All posts by Jamie Cole

Co-ordinator of A Level Photography at Hautlieu School, Jersey

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Family and Environment // Tanja Deman // Jonny Briggs

Tanja Deman (Croatia)and Jonny Briggs (London) are contemporary, cutting edge artists that use photographic techniques as a vehicle to explore the themes of Family and Environment.

They operate and think in different ways…but there are similarities in the way they construct their outcomes, and have their roots in Dadaism, Surrealism and at times Fine Art, Documentary and Narrative photography. They also use archival imagery as an integral part of their practice, and cross reference psychology, psycho-analysis and philosophy too.

We will spend time exploring the background, history and theory of these approaches and creating imagery, film and more that embraces the methods of composite imagery, photo-collage and cut-n-paste.


Jonny Briggs

Jonny Briggs | Artist statement

“In search of lost parts of my childhood I try to think outside the reality I was socialised into and create new ones with my parents and self.

Through these I use photography to explore my relationship with deception, the constructed reality of the family, and question the boundaries between my parents and I, between child/adult, self/other, nature/culture, real/fake in attempt to revive my unconditioned self, beyond the family bubble.

Although easily assumed to be photo-shopped or faked, upon closer inspection the images are often realised to be more real than first expected. Involving staged installations, the cartoon-esque and the performative, I look back to my younger self and attempt to re-capture childhood nature through my assuming adult eyes.”


Tanja Deman

Tanja Deman | Artist statement

Tanja Deman’s art is inspired by her interest in the perception of space, physical and emotional connection to a place and her relationship to nature.

Tanja’s works, incorporating photography, collage, video and public art, are evocative meditations on urban space and landscape.

Observing recently built legacy or natural sites her work investigates the sociology of space and reflects dynamics hidden under the surface of both the built and natural environment.

https://vimeo.com/20713908


You must look at and follow Jonny (link here) and Tanja’s (link here) websites and social media outlets…

Twitter – Facebook – Instagram – Pinterest

LINK TO ARCHISLE FACEBOOK PAGE / JONNY BRIGGS INTERVIEWS

https://www.facebook.com/ArchisleJersey/

You can also use these links to explore the concept and theme of Family and Environment as tackled by previous students…

https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo17a2e/

https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo17a2/


TASK 1 Intro Blog Post

Create a blog post that reviews your experience of the day at Societe Jersiaise on Tuesday 13th June 2017.

  • what did you see, understand and learn?
  • what were the main talking points?
  • include your images and experiments from the tasks, and outline the process and intentions
  • Karen Biddlecombe / Gareth Syvret (Chief Archivist)Communications Assistant (part-time Mon, Weds, Thurs)Archisle: Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme
    Société Jersiaise
    7 Pier Road
    St Helier
    Jersey
    JE2 4XW

Task 2 Create an extended blog post that shows a detailed description, analysis and interpretation of Jonny Brigg‘s work.

Aim to focus on 1 key example of his work and use FORMAL ANALYSIS techniques as a starting point only.

think about and discuss the content, concept, context, construction, composition,  camera, then compare, contrast and critique

ask yourself ( and Jonny) what ? / why? / how?

You must define the process and include examples of Jonny’s presentation devices eg publications and exhibitions and show clearly how Jonny is influenced and and inspired by at least 2 of these artists…

John Stezaker Tony Oursler Urs Fiscer Greta Alfaro
Cat Roissetter Alma Kaser Gillian Wearing Rene Magriette
Mike Keller Richard Billingham Noemie Goudal Paul Nouge
Gregor Schnieder Julie Cockburn Sarah Jones George Condo
Annette Messager Gabriella Boyd Thomas Demand Gordon Matta Clark
Joana Piotronska Kate Lyddon Henry Darger  
Cindy Sherman Louise Bourgeoise Francis Bacon  

Remember to MAKE YOUR BLOG POST VISUAL

include relevant links, podcasts, videos where possible

Task 3 Create an extended blog post that shows a detailed description, analysis and interpretation of Tanja Deman‘s work.

