Recreation Photo

My brother yarning became a perfect opportunity to create an image similar to those of Christian Thompson. I tried to mimic Thompson's plain background with a person wearing a natural wreath of some sort on his head. I also tried to make it a bit more comical, similar to thompson's work by catching my brother during a yawn. 

Historical Photographer

Henry Peach Robinson

• oil painting at Royal academy of art
• Worked at a studio in Leamington Spa, selling portraits. 
• Created another studio in Kent
• limitations in photography lead Robinson to combine painting and photography, which gained fame in his work
• Most famous work was "Fading Away"
• Fading away was a photo of a girl dying of tusrburculousis at age five and the families sadness, controversial to many
• 1862 Robinson was elected to serve on the Council of the Photographic Society
•  particularly known for his combination printing, he also produced a number of pictorial photographs of woodland and other scenes.

Contemporary Artist

Christian Thompson

• Born 1978, Gawler, South Australia.
• Father in Military, lived in various places around South Austrailia
• Lives / works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Southern Queensland 
• Honors in Fine Art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
• He has presented his work in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally

Blog Prompt #23

1. In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?

      In many ways we are born with traits that form our identity. Our appearances, talents, and health are determined by our genetics which for many form their identity. However, the choices we make in life also "construct" who we are. Examples of this would include who we surround ourselves with, what schools we attend, and where we choose to live. 

2. Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.

      Our culture and social environments are constructed by choosing the people you surround yourself with as well as the places you decide to live.

3. Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.

     As previously stated, your physical environment is constructed by choosing the place in which you live. Although your environment is also created by how you decorate your space. Much can be said about the person by looking at the place they live in. For example, my house is decorated very eclectically. My dad has traveled a lot and brings back a lot of interesting items. How we have decorated our house reveals that my dad and family values interesting items over having a cohesively decorated home.

4. In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?

       I think what is constructed/fabricated is real. Though we have created a life for ourselves it 

       is very much real. Life is what we make of it and it is real.

5. Describe a narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. A narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” ( Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler , 34).

      A narrative to be created that would be interesting is people hanging out in the kitchen. I would use this because in our family we spend most of our time in that room. I'm not sure if it is the food that makes us gather or the counter where we can do homework, but it seems to be the place where everyone spends the most time.  Photos taken of our family hanging out in a casual setting in our house would be a cool photo to be documented. One day when were all a lot older it will bring back some good memories of a casual day in the Yee home.

6. Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34).

      If I were to do this I may take a more symbolic approach and use still objects such as chairs or other objects to represent people. Many artists use objects to represent a bigger picture. I'm not sure exactly what I would do, but I like the use of symbolism in photos.

Assignment 4

I really liked the lighting in this image. The orange glow in the corner created a dynamic effect on the green wall. I also didn't see the potential in this image until after I cropped it.                                                    

 

This is a picture of a knitting machine found in one of the Apparel classrooms at Michigan State. I liked how the center of the image is focused while the rest of the image is blurred. I didn't edit this image at all, the colors were already how I wanted them to be. 

I liked the lines in this image. The wall has  subtle lines running down it. The corner also provides movement down the wall. The contrasting colors of the wall and the dress created a nice color palette. I was especially proud of this time because I made the dress. 

 

Once again, my obsession with shoes comes into play with this image. I placed the shoes on a mirror to create a reflection. I was happy with how the lighting turned out. 

If I were to take these images to the next level I would change the third image with the portrait shot of my dress. I would play with the lighting and maybe make it in black and white. I would also like to find a more interesting location to take fashionable images. 

The other change I would have made would be more careful printing. Most of my issues with this assignment was carelessness in printing. I chopped off the images unevenly and noticed flaws once they were printed. Next time Ill be much more prepared.

Blog Prompt #22

It was interesting to see the abilities of the new CGI technology. It gives a new perspective to people about what is real and what isn't. Things are never what they seem

It was also cool to see the amount of work put into creating something completely new. Though the new technology gives people the ability to create anything and everything digitally there is a lot of work that goes into that process

Recreation

 

I recreated an advertisement for the new coach shoes.

I liked the bright color combination in this add

I also like an excuse to shop for shoes

Contemporary Artist

Ryan McGinley

Born October 1977

American Living in New York City

Started photography career in 1998

2003 youngest artist to have solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art

Photographer of the year in 2003 (Deemed by American Photo Magazine)

Much of his work is of nude young individuals.

This collection he has I found on Sweet Station with the link provided with the assignment I liked the youthfulness along with style shown in these images

Historical Photographer

http://www.modernisminc.com/artists/Erwin_BLUMENFELD/

Erwin Blumenfeld

Born in Berlin on Jan 26, 1897

Moved to Paris in 1936 where he gained fame for his nude photography

His work has been published in many magazines including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Look and Life.


In WW2 he interned as a photographer for France but was allowed to go to New York in 1941

He also wrote a biography entitled in English as "Eye to I"

Blog Prompt #16-18

I thought I posted this but I accidently left it as a draft..... better late then never?

