“A tableau vivant, French for ‘living picture’, is a static scene containing one or more models. They are stationary, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrically lit.”
Guia Besana
“Guia Besana is a self-taught photographer currently living and working in between Paris (France) and Barcelona (Spain). After studies in media and communication in Turin, Italy, in 1994 she becomes a photographer and moves to Paris (France). With a particular attention to women’s issues she travels in different countries and joins Anzenberger Agency in 2005 and the gallery in 2013. Since 2016, she is also represented by 1968 Gallery (London).” http://guiabesana.com/about/
In an interview Besana talked about how her work with tableau vivant was inspired by her pregnancy. She says, “Pregnancy was a key moment because of my reduced mobility. I naturally and instinctively found myself turning my thoughts into staged sets which depicted the reality I was living.” http://www.cortonaonthemove.com/en/interview/interview-guia-besana/
“Pulp Fiction” is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino; it is based on a story by Tarantino and Roger Avary. Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, it tells several stories of criminal Los Angeles. The film’s title refers to the pulp magazines and hard boiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.
The meaning behind these photos are the outcomes and affects of drug abuse and crimes. I want to show how badly these things effect people and how deadly drugs and crime can be, especially for younger people. Younger audiences are being easily influenced into taking drugs and committing crimes, so I want to show them what will end up happening if they continue this behaviour.
My model for these photos will be my friend Charlotte because she has short hair. I will be editing her hair to make it black and give her a fringe. if i can’t manage to give her a fringe I will just leave her hair as it is, but still edit it black. I will be taking these photos at a friends house because it is the best place to do it because the layout is similar to the pictures. For the cigarette and the gun I will be using a toy gun and a theater cigarette, and I will get most of the props from around my own home.
I really like how these photos turned out I think I was able to recreate the original photos very well and I was also able to convey the message I wanted to convey.
Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that a final image may appear as a seamless photographic print.
History:
From 1930-1938, John Heartfield used photomontage to create 240 “Photomontages of The Nazi Period” to use art as a weapon against fascism and The Third Reich.
photo-montages were called “combination printing” and started in the 18th century.
In late Victorian North America, William Notman of Montreal used photomontage to commemorate large social events which could not otherwise be captured on film.
Photomontage is often used as a means of expressing political dissent.
It was first used as a technique by the dadaists in 1915 in their protests against the First World War. It was later adopted by the surrealists who exploited the possibilities photomontage offered by using free association to bring together widely disparate images, to reflect the workings of the unconscious mind.
In 1923 the Russian constructivist Aleksander Rodchenko began experimenting with photomontage as a way of creating striking socially engaged imagery concerned with the placement and movement of objects in space.
Other key exponents of the medium are John Heartfield, the German artist who reconstructed images from the media to protest against Germany’s Fascist regime and Peter Kennard; whose photomontages explored issues such as economic inequality, police brutality and the nuclear arms race between the 1970s and the 1990s.
Mood Board
Examples of Early – Late 20th Century Photo-montage
It is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that a final image may appear as a seamless photographic print. Photo-montage is often used as a means of expressing political dissent.It was first used as a technique by the dadaists in 1915 in their protests against the First World War. It was later adopted by the surrealists who exploited the possibilities photo-montage offered by using free association to bring together widely disparate images, to reflect the workings of the unconscious mind. In 1923 the Russian constructionist Aleksander Rodchenko began experimenting with photo-montage as a way of creating striking socially engaged imagery concerned with the placement and movement of objects in space.Other key exponents of the medium are ,John Heartfield the German artist who reconstructed images from the media to protest against Germany’s Fascist regime and Peter Kennard; whose photo-montages explored issues such as economic inequality, police brutality and the nuclear arms race between the 1970s and the 1990s.
John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld) was a German photographer best know for his work in photo-montage. Much of his most famous works were anti fascist/Nazi statements. He used the political nature of his photography as a form of visual art to use as a “political weapon”. John was a prominent figure in the style of photography known as dadaism.
