“What we’re all trying to do is make a layered, deep, complex, complicated photograph that doesn’t look complex or complicated.”

Simple

Some photographers think that a more complex photograph is better as they feel that they are able to show higher level of skill compared to something that they would class as a ‘simple’ image.

In photography the word ‘simple’, is to take away the complexity of the work, to try and make it more care free and relaxed. By saying that, some people my believe that these photographs have no depth or hold no meaning to them, but its the opposite, sometimes the most simplistic image can convey the most meaningful story.

Simple photography can be shown through any type of photographs but I think that one of the easiest genres to create images that tell a story is portraiture, by having the subject change they way they are posed or their facial expressions the photographer can change the whole narrative and portray a completely different emotion in a very easy and ‘simple’ way. Still life photography can also be a creative way to make simple images that can show the photographers or other people feeling towards and object as well as landscape photography having the same effect on locations.

Complex

The definition of complex is “involving a lot of different but related parts”, this is shown in many famous images by famous photographers. Complex images as commonly known as ‘better’ compared to ‘simplistic’ photographs which can sometimes be true.

In photography complex images has many different feature which all bring the photograph together making a creative and skillful piece of work that is interesting to look at, but there’s a fine line between multiple factors for create a story and a photographer making a busy image which isn’t very pleasing to look at.

london street / architecture

Photographers to look at:

Buildings / architecture:

Daniel shea : 43 – 35 10th street

Gerry Johansson

colour / shapes / streets:

Siegfried Hansen – contemporary – now

Saul leiter – NYC

exploring different points of view of a city

Learning about the theme simple/complex, I started by bullet pointing concepts, art forms and ideas which related to either of the binary terms- binary terms consist of two opposite terms i.e. simple/complex, love/hate, male/female.

COMPLEX

Busy textures- William Morris 

Persian carpets 

Knots 

Stained glass 

Technology 

Human body and its relation to nature 

Nature including animals and plants 

Different environments- the sea, woodlands 

Human nature- routine, relationships

Emotions, thoughts, behaviours, actions- anger, love, loss 

Religion, society, laws, politics, culture, rights, stereotypes, expectations 

Clothing, subculture, style I.e., punk movement- Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood- 90s heroin chic movement 

SIMPLE

Birds eye view 

Industrial 

Geometric  

Black + white 

Minimalism, brutalism and architecture  

Lighting 

From making my mood board and researching artists, I realised I was interested in dramatic staged images- possibly ones which reflect classic paintings. To further research a dramatic staged image style, I watched films where lighting was an important factor in the cinematography (such as Fallen Angels, 1995)

I also watched films where the style was softer, such as French new wave films (“Pierrot Le Fou”, 1965). My main interest for this theme as the minute is cinematic style images- dramatic, emotional yet staged.

POTIENTIAL INSPIRATIONS

SAM TAYLOR-WOOD

CLAUDIA ANDUJAR

WING SHYA

CINEMATOGRAPHY- JEAN LUC GODARD

Below I have included a screenshot of the mood board I have created to demonstrate my first ideas when it comes to addressing the theme of ‘Simple and Complex’ which is our new exam project. Making this mindmap helped me to consider my first ideas and how they could start to happen, and the ideas in my head started to link to real life ideas, objects and structures. I really liked how broad this theme is, as it can be considered in a lot of different ways, and any images that I could take could even be linked to the concept of ‘simple’ or ‘complex’.

The Concept of ‘Simple’ Photography

I have looked through many images in order to come up with this mood board which addresses and helps me visualise what the idea of ‘simple’ looks like. Throughout this I have focus on the idea that either the style of photography is simple, or the objects or landscapes are simple in themselves. I really like the fact that searching through the internet to try and find images really does inspire me, and most importantly help me visual my ideas.

How will ‘Simple’ be present in my future project? I would like to take very simple images of complex and intricate structures and objects, as I would prefer to focus on this rather then the genre of portraiture. I think that me exploring simple kinds of photography, maybe like the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher as there concept is very interesting and could relate to taking photographs of any objects that I am interested in. I would like to take simple images of different aspects of nature, such as farm animals and flowers/ plants. I think that displaying my images in a typology will emphasise the fact that natural substances and complex in themselves, but within themselves they are considered to be simple formations. This will create the question of is nature simple of complex.

The Concept of ‘Complex’ Photography

When first considering the idea of complex images, its thought that these types of images take more application and technical skill. However, I think that taking photographers of controversial and not typical “complex” ideas is a more analytical way to approach this exam project. For example, some landscapes are not seen to be complex, however they may contain a lot of history, or be the home for a lot of natural life, and I think that consideration for things that do not appear complex but actually are is very relevant to my project.

How will ‘Complex’ be present in my future project? I would to focus on mostly the structural complexity of places/ objects that appear very simple, but are in fact very complex. For example, the concept of a flower has good connotations, along with them looking very simple. However, they some of them have very complex structures, with each part of these plants having very different but still vital functions throughout. I think that this concept is very interesting as images are very much viewed differently when it comes to the perceptive of the viewer. Furthermore, I would like to focus on the idea that perspective makes photographs either appear simple or complex, and this will be demonstrated by me taking images or very simple objects and educating people on how they can be complex and intricate too.

Mindmap

Simple

“Easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty, plain, basic, or uncomplicated in form, nature, or design; without much decoration or ornamentation.“

The concept of something simple can be seen throughout art and photography in different ways. For example, lighting, using a simple single source, or with context or intent of an image, for example taking photographs of traditionally simple or uninteresting things in a conventional way. The concept of simplicity can also be seen in arrangments of images, for example using a simple composition, simple colours, for example, black and white or only a selection of a few colours in an image. For example, posed, simply lit portraits can be seen as simple as only documenting the surface-level subject. If no context is given or hinted at in an image, it can be seen as simple at a first glance. Simple photography can be linked to minimalism, with minimalist photographs “stripping a subject down to its essence.” For example, classic photographs such as those of Ansel Adams are classic, well composed images of natural beauty, which have a traditionally simple concept and composition. Furthermore, images such as Alex Soth’s portraits in his project “Sleeping by the Mississipi” present as visually simple, with a clear use of the rule of thirds and with the subject often in the middle of the image. However, the context of his images and narrative behind them is often more complex. The two concepts of simple and complex are often intertwined in photography, and it is often difficult to call an image purely ‘simple’ or ‘complex’.

Complex

“Consisting of many different and connected parts; a group or system of different things that are linked in a close or complicated way; a network.”

Complexity in photography and art can be seen in many different contexts. It relates to its’ binary opposite of simplicity, as seemingly simple images can have complex ideas attached to them, such as contextual ideas, links to photographic movements, or complex processes and materials used to photograph. Complexity in photography can also relate to the presentation of images: for example using sculpture or manipulating images to create intricate presentations and different angles. For example, Cindy Sherman and Jim Goldberg’s work can be seen as complex due to the issues their photographs address – mysoginy, feminism, wealth and poverty. These photographs also present as visually complex, but this is not always true for complex photography. As seen in my moodboard of ‘simple’ images above, some images can be seen as visually simple but often have great ocntext linked to personal experiences, or social context. Therefore, the notion of a simple or compex photograph is mostly subjective, and the definition would be different for every viewer of an image.