. Which is the same style I’m trying to create for my shoots. Also for my shoots I will represent the close relationships I have with the models I photograph as they are a part of my environment, like Day does.
I love the photograph below as it is completely bizarre, it looks as if they have ended up in the woods perhaps after a night out and woke up early morning. I like the soft black and white effect on the photograph as it makes it look like an old faded image.
This photograph works well as the photographer has had to work hard to capture the perfect lighting, as normally the person would be a silhouette in the sunset whereas he is seen clearly. The sunlight on the his skin, gives it a soft feeling.
Day uses the natural and artificial lighting to her benefit, by helping the photograph with its structure. This is a perfect example of her combining the styles of documentary and fashion photography together. As she is capturing the literal scenario she is in, however your eyes are immediately drawn to the watch the guy is wearing which is a fashion item, due to it being the second purest white in the photograph.
Teller’s work, in books, magazines or exhibitions, is marked by his refusal to separate the commercial fashion pictures and his mostly autobiographical un-commissioned images. He employs a raw, overexposed style and he uses a Contax G2 camera with an onboard flash. He prefers to work in color, and regularly includes himself in his photographs. His fashion photographs have been featured in The Face,Vogue (US, France, England, Italy), Another Magazine, Index, W Magazine, Self Service, Details, Purple, i-D and 032c, among others.
Teller links to my project as his work has a youthful and playful feel to it. This is good for my project, as because I am young myself, my activities and environments I surround myself in are very youthful, therefore my photographs will turn out in a similar style.
I love the fashion aspect to the photographs, how he’s got a blue container and brown rocky floor, therefore the model is wearing brown with a blue necklace. At first glance this looks like a carefree photograph, however when you properly analyse it, one can see that it’s very set up. This will be interesting when trying to do a similar thing whether my photo’s will look to set up or not.
I like the use of the flash in this photograph, to create the contrasts and details. The way the chairs are stacked up and he’s got his feet on the radiator or wall pannel show his lack of respect for the place, and how he feels comfortable enough there to behave like that. I like this because it shows in this environment he feels carefree and as if he doesn’t have to worry.
This photograph is beautiful by the use of natural lighting, and the emotion behind the photograph. As one can see she’s laughing and perhaps being playful with the photographer by the way she is nude underneath her cardigan, however it is slightly open therefore being suggestive.
Theo Gosselin is one of my favourite photographers as I love his photobook ‘Sans Limites’. The photographs from this collection were taken on road trips in the US, Scotland, France and Spain, his photos are full of youthful energy and raw emotion, captivating the viewer with stories of freedom, love and friendship.
Sans Limites presents a significant evolution of Gosselin´s long term project;photography sur le motif (“of the object(s) or what the eye actually sees”) and his attempt to communicate the actual visual conditions seen at the time of the photographing.
This links to my own project because he shows love and friendship in places he travels too which is what I aim to do in my photographs. The journies he goes on with the people he cares about and capturing them as if they’re in the moment, showing the environments he surrounds himself in.
I like the way the photographer uses the light in his photographs, as there is a light inside the van which creates a warmth about the van. I also like the use of natural and artificial lighting combined. His photography skills are also amazing as he captures the stars in great quality he must do this by the use of high exposure or perhaps he edits his photographs after by using HDR in photoshop. This is good because therefore by being inspired by his photographs it allows me to do a lot of editing and use a lot of settings.
The photograph below also stands out to me as the 4 people are being very risky and standing naked ontop of a van, which you probably wouldn’t do if you were surrounded by a lot of people, however they don’t care as they’re alone and our representing their own personal environment when they are with one another.
As shown in the photograph below one can see that Gosselin’s photography is deliberately cinematic and reveals his friends in the act of escaping from their regular lives into newly enticing and perilous modes of existence, ever in search of the persistent though elusive idea of freedom. I love the use of natural lighting and depth of field in this photograph, how one really focus’ on the wild hair being blown about, being carefree, and also focus’ on soft lighting on her skin, which adds depth to the photograph.
I love the use of colour in this photograph, how the colour of the sea brings out the intensity of his eyes, and how the background has soft lighting, this really brings out the emotions in the photograph.
Jacob Aue Sobol’s book reveals a candid account of his intimate relationship with girlfriend Sabine and their life together on the east coast of Greenland. In 1999, Sobol went to live in the settlement of Tiniteqilaaq, Greenland, where he lived the life of a fisherman and hunter with his Greenlandic girlfriend and her family.
