Level 2: How to Read a Photograph Ben Franklin Candidate No. 1081
IF THIS IS ART
Considers how photographers have devised strategies, performances and happenings especially for the camera. This challenges the stereotype that photography is all about sitting and waiting for that perfect moment. Based in the performance art of the 60’s and 70’s.
SEYDOU KEITA
DAVID GOLDBLATT
PHILLIP LORCA DICORCIA
ALFRED STIEGLITZ
SOPHIE CALLE
JOSEPH BEUYS
GILLIAN WEARING
BETTINA VON ZWEHL
DAVID SPERO
ONCE UPON A TIME Story telling in art photography. Tableau photography where the story has been distilled into one single image (based on 17th and 18th century painting)
JEFF WALL
SAM TAYLOR WOOD
TOM HUNTER
FRANCIS KEARNEY
DEADPAN
Distinct lack of visual drama. Usually large scale pieces of work with little central focus or obvious subject matter.
ANDREAS GURSKY
BRIDGET SMITH
LEWIS BALTZ
MATTHIAS HOCH
DAN HOLDSWORTH
RICHARD MISRACH
THOMAS RUFF
SOMETHING AND NOTHING
Photographing objects and subjects that wouldn’t ordinarily warrant a second look e.g. street litter, abandoned rooms or dirty laundry.
HUMAN EXISTENCE
Emotional and personal relationships. A diary of human interaction, a focus of unexpected moments in everyday life.
MOMENTS IN HISTORY
Documenting social and ecological disaster after the event. Using art photography to present the consequences of political and human upheaval.
REVIVED AND REMADE
Photographs that explore and exploit our pre-existing knowledge of imagery. The remaking of famous photographs, adverts, scientific imagery etc. Using old photographic techniques and styles (copyright issues).
Artist: Ian Rhuter Title: Narcissus URL: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m617ni7BwX1r8e3ono1_1280.jpg Size
Artist: Diane Arbus Title: Boy with Toy Hand Grenade URL: http://www.ucreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/
Shape and Framing
Artist: Lee Friedlander Title: Untitled, part of the Little Screens series URL: https://fraenkelgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ LF-1-11.jpg Focus
Artist: Aaron Siskind Title: New York 3 URL: https://anthonylawlor.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/aaron-siskind-051.jpg Surface
Artist: William Egglestone Title: Untitled, from Troubled Water URL: http;//www.mca.com.au/media/uploads/images/gas-station_300_LR.jpg Colour
Artist: Eadweard Muybridge Title: The Horse in Motion URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/ The_Horse_in_Motion.jpg Time
Nigel Shafran (1964-) Sewing Kit (2002) Genre: Something and Nothing
LIGHT QUALITY
Genre: Something and Nothing Light quality gives Shafran’s photo its atmosphere, the sunlight streaming in from the top of the frame through the window accentuated by the translucent white curtains either side, as if funneling it into the room. The light here creates an almost dreamlike effect as it diffuses throughout the empty room, hitting each object at a slightly different angle; the surreal tone is continued through the structure of the room itself, with an unexplained tower of items in the centre and an empty leather sofa to the side. This is an example of light revealing further details about an image, as it’s only in the reflections on the leather that it becomes clear that the sofa had recently been vacated. Although not obviously directed, the sunlight effectively highlights the main subjects of the image, drawing the eye to each of them in an order akin to the viewer themselves exploring the room.
Light quality describes the source, amount, and direction of lighting in a photograph. Light can come from natural sources, like the sun. It can be altered or created by humans, by using such things as flash bulbs or lamps. It can also be diffused by clouds or by humans putting a veil of cloth over a lamp. The direction of light is also important when looking at photographs: it can come from above, behind, or from one side. Bright, dim, cloudy, directional, diffused, and flash are some terms used to describe lighting. Determine the source of light (sun, lamp, flash?). What is it? From which direction does the light come? Does the light come from above the subject? Below it? From the side? What kind of light do you think this is? Is the light harsh with strong shadows, or is it diffused with soft, light shadows?
