Inter sect ing lines Daniel Durose//n0448465//Image analysis//1,585 words
Contents 1-2 3-14 15-22 23-24 25-26 27-28 29-30
Introduction Inspiration 5-6 // The mathematics behind Beauty 7-8 // Greek Busts 9-10 // Blind Spot 11-12 // Role Models 13-14 // Young People, Identity and Media Image Analysis & Interpretation Publication Conclusion References Appendix
"Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be."� ― -Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, 231)
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Fig.1 Own Image - Frieda Kahlo projection (2013)
INTRODUCTION ‘The perception of others upon our skin inform our personal sense of self - we think we are who others think we are; therefore we act accordingly, often adhering to the perimeters of social protocol’. –(John Clang, 2011). Exploring the idea of the different personas in which people have, we found that as impressionable beings we adapt our appearance to the different situations we find ourselves in. Discussing this further, it was apparent that this need to fit in with others and to be liked has purely made
us a population that all look the same. In relation to beauty, we often find ourselves viewing people in a more positive light to what we view ourselves. This is represented in the fact that ‘Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful’ (David Airey, 2013). We explored the responsibility which role models really have on the way we adjust our appearance; whether this be to seem like an individual or not. This tackles the issue, does beauty really exist and are we ever really happy with ourselves. What might also be interesting is what other cultures find beautiful and the role models in which they would choose. As what people find beautiful is dependent on what background and culture they are from and also how much they are exposed to certain mediums.
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inspiration
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Fig 2. Mask created using the Theory of Phi (2007)
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Th e M at h em at i c s B eh i n d B E a u ty ‘The Greeks said that all beauty is mathematics. If that is true then perhaps there is a mathematical code, formula, relationship or even a number that can describe facial beauty’ (Michelle Rodger, 2007). This has been advanced to look at a more scientific and mathematical scale of beauty. It is said that beauty comes from symmetry and is underlined through the golden ratio. This theory of a ‘golden ratio’ has been adapted by plastic surgeons to look how people’s faces can be changed to conform to this ‘mask’. We found that the aesthetics of this mask (see fig.2) being projected onto someone would be visually striking. However we found that as a visual, this wasn’t something, which we wanted to represent as more, and more women feel the need and pressure to have plastic surgery.
Fig 3. Mask Applied onto Maryln Monroes Face (2007)
The impact that this has is that ‘Four in ten teenage girls have considered plastic surgery’ (BBC, 2005). Therefore, we found the idea of projecting a ‘role models’ face would be much more fitting, in which we developed into our concept of projecting inspirational figures onto the face of our model. This represents the fact that our ‘true beauty’ is hidden behind the many personas in which we have.
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Fig 4. Greek Bust (Unknown)
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Throughout history with in art, portraits have been iconic for just showing the face. In relation to our photo-shoot, we wanted to create an image that wasn’t over sexualised; therefore we chose to just show the shoulders and face of our model, this links back to our initial research, with the idea that beauty is linked to the ‘Golden Ratio’, which represents how faces that do not fit this mask are deemed less beautiful than others that do fit. By just showing the shoulder and face we hoped to achieve a look of a Greek bust (See fig 4). We found the idea of creating a bust interesting as in contrast to our concept; the idea of busts was used to recreate the likeness of a being. Whereas we are using this to show how an individual uses the identity of others to fit in within social protocol.
G R E E K B US T S
Best captured by the iconic headshot, a portrait is one of the first markers of identity others use to recognise us. By altering this reality it shows the influence which society has on us.
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B l ind - S pot Our main inspiration for this shoot came from ‘Blind Spot’ (See fig 6.) a series of images by John Clang, which further explores the theory of identity and beauty. Just like Clangs images we wanted to create an image that would truly represent this on going theme of identity. These series of images intentionally made to look like identification images represent Clang creating a new image and identification for the person. Unintentionally it seems the images also represent the hypothesis of ‘Uncanny Valley’ (See fig 5.), which refers to the field of human aesthetics.
This also applies to how people present themselves on the Internet and through avatars. ‘For some players, the avatar becomes a purposeful projection of idealization of there own identity, while for others, the avatar is an experiment with new identities’ (Nick Yee, 2004). Thus backing up our concept of people adapting themselves to be and idealization of what or who they strive to be, therefore we began to focus on our models, role models and people they found successful.
