Contextual References
Jenny Holzer
called ‘truisms: the comments are common myths while others
are just phrases on random subjects in the form of slogans.
the sayings include:
‘a man can't know what it's like to be a mother’
‘men are not monogamous by nature’
‘money creates taste’
‘a lot of professionals are crackpots’
‘enjoy yourself because you can't change anything anyway’
‘freedom is a luxury not a necessity’
‘don't place too much trust in experts’
xenon on bregenz’ alte pfarrkirche zum heiligen nikolaus, lech, 2004
She has many way of presenting her medium; t-shirt, plaque, LED sign and sometimes found on big scales such as buildings within the landscape and architecture. Holzer suggests a sense of ignorance and violence with humour,kindness and courage, focusing in on the world today and the true reality of advertising and consumerism today.
She questions the media as we believe what is put in the tabloids, they have control over any real truth and control what information they want to hide. This has sparked an idea as the idea of doing the opposite like Holzer, presenting the truth to the public other than choosing information that is all lies.
xenon in venice (writing on walls by night), 2003
Holzer has been influenced by many artists in the past for there minimalistic qualities such as: Donald Judd, Mark Rothko and Morris Louis.
Below is a comparison to Donald Judd's work, he uses blue and linear qualities, you can see how Holzer's work has been influenced.
Donald Judd 1928-1994
Untitled 1990
Hannah Starkey
Hannah Starkey is a British artist born in Belfast, she now works and lives in London. Starkey has been producing work since the 90's and has been in several group and solo exhibitions, Starkey uses actors and ordinary set ups to create her own individual take on photography.
Starkey creates images that read like a "moment in time" or a "freeze frame of ordinary life. I love the way that she can create a narratives through her images, and how she can create such beautiful and interesting image even though they are just like a snapshot of a day to day life. The images are dynamic, and evoke emotion for the viewer: as the models she has used are full of intriguing expressions. The lighting she seems to use is exquisite it contributes to the old fashioned appearances captured in the shot. Although the realistic setting adds to the lighting it evokes mood and nostalgia.
'Untitled, May 1997'
Hannah Starkey explains how her image 'Untitled, May 1997' was made. This image the Guardian describe as her 'best shot'.-www.guardian.com
She quotes.
"I took the photograph in 1997; it was really enjoyable to make, and it was the first picture that I really felt was my own. What is amazing is that when I look at it now, I realise that, at the time, I wasn't very far away from those girls and what they were doing."
Starkey says that her inspirations come from Helmut Newton, Garry Winogrand and Philip-Lorca diCorcia. The street photography of Winogrand and the tableau staged images of diCorica would explain Starkey's "everyday snapshot" looking but meaningful images.
This photo in particular below suggest an aery feeling for the viewer, the women facing away from the photographer shows that she is trying to hide something, a loss of identity is suggested. I tried to create this through my images, creating the idea of hiding something. I also like the way Starkey has contrasted the almost old lady told from her grey hair, to the relaxing feeling of the Japanese painting. This photo i feel gives off a relaxing era: Even though Starkey hasn't included text in her work i feel this has been a great inspiration for me, as i love the idea of creating snap shot images with models that are emotional and don't make eye contact with the viewer.
Jim Goldberg
When we were set this assignment: Image and Text I began to research photographers who conveyed a different reaction to the viewer through the use of text. Jim Goldberg creates documentary photographs; this inspired me as his layout creates an informative approach, producing for the viewer something we ignore on a day-to-day basis come to life and take thoughtfulness/consideration for.
