Monthly Archives: December 2019

Filters

ESSAY DRAFT-INTRODUCTION AND PLANNING

December 10, 2019 Eren G 1 Comment

HOW DOES GJON MILI REFLECT DANCE MOVEMENT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EMOTIONS BEING PORTRAYED THROUGH HIS PHOTOGRAPHY?

‘Questions of self and identity have long concerned artists and are intensified as digital lives become ubiquitous and an aspect of performance becomes the norm in terms of modes of behaviour’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 150). In our lives we portray and represent ourselves among many others and highlight our passions and significant features that make us who we are, enabling to show our individualism. The world we live in is somewhat being taken over by the performing arts and takes up a huge amount of social and contextual importance, and is it portrayed to our society that these individuals who shine over others are one in a millions, that making to the top is a one in a billion chance, so why do people even bother trying? The dance industry is something I have always had a drive to be a part of and I believe that in myself its an area that helps me identify myself and show to others my deeper emotions and feelings that may not always be depicted through speech, therefore myself, along with hundreds and thousands of people around the world use dance to do so. To use dance and movement to tell a story, to show a feeling, to show a concept, an idea. However, the idea that dance is just a ‘performance’ or a show rather than an expression, a place to hide away rather than flourish, a secret rather that a narrative is a consistent debate that continues to divide critics and our society. This therefore demonstrate that within a dancer there is a front, a side that they want to show the world, the side where they put themselves forward, contrasting with their hidden deeper meanings and insecurities that they hide away from the audience when they perform. Therefore ‘The question arises: if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of photography as a reflection of reality?’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 17). This quotation is something I will keep in mind during my investigation; a reminder than I want the reality, the truth not a manipulation or a cover up to hide but the certainty of reality. For my personal study I will be investigating the idea of representing emotions that an individual feels through dance, however I want to diverge away from the norm and look at more uncomfortable subjects rather than the stereotypical face of dance. In my photography I want to show both sides of individuals in the dance community, I want to show the hard working, the blood, sweat and tears that goes into it, to show the love, the relief and the drive. I want my images to represent a narrative to its viewers, for them to see my images and ask more questions but most importantly I want to use my photography to highlight each emotion that someone feels when they dance and why they feel certain way, I want to exit the norm of dance photography and enter a new realm of ideas that reflect more than just a pointed toe, I want to show the vehemence of a dancers response to how they truly see themselves and the industry.

Opening quote

Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?

Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. Link to pol erpoints about isms andmovements M:\Departments\Photography\Students\Resources\Personal Study

Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced

Bibliography: List all relevant sources used

NOTES TO CONSIDER WHEN EDITING AND CONTINUE WRITING ON:

Next paragraph introduce the artist and his work
Explain why you decided to choose his work to look at
How does Mili help improve your personal study and ideas that you have?
What other artists do you want to look and why? For example: Chino Otsuka
Why do I want my personal study to be about this

Case study: Laia Abril

December 10, 2019 Lucy L Leave a comment

In this blog post I will be researching Laia Abril’s project, “The Epilogue”.

Laia Abril is a photographer and storyteller who’s work mostly relates to femininity and the struggles that come along with it such as abortion and eating disorders. This project is based on the Robinson family, more specifically their story after they lost their daughter, Cammy, to bulimia at the age of 26. Laia worked really closely with the family telling their story through the use of archival images, interviews/testimonies and photographing important locations. The book is a sort of outlet which allows the family to voice their guilt and grief while also remembering the life of the family member they tragically lost.

“Laia Abril shows us the dilemmas and struggles confronted by many young girls” –Source

I have decided to use Laia as a case study as after looking through her book. I saw how she effectively told a family’s history, in which she was not personally involved in, so successfully through the use of first hand testimony and through photographing locations and by using archival family images. From looking a Laia’s work I have decided to incorporate 2 of her techniques into my own work which is the use of testimony and also through photographing important location with memories and meaning behind them, which you can see some examples of in the mood board.

“Part of the reason why ‘The Epilogue’ works so well is because it acknowledges the restrictions of the two media it intermixes – pictures and words. It has them work with each other, having them support each other” –Source

You can see on the left, how the photographer cleverly incorporated text alongside imagery without compromising the aesthetic of the book, which is something I may also take away from this body of work. I think this is successful as the text doesn’t draw the attention away from the imagery as its hidden, yet the viewer is still able to find vital contextual information.

Analysis:

Visually, it’s clear to see that the object in the image is a deflated balloon. Although some of the text is not visible, from the context above it is clear it is most likely a “get well soon” balloon.

Technically, the composition of the page is interesting. The image itself is very clear and sharp, and the page can be opened up to reveal a document, which you can see in the image below.

Contextually, the document shows us that this particular object may have been given to Cammy while she was in hospital, as the document shown in the fold is a report saying she was admitted into hospital.

