Photoshop has enabled the impossible to happen in photographs. Explore how artists have pushed the boundaries between reality and the impossible. Sharbaz Smith In the past you had to be very patient as a digital photographer, catching the spectacular usually involved carrying a camera until something special was seen, capturing the sun rise involved waking up at the crack of dawn, models would spend hours in makeup rooms and studios had to be well lit, Since the introduction of Photoshop all these factors have been changed, since its release 25 years ago Photoshotop ,the image editing software has revolutionized the art of photo processing and our perception of reality - from ideals of beauty to media manipulation. digital artists and manipulators taking ordinary photographs and making them extraordinary causing one’s self to doubt reality at times, whether they have to do with people, places or objects they give a new perspective to what’s normal evoking our imagination. I chose this essay title because growing up in the era of Photoshop and being a designer myself I feel this is a more personal subject in which I can relate more to, having used the software myself, therefor I believe researching further into this top will allow me to improve my own skills within the programme and also be able to understand more, how artists explore techniques within Photoshop. In order to answer my title question I have selected artist that push the boundaries of imagination using Photoshop to do so, I have chosen to look into artist that specialise in narratives through photo manipulation each in their own way although sharing similar styles the way in which each artist approaches there works in their own unusual yet exciting ways. I will annotate and analyse each artist’s works in order to come to a conclusion. I have chosen artists Vincent Bourihon, Kyle Thompson and Erik Almás, I felt these artists closely relate to my chosen title, each using Photoshop in order to create their works of art along with photography techniques, Each work not only highlighting each individuals imagination but also their ability to make an individual’s imagination wonder through telling a story without the use or a need for wording. Although I have found each artists work to have a familiar sense of style each artist has a different approach to how they portray there narratives giving their works their own unique complexity, my titles allows me to look further into each artist’s techniques benefiting my knowledge of using Photoshop and approach to my own narrative work. The first artist I have chosen to research is photographer Vincent Bourihon, he creates works using Photoshop through digital retouching he creates a new world within an image his works reflecting on personal loves of his.
Parisian Artist Vincent Bourilhon has handled the art of photography since he was sixteen, A great lover of dreams, poetry and film his works reflecting through graphics, Digital retouching and film making to produce crazy realities. The artist's vivid imagination results in these whimsical ideas that come to life in each photograph He says, "I love fantasizing, I love inventing and creating. I think the real world is flat, not original and very negative. If art does not lead us to a different world in which we all live, it does not meet its mission. “I am passionate about the dream and magic that surrounds our thoughts. If we can express ourselves, we should do that." With only four years’ experience Vincent Bourilhon creates surreal worlds that are incredibly enchanting. Viewers will find themselves swiftly escaping into many of his inventive stories where top hats rapidly multiply and hot air balloons emerge from the steam of a coffee cup, Through the expansion of online Photo sharing websites Bourihon has not only been able to share his art with a huge following but has also been able to work with company’s such as Sony Distribution and MYmajorcompany. I chose to look at the works Vincent Bourilhon because through his designs I felt myself constantly fascinated at each of his works, which had me questions and escaping reality into his works, I was interested in how he had taken real life environments and with aid of post processing producing striking reality’s, this I felt reflected a unique style showing how one can push the boundaries between fantasy and reality using a raster graphics editor (Photoshop). His works ranging between straight forward photography and Photo manipulation, each with their own abstract, unexplainable nature reinforcing a sense of unreality and unknowingness, which I take the view from reality bringing the impossible to life through imagination. It appears he tends to range between colours used within his photographs depending on which desired mood her is trying to give from the image, Naturally the colour co-ordinates with what the characters or models within the image, Aiding the view to understand the photographs in greater Depth. The photograph on the photographic to the right labelled “Need Help” (2015) is one of Vincent Bourilhon more recant works portraying his photography style and surreal approach to create a simple yet instantly effective manipulation, It is apparent that the title “need Help” corresponds perfectly with the image instantly aiding the viewer to understand the image, The two vocal points being the models, each giving of clear body language has, making it clear who the title is focused at. Not only through body language has mood been portrayed, one model has a cloud above his head provoking the idea of him being unhappy, where has the other an umbrella giving off the complete opposite mood. I feel the artist is trying to portray a split personality between the model hence why he has used him twice, the difference of colour within shirts but dressed the same helped me support the idea of split personality black being one side, and unhappy down state but the white being completely opposite happy and willing to help. It could be though this artist is able to create balance with the use of colour and difference of mood and body language within the photo, once person not outshining the other keeping them both as a main vocal point, I feel the intentions of this work is not only to show the different sides to a person but also there is also help for when you are feeling negative, I feel this artist and his works definitely project a perfect example of what modern tools like Photoshop are used to do in order to push the boundaries in order to re write the line of what is real and what is not.