‘The uncanny valley, refers to that point along the chart of robot human likeness where a robot looks and acts nearly – but not exactly- like a human’. (Erik Sofage, 2010)
Fig. 5. Represents Uncanny Valley (2010) 9
Fig 6. Blind Spot by John Clang (2011)
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ro l e M od el s
Fig 8. Kurt Cobain (Unknown)
Fig 7. David Bowie (Unknown)
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‘Young women desperately need role models – and what the media gives them is heiresses, sex objects, surgery addicts and emotional wrecks’ (Kira Cochrane, 2010). As well as allowing the model to choose the role models that were projected, we wanted to represent a more positive image of role models, as with the quote above many of the younger generation are exposed to these negative images of women in the media, which in turn has a negative impact on them. Interestingly, through this process we found that the majority of the role models that were chosen were male. We found partly due to what it says in the quote above
and also because men are shown in a much different light, with successes highlighted much more than negatives. This led us to think about feminism and are we returning back to old views on women. This is further backed up by this quote:‘34% of men preferred a male boss while 10% preferred a female boss, while 40% of women preferred a male boss and 26% preferred a female boss.’ (Willow Duttge, 2010). The role models in which were chosen included: David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Allan Sugar, Frieda Kahlo. There were more in which our model chose but we decided on these as these would be much more visually impacting on our model.
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Young Peple, Identity and the media’ 13
This theme of identity and how people view themselves is further explored and backed up by a study by Fatima Awen in the research project ‘Young People, Identity and the media’. This study summarises and highlights the importance of role models and how individuals understand there own identities. Awen suggests that ‘the media functions as a resource young people use to conceptualise and formulate their present identities, as well as articulate future selves’ (Awen, 2007). The matter of the impact that ‘fashion’ has on girls is also a main issue raised. This relates back to beauty and confidence and it is suggested that magazines compel women into a normative feminine ideal. Our images highlight this with the use of role models being imposed onto our models face, showing that whether people like it or not the people around us and that we see in the media impacts our own visual identity and how we compose ourselves around others.
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i m a g e analysis
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Fig 9. Own Image (2013)
I n t e r p r e t at i o n We composed our images and our model with the intent of the image looking like a identification document. This was achieved through the use of lighting and the crop of the image. The almost emotionless, blank expression in which our model has was to follow the strict guidelines of passport images. This also portrays a feeling of an identity that is unknown, a feeling of not knowing who they truly are due to external influences that effect the way in which they represent themselves. Also the fact that our models eyes are closed depicts them thinking about their role models and their own identity. The plain white background also resembles that of a passport image, but also acts as a way of putting prominence purely on the model. The lighting was used to more or less blank out the models face so that it was easier to project onto, leaving the effect of a featureless face. Intentionally, the projection of the images of role models onto the face gives an element of protrusion, and a feeling of being forced to be someone that they are not. The projections also
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act as a way of highlighting the model further and at the same creating a frame within a frame on our images. This worked particularly well with the images which had a background on them, for instance with the image projection of Frieda Kahlo (see fig. 9). The inspiration of Greek mathematics and the theory that beauty could be measured was a theme that we wanted to carry on to our images; therefore we cropped our images so that the model would almost look like a Greek Bust. In doing this we purely focused on the face of the model, with the face being a marker of identity in a person. Although getting initial influence from John Clangs ‘Blind spot’, our images differ due to the composition and the colour/hue of the images. We decided to present our images portrait, this way resembling identification documents, however we decided to introduce more white space by elongating the crop of the image, thus creating more negative space and creating a silhouette of the model.
Fig 10. Own Image (2013) 18
Fig 11. Own Image (2013)
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Fig 12. Own Image (2013)
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Fig 13. Own Image (2013)
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Fig 14. Own Image (2013)
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"Identity is the individual thumbprint to our DNA. Humanity is at the core of i-D's editorial ethic – to give space to a range of people with contrasting constructive opinions irrespective of religion, colour, nationality or social background." - (Terry Jones, 2005).
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P u b l i c at i o n The publication in which we chose was i-D purely due to the fact that ethos of the magazine is based on identity. This further back up our decision to use this publication, based on the diverse and unique content in which the magazine has. In comparison to other publications, the images are much more suited to this magazine compared to maybe Vice which was our other choice. This is justified by the fact that the content in Vice is very much sexualised and as our images were somewhat anti-sexualisation it is not suitable. Furthermore the contents of i-D are much more innovative, something in which we thought our images are. Although differing from traditional editorial shoots the image somewhat informs the readers and goes along with the magazines theme of identity. Identity is also a common theme in which articles the magazine has, which editions being dedicated just to this alone.
