How have recent advances in computer technology effected story telling within art work?
! Over the past decade the advances in technology available not only in the professional world but also commercially has significantly changed the way we live our lives. This puts our current generation at such an advantage compared to previous ones as it is now affordable for most people to have access to modern day technologies such as desktop computers, smart phones and more recently the addition of tablet device. Many people, including myself, are fascinated about the things that are now possible in terms of creating artwork with systems they have grown to use in their everyday lives. Not only has the world of computer technology significantly changed but also has the way in which we look at artwork. In this modern day and age it’s not only about a paintbrush and pad there are so many new and innovative ways in which nearly anyone can create art of their own with the use of modern technologies. Throughout this essay I will explore the evolution of storytelling in artwork as we see it today. Furthermore I will look at the work of artist such as Kyle Thompson, Nicholas Max, Taylor McCormick and the way that they show surrealism in their work. The surrealism movement began in the early 1920’s and aimed to resolve the contradictive ideas of what was real and what was just a piece of our imagination. Many artist in this modern era use surreal qualities in their work to convey a narrative with the help of modern day computer technologies. In addition I will apply some of the techniques of the studied artists and take inspiration for my own work too. Photoshop and other editing software Nowadays a lot of what we see as consumers is artwork within its own right; someone has gone through an extensive thought process to come to an outcome that means something personally to them as an individual. Whether it be a sculpture made from scraps in an art gallery, a handmade collage or even cover design for a book much of what we see and own is someones piece of art. I see no reason why the use of modern day technologies shouldn’t be treated the same as the tradition method of pencil and paper. The creator has still gone through a dedicated process of design to get to their outcomes and although not everyone can relate to an individual piece of work it still has the right to be a piece of ‘art’ Photoshop is a software used by many graphics designers in this modern day, it can be used to enhance something that is handmade, create something completely new such as a logo or even be used to create a very surreal situation in the form of a narrative. There really are no limits with what can be done now with modern software and computer systems people are always coming up with new techniques and method and even combining some traditional handmade techniques and running it through a software after. Story Telling and Narratives aided with the use of modern technologies Story telling doesn’t just come from reading a book or being told something from someone else. In fact much of what we see whether it be a movie, a poster advertising a movie, a logo or even a book cover are very common example of modern computer technology. The viewer can automatically make their own assumptions upon what is happening in the visual and have a very personal influence to it. Even without the use of words a narrative design can raise many questions about what is happening in a piece, maybe the subject is in a surreal location? Or even performing something that seems to be impossible? I have
found that the main difference with the work created with the use of modern techniques is that they can be made to look so realistic and it is up to the reader how deep they wish to look into a specific piece in order to find out more.
! Artist Research and analysis I will now look at some artists that I find relevant to the use of modern computer techniques in terms of design. All of these chosen artists use a range of different modern techniques that wouldn’t be possible without the advances in technology. Whether it is the cameras they take the initial photographs with or the post processing they go through, with the help of modern technology such as computers and software their outcomes would not be possible if they did not exist. Kyle Thompson
Firstly I will look at arguably the most famous of the three artists; Kyle Thompson. Kyle is a Graphic designer from Chicago, Illinois. In the word of his own he describes himself as a ‘surreal conceptual photographer’. He shoots his photographs mainly on location which I find quite interesting and exciting as it adds a level of realism within his work although most of the things happening in his work are very much impossible.
! ! ! ! ! ! Upon initially looking at these examples from Kyle Thompson I saw that the situations were very surreal. The subjects are performing very unreal tasks and they have a dream like effect on the work of Kyle Thompson’s work. He looks to be floating and flying which is very much an impossible thing for humans to do without the aid of something. The thing I like the most is the way in which his pieces all have very realistic qualities to them, it is this that raises the most questions in my mind. How is he floating?, why is he floating? is it voluntary? etc. This is very important within a narrative piece. I think that is a fine example of how modern technology and techniques have changed the way that a story can be told within a piece of art. His piece could resemble how he felt at the time in which he created but in a very covert and obscured way. Maybe he felt trapped, lost or even failing within an area of his life. Mostly Kyle features in his own work. Kyle said in an interview with ‘Empty Kingdom’ that “…art is so personal. If I am trying to express myself through my work, it would feel odd to have others model for it.” This quote further alliterates my original point of Kyle's work reflecting his inner thoughts and emotions. Kyle most commonly uses very modern techniques such as the use of digital photography and digital editing with software and in fact it wouldn’t be possible for him to create these pieces without the advancement of technology over the past decade. A digital
camera with control over the manual settings and editing software is an essential part of his outcomes. Despite the use of modern technologies playing a huge part in his work, Kyle did make it clear that he used very traditional methods during early stages of his projects. During an interview with ‘Note on the Road’ Kyle stated “"I draw most of my concepts out beforehand and try to pre-plan as much as possible. It seems like the more I plan, the more the final photo will look like it does in my head”. this could be similar across many other artist of this time period and infers that some digital artist still find it easies to begin their initial thought process with the use of pencil and paper. I find it interesting that although he has used all these modern techniques that his work still looks very old and vintage due to the desaturation and grainy feel to them such as the results you would get with an old film camera. I also find the mood of this piece quite interesting the colours used are very desaturated and the environments that he is placed in are very empty and have an enchanted feel to them. The faded blues, greys and browns make the images very cold looking. This also makes the pieces feel very quiet and the overall mood of the images to not only look but feel empty, almost as if he is the only thing that matters at that time; just him and his emotions. His images are mainly shot in landscape and on the occasion they may be cropped into a square. The idea of him shooting in landscape allows the maximum amount of the landscape to be captured around him which can also give the illusion of him being a lot smaller or even lost within the place he is at. The use of landscape also allows him to show a variety of depth within his images too as you can see most of both the foreground and the background. The examples I have provided show him quite close the camera and are often shot from the level in which the subject is at. All of these examples have been heavily manipulated but look to be taken as one individual photograph. I feel this is most visible in the image below. Two or more images have been composited in a way which the lighting is matched making the piece more believable. This is made possible with the use of modern softwares such as photoshop. This is something that I find most inspirational as he is so successful in creating a surreal impossible situation look so realistic.