Taken over three years Sobol’s book records, in photographs and narratives, his encounter with Sabine and their life on the east coast. This was the starting point of Sobol’s photography and has since in 2012 been declared as a Magnum photographer.
Sobol links with my project as he’s capturing his loved one in the house he was living in and therefore photographing his natural surroundings, as one can see the photographs can be a bit explicit, therefore showing the real side to his life, and capturing his natural enivornment.
I love the photograph below because it comes across as if she was completely oblivious to the camera, until the bright flash came on and blinded her and therefore reacting the way she did. I think the purpose and meaning behind this photograph is too represent how close and personal the photographer is with the model and to show their relationship by the use of photography. Personally, I think it’s a vert good photograph demonstrating their relationship and by the use of photography techniques, such as the use of artificial lighting(flash) on the pure flesh, which is stunning because it makes more tones and contrasts than if it was taken without the flash, which creates more depth.
This photograph also links to art history, because women who are naked in art and photography are normally sexualized, especially if produced my a male artist. However, this is a very different style, as it’s her partner photographing her, he’s capturing her in a natural light when she’s naked and not posed.
This photograph below has a lot of depth behind it visually and mentally. Mentally, as it is his girlfriend who he’s photographing, and they’re just relaxing in bed doing nothing, however there is a lot of emotion behind her eyes looking at him (Sobol), it makes you feel the emotion behind the photograph and how much they meant to one another as a couple. It shows that they weren’t just a sexual relationship. This works well as the model and the emotion helps the viewer to imagine the atmosphere and the environment at that present time.
The use of depth of field in this photograph works very well, as the focal point is on her facial features, which is the main aspect of the photograph. The cropping technique also shows how close the camera is too the model, and therefore how personal the photographer is with the model, as Sobol is invading her personal space without her being bothered. I find it bizarre that the closeness of the camera to the model is very important for showing the relationship. This photograph doesn’t use the rule of third, however by the way the model is positioned she is in front of the darker wall, and therefore by the use of flash showing the contrasts she stands out and becomes the first thing one notices in the image.
This photograph is not connected to the Sabine project, however it is still a beautiful photograph as again again it looks as if Sobol is capturing the moment and intimacy with the model. The use of the vignette effect allows your eyes to zoom directly into the model and not be distracted by the background. The use of the artificial lighting(the flash) also creates large contrasts emphasizing crucial features of the image, such as the breasts, abdomen area, collar bones, and facial features.
Above are the initial brainstroms surrounding the exam question: Environment. The main starting points that I then developed upon are the predictable concept of nature, the modern world and social media, capitalism and industrialism and created and constucted environment in tableaux photography.
NATURE
Eco systems: how do they work in nature, contrast this with the harmful “ecosystems” of human society
Symbiotic relationships: Mutually benefitial situations, contrast this with harmful relationships, humans do not look after the planet and yet still benefit from its resources.
Decomposition: Look at rotting food, maybe animal bodies. This idea could potenially be tied to the concept of ageing.
Enviromental conditions: Look at different temperatures and climates. This could tie in with the melting and boiling point of water, how humans adapt to their environment.
Country side vs City: Contrast the natural landscape with the man made landscape.
MODERN WORLD
Social Media: How social media influences how we present ourselves and see other people.
Loss of intamacy or privacy: We share our lives with the internet, has this resulted in a loss of privacy? We stay in contact through technology and are glued to our phones, has this caused a loss of intamacy?
Loss of privacy: Just by typing a name into the google search bar anyone can find photos and personal information on anyone who has a digitial footprint.
Loss of intamacy: Has social media and technology caused a lack of intimacy? Instead of meetibng friends for a coffee is the custom now to simply tag them in a relatable meme?
CAPITALISM, INDUSTRIALISM AND THE POWER OF MONEY
World Wide Brands: Thanks to capitalism and globalisation in the modern world, brand names such as Coca Cola and McDonalds can be recognised all over the world. There are 250 McDonalds establishments in New York City Alone
Exploitation of the working class: looking at how the working class seemingly work the hardest and are exploited for their labour that it not rewarded with a fair amount of pay.