Taken 3 years earlier Vincent Bourilhon released “Artwork style” (2012) (seen left) this photograph captures the imagination and creativity of a young boy through the use of scale and painting, from a visual point of view there are two main focus points different to “need help” the two focus points are kept in focus whilst the rest of the I’m age has been severely blurred in order to emphasise what is going on within the photograph. The impression I got from the “Art work style” was an image trying to capture the creativity of a young child through his imagination, this I feel is shown through the use of paint and brushes showing creativity and the imagination being the canvas, I enjoy this piece giving of a sense of surrealism and composition created, the colours alone along with the use of space produced by composition is so well brought out and definitely gave a huge advantage within this still life photo. Vincent Bourilhon has very strong narratives within his work manipulating his photographs in order to create a stunning surreal situation. It is evident that without the use of modern items such as digital cameras and Photoshop Bourhilon would not have been capable to create the works he does today, Making him a perfect example for my title question, He shows what it means to push the boundaries through using simplicity, the introduction of Photoshop has made it possible for him and many an artist like him to put his loves and dreams into art, blurring the lines of what can be distinguished between reality and the impossible. Kyle Thompson Similar to Vincent Bourilhon the next artist I chose to look at is Kyle Thomson A Chicago born photographer born January 11th 1992, Thompson being taking photographs at the age of 19 after adopting a fascination for abandoned houses and empty forests, two locations in which A high number of his works take place. He describes himself as a surreal conceptual designer; his works adding a sense of realism with the use of photos taken on location, through this like Vincent Bourhion makes the impossible seems possible. Looking at Kyle Thompsons work Initially I noticed how surreal his works are, with humans performing unhuman abilities such as flying, or floating in a dream filled state but still keeps realistic qualities to make the images believable. I like how his works makes me question the ability of the people within the photos I felt myself questions; how is he flying? Why? How has the artist made the image look so natural? The idea of making one questions reality is ideal for a narrative piece. The use of himself within many of his works, his inner thoughts and emotions are shown within greater depth through the image he once said in an interview “Art is so personal, If I am trying to express myself through my work, It would feel odd to have other models do it” this quote Alliterates my point of Kyles mood, thoughts and experiences being portrayed though his work. I enjoy the way Thompson explores his narratives giving them no defined story creating a collapse of a narrative causing the view to use ones imagination and no longer be able to distinguish a single storyline within one single image .
