“Typology is the study of types, and a photographic typology is a suite of images or related forms, shot in a consistent, repetitive manner.”

Karl Blossfedlt (1865-1932) was a German artist and teacher who gathered photographs in close proximity to allow his art students to see the object in question from all sorts of angles, making creating the picture easier. He usually took close-up photographs of deceased plants. Having publish his work in 1929, fellow artists and photographers developed on the idea of typologies in photographs.

Typologies are a great technique for developing ideas closely and in detail as the close proximity of the photos forces you to see all angles of photographs. By utilizing the technique of typologies I can gather a series of photographs together in an attempt to alter the way the average man views nature around us, hopefully understanding the true beauty that the world posses.

Here are some examples of flower typologies…

I plan to experiment with placing vibrant coloured flowers against plain, mundane backgrounds to represent how the human species is over taking naure. By taking flowers, (a representation of nature), out of their natural environment and placed into a man-made scene it demonstrates the over powering dominance of mankind.  The warm and cheerful colours of the flower will connote nature as beautiful and elegant, against an intense plain background. I intend to change the way people view the natural world in an ambitious attempt to eliminate human ignorance towards the care of our natural environment.

For my own interpretation of Mapplethorpe’s work, I’m going to use a black bed sheet to provide a similar background to the one Mapplethorpe created, hopefully giving the same effect. I could also utilize the school’s studio which has a black, white or green background in, giving me the opportunity to change the colour of the background which would make my work stand out as long as I find the correct colour balance. The school studio also provides a key light, a fill light and back light which will enable me to attain the correct lighting for the photo shoot. The object in question will be a selection of flowers that I either pick, or buy from the local market. I will be sure to select a multitude of colours in order to trial out what colours work the best. In terms of cameras, I will use the 100mm lens that I can borrow from school. The short lens will allow me to get close to the object whilst maintaining the correct proportion of detail.

Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer who was renown for his sensitive yet blunt treatment towards controversial matters. His work usually consisted of celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits and still-life images of flowers. Mapplethorpe’s still-life photographs are very unique.

I am going to use the work of Robert Mapplethorpe the most for inspiration and attempt to make my own take upon Mapplethorpe’s photographs.

I selected Mapplethorpe as my case study artist because I like the singularity of his photos, for example, he would place a very colourful flower in front of a plain yet powerful black background which would consequently enhance the colours of the flower itself. Mapplethorpe’s single object approach focuses our attention upon the object in question, enabling him to express his ideas clearly and thoroughly.

Rose, 1989

This is my favourite image of Mapplethorpe’s collection. The photograph has taken into account the angle of the flower and got the correct outcome as the flower head coincides perfectly with the rule of thirds scheme as it is exactly central within the image. There are few relevant examples of correct linear in this image as the lines upon the leaf are symmetrical and the stem of the flower is straight, leading into the middle segment of the rule of thirds square. The flower head itself is also very crisp as you can clearly see the definition of each petal and where it curls over, bends or ends. There is evidence of juxtaposition through the difference of colours. The flower has a vibrant pink shade with two varied green shades in the forms of the flowers stem and the flower’s leaves. The sharp colours are contrasted with the completely black background, which draws our attention to the flower itself. The background is a very cold black colour which is the opposite of the charismatic flower as it features very warm colours. The photograph shows shadowing around the petals as some are higher than others, enhancing the detail of the image and improving it over all. Despite the presence of shadows, there isn’t a distinctive light source shown, implying the light provided is artificial. I believe Mapplethorpe would have used the ‘three point lighting’ scheme to develop the precise detail of this image.