Mood Board

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Matthieu Venot is a self-taught French photographer whose pictures capture the urban environment in a most graphic and transformative of ways. Focusing on the part rather than the whole, his photographs abstract his surroundings into colourful graphical vistas turning the quotidian into the iconic.

Venot’s photographs are characterized by their bold use of color, clean lines, and strong geometric shapes. He often isolates a specific element of a building or structure and turns it into an abstract composition, removing it from its context and transforming it into a pure form. His images are often composed of a single primary color or a limited color palette, which creates a striking contrast against the white or blue sky.

Venot’s work seems heavily influenced by the principles of minimalism and abstraction. He is drawn to the simplicity and purity of geometric shapes and finds beauty in their harmony and balance. He takes a structured approach to his compositions, carefully framing and cropping his images to create a sense of order and symmetry.

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To achieve this, he crops building parts out of context, zooms in on architectural detail or isolates certain building features thereby creating, in the process, strong geometrical compositions that have a life of their own. Balconies and staircases, for example, shed their utilitarian role to become two-dimensional flourishes while elsewhere façade segments lose their scale to become graphical abstractions. 

Venot’s influence to go out and take photographs is perfect weather which ensures both a clean, flat background provided by the clear blue sky and more powerful, vibrant colours enhanced by the shining sun thus allowing for clearly defined lines, crisp geometric shapes and saturated colours.

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Image Analysis 1

Straight away from looking at this image you can see the simplicity Venot has gone for. I can also notice that he has got an angle from ground level, looking straight up which warps the shape of the building and makes it thin out into the horizon. It seems to be somewhat of a wider-angled shot taken with a wide-angled lens. By taking this photo on a clear sunny day when the sun is positioned behind the building out of sight means there is no shadows, creating a sort of surreal vibe and making the image look hyperrealistic. This is a common theme in Vernot’s work

I have scouted several buildings in Jersey where I plan to take images similar to this one, and I will be experimenting with different weather and lighting to try and reflect the theme of ‘Simple’.

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Image Analysis 2

I have chosen to analyze this image as well because I like how it follows Vernots theme of brightly lit simplistic architecture, however in this image he has used a slightly more complex scene- although I would still label it ‘simple’. The image is almost entirely shades of grey – bar the small splash of red from the handrail. I like this image as it comes off as somewhat intricate and complicated at first glance, however the more you look at the harsh lines and blocked colours the image gets simpler the more you look at it. By using a straight-on angle from what looks like around chest height- paired with the noon sun position he has captured enough shadows to make the photo interesting but not too much to where it takes away your attention from the architecture.

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Comparison / Link to similar artists’ work

These two images are from Gerry Johansson‘s collection of images taken in Tokyo. I found these images interesting when compared with those of Matthieu Venot. This is because the majority of his work captures unique settings in black and white – but it still conveys the same motifs. They both capture similar images of normal scenes but using opposing extremes in their use of colour.

“I think my definition of beauty would be something I like and can look at for a long time.”

Gerry Johansson, in an interview with CPH Mag

I find this quote quite useful in understanding his work as it shows some of his reasoning for why he creates his images.

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How I can reference Vernot’s work in my project

I have chosen to reference Vernot’s style in my project as I like that the way creates really bright and vibrant images with minimal shadows, making them look almost like artwork. I think that this style is perfect to showcase the theme of “Simple & Complex”, and will be a good contrast to the other half of my work which will feature more complex, darker pieces.

One of Venot’s signature techniques is to shoot his images directly from the ground, creating a unique perspective that emphasizes the geometry and symmetry of the architecture. This is something I can easily incorporate into my imagines and will be combining with different lighting during different times of the day. He also often shoots in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is soft and creates long shadows that add depth and texture to his images.

Photoshoot Locations

 I have chosen these sites as they are all relatively big/tall buildings with varying styles of architecture. My hope is that with them being tall buildings, I can achieve the vanishing/warped effect Vernot has in my chosen analyzed image. They also feature things like large amounts of balconies and windows which appear frequently in Valmots work. Each location has a different position/angle with regards to the sun path and so each will have unique lighting.

