Critical and contextual awareness in art & design
Example of a photograph taken - used by a daguerreotype
In
William Blake
Tittensor Chase Lodge, 1910s
Farm buildings, Hilderstone, about 1910
Roebuck Inn, Hilderstone, about 1940
Williams Blake work seemed to constantly consist of country style photography, he seemed to like taking pictures of buildings with some kind of scenery surrounding the area i.e trees, people and even animals.
William Turner
William Turner work is mainly centred around landscape, he's either done portraits of the ocean with ships being destroyed by the horrendous waves or massive land which is completely deserted with a house in the distance.
My thoughts on the themes of the following photographs.
Claude Monet
Bathers at La Grenouillère
1869
La Pointe de la Hève, Sainte-Adresse
1864
The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil
1872
Claude Monet's work was also based around landscape, his work was very expressive because it shows that he painted the pictures in a fresh and direct manner, his work focuses on the reality, the colours of his work really bring out the detail and the meaning behind the paintings.
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro work is also landscape, with all the artists which I have researched I've noticed that most of their work is based around landscape, they all seem to have a fascination with the countryside or fields however within Camille Pissarro it has a lot more detail and really emphasises the reality and the colours which have been used really bring the pieces together.
FSA
FSA stands for Farm Security Administration - it is a photographic survey which was commissioned in the United States, it was to document regions of the U.S. most affected by poverty of the Depression years shortly before the second World War.
The F.S.A commission came in response to a duel concern which was "The need to Document and the need for the New Deal" which was one of Franklin D.Roosevelts first executive orders.
Franklin D.Roosevelts
- Born January 30th, 1882 -
He was elected as the president of New York in 1932, The country was in the 'Great Depression' during his second election, he immediately acted to restore public confidence by speaking directly to the public by a series of radio broadcasts or 'fireside chats'.
He was re-selected in 1936, 1940 and 1944 which led the United States from isolationism to victory over the Nazis and its allies in World War II, He also helped the wartime alliance between Britain, The Soviet Unions and the United States, he also helped lay the groundwork for the post-war peace organisation which became 'United Nations',
Franklin was the only president to be elected four times but he unfortunately died in his office in apirl,1945.
Photographic Freedom
Although photographers were given the complete freedom in what they recorded they responded to the dual requirement in that their images are framed in a style that transfigures the reality that it documents.
Paul Strand was the great master of American Photography (1890 - 1969).
Sandro Miller
A few examples of Sandro Millers work.
In 2013 and 2014 Sandro Miller re-created 41 photographs paying tribute to the worlds greatest photographers in a project titled 'Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich Homage to Photographic Masters' she used John Malkovich as the subject in each image.
Masters Of Photography
Martin Parr was encouraged by his grandfather who was a keen amateur photographer and thats when Parr started to explore photography.
Martin began studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic in 1970-73 and after his degree he worked on numerous photographic projects.
What genre of photography is Martin Parr famous for?
Martin Parr was famous for his photography where he explored the world and captured what he saw. Martin Parr is a Social Documentary Photographer.
What is Magnum and who were the four photographers who founded magnum back in 1947?
Magnum photos is an international community in which photographers own the business together which is placed in New York City, Paris, London and Tokyo.
The founders of Magnum photos are: Robert Capa, David "Chim" Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and William Vandivert.
Martin Parrs influences
Martin Parr had three main influences which was:
Gary Winogrand - He was inspired by his wit.
John Hind - Inspired by his colour and Kitsch style postcards.
Robert Frank - Inspired by his compositions.
Gary Winogrand
John Hind
Robert Frank
In this photograph by Martin Parr who do you think he was influenced by?
I think he was influenced by all three of the photographers because he is covering the face of the woman just like Robert did, he's also using bold and vivid colours like John Hind and again using the flag to hide the face to leave us to imagine the face of the typical British holiday maker which is a sense of wit, which he uses from Gary.