Fig 15 . example of i-D magazine (Unknown)
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Fig 14. Own Image (2013)
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c o n c l u s i o n Intersecting Lines is a series of images that depict the issue which people have nowadays with finding there own individual self. What we find ‘beautiful’ is not a notion, which is shared with everyone and is a preference to our own individual self. This however is influenced by social background and culture. The many personas in which we have are depicted within the series of images with projections of musical role models, artists and people in the social media.
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references
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Harvard Referencing: -David Airey, 2013. Only 4% of women consider themselves beautiful [Online] David Airey. http://www.davidairey. com/dove-real-beauty-sketches/ [20/11/2013] -Chantelle Horton, 2005. 40% of teens want plastic surgeRobotsry [Online] BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ health/4147961.stm [22/11/2013] -Erik Sofge, 2010. The Truth About Robots and the Uncanny Valley: Analysis [Online] Popular Mechanics. http:// www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/robots/4343054 [25/11/2013] -Fatimah Awen, October 2007. Young People, Identity and the media’ [Online] http://www.artlab.org.uk/fatimahawan-phd.htm#summary [27/11/2013] -Orson Scott Card, 1985. Enders Game [Google Docs]. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xpQd4h1awtveNnKy0uCGpuHOrRo9hQdHrV_E4wJ_4L4/edit?pli=1# [20/11/2013] -John Clang, 2011. Blind Spot [Online]. John Clang. http://www.johnclang.com/artwork/blindspot.html [20/11/2013] -Kira Cochrane, 2010. Role models: someone to look up to [Online] http://www.theguardian.com/lifeand style/2010/oct/31/role-models-for-young-women [27/11/2013] -Michelle Rodger, 2007. Phi In Beauty [Online] Phinomenal. http://www.phinomenal.com/phi.html [22/11/2013] -Nick Yee, 2004. Avatar and Identity [Online] Nick Yee. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_identity.html [25/11/2013] -Terry Jones, 2005. I-Dentity: 25 years of i-D magazine [Online] http://www.chelseaartmuseum.org/portfolios/identity-25-years-of-i-d-magazine/ [1/12/2013] -Willow Duttge, 2010. Do employees prefer male or female bosses? [Online] http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/27/ women-boss-success-forbes-woman-leadership-work.html [27/11/2013]
Images references: 1. Own image,2013 2. Goldenmeancallipers, 2011. http://www.goldenmeancalipers.com/2011/12/phi-and-the-human-face/ 3. Discover Magazine, 2011. http://discovermagazine.com/sitefiles/resources/image.aspx?item={5B34692E-564B-4D9A-97BD-1F3421BC1E68}&mw=900&mh=600 4. Regent Antics, 2013. http://www.regentantiques.com/itemDetails/04049-Stunning-Marble-Bust-of-Greek-GodApollo#.Up6_3aV-LwI 5. Robts that jump, 2011. Uncanny Valley. http://www.regentantiques.com/itemDetails/04049-Stunning-MarbleBust-of-Greek-God-Apollo#.Up6_3aV-LwI 6. John Clang, 2011. Blind spot. http://www.lostateminor.com/2012/06/13/blind-spot-a-photo-series-by-johnclang/ 7. David Bowie, Unknown. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=xcDnYpmB8lVIdM&tbnid=51J13TgTQpTpCM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. vam.ac.uk%2Fcontent%2Fexhibitions%2Fdavid-bowie-is%2Fabout-the-exhibition%2F&ei=78CeUs3dBOa_0QW314GYDw&bvm=bv.57155469,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNFtW2iHFIXP1K9HMO6M2Xrbt8-dsQ&ust=1386222188619445 8. Kurt Cobain, Unknown. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ap99ZKnsF5KohM&tbnid=q-pG1coP02j1WM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsmokink. tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F18908283440%2Fkurt-cobain-yeah-again-cobain-day-xd&ei=ZMGeUpXdH4PA0QXYioGACQ&psig=AFQjCNEkDapMlZrN3dJCG94STMZ1qiX-qw&ust=1386222297560337 9. Own Image, 2013 10. Own Image, 2013 11. Own Image, 2013 12. Own Image, 2013 13. Own Image, 2013 14. Own Image, 2013 15. Mark Hilton Photography, 2012. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=aTCUjRpmaLyOZM&tbnid=jIf6m4RsLFnfKM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarkhiltonphotography.com%2FArtistic-Identity&ei=UMKeUrTFHefP0QWCuIHACA&psig=AFQjCNFR2ahWfuBGlw1dBEL5TdkDrFd5tg&ust=1386222543331125 16. Own Image, 2013
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appendix
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d a n i e l D u r o s e