White, Rich Man’s World: Looking at how some people are so privalleged that they are completely unaware of their privalege. The environment of the white, rich man, how he is the most privaledged in any situation.
Power of Money: Money makes the world go round and in today’s world where 1 million dollars mean nothing people are pressured to work hard and earn as much money as possible. This has resukted in the custom of working riduculous hours and as a result of this having to pay people to do the jobs they no longer have the time for. However, if they didn’t work as many hours and cleaned their own houses, did their own washing and walked their own dogs in their spare time they wouldn’t have to pay cleaner, lauderettes and dog walkers. The Power of money has also made young people very selfish, this has resulted in many people entering lond term relationships, marrying and having childern later in life. This custom is arguably possitive as it allows people to focus on caring for themselves before having to worry about other people.
Exposure to marketing and advertising: Consumers are bombarded with advertisements wherever they go, when they turn on their tv or radio, in every newspaper and magazine, at the bus stop, on the walk or daily commute to work. Advertisments can also play off people insecurities to encourage them to purchase products or services.
CONSTRUCTED/CREATED ENVIRONMENTS
Voids/empty spaces: Studio’s can be used to remove a person, object or scene from an enviroment. This can display the subject out of context which could be a very interesting idea to explore.
Controlled Enviroments: Subjects can be placed in environments that are completely controlled by the photographer, a house, a room or a studio. There are no distractions from the outside world and cannot be affected by weather or other people.
Fantasy, Dillusion, Imagination : constructed enviroments can be created to depict fantasy, dillusions or imagination. Props, costume and lighting can be utilised and controlled by the photographer to create scenes that are not based on relatity.
Installations: installations are another form of art that can be documented through photography or video. These enviroments are constructed within a pre-exsisting environment or within a blank gallery- like space.
I have decided to create my first structure within my garden as it is my most accessible environment. I thought it would be a really good place to start to get back into den making as i could take my time building the structure and not have anyone staring at me in some random environment. It also means that i don’t have to transport my materials anywhere to build the den and so can consider exactly what materials would work best within the environment and the space.
I have decided to build the den in the same area that the dens within my garden were commonly built. I think this is because i know from experience that this area has three tree structures which work well to begin my structure from. The area has actually changed significantly in the last 5 ish years since i was making dens as it is a bit more over grown because my sister and I don’t play in that space anymore. The massive tree we always used to use as a part of our den was also cut down. I still however think it is the best space in my garden for a couple of reasons. Firstly as we haven’t played there loads the overgrown nature of the area would work really well in the photographs to convey a wild jungle like feel. The den will look hidden with in the environment which could be a really interesting photograph to create. Secondly while i do want the environment to convey it is a garden i want to avoid having really man made object obvious within the frame. This particular area can be photographed from angles which show the fence and houses in the background but doesn’t include cars. Depending on how well this shoot goes i might then consider another den in my garden which revolves around a more man made environement.
I have decided for this shoot that i want to choose a day which is sunny so as to experiment with the blankets becoming see-through in the light. I think in my garden is the best place to work out whether the idea of the light through the material is going to work and i can also experiment with using different materials. I also want it to be slightly windy so i can have some movement to my structure. The area i am photographing however has no cover to it and so if its too windy this may become problematic as the structure wont stay up.
The next thing to consider is exactly which materials i am going to use. I need at least two very large blankets as these are to make up the roof and the back wall. The rest can be of varying sizes and i can patch work them together. Below are the photographs of the materials i’m planning to use. I think 5 blankets is about average for what i used to use to create when i was younger. I’m thinking about the fact that i need to have 4 walls and then a roof. I decided to choose blankets which blended into the environment to an extent. I choose blankets in colours of green and blacks but then also choose a vivid yellow blanket to incorporate. I think having this one really brightly coloured blanket might be quite interesting as wherever it is is going to stand out more vividly. The yellows will also bring out the yellows and oranges from the environment which are still left over from autumn. As well as choosing colours which match the environment the colours also compliment each other. I think this will be my first experimental shoot where i can see whether my ideas really work and come together. I might later do a shoot in which i use all clashing colours of blankets but as the area I’m photographing is overgrown and the den is going to appear like its hiding within the environment i wanted it to blend in.
I have also photographed some rope from in the shed and some pegs to hang the washing. Whenever we would create our dens in the garden we would use whatever we could get our hands on in order to create our dens. I therefore simply looked around the garden to consider what was available to hand which i could use to build my dens.
