The initial starting focus for my project was to look at certain features of the body that make us who we are, such as our eyes and scars, things that make us unique. I used the photographer Lauren Marek as inspiration for the shoot because I liked her detailed images and the way that she presented them. For the first part of my project on body image I wanted to experiment with different aspects and focus points. I wanted to follow different routes to see which one was the best to focus on for the majority of my project. After experimenting with shoots and edits I wanted to start focusing more on my project to come out with a final theme.
The idea of the body being “inside out”, is what I plan to try and represent within the shoot. I also want to experiment with different movements and shapes that we can create with the body. This ideas could represent crumbling, or the exhaustion of the human form. Representing hidden emotions in a physical way is the main aspect of my project, and I plan to research more, and experiment more with this theme.
At some point within my project, I also plan to experiment with the idea of neutrality. I plan to do this by simply painting someone white to symbolize the way some people can feel, invisible and worthless. I want to be creative with my shoots and experiment by using paint too see what images I can capture.
The reality of life is that there’s always a time when we distant ourselves from the world. Especially as a child, we try to distort the truth to create a perceived form of what is real. My project ‘Escape’ is based on what reality was like as a child. I decided to take certain aspects of my own childhood to create this collaboration of images. One of the factors that I decided to focus on was the book Alice in Wonderland. The story was told regularly to me, and eventually became burned into my memory. As a child, I always perceived the book as nothing more than a fairy tale, with the character Alice going on Adventures in Wonderland. However, many people started creating their own interpretation on the story, including some aspects of sex and love. What I perceive the story to be about now, is the Character Alice running away from the world. Although Wonderland is part of Alice’s imagination, she sees it to be a physical place where she can escape from reality. As a child, I too often wanted to escape, or disappear. I have focused on this feeling of escaping, and have used the character the Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland book to convey what I wanted to symbolize through the shoot.
EVALUATION
The main aim for the exhibition on Monday 27th November is to choose a selection of images from the personal project that we are doing at the moment. The project that I am doing is based on the theme of body image. However, I decided to choose a set of images that I had collected from a childhood memory theme. I did this because I hadn’t yet achieved a wide range of images that I would be happy to display to represent my project so far. I was very happy with the collection of images from my childhood memory shoot though, and was happy with the representation that they displayed.
The images that I have chosen for the exhibition are from a project based on Childhood memory. The shoot was inspired by a book that I had read as a child called Alice in Wonderland. The way the images represented the book, and childhood memories worked really well. The images themselves were inspired by tableaux and fashion photography, which I believe can be clearly seen through the set of images. The atmosphere and the hidden story line behind the images create a sense of mystery which is what I wanted to convey. I love the tones and colors clearly shown through the set of images, with the constant theme of wonder and mystery. I am very happy with the way the images are going to be displayed because they flow well together. I have also chosen a wide variation of images, some close up and some full of the wild environment. There is also a wide variation of poses and angles that help to tell the story that I aimed to convey.
The images are set in a distorted form of reality because the main theme for the project is escaping. I am very happy with the outcome of my display for the exhibition because I believe it conveys my idea really well.
Once I had edited and decided on the images that I wanted to use to display in the exhibition, I needed to choose a way to display them. I’ve chosen Severn images from a series to show as a collection. I printed the images out in the certain size that I wanted them to be represented in. I then experimented in different formations the images could be displayed in. I had to think about certain aspects that would effect how I would be able ti display my images. Each student has a certain amount if space, so I needed to think about collecting my images together so that they take up the least amount of space. I am happy with each of my outcomes because they all work well in terms of space, and which images work best together.In terms of shaping and angles, I decided that the best way to display the images would be the third one because it looks professional and pleasing to the eye.
Antony Gormley was born 30th August 1950. He is a British Sculptor and is best known for his works, Angel of the North and a public sculpture. He was the youngest of Severn children born in Germany. He grew up in Roman catholic family. Although Gormley is an artist and not a photographer I wanted to include his work as an artist research because his body sculptures are another representation of physically showing emotions. His sculptures are very different to what I want to eventually achieve but I wanted to show how there are other ways of symbolising emotions. His use of colour and material is a way of revealing what emotions he is looking at. The use of black creates negative connotations, and so feelings of sadness and pain.
