About Andy Warhol and his work
Andy Warhol was the most successful and highly paid commercial illustrator in New York even before he began to make art destined for galleries. Nevertheless, his screen printed images of Marilyn Monroe, soup cans, and sensational newspaper stories, quickly became synonymous with Pop art. He emerged from the poverty and obscurity of an Eastern European immigrant family in Pittsburgh, to become a charismatic magnet for bohemian New York, and to ultimately find a place in the circles of High Society. For many his ascent echoes one of Pop art's ambitions, to bring popular styles and subjects into the exclusive salons of high art. His crowning achievement was the elevation of his own persona to the level of a popular icon, representing a new kind of fame and celebrity for a fine artist.
Warhol's early commercial illustration has recently been acclaimed as the arena in which he first learned to manipulate popular tastes. His drawings were often comic, decorative, and whimsical, and their tone is entirely different from the cold and impersonal mood of his Pop art.
Much debate still surrounds the iconic screen printed images with which Warhol established his reputation as a Pop artist in the early 1960s. Some view his Death and Disaster series, and his Marilyn pictures, as frank expressions of his sorrow at public events. Others view them as some of the first expressions of 'compassion fatigue' - the way the public loses the ability to sympathize with events from which they feel removed. Still others think of his pictures as screens - placed between us and horrifying events - which attempt to register and process shock.
Although artists had drawn on popular culture throughout the 20th century, Pop art marked an important new stage in the breakdown between high and low art forms. Warhol's paintings from the early 1960s were important in pioneering these developments, but it is arguable that the diverse activities of his later years were just as influential in expanding the implications of Pop art into other spheres, and further eroding the borders between the worlds of high art and popular culture.
Although Warhol would continue to create paintings intermittently throughout his career, in 1965 he "retired" from the medium to concentrate on making experimental films. Despite years of neglect, these films have recently attracted widespread interest, and Warhol is now seen as one of the most important filmmakers of the period, a forefather of independent film.
Critics have traditionally seen Warhol's career as going into decline in 1968, after he was shot by Valerie Solanas. Valuing his early paintings above all, they have ignored the activities that absorbed his attention in later years - parties, collecting, publishing, and painting commissioned portraits. Yet some have begun to think that all these ventures make up Warhol's most important legacy because they prefigure the diverse interests, activities, and interventions that occupy artists today.
His Photo montage images:
Here I have selected the pieces I will be printing out for Identity and Place. I have chosen these because I feel that it shows my creativity and initiative very well. It also shows my camera skills well. I also personally really love these images that I created.
Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer and was an early exponent of photo montage in the 20th century in America. His work in the darkroom effects foreshadowed the use of Adobe Photoshop to make surrealistic images in the late 20th century, a process led by his ex-wife, Maggie Taylor, at that time. He received a Guggernhein Fellowship in 1967, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1972, and the Lucie Award in Fine Art in 2015. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, a founding member of The Society of Photographic Education. Uelsmann’s interpretations of landscape elements, reworked, tweaked, and re-contextualized, force the viewer to actively interact with his subjects. Continually in his photographs the viewer is confronted with entrances, whether they be gates, windows, trapdoors or ordinary doors. Usually, the entrances are shut, but even when they are not, the viewer must imagine what is inside.
Uelsmann Moodboard:
Photo Analysis:
This photo is in black and white. It shows a man looking out of the window and seeing a reflection of himself. The man seems to be confused, and has a look on his face that he is lost. The reflection seem to have been inverted so that the shadows and lighter parts have switched. The lighting that Uelsmann has decided to use is natural, this makes the sides of the subject closer to the window a lot brighter than the other side, which will have strong shadows. The shutter speed might have been quite fast as the subject is very focused and crisp. Uelsmann has decreased the opacity of the reflection of the man which allows us to see the background of the image, which is of a boy of a young boy walking on grass or on a pathway. Uelsmann could have done this as a representation of the man when he was younger and he could be reflecting on his life.
Throughout my mock exam finals I aimed to keep all of my images together whilst also making sense as individual edits. I wanted to take inspiration from Steve Rosenfield in terms of concept, as in his 'What I Be' project, people opened up about their 'secrets' and insecurities, and through my finals i told a part of my story, which was also a 'secret'.
