How have the artists explored loneliness through photo manipulation within the 21st century? Artists that I have chosen: Vincent Bourilhon, Dawid Planeta, Leonid Tishkov, and Dan McCarthy, all explore the issue of loneliness within their work that is expressed through photo manipulation. All of these artists have dealt with loneliness; some due to depression and some might even find it inspiring - being in their natural environment with just their thoughts to gather ideas and stay composed. In this essay, I will be comparing all of the artists listed and how each one of them explores the theme of loneliness. Exploring their techniques as they differ across the chosen artists – people are not always the focus, objects that show a narrative are often seen too. I will be analysing the different image manipulation techniques these artists use, such as change of scale for objects and people, changing the environment from daylight to something more eerie and foggy; going in depth to showcase and try to understand why exactly these artists have portrayed loneliness in the way they do. Some of these artists have not exactly specified loneliness; for example Planeta, he still has come across dealing with depression which is a major relation to loneliness. He “became depressed” and “turned to art” to produce surreal images which portrayed his depressing thoughts - artwork like: ‘dark worlds inhabited by lonely human wanderers and colossal animals that emerge out of the mist like silent gods’ show exactly the way he is alone and overwhelmed by his bigger worries and fears. Since Planeta has expressed his depression and loneliness through art; it has definitely helped his mental health. In comparison, Dan McCarthy uses illustrations of objects rather than focusing on people. For example, the artwork where a house is displayed with no one around, ‘Another Day’; only one window in the house is lit up emphasising loneliness. The light gives a sense of isolation within the house that fuels loneliness as when you feel lonely, you are often disconnected from the social interaction with other people and the world as a whole. The main factor that links all these artists together for the chosen theme would be their way of showing a narrative through objects and animals rather than people - this avoids the cliche lonely person sitting in the corner of the room. Bourilhon has used the clothing of a person, Planeta uses animals wandering through the jungle, McCarthy illustrates houses with lonely houses, and Tishkov uses the illuminated, lonely moon. Photo manipulation started from the 1860s as the famous picture of US president Abraham Lincoln is a mixture of Lincoln’s head and the Southern politician John Calhoun’s body. As early photo manipulation did not consist of photoshop, artists had to use magnifying glass and have a very steady hand with the paint brush. Discoveries like the wet collodion process in the early stages of photo manipulation, which let photographers to combine multiple images on one
negative, captivated the curiosity and creativity of photographers going back to the 1850s.
However, relating to how loneliness is explored through photo manipulation; it was used to bring families together in 1910s, photograph composites of different images were created by commercial photographic studios to edit people into one picture when they were not together in reality for the portrait session. This could be due to living far apart or other life difficulties that separates them - even people who have died. As this could have been used for when a loved one has passed; the person left behind might have wanted a picture with them if they miss them a lot. This would then have been edited (an older picture of the person edited into a current image of the person asking for this to be done). Photo manipulation has one major difference from the early stages of it till now. It is much easier to launch photoshop and manipulate an image digitally with endless possibilities, it is also much less time consuming than doing something with a paint brush - especially if you want the job done professionally. Vincent Bourilhon, a young artist from France, has been practicing the art of photography since he was sixteen. Bourilhon is a lover of cinema, always in search of poetry. His personal work reflects his admiration for the discipline. Through graphic design and digital retouching, he has found success in building an imaginary universe that is surreal and very cinematic. The artist tends to be his own model to interpret his chosen character, there are times where real models are used as well for the artwork created. The artist has explored the theme of loneliness through photo manipulation within the 21st century as he "usually gets his inspiration when he's alone" and “[builds] an imaginary universe� that portrays his imagination.
