Artist analysis guidelines (still life & objects in advertising)

Guidelines for completing written analysis of photographers’ work focusing on: * Still-Life (objects) * Advertising using objects

1

This document includes: * Important Information that you must read (page 3) * An index of the different category questions & definitions (page 4) * Different lists of questions for different genres of photographs along with examples of photographs for the different categories (as a guideline)(pages 5 – 8) * Examples of fully completed exemplar analysis (pages 10 – 12 )

Definitions: Commercial photograph – photographs taken for business, for sales, for money. Commercial photography is often associated with advertisements, sales pitches, brochures, product placements as well as merchandising Editorial photograph – a photograph that appears in a magazine, but is not advertising or selling something (sometimes that are there to accompany a written article) Fine Art photograph – a photograph that hangs in a gallery or is sold directly to a buyer in a gallery or over the internet etc.

2

YOU MUST READ THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU START RESEARCHING YOUR ARTIST How to start your initial research If you can’t find out enough information and find enough quotes, then don’t write about that photograph, find another photograph instead.

1. Find a photograph that links to your work in some way and find the name of the photographer 2. Research the photographer to see whether s/he is a professional or an amateur photographer and whether s/he is a fine art or a commercial photographer 3. See if you can find this photograph on his or her website (or anyone else’s website). Is there anything written about this photograph or the series of photographs that features this particular image?

4. Type in ‘Interview with ,,,,,,, (the name of the artist)’ into Google. If there is one, you can use the information to find your quotes When you include a quote in your analysis, place the quote in “quotation marks”, then explain what the quote actually means in your own words, then respond to the quote (write about your own opinion about what has been said in the actual quote)

3

Page Index for different sets of questions: • Straightforward still – life / Objects Pages 5 & 6 • Commercial product / object advertising Page 7 & 8

4

Questions for a straightforward still - life / object based photograph Write out the actual questions (but only the sections in bold black), however, do not write out questions 1 & 7 at all, just write the answers READ THE INFORMATION ON PAGE 3 BEFORE YOU START ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he or she worked for, what famous magazines has his / her photographs featured in or what galleries has he or she exhibited their work in? (You will need to use initial research to answer this question). Only write a couple of sentences for this – tha t’s it! do not add loads of unrequired background information on the artist, we will only ask you to remove it.

2) What is the photographer’s motivation for being a photographer? What is the photographer’s motivation for taking still-life based photographs?

(Only write basic information – no life stories – couple of s entences at the most. Only write this if you have read it – don’t make it up!) Add quotes in here if you can 3) Discuss (if you think / know) whether this photograph been taken for a commercial purpose or for an editorial purpose or for a fine art purpose.

See the bottom of Page 2 for the definitions of commercial, editorial and fine art. If you know this because you have read it, then back it up with a quote.

4) Describe the content of this photograph? What is the photographer / artist trying to communicate to the viewer? Consider whether any of the following are strong elements within the photograph: beauty memories & nostalgia, looking at everyday objects in a different way Natural close-up / semi-abstract repetition collections using objects to get a message across to the viewer 5) Is there a personal connection between the photographer and the object / s in the photograph? You will need to really research to answer this question - if you cannot find this out, then leave this question out!

6) Is the photographer using the objects in the photograph to deliver a specific message to the viewer or using them to symbolise something else?

You will need to really research to answer this question - if you cannot find this out, then leave this question out!

5

7) Discuss the main technical or formal elements featured in this photograph? Look at the photograph and see whether you can identify any of the following things as being particularly important: unusual composition strong angles shallow or deep depth of field, blurry movement negative space strong colours or monochrome tones & shades Research to see whether the artist (or anyone else) has discussed this and add quotes in here to back up what you are saying.

8) Do you think that the photographer has manipulated this photograph using digital editing (such as Photoshop)? If you think that s/he has, then what impact do you think that this could have had on the way that viewers react and respond to the photograph? (Research to see whether the photographer is known for using digital editing).

9) What is your personal response to this photograph and how does this photograph inspire or relate to your own work? Explain your response in some depth

Examples of still-life / objects Photographs

Jonathan  P arkin

Tina  Modotti

Peter  Dazeley

6

Questions for a Commercial (Product / Object) Advertising photograph Write out the actual questions (but only the sections in bold black), however, do not write out question 1 at all, just write the answer READ THE INFORMATION ON PAGE 3 BEFORE YOU START ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he or she worked for, what famous magazines have their photographs featured in or what galleries has he or she exhibited their work in? Only write a couple of sentences for this – that’s it! do not add loads of unrequired background information on the artist, we will only ask you to remove it.

2) What is the photographer’s motivation for being a photographer? What is the photographer’s motivation for taking advertising photographs?

(Only write basic information – no life stories – couple of sentences at the most. Only write this if you have read it – don’t make it up!) Add quotes in here if you can 3) What product is this photographer trying to promote to the viewer?

4) Apart from the product, what else is included in the photograph and what are the visual qualities of the photograph?

5) Along side promoting the product to the viewer, are there indicators in the image that suggest that there is an underlying message? Consider whether any of the following are important: buy this because it is a Luxury product using scare tactics - buy this beauty product otherwise you will look old or unattractive buy this because you will get value for money using ‘sex’ to sell buy this because it’s the next big thing buy this because it is reliable buy this or miss out, and then you’ll be sorry later focusing upon people’s insecurities – buy this because you might not fit it if you don’t Discuss the ways in which this underlying message is evident in the photograph.

