Graphics Essay

Ilinka Rnic

Photoshop has enabled the impossible to happen in photographs. Explore how artists have pushed the boundaries between reality and the impossible.

Over the years technology has developed into a very common aspect of our lives. With respect to photography it has allowed us to create impossible images, with the click of a button. It has become easily accessible to anyone not only photographers, making it easier for anyone to create images that bend the ideas of reality. Many artists rely on Photoshop to manipulate and enhance their work. However before this digital age, photo­manipulation still existed in earlier forms of art. The issue raised is that, is it possible that some artists rely so heavily on Photoshop that without it they struggle to create such surreal images? Is technology limiting the artist’s abilities instead of enhancing them?

Surrealism was a movement which began in the 1920s, made up of writers and artists who experimented with ways of unleashing the subconscious imagination.

One of the first Surrealist artists was ​ Herbert Bayer, th​ (born 5​ April 1900) who was an Austrian and American graphic designer and photographer who specializes in surreal photography. He would often create surreal and unimaginable pieces through careful film layer techniques. This is one of the historic examples of photo­manipulation. During this time period from 1928­38 Bayer created strange and eye catching photographs which are very similar to surreal images we see today. However during the period these images were taken, technology was a far stretch from what we know today. The difference we find through modern day surreal images and more historical ones such as Bayers is something to take note of. Despite the fact that more modern pieces are much more convincing, we still find ourselves slightly underwhelmed at the images. This is purely because of how easy it is to create images like these. However during the 1920s images like Bayers had a much more enthusiastic reaction, due to the rarity and skill used to create his work.

Investigating the ideas and repetitions shown in artist's work will help understand whether or not modern artists rely too heavily on technology to create surreal art. Is technology such as Photoshop a burden on the artistic world or a form of medium? Do surreal images in

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modern times underwhelm audiences, because of the common knowledge of Photoshop and what technology is capable of creating for us?

Vincent Bourilhon

Vincent Bourilhon a young Parisian artist, has handled the art of photography since he was sixteen.Vincent has worked for several companies, including MyMajorCompany, Sony Distribution and Opera Grand Avignon. His work has been featured in several exhibitions. In 2014, he was the guest of Happy Happening organized by aufeminin.com, and has also been invited trophy influencers Tribway.Bourilhons work is often depicting surreal and unusual scenes through his photography and is often art based work rather than commissions from others, making his work very unique and imaginative. It is obvious by observing his work that his images heavily rely on Photoshop to bring them to life, which could limit his artist ability. A lot of Bourilhons work challenges the impossible and makes it seem real. He is a prime example of surreal imagery made in Photoshop which is why he is relevant to this argument. It is difficult to consider what the meaning behind​ Bourilhon’s work is, or whether there is a certain connection to stories and he often says very little about his work over public forums.

The artwork above is titled ‘My night before Christmas’. The context and date of this piece is unknown as ​ Bourilhon rarely comment or speaks of his own work. The piece is similar to most of Bourilhon’s work as he often creates dreamlike images, which project ideas of fantasy and fairy tales.

You can clearly see in the photograph that the setting is a bedroom during the night.

The subject is lying down, asleep while his snowflake glows and drifts out of its jar. It seems that the subject has captured this snowflake, possibly because it has magical

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properties but has fallen asleep letting the snowflake drift free.

The key words single words I would use to briefly describe this image would be: Magical.

Calm. Inspiring. Beautiful. Unrealistic. Wonderful. Dream. Pretty. Dark. Peaceful. This is purely because of the nature of the image and how it is portrayed to us as an audience. The image has been made using Photoshop and careful photo­manipulation. ​ Bourilhon has used several different images which have all been specifically taken with the final outcome in mind and woven them together to create a final piece. ​ The image is purely fictional. Even though the image is created in the most realistic way possible an audience would not be convinced as the reality would be that the circumstances would be impossible to create.

I would describe the image to someone that there is a peaceful man sleeping in a dark room. Next to him a jar that holds a glowing snowflake floating up and out of the jar. Thus allowing light into this dark room, very similar to a nightlight. The setting for this image is very spacious as there are two main elements in the image visible. This creates a substantial amount of negative space in the image, which makes it very well balanced and visually pleasing.

This image reminds me of a typical childhood dream. The photograph presents very childlike ideas such as nightlights and magic.The most prominent and recognisable feature in the image is the snowflake as it is a very iconic and universal around the world. The image is very different from real life as the photograph displays themes of magic and fairy tales. This is part of why the image has such a surreal quality to it.

Despite usually being very interested in surreal artwork, this image is particularly grabs my attention due to its very calm and childlike quality to it. It is a very subtle idea of magic and emits a comforting and dream like emotion to its viewer Most of ​ Bourilhon’s work is incredibly similar in theme. He often uses photo­manipulation to create dream like pieces which inspire and entrap his audiences. Although not all of his work is created with the theme in mind they are all similar in the sense that the creative processes are incredibly similar.​ An ongoing theme in ​ Bourilhon’s work is often dreams. He uses this base theme to create unusual and imaginative pieces which are all very inspiring to his audiences. He often pushes the boundaries of the impossible and the limits of creativity.