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Response 1 – Fort Regent

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Selections

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Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and filmmaker born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. She is considered one of the most influential contemporary artists, particularly known for her self-portrait photography that challenges the boundaries of gender, identity, and the portrayal of women in popular culture.

Sherman’s early work focused on creating photographic series in which she portrayed herself in a variety of personas, ranging from Hollywood starlets and socialites to clowns and grotesque characters. Her images often referenced historical paintings and film stills, presenting a critique of the stereotypical depictions of women in media.

One of Sherman’s most significant bodies of work is the Untitled Film Stills, a series of black-and-white photographs created between 1977 and 1980 that depicts the artist in various roles inspired by classic Hollywood films. In these images, Sherman used makeup, costumes, and props to create elaborate scenarios that conveyed the complexity of the female experience.

Her Untitled Film Stills (1977–80), in which she put on guises and photographed herself in various settings with deliberately selected props to create scenes that resemble those from mid-20th-century B movies. Started when she was only 23, these images rely on female characters (and caricatures) such as the jaded seductress, the unhappy housewife, the jilted lover, and the vulnerable naif. Sherman used cinematic conventions to structure these photographs: they recall the film stills used to promote movies, from which the series takes its title. The 70 Film Stills immediately became flashpoints for conversations about feminism, postmodernism, and representation, and they remain her best-known works.

Throughout her career, Sherman has continued to experiment with her own image, playing with different personas and identities. Her work has been exhibited internationally and has received critical acclaim for its innovative approach to photography and its contribution to contemporary art.

In addition to her photography, Sherman has also worked in film, directing and starring in several experimental movies that explore similar themes of identity and the representation of women. She has also collaborated with fashion designers, creating imagery for high-profile campaigns and magazines.

Sherman’s influence on contemporary art and photography is significant, with her work inspiring generations of artists to explore their own identity and the cultural forces that shape it. Her contribution to the feminist movement and her groundbreaking approach to self-portraiture have cemented her place as one of the most important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey writes in her famous essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” about the subconscious way we see women and how they are depicted in Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the 1950s. She argues that the depiction of women in those movies is determined by a certain perspective that objectifies the female body. According to Mulvey, the movies made during that era are part of a patriarchal structure and they reinforce the portrayal of women as things to be looked at for the pleasure of men. The only purpose of women is to represent an object of male desire and to support the male lead in a movie but they carry no real meaning or have any importance on their own.

Mulvey describes women in this context “as a bearer of meaning, not maker of meaning.” This perspective in which women are used as passive objects that are fetishized and shown in a voyeuristic manner to please the male viewer is known as the male gaze. The black-and-white photographs of Cindy Sherman’s series Untitled Film Stills are reminiscent of movies from the 1930s to the 1950s and depict Sherman as she portrays women in different roles with the help of costumes, make-up, and wigs. They can be interpreted as challenging the male gaze mentioned by Mulvey and therefore as feminist art.

Many pictures of Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills show situations that come across as uncomfortable, creepy, or even terrifying since we see the depicted woman in a vulnerable position. The viewer becomes an inappropriate spectator. We find ourselves in the role of a voyeur who preys on vulnerable women. We become confronted with the negative implications of the way the media – especially movies – depicts women. The male gaze is often present in Cindy Sherman’s artworks but she subtly changes the perspectives, expressions, and circumstances. Those changes expose this gaze that wants to stay hidden during the act of observing and objectifying the female body.

In Untitled Film Still #48 we can see a woman waiting alone on the roadside with her luggage next to her. The picture shows her back and indicates that she is not aware of being watched. The ominous scenery is enhanced by the cloudy sky and emphasis on the seemingly endless road. The picture makes the audience part of a threatening situation they do not necessarily want to be a part of. It even indicates that the viewer who is only able to see the woman’s back is the one who poses a threat.

In the works Untitled Film Still #81 and Untitled Film Still #2, this uncomfortable perspective is visible as well. Both pictures show a woman in either their underwear or only covered with a towel while they look at themselves in a mirror. They seem to be so concerned with their reflection that they notice nothing else around them. Both artworks reveal the problem of constantly representing women in a vulnerable and sexualized light for pleasure by making the viewer feel like a predatory voyeur.

