Born in 1980, based in Paris. He is dedicated to long-term projects which produce photographic narratives. Aiming to adapt the camera to the subject and the way in which to narrate a story by using different types of cameras, formats and sensible surfaces. With his images he build stories which navigate between documentary and poetry.
Robert Smithson: Time Crystals
Robert Smithson: Time Crystals is the first exhibition in Australia dedicated to the work of American artist Robert Smithson (1938-73). Best known for his radical land art of the 1960s and early 1970s, Smithson is now widely recognised as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Inspired by ideas of crystalline geometry and non-biological time, he redefined abstraction and challenged art history, declaring that ‘Nature gives way to the incalculable cycles of non duration.
Modernism is a general term used to describe trends in photography from around 1910-1950 when photographers began to produce works with a sharp focus and an emphasis on formal qualities, exploiting, rather than obscuring, the camera as an essentially mechanical and technological tool.
Paul strand was an American photographer born in 1890 in New York, who was one of the pioneers of photography in the 20th century. From the 1950-1960 he travelled around producing different photo books. One of Strands most well recognised photos is “wall street” which was taken in 1915. It shows a moment in time where workers are walking past the J.P. Morgan and Co. building in new York on Wall Street, where the image takes its name. The photograph is most famous for its reliance on the sharpness and contrast of the shapes and angles that lead to its abstraction. This photograph is considered to be one of Strand’s most famous works and an example of his change from pictorialism to straight photography. Strand moved from the posed to portraying the purity of the subjects. It is one of several images that stand as marks of the turn to modernism in photography.
Post-Modernism
Postmodernism is defined as a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a postmodernism photographer born in japan in 1948 his most famous work is his seascapes work which has a minimalistic approach. One image from this work is the Aegean sea, pillion image, which shows an image of an ocean taken from a spot around japan which many of his images were like in this project.
The image uses artificial lighting from the lights in the store which gives a cold feel to the light in the image. The use of the store lighting gives a more natural feel to the photograph but has slight over exposure which is nice as it creates perfect reflections on the roof in the background of the image reflecting the products bellow. The overall image has a large tonal range in both colour and shadow having a very high contrast. This image was most likely taken using a wide angle lens as the image has a very wide view but would have also had a higher number of F-stops as all of the image is in focus and has a large depth of field. The image most likely was taken using a tripod as the image is perfectly upright and the shutter speed would have been a reasonably high speed but low enough to give it a slight over exposure. The ISO would have been very low as the image is very sharp and crisp without any grain or blur.
VISUAL:
The image has a very large tonal range as well as range in colour. The image has a very wide range in vibrant colours seen in the bright packaging of the products ranging from bold red and orange colours to poping blues and pink colours. The image also has very soft neutral colours which are seen on the walls of the shop with cream colours and in the shop logo. In the image there is very clear lines which give strong compositional structure to the image from the lines in the rows dividing the products to the lines in the beams of the building which create a very interesting aesthetic to the image. The reflection on the roof almost is almost unrecognisable as it could almost be mistaken for more rows of products with its almost perfect reflections giving an aesthetic which is particularly interesting to the image.
CONTEXTUAL:
The image was produced by Andreas Gursky in 1999 as a part of a two-part photograph. The image was printed into a single large-scale image which is a digital montage from multiple images taken in a 99 Cents Only store in Los Angeles, the seemingly endless rows of stuff, with shoppers’ heads floating anonymously above the products, more closely resemble abstract or Impressionist painting than contemporary photography. Gursky who is a German Architect and photographer is known for using digital manipulation to create scenes that turn almost everyday experiences into art. In 2006, in the in the days just before the Great Recession, 99 Cent sold for $2.3 million at auction. At the time this broke the record for a contemporary photograph but this also moved contemporary photography into the auctions alongside paintings and other highly expensive artworks.
CONCEPTUAL:
The image is a very clear reflection consumer culture which we live in, where their is almost an infinite choice in what to buy and a constant demand for different and fighting for brands to be on the top choice. The image is almost like a criticism on how we live our lives with the rows and rows of products that are all consumed in different ways and almost questions the viewer of the image to say is all of this consumption needed and are we thinking about what we are actually buying.
