Born in Spain in 1881 Pablo Picasso became one of the most important art figures of the 20th century. He had the most distinct style incorporating bight colours and geometric shapes to create mesmerising paintings which challenged previous art ideas such as romanticism. Starting the Cubist movement in 1907 with his abstract portraits, he made over 20,000, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, costumes and even theatre sets over his working career. His work covered a large variety of styles making him very respected in his lifetime and only more after his death Les Femmes D’alger selling for $179.4 million in may 2015. His work along with that of Georges Braque changed the face of European art and started the avant-garde movement of cubism. It is said that their work inspired styles such as Futurism, Dada and Constructivism in other countries.
During the early 1900’s a revolutionary new approach in art which involved the representation of reality emerged called cubism. It was elevated by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque who both used different perspectives and views of the subject into one image. This created fragmented images with an abstract tone. The name ‘cubism’ came from the geometric shapes seen in the work, it became one of the most influential styled in the 20th century. Artists aimed to show one object of figure for various view points at one time breaking away from linear perspective which had been around since the Renaissance Cubism in turn lead onto other art movements such as constructivism and neo-plasticism which also both incorporate sharp geometric shapes and outlines but in a more simple and abstract way.
This painting by Pablo Picasso named ‘girl with mandolin’ shows a fragmented version of reality. The neutral colour scheme helps us focus in on the shadows and helps the cube shapes stand out. Painting with a model in front of him his work manages to show one image from various angles all joined together to create an impossible image, one which could not be seen by the human eye.
I want to look into cubism and how the idea has ben used I photography by various artists. Photography and the editing software which is now available such as photoshop makes it a lot easier to create cubist art. Images can be cut up, re sized and re constructed creating a similar effect to those of the original cubist artists. Bellow i have collected work by various artist showing new interpretations of cubism, the first mixes mediums to create its effect. A face had been painted onto the side of the models face, one of the real eyes coincides with where the drawn on would be creating an interesting illusion reminding us of the ‘old hag and young women’ illusion which questions our perspective and view of different content. The middle image is by Nigel Tomm and show and crumpled and distorted magazine page. His work tackles the idea of perfection displayed in the media by models and celebrities and follows similar conventions to cubist art.
Experimental Photography Pastes Comparable Trace Pack by Nigel Tomm
This is a black and white image taken by Erwin Blumenfeld in 1939 showing a model wearing a long dress and hanging onto the Eiffel Tower, the composition on this image is very well thought out, the city of Paris stretching out into the background shows the detail on the buildings at the bottom of the photo and the vastness of the city as you look up the image. Although we can only see a small section of the Eiffel Tower in the right corner of the image we can still tell what it is due to its iconic structure, the geometric shapes and bold lines also act as leading lines in the image leading our eyes up and towards the models stretched out arm. The geometric shapes in the structure are echoed in the model’s long tartan dress which is flowing in the wind. The photographer could have been trying to communicate the idea of freedom and sublime in this photo, with the scene from way above the city it almost gives the idea of separation from the busy life on the streets bellow. The image has two opposing elements, the industrial look of the metal structure and the natural and soft look of the women and her dress, these two ideas are also reflected in the vast scene of the city bellow which I shown from a unique perspective. We are used to seeing images of cities from ground level looking up portraying them as busy, big and important however this image unusually does the opposite.
The women in this photograph is Lisa Fonssagrives, a Swedish model known as the first ever supermodel, she was born in 1911 and was trained as a dancer and sculptor. In 1936 she was first photographed and due to her natural elegance ability to be comfortable in front of the camera. These photos were sent to Vogue who then invited her for more test shots. Over the next tree years she continued to work as a model becoming one of the most sought after models at the time, featuring on many magazine throughout her career. The photo was taken for Vogue for the 50th anniversary of the tower dress by Lucien Lelong. In the 1930’s a new style of women’s magazine was emerging, it focused on female beauty. This photo was taken just before France was occupied by the Germans in WW2 and could reflect the last moments of freedom before Paris was occupied.
