Good/Bad Presentation

After out lecture with Caroline Malloy we went to The Herbert gallery where we were given the task to find 2 ways of presentation and explain why one works and why one doesn’t.

 

This way of presentation I feel works really well because it is really colourful and eye catching. The audience is instantly drawn to this because of the colours as well as this you can also twist the blocks which makes it more interesting as it is more interactive.

 

This way of presentation was an interesting and creative way to present. However these puppets were hanging from the ceiling which made it quite difficult to notice. As they are at such a high level not many people were able to see the details of these puppets.

 

Finally I used this way of presentation as inspiration for my own work, I had in my mind that I wanted to use newspaper articles in my work and had thought about laying it out in this type of style. After seeing this I realised that it would work for my assignment.

Editing Down Process

We were given a lecture on how to edit down our work, and were given some questions to think about;

What photos will be included?

Is it a series or separate images?

If it’s a series what order do they go in?

After this we were then given photocopies form a book and asked to edit them down to see what we would include in what order and see how it compared to the book.

To get my final images I went home to soham for four days to photograph the surroundings of where I live. I took 4 films with me, one was a Ilford HP5 125 and the other three were Ilford HP5 400, all with 36 exposures. After shooting all 4 films in different areas of my town, when I returned to Coventry I developed all four of them and made contact sheets, I wrote down all of the ones that I could possibly use as finals and then edited them down to have 10 final images, 5 in a landscape format and 5 in a portrait landscape all on 5×7 Ilford Pearl (semi-matt) finish.

Using the Nikon 900ED Scanning Trays 35mm

As part of assignment one I used the Nikon scanners to scan a few prints onto the computers.

Below is a small collection of some of my images;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploitation Presentation

For part of this first module we were given an assignment which was a 10 minute presentation, on a theme in which we had been assigned as well as photographers we were given to research.

After researching all six of the photographers I chose that Larry Clark and Sally Mann exploited more in my opinion.

During my presentation I argued the point that Sally Mann exploited her children through her work. She used them as a benefit to her work which benefitted her greatly financially. Her images take her children’s’ childhood’s and corrupt them. I think how she presented her children through her photographs was unfair on them, they were all under the age of 10. For example her photo of Jessie’s cut was taken of Mann’s daughter and published in 1985. I think the photo make the audience interpret it incorrectly, and the way Mann has photographed makes it appear as if her daughter is in pain and suffering when actually she is just getting stitches. I argued this is full exploitation as her children aren’t old enough to understand and can’t fully give their opinion on the work their mother is producing.

I then juxtaposed my argument  for Larry Clark, I argued that yes his photos are highly explicit but did he take these photographs to  enlighten the world to what was happening with the youth in America at this time and how they get caught up in drugs violence and sex. His book Tulsa eploited the truth to the nation as the truth shocked them. I argued along side him saying that if he didn’t photograph the harsh topic and reality would the world actually realise how young people spend their time?

 

 

 

 

 

Critical Reflection of Summer Task

Over the summer we were given the task to photograph as if the most important person in our life. I chose my father, this is because we have over come difficulties within our family together, which initially made us grow apart after being the parent i was closest to for 16 years. When I left for university I felt as if me and my dad had just rebuilt our relationship almost back to where it was originally, and then I moved away which was difficult.  I decided that I needed to show his existence so photographed evidence that he was there from the night before. I feel the project went well for a first attempt as I had never done that style of photography before. I usually focused on portraits, so it was challenging. I attempted different angles and shutter speeds as well as different lights. I found that the lighter photos worked better and the ones where i played with the light were far more effective.

I feel that over all as a project it did work quite well, I was able to capture items and objects around the house that really represented my dad and where he had been the day before throughout our home. I attempted to take the ordinary and everyday and photograph it to make it interesting. I think some shots did this well, and some of what i captured I wouldn’t have other wise thought about. The fact I had to photograph as if he left proved challenging as I found it difficult to find things that could be evidence.

