Robert Heinecken

Robert Heinecken was an American artist who referred to himself as a “paraphotographer” because he so often made photographic images without a camera. He was born on October 29th 1931 and died on May 19th 2006.

examples of his work

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Heinecken extended photographic processes and materials into lithography, collage, photo-based painting and sculpture, and installation. Drawing on the countless pictures in magazines, books, pornography, television, and even consumer items such as TV dinners, Heinecken used found images to explore the manufacture of daily life by mass media and the relationship between the original and the copy, both in art and in our culture at large.

Image analysis

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This image/sculpture shows a stack of rotating images which create multiple images when aligned in different ways, like a puzzle. the images created by the puzzle are pictures of the human form and can be rearranged to create different forms. This could be suggesting that the human form is just like a puzzle and can be very confusing at times.

Lauren Pascarella

Lauren Pascarella was born in Hollywood, FL in 1984.  She studied at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida from 2003 to 2007, majoring in Photography. She is currently working in cross-disciplinary genres, including New Media and digital photographic installations. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. 

examples of her work

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Pascarellas process utilizes photographs of printed and manipulated photographs, “I have the ability to shift perspective”. At times, the flat photographic images behave just as if they had the depth of their real world counterparts. In other instances, they are arrayed in a manner that wouldn’t be possible without shedding a dimension. “When examining my work, the viewer is confronted with an unsettling situation that demands correction. Whether the subject is a single item or a cluster of disjointed objects, the mind will attempt proper placement, but without satisfaction”.

Image analysis

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The image above shows a lot of clutter in the kitchen of the artists house which looks like it is placed very random at first. As the artists states, “When examining my work, the viewer is confronted with an unsettling situation that demands correction”, in this case the unsettling situation being a lot of clutter which the viewer wants to clean up. This idea could be backed up by the photo of the woman in the back of the photo who also looks unsettled or even frustrated. The clutter has been placed this way with a purpose, to create a unique sculpture like image where the viewer wants to correctly place the objects where they belong, but without satisfaction.

Shoot 1

For shoot 1, I took 56 still life images and use the pick or reject tool in Lightroom to select my best images, which left me with 19 images to edit with and select my final edits.

Shoot 1 edits

I used the before and after view in Lightroom to show the edits made to my selected 19 images to improve them, the editing I used mostly consisted of changing the tones and presences of the image as well as creating black and white edits of some of my images. Most of the edits created were very subtle just to improve the image slightly as big edits would have ruined the images.

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Shoot 2

For shoot 2, I took 64 still life images and use the pick or reject tool in Lightroom to select my best images, which left me with 17 images to edit with and select my final edits. I was left with only 17 images as a lot of the images came out very blurry and out of focus.

Shoot 2 edits

I used the before and after view in Lightroom to show the edits made to my selected 19 images to improve them, the editing I used mostly consisted of changing the tones and presences of the image as well as creating black and white edits of some of my images. Most of the edits created were very subtle just to improve the image slightly as big edits would have ruined the images.

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Best Edits

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Still-life paintings

Still life in art date all the way back to the ancient Greaco-Roman paintings representing fruit and other provisions in the 16th and 17th century. Fruits are some of the most common subjects in still-life paintings over the centuries, paintings of fruit offered a variety of religious and mythical symbols. For example, in Christianity, apples symbolize Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Skulls were also often depicted by artists in still life paintings over the centuries, expressing the transience of life and the futility of materialism, painting these skulls was also a striking reminder of the certainty of death. Silver and gold were often depicted in these paintings also, the inclusion of precious metals in still-life paintings may showcase an artist’s skill at accurately depicting reflective textures or a patron’s collection of expensive objects.

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Still-life photography

Still-life photography’s origins reside in the early 20th century. Art photographers emerged such as Baron Adolf de Meyer, who was known for his highly artistic approach to photography. Still-life photography followed the same path of still-life paintings of using fruit and other provisions and produced many classical works. Photography even recorded the dead as a reminder of death and mortality.

There are two different types of still-life photography which are found still-life and created still-life. Found still-life is photography that contains a combination of found subject, symbolic objects, and natural lighting. The visual message is concerned with the transitory nature of life, and the inevitability of death. However, created still-life is when a photographer creates an image with almost full control over lighting, mood, and composition. Because photographers directly influence the image creation process, still life photos reflect the creativity and style of the photographers themselves.