6) Discuss whether you think that this is quite a safe, traditional and reliable way of promoting this type of product to the viewer or do you think that the photographer has taken a risk in what she / he has tried to do creatively? Explain your reasons 7) Who do you think that this advertisement based image is aimed at? Think about the demographic (the group of people that this product is aimed at). Consider: gender age, social group hobbies, niche interests 8) What sort of impact do you think this photograph would have on the target demographic?

7

9) Do you think that the photographer has manipulated this photograph using digital editing (such as Photoshop)? If you think that s/he has, then what impact do you think that this could have had on the way that viewers react and respond to the photograph? (Research to see whether the photographer is known for using digital editing). If he or she has written about this, then please add quotes to back up what you are saying 10) What is your personal response to this photograph and how does this photograph inspire or relate to your own work? Explain your response in some depth

Examples of Commercial Based Photographs

Jonathan Knowles

Massimo Gammacurta

Jonathan Beer

8

Example of completed written analysis for an advertising photograph featuring an object

9

Example of A Commercial Based Photograph

Photograph by Jonathan Knowles What is the name of the photographer? (Date and country of birth if you can find it) Is this photographer a professional photographer? If so, what companies has he/she worked for or what galleries or magazines has he/she exhibited his/her work in?

Jonathan Knowles is a London based, award winning photographer whose images have regula rly featured in the ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers in the World’ books. He has worked for high profile companies such as Schwartz, Sony and Smirnoff.

What is the product being advertised to the viewer?

The product being advertised to the viewer in this photograph is ‘Daz’ washing powder, a popular, established product which was introduced to theconsumer market in 1953.

What do you think are the strongest visual aspects of this photograph?

I believe that one of the strongest visual aspects of this piece is composition and angles. The image is clearly viewed from the ‘Daz’ box’s point of view, which is looking up from the bottom of the image to the top. Because it contains only two, very separate subject matter – the box of ‘Daz’ and an item of clothing, the visual connection between them means that the viewers’ eye is travelling between the two along a strong dia gonal line. The other important visual element in this piece is the colour, especially the strength of the bright, red box of ‘Daz’ against the cool, blue of the ocean. The red box is clearly the first pla ce that the eye is drawn towards and it is clearly the most important aspect within this photograph, very important when trying to attract the viewer’s eye to a product being advertised.

10

What conceptual ideas do you think the photographer is trying to communicate in this image? Luxury product, scare tactics, valuefor money, using ‘sex’ to sell, the next big thing, fun & humorous, reliability, buy this or miss out, focusing upon people’s insecurities etc.)

I think that the photographer is trying to communicate with the viewer through using humour.

Explain why you think this. (You will probably need to do some actual product research or general advertising research here) I believe that this photograph is humorous in its concept because it is suggesting that as soon as a piece of clothing enters into the water (i.e. the water in the washing machine); the ‘Daz’ washing powder is ready for it and has it clearly in its sight for cleaning. It reminds me of the 1977 film poster of Jaws, but instead of the shark targeting the swimmer for an attack, the ‘Daz’ is targeting the item of clothing. ‘Daz’ have been using humour to sell their product on television through the ‘Cleaner Close’ storyline, and therefore this is not a ‘standalone’ advert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWh7FUeNmek

Original Artwork by Roger Krastel What demographic do you think that this advertisement based image is aimed at? (You will probably need to do some product research here).

Washing powder has traditionally been aimed at women, (especia lly mothers) and past ‘Daz’ adverts reinforce this. I have included links to two such adverts below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiIfgd660w4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDd__q6TPU However after undertaking some further research into the most recent ‘Daz’ adverts, I have found that Daz has been using both men and women to advertise in campaigns such as ‘Cleaner Close’ and ‘Dazathlon’; and there is no suggestion in its advertising that it is women who stay at home and do all the washing. In regards to age groups, I think that Daz was probably aiming this advert to an age group above the ‘Youth Market (18-26)because many in this older age group would probably be more familiar with the ‘Jaws’ poster from the mid 1970’s.

11

What sort of impact do you think this photograph would have on such a viewer?

This advert is clearly not using scientific detergent based tests to try and sell the product, which is what many washing powders companies have tended to do in the past, and they have rejected the approach of women being in ecstasy over the whiteness of their white washing. Therefore I believe that Daz has employed Jonathan Knowles to create a visually strik ing advert which they hope would stay in the viewer’s mind because of its humour and quirkiness.

How do you personally respond to this photograph? Explain your response in some depth I think that this advert is fun and humorous. The id ea of the box of ‘Daz’ being lik e a shark, ready to strik e at the first sign of dirt would be seen as quite funny by most people, however, probably not by those who have been the victims of shark attacks , and their families though (however this would be a very small number of people, especially in the UK). I think that it is a visually striking piece with strong colours and good use of angles and composition.

How does this photograph inspire your own photographs?

This particular photograph inspires my ideas on two levels, firstly I like the id ea of using humour in my advertising photographs for Pepsi Max and so I am aiming to research past adverts featuring this product and then consider whether the product itself is appropria te for a humorous marketing approach. Secondly I would like to use water in some way within my photograph, perhaps pla ying on the id ea that opening and drinking a can of Pepsi Max on a hot summer day has a similar cooling down effect of diving into the sea or into a swimming pool.

12