Across the artwork of Bourilhon, he always focuses on something that belongs to a person or includes a person. The left behind clothing of a person, portray a sense of emptiness that relates to loneliness which is explored through photo manipulation. The story behind this piece could be a couple that has been married for years and then the husband dies due to age; leaving the wife lonely with only the remains of her loved one (clothing and other things owned by the husband). The car could imply an accident that was led due to loneliness and depression, and lastly, the thoughtful person standing on the edge of the roof is portrayed as lonely and is overlooking the city of Paris. Loneliness does not always have to be depressing as some may be more composed and focused when they are alone, for example, Bourilhon gathers his ideas when he is alone in his own comfort zone. The artist tends to have rainy weather in many of his pieces, suggesting a depressing environment. However, as he does not aim to produce work like that, it seems more comical or light hearted. In the chosen artwork, I can see rainy weather that is suggested by the lonely subject holding an umbrella. To further suggest the rainy weather; there are droplets of rainwater falling from the edge of the roof caught in motion. The scenery behind the subject is set out in Paris where the artist lives. To describe this artwork with singular words; they would definitely be: rainy, dark,
depressing, lonely, as well as hopeful since the subject seems to be looking up at the sky. The materials used to create this artwork would be a close-up image of the roof’s edge (capturing the droplets of rain), with Paris and the Eiffel tower in the background. An image of an umbrella (background is removed) and saved as a PNG file to keep the transparency. Lastly, a picture of the man holding the umbrella – once again with a transparent background, therefore, a PNG which so he can be photo manipulated into the environment and drastically altered in scale. This is all mostly done on Photoshop as it’s a photo editing software; great for photo manipulation. This artwork is less realistic than usual since the contrast in size between the roof’s edge and the man is so surreal. The subject appears to be so tiny that the rain droplets are bigger than the legs of the subject, this could be implying more of how the person feels when they’re alone and overwhelmed. Another less realistic aspect for this artwork would be the floating miniature umbrella that heads towards the Eiffel Tower. The artist has shown exploration in loneliness through photo manipulation as the subject appears to be alone looking into the distance; in addition, the artist "usually gets his inspiration when he's alone" which could be reflecting himself. The setting is quite crowded since there is a city in the background and the Eiffel tower; however, the background is blurred therefore making the artwork seem more spacious as our eyes don't focus on it. The formally dressed man, holding an umbrella, is looking in the distance at the Eiffel tower with no other characteristics shown; face expression cannot be seen as his back is facing the audience which might suggest different types of loneliness. Some individuals might feel more disconnected than others from the society. This artwork piece is similar to others from his portfolio as the Eiffel tower can be visible often, blurred backgrounds, and surreal size contrast. The ongoing theme of photo manipulation that is explored which relates back to loneliness as there is only one subject in the image for most of his work can be visible in many other artwork pieces by Bourilhon. As he has grown up with this style of artwork, I feel like the artist has been influenced by loneliness as people often build "an imaginary universe" when they don't want to socialise with other humans or do not have the chance to.
David Planeta was born in 1990 in Krakow, Poland and has graduated with an Industrial Design degree from the Academy of Fine Arts. With this type of education, he has worked as an art teacher and graphic designer. Regards to Planeta’s personal life, he has dealt with depression which is a major relation to loneliness. The artist has explored loneliness as when he “became depressed, he turned to art.” His way of dealing with depression was a project called ‘Mini People’ - “a series of digital paintings of dark worlds inhabited by lonely human wanderers and colossal animals that emerge out of the mist like silent gods.” Planeta generally has a ongoing theme throughout his portfolio of dull tones; and an eerie, depressed feel that suggests loneliness. Instead of mainly focusing on humans to portray his
emotion in his artwork , Planeta focuses on other objects and animals that have glowing eyes. The artist explores loneliness through photo manipulation in many of the artwork pieces chosen; portraying his overwhelming thoughts and emotions as surreal animals that have unrealistic size contrast compared to the environment around them.
I have chosen to describe the artwork of a lonely person; very distant from socialising as they appear to be on the edge of a cliff - isolated from the rest of humanity that was published around the 27th of January 2018. The scenery is eerie, dull, and covered in clouds as the cliff is high above the ground. To describe this picture, I would use words such as: disconnected, depressed, distant, and lonely. The artist has explored loneliness
through photo manipulation within the 21st century by using materials such as a picture of a cliff, as well as the subject that has been photo manipulated on photoshop. Smoke overlay textures or brushes have been used to create the eerie mist. The artwork seems realistic; just feels very draining and dull since it involves a lonely subject that suggests depression. The image seems quite simple but could portray a bigger story behind it and be very effective to look at. There are many reasons the subject could be on the edge of the cliff; looking downwards. The monochrome, grainy, and dull colours seem to work well with the mist or clouds that run throughout the artwork. The focal point in the design is the lonely subject, showing no facial features, skin colour, nor gender. This supports the theme of loneliness since people don’t notice you as much, you feel disconnected from the world – almost a mysterious feel that the artist has explored. This artwork reminds me of loneliness that leads someone to deep thoughts; making them feel isolated and alone. The difference in this picture that is quite noticeable compared to real life would be facial features, skin colour, and gender would be much easier to analyse. Whereas in this design, the subject is almost portrayed as a shadow with no emotion and characteristics. What interests me about this picture is the reason why exactly the person is looking down; this could relate to many different topics like suicide, tragedy, sadness, and loneliness which the artist has explored throughout his artwork - being emotionally pushed to the edge. The ongoing theme of dull tones seem to run throughout the artist’s portfolio. The artist’s background has a lot of impact on his work as he dealt with depression himself: "Last year, when Planeta became depressed, he turned to art." He started creating imaginary worlds that shows his exploration in photo manipulation where a small man is traveling through long forgotten jungle, meeting his weaknesses and fears presented as giant animals with glowing eyes. The similarities between Bourilhon and Planeta is that they both try to avoid showing the identity of their subject; this can be seen when Planeta completely shadows out his subject and Bourilhon just makes his subject face away from the audience. The main difference between these two artists that are visible: Planeta focuses on dull, monochrome colour schemes - in comparison, Bourilhon keeps his artwork in colour and seems to be a lot more vibrant. They both explore loneliness through photo manipulation as their subjects are often alone, far away from everything else in an open space. Both artists focus on the sky as a background, this helps the audience focus on the main subject in the artwork, almost working as negative space in the design. Lastly, a difference that stood out to me between the two artists is that Planeta leans more towards surrealism as the drastic scale increase for smaller animals, the glowing eyes and floating cliffs. Whereas Bourilhon doesn’t seem to have that type of surrealism in his work.