Vadim Stein
Vadim Stein was born in Kiev (Ukraine) in 1967, where he got an education in the sphere of sculpture and restoration. From 1985 to 1992 he worked in the Theater of Plastic Drama – as an actor and a lighting designer. After leaving the theater he got keen on decorative sculpture and graphics. Then it became necessary to take photos of his own works. It was the beginning. Now Vadim Stein lives and works in St. Petersburg (Russia), in the city of the white nights and the melancholy people. He is known as a photographer, sculptor, and stage designer.
In comparison to Gormley, Stein’s work is very different and portrays the human body in a very different way. Although I have to take in consideration that Gormley’s human forms are sculptures, and Stein’s are dancers, they way bother artists represent the body is very contrasting. Stein’s human forms have a much lighter feel to them. They are shown creating unusual shapes with their bodies. Its the movement and shapes that the body is making that represents the emotion within Steins work. His images could be viewed in very different ways because there are many different emotions that the forms could be symbolising. For example the way the bodies are stretching could by representing the feeling of pain, or excitement.
Lucy McRae was born in 1979 in London, United Kingdom. She lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She was trained as a classical ballet dancer and interior designer.
Lucy McRae is a body architect and artist who is fascinated by the relationship between humans and technology. She combines science with imagination. She creates multimedia art pieces using the human body as the canvas. She is inspired by architecture and fashion. Her art challenges convention in film, experimental art, fashion and body art.
I love the sculptural elements that arise within McRae’s work. Her art is similar to the body suites I have previously been inspired by. This idea of creating sculptural forms surrounding the body could easily work with my concept.
The body suits that I aim to create myself are meant to symbolize the representation of what people feel inside. I believe Lucy also aimed to achieve this with her shoots of her body suits. When I create my body suit I want to capture lots of different angles and perspectives of the subject wearing it so that I clearly demonstrate and represent what I aim to symbolise.
According to the internet, “Body Dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one’s own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it.”
Body Dysmorphic Disorder has so many ways it effects the victim. Somebody with Body Dysmorphia would think about their “real or perceived” flaws for hours each day. They can’t control their negative thoughts and don’t believe people who tell them that they look fine. Their thoughts may cause severe emotional distress and interfere with their daily functioning. They may miss work or school, avoid social situations and isolate themselves, even from family and friends, because they fear others will notice their flaws.
BDD is a body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one’s appearance. People with BDD can dislike any part of their body, although they often find fault with their hair, skin, nose, chest, or stomach. In reality, a perceived defect may be only a slight imperfection or nonexistent. But for someone with BDD, the flaw is significant and prominent, often causing severe emotional distress and difficulties in daily functioning.The causes of BDD are unclear, but certain biological and environmental factors may contribute to its development, including genetic predisposition, neurobiological factors such as malfunctioning of serotonin in the brain, personality traits, and life experiences (e.g. child maltreatment, sexual trauma, peer-abuse).
Body Dysmophia is a big issue, especially in teenage’s and young adults. Social media and the creation of the ‘ideal’ body image has effected the development of body dysmorphia. I want to use this social issue and process it so that I can express the concern through the use of photography. A creation of a ‘body suite’ could be used to represent what it could look like, in a symbolized way, to live with body dysmorphia. I would create a series of body suites using different materials, such as tights. A model would then wear the suites in a series of shoots to experiment which angles and positions are the best to highlight the context of the suites.
The images below are ideas of different body suites I could try recreate. I want to capture some images of the full body and some of just the face and other specific body parts.
I like the effect of the plain, simple background. I’ll use this idea in my shoot. The colour pallets have clearly been well planned. The fleshy tones with the browns and the pinks work really well, but I also like the bright colors in contrast to the dark background.
How is McCurry’s images different compared to Singh in the way that they represent Indian culture? Back it up with references to articles read and include quotes for or against your own view.
Raghubir Singh was born in October 22 1942 in Jaipur, India. He later died in April 1999 at the age of 56 in New York. He was an Indian Photographer most known for his landscapes and documentary-style images of the people of India. He was a self-taught photographer who worked in India and lived in Paris, London and New York. During his career, Singh has worked with National Geographic Magazine, The New York times and The New Yorker. During the early 1970’s, he was one of the first photographers to reinvent the use of colour. Singh made a series of powerful books about his homeland. He has a democratic eye that notices and captures everything, including cities, towns, villages, shops, rivers and construction sites as well of lots more.
The power of Singh’s images are not just simple in the content but also in the composition. They contain a deeper meaning because they are taken from the point of view of a local who has memories and sentiments connected to the area. The images below are some of Singh’s photos from India.
