Edward Honaker and Francesca Woodman

In the photo it shows the use of two black and white photos layered on top of each other where the lighting in the Photos are natural with a fast shutter speed as there isn’t much light in the photos and with the two people I would expect movement which is easily cause with a fast shutter speed so there is no blurring in the image.

“The snapshot idea has always interested me – the way an object in its dysfunction or contextual orientation become an image; it seems to become an image itself.”

I agree with this statement as a dysfunctional object I find can be very interesting in the way they have become exploring how it looks which you can then photograph and become a new image itself.

The use of a small tonal range is very effective as both images relate towards the blacks and whites giving both the images that simple link between the two. the two images have a contrast in textures as the back photo has a softer texture because of the bed sheets having a comfy look to the image. With the front image it has a rougher texture as the road has a rough look to it and so does the grass with its uneven surface.

“I have found following my own image fascination difficult. It is always in conflict with my conscience intentions and leads me into unexpected, sometimes unwelcome territory.”

I do find with photography it can become bias towards conscience decisions which then again can lead to unexpected territory but it can also lead towards good decisions and the conscience decision can lead to something really impactful.

As the overlaying photo has a fork road where the one road splits into two may reflect the photo of the two women as they could be the one road parting into two. The overlaying photo also covers the women’s faces which isn’t centre so then it could be intentional on how it’s uneven and how it is purposely places on those faces or could be accidental.

“Collage is a way to create the circumstances for digression and for attention to the unintentional or inadvertent, as you say, for allowing a conscious contemplation of the image in its dream state.”

With the overlaying photo is gives both the images attention for this uniqueness whether it was intentional or not but it does allow the the conscience to contemplate the image on its dream like state.

Francesca Woodman was born in Denver, Colorado in 1958. She first started taking photos in her early teens while at boarding school, during her short career she took over 800 pictures. Her father was a painter and photographer and also lectured in photography at the University of Boulder in Colorado and  Her mother was a ceramicist and sculptor so art became a big part of her everyday life. Her family spent their summers at her parents’ farmhouse in the countryside in Italy where many of her photographs were taken, she was inspired by Man Ray and Claude Cahun which can be seen in themes and style of her work mixed with the influence of surrealist art and the European culture. She developed her ideas and skills as a student at Rhode Island School of Design but suffered from depression after a move to New York in 1979 and in 1981, she then sadly took her own life at the age of 22.

Francesca Woodman

I find this image very effective as it uses a slow shutter speed and has a tripod set up to take this photo. The blurry person I find is effective as everything is perfectly still and then yet there is just one singular person moving. The use of rustic building falling apart is effective as it could reflect how she feels and yet cannot show which she does try to through her photography.

Edward Honaker was diagnosed with a mood disorder at the age of 19. He was experiencing depression which created an overwhelming obstacle in his day-to-day life. He documents his own depression through the use of self portraits, the black and white harrowing images illustrates the photographer’s experience with depression and anxiety. The photography shows his helplessness he feels while trying to battle this depressive disorder, he focuses on blurring his face and use of water in his photos to symbolise how he feels like he’s suffocating and drowning. In an attempt to raise awareness of the topic, Honaker says about the project: “Mental health disorders are such a taboo topic. If you ever bring it up in conversation, people awkwardly get silent, or try to tell you why it’s not a real problem. When I was in the worst parts of depression, the most helpful thing anyone could have done was to just listen to me – not judging, not trying to find a solution, just listen. I’m hoping that these images will help open up conversation about mental health issues. Everyone is or will be affected by them one way or another, and ignoring them doesn’t make things better.”

Edward Honaker

In this image effective as it is the use of three images put together to create one image, the images show a man falling from a building into water then onto his bed. This could show how he feels like he is falling and drowning in his depression which makes him feel exhausted. Even if the images may not intend to show him struggling I still find it enticing on lying in the similar positions in different places yet it shows different outcomes.