I think this shoot is going to be a lot of experimenting to get back into how to build dens and whether my ideas are going to translate into a good photograph. I think i might end up changing a few elements after this initial shoot but i will need to consider this later.
I have decided to also consider Andy Goldsworthy in my artists research because while he also doesn’t build dens/homes in the environment he uses his natural surroundings to create structures and patterns. He uses an extreme variety of materials to create his structures from snow to petals to clay. Goldsworthy is considered part of the Environmental Art movement as both a sculptor and a photographer. His work become instillation’s within the environment as they are created for the space in which they are made from elements of the space. Because they are created in such unpredictable locations his work is deliberately ephemeral. I like the concept that he leaves his designs within the environment and allows nature to naturally make them disappear. With many of the dens we made as children out of branches we left them as they were, sometimes even coming back to them a week later as they were natural and therefore would just disappear back into their surroundings. This is the whole point of many of Goldsworthy’s designs that they are fleeting and are only around for a shot period of time. I guess this also links to how with den building you become so absorbed with the process but then you always have to leave them behind in the environment they are in or at least partially dismantle them, taking back all the blankets.
“I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and “found” tools–a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. “
The main idea behind why Goldsworthy creates his pieces are that he wants to understand nature better by participating with it. He feels closer to nature and as if he can understand it by manipulating it. Goldsworthy talks about how to him the process is as important as the final result which is what i am also considering within my project by photographing the process of the den building. He talks about how he considers the material as important as the final piece as each action of creating his structures are not independent of each other. When he picks up a material to place it somewhere else he is not just considering what he can create with the material itself but the space and influence he creates on the place the material has been moved from. Goldsworthy then finds it significant of how when he makes a change to the environment and then leaves, changes continue to happen because of the first change that he initially made, that nature always carries on. He therefore considers movement to be a key part of his pieces as the piece will change as time moves forward. I think this is really interesting to consider with my natural dens and has given me another idea in photographing them. I could photograph the process of building the den and everything i was previously going to do but then i could keep coming back to the den over a couple of weeks and photographing how it falls apart and once again becomes reverted back to being a part of nature.
“Each work grows, stays, decays. Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature.”
Goldsworthy also believes that his designs come from nature and the circumstances he is in as he does not plan his creations but instead lets them happen. He talks about how they grow in front of him from his surroundings and by watching his creations grow he can better understand the natural world. I think this lack of a plan is also very essential to den building as you work directly with your surrounds like Goldworthy to create the structure. It is important to consider what you have around you, which space it would be easiest to create a structure in and how this might come together with the resources within the environment. The process and effect is very similar to the work of Goldsworthy. I think as well den building does bring you closer to the natural world because it is almost as if you are reverting back to relying on nature to survive like the first humans. You are making a home from nature to protect you and in which you feel safe and therefore you are reliant on nature to provide these elements for you.
Goldsworthy is also know for the constant repairs he makes to his work in the process of creation. Some pieces, are more unstable and prone to collapse then others within the process of actually making the structure. Goldsworthy considers the process of collapse to become a part of the work and if the work will never reach a point where he thinks it is at completion then the whole work would become the act of the piece falling apart then coming back together. Again this is the same as den building, it is difficult as a child to create a structure which is completly sound and does not keep falling apart in places. This may be because by playing in it we upset the blankets and they fell down because of this or that something we tied had come loose or even the wind had blown off a blanket. When i think about it the majority of the day would be spent making the den and then constantly fixing it but that was a apart of the process and apart of the fun. We may even spend the whole time extending the den further and further making it more complex and more secure until it was time to leave it behind. Once again Goldswothy’s process is very similar to a child’s den building and the process being so key in its creation.
“Failure is really, really important, but failures have to hurt. … And if I start making this work with the intention of it collapsing, then I’ve lost that intensity of the will for it to succeed, which makes the failure that much more poignant and significant. So there’s a really odd sort of state of mind that I guess I get into when I’m making these works, that is necessary for me to extract the finished piece [and] extract the right kind of feeling for the work as I’m making it. … To achieve what I want, to achieve the works that I make, I have to be fully committed to them succeeding. I couldn’t make them otherwise. And you cannot feel that commitment without feeling or having a deep sense of loss when they do collapse or fail, and that’s inevitable.”
