Playfully distorting proportion and cultural context, Belgian artist ’s work comprises surreal collages and illustrations that somewhat unexpectedly combine vintage with contemporary images. Slabbinck likes to play around with different styles and proportions with the aim of creating powerful yet simple visual works that are permeated by a subtle sense of humour. His carefully composed images create startling juxtapositions and present new meanings through a masterful combination of completely heterogeneous elements and a clever use of scale and form. An avid collector of magazines and books from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, the artist takes full advantage of the muted tones and rich textures that he finds in his source material, namely vintage advertisements, photography and print.

”Mid-century advertisements have a certain look that appeals even up to this day. There is a sense of innocence in them that’s very inviting to work with. Putting these images out of their normal frame and juxtaposing them with modern elements can give an exciting and surprising effect. The characters in these ads can function as actors in the collage, and I, as the director, can give them a second life by putting them in a new surreal landscape.”
-Sammy Slabbinck

Analysis

In this photo there is a young boy who looks as if he was initially playing with toys. The background is of a large mountain range with an overcast sky, the clouds touching the tips. The boy is holding what appears to be a toy brick and he is playing on the ruins of an Aztec village. The texture in this photo is rough with the collapsed building and rocky mountains but contrasts with the soft nature and purity of the young child. The significance of the boy and the brick is that it as if he is rebuilding the damaged houses whilst playing this symbolizes how important playing is for kids and how it constructs ideas and imagination. There is contrast between the simplistic boy and the sublime nature behind him, it also closes the barrier of age and merges old ruins with young innocence. It suggests that the young are important as they are going to build our future, when we all die they will still be here to carry on constructing the world we created. Sammy has clearly cropped the boy and placed him in the middle ground between the other two pictures. Even though in a literal sense the scale of this picture is impossible, metaphorically it represents the idea that we underestimate children and their presents, they might not be the size of a mountain but they hold similar qualities of strength and power. On the other hand I feel like this picture holds a negative stereotype of men and how they aren’t good for anything other than building. This empathizes how this idea of men going out to work and women staying at home is drilled into the minds of kids from such young ages that it becomes natural to them and the cycle continues for yet another generation.

My Final Outcome

I was influenced by Sammy Slabbink to create this final piece. I took a picture of my little brother and an older picture of my when I visited the Pyrenees. My first step in Photoshop was select, select and mask, then I used the quick selection tool to  roughly highlight the area of my brother I wanted to isolate from the background. Next I used the  eraser tool to get rid of any unwanted parts in more detail. I opened the picture of the mountains, decreased its brightness, offset and exposure. Finally I placed my brother onto my mountain picture and blurred out his legs to make it look like he is sitting in the snow. I wanted to create something that had connotations similar to the ones I expressed above about young children being underestimated just because of their size.  He is wearing shorts to represent the fact that children aren’t always weak, they hold power in society, they are our future and like my brother they don’t feel the cold, they are stronger than we think. As well as that the ice cream made from the snow represents that the youth are resourceful, before all the technology they play with anything; mud, pot, pans, we could learn a few life lessons from kids as they get the best out of the things they have, they work with what they have. I purposely made an unrealistic scale between the mountains and my brother to suggest that mountains may be big in real life but they don’t hold anymore importance than children just because of their size.

The Ten Commandments:

The Ten Commandments were given by God to the prophet Moses during Old Testament times. Recorded in the Holy Bible, these commandments form the foundation for the laws governing the moral conduct of God’s children.

Catholicism- The Church doesn’t see the Ten Commandments as arbitrary rules and regulations from the man upstairs but as commandments for protection. Obey them and eternal happiness is yours. Disobey them and suffer the consequences.

1. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any strange gods before Me.”

   This commandment forbids idolatry, the worship of false gods and goddesses, and it excludes polytheism, the belief in many gods, insisting instead on monotheism, the belief in one God. This commandment forbids making golden calves, building temples to Isis, and worshiping statues of Caesar, for example.

2. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

   The faithful are required to honor the name of God. It makes sense that if you’re to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you’re naturally to respect the name of God with equal passion and vigor.

3. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

   The Jewish celebration of Sabbath (Sabbath) begins at sundown on Friday evening and lasts until sundown on Saturday. Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians go to church on Sunday, treating it as the Lord’s Day instead of Saturday to honor the day Christ rose from the dead.

4. “Honor thy father and mother.”

   This commandment obliges the faithful to show respect for their parents — as children and adults. Children must obey their parents, and adults must respect and see to the care of their parents, when they become old and infirm.

5. “Thou shalt not kill.”

   The better translation from the Hebrew would be “Thou shalt not murder” — a subtle distinction but an important one to the Church. Killing an innocent person is considered murder. Killing an unjust aggressor to preserve your own life is still killing, but it isn’t considered murder or immoral.

6. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

   The sixth and ninth commandments honor human sexuality. This commandment forbids the actual, physical act of having immoral sexual activity, specifically adultery, which is sex with someone else’s spouse or a spouse cheating on their partner. This commandment also includes fornication, which is sex between unmarried people, prostitution, pornography, homosexual activity, masturbation, group sex, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia.

7. “Thou shalt not steal.”

   The seventh and tenth commandments focus on respecting and honoring the possessions of others. This commandment forbids the act of taking someone else’s property. The Catholic Church believes that this commandment also denounces cheating people of their money or property, depriving workers of their just wage, or not giving employers a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, and vandalism are all considered extensions of violations of the Seventh Commandment.

8. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

   The Eighth Commandment condemns lying. Because God is regarded as the author of all truth, the Church believes that humans are obligated to honor the truth. The most obvious way to fulfill this commandment is not to lie — intentionally deceive another by speaking a falsehood. So a good Catholic is who you want to buy a used car from.

9. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”

   The Ninth Commandment forbids the intentional desire and longing for immoral sexuality. To sin in the heart, Jesus says, is to lust after a woman or a man in your heart with the desire and will to have immoral sex with them. Just as human life is a gift from God and needs to be respected, defended, and protected, so, too, is human sexuality. Catholicism regards human sexuality as a divine gift, so it’s considered sacred in the proper context — marriage.

10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

 The Tenth Commandment forbids the wanting to or taking  someone else’s property. Along with the Seventh Commandment, this commandment condemns theft and the feelings of envy, greed,       and jealousy in reaction to what other people have.

I am going to base my tableaux vivant of the 6th commandment ‘thou shalt not commit adultery’. Christians believe that marriage is a gift from God, one that should not be taken for granted. It is the right atmosphere to engage in sexual relations and to build a family life. Getting married in a church, in front of God, is very important. A marriage is a public declaration of love and commitment. Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not their spouse and is seen as a sin. In the Old Testament, adultery was understood as sexual relations between a married (or betrothed) woman and a man other than her husband. It was therefore a sin against the husband. The Bible mentions adultery as grounds for divorce  but does not require it. In many cases the husband and wife can be reconciled and the marriage saved even after adultery. It is not a sin to continue to live with and have sex with a spouse who has committed adultery. (As a practical matter, the risks of sexually transmitted diseases should be considered.) As with other sins, God will forgive the sin of adultery if a person sincerely repents and also forgives other people. Even though God will forgive adultery, the damage it causes often cannot be undone. It is extremely hurtful to the spouse. It often leads to divorce and leaves the marriage partners embittered, disillusioned and financially poorer. It robs the children of the love and security of a healthy family and denies them a good role model for their own future marriages. Children from families where there is conflict and/or divorce are more prone to anxiety, poor school performance, drug abuse and delinquent behavior. These problems can persist into adulthood. Adult children of divorced parents tend to have lower educational attainment, lower income, more children out of wedlock, higher rates of divorce themselves, and a lower sense of well-being.

My Final Outcomes

I used three girls to represent a gay relationship as I wanted to go against the Christian vision of a relationship between a women and a man. As well as that I wanted to steer away from the stereotype of the men always cheating on the women and seeing as its a lesbian relationship its impossible for a men to be expressed as the one committing adultery. I asked my friends not to wear anything specific and just wear what they usually would wear on a day to day basis to symbolize how adultery has become much more casual. This is due to it becoming more common therefore people don’t see it as a big deal.This is the opposite as to how Old Testament Christians used to see it, it was a sinful act that would send you to hell but nowadays as long as you repent you can cleanse that sin.

I decreased exposure on both photos in Photoshop as the sky was very bright yet overcast, me and my friends went out at 10 am in order to miss the midday sun and avoid overexposure. The structure on the first image is symmetrical and repetitive which symbolizes the constant and on going affects adultery has on the couple and their family. In the second photo there is a clear split as if the cheater and their married parent are living in different worlds and how the partner is blind to the act in which her significant other is taking part in. In the second photo I wanted the phone to be seen as I wanted to exaggerate the modern side of adultery and how it doesn’t just affect those who are religious or old it affects our generation as well.

A tableau vivant (often shortened to tableau, plural: tableaux vivants), French for ‘living picture’, is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit. It thus combines aspects of theatre and the visual arts.Staged reality is a main aspect of tableaux vivant in which the photographer captures an artificially constructed scene.

Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter (born 1965) is a London-based British artist working in photography and film. His photographs often reference and re imagine classical paintings. He studied at the London College of Printing, and was the first photographer to have a one-man show at the National Gallery of London.

