Kate Wingrove A2 Photography Exam Piece Essay title: Growth and Evolution
A mind map of possible ideas that come under the theme of Growth and Evolution
Photography Mood Board Growth by changing scale
Rene Magriette
Sarah Jackson
Growth and evolution represented by toys – Freya Jobbins
Keith Arnatt - Self Burial 'Televison Interference Project 1969
Growth – Compressed/crushed Michael Wolf - Tokyo Compressed commuters pressed into underground trains
The growth of buildings Michael Wolf - Urban Landscapes
Photography Mood Board
Growth within the natural world Hannah Guy – 360 degree trees
Evolution of a city Andrea Stone
Evolution of portraiture Eric Welden Recycling/reusing of discarded objects Elaine Duigenan – Discarded bottles on a beach
Evolution memories and personal history involving the destruction of an image Carolle Benitah
Photography Mood Board
Evolution of life and death Lynne Parks - Lights Out Baltimore, Spring 2012
Transformation of a portrait Elena Kulikova
The evolution of a portrait Alma Haser – Cosmic Surgery
Artist Inspiration for Idea One Initial Images
Artist Analysis: Barbara Jaffe •
Barbara Jaffe turns her digital photographs into negatives using CAD programmes to gain x-ray style photos. This technique picks up detail that would not be visible in the darker areas of photos and lends it self to a sort of HDR effect. At first glance, without seeing the original photograph some of her landscape and object photographs are not obviously negative and therefore has a sort of augmented reality.
•
Parts of the image which were once obscured are reverted into the lightest parts of the image allowing the viewer to visualise it in a different perspective. I like this approach and want to use it within my initial images to create detail in different elements of the image such as the veins on the leaves or natural background and on the butterfly itself.
Developmental Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Jay Archibald •
I discovered this talented photographer Jay Archibald whilst trying to re-search artists which incorporate kaleidoscope photography within their work. The things which were aesthetically satisfying about his works was that he practices creating kaleidoscopes from all different ranges of materials and themes such as; nature, urban, abstract and glass and water. The images he creates fascinate me as they are filled with vibrant colours and textures, of which I would like to include within my own work.
•
The first image was taken in 2006 in Cap de Creus which is a peninsula and a headland located at the far north east of Catalonia. The peninsula has a surface of 190 square kilometres of an extraordinary landscape view; a wind beaten very rocky dry region, with almost no trees, in contrast with a seaside rich in little streams of deep blue sea. These rocky conditions create amazing textures, in which the photographer had used to his advantage ensuring he captured all contrasts to create depth within the image. It looks as if the section of rock Archibald has photographed is overlooking a cliff edge as the edge of the image is darker on the outside as it possesses more shadows, then gradually moves into a more highlighted area. When editing my own kaleidoscopes I will focus on selecting a section which the highest level of detail in order to create a more interesting image with recognisable features which relate to my idea.
•
The second image was taken in 2005 in Mexico of the ground showing dried dirt in the sun. The visual qualities of this image has a strong impact as the main colours steel blue and sienna/peru (a mix between browns and oranges) as they both have contradicting relationships. It is clear within the image the cracks of the dried dirt as they are shown by what seems to look like veins in the ground. This could symbolise mother nature as a living thing, as humans have blood pumping through veins, mother nature has cracks within the ground which could have once been filled with rivers or streams.
Second Developmental Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Arthur ‘Ou •
Arthur Ou was born in 1974 in Taipei, Taiwan but now lives and works in New York. He works in photography, sculpture, and installation. He deploys photography within the contexts of these differing elements to elicit questions concerning modernism, assimilation, historiography and documentation. He has exhibited internationally, most recently at LAXART in Los Angeles and IT Park Gallery in Taipei.
•
From the series titled ‘Untitled (Screen Test 1), 2007’, he has used a gelatine silver print or archival pigment print on silver rag paper to create these images.
•
The elements in these photographs which I want to incorporate within my own developmental set is to create similar patterns in a way to obscure parts of the image while keeping a fluent pattern of paint splodges in the images to reflect the patterns of the butterflies. I also want to make parts of the butterfly unclear so only the background is left to see if the subject is still recognisable only by the background.