Aim to focus on 1 key example of her work and use FORMAL ANALYSIS techniques as a starting point only.

think about and discuss the content, concept, context, construction, composition,  camera, then compare, contrast and critique

ask yourself ( and Tanja) what ? / why? / how?

You must define the process and include examples of Tanja’s presentation devices eg publications and exhibitions and show clearly how Tanja is influenced and and inspired by at least 2 of the following artists…

Robert Adams // David GoldBlatt // Thomas Struth // Super Studio // Luigi Ghirri // Richard Misrach // Werner Herzog // Richard Long // Raymond Meeks // Antonioni // Alain Resnais // Katrin Koenning // Andrei Tarkovsky

Remember to MAKE YOUR BLOG POST VISUAL

include relevant links, podcasts, videos

YOU MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING TASKS READY BY TUESDAY 20TH JUNE

  1. 5 x images of your own (DIGITAL): showing what aesthetics most interest them (all placed in 1 folder named
    ” MY IMAGES”, pictures named 1-5)
  2. 5 x  images from the SJ archive (DIGITAL): in relation to the shooting location on Tuesday, Jersey cliffs, bunkers,
    race tracks (all placed in 1 folder name 2. ARCHIVE IMAGES, pictures named 1-5)
  3. Research on artists references (images placed in 1 folder named 3 ARTISTS REFERENCES, pictures named with the artist’s name)

For an easier work flow in regards to the number of students each student should have a folder on their desktop
called ‘Photo collage workshop 20-27.6.’, with sub-folders inside named:
‘1. MY IMAGES’ (it should contain 5 images)
‘2. ARCHIVE IMAGES’ (it should contain 5 images)
‘3. ARTISTS REFERENCES’ (it should contain 5 images)
‘4. RAW PHOTOS’ (empty)
‘5. NEW WORK’ (empty)

Deadline for Completion

MONDAY 19TH JUNE


Extension Task 1

Research and define the following terms in photography to show an understanding of the influences, concept, history and theory in contemporary photography. Include key examples and try to show how they may have influenced Jonny and Tanja in some way.

Dadaism

Surrealism

Documentary and Narrative photography (visual storytelling)

Fine Art Photography

Extension Task 2

 

Tanja is clearly inspired and informed by her prior studies in architecture, natural forms, structures and sculpture.

During her SJ presentation she referred to

  • Brutalist architecture
  • Modernist architecture

Research, describe and explain what these forms of art are including how they came to prominence, where they can be found and what their legacy / influence is.

Where is there evidence of modernism / brutalism in Jersey?

Remember to include images, hyperlinks, videos etc

The Process

  1. Moodboard of relevant and inspiring images—link to your title
  2. Mindmap / brainstorm / spidergram to include all ideas and possibilities
  3. Artist Case Study to include analysis and interpretation
  4. Action Plan and Specification
  5. Photoshoot
  6. Select and edit (repeat as necessary)
  7. Compare and contrast your work to the work of your chosen artist
  8. Presentation of final responses
  9. Evaluate your process

Ensure that you show a creative process underpinned by interesting ideas and sustain your approach…

For example, you may want to look at these 3 artists in combination to develop your own ideas…

 

and then move onto colour developments like this…

and create a unique approach to the theme of structure using simple and interchangeable techniques.

 

Or explore the structure of a corroded surface….

 

Use this link to see what kind of ideas are out there…

100+ Creative Photography Ideas: Techniques, Compositions & Mixed Media Approaches

http://www.studentartguide.com/articles/creative-photography-ideas

Now look at these artists to explore the concept of layers and structure…

Jacques Villeglé 1926- (France)

The Jazzmen is a section of what Jacques Villeglé termed affiches lacérées, posters torn down from the walls of Paris. These particular ones were taken on 10 December 1961. Following his established practice, Villeglé removed the section from a billboard and, having mounted it on canvas, presented it as a work of art.

Jazzmen 1961 Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé born 1926 Presented by the Friends of the Tate Gallery 2000 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T07619

 

Robert Rauschenberg 1925 – 2008 (USA)

Pre pop art, neo -dada. Re-appropriation of photographic imagery to explore the structure of society, politics, hope and despair.