I wanted to tackle stigmatised issues such as emotional abuse and mental health because these are both topics that I feel extremely strongly about, and they're not usually spoken about openly, this only increases the stigma attached. I personally believe that if someone is experiencing either of these they are automatically labelled an 'attention seeker' or 'liar' and ultimately stop talking, they feel alone and this leads to the loss of identity, the feeling of not being able to get better from it, not knowing who you are, or what your purpose is.
Through my finals I wanted to get across the message that you WILL get better, and it won't last forever.
I personally feel like I was successful with my thoughts and ideas for what I aimed to do with this concept. I think I did this because I had 5 finals, the first was the beginning of my story, the second related to the emotional abuse and the feelings of loss of identity that came with it, the third was the 'invisible wounds' or affects that ARE suffered as a consequence, and the fourth and fifth represented the support available and recovery and moving on. This showed that although there may be a very negative beginning, there can always be a positive ending.
visual
For the editing and visuals of my finals I took inspiration and was influenced by Barbara Krugers work. Kruger is known for her heavily cropped and contrasted black and white images, below a thick red border, with red text boxes for her bold, white writing to lay on top of. I edited my text this way, however had a few differences.
In Krugers work she used the same font for all of her text, I did not do this, I changed my font to emphasise words, I also used fonts that I thought were more appropriate, for example, in my first image, for the word 'eight' I used the font Comic Sans, I did this because this is a font that I've always associated with primary school.
Also, Kruger does not incorporate any colour into her images, and in my final, final piece, I used the history tool in Photoshop to bring Katie back into her original, unedited state, back into colour. I did this because this was one of the images representing getting better, and black and white photos are often associated with sadness, and this was not a sad edit.
Overall, I'm happy with how my edits presented as finals once edited. I think that they were so eye catching whilst also getting across an important message.
Now I will be editing the images from my 3rd and 4th photo shoots inspired by Francesca Woodman. I will be editing the images in different ways in order to represent feelings that someone can feel when experiencing a lack of identity.
Firstly, I opened up the image i wanted to edit and I added a new layer.I then went to “edit” and “fill” to fill the new layer with the colour black.Then, I opened a text box over the layer and pasted a small text I had written over again. The text read “Sad, Mad, misplaced, confused, Upset”. I repeatedly pasted this until the entire text box was filled.I then added a “layer mask” to the text layer and pasted the original background into the layer mask.
Final Outcome
This is my final outcome. On one hand I really like this as you can faintly tell that its a human figure by the legs, and I think having the text obscuring the model further shows a lack of identity as you cant make out anything about the person. Furthermore, since the text is different types of emotions the model could be feeling, it is now clear to views how the model feels emotionally. On the other hand, I think that by having the image obscured so much by the text, the audience will not be able to get the full effect of the long exposure effect, or the models expression, which takes away part of the photo’s concept.
Firstly, what I did was select lots of individual parts of the image and then I right-clicked all of them and the pressed “layer via copy”Next, I selected each individual layer and moved them slightly.
Final outcome
This is my final image after the editing process. I decided to use this technique of manipulation in order to express feelings associated with having a lack of identity, such as feeling displaced and no feeling whole. The sections that I have selected and placed in different areas shows the figure displaced and falling apart which is a literal way of expressing the metaphorical concept.
For my next photo shoot, I’m developing my previous idea further. Still using the same concepts and photographer as inspiration I decided to photograph a model in a different setting. I wanted to go somewhere where I could have an open space, like Woodman did in her work- and also somewhere that had quite a gloomy old feeling so I chose to conduct my photo shoot in a car park, using a wall as my background. I took the same approach to this photo shoot as I did with my previous one. I made sure to utilise the same type of clothing on my model, and I also wanted the model to use body language in order to express certain concepts and feelings that i felt could be associated with a loss or lack of identity. I also used long exposure combined with a lower ISO in order to achieve the blurry effects in the images you can see below.