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Work of Kyle Thompson
After looking at the work of Kyle Thompson I feel that yes, recent advances in computer technology ha effected story telling within a piece of art. More specifically modern methods in the form of digital editing can be just as effective at creating a narrative. I have found the work of Kyle Thompson very inspiration and I think that a lot of people could relate to his work in that many people including myself like to imagine a world that has no bounds; a world that has no limits To me telling a story and showing a narrative it is most important to raise questions and even more importantly for those questions to be different from each individual so that it makes for a unique experience between designer and the reader.
Taylor McCormick Similarly to Kyle Thompson the next artist I have chosen to look at is also a Photographer who shows very conceptual qualities within her work. She also takes advantage of the modern advancements we have available to us in terms of hardware and software to create believable looking imagery which holds a strong narrative. Taylor McCormick was born on the 14th September 1993 in Edgewood Kentucky. She moved away from her home at a very early age and is now a freshman at Savannah College where she studies Photography.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! I chose to look at the work of Taylor McCormick because upon initial reactions I thought that it fit very well with how telling a story has changed with the help of advances in modern technology. Here are some examples of her work that I particularly liked (above) I like the way she manipulates the photo so that the human body is doing things that are not possible in the real world we live on such as floating and flying. I particularly like the way that the she has combined the human figure with the surroundings in an active and kinetic way such as the way that the girls hair is flowing/ falling and how the clothes are acting in the current situation. All of these different features suggest movement captured in a photograph. All of the given situations that I have found also raise many questions about how the things happening in the images are possible; Is she falling/floating?, How did she get there? Etc. Taylor McCormick is an excellent example of how the use of advances in technology can effect the way story telling in art is made. What is most notable about Taylor McCormick is that she is still very young. She has only recently enrolled at a college of arts in Savannah where she studies photography. Until then her interest in photography and digital art was just an activity she enjoyed and she would do in her free time. During an interview with an adobe blogger she stated that ‘she had no formal training in photoshop and learned the software through youtube training…’ this combined with endless amount of trial and error saw her to where she is today. This further answers the question in hand, modern advances in other aspects of technology such as social networking makes learning these new softwares and working methods more accessible to a wider range of people than ever before.
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Taylor McCormick uses digital hardware and software to achieve the effects in her images. Using a camera with control over the manual settings she is able to change things such as Shutter speeds in order to capture motions in a frozen form. After taking her photos she then goes into editing software such as Adobe Photoshop to combine images where she can then edit things such as lighting and saturation so that she can blend her images together. These would be very similar methods to what I would use when creating this type of narrative of my own. Her images hold a vary limited colour pallet similar to the image above in that she try’s to keep to a specific scheme throughout; this includes soft skin tones, faded blacks and an overall pale washed out look. I feel that this make viewing the image much more pleasing and helps the eye to wander freely around the image without being detracted by an element that doesn't abide by her consistent tones of colour. You can see that although she has combined 2 or more photographs together that she has still kept with the same focal length and Aperture value so that every thing is kept in the proportions and the same depth of field is kept throughout; This make the narrative more believable. It is safe to say that many of Taylor’s pieces of work would not be possible without the use of modern technologies such as the hardware that is available to us all today. To me I think that Taylor McCormick is another worthy example of how modern advances in computers can significantly change a way that a story is being told. Taylor relies so heavily on computer technology to ensure that although the situations she creates are quite dreamlinke, they also can be seen as very believable as they are images of real people in real locations. Nicholas Max The final artist I have chosen to look at is Nicholas Max. He is primarily a photographer but also work with filmmaking and is based in Richmond Virginia. Nicholas Max’s work is very similar to Kyle Thompsons’ who I looked at earlier on. Their similarities lie in the field of surrealism and heavy use of photo manipulation. Both artist embarked on a collaboration project where both artist featured in images portraying dream like imagery and ideas.