Collage / montage techniques + archival material, found objects

Construction / de-construction methods

 

Todd Mclellan…de-conSTRUCTION // typlogies

 

or distort the reality / structure of object, places, people…

 

Alvin Langdon Coburn created vortographs by using mirrros, reflective surfaces, prisms and more to distort his vision of the world and ultimately change the structure of his photographs…(one of the very first abstract photographers)

 

Vortograph experiments by A L Coburn

Think about shape and form…

Paper, paper, paper

 

Naum Gabo / Head of a Woman /1917

 

Interior Architecture

Still Life Objects

 

Time Lapse (constructing and deconstructing) ice cubes melting, flowers wilting and dying etc…

Cara Berer

 

Cara Berer explores the structure of books and magazines by photographing them from above and creating patterns and shapes that we associate with flowers and decoration…

Irving Penn

Franco Fontana

 

More ideas in this link here!

http://www.modernedition.com/art-articles/photographic-form/new-photography.html

Suggestions for exploring “structure”…

Tanja Deman // juxtaposition of changing environments // environments as temples of worship and culture //utopia // dystopia

 

Sculptural (photograph as object, combined with objects and ephemera or photographs as a response to a building or space ie environment)

Marlo Pascual (above)

“Pascual arranges the photos into simple, lackadaisical assemblages that she calls “props,” which rely primarily on found furniture. The images are all painfully elegant, and evoke the seductiveness of old Hollywood. In one photograph (all works untitled, 2009), a nude woman stands behind steamed glass—a scene from a movie descended from Psycho? A photograph of a set of crystal glasses is laser-cut and laid on the floor to look like it was dropped—or shattered by a single delicate stroke of a hammer. A joke about the fragility of the image, it is also a decidedly atmospheric work.”

http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/reviews/marlo-pascual/

Letha Wilson

One of a number of contemporary artists who are blurring the lines between photography and other mediums, Letha Wilson makes artworks that are as much sculptures as photographs. Amalgamations of photographic images and spray paint, lumber and concrete, these hybrid objects, medium sized and mostly wall hung, occupy territory also being explored by sculptors such as Rachel Harrison and Virginia Overton. An exhibition of new pieces (all from 2012) showcased Wilson’s adventuresome way with materials.

Thomas Demand

German Photographer Thomas Demand (born 1964) deals with inanimate objects and sterile interiors. He makes models of pre-photographed locations out of  styrofoam, card and paper but leaves subtle signs of imperfections, then re-produces the images on a grand scale…in doing he alters the meaning and narrative attached to the environment he is re-presenting…

Laurenz Berges

Laurenz Berges is German (Dusseldorf School) photographer. He tackles the notion of loss and removal…and often photographs both personal and shared environments. These can beintimate  interiors, or extensive exteriors.

Candida Hofer

Candida Hofer was a student of Bernd and Hilla Becher in Germany in the 1970’s. Her images are a response to glorious interior environments that explore the contrast between the intention and reality of public and civic spaces…without people interacting with them.

James Casebere

James Caseberes (USA) photographs small scale models that reduce an architectural space to a fragile set of surfaces…they disrupt our belief in the solidity of man-made spaces…what happened ? what happens next ?…we are left disorientated.

Rut Blees Luxemburg

Rut Blees Luxemburg (Germany) uses amber lighting and reflections as found in 1920’s and 1930’s style flash photography…but in a thoroughly modern context.

Andy Goldsworthy

 

Andy Goldsworthy is a well known British Environmental artist. He makes sculptures that integrate with the environment…they are all bio-degradeable and often end up falling apart and becoming “one” with the landscape again. The photographs, however, remain a permanent feature…

Experiment 1

  • You must show that you can COPY, ADJUST, BLUR and BLEND layers using Adobe Photoshop to create a set of images inspired by IDRIS KHAN / STEPHANIE JUNG

METHOD

  1. Open a suitable image in Ad-Ph
  2. CTRL J to copy layer (copy the background LAYER for this)
  3. Move tool to shift image slightly
  4. Repeat 2 + 3 5-10 times
  5. Choose a range of BLENDING OPTIONS eg overlay / multiply / lighten etc
  6. Adjust OPACITY as needed
  7. Adjust individual layers as needed
  8. Add FILTER – BLUR – SHAPE BLUR / SMART BLUR if needed
  9. Flatten LAYERS
  10. CROP where suitable