Conceptually, the photographer may have used the object to reflect Cammy’s state at the time. The balloon in the image in clearly deflated, yet on the outside it shows a bright, happy pattern with little cartoons on it. This could reflect the fact that when Cammy began to get bulimic tendencies her mental state was deteriorating, however she still put up a brave façade and insisted to her family that she was fine, and everything was ok. However, the meaning may not be that symbolic and it may have purely been incorporated as it is an object which holds significant memory of this period of time.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Component 1 Personal Investigation

Devils Hole and Smugglers inn Planning

December 10, 2019 Lillie M Leave a comment

Smugglers Inn

The parish of St Brelade is a quaint community well known for its rural fields and stunning coastline. With history dating back as far as the sixth century it is difficult to get away from a sense of that history, including the peace and solitude as well. Despite what you may experience in modern St Brelade, this seaside parish was once a haven for buccaneers. The Old Smugglers Inn on Ouaisne Bay was the place they came to not only rest, but to hide out when the heat was on. Due to this many expect the histories and myths to come from one of these bloodthirsty cut-throats haunting the Old Smugglers inn, which is however not the case, instead it is said to be the ominously named Woman in Black. It is said to be here in one of the above and surrounding cottages that a man sitting in bed noticed a women who he assumed was his girlfriend sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a black dress. A few moments later his girlfriend walked into the room. The witness of this event reported not being scared by the incident but instead found in calming. For many years both patrons and staff have reported encountering the mysterious figure of a ghostly woman in a black dress.

Although this is not one of the most well known legends of the island I feel is one I find interesting and one that I could create good photographs out of with tableaux effects as well as landscape and surrounding images. I feel with the use of costume and effects this is something I can produce well and create. For this I would use two females and a male model in the tableaux scenes. I will generate the two sets of photoshoots with landscapes and tableaux to show and portray the legend, with also varyings of lights and times, eg. daytime, nighttime, to use the natural lighting I can as well as artificial to generate effect which can help with the editing later on.

Devils Hole

Before I went out to portray the myths and legends of devils hole I went out to learn the story of what it exactly entails. The legend surrounds a night in October 1851 when a French cutter ‘La Josephine’ struck the rocks off the north coast of Jersey and was wrecked with the loss of one of the crew. The ships demon figurehead was washed up inside the hole and the ship itself was also said to be curse. The figurehead, adapted carved by local Jean Gifford, created a statue of the devil which was set up above the crevasse for people to see. The location that I am planning on using for my shoots will be the site of Devil’s Hole itself. This natural site is a crater in one of Jerseys cliffs, measuring about 100ft across and 200ft deep. The hole is a natural formation probably caused by the sea eroding a cave until the roof of the cave collapsed to form the crater we now see. At high tide the cave floods and water is forced through the tunnel and out of the hole, creating a booming noise, which is a feature of many St Mary legends. Today there is a pathway deigned to allow the public visit this natural attraction. The lower part, once quite dangerous, now has wooden steps and handrails. However, the access path ends at a large specially constructed viewing platform.

In Erren Michaels book ‘Jersey Legends’ gives one of the best descriptions of the tale. Erren Michaels description gives me inspiring information that will help me in my attempt to accurately portray this legend. This includes a description and detailed illustration of the devil character; “The devil stood before him, tall and terrifying. The cold light of the moon framed the creature in silver. Its eyes were filled with sorrow and wrath as it looked down upon him”. As well as an insight into the importance of the statues and surrounding area where the cursed ship sank.

To show and produce this legend well I will be generating at least two sets of shoots, one of the landscape and the surroundings and one in character with tableaux elements of having it all staged with costumes and maybe props. Below I have some historical landscape photographs as well as some images found at the location I am hoping to be able to use these as inspiration and help towards the tableaux and landscape shoots.

Uncategorized

Newspaper Spread Layout – LANDSCAPE

December 10, 2019 Kimberley N Leave a comment

MY FAVOURITE PAGE SPREAD:

AO1 Develop Ideas

ARTIST STUDY – Darren harvey-regan (The Erratics)

December 10, 2019 Maksymilian K Leave a comment

‘The Erratics’ is a collection of work comprised of sculptures, photography as well as a book. The body of work is focused of rock formations and sculpted chalk with the subject of the photos alternating across pages between the found rocks (particularly the stones within the desert at the start of the book) where these monolithic structures are contrasted with the man mad chalk sculptures. The use of sliced chalks allows the contrast of the textured, natural surface of the stone as well as the smooth faces where it has been cut. This lets the subjects interact with the lighting in an interesting manner and creates variety for the 3D form of the object. The introduction of the smooth faces makes the 3D forms less distinguishable, bringing the photography more into abstraction. The book is shot in black and white which I find allows for better exploration of tone and contrast, this results in a series of impactful, minimalist images. The images are shot with alternating between studio and natural lighting; due to the lack of color I cannot tell what type of studio lighting was used however due to the soft drop shadows, diffusers were most probably used, likely in conjunction with reflectors in order to cast light on some of the hidden details of the subjects.

Image result for erratics darren harvey regan"

Pictured above is the cover photo for the book, A small aperture has been used in order to achieve a high level of detail across the images, this can be seen as the focus appears to be the same across the foreground and the subject of the image. It is hard to determine the length of shutter speed from the image since it is a studio shot without color, as such the color depth cant be used to infer the shutter speed. It is likely that the shutter speed is short however since it is a studio shot and the use of spot lamps can allow for a faster shutter. The cut across the chalk is intentionally lined up with the edge of the desk in order to create the illusion of the conjunction of 2 separate images into one. This makes it more difficult to distinguish particular forms bringing the image more into the lines of abstract.