I chose to analyse Kyle Thompsons works because I was interested in the way he does not always use Photoshop to give stunning effects to his photos sometimes, chooses to make the seen giving the effect of it being Photo shopped with the use of Such things as Flour, Lighting, Smoke bombs and make up. The emotions prompted by the photographs are hard to ignore. The theatrical and, at times, surreal moments of solitude are seductive and powerful—drawing you in and leaving you wanting more. His work appearing to create a dream like setting in which de-saturated colours are used along with empty settings usually with an enchanted feel to them to create his photographs; With his works being so photographic based often not appearing to involve any other materials or media, I felt that the strong focus on one element allows him to create more meaningful pieces in which he can express his feelings and emotions clearly. Photography is Thompsons main source of illustrating his story lines, plagued with anxiety his entire life, photography has become a gateway to express himself to the world, Through many of his photographs I have found it common that Thompson captures movement within the image inferring what may have happened before or after the moment immortalizing a small slice of life. This photo in particular label tornado (2012) enforces this idea of capturing movement; with the use of a scarf, and stapling it to the ceiling and wall of his garage Thompson has managed to create this image. The way in which he has manipulated the scarf to be wrapped around his body and face creates a delicate yet sharp contrast between the gentle nature of the image, The scarf acting has the controller over the models body with the use of body language defines he is trapped in some sort of dream state, this creates a sense of unease and unknowingness within the photo. His use of de saturated faded colours around the image create a cold mood which puts emphasis onto the focus point being him, this calm yet empty style aids give an insight more into the artists emotions and thoughts, this pieces giving me the impression he feels trapped. Kyle Thomson’s photos are often shot in landscape; giving the idea that shooting in landscape allows him to show a wider variety of depth within the image but can also give the illusion of being lost or a lot smaller/ bigger than his chosen environment. Kyle Thompson photos are often landscape, giving the idea that shooting in landscape allows him to show a wider variety of depth within his images but can also give of the illusion of being lost, or much bigger/smaller than his chosen environment, The example I provided shows his use of depth through background and scale to create two focus points.The photo gave me the impression of a murder waiting to happen, the characters hanging shoulders along with the hunched back made me feel like he was dreading what he was about to do but felt it had to be done. Instantly looking at the image I there are three focus points within the image – the character – the axe and the house in the background each of which all adding to the building of suspense within the image but still adding to my original point of the narrative leaving one asking questions. After looking at the worth of Kyle Thomson I feel that without the use of a raster graphics editor like Photoshop, such works would not have been possible, causing the artist himself difficult portraying his emotions through narrative. Photoshop has enabled Kyle Thompson like many others to push the
boundaries in order to tell a story or give insight to the artist, making viewers ask questions each different to another giving them a unique experience between them and the artist.
Erik Almás San Francisco based photographer Erik Almas grew up in Trondheim, Norway before at the age of 22 moving to America to study art for four years, during that time he had been inspired by his teachers to change his goals from shooting sports events for his local newspaper to creating images. After graduating in 1999 he assisted artist Jim Erikson for almost 3 years, Erickson took the role of mentor, Inspiring , encouraging and nurturing Almas style giving him a set of working habits helping him succeed alone. Today an established photographer living in San Francisco 13 years now he has had the fortune of working with top tier brands such as Microsoft, Nike and Toyota. Photo manipulation being a keen interest of mine, I was immediately attracted to Erick Alma’s work, He creates perfecting lighting and focus which are demonstrated in his photos of sweeping vistas and surreal landscapes, in order to create such images he uses Photoshop as an extension of his image making saying in an interview with Adobe “Today Photoshop has all the characteristics of the film, the filters and the darkroom. Photoshop has all the characteristics appropriate” This quote shows how the influence of Photoshop has not only made the boundaries of art be pushed but also has made a gateway for compositing different elements within one photo. Erik Almas is an excellent example of how Photoshop has pushed the boundaries within art, combining Photography with access to manual setting enabling his to change such factors as aperture and shutter speed with Photoshop combining multiple images as well as being able to manipulate the image. The use of both Software and digital hardware has helped Almas shape his style, creating as he describes “ a softness and quietness and romanticism to my work” his style reflecting who he is as well as his upbringing, his works create a sense of quiet beauty as well as a sense of bigness making his creations feel photo-real even though they are composited.