A substantial amount, if not all of,​ Bourilhon’s involves the use of Photoshop. As an artist he managed to create the impossible through the use of digital editing and pushes the boundaries of creativity within his work. His images have an undeniable realistic quality to them which for some can be very believable. He has used classic concepts and ideas, and has put an ultimate spin on them through the use of Photoshop. But without this tool would the quality of Bourilhon’s outcomes differ to his present standard or simple cease to exist. Is Bourilhon’s strengths in photo­manipulation also his weakness?

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Brooke Shaden

Brooke Shaden is an American fine art photographer born in March 1987, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At the age of 24 she was the youngest artist in The Annenberg Space for Photography’s “Digital Darkroom” exhibition. In 2010 she exhibited “The Re­Imagining of Ophelia” (10 images) at the JoAnne Artman Gallery, the first image ‘Jumping In’ was used as cover art for Dot Hutchingson’s young adult novel ‘A Wounded Name’.

In the image you see a young woman falling into a large hole. The setting of the image appears to be a dark, run­down room. This is shown by the dirty, worn floor boards. The words I would use to describe the image would be Dream­like, mystical, eccentric, fairy­tale and interesting, in contrast with ​ Bourilhon’s imagery.

The artwork is made through photo­manipulation. It is several different photos knitted together in Photoshop and blended to create a more realistic effect. The artwork is somewhat realistic, however the setting convinces our minds that the image is not real hence the dream like

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quality of the image. Everything in the image is very real to us however the setting is unusual and unnatural and could never physically happen in such an organised fashion which is why we know it is not. It is also alarmingly similar to Alice in wonderland which we all know to be fiction.

I would describe this artwork to someone as a woman falling into the abyss in a white flowing gown followed by a tea cup and saucer. Something very similar to a children’s story book. I would say the woman in the image is rather young not much older than around 22, and appears to be asleep as she shows no sign of emotion or awareness to her situation and the fact that she is falling. The setting for the image is very spacious as there is not much going on in the image. The subject seems to be placed in front of a void­like background, and the only details in the image we are able to focus on are the subject herself and the cup and saucer that re falling with her. This image has a very similar setting to one of the iconic scenes from Alice in Wonderland. The woman is clearly falling down some form of rabbit hole. The woman is also seen falling with a cup and saucer which is also another iconic reference to Alice in wonderland I recognize everything in the image, they are all familiar objects. I also find the setting very recognizable as it is incredibly similar to a scene from Alice in wonderland. Something that makes this image different from real life is that the woman is falling into a large hole in the floor, which does not usually happen in day to day life. But she is also asleep and she is also accompanied by a cup and saucer on her fall. What interests me most about this image is the fact that it tells a story but also allows the viewer to ask questions. Such as where does the hole lead? Why isn't she awake?

The image was created around april 2014 time when it first emerged into the public eye.

Shaden is very well known for her style of pieces like this image and a lot of her work is very similar. One of the themes Shaden explores is the concept of dreams and reality. Her work usually uses levitation and surreal elements to portray this. Shaden has been working with photography and art based media for a while now and has well established herself through her style of work and themes.

Overall Shaden is another artist who uses Photoshop to bring her work to life. She manages to create the impossible through careful image editing. Her work is incredibly surreal and often challenges the ideas of reality. She pushes the limits of impossible and creates dreamlike images that baffle audiences. A lot of Shanden’s work tells a story, which is why it is so successful. In contrast to ​ Bourilhon’s work Shaden has a much greater level of narrative within her images due to the familiar cultural references (such as Alice in Wonderland) and motion her work often features.

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Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy is a Massachusetts­based artist who creates posters, paintings, prints, and drawings using screen printing. Although McCarthy is a more physical artist he uses Photoshop to create and separate the layers of his image for printing.

In foreground of the image there seems to be a man standing on the top of a mountain.

Another striking feature the artwork background seems to be digitally created, whereas the foreground is a screen printed piece which has been digitally transferred into the image. The image itself is very bright and vibrant. ​ McCarthy creates a very balanced image using negative space and colour​ . Words I would use to describe this image would be; minimalist, vibrant, clean, bright and intriguing. ​ McCarthy usually sketches his work and then transfers it to Photoshop to create the individual layers needed for printing. Then using screen printing techniques and prints the image off using those layers. For this image however I believe that McCarthy only used the screen printing for the foreground of the

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image and created the rest digitally through Photoshop. This use of practical techniques is what sets McCarthy apart from the other artists. This process relies on both physical and digital elements to create an outcome, which differs from that of Shaden and Bourilhon’s who rely entirely on digital media for their outcomes.

The artwork is purely representation because of the minimalist and simple nature of the image. Its cartoon­like quality does not allow the image to have any realistic qualities to it what­so­ever. If I were to describe the artwork to someone who was unable to see it, I would say that the image is very basic yet with a bright tones of orange and yellow which create a beautiful contrast between the dark silhouette like tones of the subject and mountains. The setting in the image is very spacious. ​ McCarthy uses negative space and bright colours to create a sombre balance in the image.