For this project on identity and community I want to explore mental health and how it is a part of my identity. It matters to me because mental health has brought me together with my friends and family but has also been the reason to lose family and friends. With my project I want to explore anxiety, depression, bulimia and borderline personality disorder. I want to explore Francesca Woodman’s and Edward Honaker’s work as their work focuses on mental health which I Found would be a good fit for my project. With past projects I used a slow shutter speed which I found very interesting to explore which can be seen in both Francesca Woodman’s and Edward Honaker’s work.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a disorder which effects how the persons mood and interaction with others. Symptoms of this are: emotional instability, disturbed patterns of thinking or perception, impulsive behaviour and intense but unstable relationships with others. Most conditions of BPD result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Bulimia is an eating disorder with episodes of binge eating and self-induced vomiting. Anxiety is a feeling of unease such as worry or fear these can range from mild to severe. Lastly depression is low mood which can last for weeks or months which can effect daily life.

With these mental health disorders I want to show in my work as I find they have become part of my life with myself, family and friends experiencing these. I want to use that for my photobook showing the progress of these mental health disorders showing how they can get better but suddenly drop back to struggling again. In the book I want to start with a bold photo stating the mental health disorders as these thing can suddenly happen after a traumatic situation which can lead to years of struggle.

In a past blog post I focused on the idea of happiness and mental health as this photographer had suffered from depression and anxiety. I always found his work beautiful as you can feel his emotions through his physicality rather than his facial expressions. I enjoyed doing this project as I used an old photo to cut up and rearrange in a new order to show chaos in a simple photo by collaging the new cut up pieces.

Edward Honaker is a a 21 year old photographer who documents his own depression through the use of self portraits, the black and white images illustrates the photographer’s experience with depression and anxiety. In an attempt to raise awareness of the topic, Honaker says about the project: “Mental health disorders are such a taboo topic. If you ever bring it up in conversation, people awkwardly get silent, or try to tell you why it’s not a real problem. When I was in the worst parts of depression, the most helpful thing anyone could have done was to just listen to me – not judging, not trying to find a solution, just listen. I’m hoping that these images will help open up conversation about mental health issues. Everyone is or will be affected by them one way or another, and ignoring them doesn’t make things better.”

With this photographer I enjoyed the timing of the photos by slowing down the shutter speed but still being able to find the right timing to move the mask so it wasn’t so blurry that it is just a white dot or too slow that you can still see the persons face. the use of masks was very interesting and I found was very affective as he uses a lot of masks but if I was to use this photographer I would try find doll masks to use to give a rustic atmosphere to the images.

Keld Helmer-Petersen was a Danish photographer who was inspired by Albert Renger-Patzsch. He became famous through his colour photographs but he also published several books of black and white images that explore dramatic contrasts of tone. Some of these photos were only black and white without any tones as they had been removed. Helmer-Petersen published his first photobook, “122 Colour Photographs” in 1948. His work was then noticed for its inventive photos, which he turned landscapes and buildings into abstract patterns. He embraced coloured photos as black and white photos were only seen as being serious.

This was another photographer that I enjoyed interpreting as the use of extreme black and white as I felt was very effective as the two colours are very contrasting and I did find editing the images enjoyable but it was difficult to find images that was easy to have a great depth of contrast so would be needing images with solid colour which I found difficult with the sky as the layers of clouds made it difficult but with the images I chose after testing out the editing, I feel worked really well with the editing and the outcome.

Jersey is special because there are different cultural communities which I find come together and unite through their differences, a mixture of old and young coming together. To be Jersey now is full of beaches and summer activities then in the winter it is very restricted with activities which is why in the future I feel that there will be more activities for the winter. We can all come together and create some fun activities for the whole community to enjoy together as a way to solidify a cohesive and positive island identity. There maybe barriers to a positive and inclusive Island identity such as bullying which is a big issue in Jersey as it is a very small Island so there is a lack of activity.

Overall the process of the NFT was challenging on creating the correct timing for the movement and music while trying to add a contrast of presenting the clips and having the time of multiple different ones to start and finish at the same time by adjusting the timings of the movement. The use of different colours and patterns to arrange them to fit together is very effective as they are balanced very well. The digital image was composed by different clips of the NFT and edited two of the images to make the background black and white. This was effective because it shows a change in fashion in the digital image yet the background colour doesn’t drain the image of the focus.

Film

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/8c3bf225-0b55-436d-9ce7-387214bea506

Digital Image