I have chosen to look into the work of Erwin Blumenfeld after seeing his photographs incorporating mirrors, I was interested in woking with reflection in this project because of the link it has to variation and similarity, the idea of perspective, opposites and repetition. After researching him more I have found more parallel with his work and my ideas, for example his work with fashion photography where he experimented with shadows, multiple exposures and colours which for his time were all very new and experimental. I am also interested in the fashion industry at the time that he was taking photos and the concept of the ‘perfect’ or ideal model we can see in all his work. This idea if currently being challenged within the fashion industry and I am interested in showing the contrast between his work and more modern versions.
I want to conduct a variety of photoshoots influenced by his work, one using mirrors and reflections, these photos will be very minimal showing variety of perspectives using the mirror concept helping to frame specific sections of my model. The second will be using colour, I hope to experiment using colour films over lights in the studio to create shadow and repartition in shapes. After this I will reflect on my work and see if I want to respond to any of his other work.
This video shows a variety of the moving images that Erwin Blumenfeld produced throughout his career. I am particularly interested in the work he made using mirrors and repetition of an image. In one of the videos we see a women with bright hair smoking and looking in the mirror, this is an interesting still due to the use of colour connection with the blue tones in her makeup matching the posters on the wall. as the video goes on the model starts to make different movements to her reflection and eventually passes the cigarette through the ‘mirror’ before both the reflection and the ‘real’ girl turn to face the camera. This creates and interesting concept questioning reality and perception.
This concept reminded me of something similar I had seen on Instagram, where MLMA creates and posts images and videos which can be linked very heavily to surrealism and the idea of reality and fantasy. A lot of her work comments on the modern society and the generation of social media in a comedic way. She edits images of herself with eccentric makeup and outfits to create imaginative pieces of art often focused on the ideals of beauty. I find the contrast between MLMA and Blumenfeld’s work very interesting due to the time and culture differences and would like to see how I could use both their works simultaneously as inspiration for my own work.
Erwin Blumenfeld, born in 1897 in Berlin is a photographer who emigrated to the united states in 1941. In America he became a successful fashion photographer working for Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and also doing freelance work. Dadaism and surrealism had strong influences in his personal work using laboratory work, distortion, multiple exposure, solarisation and photo montage.
Dadaism: Artistic movement which peaked from 1916-1922 (conceding with world war 1) around the idea of the meaninglessness of the modern world.
Surrealism: Influenced by Dada, an avant-garde movement in the 20th century which developed the idea of the unconscious mind, displayed in work through irrational juxtaposition.
He was given his first camera in 1907 by his uncle after surviving an operation on his appendix and immediately started experimenting with light and shadows. In 1913 his father has a breakdown leaving the family with no money, Erwin can no longer study and takes up a apprenticeship at a women’s wear manufacturer. He also spent a year serving in the german army until the end of the war in 1918. Whilst running a leather goods shop in Amsterdam in 1921 he starts taking photos of his clients which he develops in a darkroom at the back of the shop. His work was first publish in the french Vogue in 1938 after being recommended by Cecil Beaton who admired his work. He had an obsession with photographing ‘beautiful’ women reflecting the beauty standards at this time, most of the models in his work have a similar look, pale skin, red lips, thin frame and blonde curly hair usually styled tide up.
“Photography is so easy a medium to use, the box camera, a roll of film, a snap – a picture! Photography, the art, is so immensely difficult because it is so easy to get a picture of sorts. One must work hard to smuggle anything into a photograph other than record keeping.”
To take this project in my own direction on the theme of variation and similarity I want to develop the idea of beauty ideals and views on perfection in the modern world. The idea that there is one view of perfection that people should conform to and aspire to reach rather than accepting that everyone is unique and different. I am going to look into reflections considering the artist reference of Erwin Blumenfeld and and reality and editing in the media. I want to start by conducting a simple portrait photo shoot so I can experiment with editing ideas and develop the concept further. I also want to look into celebrity culture and the new age of the influencer and how they can often create unrealistic expectations for looks and lifestyle. I have also thought about researching some theorists such as Kant and Plato and looking at their ideas on beauty, comparing them to modern ideas.