Further Developmental Artist Inspiration For Final Four Outcomes
Artist Analysis: Eni Turkeshi •
Eni Turkeshi is an Albanian digital and analogue photographer who mainly focuses on alternative printing process and all other avantgarde mixed media techniques.
•
In terms of the visual and technical qualities within these images I find the colours and increased contrast used to be aesthetically pleasing as the tones fading out to the tints creates depth to the image and also shares connotations with elegance while also appearing a little dark and mysterious. We are given this impression by the bold purple/pink colouring which is subtly striking and also how the subject’s face is peering through the lines within the ink which has been spread obscuring some details.
•
The features in these images which I want to adapt into my own work is layering the images onto an ink splatted or symmetry paint background. To do this I will paint one half of an A3 sixed sheet of paper, then fold it in half to get a symmetrical pattern. Once dried, I will scan this into the computer and on Photoshop, overlay one of my kaleidoscope images and blend into the paint so it looks like the image has been painted straight onto the paper.
Final Outcomes
Evaluation for Idea One •
My original intention when taking the theme growth and evolution onto consideration was to explore a nature side which then led to the idea of the evolution of the butterfly. I was attracted to exploring this idea in further detail and had an immediate idea of the appropriate location at ‘Tropical Wings’ in Chelmsford which contains a large butterfly sanctuary. I was focused on taking clear, macro shots of butterflies, then my main focus would be experimentation and development as I wanted to peruse more of a creative side to this idea.
•
I chose to edit the photos in negative to highlight and enhance some of the detail using little colour in order to make the images stand out. I think this technique worked well as it contrasts with some connotations of the butterfly and shows them in a stranger and darker light.
•
Taking the technical qualities of my photographs into consideration I went to the chosen location on a sunny day in the early afternoon to ensure I had enough time to capture a range of images and locating different types of butterflies as some were more common than others, while using appropriate daylight . I also found that • some of the developmental images are stronger than others, for example the colour quality of the first painted image in the developmental set, however it can be argued that it is still aesthetically pleasing as the scattered white paint dots on
•
•
top of the black circles stand out and act as a frame for the butterfly by show casing it. I also decided to create kaleidoscopes with selected images as the patterns and textures within the butterfly’s wings along with the leaves and stalks of plants in the background appeared to create a type of illusion. As the photos are edited in a negative effect it creates a darker and more peculiar atmosphere. For my final four outcomes of this idea which was further development of the kaleidoscopes, I added paint to a sheet of white A4 paper and then folded the sheet in half in order to get a symmetrical pattern. I done this multiple times until it created different and fuller shapes compared to when I used ink to do this. I found that the paint worked better as it was more studier and less watery so was less likely to leak. I then proceeded to scan in these images, then on Photoshop overlay the kaleidoscope image and alter the settings till it filled in all the gaps of where the paint was. I believe these images are strong in terms of imagination and depth and the texture of the paint displaying makes it appear realistic. In terms of development I had several different approaches as I enjoy exploring and experiment with different ways to improve the technical quality of the image. If I had more time I would have liked to have further experimented with my initial set using physical materials.
Idea Two Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Damien Hirst •
Damien Steven Hirst born 7th June 1965 is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the ‘Young British Artists’ (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest living artist.
•
The aspects which drew me to his work is the obscurity and the unusual way the subjects are displayed. The deceased animals in which some have been dissected are preserved in formaldehyde in vitrine (a clear display space) and are on display at the Natural History Museum.
•
In my next set of photographs I still wanted to focus on using nature as a starting point and using humans or animals as the subject matter. However in terms of growth and evolution I wanted to focus on the theme of ‘frozen in time’. For this, I want to visit the ‘Hunterian Museum – London College of Surgeons’ in London in which they exhibit animal foetuses, human and animal body parts and bones of prehistoric animals and preserve them in glass jars. I plan to age the images when editing while also drawing attention and adding semi-colour to the subjects in the jars.
Developmental Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Jeanne Williamson •
Jeanne Williamson is a mixed media artist whose work combines printmaking, painting, collage, and sewing.
