United Colours Of Benetton

At the beginning of the lesson we looked at the picture above and briefly analysed it for approximately 10 seconds. Our thoughts of the picture were: it may have a multicultural subject; it has a very explicit context and the faces of the two models are obscured as we cannot see them. Also, due to the fact that we cannot see their faces it seems as if their identity is hidden. 

However, when we observed it again for approximately 5 minutes our views on the image changed as we were then able to thing in-depth the purpose for the composition, colours and  objects (models) used, as well as the clothing. We noticed that there was a high contrast in the two main colours used as a black woman was used and a white baby being breast-fed by her, which is unusual as they are clearly are different races. This concept of the picture made me feel quite confused as I didn't understand the subjective points of the image straight away. 

As we all spoke about the picture as a class I begun to understand that the colour of the woman's clothing was a main aspect of the image as it represents the united colours of Benetton. The use of the colour red symbolising united colours links to the composition of the models; representing support, and a strong connection between the woman and child, and two different races. 

AS-A2 Introduction

1. What goals can you set yourself for this project?
I intend to complete all set work by the deadline and research the variety of photographers to gain my knowledge on the subject. 

2. What are you going to do to meet the requirements of this project?
I will complete work by the deadline date set, and experiment with techniques and materials inspired by the artists shown in the brief.

Photograms

Man Ray and Moholy Nagy are both photographers that have inspired me to create photograms as a part of my final outcome.

I will create my photograms by placing objects onto the paper and exposing it to light on the enlarger. Once this is done I will place the paper into three different chemicals; developer; stop; fix. I intend on using jewellery to make photograms as I have now decided to focus on 'hands and jewellery' for my final outcome. Once I have made basic photograms I will experiment with different techniques and materials; placing a hand made negative into the enlarger, moving the objects, or moving my hand over the paper and objects during the exposure time.

Man Ray is a photographer who created this type of photography; photograms. When he first developed them he named them 'Rayographs'. He discovered this in 1921 in Paris whilst experimenting in the darkroom whilst developing images, and accidently left an object on a piece of paper whilst being exposed to the light.

A photogram made by Man Ray:

I believe that this picture was created using a role of film, aswell as a rubber band on the top left. The way that the film is coiled creates an amazing effect as it shows a contrast with the colours grey, black and white. 


Moholy Nagy is an artist who also experimented on photograms. He took on a large amount of design jobs and in 1927-1929 he became an editor of the art and photography department of a magazine made in Europe named International Revue. He was commonly known as one of the 'fathers' of light art as he worked on doing light sculptures and moving sculptures. As he was such a great artist, when he died of leukaemia in 1946, Budapest named a university after him in his honour; Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design.

A photogram made by Moholy Nagy:

This image by Moholy Nagy is very interesting in comparison to the picture above by Man Ray. This is due to the fact that Moholy has also used a role of film, but has captured the image differently. He has stretched out the role of film more which allows there to be more white and black rather than grey aswell. I also believe that he used a lower appeture to allow more light onto the object and paper, which helps the white colour show.

Sigmar Polke

Sigmar Polke was a German painter and photographer (13 February 1941 - 10 June 2010). He was an artist who experimented with a variety of styles, subjects and materials. In the 1970s he focused on photography and then concentrated on painting 10 years later. The New York Observer once said: 'Polke used his camera like a sketchbook; and he treated his photos like paintings, experimenting with, altering or deliberately bungling the development process to create unusual visual effects. Most of his prints are creased and stained. Everything seems unfinished - not in the sense of lacking anything, but in the sense of still being in play'.

I don't think that this experimentation has any meaning as it seems that Sigmar Polke has intentionally made it look abstract, which is the purpose of placing different materials onto the photo paper during exposure. Although the picture has no meaning, it clearly has been planned as there are different materials of different textures that has been placed certain places of the paper. 

This experiment has been done by using an SLR camera to take the photographs as well as a darkroom to experiment different techniques; materials and exposures. 

My photography Pinterest Board

Visit to the Institute of Contemporary Arts

Juergen Teller

On the 13th March 2013 I travelled to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, in London to observe the Juergen Teller's gallery; 'Woo!' As I entered the gallery I noticed three pictures straight away;

I noticed these pictures due to their positioning and large scale in the first room of the gallery. My initial response to the pictures wasn't shock, but I would say I was quite surprised at the content displayed in the pictures. The pictures seemed very intimate in more than one way; the fact that the model (Vivienne Westwood) has allowed Juergen Teller to photograph her without any clothes on presents an intimate relationship between them  both. Also, the display can also be seen as intimate to the public due to the explicit nature of the images. However, the scale of the images takes away the intimacy of the display as they are so large so that we notice them.  

I believe that all of the photos displayed in Jeurgen's gallery were very personal as the photos display a sort of hidden meaning behind the model used, which is what I think was the purpose of his exhibition. (This relates to theme; Cover and Obscure). As he has mentioned in a video that he didn't want to be restrained, or involved with any dress code shows that he wanted to portray very personal photos. 

I like the way Juergen Teller has thought about the display and scale of the photos within the gallery; the large scale of the photos that should be kept hidden/covert are exposed which shows that Jeurgen Teller has brought the covert and obscure out in the obvious. 



Man Ray

This is one of Man Rays photos that was displayed in the National Portrait Gallery that I visited. 

Man Ray was a modernist artist from America, born on August 27 1890 and died on November 18 1976 and took this photo in 1929. He spent most of his career in Paris and took part in the Dada and Surrealist movements. Although he produced work using a variety of media, he considered himself a painter. He was well known for his 'avant-garde' photography as well as his fashion and art photography. He is also known for his photograms which he personally named 'Rayographs'. This is a technique that I have been inspired by to use for my final outcome. 

Initial Ideas

Idea 1:
Using Hans Peter Feldmann and his photo collections as an inspiration, I will use this theme as one of my initial ideas. I will explore this theme in two different ways using different 'ideas' of obscurity and covertness. I intend on using footwear for my first idea where I will take photos of different trainers at different angles. This will relate to the theme of covert and obscure as the footwear belongs to someone but looking at the photo we are unaware of who it belongs to, therefore the owner is hidden. Another idea that I will use is taking pictures of facial features; mouths and eyes only, rather than the whole face. This will make the model seem covert and obscured as the rest of her body will be unseen and left unknown, while only a section of their faces will be revealed.

Inspiration photos:

Collage made by Hans Peter Feldmann

Idea 2:
Keith Piper and his 'Go West Young Man' has inspired me to explore the theme: Quest To Find Truth using my mother. Throughout this project he has created collages using photos revealing the truth behind something. I will use his ideas to take pictures of my mum doing certain things (cooking and reading), and modelling with specific possessions of her own (jewellery) to reveal the kind of person she is. Using these pictures I will create a collage. 


Inspiration photo:

Image created by Keith Piper

Idea 3:
Using Sannah Kvist's theme of 'All I Own' I will use my sister as a model and take pictures of her surrounded by her belongings to visually reveal the person that she is. I can develop this idea using specific objects that my sister owns to make photograms. I think that creating photograms would be a better way to develop a final outcome compared to my first idea using this theme. This is because a photogram of someones belongings can seem obscure as the technique allows the object to look abstract and keeps the person covert.

Inspiration photo: