My idea is to replicate abstract portrait paintings. These paintings all reflect someones individual identity and how they think they are perceived in the world. For example, Frida Kahlo’s work is all about her empowerment because when creating her work, women were seen as the weaker gender in society. Kahlo’s paintings often feature root imagery with roots growing out of her body to tie her to the ground, reflecting in a positive sense the theme of personal growth; in a negative sense of being trapped in a particular place, time and situation; and finally in an ambiguous sense of how memories of the past influence the present for either good and/or ill. In ‘My Grandparents and I’, Kahlo painted herself as a ten-year holding a ribbon that grows from an ancient tree that bears the portraits of her grandparents and other ancestors while her left foot is a tree trunk growing out of the ground, reflecting Kahlo’s view of humanity’s unity with the earth and her own sense of unity with Mexico.
These portraits were all a key turning point within the world or artistic culture: with Picasso who covered a range of topics from isolation to family. These artists opened the worlds eyes to abstract art which is understandable. They portrayed ideas in such augmented realities that they made sense.
My plan
My photo shoot plan fro Tableau photography is to replicate these paintings on peoples faces so that I can reflect the physicality and emotions behind these abstract portraits.
Frida Kahlo is going to be my main influence due to her views are so strong in her time in society. I would recreate scenes from the biopic movie ‘Frida’ give a sense of what her life was outside of her controversial paintings.
‘Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two young women who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.’
https://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/london/about
Mood Board
Defying Gravity
Taken from Google
In the defying gravity seen we see Glinda and Elphaba caught in a room, needing to make a plan and fast. When the protagonist Elphaba casts a spell to make a broom stick fly she decides she will escape using that. She then invites her good friend Glinda to join and escape together but Glinda declines as it is not in her nature to rebel. The Guards break into the room and take Glinda Elphaba is seen traveling down the stage saying “It’s not her she has nothing to do with it I’m the one you want” The guards let go of the blonde girl and stare at Elphaba in awe as she takes to the sky.
Popular
Taken From Google
Popular is the scene where we know the two girls are attempting to get on, but of course on Glinda’s terms. This scene is Glinda giving her new friend Elphaba a make over to make her more popular and appealing to other students at the university. Of course she “Glindafies” her making her seem like a duplicate. We see Elphaba go through the different stages, from taking her hair down to tossing her hair. Eventually, a pink flower is placed in the green witches hair, creating an emotional reaction with the audience. Elphaba is then seen running of the stage in tears.
No Good Deed
Taken From Google
In no good deed we are faced with Elphaba rising onto the stage with her spell book screaming Fieryo, the name of the boy she loves. This man has been taken by the guards to be killed. The green witch is then seen casting a spell to try and keep her loved one alive, but then backtracks and reminds herself on the damage she has caused to her loved ones. She then comes to the conclusion that she is Wicked.
Contact Sheets
Edits With Story Telling
This is my photograph showing the Defying Gravity scene. The protagonist Elphaba is seen in the centre of the image with wind blowing through her hair, presenting the idea that she is in the sky. She is holding her broom high into the air, showing she is proud and is looking towards the broom. The fact that she is not looking at the lens presents the idea that she should not look back and that she is determined to succeed in what she does now. The story behind this shows how she does not need to do as people say and that others should not determine the life that she lives. It portrays her empowering character as a role model to others, it is used to present the views of feminists and how men do not rule to world. This message can be used in any context, for example it could show that A Levels do not define who we are and won’t stop us reaching our hopes and dreams if we fail them. The purpose of this photograph is to inspire others. When editing this image I decided to make the image darker allowing her different tones of green to be presented and allows Elphaba to stand out from the background. To achieve this I just levelled and and adjusted the curves.
In my no good deed Tableaux we are presented with the green witch in the centre of the frame. She has her spell book open and is casting a spell, shown by her hand movements. The neutral facial expression and direct eye contact with the lens implies the worries and concerns the character has. To story trying to be told is that magic can not fix up our lives. Obviously, we can not cast spells in real life so when transferring this message into the real world it is essentially saying think before we do something as we do not know how it is going to affect others around us. This is a sensitive image as multiple emotions can be interpreted by my models face. Unfortunately, the face of the model is not the main focus point is is sort of out of focus, this loose some of the overall effect and may lead to misinterpretations of the photography. To edit this photograph I just levelled and and adjusted the curves in order to make the image seem naturally darker.
Within this photograph we have the two witches staring at each other, which was inspired by the ‘What is this feeling’ scene. We see Glinda staring at Elphaba with neutral facial expression and sort of squinting her eyes which informs us that she despises the green witch. On the other hand, Elphaba has a smile on her face which informs viewers that she finds it funny that Glinda loathes her. To edit this photograph I just levelled and and adjusted the curves in order to make the image seem naturally darker.
In my final image I wanted to capture the personality of Glinda and the moment when the two girls finally bond. We can see Glinda playing with the hair of Glinda with a big smile on her face, this informs viewers that Glinda is a girly girl and enjoys giving others makeovers and playing with peoples hair. In contrast Elphaba does not seem that fazed by it showing her tomboy side. The contrast shows that for the two witches to be neutral the green witch has to compromise and try and begin to like what Glinda wants. This presents the idea that girls are only concerned with hair, makeup and their phones, but clearly they are not which is demonstrated by Elphaba. Due to the harsh lighting, it allows the two witches to stand out from the background allowing the message to come across better. To edit this photograph I just levelled and adjusted the curves in order to make the image seem naturally darker.
Comparison
When comparing my work to The Entombment of Christ (Deposizione) (1601-3) there are some similarities and differences. The main difference is that my tableaux covers issues that teenagers face today, whereas the artist research shows a major event which took place in 1601. A similarity is the of plain backgrounds which allows the story to be the main focus point allowing the storyline to be outlined clearly within the photograph. Another difference is that my tableaux is a photograph which allowed me to experiment more with lighting, shutter speed and depth of field, compared to the painting made in 1603. Moreover, a lot of thought has been put into my tableaux as I considered costumes, lighting, props, background and facial expressions of my models. Doing this allows a full story to be told, I learnt this from when I researched The Entombment of Christ (Deposizione). In my Defying Gravity image I took inspiration from the painting to use the chiaroscuro effect which has allowed parts of the models body and face to be lit up and gradually get darker, which has allowed a more dramatic effect and tone to be added to my final image.
Evaluation
To evaluate I believe that my tableaux was successful, due to the techniques and skills I have acquired from doing a class tableaux. I was successfully able to create a story within a picture, which is clear for viewers to understand. I have also been able to put in multiple elements to create a successful Tableaux. If I was to do another tableaux I would aim to look at a more religious approach, as I believe the final images would be able to produce a more meaningful representation of a story to viewers, as everyone would understand. I would also at potentially looking at a different editing strategy in order to make the images more dramatic. Although I enjoyed looking at this style of portraiture I do not think that I will continue this idea.
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.
Ryan Schude, of a family camping in a WinnebagoCaravaggio – The Entombment of Christ
This week’s tasks are designed to encourage you to explore your creativity by looking responding to Constructed Portraits.
Photo-montage
Composite portraits
Collage
History of Photo-montage (Europe 1910 onwards)
A photomontage is a collage constructed from photographs.
Historically, the technique has been used to make political statements and gained popularity in the early 20th century (World War 1-World War 2)
Artists such as Raoul Haussman , Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield employed cut-n-paste techniques as a form of propaganda…as did Soviet artists like Aleksander Rodchenko and El Lissitsky
Photomontage has its roots in Dadaism…which is closely related to Surrrealism
Many Pop Art images and constructions tackled popular consumerism, advertising, branding and marketing techniques
Pop art also explored political concerns such as war, and gender roles too
Richard HamiltonPeter BlakeRobert RauschenburgAndy Warhol
Examples and Inspiration
richard hamilton / kurt schwitters / peter blake /
soviet art
sammy slabinck
john stezaker
jesse treece
jonny briggs
david hockney
hannah hoch
Annegret Soltau
Brno de Szou
Joachim Schmid
Jesse Draxler
Peter Kennard
Eugenia Loli
Sarah Eisenlohr
Grete Stern
Jerry UELSMANN
Duane Michals
Edmund Teske
Man Ray
El Lissitsky
Martha Rosler
John StezakerPeter KennardAnnegret SoltauStreet Poster—Jacques VillegleDavid Hockney – joiner photographsChristian Marclay-Album CoversSoviet war art and propagandaJoachim SchmidJesse DraxlerMartha RoslerJerry UelsmannSarah Eisenlohr
In her artist statement Montana based artist Sarah Eisenlohr explains that her collages use places of existence to create fictional ones in an effort to demonstrate the ways in which humans have transformed the earth. These scenes often carry undertones of spirituality and faith. “I consider the figures’ desire for shelter, warmth, and something stronger than themselves as symbols of serenity that I seek through spirituality, while the use of sublime in my work points to a relationship with the divine,”
Eugenia Loli
California based artist Eugenia Loli draws inspiration for her surreal art collages from vintage magazine images. Loli intends for her images to serve as a snap shot from a surreal movie from which the viewer can create his or her own narrative.
Task 1
Create a blog post that includes a clear understanding of the history and background of photo-montage.
Include a moodboard / mindmap
Add examples of Early – late 20th Century Photomontage eh Hannah Hoch
Task 2
Choose a specific photo-montage artist and write/create a CASE STUDY
Include a detailed analysis of 1 x key image by the artist
In the studio, I initially took about 300 photos. I narrowed them down to about 9 and edited each of them so I would have a bigger choice of photos to choose from for my finals.
using double exposure, I created the effect of two people being present.
Here, I used a pink filter of the one point light.
For the next three photos I increased the haze so that they would look somewhat surreal, almost dreamy.
“Reality has become a parallel universe with photographers returning with different versions of what it truly looks like.
-Philip-Lorca DiCorcia
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia (born 1951) is an American photographer. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Afterwards diCorcia attended Yale University where he received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography in 1979.
DiCorcia alternates between informal snapshots and iconic quality staged compositions that often have a baroque theatricality. Using a carefully planned staging, he takes everyday occurrences beyond the realm of banality, trying to inspire in his picture’s spectators an awareness of the psychology and emotion contained in real-life situations. His work could be described as documentary photography mixed with the fictional world of cinema and advertising, which creates a powerful link between reality, fantasy and desire.
DiCorcia’s photographs straddle truth and fiction by combining real people and places. He insists that his pictures suggest rather than explain a full narrative. His brand of storytelling results in unstable, unfixed images that point in certain directions but never provide a definitive map.
DiCorcia’s series like Heads, Lucky Thirteen, A Storybook Life and Hustlers – can all be considered his dynamic explorations of conceptual and formal domains of interest. His images consists of black humour and can be interpreted in various ways by different viewers. His work is planted with issues and concepts like commodification of morality, identity and art, as the selling of reality.
Philip-Lorca diCorcia | Lucky 13Philip-Lorca diCorcia | Roy | ‘in his 20s’ | Los Angeles, California | $50 | Hustlers
In 1989, Philip-Lorca diCorcia shot his dark and defining series, Hustlers, that was shot against the backdrop of devastation and despair during the AIDS pandemic in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. In the 1990’s he visited Los Angeles five times in order to photograph Hollywood male escorts. Hustlers was a courageous foray into the twitchy tenor of the post-Reagan era. He sought out male prostitutes on Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Boulevard, offering them the money they would earn from having sex if he could shoot their portrait. He took the pictures starting out in motels and later moved to the streets. Philip-Lorca diCorcia admitted that some of the first subjects fleeced him out more than double the going rate, and professes he found the transaction process awkward. ‘Most of them didn’t believe I only wanted to pay them for their picture, they were like, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”.
In 1993, 25 photos from this project were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. The show was titled, Strangers and each image was labeled with the subject’s name, age, hometown and money they charge. The photographs as a series are quite powerful and hold filmic qualities, this set of photographs of the male prostitutes look like stills from movies depicting the Hollywood reality as opposed to the dream that so few can harness.