“When I make something, in a field or street, it may vanish but it’s part of the history of those places,” he says in another interview. “In the early days my work was about collapse and decay. Now some of the changes that occur are too beautiful to be described as simply decay. At Folkestone I got up early one morning ahead of an incoming tide and covered a boulder in poppy petals. It was calm and the sea slowly and gently washed away the petals, stripping the boulder and creating splashes of red in the sea. The harbour from which many troops left for war was in the background.”
Above are the most den like structures that Goldsworthy has created that i could find, But after really considering his work the concept of all his pieces really does fit in with the process of den building and even the end product. To summarize all the similarities;
-Firstly they are both created from the materials on hand at the time in the specific location. Goldsworthy will use elements of the environment around him to create his work like when building a den you will use down the beach rocks but then in a wood you would use branches. This then influences the environment you are building in as you are moving things around and creating new things.
-Next the structures are then left behind within the environment and become once more apart of the land. The den structures decay slowly and become once again part of the surroundings much like the work of Goldsworthy in which he creates the structures and then leaves them.
-Both are also all about the process of creation and can be in need of constant repair which makes the whole point of the den being the process and not the final product. When creating dens they constantly fall apart and some of Goldsworthy’s work is never completed as it cant be.
-Another point is that you use the surroundings around you to create the structures, as in with den building there is no official plan or structure which you know you are going to make you consider what you have and what can be achieved with it.
I think by considering Goldsworthy’s work it has made me consider den building in a more in depth way then before. I didn’t realize when i set out to research Goldsworthy’s work that all the concepts for his designs match up so well with den building. I will therefore have to consider them when i create my den.
IMAGE ANALYSIS
Below is one of my favourite of Goldsworthy’s photographs. I think it will be significant to consider how he photographs his work just as i did with Christo and Jeanne-Claude. His structures are on a lot smaller scale then any of Christo’s work and i am going to be working on a scale in between both artists so it will be good to consider both to find a middle ground. Goldsworthy seems to take photographs of his structures in a very formal and straight photographic manner. I think this is because for him the main element of the photograph is to act as a documentation of the act, as my photographs are going to do. Goldsworthy’s therefore must be considering through out the process of creation where he is creating the piece in the environment and how it would look photographed. The photograph for him however is definitely a secondary element and it is the act of creation which is the point of his work.
The structure below is small which we can tell from the surroundings and the angle of the photograph looking down. I think it is an interesting design in which Goldsworthy has taken sticks which are straight and created a circular structure. It is very reminiscent of tipi’s and seems to rely on the same structural principle that all the sticks weight is placed at the center of the design and by all leaning together they counter balance each other. What makes this structure so interesting is the identical nature of all the sticks. I’m not quite sure what kind of tree or even whether the sticks naturally look as they do in the picture but i would assume they do in reference to Goldsworthy’s concepts. Therefore it has taken Goldsworthy time and skill to find sticks in which the gradient of dark wood to light wood all match up to create a structure with a dark circle in the center. Colour wise the photograph works really well in having the light brown of the sticks bringing out the light brown from the leaves in the surroundings. The lightest point of the photograph is the background of the frame and also the flecks of light colours of leaves scattered across the moss. The darkest point is then the dark ends of the sticks which ties in with the darkness of the moss in places. All the colours with in the photographs are natural and therefore compliment each other . None of the colours in this particular pieces are bold and bright to stand out, they all work together and give the piece an overall appearance. The photograph has been composed so the structure is in the dead center of the frame.
I think it is quite important to consider how the structure has been photographed from the side and not above. By taking the photograph from above the scale of the piece would have been harder to identify and also the texture of the sticks placed together may also have been lost. Also you can consider that the structure may not be a perfect circle, from this angle you can not tell but from above yo would be able to notice tiny details which are slightly out.
Read the Exam Paper and Exam Planner thoroughly, especially pages 2-4 and page 7 which details specific starting points and approaches to the exam theme – make notes! Brainstorm your idea and research artists listed – look also at starting points in other disciplines e.g. Fine Art and Graphic Communication etc. Over H-term begin to gather further information, collect images, make a mood-board and mind-map, make plans and write a specification, start to take pictures and make a response to initial research. You must show evidence of the above on your blog– complete at least 4-5 blog posts.
