Final essay

Page 1

Why and how have a number of different artists used either traditional ‘hand-based’ techniques or digital techniques to create a Surreal and / or Ethereal narrative within their creative work? A major change in the way artists created ‘graphic art’ happened when the ‘personal computer’ became widely available late in the 20th Century. This product enabled artists & designers to manipulate images in a much faster and simpler way than the storyboard artists prior to the 1990’s. This invention made it possible to do the following changes very quickly: recolour, alter the scale, rotate, and many hundreds of other functions. It is fair to say that due to further advances in technology available to many creative individuals, there has been a dramatic increase in the digital editing of photographs, which has led to a change of techniques used by artists & designers in conveying their thoughts and ideas to a wider public. It could be argued that these new digital tools have enabled amateur photographers & designers to produce a range of creative work that looks quite professional in standard compared to amateur designers from the past who had to use hand-based techniques; and it seems that they can make the ‘impossible’ happen by creating Surreal and ethereal effects to help convey the narrative behind their work. In the context of this essay, the term ‘Surreal’ means ‘dream-like qualities’ and Ethereal means ‘other-worldly.’ In the 1970’s, technology was not yet available for editing photographs, as it was only the birth of modern computing at this time, therefore artists & photographers would rely on hand-based techniques to create ‘art work’. It can be argued that as a result they were limited to choice of materials and had to rely more on their art skills. However, in this contemporary society people can virtually create what they choose, which can potentially lead to a clearer and stronger understanding of their narrative work. This essay intends to explore and evaluate the use of both contemporary digital techniques and traditional hand-based techniques to see what type of visual effect they both produce and which one has the greater potential of conveying a narrative. This essay intends to explore the work of artists such as Ellen Rogers, Alison Scarpulla, Aela Labbe and the way they convey their own narratives through either digital or hand-based techniques. Alison Scarpulla was born in 1990 in New York and is self-taught. She prefers to use hand-based techniques to create her photographs, even in this digital age. “When I was a child I’d take photos with my 35mm point and shoot all the time” (1) Then when she was in high school, she developed an interest in art, especially in illustration and painting, which possibly expanded and enhanced her skills-set for her future. Her work developed and she started to develop her own style as she mentioned in an interview “I gave up the rules I had learned about photography and just did what felt natural.” (2) This suggests that she doesn’t follow the rules as she perhaps has a very creative mind. It can be argued that Scarpulla’s work has ‘mystical’ qualities with a connection to both nature and people, therefore she likes to create images that are semi-realistic and out of the ordinary. Scarpulla mentioned in an interview “I am interested in the boundaries of what is reality and what is not”. (3) Some people will be able to fully relate to this statement, especially if they are truly fascinated by magic, spiritual belief and the ‘unknown’. Scarpulla has been able to explore these types of ideas by creating ethereal looking effects practically instead of using digital technology. Scarpulla often uses expired film and also self-taught methods of smearing water and dirt on camera lenses and dipping negatives in acid before printing in the dark room. Many of Scarpulla’s early photographs were taken in New York, however she recently moved to Ohio. The scenery in her photographs has slightly changed because of this, although she still keeps to a similar look and feel throughout, as this is the type of imagery that she is passionate about. A review was made by an author Megan Ramirez about her work that supports the argument about Scarpulla only using hand-based techniques “She transforms her already beautiful photographs into even more striking images not by Photoshop, but by her own unorthodox sorcery.”(4) It could be argued that hand-based techniques are more


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Final essay by ParishaMistry - Issuu