Contact sheets
(add 3rd contact sheet)
Best Outcomes
Analysing
Technical
This image was taken using quite a slow shutter speed and a low ISO.
visual
In the photo we see a female figure were black clothing blurrily holding he arms up to hold her face. She appears to be quite sad/mad/distressed as her pose looks like an emotional outburst. The model is surrounded by a large,open, plain space.
conceptual
This image is supposed to portray the feelings that may be associated with loosing or lacking an identity. The female in the image clearly feeling quite distressed. This emotional outburst is something I would consider to be associated with not being sure who you were. The fact that she’s also dressed very plainly and that the image is taken in an open space is also representative of not having an identity, as her clothing and the space that she’s in is very plain and not individualised.
For my third photo shoot I wanted to convey the feeling and theme of lack of identity while also exploring gender identity. I will be using Francesca’s work as inspiration for this photo shoot. For this particular shoot I was inspired by the images below.
Image by Francesca Woodman.Image by Francesca Woodman.Image by Francesca Woodman.
The 3 images above show female figures moving around, while Woodman photographed them using a slow shutter speed. I will be doing the same, as I think its very interesting the way she represents these women questioning their identity by making them appear almost ghost like, and making them almost disappear into the image as they look blurry. I also think its interesting how all their features are blurred as that also symbolises that the women don’t have identities since we cant see anything that makes them look individual. For my photo shoot I will make sure my models are wearing simple dresses, just as the women in the image are wearing, as I think it’s a very successful piece of clothing when using long exposure as it’s loose and will flow meaning that it will help me achieve the effect where it almost looks like the models are blending into their surroundings. I will also be photographing my model in a studio to begin with so that I have a more controlled environment to perfect the long exposure technique. Later I plan on using more interesting settings when I further develop my set of images inspired by Woodman.
Contact sheets
Best Outcomes
Analysing
Technical
While taking this image I set my camera settings at a slow shutter speed along with a low ISO. I did this because the slow shutter speed meant the exposure time would be very long, so by lowering the ISO the image didn’t turn out overexposed.
Visual
In this image we can see a female figure dressed in a black dress. Due to long exposure it seems as though there are 2 people standing in the same space, but in different positions as she was moving while the image was being taken. In the photo we can see one of the faces smiling, and another face like figure with their face hidden so only the side is visible.
Conceptual
This image is meant to convey a feeling of a lack of identity. I feel as though this has been done quite well. One reason for this is because it looks like the model in the image is there twice, showing a lack of individuality as they both the figures look the same. It also conveys 2 different feelings. As the model was moving and making different facial expressions, we see one version of her face smiling like she’s happy and we see another version where she concealed her face by turning her head, which meant that we could only see her jaw. This could symbolise the emotions that come with feeling like you have a lack of identity as she appears happy but there’s also part of her who may feel as though she was self-conscious to show her face.
My 2 previous photo shoots showed different portrayals of women being merged together in order to challenge the stereotypical view ingrained into society of what a woman should look like. It became clear that gender identity and the loss of identity were 2 themes that began to overlap while I was exploring gender identity. This is because there is such a typical outlook on genders, that it almost feels like since everyone is viewed the same there is no individuality, which I think would be interesting to explore through lack of identity.For this reason I have decided that I would also try to incorporate the theme of loss of identity into my project, and link it in with gender identity.. An example of a photographer that I though related to both of these themes is Francesca Woodman.
Francesca Woodman
Woodman was a female photographer who produced many photographs that showed either herself or other female models. A majority of her images show the models all blurred, in almost a ghost-like way, due to her use of long exposure. The models in her images appear to almost be dissolving into their surroundings. Woodman questioned concepts of the self, identity and body image through her-mostly- black and white images that were taken between 1972 and 1981.
Mood Board
All images by Francesca Woodman.
Mind Map
Analysing
Technical
This image is in black and white and seems to have been taken using a slow shutter speed, as the image is blurry as there is quite a high level of brightness in certain parts of the image.
Visual
In this image we see a blurred female figure, wearing a white dress who appears to have been twirling round due to the ghost-like outcome. The surroundings look quite old and unperfect as there are several cracks in the wall.
