For this week, I have decided to take inspiration from the 2nd starting point given in the exam paper, which is shown above.
Rinko Kawauchi
Rinko Kawauchi was born in 1972, in Shiga, Japan, and graduated from Seian Women’s College (now Seian University of Art and Design) in 1993.
Her work explores the subtle aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which is defined by Wikipedia as ‘a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.‘ This means that it focuses on details, textures, and gestures that are often overlooked by us in the haste of everyday modern life.
It was close to melting point, and one could see the lake if one passed through.
Silence had spread out there; no waves, no sound.
I thought I might fall in by accident if I stared too long; I thought the glacier might devour me. I got scared and began to look around for what was missing. Where could I find the centre? Where will I find this circle, where can I dig up this gold?
And after a while I realised:
It can only be found on the surface.
Yes, I searched for the sun within a glacier.
—Rinko Kawauchi, to accompany her series “Search for the Sun,” 2015
I would like to take inspiration from this artist because it is not the usual style of photography I would go for and it would allow me to explore a more unknown (to me) area of the medium. I think it would be fun to get creative with this style. I like Kawauchi’s images because of their beauty in simplicity as well as their careful composition – they are created to stimulate pleasure of aesthetics.
Clare Gallagher, William Eggleston, Josef Sudak
The other artists mentioned on this page of the exam paper offer a more open brief when added to the work of Kawauchi.
Clare Gallagher‘s work focuses on the domestic life, highlighting the struggles faced by women, and especially mothers, in the home. Her images are simplistic and show only everyday, mundane items, but in a thoughtful and stimulating manner, especially when combined with her philosophy.
William Eggleston‘s photographs are characterised by their playful palette and imagery relating to the urban landscape of the American Midwest and its inhabitants. His images are exciting and colourful; they connote the consumerism and suburban lifestyle that populates the history of this area.
Josef Sudek‘s images are inversely dark and sophisticated. Shot on black and white film, the mise-en-scenes capitalise on the struggle between light and shadow. His work focuses on the mundane too, but uses drama to exemplify the lack of mundanity.