Goldberg began being interest in the 1970’s when he started capturing the rich and poor, it later became a series of which he observed people in and around his surrounding’s in LA. This photograph below by Jim Goldberg shows a man whos village was completely destroyed by rebels he qoutes:
Goldberg began being interest in the 1970’s when he started capturing the rich and poor, it later became a series of which he observed people in and around his surrounding’s in LA. This photograph below by Jim Goldberg shows a man whos village was completely destroyed by rebels he qoutes:
'The war came and the rebels massacred my whole village and my family (my wife and eight children). I was shot so many times I do not know how I survived… I want to escape to another country where I will be safe. Thank you.'(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography)
Another image by Goldberg that inspired me to produce an assignment based on people with scars; not only physical scars seen to the eye but also the effects of everyday life crisis that have mentally scarred ones lives.
Goldberg quotes:
"I have the great privilege of being both witness and storyteller. Intimacy, trust and intuition guide my work."
I chose these photographs in particular as they gave me the same poignant feeling throughout my body, the idea that Goldberg has put across is that the world isn't as perfect as we make it out to be, people are stuck in poverty. These lives they lead are scarring them: each and every person is scarred in some way. Whether its hidden and people cant see it: they are in each individual it shapes peoples lives sometimes for the better and worse.
Goldberg has influenced me to create photos from models with interesting personalities that can be shown through their facial expressions: ‘is to bring attention to otherwise ignored and shunned lives.’ http://photokaboom.photogrowth.com/2011/04/jim-goldbergs-talking-pictures.html)
Sam Taylor Wood
Sam Taylor Wood works with film, video and photography. I am particularly interested in her Photography work. Wood has a series called 'Crying men' she focuses in on the human emotions: desire, anger and loneliness. Actors perform for her photographs, they are asked specifically to get into role and cry for the camera, producing over whelming and though provoking ideas for the viewer.
Laurence Fishburne, 'Crying Men'
Sam Taylor Wood's series of 'Crying Men' inspired me to look deeper into peoples day to day lives; the emotions they hide and the way this effects there lives. These photos intrigued me as i never thought you would see these strong and heroic celebrities shed a tear: the reality hits you that everyone is the same and everyone can feel emotions. The powerful aura of these men disappears from extraordinary acts to ordinary in an instant.
Daniel Craig ' Men Crying'
Forest Whitaker
Sam Taylor-Wood, Crying Men: Hayden Christensen
This video i sourced from youtube it shows the series of photographs Wood took 'Men Crying'. This series suggests how weird it is to see men you wouldn't normally thought cried, as they are celebrities or well known people. This gives an overwhelming, intriguing and creates a beautiful images with these emotions.
Don McCullin
I like this image because it captures so many emotions in one shot. The woman's house has been completely destroyed and her facial expression shows pain, devastation and sorrow; this suggests she may have lost someone in the explosion. McCullin has inspired me to work closely with the models and dig deep into there emotions and portray this within there body language. I am specifically keen on Mccullin's close up shots as it provokes the truth to things like this instead of trying to cover it up, even though it shows the bitter and sore reality.
A Palestinian woman in
This interview with Mc Cullin is particularly interesting and he explains his thoughts and reasons for his work:(HTTP://dartcenter.org/content/images-and-memories-war)
This quote suggests that he has been scarred by these horrific scenes he has seen in the settings he has taken photographs at, he not only says that you have to remember a memory from vision but also form smell. I want to create this idea of memory, loss and scars in ones life.
Grieving woman Cyprus 1964, copyright Don McCullin
"The images and memories of war and the screams and cries are still fresh in my mind. I can still smell a mattress that was burning in a house in
Post Secrets
Post Secret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard, here are some examples of peoples art:
The use of strong personalized text inspired me to get the models to hand write a short caption of the events that have effected them, and that will stick in there memories for life. A worker describes PostSecret as 'some funny, some touching, some heartbreaking' : she also describes 'that the privilege to read these beautifully crafted cards is extraordinary but also as she was being let into somebody's soul and sharing with them whatever emotion they invested into creating the card.'
The almost shocking posts that you would never of known if they weren't of written, shows that all people are the same everyone feels emotions and this has really intruiged me to produce interesting text of events that have effected these individuals lives.You can only describe these people as brave, faceless, nameless senders.