Some of his photo-montage featured various pieces of artwork in conjunction with various photographs. the majority of his photography is borrowed however combines the photos/artwork into a powerful political statement.
“The cross was not yet heavy enough”
This piece uses explicit religious imagery to convey the Nazi’s as an enemy of Christ.
Not much can be said for the technical aspects of John’s photography since much of the photographs used are borrowed however the photos are put together simply by cutting and pasting while occasionally painting/drawing directly onto the frames.
“Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!”
This piece is much different to the rest of John’s work as it doesn’t utilize traditional photo-montage and instead is a more traditional photo as this was a photo-shoot that was setup primarily for this shot and isn’t a combination of images. The photo is framed like many portraits taken of Nazi officials however it features a German newspaper wrapped around his head suggesting that the German people are so absorbed by the news that they are a slave to the media, this is also implied by the attire of the subject which suggests that they are being incarcerated. The photo is essentially telling the viewer that the Bourgeois news was heavily biased and will leave the reader with a closed mind.
2 portraits of Erwin Rommel of similar composition to the piece by John
A Photo-Montage is a collage constructed from photographs.
In history photo-montage has often been used as a means of expressing a political agenda and used as propaganda. It was first used as a technique by the dadaists in 1915 in their protests against WW1. It was later adopted by the surrealists who exploited the possibilities photo-montage offered.
In 1923 the Russian constructivist Aleksander Rodchenko began experimenting with photo-montage as a way of creating striking socially engage imagery.
Other key components of the medium are John Heartfield,the German artist who reconstructed images from the media to protest against Germany’s Fascist regime and Peter Kennard, whose photo-montages explored issues such as economic inequality, police brutality and the nuclear arms race between the 1970’s and the 1990’s.
John HeartfieldHannah Hoch | Dadaism
Pop Art developments (USA and UK 1950s-)
Photo-montage was also used by various pop-artists in the mid 20th century. Pop Art was a reaction to abstract expressionism and was similar to Dada in some ways.
Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooningin the 1940s and 1950s.
Many Pop Art images and constructions tackled popular consumerism, advertising, branding and marketing techniques. Pop art also explored political concerns such as gender roles and war.
The exhibition at the CCA gallery has a purpose to show the response Clare Rae has made to the photographer Claude Cahun through her work. The exhibition does this successfully by separating the two artists work into adjacent rooms, even though kept apart both artists work are hung in the same way, both display the work without boarders to the photographs and each piece of work spaced differently and this was effective for the type of exhibition. The exhibition was successful in that Clare Rae had successfully responded to the work of Claude Cahun in matters of her style of work and the final finish of the work
The exhibition was successful in that Clare Rae had successfully responded to the work of Claude Cahun in matters of her style of work and the final finish of the works.
Clare Rae
This is one of the photographs produced by Clare Rae in response to Claude Cahun. From looking at the photograph I can understand and visually see where her influence has derived from. Her use of space shows a direct link towards one of Claude Cahuns own photographs. The photograph creates and effect and impression of the depth and use of the space around her as she crams herself under the top of the trolley. This is a similar idea that Cahun previously looked into as she placed herself into the self of a cupboard.
Claude Cahun
Above shows the photograph first created by Claude Cahun and it is the photograph that I believe has been the one to influence Clare Rae to produce the photograph she created above. I feel Clare Rae successfully responded to Cahun through her work as she has looked into the different elements Cahun used in her work and for this particular response it was her use of space and how she places her body into the unusual spaces.
I believe Clare Rae has been heavily influenced specifically in this project of her work by Claude Cahun and I also believe that she has successfully reproduced her own work in response by experimenting with how she places her body into the landscapes and into the spaces.
WHO – this is a recreation of Arnis Balčus’ work, using my own model in order to take form of the little boy
WHAT – the main objective of this photo shoot is to recreate and understand how Balčus creates his work and the symbolism which he chooses to include and adapting the environment and resources I have in order to recreate the photo in a similar way.