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Nicholas max has very strong links with Narrative within his work. Although he isn’t primarily a graphics designer he does manipulate a wide range of his photographs in order to create very surreal situations. I like the way that he makes items symbolic to everyday life such as clocks and watches to be much bigger than life. He also allows them to interact with the environment which makes it that much more believable There is a lot we can learn about the work of Nicholas Max from an interview he had with Astrum People. During the interview he spoke about what inspires him, the techniques he uses as well as what it takes to create the imagery that he does so well. A lot of what he says during the interview is highly relevant to the question I have chosen. When asked about the equipment he uses during the production of each piece he stated that he uses a modern DSLR camera alongside a verity of lenses. furthermore he uses photoshop to combines over 30 images from a shoot to compose an individual piece. He is one of many photographers who relies on the evolution of modern technology to produce a stunning outcome with a deep narrative behind. It is evident that with the use of these modern items such as digital camera and editing software Nicholas Max is capable of creating pieces with a exciting surreal backstory that are believable in terms of their details such as lighting and proportions. This would not be possible without the use of these modern tools that make composing a piece that much more exciting for an potential viewer.
“The Gentlemen’s Son” composed of multiple images with the use of Adobe Photoshop
Similarly to previous artist Taylor McCormick, Nicholas Max has no formal education in the field of photography. During the interview he talks about where he gained inspiration to pick up a camera and learn more. Nicholas Max says ‘I am a self-taught photographer. I would say I gained the most knowledge from the Internet’, it is important to note that he isn the only one learning form what others are posting on the internet. In fact many growing graphic designers and photographers are developing their own style from things they have learned online. This would not be possible without the advancements made over the past 20 years in terms of computer systems.
! ! Conclusion In conclusion, it is visible through examples I have shown that advances in computer technology has affected the way that narratives are held within a piece of art. It is clear that with the aid of modern technology artwork can now be made to look even more believable. Surreal impossible situations are now capable to be made into forms of art reflected from an individual’s imagination. Although storytelling with modern technologies has become a part of many of our lives I still think that there is a place for more traditional methods to still be admired; as they too can still hold some very strong narratives which can spark even a much deeper thought than that of a piece created with the aid of modern advancements in technology. It is clear that these advancements whether they be implemented in their singular form such as digital cameras, editing
software or intelligent computer systems, or with the aid of traditional methods have significantly changed the way stories are told within modern pieces of art. From the view of a graphic design student, I personally prefer the level of believability that can be shown in narrative pieces made with more modern methods of design, I feel that I get a better connection with not only the subject matter but also what the artist may have been initially thinking upon creating the piece. The increase of narratives being shown with the use of computers has been significant especially over the past decade. We see forms of art everyday that very often can go unnoticed. Whether it be a poster advertising an upcoming movie, the packaging for a hit video game or the cover of a book many of these things can have a huge effect on the people that look on them and can be a huge selling point to many people. It is the strength of the connection between the art and the people that I think that matters most, I feel that with the help of modern computers that connection is able to be made much quicker and now in a variety of different forms not possible with traditional methods which helps to tell a story.As show by the work of the three artists, Kyle Thompson, Taylor McCormick and Nicholas Max it is now replicate and intensify things present in our every day lives such as lighting sources and ethereal landscapes. The characteristics of a particular subject can be changed with different attributes in mind such as proportions,form and performance. In addition these replications can be made in a way that not only makes for a more captivating story to be held within the image but also for it to be much more believable of the viewer.
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Bibliography !
Interviews and Articles based on Chosen Artists!
1. Empty Kingdom Interview with kyle thompson ! - http://www.emptykingdom.com/featured/ek-interview-kyle-thompson/!
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2. Notes on the road interview with Kyle Thompson ! - http://notesontheroad.com/Interviews/Rising-Star-Interviews/Surrealism-of-the-SelfPhotography-by-Kyle-Thompson.html!
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3. Adobe Blogger interview with Taylor McCormick! - http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotcom/2013/03/photography-prodigy-blurs-reality-andimagination-a-conversation-with-taylor-mccormick.html!
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4. Astrum People Interview with Nicholas Max ! - http://astrumpeople.com/nicholas-scarpinato-photography-dream-like-landscapes-thattranscend-reality/!
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Images used !
Kyle Thompson ! 1. - http://www.kylethompsonphotography.com!
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Taylor McCormick! 1. - http://www.taylormccormick.com!
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Nicholas Max ! 1. - http://nicholasmax.tumblr.com! 2. - http://www.nicholasscarpinato.com!
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