My third chosen artist is Leonid Tishkov who was born in Nizhnye Sergi, on Urals Mountains, in 1953. Creating mysterious characters in his surreal work with the skills gathered from being a photographer, video artist, painter, book illustrator and a visonary narrator. As the artist is often portrayed alone in his work; the illuminated moon keeps him company which shows the exploration of loneliness through photo manipulation since non-living objects are there to keep him company. As his artwork pieces are often from Moscow, "the Moscow moon in a starless sky has sat down on the edge of a roof" describes how the moon is implemented in his work. The idea behind this moon project, the artist has stated that ‘the moon is a shining point that brings people together from different countries, of different nationalities and cultures - and everyone who gets in its orbit does not forget it ever. It gives fairytale and poetry in our prosy and mercantile world’.
I have chosen this artwork from Tishkov; the setting is dark with cold tones. The illuminated moon is stuck in the tree and is lighting up the tree branches as the scenery is in an open space surrounded by trees in the evening. To describe this artwork, I would use words such as: illuminated, alone, bright, and cold. The illuminated moon lights up the environment around it, this has been done on Photoshop since everything besides the moon appear to be much darker and covered in shadowing. This artwork is surreal because it has a moon hanging on a tree branch - a more abstract moon that we all have seen (an icon of the moon) on a miniature scale. The picture does not give the audience much breathing room as it appears to be crowded with trees that overwhelm the lonely moon. I am mostly interested in the way this moon is portrayed; it always blends in with the environment throughout his portfolio, yet it often is alone or keeps company for the artist. The artwork was created between 2002-2005 as found from his portfolio. The artwork is similar to the rest of his work as the moon takes a big part in his work. His education has a lot of impact on his work and creativity as he is known as “a photographer, video artist, painter, book illustrator, and a visionary narrator�. This relates back to the question of how has the artist explored the theme of loneliness through photo manipulation; as he is a book illustrator – his creativity and imagination is limitless. His photographs relate to loneliness as he is often portrayed alone with the presence of the illuminated moon. Comparing Tishkov to Planeta and Bourilhon, the artwork seems to be less photo manipulated digitally as the focus is on the illuminated moon that he actually uses as a prop. Comparing Tishkov to the two other artists, his work tends to be focused more towards the evening and strong lighting, whereas Planeta uses dull tones that create an
eerie atmosphere. Another difference between Tishkov and the two other artists is that you can see the facial features of the artist in the design, it isn’t as secretive as the other two. Throughout Tiskov’s portfolio, cold tones are used to suggest the evening atmosphere. To conclude my essay on the three chosen artist (Vincent Bourilhon, David Planeta, and Leonid Tishkov) that cover loneliness through photo manipulation during the 21st Century, I have gathered that all these artists have relation to either being affected or are trying to suggest loneliness in their artwork. They all have helped me link my work together with theirs. Although the sole point of my chosen artists’ work is not only loneliness, for example, Planeta, shows a greater focus on depression. However, this was obvious that depression and loneliness link together therefore this artist was useful for me to look into. All of these artists include surrealism in their work that some cover things like floating land or drastically enlarged animals that overwhelm the human portrayed in the artwork. For example: “lonely human wanderers and colossal animals”, Planeta shows his imagination and how his emotions are overwhelming him in his artwork in an imaginative way. I was heavily influenced and motivated by Planeta’s technique of glowing eyes in his artwork that can be seen in my own work. I focused on the theme of loneliness portraying those non-living things can also keep company for the lonely individuals hence the cover has a title “The Replacement”, suggesting the replacement of humans keeping each other company. Bourilhon and Planeta both rely heavily on digital photo manipulation within the 21st century, so it was much easier for me to replicate their technique and have a similar feel to my final outcome.
Bibliography https://scene360.com/art/111460/dawid-planeta/ https://www.russianartandculture.com/interview-anna-prosvetova-meets-leonid-tishkov-a-ru ssian-artist-to-talk-about-his-exhibition-at-erarta-galleries-london/ https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/an-eye-for-nature-q-a-with-artist-dan-mccar thy https://ethicsinediting.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/photo-manipulation-through-history-a-time line/ https://www.creativelive.com/blog/tbt-photo-manipulation-before-photoshop/ https://www.vincent-bourilhon.com/about http://www.ninadue.com/leonid-tishkov/