Martin Parr has his own techniques and its not photoshop, he doesn't enhance his images in any shape or form, what you see is what you get without any adjustments to the photographs.
Martin uses two types of cameras:
Nikon 35mm or a 6x7 Mamiya
To achieve his intense colours he uses a normal amateur colour film and adds a flash or a ring flash to help expose and saturate the colours more vividly.
4 photographs by Martin Parr - What do you think?
'Playas' 2006
This photograph is bright but subtle, it doesn't have a huge amount of colour within the photograph however it does have more nude colours, which does make the image bland but because of the discolouration of the chair and the towel as well as the shininess to their skin it brings the photograph together
'Common Sense (Ice Cream Soda)' 1997
This photograph is yet another very bland image, it just stereotypes the typical larger person because of the way its being represented 'Ice cream soda', In my opinion this photograph has no meaning behind the image and its just a picture of someone about to eat ice cream.
Dakar (Yellow Dress) 2001
This photograph is very bright and colourful on one side of the image whereas on the other side where the man is standing, its very dark and gloomy, it gives the stereotype of him staring at the bag and giving the assumption he might steal it thats why the dress and the bag are so bright because it wants you to focus on it the most.
Untitled (From the Book 'Small World') 1995
This photograph is a massive example of tourism, the typical shirt with a cheap camera and a tourist attraction in the background, it symbolises the reality of tourism, the image itself is very boring, its not focused on the background its mainly focused on the person and in my opinion the person who is focused ruins the whole imagery.
Conclusion
What themes rung through the work of Martin Par?
The themes which seem to mainly be simulated through Martin Pars work is about reality:
Cultural Differences
Class Distinction
Social Divides
Consumerism
What makes his work stand out from other documentary photographs?
The work which Martin Par produces is extremely unique, its something you don't see and the things which make them different are:
His use of wit
The bright, vivid colours
The subjects he photographs
His opinions/views on the world he photographs
Describe his photographic style?
Martin Pars style is something which no one else adventures out doing so his styles are:
Bold
Bright
Honest
Funny
Unforgiving
Candid.
Diane Arbus Influences
Diane Arbus main influence was Lisette Modal,
his influence can be seen particularly in the
subjects she chose to photograph.
Other influences
Weegee (Arthur Fellig) - Greately admired by Arbus, who use flash extensively to enable her to balance the light in back-lit portraits.
August Sander - German photographer, also famous for portraits taken straight on.
Richard Avedon - Good friend who inspired her with his black and white, frontal portraits.
Diane Arbus documentary portraits show unflattering aspects of her subject, capturing the space between the image they want to put forward to the world and how they really are. Diane called this "The gap between intention and effect".
Many of her subjects were photographed again and again over a period of many years. Why do you think people allowed her to do this?
The reason why I think the people allowed her to do this because they were able to see the extraordinary difference that a year can do to a person and to be able to view themselves in a different matter and see how much they've changed as a person over a period of years.
The subjects which Arbus photographed were people on the edge of society i.e. the freaks, then marginal, deviants, circus performers, transvestites and the mentally unbalanced.
How do this image make you feel?
This photograph doesn't make me feel anything because I believe in equality and because I know this is a man dressed as a woman doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, it make me feels happy that they can express themselves so confidently in front of a camera.
Do you think it is flattering?
I believe this photograph isn't entirely flattering, its nothing stereotypical in the way women should be perceived i.e. bleach blonde hair, skinny waist and a perfect face however they are their own person so they are beautiful in their own way.
Why do you think the subject allowed the photograph to be taken?
The reason why I believe the model aloud this photograph to be taken because they want the world to know being who you truly are is important and you shouldn't have to hide it because people disagree or think its wrong or disgusting.
What do you think this photograph is about?
I think this photograph is about the tallness of the woman/man and how spectacular that they are because of how tall they have gotten, its extraordinary.
How does it make you feel?
This photograph doesn't make me feel anything, i just feel sympathy and compassion for them because of how much pain they must be in especially with how they are standing and haven't got no mobility to go far without having to sit down.