Steve McCurry was born on 23 April 1950 in the suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an American Photographer who has previously worked in photojournalism and editorial. McCurry has been one of the most icon photographers in contemporary photography for more than thirty years. He has produced magazines and book covers, over a dozen books, and lots of exhibitions around the world. In a quotes from McMurry’s website he talks about what is important to him in Photography. He writes “What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have ti be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling”
He is best known for his photograph called ‘Afghan Girl’ in 1984. The image originally appeared in National Geographic magazine. The image is of an approximately 12 year old Pashtun orphan in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. The image was named “the most recognized photograph” in the history of the National Geographic magazine. The identity of the girl remained unknown for over 17 years, until McMurry located the women, named Sharbat Gula in 2002. The image below is an image of the girl when she was around 12, and an image of her 17 years later. In a conversation with McCurry he says, ‘Her skin is weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is as striking as she was all those years ago.”
After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first trip of many to India. During these trips he documented his time in India, and captured what he perceived life to be like in this part of the world. In 2016, McMurry was accused of manipulating his images using Photoshop, and removing individuals and other elements. There was much debate whether this process was acceptable in his line of work. Many photographers believe his images are “too perfect” to be true.
COMPARISON
Since Raghubir Singh was born in India, his view and images of India is seen to be from an insider’s perspective. Compared to McCurry, Singh’s photos capture the natural atmosphere of India. They’re busy and are full of vast activities taking place. Although his images could be described as messy because there isn’t a key aspect of the photo, Singh captures the true India rather then the one Steve McCurry creates. Mcurry’s images are more posed and fake with the subject looking directly at the camera. They are also usually captured together with some peculiarity such as face paint. The way the New York Times describes the images is very to the point. They write, “The pictures are staged or shot to look as if they were. They are astonishingly boring.” Although many photographers describe McCurry’s images as boring, they are also extremely popular. His images are technically perfect, however this is not the sole reason he is so popular. According to the New York Times, his images are “popular in part because they evoke an earlier time in Indian history, as well as old ideas of what photographs of Indians should look like”
Singh worked from the late 60’s until his death in 1999. He traveled around India, his homeland. Although his work shares formal content with McCurry, Singh’s images are full of life. They are full of a variety of emotions such as painful scenes. He had a democratic view, and takes images of everything including cities, towns, villages, shops, rivers, and so much more. Singh’s images are popular because of the content as well as the composition.
Allen Murabayashi, the CEO of Photo shelter, which is a “premium website builder designed and created specifically for professional photographers who are looking to grow their base.” He defends McCurry’s work explaining he has a “deep understanding of photographic history – not to mention he’s an award-winning writer with a PhD in Art History from Columbia.” McCurry is an award-winning photojournalist represented by the heralded Magnum Photos. Murabayashi dismisses the view that McCurry stages his photos. He defends’ McCurry saying it is a massive insult to a “talented photographer” who started his career at a local newspaper before traveling to Pakistan and sneaking into Afghanistan to cover the build up to the Soviet invasion. Although he is not completely certain that McCurry never staged a photo, to say that McCurry has spent a “career setting up scenes to capture his iconic photos is a massive insult to a talented photographer”
People criticize McCurry’s images because they are ‘too perfect’ but when you’re a highly skilled photographer taking 250,000 images over the course of 3-6 months for an assignment, and then working with a high end editor, the photos are bound to be perfect.
Robert Capa is an American born photographer. He was born in 1913 and died in 1954. The image above was taken in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. The picture is known to be one of the most famous war photographs ever taken. The image was taken at the beginning of the civil war showing a moment of a bullet’s impact on a loyalist soldier. The image is taken in the style of photojournalism and it came to define the work of Capa. Even after three quarters of a century Robert Capa’s image above is still one of the most famous war images. It has also had a lot of debate around it. A long line of critics have claimed that the photo was faked, and was not taken at the moment the soldier was shot.
In shadows of Photography, Jose Manuel Susperregui, a communications professor at the University del Pais Vasco, concludes that “Capa’s picture was taken not at Cerro Muriano, just north of Córdoba, but near another town, about 35 miles away. Since that location was far from the battle lines when Capa was there, Mr. Susperregui said, it means that “the ‘Falling Soldier’ photo is staged, as are all the others in the series taken on that front.””