Extend your result…

Think about layering your image(s) onto acetate or glass and exploit the transparent qualities vs. opaque shapes, colours and tones

for example

Ardan Ozmenoglu

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/315040936408995781/

 

Photoshop Experiment 2

  • Show that you can use a range of function and techniques to create a composite image like those of Tanja Deman (below).
  • Many artists use cut and paste / collage techniques to change the context of their imagery…and challenge the way we look at the world and re-imagine our environment
  • Research cut and paste / digital collage techniques and ideas
  •  

    Method

  • Select  2/ 3 images that you think you can combine to create a composite image and open in Ad-Ph
  • You may need to select one image that you use as your BACKGROUND IMAGE
  • Select the object / building / person from another image that you want to add to your BACKGROUND IMAGE
  • Click CTRL J (to copy via layer)
  • Use the move tool to drag your selection across, then position
  • Use CTRL T or Free Transform to adjust shape and size of selected object
  • Check your layers panel on both images!
  • Now blend the edges in…
  • Add a LAYER MASK and click to activate it
  • Select a brush, adapt the size and reduce your OPACITY to 30%
  • Now click on the edges of your object to blend it in smoothly
  • Take care with this part…zoom in if you need to
  • You can then merge your layers, or flatten and save the image if complete
  • Add to your blog

Or explore x-ray images or household objects like this as part of your response to “structure”

 

Walker Evans

Jim Dine and his “figurative tools”

Two Frame Photography / Diptychs / Juxtapositions

http://www.photopedagogy.com/two-frame-films.html

Luke Fowler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Researching and analysing your photographer’s work…

Choose a key image from each of your chosen photographers / artists and find out as much as you can about that image…

  • Apply formal analysis to show your understanding of

  • Composition (rule of thirds, balance, symmetry)
  • Perspective (linear and atmospheric, vanishing points)
  • Depth (refer to aperture settings and focus points, foreground, mid-ground and back-ground, leading lines etc)
  • Scale (refer to proportion, but also detail influenced by medium / large format cameras)
  • Light ( intensity, temperature, direction)
  • Colour (colour harmonies / warm / cold colours and their effects)
  • Shadow (strength, lack of…)
  • Texture and surface quality
  • Tonal values ( contrast created by highlights, low-lights and mid-tones)
  • Then discuss how you can tackle the 4 Assessment Objectives below

AO1: Develop your ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements

————————————————————————————-

Then discuss…

The Concept = idea, intention

 

The Context = eg : An environmental portrait is a good example of a photo that can combine impact and context. The subject is shown in his or her environment, and the surroundings provide information about the subject. A standard headshot shows what someone looks like, but an environmental portrait can speak volumes about a person

Example : The Auschwitz Album is a perfect example of the importance of knowing the context in which photographs were taken. For instance, the picture below is an innocent picture of women standing together in front of a building. They stand together with their babies and children, and seem happy to look at the photographer who is taking the picture. There is no sign of stress, no hint of violence; most of the women are calm – all except one who looks like she is trying to comfort a baby.

Birkenau, Poland, Jewish women and children in front of Crematorium III, 05/1944

Birkenau, Poland, Jewish women and children in front of Crematorium III, 05/1944

Yet, because we have the benefit of research, we know that these women are standing in front of one of the four massive extermination installations at Birkenau

In the gas chamber of this building (which is located below ground, perpendicular to where the women are standing), two thousand people at a time could be murdered. Behind the double windows of the building visible in the picture are fifteen ovens, vented through the chimney that is partly visible in the upper left-hand corner of the photo, used to turn the bodies of the unsuspecting victims (like those in the photo) into ash.