Overall I think my project was fairly successful. If I was to do the project again I would experiment more, and think about the angles more out of the box. After the lecture about portraiture I would also try out the fact that people don’t have to be in the photo but photograph something special and important to them. I would photograph things that really represent my father and not just of things that he left behind, for example his wedding ring and his car which would be an interesting object to photograph up close. As well as photos of around that house which he is involved in. To give more of an in sight into his life I would also go to his accountancy office which he owns a short walk from my house in Soham high street. I would go here as he spends a lot of time working, and works very hard at what he does. He spends up to about 16 hours in there some days so it would have been an interesting aspect to the project seeing how he had left his office the night before after a long day there. He also has items at his office which represent his family and where they are form, for example old family portraits as well as memorabilia from Stoke City FC as that is where my grandfather was from and has been a major part of my dad’s childhood.

Output Considerations

This week we had a lecture about what we should consider when printing finals and how we may present them.

Format –

-Large or small?

-What will suit the work?

-All portrait, all landscape or a mix of the two?

-Do you crop your images?

-Do you put them in a portfolio?

Size-

-Large or small paper size? 5×7, 8×10 etc

-With borders?

-Or borderless?

Finish-

-Matt

-Semi matt

-Gloss

Presentation-

-Mounted?

-In a book?

-In a portfolio?

-Image and text?

-Magazines?

-Portfolio boxes?

-Concertina sketch book?

I considered all of these when printing my photos and went for a semi matt pearl finish on my photos and had an equal mix of both portrait and landscape photos and am thinking about mounting them on black mount board bordered by printed news articles form my home town of Soham. As well as this i chose a slight variation in size to represent the imperfections Soham has and printed them all borderless.

We then had another lecture on presentation from a different lecturer, and it made me think about it more, and if the presentation works or doesn’t work and if it is appropriate to the project.

Below is a copy of the notes i took during the lecture and the questions i considered;

-Traditional exhibit, controls how your audience see it.

Think about sequencing, what is put next to each other

Should be sequenced well, do they all fit as a series. Do they make sense to each other?

Rinco Kawauchi everyday seen in a poetic way. Takes the ordinary and makes it interesting.

Is presentation appropriate for the work?

Tom hunter documented a squat in hackney. Squatting was considered anti social at the time. Describes as a ghetto.

Alternative presentation can be appropriate and work

How can you control how the viewer sees your work?

Does size matter?

Presentation effects how you view an image.

Use text and images?

Barbra crouger.

Jillian wearing.

Does which image you choose matter?

What do you want the audience to know?

Do the photographs need a specific viewing content?

 

Arenes festival.

Eglise Dominicans- Sophie calle the last thing I saw before I went blind

Gregorie Alexandre- world in a white cube

Do you always need to be in a portrait for it to make sense?

Sometimes the surrounding and atmosphere can completely distract the viewer from the photographs themselves and the story gets lost within the environment.

 

After this lecture i decided that I wanted a white canvas to present my work on. I bought a deep frame white canvas and stuck a variety of news articles straight on to it and then collaged the photographs over the top of this.

 

Fine Art Is…

Our lecture on fine art made us think about what it actually is and how different people interpret it.

Art is in a cycle, one artist produces something, and then other artists see this work and respond with their own interpretation on it. Photographers also respond to artists work as photography has recently been labeled as art.

Fine art is;

‘The use of skill and imagination in the creation

of aesthetic objects, environments or

experiences that can be shared

with other’

 

We were then introduced to many forms of art and some of the origins of art;

Aboriginal- Some of the earliest art that is traceable. They are the earliest traces of art to have been discovered. The aborigines always painted pictures so they could tell stories of their culture and life through them.

 

 

Jimmy Pike- Was and aboriginal painter. He was a famous contempory artist. As a child he grew up in the deserts of Africa and didn’t even know white culture existed. Pike spent a lot of time in prison for murder, as in his culture it was common to fight over a girl and the fight ended when one of the men was killed. While he was in prison the physiologist taught him about culture.

 

 

Chris Ofili-  Uses paint and canvas to create painting as well as using elephant dung in his work. He did a painting titled The Virgin Mary. It was so controversial that it was banned from being shown in America, in one gallery they were even going to remove the funding of the showing of his piece.