To juxtapose with my previous shoot, i returned to the same location to capture a variety of similar images but this time at sunset. Returning at sunset would give me golden lighting that would illuminate the cliffs in a completely different way to my first shoot on a stormy day. I ensured that it was a clear day to allow for the suns rays to create the most interesting colors upon the surroundings and therefore give a direct contrast between the two shoots in this location. I find it really interesting how much impact the lighting and weather have on a location and this is why i keep returning to the same locations at different times and at different days to see how the change in these external factors convey a completely different story/mood.
As a response to Southam’s ‘The long cloud’ project I wanted to try and capture a sense of darkness and negative emotions. To achieve this I needed to wait until the weather turned moody with interesting cloud formations that would help to create a sense of isolation and intimidation. As I was on my home from school there was a storm approaching creating very interesting textures within the sky, I grabbed my camera and headed to Gronez to shoot it. The results of my shoot can be seen below.
Contact Sheet
Edits
Analysis of the shoot
Overall I was very happy with how this shoot turned out, primarily due to the luck I had with the sky forming such a dramatic clouds. This dramatic feel was enhanced through the editing process which i undertook in light-room, increasing the clarity and contrast and de-saturating most of the colors. I think the images of the cliffs have been successful in creating a sense of isolation and intimidation due to the large scale of them. However, next time I would try to get down near the bottom of the cliffs to give a sense that the cliffs are looking over us creating a much more intense feeling. This would also make the cliffs appear bigger due to the perspective. Within this shoot I think my most successful images are the ones which have flowers in the foreground because it gives the image a great deal of depth that otherwise would have been limited. The foreground also helps to lead the viewer to the specific parts of the images that i wanted to bring attention too. With the absence of any buildings or urban areas means the viewer cannot claim to know the time period at which the photos were taken. This gives a sense of mystery and the unknown which is really interesting as it gets the viewer engaged with the image. These ideas are also portrayed through having the ocean appear in my images because it is not known what lurks beneath it which Southam has quoted interests him about bodies of water. This links back to my original artist study on Hiroshi Sugimoto that has a clear purpose to show this sense that it doesn’t matter what time period the image was taken, the beauty comes from knowing that our ancestors have all experienced the same view.
Jem Southam, born in Bristol in 1950, is one of the UK’s leading photographers. He is renowned for his series of colour landscape photographs, beginning in the 1970s and continuing until the present. His trademark is the patient observation of changes at a single location over many months or years. I was inspired by this idea as it links to my current work looking at the change of sea, light and weather on one location. However Jem Southam is doing a similar concept just on a much larger scale.
He observes the balance between nature and man’s intervention and traces cycles of decay and renewal. His work combines topographical observation with other references: personal, cultural, political, scientific, literary and psychological. Southam’s subjects are predominately situated in the South West of England where he lives and works. However he completed one project ‘The long white cloud” in New Zealand that took my interest.
Within this project the photographs build and expand on themes that Southam has explored throughout his forty-year career. They show his continued fascination with the subtleties of colour, with reflection and transience, and with the effects of the shifting seasons and weather on the landscape. Southam’s documentary practice present a sociological and physiological investigation into the landscape
Southams project focuses on bodies of water found on the island of New Zealand. The series saw him document the watery landscapes enveloped by a huge variety of atmospheres and conditions. The resulting large-scale photographs document the country’s lakes, rivers and dramatic waterfalls, with Southam gaining inspiration from the constant and seamless cycle of matter, from air to water to cloud and vapour, and back again. Exploring notions of the sublime in the varied natural landscapes of New Zealand, these photographs accentuate the connections between the drama of nature to the inherent mythologies of the land. The clear interest in water through his project connects directly to my previous works that so far have focused on coastal areas.