The image reminds me of an adventure movie poster, because of its minimalist style and vibrant use of colour. Not only that but the subtle surreal qualities of the image.​ There is nothing particularly recognisable in this painting, however it is obvious to the audience that there is a human figure on the top of what seems to be a mountain.

This picture is severely different from real life as the colour and detail is completely incomparable, it is very surreal and minimal in nature. The surreal quality of this image is the fact that it is depicting a real scene in an imaginative way. The use of bright colour and minimalistic detail depicts a scene in an abstract and unrealistic way making it something that is purely fictional.

The most interest thing I find about this particular piece is the use of strong vibrant colours which create a brilliant contrast throughout the piece. ​ McCarthy has a particular style which is reflected in all of his work and is very noticeable through visual analysis.​ ​ McCarthy’s theme seems to be very unusual and minimal prints often containing repetitions of images such as bones and nature.

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My first two artists are both incredibly similar. They both use photo­manipulation in their artwork, however both have very different styles to their images. On one hand Shaden uses a vintage style to her work. And a lot of her outcomes involve using models and what seems to be very elaborate studio quality set ups. On the other hand Bourilhon’s work seems much less staged, almost as if he has thought of an idea on the spot. Bourilhon’s work is also very modern compared to Shaden's, it has a much cleaner and present look to it which is what I tried to achieve in my own responses. Compared to Shaden's vintage fairy­tales Vincent's work is hugely self inspired by the compulsion to create a different reality.

Shaden's work has a much stronger sense of narrative and is usually inspired by literature and poetry. This clearly conveys in her work as she is often setting a scene with her photographs, and her use of colours.

In my own responses to Shaden’s work I focused on the colour and the theme of floating, which is commonly seen in her work. The result was very similar to what we see Shaden usually achieve.

Both artists demonstrate these features in both the different visual qualities and also content of their work. Whilst Bourilhon focuses on crisp life­like quality outcomes which question the limits of the human mind. Shaden uses rustic colour palettes to give her photographs a rough worn feel to them, she also has a much stronger sense of narrative in her work as they tell more of a story.

McCarthy uses photoshop in a much more different format compared to both Shaden and Bourilhon. Where Shaden and Bourilhon use Photoshop to finalise their work, McCarthy uses the software a part of the process of creating the impossible. He intertwines more art based physical techniques into his work, which is what makes him the most individual artist out of my choices. However his style of art has both differences and familiarities between my artist's work. The main difference between McCarthy and Shaden and Bourilhon is that McCarthy rarely, if at all, relies on photography as another digital medium within his work.

Photoshop allows artists to create the impossible with only their imagination as their limits.

It has become a medium to work with within artistic practises and is often seen as a skill like most other media. However through this investigation I have seen the differences between Photoshop broadening an artist’s work and skill set, and also limiting it. It is easy to see that

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the digital age we live in has seriously affected how we see and create art. For example Vincent Bourilhon’s work relies heavily on Photoshop. He manages to create wondrous an impossible things, however without this form of advanced technology his work would lack that sense of magic, or even cease to exist. In Shaden’s case we can see from her work that although she relies on Photoshop for some of her work she also uses traditional photography so her abilities are less limited without this technology. So there is still a sense of traditional technique and creativity. McCarthy only uses Photoshop for one process in creating his artwork. For him in particular it allows him to create much faster and efficiently with the use of Photoshop, but he could simply create his images without it and yet still create the impossible. From what I have most artists rely on Photoshop in one way or another. It has changed the face of art allowing us to create the impossible and baffle audiences with the creativity and wonder of images. Although some artists use Photoshop as their only medium they are still able to create and design images to an incredible standard. But there are still artists who use Photoshop to aid in their creative process, but allow themselves to combine this with a more physical medium.

All three artists rely on Photoshop to create their work. However is digital enhancing and creative software seen and valued as highly as other forms of artistic expression? Does the availability and common knowledge of the software devalue an artist's work because of this? And does this devalue the work produced using software such as Photoshop? I believe that Photoshop should be more recognised as an artists form of media. The issue with creative software is, due to the availability of tutorials many people can practise and achieve similar goals. This becomes common knowledge to the public and has less of an impact on the chosen audience, pushing artists to create even more detailed and elaborate images.

This can make it difficult for artists to be understood and recognised for their talent. And as Photoshop becomes more and more popular to the nation it may be given more consideration as an art form, but this may devalue artists talent as it becomes common knowledge on how to create such artworks.

Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Bayer http://bauhaus­online.de/en/atlas/personen/herbert­bayer http://www.designishistory.com/1920/herbert­bayer/ http://www.vincent­bourilhon.com/ http://thewondrous.com/fantastic­photography­art­by­vincent­bourilhon/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Shaden http://brookeshaden.com/about/ http://ezramagazine.com/2013/03/28/interview­brooke­shaden/ http://beautifulsavage.com/design/interview­brooke­shaden­photography/ http://www.danmccarthy.org/ http://www.escapeintolife.com/interviews/dan­mccarthy­celebrated­screen­print­artist/ http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts­culture/blogs/an­eye­for­nature­q­a­with­artist­dan­ mccarthy