Image Experimentation 13th February

I have recently been experimenting with shutter speeds and as you can see below, I achieved to capture some interesting and peculiar self- portraits, which I might go on to paint as part of my final major project. Although, after coming to the end of Unit 5, I have had some time to think about the work, which I have been producing and I have decided that I want to focus more on the photography side of things, as it is something I am passionate about and believe that I have been spending too much time studying the drawing and painting side of things.

Andy Warhol, is one of my favourite photographers, because I simply love his double exposure self- portraits as you can see below. The idea that the face grows more blurred as the series of images continue, really interests me.

Love this image of myself, as the way in which, the composition of my face turned out is really interesting and quirky.

I like the sepia effect, which my camera created for this image. Picture itself also shows some interesting movement.

I like the head movement displayed in this image, however not so keen on it as I feel like more of the facial features could be more focused. The white bar on the side of the image does add interest.

I like the fact that my face looks really deformed, and in some ways it’s definitely disturbing and that’s what makes it interesting.

I also want the opportunity to explore capturing some scenery, as well as portraits, as l feel that it would be really valuable to grow as a photographer in a variety of areas. Below are some pictures, which hopefully should capture dynamism and the movement of the individual in the image.

I prefer the set of two photos below, as they both create a suggestion of movement and the focal object appears to move away.

Above is the nearly- completed oil painting, which will be part of a three-piece series. In the picture, which I used as reference for this piece, the eyes were a darker, green colour, and so I felt that I could alter different features of my cousin’s face to create more of a foreign sort of look; to tie in with the work I will be doing.

As you can see below, I personally think that changing the eye colour can make differences to the piece as a whole.

 

Sketchbook Lecture – 4th January

We got the chance to sit in a lecture , so that we could learn about the best way to layout sketchbooks. Our lecturer told us that he liked the idea that identity is hidden when people wear helmets or masks etc. and so he wanted to explore that idea throughout history. He also began to create his own helmets, which were inspired by what he already knew. We also got the opportunity to have a look at some of his work, which I did take photos of, but unfortunately lost them. Overall, I have been inspired to continue working in my sketchbook and make sure it is aesthetically pleasing for my interviews. 

Oil painting progression – 4th January

I had a short amount of time available this morning and so I decided to work on my oil painting, which is slowly progressing as you can see below.

 

Simon Roberts – 14th December

We had a lecture with Simons Roberts, who is a photographer, who is also interested in design.Simon became amazed when he noticed how many people had cameras, when he came across an article in the observer and he began to circle all of the cameras, within pictures of massive crowds of people. Simon wanted to explore how photography was involved with the media, famous people and the news.

In Simon’s early career, he decided to visit the local boxing ring in Sheffield, and captured some images of a boxer called Daniel, who was 13 and was destined to be big in boxing. As Simon began to follow Daniel, he began to challenge the pre conceptions, which come with being a boxer, as Daniel also attended tap class, which one might not expect. With the photos which Simon took, he won the Young Photographer of the Year Award for the Guardian and began to write for them.

Later, in 1999, Simon travelled to the Nevada Desert, where he captured some stunning images of people setting off Fireworks, which became a big part of his career, as he is still selling the images today’s for magazines and book covers etc. Simon has also worked for magazines such as Time.

In 2003, Roberts decided that he wanted to move on from what he was currently doing and so he travelled to Russia, where he began to challenge the negative connotations of the country. Simon wanted to explore how Russia had portrayed the landscaper of Russia through paintings, which were often of quite ordinary scenes. All of Simon’s pictures were shot with one camera and one lense and a tripod; he wanted all of his pictures to be the people within the surroundings, which tell us about the time and place. Simon also took portraits of the people, which I thought were very interesting and they made me think about what it would be like if I was to live in Russia.

Simon also photographed a lot of the rooms, which he stayed in which were admittedly quite peculiar. Simon got into the society very well, as he also got the opportunity to live with lots of different families, who offered to accommodate him. Below are some of the images, which Simons captured during his travels to Russia.

Identical twins, Elena and Vera Karnova, Magadan, Far East Russia, August 2004

Abandoned warship in the Kola Bay, Murmansk. Northwestern Region, January 2005

Port officials, Vladivostok, Far East Russia, October 2004

Taxis cross the frozen Lena River, Yakutsk. Far East Russia, November 2004

Young Boy and Girl, dance competition

Simon wanted to try and get the best pictures possible and he would use film, which meant that he had no clue how his photos, were going to turn out. Simons returned back to Britain and decided to try and capture the Americanisation of our country. Simon bought a motor home, which wasn’t just a great place to sleep, but he was able to get on top of the caravan and create elevated pictures, which enabled him to look down on what was going on; setting the people into the landscape.

In 2001, Simon was approached by the government to take some images of political candidates for an Artist to paint for the general election and in 2010, Simon was also given the chance to travel across the U.K. following the election, which meant that he had access to all three leaders and so he decided that he would only spend one day with each leader as he wanted to capture more wider subjects surrounding the election.