How do you think the people in the photograph reacted when they saw them?
I think the people in the photograph were very shocked and baffled with how tall they are and its something they've never witnessed before.
What do you think is happening in this photograph?
What I believe is happening is a bunch of mentally incapable people are doing things they wouldn't recognise they were doing because they can't control their actions or no whats going off in their surroundings.
How does it make you feel?
This photograph makes me feel sad because of how they respond and are acting towards being outside, it makes me feel sympathy towards them.
Why do you think Arbus was given permission to make this photograph?
I believe Arbus was given permission to take this photograph and others which are within her series is because she would be able to show the reality of what people with mental illness are like and get people to understand more about these types of illnesses.
How do you think people in the image felt about being photographed?
I believe they felt nothing because they couldn't understand what was going off in their surroundings so they wouldn't know whether they were getting their image taken or not, in their head they were just having fun or doing what they always do.
What do you think Arbus was trying to say in this image?
What I believe Arbus was trying to express through this photograph that small people can be handsome and sexy too and that their not unlovable.
Do you think the man in image knew Arbus well?
Personally I do believe this because of how confident looks sitting there half naked with only a towel covering his lower area, the reason I believe this as well because of how he can just be calm and relaxed in front of the camera.
How does this image make you feel?
This photograph doesn't make me feel anything because he's just a normal man having his photograph taken.
What makes Diane Arbus portraits stand out from other documentary photographs?
What I think makes her work stand out from everyone else is she is able to show the side of people which others deem as 'unflattering' and she captures the hidden personality which some of the people keep locked away because of the cruelty they get from he world, its like she able to photograph the inside of these people and how they truly feel and how they want to confident all the time.
Man Ray Influences
Picasso - Cubist Spanish Painter
Auguste Rodin - French Sculptor
Alfred Stieglitz - American Photographer
Piscasso
Auguste Rodin
Alfred Stieglitz
The reason Emmanuel Radnitzsky soon became known as Man Ray because of Ethnic Discrimination because his parents were immigrants from Russia and they emigrated to America for a better way of life, so he had his name changed.
Man Ray was an artist who explored a number of number of different disciplines these include:
Painting
Sculpture
Experimental Film
What art movement do you think has influenced Man Rays painting?
I think that cubism i.e. cubist art movement influenced Man Rays painting, especially within this painting, its colourful and simplistic.
The painting is about/ inspired by a tightrope performance and the forms/shapes that were casted onto the floor as they performed.
In Paris Martin Parr brushed shoulders with key figures in the art world such as:
Marcel Duchamp
Dali
Max Ernst
Due to this he came an influential member of both the Surrealist and Dada Art Movements
What was the main aims of the Dada Art Movement?
The Dada Art Movement came about due to the reaction of the World War I.
What was the main aims of the Surrealist Art Movement?
The Surrealist movement began as a literary group strongly allied to Dada.
In 1922 Man Ray started to experiment with the potential of different photographic techniques, which were Rayographs - Images made by placing objects directly on to light sensitive paper and Solarization - Partial image reversal produced by breed exposure to white light of a partly developed silver halide image.
Solarized Print
Rayograph
Look at Man Rays non-fashion images through google and identify any reoccurring themes or subject matter through Man Rays work?
Whats the reoccurring themes or subject matter?
In these photographs the reoccurring themes or subject matter is he uses facial features and hands within the images.
How do you think each of these images were made?
The way I believe his photographs were made was using a studio with high key lighting to give the illuminations of the models and to emphasise the detail of their skin and objects which they used.
Make up a title for each of the images and think about how they make you feel?
For the first image (Shameless) it makes me feel calm and relaxed because she looks like she is apart of some culture and she's doing a ritual or praying.
For the second image (Tearful) it makes me feel emotional or sentimental towards her because she looks like she is scared or worried, the way her eyes are looking off into the distance makes your wonder whats happening.