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Painting analysis

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This painting is made up of carefully placed objects, placed on a table in a dark room. The main object is a skull, which is placed on top of some books, with a writing quill placed in front and a glass goblet resting on the side of the skull. The skull represents death and mortality in the painting, while the goblet represents that even though life might be full of pleasures it still ends. The quill and books represent knowledge, but paired with the skull it portrays that this knowledge is worthless as life ends anyway. The subjects in the painting have quite a dark deeper meaning.

Final Outcomes

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Evaluation

These are my 3 favourite final outcomes from the edits I created from my joiner of la pinnacle. These are my 3 favourite edits because, I think they are very unique and can easily attract the attention of a viewer from the colours and the filters/editing used to create them. Overall I am very happy with how the original joiner came out, as well as all of the edits that I had created. I was sceptical with how the joiner was going to come out as I did not think I took enough photos for it, but it came out very well. I believe that my edits are very good and I am very happy with them as I believe they are very eye catching to viewers and they are also quite unique edits. Altogether I would give myself an 8/10 on the joiner project. To improve on this project, I would have taken more photos for the joiner, as well as taken joiner pictures of other parts of the landscape to create multiple joiners rather than just a single joiner.

Joiner

To create my joiner, I used 15 images of the rock Le Pinnacle down at L’etaq. I made the images black and white and changed different settings shown below to make the image look more interesting, I then used the automate feature on Lightroom to copy the settings to the other 14 images.

I then imported these images into Photoshop to create the joiner. To do this I used the Photomerge setting shown below, or by going File – Automate – Photomerge. after doing this Photoshop automatically created the joiner for me.

Final Joiner image

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Joiner edits

For edits of this joiner, I decided to experiment with changing the contrasts and other settings of each of the different layers in order to create unique images. I also experimented by adding patterns to each of the layers to create a unique effect. I also experimented with choosing different layout options to create the joiner.

Simple edits

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Complex edits

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Final Images

Out of my final Lightroom edits, these were my 6 best and favourite images All of my best and favourite images were in black and white, this is because I believe it makes the images look much more interesting.

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Overall, I am happy with the final images I have produced from the photography trip to L’etaq. I believe that I produced some cool and interesting images of the natural landscape around Jersey. Creating black and white edits of these images also added more absorption to the images and added an extra sense of life to the images.

For my first photoshoot for my new topic ‘Islandness’ we went to the parish of St Ouen and walked around L’Etacq taking photos of interesting rock formations. We walked around the cliff paths trying to capture any rocks that seemed unique to take back to class and edit. Also, I took a lot of images of the same rock formations to try attempt to create David Hockney’s ‘Joiners’. Overall, I managed to take around 300 images when on the St Ouen photography trip.

Contact sheets

the first thing I did with this photoshoot is upload the images into Lightroom into a new collection called MY ROCK. I then used the flagging system to select the best images out of the 309 from the shoot, this left me with 60 images as a lot of the images came out blurry or were just not very good.

I then used the star rating system to select the best images out of the flagged images to use for editing and for my final images. After using the rating system I was left with 21 final images I could use for editing and selecting as my final outcomes.

Lightroom edits

I decided to create most of the edits in black and white, this is because I think it looks a lot more effective and dramatic compared to the coloured images of the rocks and landscape.

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Born 9 July 1937, David Hockney  is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. He studied at the Bradford College of Art (1953–57) and the Royal College of Art, London (1959–62), where he received a gold medal in the graduate competition.

Hockney’s Joiners

In the 1980’s, Hockney began to create ‘joiners’, now they are photocollages. When he first began to produce these he did them with Polaroid prints and later on he did them with 35mm, commercially processed prints. How he created joiners was by taking multiple and varying Polaroid shots or photolab-prints of just an individual subject. Then with these shots he would arrange them into what almost looks like a patchwork, to create on overall image. One of Hockney’s first ‘joiners’ was a photomontage of his own mother.

Examples of ‘joiners’

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Hockney was very interested in how 3-dimensional space can be portrayed in a 2-dimensional image. Joiners aimed to create an image that was able to show reality how we experience it (in fragments, not as a whole), and to show the passage of time.