 

Yinka Shonibare- He was quite a controversial photographer who took photos of faking death. Some of which were based on paintings.

 

John Everett Millais- Painted the famous painting of Ophelia in 1851. At this time he got a lot of influence from his culture, and  music, weaving, crafts and metal work were all considered to be fine art. The king would commission a photo of him as he wanted the photo to be circulated so people knew his face.

 

Tom Hunter- re interprets photos/paintings in a modern way. Was the first photographer to be exhibited at the National Gallery, which caused a massive controversy. He re created paintings through photographs, he also re creates stories and re tells contempory stories. He is a photographer based in Hackney London, and photographs the story of him and his community.

 

 

Fine Art Is…

 

What is a portrait?

During this lecture we split off in small groups to discuss the following questions and responses;

What do you think a portrait is?

-An image that de-picks a person – A representation of a person – It doesn’t have to be a person (could be an animal etc) – Can be a face – Can be an essence of a person – A pictures of something which identifies the person

Where are they found?

– Family albums – Advertisements – Publications – Social Media – Books – ID Cards

Who commissions then and why?

– The family of the person – A company -A Brand – The person – Newspapers for a story – The photographer – A band – Depending on the commissioner dictates the usefulness of the portrait

What should a portrait include/exclude?

Include- The subject – An identity – Can be something that describes/represents the identity

Exclude- The person doesn’t always have to be in it

 Portrait definition from dictionary.com

noun

1.

a likeness of a person, especially of the face, as a painting,drawing,

or photograph: a gallery of family portraits.

2.

a verbal picture or description, usually of a person: abiography

that provides a fascinating portrait of an 18th-centuryrogue.

Definition from Wikipedia

A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.

Historically portrait was used for 2 reasons;

-As forms of identity or surveillance

– As a remembrance generally used to flatter, some people even chose who they wanted to marry through paintings.

Irving Penn

Penn was an American photographer, mainly famous for his fashion, portraits, and still life. His work has been exhibited internationally and he even worked for Vogue Magazine.

After looking at

Nicholas Nixon

Nixon was a name that came up during the lecture, I was really interested by his work, he chose to take photos of his wife and her three sisters once a year for 25 years. Although they look quite simple photographs I personally think that the series is a very interesting topic.

 

 

We were then sent out in small groups to capture each others portraits using the information about what a portrait is;

 

 

 

What is a photograph?

This week we had a lecture about the question what is a photograph? The notes I made during the lecture made me think about what actually is it i’m taking the photo of? why do i cut the frame where I do? one of the things that really stuck in my mind was, what goes in the frame and what is left out?

A photograph is;

– It yields a trace of the world

– It captures the world two dimensionally

– It can be in colour or monotone

-Photographs are fixed in time, it has a time, place and age. The photograph ages

– It can be used or seen as a work of art

– Photographs don’t lie, they tell the honest truth and you can not lie with them

– As a photographer you flatten the world

– Steven Shaw ‘photographers don’t compose images, they solve problems. They see a visual problem and solve it with a photograph’

– Photos take a moment and capture the truth and beauty

As well as all this we thought about how people see photographs, it depends on its content and who is viewing it to give it a meaning to everyone. How you see the photo will dictate the meaning of it and how you view it and its context will alter this factor.

During the lecture the phrase ‘Tell me about the picture’ it made you think about;

-What do you see?

– Is it portrait/landscape?

– What are the dimension?

-Is it colour or black and white?

-What fills the frame?

-What else is in the frame?

-What is the angle like?

-What is the lighting?

-What is the composition like?

-What does the image denote

-What is literally there?

-What is the connotation?

-how was it taken?

-Medium format?

-Digital or film?

This photo was taken by Helen Nevitt, one of the photographers who we spoke about during the lecture. She didn’t everything about her photographs, but she responded to a situation when she saw it and captured the moment. As a photographer you must think of an image in your head and respond when you see that image before you. In this photograph, the relationships are created through photography and aren’t actually there. Photography can create fiction within the real world.

Homage to a precious object