TEXTURE
Genre: Something and Nothing Shafran’s Sewing Kit exemplifies several different textures within a single shot, using the light from the window to highlight the differences between the various surfaces shown. The first example of this which presents itself to the eye (in my mind) is that of the box directly beneath the window, the impression of the cardboard’s texture almost entirely eliminated by the proximity of the light source. In contrast, the light considerably enhances the impression of texture on the leather sofa, clearly displaying the smooth texture with an underlying layer of coarseness - the imprint left on the cushion particularly drawing attention to the multi-layered nature of the surface. The curtains framing the window give their section of the image a more ethereal quality, their translucency showing as areas of pure white through the lens. The lower portions show a similar coarse texture to the leather but with a thinner net feel to them.
Texture is how the surface of an object appears to feel or actually feels to the touch. Texture can be described as rough, smooth, soft, etc.Texture is shown in photographs by the way the light falls on an object and through value changes. The paper on which the photograph is made also determines texture. What objects in the photograph show textures? Describe those textures. Is the texture of objects something that you noticed right away or do you notice it after looking for a while? Why?
TIMELINE OF EVENTS: 2002
14th January - The UK declared free of foot and mouth disease, ending an epidemic that would have been all over the news.
1st January - The euro becomes legal tender in 12 states; this sweeping and relatively local political change would have affected Shafran in England.
24th March - A Beautiful Mind wins three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The colour pallete in the film has a similar faded, calm tone to much of Shafran’s work.
17th February - Westlife reach no.1 on the UK singles chart with World of Our Own. Shafran’s work is very much in contrast to this kind of produced pop music as he focuses on quiet, almopst empty scenes.
26th May - The spacecraft Mars Odyssey sends back photographs of the remnants of large ice deposits on Mars. The method by which these photographs are taken is similar to the way Shafran describes his work: “a build-up of images, often in sequences.”
TIMELINE OF EVENTS: 2002
4th June - The day of the service for Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years on the throne. This made news in countries worldwide, but the pageantry on display is in contrast with the tone of Shafran’s work.
Nigel Shafran English photographer Born on 7th January 1964 Photo chosen: Sewing Kit Year produced: 2002
Harvard Referencing Website Author: biolacontemporaryphoto (2015) Website Title: ARTS 344 Contemporary Photographic Practices [Online] Available From: http://biolacontemporaryphoto.tumblr.com/post/113980805152/sewing-kit-by-nigel-shafran-chapter-4-speaks-into Website Author: Joseph Baum (2015) Website Title: Palatinate [Online] Available From: http://www.palatinate.org.uk/?p=56271
Website Author: ForbNews (2010) Website Title: FMD [Online] Available From: http://forbnews.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/blog-post_23.html
Website Author: Mashitafandia (2012) Website Title: Farewell, West Men!: Part II [Online] Available From: http://mashitafandia.tumblr.com/post/23544123587/farewell-westmen-part-ii Website Author: Jonathan Witt (2015) Website Title: A Beautiful Mind: John Nash Versus the Left [Online] Available From: https://stream.org/beautiful-mind-john-nashs-vs-the-left/
Website Author: HubCars Website Title: Mars Odyssey Mission Themis Available From: http://hubcars.net/mars-odyssey-mission-themis
Website Author: 24carat (2002) Website Title: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medallion [Online] Available From: http://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=2002queenelizabethiigoldenjubileegoldmedallion.php Website Author: HistoryOrb (2002) Website Title: Historical Events for Year 2002 [Online] Available From: http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/2002
Website Author: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (2015) Website Title: 2002 in the United Kingdom [Online] Available From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_in_the_United_Kingdom
Website Author: Nigel Shafran (2008-9) Website Title: Compost Pictures [Online] Available From: http://www.nigelshafran.com/pages/compost_pages/001compost.html
Website Author: TATE: Nigel Shafran (2007) Website Title: We Are Here: Photographing Britain [Online] Available From: http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/we-are-here
Website Author: Nigel Shafran (2001/2) Website Title: Charity Shops/Car Boot Sales [Online] Available From: http://www.nigelshafran.com/pages/charity_shops_pages/009charity_shops_pages.html Website Author: David Chandler (2008) Website Title: Les Rencontres de la Photographie Available From: http://www.rencontres-arles.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=ARL_213_ VForm&FRM=Frame%3AARL_473&LANG=English