Image analysis

In this image by Hockney you can clearly see the image is made up of over 100 different 2-dimensional quadrilaterals positioned in different angles and variations which all make up an image of Pearl Blossom Highway in California created in 1986. Hockney spent 3 weeks taking different shots of this certain part of the highway to create this image. The image displays a deserted road containing street signs and a few trees, with a heap of litter scattered around the beginning of the road. It shows good weather conditions that create a good effect contrasting between the blue sky and sandy roads. The images seems slightly distorted in a positive way by Hockney creating all objects and features not appear normal. The image nearly looks as if its is a painting, making it much more interesting and draws the eyes of viewers.

Geoparks are outstanding places around the world that celebrate the links between people and the Earth. A Geopark tells the whole story of an area, right from the very beginning. Jersey, which has been shaped by tide and time, has this designation because of the Island’s exceptional geology, unique heritage, amazing landscapes and special seascapes. The UNESCO Global Geoparks celebrate the links between people and the Earth. Jersey hopes to be recognised as a unique place by being awarded Geopark status.

Every Geopark is unique, there are 169 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 44 countries around the world. A UNESCO Global Geopark comprises a number of geological heritage sites of special scientific importance, rarity or beauty. These features are representative of a region’s geological history and the events and processes that formed it. It must also include important natural, historic, cultural tangible and intangible heritage sites.

The Island of Jersey has a geology that is significantly different to that of the United Kingdom and even from that of the other Channel Islands. Many of the island’s geological sites are of regional and international significance and some have attracted global attention. 

In recognition of this, the States of Jersey has designated 22 of the island’s most important outcrops as Sites of Special Interest (SSIs) so that they may be protected from development and preserved for future public enjoyment and research purposes.

Final Outcomes

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The idea behind my final images was to portray nature through the use of vibrant colours and derelict man-made structures. The contrast of colours creates this effect which makes the natural parts of the photo stand out as beautiful, while making the man-made parts of the photo feel very dull. This is to portray nature as very pleasant, unique and full of life, and to portray the man-made structures as very boring, repetitive and almost trying to shadow over nature. This portrayal through the images I believe relates to Anthropocene very well.

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Galleries

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Artsteps Virtual Gallery:

https://www.artsteps.com/curate/628e26f11ca4f84865318175/5

Evaluation and Critique

Evaluation

Overall, I am very happy with my final edits. The edits created which are inspired by the artists I studied greatly compare to them in everything from looks, lighting and the colours seen in the images. They also fit into the theme of Anthropocene very well in my opinion. My other edits, where I created photo-montage type images, I am also very happy with. My aim with them was to create unique and cool images which is exactly how I believe they turned out. These edits also fit into the theme of Anthropocene very well also. To improve my artist inspired work, I would have during different times of the day, such as early morning or at night-time. Doing this would have given my a wider range of images to edit. To improve my other edits, I would have taken more photographs of tall buildings, building sites and natural landscapes in order to be able to create more montages with buildings and landscapes like the two above.

Although I aimed to take 3 photoshoots with at least 100 photos in each, I managed to get 2 photoshoots. Even though I only did 2 photoshoots I was able to get 222 photos in shoot 1 and 321 photos in shoot 2 which was well above the amount of photos I aimed to take. With a total of 543 photos I believe I have more than enough photos for me to create the most effective final images for the Anthropocene project. I believe the quality of the photos I have taken overall are quite good and I managed to photograph the locations I planned on photographing, a couple of photos I have taken have not come out as I would have liked as some have been blurry, too bright or too dark. Using the different filtering techniques on Lightroom I am happy with the final selection of images I will be using for editing and manipulation with Lightroom and Photoshop in order to come up with the best possible final outcomes I am able to produce.

Critique

I could have improved on my work by using more of the photos that I had edited in Lightroom, I chose not to use some of them as I was not sure how I would implement them into my work. If I was able to use them in my work I could have improved upon my final edits. I could have also done a third photoshoot to have more photos to work with to produce better or more final outcomes. If I also took photos during the night time I could have produced images which fit better with one of my researched artists, Troy Paiva. I was also not able to produce any photos inspired by another photographer I studied, Edward Butnysky, but a third photoshoot would have most likely enabled me to produce photos based off of his work. Overall I believe I did very well with the Anthropocene topic much higher than my expectations although there was room for improvement.