Uncategorized

Mood Board and MIND MAP for personal study

December 10, 2019 Kimberley N Leave a comment

produce a new mind map and mood board based around how you interpret the theme of OCCUPATION Vs LIBERATION now

Liberation Ideas:

Freedom
Safety
Started fighting for more rights – Woman.
Grief of lost ones

Occupation:

Trapped
Forced
Stereotypes reinforced:
Woman housewife, but some went to work in aircraft warehouses.
Men – went off to fight.
rations

Mood Board:

AO1 Develop Ideas

ARTIST STUDY – Bernd and Hilla Becher (Typologies)

December 10, 2019 Maksymilian K Leave a comment

Bernd and Hilla Becher were a photography duo whose work primarily centered around typologies of various industrial architecture. They photographed industrial architecture for forty years across North America and Europe. As a duo they formed the ‘Becher School’ (Düsseldorf School) and have been awarded the Erasmus prize and the Hasselblad Award for their roles as photography professors.

Bernd Becher (1931-2007) was a Siegen born artist. He studied painting at Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart for three years then went on to study typography under Karl Rössing at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf for two years.

Hilla Becher, born Hilla Wobeser (1934-2015) in Potsdam. Prior to studying photography, Hilla had an apprenticeship with a local photographer. Hilla went on to study photography at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf for three years.

Bernd and Hilla began to work together on their typologies, after two years of collaboration they married.

Their photography follows a very journalistic approach with elements of abstract. They were shot using natural light on a black and white SLR. Since the subjects are often substantially darker than the background it is likely the images were shot using quite fast film. with a fast shutter resulting in a higher degree of contrast.

The typologies feature series of visually similar images, laid out in a grid like format.

The image above is a prime example of the typology work of the Bechers; the images shows a series of very visually similar series of photographs of various buildings. The images show aspects of abstraction, featuring minimal 3D forms, emphasized by the front on images of flat faces of buildings. The contrasting cross-beams are used to introduce more shape into the photographs.

Uncategorized

Essay Plan – Guide

December 10, 2019 Krystian S Leave a comment

Question – How does fashion shape social identities?

-Opening quote-

-Introduction (250-500 words) Area study, what artists are you analysing, why, how will you respond to their work, how will you respond to essay question.

Explain what the essay is going to do.

Explain how I interpret the question.
Identify issues that I am going to explore
Give a brief outline of how I will deal with each issue, and in which order.
Use at least one quote

-Paragraph 1 (500 words) Art historical/theoretical context, photography and visual culture relating to area study. Make links to movements/isms + methods used by critics and historians.

over the first thing I said in my Introduction that I would address.
Consider using subheadings
The first sentence of the paragraph introduces the main idea of the paragraph
Other sentences develop the subject of the paragraph.
Include relevant examples, details, evidence, quotations, and references showing understanding of relevant theory and reading
Set the scene for the next paragraph.

-Paragraph 2 (500 words) Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

The first sentence or opening sentences, link the paragraph to the previous paragraph, then introduce the main idea of the new paragraph.
Other sentences develop the paragraph’s subject.
Set the scene for the next paragraph.

-Paragraph 3 (500 words) Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.

The first sentence or opening sentences, link the paragraph to the previous paragraph, then introduce the main idea of the new paragraph.
Other sentences develop the paragraph’s subject.
Set the scene for the next paragraph.

-Conclusion (250-500 words) Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced.

The conclusion contains no new material.
Summarise my argument and the main themes.
State my general conclusions and evaluate my findings.
Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant.
In the last sentence, sum up my argument very briefly, linking it to the title.

-Bibliography – List all relevant sources used

AO2 Explore Ideas

PLANNING

December 10, 2019 Maksymilian K Leave a comment

Shoot 1/2 –

I will be shooting frontal shots of the sea wall as well as some close up photography of interesting sections of the wall. I will also be taking establishing shots of the beach itself and the ocean. Any fortifications encountered will also be photographs such as Gun-site.

This will be done throughout various times of day in order to give different types of lighting. As such this will be done across 2 shoots.

Shoot 3 –

Take shots of various fortifications across jersey. Focus on abstraction and minimal use of 3D forms.

This will be done at noon to give flat lighting, preferably with overcast weather to soften the lighting.

Shoot 4 –

I will photograph some concrete sculptures using studio lighting similarly to the works of Darren Harvey-Regan besides the clean cut edges of the chalk.

Uncategorized

Shoot 1 and edits

December 10, 2019 Gabrielle L Leave a comment

My first Shoot was really successful. The only real problem I had was keeping the dolls upright. I had planned on using a tripod but decided not to because I wanted some real close up. I went into light room and made my selection.I went through them all and flagged the good ones and bad ones. I then color coded the ones I might edit, the ones I may edit and the ones I wont edit. I then adjusted a few of them on light room before editing them in Photoshop.