Tone in the context of art is the light and dark or highlights and shadows values in a scenario that render a realistic object. Exploring light and tone is about the shadows cast from positioning lights or objects in different positions. Looking at this mood board, the artists and photographers are playing with the light and dark to create interesting compositions. They are abstract because they are photographing real things, in this case the paper but it doesn’t look like anything we naturally see.
Abstract photography is a non-objective, experimental form of photography, which can be perceived as being either conceptual or concrete. Abstraction is a means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials according to Wikipedia. Abstract art has its origins in the 19th century. The period characterized by so vast a body of elaborately representational art produced for the sake of illustrating anecdote also produced a number of painters who examined the mechanism of light and visual perception.
On the other hand, formalism is the study of art based solely on an analysis of its form, essentially looking at the way it is made and what it looks like. Formalism dominated the development of modern art and photogrpahy until the 1960s when it reached its peak.
During this upcoming project, I will explore different aspects of abstract/formalist photography, researching different artists and recreating their work.