‘Aeoteroa’, or ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’, was the name given to the North Island of New Zealand when the Maori navigators first saw signs of the new land in the formations of drawn out strands of cloud spreading across the horizon. It is the dynamic at the heart of this apparition that these pictures aim to explore. The remarkably rich and varied physical profusion of landforms of New Zealand apprehended and made manifest through the momentary shifts of light and the weather. – Jem Southam
The Mouth of the Okarito River and the Tasman Sea, New Zealand, Autumn 2018
I chose to look closer into the work of Jem Southam mainly due to his explortion of the natural world but more importantly the way it is changing through light and weather conditions. I have already explored these elements and having came across this artist it has inspired me to try and capture a sense of horror through darker images. I believe this is a side of landscape photography I haven’t properly explored due to the fact usually landscape photography is about making the landscape look the most beautiful. I think that taking inspiration from Southams project will allow me to create a clear juxtaposition between how the landscape looks in nice golden light compared to the dull de-saturated images that I will create in response to this artist reference.
Photo Analysis
The North Wall of the Fjord, Milford Sound, New Zealand, Autumn 2018
This minimalist image is evident of beauty and a great sense of emotion. The towering cliff creates a sense of isolation and intimidation that is enhanced through the harsh weather conditions. The thick clouds and dark lighting from the weather gives these ideas of anxiety and depression creating an overall moody atmosphere. Southam finds himself both entranced and repelled by bodies of water. “The closer we move towards them, the more a resistance builds in us, a dread almost — ‘How deep is the pool, what might be lurking within it?’ Does anything work on our imaginations as powerfully as the waters of the earth?” These ideas that Southam mentioned in an interview on ‘financial times’ links to the ideas I have previously mentioned in my studies about the water and how it creates a sense of the unknown. Although this image contains very little water, the huge cliff structure leads our eyes to the ocean and makes the viewer aware that it is a main focal point in conveying the story through this image. The slanted horizon is a countertype for the stereotypical landscape shot in which the horizon should be straight. This creates unease for the viewer helping to enhance this mysterious and moody atmosphere.
I chose these images as my final prints as I belive they have a narrative effect and also allow a aspect of tranquility within the contrast of the lights and darker tonal colours.
This is one of my favourite images for a few reasons. Conceptually the images clear religious connotations, there is an element of foregrounding and background, highlighting some areas such as the door, creating an indexical symbol to invite and enter the image itself, also demonstrating entering the after life. The clear invert of colours also shows nature having a prominent life, as well as the entry to the life of god. The contrasting texture throughout the image are too very interesting.
I chose this image due to the composition, I like the circular motion of the water mimicked throughout the image, and the central contrast of the lightness of the duck. It to also shows an element of life within the creation of god. The elements of the delicacy of the branches too shows a sense of heavenly beauty. I also chose this image as it is veery similar to one of my theorists images found within Astres Noirs, And I believe this is just an exciting image which clearly conveys the life of nature.
I wanted to use this image, as I believe there is a sense of illuminance and a real concentration of light, differing a very eye catching comparison to the others. To my mind the shapes and dimension too within the piece are very interesting and allow a much more successful literal glow to live, a symbol for prosperity.
This image has a fluidity of movement, and an identity within escapism yet a loss of personal identity. From terms of isolation this is a successful exposure of how you are able to see a figure yet have no personal judgments on the person. It is a significant gesture for that of how we might perceive god and the holy Trinity, the richness of the whites shows too a safety within the figure and an element of reliability. The long extension to the back of the piece shows a possible connection of narrative and character to the rest of the people and so on.
This is my favourite image and will also be the front cover. It reminds me of my previous experimentation within looking at the haiku and beauty within the everyday. I believe the lines and watery mirrored lines, re-creates something quite beautiful. The lines are dainty yet show a strength, there is an essence of purity and life within the image itself. I believe too, though much of the image is white, every aspects you are able to see all the details from within. With this image you would not be able to conceive how this is an element near where you live as it is, something so beautifully composed yet we take for granted. This comes under the creation story and the fact everything is created for a purpose, of unity of life. Due to the lines and heavenly colours I believe the title of ‘ascension’ is applicable as it shows the life of the branch raising above the water and as it connotes to the representation of life and death.