He worked alongside friends, neighbours and family to recreate others work but in a much more modern way. For instance the picture on the left is not this own work it is in fact Johannes Vermeer artwork which entails a young girl standing by a window reading a love letter from her man who is far away, possibly at war. Hunter has recreated Vermeer’s work but with a modern update, the women isn’t holding a love letter she is holding an eviction notice. Tom has spent time with the people he takes pictures, for instance he lived on the same tower block as his women, he knew the problem she was going through as he was also being evicted. Even though the to photos are very similar, there are underlying differences, for instance the open window on the left and the light flooding through has connotations of hope and freedom as she is happy her lover is still alive, whereas on the right the window is closed this has connotations of being trapped with no hope for the future, now she is homeless with a baby. As well as that on the left there is a bowl of fruits yet on the right there is a baby, this is symbolic of the fact that the women on the right has a lot more to lose then the women on the left, fruits can be eaten but a baby can’t just be thrown away, it needs love and care and a roof over its head. There is a clear rule of thirds in this photo, this is symbolic of how the women on the left has a structured path in life, its all going in one direction, she can see her path clearly because soon the war will be over and she can marry the man she is in love with. Whereas the women on the right, her rule of thirds represents a sense of being trapped, she can’t escape this harsh cycle of council housing, she is stuck in this rule of thirds layout.

Recreation

This painting was fairly hard to recreate considering it is located on a raft at sea and there are lots of people involved in the photo. We tried to modernize the photo as much as possible for instance we made sure ‘the north face jacket’ which was acting as a flag was clear too see, as the brands represent how society nowadays is materialist and how we need the best of the best not just unbranded, our whole world revolves around money and out doing each other. We were all at different levels in order to create a pyramid shape, a pyramid having connotations of strength, power and sturdiness. As well that it represents society and how those at the top thrive and survive but those ones at the bottom struggle and fail.

I recreated this photo in school near the window by art. I had to select the window on Photoshop and decrease the exposure as the light coming through was over-exposed and too bright. I also increased the contrast to add depth and emphasis the light outside against the darkness inside. This symbolizes how the girl in the Tom Walker photo was exposed to the light and sunny world but under the surface the world was creating more troubles for her then happiness and the weather can’t change the fact that she is a single mum without a home. It’s as if the world is trying to sugarcoat all her worries with clear skies, but she can’t see its true beauty, the only thing she can see is the eviction letter she is holding.

Tom Hunter- The Guardian Article

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/nov/04/photography-tom-hunter-best-shot

Rankin

Is a British portrait and fashion  photographer he is also the founder of ‘Dazed and Confused’  magazine  and for his photography.  He has work with many famous people, including models, Heidi Klum and Kate Moss, celebrities such as David Bowie and Madonna and is known for his portrait of Elizabeth II. His work has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire. In 2011 Rankin started the biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, hunger and launched Rankin Film to produce and direct his own commercial and editorial film work. Rankin was destined for life of an accountant until he discovered his interests lay somewhere else as he drop his accountancy studies and began studying photography instead. Rankin’s work has a distinct patterns of using white backgrounds, or single colour background, which helps to concentrate all focus on the person he is shooting. The blank background creates almost a blank canvas in with the person is the paint, the more expressions and feeling in the persons face the more detailed the canvas becomes. He is very much a studio photographer and works with artificial light and flash photography to capture the detail on peoples faces.

Lighting

• Why do we use studio lighting?  It allows us to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations its easy to  control and to adapt to fit the needs of the shoot. Also with so many options available nowadays, it doesn’t have to be confined to a studio.
• What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide / solve

  

  Key Light

  This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

  

  Fill Light

  This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To achieve this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.

  

  Back Light

  The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

• What is fill lighting? Fill light is form of supplementary light mainly used to lighten shadows in an image. Fill light is often used in portrait photography to create a contrast between the image subject and image background giving the scene a sense of depth despite the final product being 2 dimensional. In this situation the use of fill light also reduces the overall dynamic range of the scene allowing for easier selection of the exposure settings required to capture an image. When fill light is correctly applied it does not significantly impact the main light source of an image.
• What is spill lighting? Light spilling is where light falls where it was not intended to fall, creating a hazy, blown out look at times.
• What is Chiaroscuro ? It’s the strong and bold contrasts between light and dark areas in a photograph.

Ring Light

Two Point Lighting

Three Point Lighting

Chiaroscuro

Overall the experience was good for my confidence and it put me out of my comfort zone. The anticipation of this shoot was fairly scary as I don’t feel comfortable taking pictures of people that I don’t personally know. I can know say I have huge amounts of respect for street photographers, you need to be confident in your personality and camera skills, because everything is happening so fast and to be able to take a sharp photo which is in focus takes skill. Although I did get some good final outcomes from this shoot there are many photos which were a large part of trial and error. Due to the changing of location from the bright sunny street to the dark dingy market, it made it hard for me to adjust the camera to get the right exposure, so in some of my photos it’s either too dark you can’t see detail on people faces or the light in the background is over exposed and the background becomes too bright. 

In this particular photo it was under-exposed, so i had to lighten the picture in Photoshop in order for the taxi-drivers face to become clear.

This was one of my favourite photos from from the shoot because of the sharpness of the women, but yet again my exposure was faulty and the sky was over-exposed, lucky cropping easily solved the problem.

Although this picture was blurred, unfocused and lacked sharpness, i still liked it. I cropped it to get rid of the negative space on the floor and provide more focus towards the light and men. I liked how the blurriness of the photo represents the constant movement in the street and how everything moves like clockwork in town on the week days with everyone as work.