WHEN – the image was taken during mid day as I figured this would be a similar time of day judging by the original image and the direct sunlight in it
WHERE -the image was taken in an old communal garage space which resembles the location a lot in the image I am trying to recreate.
WHY – to understand the most suitable ways in which to photograph people, organize photo-shoots and comprehend the symbolism which has been used by the original artist
HOW – I used my regular DSLR camera for this photo shoot, all natural lighting.
FINAL IMAGE –
IMAGE I WAS RECREATINGRECREATED IMAGE
VISUAL ANALYSIS OF IMAGES –
VISUAL –
The image overall has a very gloomy and depressing mood around it. The depiction of a small child (recreated by a model which is also quite child like), looking at the empty beer bottle is synonymous with the prevailing alcohol abuse problem in Eastern Europe. The environment, which is worn and old, also suggests poverty and shortage of necessities for the child, almost using the beer bottles as toys. The child portrays sadness and loneliness. To put a modern twist on my own imagery, the glass bottle has been replaced with a speaker, as this is representative of the technology reliant youth of today. The weathered and old garages in the back of the image nicely contrast the main subject in the foreground by disturbing the repeating pattern. In order to have some similarities with the original image, the model is wearing a bright blue jacket, which immediately draws in the viewers eye to the center of the image. Both images can be split up with the rule of thirds, where the subject is situated in the middle of the image. The upwards facing power play between the camera and the model makes her seem a lot taller than reality, giving some power to the subject. The neutral expression of the model also creates a theme of confusion and mystery in the image as the viewer is not clear on what the subject is feeling. The direction in which the subject is looking at, leads also the viewers eyes down to the ground where the speaker is (situated in the bottom left third of the image). The overall color scheme of the image is dull and neutral, being mostly made up of subtle blues and grays.
TECHNICAL –
This photo was taken during late morning, on a cloudy overcast day. I especially chose this day due to the fact that this is what resembled most in the photo I was trying to recreate. I set the white balance of my camera to the “cloudy” setting in order to achieve well balanced images. As it was a cloudy, yet still bright day, I turned down the ISO of my camera down to 200 to avoid the image being overexposed. As this was a very staged image, and the subject was standing still, I chose to use a tripod to make sure the image is crisp without any motion blur, due to this I kept my aperture mid way at 1/125 as I wasn’t concerned with the camera moving. I had a very clear idea of the positioning of the model and the prop therefore I first angled my camera and refereed to the original image for guidance. After a couple of shots, I was confident in the final image therefore contact sheets for this photo shoot weren’t necessary.
CONCEPTUAL –
The main objective of this photo shoot was to make sure that what I was recreating conveyed similar visual elements as the original image, using a model of a small stature and an environment which is very similar as the original. Of course as I am not the original photographer, not in the same environment, I have had to adapt and make do with the resources I have resulting in the differences seen in the image. I wanted to convey a different social issue which affects us here in Jersey, relating to our environment and society, with the presence of the speaker on the ground. Representing how technology dependent the youth is, looking to it for guidance, happiness and companionship. This effecting social skills and the way in which children grow up and interact with one another.
CONTEXTUAL –
At the end of the 1980s all the countries of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union enjoyed relatively high levels of human development and social welfare. Extensive social investments during the period of communist rule meant that literacy was almost universal, and well above other countries with comparable levels of per capita income, and life expectancy averaged 68 years. Unemployment was unheard of and – at least officially –poverty did not exist. Few commentators could have foreseen that the process of transition towards market economies and democratic governments would have been so tumultuous and accompanied by such high costs in terms of individual well-being, particularly among the countries of the new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The collapse of economic output in many of these countries following independence, along with hyperinflation that wiped out individual savings, resulted in a dramatic drop in living standards for the majority of people and the emergence of poverty as a major issue within the region. Increasing poverty leading people to alcoholism and the use of it in daily life.