The male gaze is also criticized through the image that the women themselves try to imitate in the mirror. They recreate seductive poses and expressions from movies to make their faces and bodies look like the idealized and fetishized versions of women that are represented in popular media. Sherman’s feminist art can be viewed as critical of this kind of depiction of women.

Laura Mulvey characterizes the depiction of women in her essay as passive, erotic, and accordingly made up to match male fantasies and desires. Cindy Sherman uses clothes, make-up, wigs, and different poses to imitate this portrayal of passive, sexualized women that comply with those fantasies. While Sherman still operates within the methods of the male gaze by portraying women in their underwear, heavy make-up, or typically female costumes, her artworks still criticize this way of representation.

The photograph Untitled Film Still #6 shows a woman in her underwear posing erotically in her bed. Her face, though, seems to parody the whole situation. The woman’s expression looks overly dreamy and even a little silly. It seems as if Sherman is making fun of the passive and typically feminine representations of women since she did not only pose for the picture but is also the artist that orchestrated the photo.

Some other artworks of Sherman also show women in a passive lying position, often seductively presenting their bodies or dressed in costumes that are considered feminine. The fact that these pictures are shown in an art context and not in a cinema as well as Cindy Sherman’s very active role in producing them indicates that the photos are critical of the male gaze. The woman, therefore, is no longer restricted to her role in front of the camera. By also being an artist, Sherman takes the active role of the creator. Her feminist art, therefore, criticizes the production of pictures by men for men by imitating stereotypical female representations from popular movies. They are a parody of an objectifying depiction of women in media and pop culture, made by an actual woman.

Judith Butler writes in her text “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” that gender is not something natural or something that constitutes a person by birth. Gender rather changes historically and is performed according to cultural standards. This makes the idea of gender different from the term sex, which describes biological characteristics. This gender is fixed through the act of repeating certain cultural behaviours that are believed to make a person male or female.

Cindy Sherman’s artworks seem to demonstrate this performance of gender by depicting stereotypical images of women that can also be seen in movies. The pictures illustrate the performative act of “being female” through Sherman’s changing use of wigs, make-up, and clothing. Even though every artwork of Sherman shows the same person, the artist’s masquerade makes it possible to portray various types of women that are all subject to the male gaze.

Richard Avedon had a very distinct style of portrait photography that primarily focuses on upper body shots from either the waist up or chest up. His models would always be interesting people he found on the street. He would set up a portable studio consisting of a plain background. He used a large format camera that would capture incredible detail of his models as well as having up to two assistants that would use reflectors and light dampeners to create the perfect lighting on his models faces.

Image Analysis

This image from Richard Avedon has a plane background which was common is Avedon’s images as it ensures the viewers focus is on the model. The photo would have been taken in black and white due to the camera technology available at the time. The photographer took this image outside on an overcast day which is when he would go out onto the streets with a portable studio and ask people he saw if he could take pictures. He ran into Madelyn Monroe on the streets of New York when she was on a break from a movie she was acting in. There is a high contrast between the model’s skin and clothing as well her the background. The image was taken at eye level which gives the model accurate proportions when the photo was produced.

 “Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.” – Claude Cahun

Cahun focused on expressing themselves in various ways, exploring all aspects of the gender spectrum along with playing with the idea of stereotypes and societal expectations. They’re well known for their bodybuilder photoshoot in which they dressed and posed femininely [with hearts on each check, tights, hair styled and their legs crossed whilst tilting their head towards the camera] yet contrasts this femininity by wearing a shirt stating ‘I am in training don’t kiss me’ whilst holding a weight, embracing what would’ve been considered masculine at the time. This photoshoot mocks the idea of gender, deconstructing the ideas that society conforms to whilst bringing to perspective how there is no innate way to act as a gender.

Cahun rejected the idea of fixed gender roles, both within their work and their own life, from things such as shaving their head to wearing more masculine clothing – something that was considered rebellious until the 1960s. They always strived for authenticity within themself, not caring about how they were perceived by others which is especially impressive due to the historical context at the time as most people throughout the 1940s were trying to conform in order to heighten their chances of surviving WW2.

kj

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