I decide due to my book being loud with large images with volumes of tonal integrity and inspiration of life and chaos, I want an interesting expressive and large way to which I can present my images themselves. My book is going to be a very large square with an image on every page, so I believe the huge effect of this book, needs to be mirrored with an innovative presentation. After looking at the artist Batia Suter, she prints off many of her images and sticks them across walls for her final presentation, without a frame to keep the feel to her work. I belive this too could be an interesting presentation for my work, However, Due to my not having available gallery space, their is no where that would be readily available for me to stick my work all over the wall. A similar theme I could use, Is printing off many large prints, and sticking on another to large A1 boards and creating a . large abstract narrative story telling piece. My second idea, is to print off every single image I have and create a window frame boarded with small pints showing the same narrative construct of my book itself, although this doesn’t have the huge size per image, it does have the effect of amount of imagery used.
Above is the type of presentation of my images I want, I believe I will print off 9 sets of three images each for my final all on A3, I will then apply foam board to the back of the images to make them come off of the wall slightly. I will see if there is a way I could get a large space to present my wrk here in school, if not I will find a space closer to home and create the presentation from there. I believe it is important that I do this as it goes with the narrative of my book, the size is the best way to see these images, and it shows an element of innovation to my project. I cold also expand this presentation idea to painting on a very large surface ad diving just one image up to around 6 parts, and do this multiple times for a more abstract feel. Below I am going to show the three rows of three an demonstrate which images I could have placed next to each-other.
I plan to execute two photoshoot ideas in one go. I plan to use a new idea, lens ball, of which I will photograph key landmarks and locations for Jersey within the lens ball. The ball itself is circular and therefore follows the format of the project idea and also adds the attachment to Jersey as a place and adds another similarity. I will shoot just St Helier for this shoot however I will head out in other shoots to shoot lens ball in rural areas so I can have the difference in location.
Similarities:
Circles
Jersey (local attachment)
Differences:
Urban/Rural
Locations within Jersey
Subject Matter
Locations to shoot
Orange = Lens Ball + Blue = Tiny Planet/Pano
Other locations to shoot outside St Helier include Gorey village, Mont Orguiel Castle, La Rocco Tower at sunset and Corbiere Lighthouse.
FINAL PRINTS DATES: Select your final images for both EXAM and COURSEWORK (if you haven’t completed this already)
Tue 30 April 15:00 prints ready for Day 1 of Exam 7 / 8 May Tue 7 & 8 May 15:00 prints ready for Day 2 of Exam 13 / 14 May Mon 13 & Tue 14 May 15:00 prints ready Tue 21 May
EXAMINATION DATES: 15 hrs controlled test over 3 days Groups 13A / 13C – 7, 13 & 21 May Group 13D – 8, 14 & 22 May
CLASS LIST + EXTRA TIME For those of you who have extra time – check when this has been allocated.
BLOG: End your blog with evidence of the following:
1. Show evidence of how you intend to present and display your final prints – make mock up in Photoshop – for example. a single image or diptych, triptych, predella, size A5, A4 or A3, typology-style grid, collage etc
2. If you have made a photobook – write a book specification and describe in detail what your book is about in terms of narrative, concept and design. Produce a mood-board of design ideas and consider the following:
How you want your book to look and feel
Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
4. Go through all your blog posts and make sure that you have completed them all to your best ability, e.g. good use of images/ illustrations, annotation of processes/ techniques used, analysis/ evaluation of images and experimentation
5. Present your final outcomes in window mounts or on foam board, label with name, candidate number, attach velcro and put in a BROWN/BEIGE/YELLOW folder.
To achieve a top marks we need to see a coherent progression of quality work from start to finish following these steps:
The following students have been selected for moderation:
Coursework: Shanesia Da Silva Jordan Fenn Ben Grindheim Charlton Hoy Alice Kent Kobi Le Cornu Erin Luis Declan O’Grady Hayden Runacres Anya Waigh Stanley Lucas
Externally Set Assignment: Shanesia Da Silva Jordan Fenn Ben Grindheim Charlton Hoy Alice Kent Kobi Le Cornu Erin Luis Declan O’Grady Hayden Runacres Anya Waigh Stanley Lucas (H) Georgine Lutkin Clarke (L)