Eddie Adams, Street Execution of a Vietcong Prisoner, 1968, gelatin silver print
The image above by Eddie Adams is another photo that has caused much debate and controversy. Eddie Adams was another American photographer and photojournalist who was born in June 1933 and died in 2004. He was noted for his portraits of celebrities and politicians and for his coverage of 13 wars. However, he is best known for his photograph of the execution of a Viet Cong soldier in 1968.
he photograph was shot on the streets of Cholon, the Chinese section of Saigon, Vietnam in 1968 (Adler). Just two days prior to the photograph, the North Vietnamese communists launched the Tet Offensive causing fighting to break out in the US Embassy compound in Saigon. Adams was covering the Vietnam War for the Associated Press when he took the iconic photograph. He had this to say about the moments leading up to, during, and just after the photograph was taken:
They walked him down to the street corner. We were taking pictures. He turned out to be a Viet Cong lieutenant. And out of nowhere came this guy who we didn’t know. I was about five feet away and he pulled out his pistol. [General Loan] shot him in the head and walked away. And walked by us and said ‘They killed many of my men and many of your people’” (“Saigon Execution”).
The prisoner was executed for murdering a South Vietnamese Colonel, his wife, and their six children. Adams got to know General Loan after the photograph was taken, and he held much respect for the man. Because of this photograph, “…Adams is recognized by many who lived through the Vietnam War Era as the photojournalist who helped end a war, though apparently not in a way that he intended” (“Ongoing Discussion: Media’s Impact on Opinion”).
He was quite shocked by the reaction of the photograph. In a multimedia interview with Adams published on Newseum.org, Adams describes his confusion with American’s demonstrations and upset over the image: “…because in a war, people die in wars. And what I ask people a lot, too, is if you’re this man… the General… and you just caught this guy after he killed some of your people, you know, it’s a war. How do you know you wouldn’t have pulled that trigger yourself?”
Here are the final images from my shoot in response to Lauren Marek. I did the shoot at school during break time because I needed a few people to get images of. I choose three people who are all very different in terms of looks. I also made sure I used females as well as males to get a contrast. For the shoot I took close up images of the important features of the face and the body. For example, I made sure I had images of the eye, ear, mouth and also any scars that were unique to the subject.
I choose to focus on the most important features because they are unique to every person, and are what makes them who they are. When laying the images, I used photoshop because I could easily place the images were I wanted them to be.
EXPERIMENTATION
When editing the images I decided to edit them into black and white because it made the edits much more interesting and appealing. The colours and tones varied a lot, so making them into black and white also made it more appealing. I also found that the black and white versions also revealed much more of the details.
Lauren Marek is an American Photographer who was born in Texas. She bases her wok in Houston & Austin. According to Marek, she is inspired by ‘small towns, old friends and simple moments.’ She is a student who loves to experiment with different concepts in photography. She doesn’t focus on a particular area, instead she takes image of anything and everything that shes interested in. She’s done a series on portraits called ‘merge portraits’. She has also done a series called ‘memories of the everyday’, where she has photographed people in an environment where they remember a particular moment in their past.
The series which I am most interested in though, is the series called ‘Pieces’. In this series, Marek investigates part of the human body. She takes images of sections and small areas to capture certain details that make the human figure. Shes focusing on the main features like the eyes, mouth and ears.
I really like the idea of taking images of tiny details that make a person who they are. Marek has taken the concept of body image and has explored a different way expressing who we are. Instead of taking a simple portrait and relating it to body image, she has focused on the tiny, usually unimportant features that collectively symbolize our individuality.
I really like this idea and want to explore it further using my own photo shoot. I decided I wanted to explore this idea and way of shooting because It links with my project well. Since my project is based on body image, I wanted to incorporate the important features of the body into it, however in an unusual way.
At some point within my project, I also plan to experiment with the idea of neutrality. I plan to do this by simply painting someone white to symbolize the way some people can feel, invisible and worthless. I want to be creative with my shoots and experiment by using paint too see what images I can capture.
Raghubir Singh was born in October 22 1942 in Jaipur, India. He later died in April 1999 at the age of 56 in New York. He was an Indian Photographer most known for his landscapes and documentary-style images of the people of India. He was a self-taught photographer who worked in India and lived in Paris, London and New York. During his career, Singh has worked with National Geographic Magazine, The New York times and The New Yorker. During the early 1970’s, he was one of the first photographers to reinvent the use of colour. Singh made a series of powerful books about his homeland. He has a democratic eye that notices and captures everything, including cities, towns, villages, shops, rivers and construction sites as well of lots more.