•
“I really like the plastic orange fences that are used as a barrier to keep people out of danger, by blocking off a construction site. The fences come in many shapes and sizes, and I have been collecting different shapes of them for many years. To create my work, I mono-print the textures of fences on one large piece of fabric. Then I paint over the printed fabric, to add colour or more detail. Often I’ll also add hand stamped shapes, using hand cut rubber erasers. When I am satisfied with the design, I stitch lines using my sewing machine, following the horizontal and vertical grid of the fence.”
•
For my developmental set I plan on using copydex glue to transfer the paper image onto a sheet of white fabric in order to give it a worn and aged look as my interpretation for the edited initial set of photographs is to look like the jars are in an old scientific lab in the early 1900’s when images were rarely in colour, which is why I have only used black, white and sepia colours when editing my initial set.
Evaluation for Idea One •
My second approach to the theme growth and evolution was to • explore the theme ‘frozen in time’. While doing research about this theme I had an idea of capturing something aged that has been kept within a jar for a long period of time. I then researched numerous museums and came across the Huntarian Museum – The Royal College of Surgeons which exhibits After reading reviews and exploring the different images people have taken there along with approximately 3,500 specimens and preparations from John Hunter's original collection which includes animal and human foetuses. In relation to my theme ‘frozen in time’ I wanted to capture these foetuses in jars as their growth had been frozen when they were removed from their mother’s womb.
•
However when I got to the museum, although I had seen many photos which had been taken on LSR cameras, there were signs • everywhere saying ‘No Photography’. I attempted to take a few photographs but my camera was too loud as it was silent inside and workers were regularly patrolling around. I did not want to abandon this idea as this was my main focus so, without any of the workers noticing I took photos on my Iphone as there was a silent setting on the camera ad it was very discreet to hide. I decided to use these photos in my initial set anyway although the technical quality is of a lower standard.
In terms of the visual content of my photos I believe the lower mega pixel camera on my phone compared to my Canon 1100D helped to create an aged appearance as there was already noise within the photo when I enlarged it to edit it. I wanted to create an old style photo as if it had been found hidden away and had been taken in a laboratory in the 1900’s. To do this I edited the image monochrome, then on the colour Nik Collection software used the ‘reflector efex’ which added a metallic silver to bronze shine. I used the brush tool to only highlight the subject in this image in order to make it stand out and also highlight contrast between background and the main body colours as well as making it seem eerie. In terms of development I chose to copydex the image the image had several different approaches as I enjoy exploring and experiment with different ways to improve the technical quality of the image. If I had more time I would have liked to have further experimented with my initial set using physical materials.
Idea Three Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Charlie Bidwell •
Charlie Bidwell is a fine art photographer based in Los Angeles, California, although “everything I know photographically, I got from working with the greatest photographers in the world for 15 years in New York City. I try my best to photograph iconic landscapes in a way never seen before.”
•
What I liked the most about these monochrome photographs were the extremely high contrast, the very low angle with a particular amount of negative space. It makes it simple but creates an atmosphere. I want to incorporate this feature into some images of my initial set while also capturing reflections of building into buildings and having different types of buildings in one image to highlight the evolution of structures and how times how changed in terms of buildings being functional while having a modern appearance.
Developmental Artist Inspiration
Artist Analysis: Adam Broomberg •
Adam Broomberg is an artist living and working in London. He has had numerous international exhibitions including at The Museum of Modern Art, Tate Galleries, Apexart, The Gwagnju Biennale, the Stedelijk Museum, the International Center of Photography, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, The Photographers Gallery and Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art. In 2013 he was awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for War Primer 2, and most recently they were awarded the ICP Infinity Award 2014 for their publication, Holy Bible.
•
The technical qualities of this image which inspire me are the monochrome tones from light fading into darker tones which help shadow and illuminate sections of the image. He also experiments with using geometric shapes such as bold black lines and red circles in some of his images which adds a theme of modern influence which could be seen as an evolved technique first introduced by Picasso and his idea of creating shapes to form subjects.
•
The features in these images which I want to adapt into my own work is creating monochrome images experimenting with the levels of blue, red and green to get different contrasting effects and using geometric shapes. I may add some texture to the image by using foil or metallic paper to divide and introduce colour.