Nearly all the top 15 biggest drinking nations are in Central or Eastern Europe. Poverty and the harsh climate, particularly in Russia, play a part, as does the tradition of drinking. “Where it’s extremely cold it’s not uncommon for people to drink all day long,” said Val Smith, president of International Wine and Spirits, which provided the data on per-capita alcohol consumption.
And particularly in agrarian regions; farmers often produce their own home brews from anything ranging from potatoes to sugar beets, making alcohol very accessible and very cheap, said Smith. This also makes per capita consumption hard to measure, with official figures sometimes well below actual consumption rates.
To produce tableau vivant images, the studio was used in order retain full control over things such as lighting and the background. The images that we decided to replicate were the following:
“Last Supper” – David Lachapelle“Liberty leading the people” – Delacroix
All of the above images were chosen for their story telling visuals, as each image portrays a still frame from what would usually be depicted as a fast moving scene.
The products of the photo-shoot we conducted in the studio can be seen in the contact sheets below:
Key:
Red F: Out of focus, Red P: Subject in the wrong position, Green F: slightly out of focus, Green P: subject in slightly incorrect position, Red box: discarded image, Green box: selected for possible to final image
The above images were taken by a range of other students within the photography class, and the lighting and prop management was coordinated by a range of photography students as well. After analyzing the end results for the tableaux photo-shoots, I have decided on the following 2 final images:
The unedited final image (1)The edited final image (1)
Above is the final edited image from the photo-shoot in which we attempted to recreate “Liberty Leading the People”, a painting created by Delacroix. This image required props in order to create a flag, and the studio was used in order to draw maximum attention to the subjects in the foreground. The lighting in this image is focused on the subject representing Liberty, and the rest of the image is relatively shaded. This is done to mimic the atmosphere of a war setting, and the saturation as been turned up slightly to mimic the slightly orange tone of the original image. The image has also been edited to remove the white floor and curtains in the background, allowing or the image seem slightly more realistic
The unedited final image (2)The edited final image (2)
The image above is the final edited image from our attempt to mimic the photograph taken by Lachapelle, “Last Supper”. For this image we used a table as a prop, and pointed the lighting towards the subject in the middle of the table, accentuating the fact that this subject is supposed to represent Jesus. Editing has resulted in the darkening of the background, which allows for the scene to draw maximum attention to the subjects and the foreground.
Photo montage is the process of putting together multiple picture in order to create a new image with a different feel. This is done by gutting, gluing and rearranging two or more photographs to make a new one. There is also a more popular method of creating the idea of photo montage which is done on an app called ‘ photoshop’.
History of photo montage
Photo montage became a thing is the 1880s and was first done by merging different photos together into a combination print. It was then again looked at in the 20th century by Dadaist and Futurist artists.
The most iconic photo- montages were produced by George Grosz, Hannah Hoch and John Heart.
What photo montage is used for
Photo montage can be used for protesting subjects, political purposes ie, World Wars, and for conveying opinions. When creating the photo montage it can be done though hand manipulation ( cut and stick) as well as Photoshop.
Hannah Hoch
Hoch was born in 1990 on November 1st in Germany. She began her training in 1912 at the school of Applied Arts in Berlin- Charlottenburg. However, after being there a few years she ended up moving back to Germany after World War 1 started in 1915. While being away she changed to specializing in glass design but went back to focusing on painting, graphic design, wood cut and linoleum- block- painting until 1920.
Hock first became interested in photo montages properly in 1917 and herself and Dadaists were the first to fully explore the idea of photo montages. She continued to make art through WW1 and tried to stay relevant after it ended which proved to be very hard.As she grew and developed she worked with new modes of expression but continued to reference her past. Hoch was such a key part of photo montage and was clearly an important influence during her period of six decades of hard work. Her work began to receive more attention in the late 1960s which was due to the concerted effort by feminist scholars and artists to uncover and reclaim the art created by her in the 20th century. She died on May 31st in 1978.