Gordon Brown, Labour, Rochdale, 28th April 2010 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency/ Photograph taken in Rochdale constituency

David Cameron, Conservative, Spelsbury, 6th May 2010 Witney constituency

As you can see, Simon captured the image from quite a distance, and raised the whole perspective of what was really happening in the election to open people’s eyes and maybe add a sense of humour.

Overall, I thought Simon Roberts work was really interesting and insightful.

 

 

Surrealism Research

Surrealism was a movement, which began in the twenties, which began to challenge the rational and the irrational. Surrealism was centered  mainly Europe in Paris, and some of the most influential Artists of the twentieth century, became involved; including Many Ray and Salvador Dali.

The Surrealist artists sought to channel the unconscious as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Disdaining rationalism and literary realism, and powerfully influenced by psychoanalysis, the Surrealists believed the rational mind repressed the power of the imagination, weighting it down with taboos. Influenced also by Karl Marx, they hoped that the psyche had the power to reveal the contradictions in the everyday world and spur on revolution. Their emphasis on the power of personal imagination puts them in the tradition of romanticism, but unlike their forbears, they believed that revelations could be found on the street and in everyday life. The Surrealist impulse to tap the unconscious mind, and their interests in myth and primitivism, went on to shape many later movements, and the style remains influential to this today. (Taken from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm)

Below, I have included some old and modern surrealism pieces of work, which I found to be particularly interesting.

Tomato Sawada- December 12th

Recently, I have been looking at Tomoko Sawada, a photographer and Performance Artist, who has taken over 400 photos in a photo booth, to create a sort of School Yearbook. Tomoko was born in 1977, and has been included in numerous group shows in Japan Europe and the USA. In 2004 she was awarded the prestigious Kimura Ihei Memorial Photography Award for Young Japanese Photographer as well as the International Center of Photography Infinity Award in the category of Young Photographer. Sawada uses photography and techniques of performance art to explore ideas of identity, status, culture, individualism, and conformity through traditional and contemporary cultural methods of portraiture. Sawada’s photographs are each part of a themed photo series in which she makes use of make-up and costume to dramatically alter her identity, such that each photograph appears to represent a different individual or group of individuals, when all subjects are Sawada herself.

As you can see above Sawada also takes Class Portraits and if you look carefully, all the different students are of the same person; Sawada. Personally, I really like the work and it’s amazing how Sawada changes her appearance so dramatically that you can’t tell the pictures have all been taken of the same person.

As you can see, the sheer scale of the pictures, which Sawada has took is immense

Nearly Completed Oil Painting-7th December

I have nearly completed one of my oil paintings as you can see below, which will be part of a series, which is based around the sudden change of emotions, after having a look at Tomoko Sawada and some other artists, whose work is part of the V&A Collection.

I am unsure about whether I will add a background colour, which could represent each mood of each painting.

Image of my Painting using the scanner

Michael Eden-30th November

An artist, called Michael Eden came to talk about some of the pieces he has created during his professional career. Michael attended QUEGS, where most students went on to study politics and business, however Michael decided that he wanted to combine the subjects, Biology and Art but unfortunately this was not a possibility and so he left. Michael came to Blackburn College to study his foundation, where he found so much potential in everything he saw.

Michael then went to Leeds Politechnic, where he studied 3D design. At Leeds, he decided that he liked the idea of following things through and seeing the end process, however the teachers did not like this idea and so after a year, Michael left.

Michael joined a conservation society in the Lakes  and continued with forestry and garden work, after he decided that he didn’t want to go back to study. Whilst living in the Lake District, Michael met his wife called Vickie, who ran a pottery business. Over the years, he and Vickie supplied pottery to Habitat and other big companies.

After coming back from travelling, Michael was asked to write a book, which then led onto creating a gallery, and so this gave him the perfect opportunity to explore geometry and challenge that perception of what one might expect to see.

For practical reasons, Michael created a website to display his work and show prices, and this gave Michael the chance to learn how to write code, which was completely different to creating pottery, as the code had to be correct for it to work and be effective. From learning code, Michael realised that he could make anything and so he went to study at the Royal College of Art, so that he could explore the world of code, combined with pottery more thoroughly.

After creating a piece of ceramic on Cad/Cam, Michael created a real-life’s model for the first time, which encouraged him to try and “create the impossible”. Michael was greately inspired by Wedgewood, a man, who was an innovator for the pottery world and this inspired him to try and create a piece of pottery using 3D printing,  which appeared to have been constructed from bones; playing on the idea of “Bone China”.

After putting on an exhibition, with the Royal College of Art, he got offered to display his work in numerous galleries, and went onto create a piece, which was based around everyday life. Michael continued to go on and create more dramatic and bold pieces , which were based around the distortion of reality and technology in todays’s society.

Below I have inserted some of my favourite pieces of work, by Michael, which were both 3D printed.