I feel personally that Philip-Lorca diCorcia chose to shoot in Hollywood as Hollywood is where movies are created and ‘dreams are made’, I feel for me the locations and the filmic qualities are toying and playing with that idea as his photographs show the reality of what many have to live with in Hollywood.
In a moving coda, diCorcia shares a personal story in the new edition of Hustlers that puts this work in a somber new light: “During that period, 1990-1992, the government officially condemned homosexuality,” he writes, “while AIDS made death commonplace. My brother, Max Pestalozzi diCorcia, died of AIDS on October 18, 1988. How much is too much? My brother was very free. I loved him for it. Freedom has its price, and we never know at the onset what the toll will be. He died unnecessarily. I dedicate this book to him.” –(Found in an article on the Time)
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia | Ralph Smith | 21 years old | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | $25 | HustlersPhilip-Lorca diCorcia | Robert “Sparky” Anderson | 47 years old | Detroit, Michigan | $25 | Hustlers
My Own Response
My Own Response
This was one of the photographs that I was able to produce from the shoot that I did, unfortunately I timed it wrong and it had gotten too dark for the photographs which made it difficult to be able to see the focus and get the right lighting for the photographs however this means that when I go to do my own personal shoot I will be able to time it better.
Tableaux: A group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history; a tableau vivant.
A tableau vivant is 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.
A tableau may either be ‘performed’ live, or depicted in painting, photography and sculpture, such as in many works of the Romantic, Aesthetic, Symbolist, Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau movements.
Ludovica Rambelli Teatro recreate paintings by Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Above shows a tableaux photograph by the theatre company Ludovica Rambelli Teatro recreating one of Caravaggio’s paintings that would have been drawn from live actors. Many tableaux photographs are responded to and from paintings.
Below shows a different tableaux photography by Ryan Shude, his work is not so much recreated from paintings but is still set up and staged.
Ryan Schude
Class Response
As a class we produced a response to the painting ‘The Raft Of Medusa’. This is an example of tableaux photography, with the resources we had we tried to recreate this in a well way.
As far as editing goes I decided to be subtle with this image mainly focusing on adjusting levels and color balance. I mainly tried to emphasize the Rembrandt lighting and the slight orange reflection the the sleeve of the white tee shirt. I did this in order to avoid a tacky looking image while still incorporating a sense of drama into the image. Due to the composition of the image i decided to slightly de-saturate the image as I believe the less vibrant tones better compliment the metallic chains.
Here I decided to experiment with the dodge/burn tool and as a result of this I decided to make the image black and white in order to hide any undesirable changes to color caused by this. I also used the channel mixer in conjunction with the saturation tool to create a softer looking image while still maintaining a reasonable amount of contrast. I also cropped the Image to better fit the Fibonacci curve in order to lead the viewers eye through the image.
Within this photograph we have the two witches staring at each other, which was inspired by the ‘What is this feeling’ scene. We see Glinda staring at Elphaba with neutral facial expression and sort of squinting her eyes which informs us that she despises the green witch. On the other hand, Elphaba has a smile on her face which informs viewers that she finds it funny that Glinda loathes her. To edit this photograph I just levelled and and adjusted the curves in order to make the image seem naturally darker.
In my final image I wanted to capture the personality of Glinda and the moment when the two girls finally bond. We can see Glinda playing with the hair of Glinda with a big smile on her face, this informs viewers that Glinda is a girly girl and enjoys giving others makeovers and playing with peoples hair. In contrast Elphaba does not seem that fazed by it showing her tomboy side. The contrast shows that for the two witches to be neutral the green witch has to compromise and try and begin to like what Glinda wants. This presents the idea that girls are only concerned with hair, makeup and their phones, but clearly they are not which is demonstrated by Elphaba. Due to the harsh lighting, it allows the two witches to stand out from the background allowing the message to come across better. To edit this photograph I just levelled and adjusted the curves in order to make the image seem naturally darker.
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