Further are more examples of Post Secret that caught my eye:
Georges De La Tour
Georges De la Tour was a French Baroque painter; he painted mostly religious scenes lit by candlelight. La Tour is best known for his nocturnal light effects, the only source of light in the painting is the candle, which is reflected in the mirror next to her.
The Penitent Magdalen circa 1643
The dark moody atmosphere that is suggested by this painting gives the viewer a mysterious touch as the woman is sitting up at night all alone. Most of the photograph is toned in black, suggesting it is night: she candlelight highlights certain aspects of her body, this has inspired me to create in my shoot of Image and Text, dark portraits of the models using only one light with a soft box to increase the shadows and silhouettes on there faces. With my portraits I wanted to keep them simplistic, but pay specific attention to the composition.
Also following on with the idea of using dark and eary features, to incorporate text into the image I had an interesting idea, of hiding the text within the image. Doing this by creating an off black (dark grey), so the viewer has to look for the text, like looking for the secrets hidden in there characteristics.
Also following on with the idea of using dark and eary features, to incorporate text into the image I had an interesting idea, of hiding the text within the image. Doing this by creating an off black (dark grey), so the viewer has to look for the text, like looking for the secrets hidden in there characteristics.
Here is another photograph that creates a dark, gloomy atmosphere but contrasts with the illuminating light: source of natural light in the centre.
Studio Equipment
Name: Soft Box
Effect: Makes the light softer and more evenly spread
Usage: Portrait photography and other types of commercial photography
Name: Umbrella
Effect: The umbrella spreads the light out and softens at the same time
Usage: Silver/Black umbrellas are perfect surface for portrait lighting, used as a glare shield and shade, Some umbrellas are shoot-through umbrellas, meaning the light goes through the umbrella and is diffused, rather than reflecting off the inside of the umbrella
Name: Beauty Dish
Effect: Softens shadows and diffuses light, the closer the umbrella to the light source the more contrast in the final outcome
Usage: A beauty dish is a light modifier for shooting people, and especially for showing up good skin texture, good bone structure. The pan keeps the light more focused and lets the light fall off quicker, This lets the photographer position the light carefully to create dramatic shadows.
Name: Snoot
Effect: Hard directional light on the subject
Usage: A snoot is an attachable accessorize that produces a small funneled ray of light; this allows you to aim it on specific parts of the subject. These may be conical, cylindrical, or rectangular in shape
Lighting
Lighting
I used Low Key lighting this is the use of a black background, usually lit by only one light source which casts shadows and only partially illuminates the whole subject; this creates a strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot.
I could have used High key Lighting this would have made the background of the subject white; if i wanted lighting that produces more light areas than shadows this would be the one to use, the subject would be seen in grays and with little contrast.
Studio Set-Up
I chose to create dark images with a dramatic approach i used 1 soft box half way between the foreground and background, this was because i wanted the light to be close on the right side of the models faces: to generate a split in contrasting.I have drawn a sketch of the studio equipment and composition i used:
Here is an example of the outcomes i produced in the studio, i am using these as my text and image finals:
Finalised Contact Sheet and Evaluation:
In my contact sheet i have included my final prints as well as all the photos i shoot in the studio, you can see the change from the original to the finalized photograph as the text has been incorporated.
To see the text i wanted it to be hidden so at first glance the viewer will not see it, looking closer each model has a caption beneath stating there own personal scar. I wanted the text to be just off black to suggest a dark secret, the photo accompanies this as you wouldn't guess that from there simplistic portraits, they would have these brave and destroying truths.
You can tell from some of the photos that i have adjusted the curves on photoshop to make the image brighter, to suggest a stronger visual quality on the skin.
There were many images to chose from but I decided to chose 4 that fitted well together. I wanted to create intricate details in there faces, and I have picked the ones I feel have suggested this in the strongest visual way.
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