Prior to the timed examination you must produce and submit preparatory supporting studies which show why and how the supervised and timed work takes the form it does. You must produce a number of blog posts 25-30 that charts the development of your final piece from conception to completion and must show evidence of:
Research and exploration of your ideas
Recorded your experiences and observations
Analysis and interpretation of things seen, imagined or remembered
Experimentation with materials, processes and techniques
Select, evaluate and develop ideas further through sustained investigation
Show connections between your work and that of other artists/ photographers
Each week you are required to make a photographic response (still-images and/or moving image) that relates to the research and work that you explored in that week. Sustained investigations means taking a lot of time and effort to produce the best you can possibly do – reviewing, modifying and refining your idea and taking more pictures to build up a strong body of work with a clear sense of purpose and direction
Timed Exam 15 hrs over three days: (Final Outcome)
This time is for you to fine tune and adjust your final photographs using creative tools in Lightroom/Photoshop and/or complete a final edit of your film or video in Premiere. Your final outcome(s) must be presented in a thoughtful, careful and professional manner demonstrating skills in presenting work in either window mounts, picture frames, foam-board, and/ or submit moving image and video based production and upload as Youtube clip to the blog.
London-based artist Idris Khan was born in the UK in 1978. Since completing his Master’s Degree with a Distinction in Research at the Royal College of Art in London in 2004, he has received international acclaim for his minimal, yet emotionally charged photographs, videos and sculptures.
Drawing on diverse cultural sources including literature, history, art, music and religion, Khan has developed a unique narrative involving densely layered imagery that inhabits the space between abstraction and figuration and speaks to the themes of history, cumulative experience and the metaphysical collapse of time into single moments.
Whilst Khan’s mindset is more painterly than photographic, he often employs the tools of photomechanical reproduction to create his work. Photographing or scanning from secondary source material–sheet music, pages from the Qur’an, reproductions of late Caravaggio paintings–he then builds up the layers of scans digitally, which allows him to meticulously control minute variances in contrast, brightness and opacity. The resultant images are often large-scale C-prints with surfaces that have a remarkable optical intensity.
Khan’s oeuvre has expanded to include sculpture and painting. For sculptural works, using materials such as steel plates, cubes and horizontal stone slabs, Khan sandblasts the surface with templates of musical scores or prayers, continuing his investigation into the ways in which cultural, visual, cinematic and temporal memories coalesce into a dense, synesthetic whole.
Examples of Khan’s work;
Here one can see that Khan has built up the layers of his photographs digitally, with use of exposures and contrasts, therefore making his original photograph have similarities to chalk drawings, as the lines don’t have sharp ends.
Again, one can see a tree with lots of layers done digitally, it is interesting to look at in this photograph as it feels like there is a lot of movement in the image. As if no matter what is going on around the tree it will stay strong and won’t fall, I feel like this because the tree is the darkest aspect of the photograph so it feels like it has the most layers, therefore being the strongest. This could be metaphorical as one can see street lights in the background which are quite faded and then comparing to the tree which is quite dark it shows that no matter what nature will always beat man made objects. Therefore simply by the use of layering one can realize that it completely changes the way one see’s the object which the photograph has chosen to shoot, as before editing this would simply just be a tree, where as it’s looked at with a different frame of mind when edited in this particular way.
My interpretation;
For my first two photographs I decided to interpret in the way of Idris Khan, I tried to use his technique exactly by using a black&white filter, by contrasting and playing with exposures and layering a lot. Therefore it gave a very similar feel to what Khan has produced. The reason I chose the photograph below to edit, is because I felt like Khan’s images always have a lot of movement, and this photograph was already an action shot, so i feel like it represents the movement with just layering the still image.
I enjoyed editing this photograph as I now prefer the layered image to the original edit. This is due to the layering of the tree’s, as now it looks as if there is a large forest in the background, this is from the layering of trees and use of exposure hiding the buildings which are in the original. The use of the tree’s being layered makes the environment look more remote and peaceful, which is what I wanted the photograph to represent.
In the two photographs below I’ve used the same editing format as Khan, however I’ve only allowed the layers to be seen on the model, and not the background. I’ve also kept the color format and not changed it to black&white which Khan typically does.
I like the use of this technique on the photograph below as it shows the movement of the models hair. Therefore showing the weather conditions on this day, very windy, and representing the models attitude towards life, as he has a carefree attitude.