“I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.” Duane Michals

  

I like this quote because it emphasizes the importance of creativity. So much of the world is consumed on what they can see feel and touch, which can sometimes restrict us creatively. Michals appeals and challenges artists to focus on the unknown rather than relying on sight.

“Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.” Berenice Abbott

Abbott has an interesting opinion on the permanency of photographs. She states that once the photo has been taken it immediately becomes part of the past. I agree with Abbott, though photos can attempt to be recreated it is difficult/near impossible to take the same photo twice. In class, we have been asked to make a recreation of a memory. Though images are similar to the time period they are referring to, they tend to not emulate the memory to the fullest. Photos are past after they have been captured, that's what makes photography so unique - it can capture time.

 “I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways.” Duane Michals

Michals has direct view of what art and photography should be. He wants the photo to have a purpose to it. He wants the artwork to affect the person who views it by enlightening them in some way.

I disagree with Michals. I think that art always has an effect on someone. I don’t think that art can necessarily be something everyone already knows. To each his own when it comes to art. What one person gets out of an image another may get something completely different. So the art he complains about is nonexistent.

Blog Prompt #21

A. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “news”-related photographs.

I looked up the Detroit News Website as a referance to this question and found that most of the pictures had a variety of people in them. In each photo there were people that demonstrated a certain emotion. All of the photos I saw were candid, none seemed posed. The photos illustrated the stories presented with each article

B. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “snapshots”, including family photographs, cell-phone shots, photos posted to facebook,

Most photos on facebook seem posed. The photos seem to be taken in times of leisure, such as going to the bar, on vacation, or group settings. The snapshots are taken when people are having a good time. Not so much everyday life but when exciting fun things are happening.

C. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of advertisement photographs, including fashion photography, product photography, etc

Advertisement photographs focus on selling a product. The people posed in the photos tend to be beautiful, healthy and happy people. The product is ussually the center of attention and vibrant colors and poses help to sell the product.

D. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of film/movie and television stills.

Again, like adversements films and movies tend to highlight aspects of people that are exciting and entertaining. Ussually beautiful and fit people are the focus of the film. However, the story influences many how the characters may dress and look in films. Though generally actressess and actors are presented as beautiful people there are exceptions to benefit the quality of the film.

E. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of yearbook photos, senior pictures, and team/club/sports group shots.
In these photographs everything seems staged. I have had many yearbook pictures taken of me over the years and I know that the experience is usually quick, staged and on to the next person. This type of photography doesnt always catch my best side and the photo looks very posed.

F. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of stock images. http://www.corbisimages.com/ http://www.gettyimages.com/
I wasn't sure what stock images were. After looking at both these websites I was more confused. I found various shots of celebrities and then some cartoonish images. Seeing no similarities I looked up the definition and learned that stock images are images that can be used by artists to create something new.

G. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of fashion photography.
Fashion photography usually focuses on the innovation of clothing. The people in the photos are usually beautiful and well put together however the unique thing about fashion is the ability to change someone's view of beauty. For example I was looking at some advertisements in vogue and many featured a young woman with long gray hair. Though the image was different and most young girls strive to avoid gray hair the images were beautiful in there own way.

H. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of paparazzi shots or celebrity photographs.
Paparazzi shots capture a celebrity in their day to day life. Some photographers find them at their worst while others find celebs looking glamourous. Either way paparazzi shoot to take photos that are candid.

Assignment 3

 

To Grandmothers house we go

I love my grandma's living room. All the furniture has a very angular look to it. The coach and table make long lines which parallels the rectangular rug. This living room serves as more of a showpiece in my grandma's house. I don't have a single memory of my family every sitting or having a conversation while in this room. Just down the hall is the real living room, where the cushy coach and stained coffee reside.

 

Framework

I found this photo interesting mainly because of the picture on the wall. In most of the images on my contact sheet I cut out that picture as well as any other misalliances objects, but in this photo the framework of the shot provides an interesting dynamic. It is almost like a picture looking into another picture, it creates an almost surreal effect that I liked.

 

Peacock Fantasy

  I didn't print this image out, but Sarah reveled to me how interesting this photo was. The balloon on the left hand side of the photo, which I had originally cropped out creates an interesting dynamic in the scene. 

I viewed the balloon as a flaw in the photo. I attended a fashion show and the girl previous to the girl in the shot wore a giant balloon dress. During her walk down the runway she lost one of her balloons leaving it stranded in the center of the floor. The balloon was distracting during the show and when one of the models kicked the balloon off the floor the crowd cheered.

My point is I know the story behind the balloon. So the balloon was not interesting to me, in fact, it bothered me more than anything. I didn't see the photo as a single shot, not knowing the purpose of the balloon or how it got there makes the photo more dynamic.

 

Posed 

Here is the photo that I printed. It is the cropped version of the previous shot and was my original intent when photographing the model. The balloon turned out to be a happy accident.

 

the Grand Entrance  

In this image I changed the clarity to create the look of an 'old photo'. The expression on the girls face along with the big curtains reminded me of old plays. The contrasting element to this shot is the fashion forward dress she is wearing. The spikes piercing out of the gown create interest within the frame.