————————————————————————————-

This is a useful link to help you understand, analyse and explain photographs

http://www.photopedagogy.com/photo-literacy.html

 

 

AS PHOTOGRAPHY EXAM TITLE GUIDANCE : “STRUCTURE”

AS Photog Exam: w/c Monday 24th April

  • Groups C & D: Monday 24th & Thursday 27th April
  • (Wednesday NO EXAM)
  • Groups A & E: Tuesday 25th & Friday 28th April

Print deadline for finals = Wed 19th April

  • Groups C & D: Monday 24th
  • Groups A & E: Tuesday 25th

Read this carefully and think how you can design a thorough unit of investigation that explores your chosen theme, topic or subject matter…

structure
ˈstrʌktʃə/
noun
  1. 1.
    the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.
    “the two sentences have equivalent structures”
  2. 2.
    a building or other object constructed from several parts.
    “the station is a magnificent structure and should not be demolished”
    synonyms: building, edifice, construction, erection, pile, complex, assembly

    “a vast Gothic structure with strange ornamental spirelets”
verb
  1. 1.
    construct or arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organization to.
    “services must be structured so as to avoid pitfalls”
    synonyms: arrange, organize, order, design, shape, give structure to, assemble, construct, build, put together

    “the programme is structured around periods of residential study”

<<<CHOOSE 1 STARTING POINT ONLY>>>

Use mindmaps and moodboards to start…

You should aim to complete at least 1 Photo-shoot per week

Structure

  1. Erin O’Keefe often photographs objects propped up in a corner. Her work explores the visual ambiguities of shadow, space, shape, colour and reflection. Originally an architect, her photographs are of real structures without using digital manipulation such as Photoshop. Many other photographers have experimented with constructed spaces and reflections, such as Florence Henri, Robert Smithson, Owen Kydd, David Haxton, Thomas Demand, Paul Strand etc

Florence Henri
Composition Nature Morte, 1929
photograph

2. Robert Frank shocked his adopted country when he published his groundbreaking book The Americans in 1957. Rather than seeing the cosy Middle America personified in later TV cartoons like The Flintstones, he revealed the raw push and shove of a society that was at odds with itself. Other photographers such as Nan Goldin, Jeff Wall, Chris Killip and Sophie Calle have also been compelled to expose the real structures in society and ‘Tell it like it is’.

Robert Frank
Canal Street – New Orleans, 1955
photograph

3. Stories can be told in a single frame, three frames, or, as in films, millions of frames. Narrative structures can be linear, such as with Duane Michals’ sequences, or non-linear such as Paul Graham’s A Shimmer of Possibility and Wolfgang Tillmans’ If One Thing Matters, Everything Matters. Photographers, filmmakers and animators find unique ways to structure the narratives in their work.

Duane Michals
Alice’s Mirror
photograph

Bill Owens
Untitled from ‘Suburbia’
photograph

4. Photographers have been fascinated by the structure of natural forms from the earliest days of the medium. Karl Blossfeldt found a monumental presence in simple seedheads. Edward Weston revealed beauty in the forms of peppers and shells. Robert
Mapplethorpe, Ori Gersht, Todd McClelland and Olivia Parker have also focused on natural forms in different ways, demonstrating personal responses to light and texture.

RM
Honesty
photograph

Here are some other suggestions that may stimulate your imagination  / Starting points for photo-assignments
• Pine cones, pineapples, grapevines, hops, ivy, bindweed
• Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins
• Crystals, molecules, geology, fossils, footprints, tracks
• Stadiums, orchestras, rock concerts, floodlights, staircases
• Motorways, railways, runways, dockyards
• Flowers, plants, trees, fungi, algae, feathers, scales, shells
• Nests of weaver birds, wasps and bees, termite mounds, baskets
• Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, skyscrapers
• Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas
• Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, beaches
• Dolls, mannequins, puppets, cuddly toys, Lego

Assessment Objectives

You should provide evidence that fulfils the four Assessment Objectives:

AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding
AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops
AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.

Your preparatory studies should show evidence of:

• your development and control of visual literacy and the formal elements (tone,
texture, colour, line, form and structure)
• an exploration of techniques and media
• investigations showing engagement with appropriate primary and
secondary sources
• the development of your thoughts, decisions and ideas based on the theme
• critical review and reflection

Good luck and make sure you ask for guidance at any stage of the process…remember to play to your strengths and approach this unit in a similar way to your coursework units !!!