Conceptual
I think that this is a very powerful image. The fact that the woman is wearing minimal clothing and is lacking accessories conveys the concept of loss of identity. Because she is portrayed very simplistically, it could suggest the lack of the female’s identity. There is also a lot of empty space around the model, which could symbolise emptiness within, and it could also suggest that she feels as if she doesn’t belong since as the slow shutter speed almost makes it look like she’s disappearing from the scene. This could be a way of conveying the model of photographers feelings.
Technical
This image is displayed in black and white, and appears to be taken outdoors.
visual
In this image we see a mirror with a women’s back being reflected on it. The mirror seems to be being held by the same figure or another figure who’s dressed the same. The background of the image suggests that it was taken outdoors due to the tree in the background.
conceptual
When I see this image, I think that it conveys a theme of self-displacement. I like how Woodman has utilised a mirror within the image as a mirror is an item usually associated with personality and confidence. However, in this image Woodman has used it to portray the exact opposite as it shows lack of confidence and self-consciousness as we cannot see a face in the mirror. The photographer has also used very minimal and simplistic clothing on the model which also shows self-displacement as it’s simple and conveys no identity.
In this post I will be referring back to this mood board:
Not my images.
Now that I have my 2 contrasting set of images completed I’m now going on to editing them using the mood board above as inspiration. The reasoning behind editing my images like this is so that it is clear to viewers that that one image will be a stereotypical representation, and the other will be a different version challenging the view. Conceptually, I’m hoping to show that there is more than one possible way for someone to look, as people feel differently and represent themselves in different ways, giving them different variations of identity.
Editing
Firstly, I opened up an image from each photo shoot and I dragged one on top of the other.Next, I made sure that I positioned the image correctly over the original background. I then pressed on the newest layer, and clicked FX at the bottom of layer box and pressed “blending options”After that a box comes up allowing you to edit the layer style. I went to the “advanced blending” section in the middle and I un-clicked the “G” and “B” box in order to achieve this blending effect.
Initial final outcome
This is the outcome that I got from the above process. I think that this outcome was quite successful because we’re able to see both of the contrasting images through each other, and its clearly noticeable that one image symbolises a more feminine identity and the other shows an opposite variation. By having both images displayed directly on top of each other its a lot easier to be able to notice all of the contrasts in the model’s appearance, meaning that the image is more successful at getting its meaning across
I then went to on to take the same approach as I did above but instead I used 2 different images from both the photo shoots. In the screenshot you can see both of the images that I chose to edit togetherAfter I had layered the image on top of the original background I then clicked the “FX” button at the bottom of the layers box, but instead I un-clicked the “R” and “B” to see how it would compare with my previous edit.
Initial final outcome
This is the final outcome from editing my 2 images together the second time. Like the last outcome, we are able to see the model on both of the images. I think that this outcome is also able to get the concept of differing identities within the same gender, because we see the same model presenting herself in two different way directly over each other which makes it a lot easier to be able to spot all the contrasts.
Comparing my outcomes
I think that both of my outcomes using layering, both show the differing appearance of the model quite effectively. However, I think that my 1st outcome (image right above this text) is the most successful one. I think this because with the other outcome we’re not clearly able to see the model’s whole body due to them being directly over each other. I think that being able to see how the model has positioned her body is very important in showing her identity as the way someone uses body langue says a lot about how they see themselves, meaning its their identity.
Final outcome overall
Editing
Next I will be using a technique where I create a pattern on Photoshop and use it as an overlay for another image.
Firstly, I opened up a new document and cropped it to the ratio 1:1 which is square.
I then opened up some of my best potential images so I could choose the best 4.
I then cropped the best 4 images in a 1:1 ratio (square)
I then put a guide line at 50% in a vertical and a horizontal direction to split the blank document into quarters that could fit the 4 images in.
Next, I dragged all the images one by one and made them fir in to their individual segments using the guides.
After, I pressed “edit” and “define pattern”
I then opened up another image from the other photo shoot and went to “edit” then “fill” and filled the new layer with the pattern.
Lastly, I made the layer containing the pattern an overlay so the background was also visible.
Final outcome
Overall I’m very happy with my final outcome. In the image we can see the “feminine female” image being made up of lots of smaller versions of the same model from the contrasting shoot. This outcome is another way of showing how the way a gender represents themselves can vary.
Analysing