Idea 1: I have considered taking photos of peoples skin it is something everyone has in common but can also be so different, from imperfections such as spots and berth marks to skin colour I could even look into different ages and how skin changes over time.
idea 2: Reflections, opposites, using mirrors to frame parts of the body, angle and perspective, world inside the mirror, alternate reality/ fantasy.
idea 3: How people dress to express themselves and show their individuality, introvert/ extrovert.
To look at the idea of play within photography we experimented with archival images and the way John Baldessari edits and manipulates them in a fun way to create expressive works of art. He used colourful price stickers to cover peoples faces in photos ultimately hiding their identity and creating a level playing field between them all . His art can be seen as radicle and chaotic with a strong playful element. Born in 1931 in America he is known for his conceptual art, incorporating found photography with text, paint also making creating using video. There is really no rhyme or reason to his work an he is known for
As a response to John Baldessari’s work and the idea of play and experimentation we flipped a coins above a archival image taken of Jersey. The photo I chose was take in the royal square on a special occasion, it shows soldiers standing in order. the photo is in black and white and has a high contrast making it very striking on its own. Wherever the coin landed we drew a circle around it, after doing this 6 times I used a stanley knife to cut out the circle shapes. I then chose to experiment with the cut out pieces if different ways arranging them and re capturing them in new positions.
The circles are all a uniform size however the variation in the new cicular images is very different and tell a whole new story. The shapes are fun and completely re invent the scene from the original image demostraiting how the idea of play within photography can work.
I placed the original image with the cut out holes over a piece of black card do that the circle shape stand out. I then replaced the cut out pieces on top of the image offsetting them to leave a segment shape to give the look of a shadow.
Finally I used the left over parts of the photo and cut it into smaller uniform circles using a whole punch. I then collaged them all together onto a plain white page concentrating the darker ones to the top left hand corner and having the disperse over the page.
(1884–1959) Portrait photographer from Arkansas in America, he captures harsh realism is rural parts of the country for 40 year. He lived a reclusive lifestyle only making human contact when taking hid photos. After leaving his family farm and changing his name to Disfarm as a form of rebellion he taught him self how to take and develop photos even building his own studio. He would charge 25-50 cent for a penny portrait which people from the community would buy as tokens to give to family and friends. He photographs, individuals sometimes groups generally with a natural expression not posing or overly smiling. The overall collection creates a sense of identity for the time, rural location and people who occupied it.
Stuart Pearson Wright
Wright plans a move away from portraiture, yet his projected subjects remain bound up with the enigma of his own identity and origins.
“People say I make my subjects look sad or old. I suppose I do instinctively either bring out of them, or project on to them, something rather melancholy.”
Wright explores identity of other people out of his own isolation. His obsession with portraiture formed out of never meeting his father, he was born as the result of artificial insemination.
Pearson Wright, Stuart; Adam Cooper; National Portrait Gallery, London; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/adam-cooper-157526
Pearson Wright, Stuart; Prince Philip (b.1921), HRH the Duke of Edinburgh; Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/prince-philip-b-1921-hrh-the-duke-of-edinburgh-218533
‘Serving elite and middle-class patrons, his images often highlight the idealized or imagined socio-economic status of his sitters through the inclusion of props: cosmopolitan clothing and accessories, radios, telephones, bicycles, and sometimes his own car. To formalize the outdoor setting, Keïta regularly employed richly patterned backdrops that add movement and visual energy to his images and used a low vantage point and angular composition to highlight his clients’ confident facial expressions and relaxed postures. ‘
Whilst in Bristol I saw an opportunity to continue to experimentation with GIF’s, along most streets, outside each house were a collection of recycling boxes. The pavements seemed to be covered in these boxes, presumably because it was collection day however it did ruin the overall look of the area. There were a mix of green and black boxes containing various packagings to be recycled, for example Glass, plastic bottles and cardboard. I decided to take pictures of these boxes from a birds eye angle framing the rectangle shape in the centre. I was interested in the variety of thing in the bins and how they differed from house to house and how they reflected the lifestyle of the people living in each house. I cropped all these photos to the same size and orientation so that they all followed the same shape conventions. I then proceeded to bring them into photoshop and turn them into a GIF, each frame lasting 0.1 of a second. The final GIF flicks through the photos showing the variation and similarity between each recycling bin.