A signature piece of his simple referred to as “The women wading through water” was shot about nine years ago; at the time Almas was just scratching the surface of what would be his style of photography, after receiving the film from the lab and working with the scans in Photoshop he produced this outcome. The landscape and its light quality, the colour palette and its painterly element all these factors give greater depth within the image radiating emotion along with subtle metaphors evoked by the girls wading in the water. This one photograph has influenced many of Erik Almas’ works seen today; in an interview saying “All pictures I have taken since have in many ways been based on this one photograph” This photograph embodies the foundations seen through many of his works.
My next featured image was inspired by paintings. The photograph, a piece from Almas’ personal work, emerged from paintings of Sirens – water deities born from Greek mythology. Almas originally intended to shoot a woman as the foreground subject to pay tribute to these mythological figures but soon became enchanted by the very people Sirens were famous for getting into trouble – fisherman. In order to create this image Almas took pictures of different waves, rock formations, skylines and other coastal changing the exposure in each in order to not only create depth of field but also capture the motion of the water. After collection twenty images Almas roughly fitted parts of the images together, after days of refinement, the final image was then cropped into a panoramic format working perfectly for capturing the sweeping background. After looking at the work of erik Almes I feel without photoshop many of his works would not have fufiled there potential or even been possible to create, He has used photoshop as an extention of him image making and how he photographs, even saying in an interview with Adobe “For me Its the gateway for compsiting different elemnts into one picture”, for me Almas is a perfect example of how photoshop has been used to push boundaries of image making and photography with his works creating naturally amazing manipulations and advertisements. Almas realises heavily on computer based software to create his works, its not to say without photoshop some of pieces would still be possible but, not as easy to create nor as refined, Photoshop for Almas has enabled him to make his imaginations a reality, evoking the veiwers imaginations, telling storys but at the same time making the image naturally believable.
In conclusion it is visible through my artists research/investigations that I have shown that Photoshop has not completely revolutionized our visual culture, but has also profoundly changed the art of photo retouching, turning a labour intensive process into an artful and often controversial digital workflow. Photoshop has not only had an impact on artists but as a viewer it has changed the way we perceive things, causing sometime wonder, question and be intrigued. Photoshop has changed the way we communicate, the way we express ourselves and the way we view the world and each other. ¬¬¬ In conclusion it is visible through my artists research/investigations that I have shown that Photoshop has not completely revolutionized our visual culture, but has also profoundly changed the art of photo retouching, turning a labour intensive process into an artful and often controversial digital workflow. Photoshop has not only had an impact on artists but as a viewer it has changed the way we perceive things, causing sometime wonder, question and be intrigued. Its clear that since its release Photoshop has opened up opportunity’s for success within artists and also has allowed artists to refine and perfect their own methods for example Eric Almas has through Photoshop, changed the way he photographs explaining how its more about making a photograph rather than take one, though he has adopted the method of taking multiple photographs instead of one image, to then create a seamless composition a perfect example being the fisherman image shown in the previous page with took 20 photographs to create. I believe that as Photoshop advances through time so will each artist using it, there skills will refine and increase and the software will only continue to grow and advance making possibilities endless, I feel Photoshop will continue to help artist bush boundaries within their works and express their imagination through art but also I feel will create new artists and inspire those to turn imagination into art, with its popularity constantly expanding Photoshop will only continue to change how we communicate, the way we express ourselves and the way in which we view each other and ourselves.
Biblograpgy WWW.VINCENT-BOURILHON.COM WWW.FLIKR.COM/PHOTOS/VINCEGALLERY/7936040354 WWW.FLIKR.COM/PHOTOS/KYLETHOMPSON/8477587092 WWW.PHOTOSHOP.COM/SPOTLIGHT/ERIKALMAS WWW.ERIKALAMS.COM/#ABOUT WWW.THEFSTOPMAG.COM/?P=81 WWW.MYMODERNMET.COM/PROFILES/BLOGS/VINCENT-BOURILHON-SURREAL-PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.MYMODERNMET.COM WWW.MAKEUSOF.COM