Monday 28 November 2011
Sunday 27 November 2011
First Sequence
Simply a first experiment with composition and technique, rather than subject and meaning.
Artist Study: Duane Michals - Photo sequence / Narrative
"With me it's all been about thinking. I don't walk around with a camera waiting for something to take a picture of. I never did. Essentially, I've always been introspective, and it's always been there, the notion that the mind is the source of everything" (Duane Michals)
I picked this quote out specifically from "The Essential Duane Michals, 1997" as it contrasts to Nan Goldins philosophy and approach to photography totally. Michals seems to be much more systematic and set up. This contrast is interesting and shows artists working from different ends of the spectrum.
I have always enjoyed Michals photo sequence photography and find it very clever indeed. He was of inspiration to my project also last year, and i admire how clever he can be, when perhaps it could be impossible to tell the story he manages to in one image, in a photo sequence between 3- 20 photos, presented as one frame. His work makes innovative use of photo sequence often incorporating test to examine emotion and philosiphy. My next stage is to now experiment in such a way. I also like his persistent use of black and white photography. I feel some images work with black and white, where others will benefit more with colour, so i am not going to set any rules regarding black and white or colour just yet..
Some examples , the first one being my favourite, very clever. (Camera has stayed still)
Second one quite creepy, yet an interesting cryptic.
I picked this quote out specifically from "The Essential Duane Michals, 1997" as it contrasts to Nan Goldins philosophy and approach to photography totally. Michals seems to be much more systematic and set up. This contrast is interesting and shows artists working from different ends of the spectrum.
I have always enjoyed Michals photo sequence photography and find it very clever indeed. He was of inspiration to my project also last year, and i admire how clever he can be, when perhaps it could be impossible to tell the story he manages to in one image, in a photo sequence between 3- 20 photos, presented as one frame. His work makes innovative use of photo sequence often incorporating test to examine emotion and philosiphy. My next stage is to now experiment in such a way. I also like his persistent use of black and white photography. I feel some images work with black and white, where others will benefit more with colour, so i am not going to set any rules regarding black and white or colour just yet..
Some examples , the first one being my favourite, very clever. (Camera has stayed still)
Artist Study: Nan Goldin- Subject/ presentation
Recently pin pointing my subject area as being someone or something close to me in which to highlight, and show how they or it spends or uses their time.
Nan Goldin is an artist who i have particularly warmed to.
From a middle class Jewish family with parents whose ideas were moderately liberal and progressive. Her first show was based on her photographic journeys among her city's gay and transsexual communities. She began documenting the post-punk new-wave music scene, along with the city's vibrant, post-Stonewall gay subculture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was drawn especially to the Bowery's hard-drug subculture.
These snapshot aesthetic images depict drug use, violent, aggressive couples and autobiographical moments. Most of her Ballad subjects were dead by the 1990s, lost either to drug overdose or AIDS; this tally included close friends and often-photographed subjects.
Goldin's work is most often presented in the form of a slideshow, and has been shown at film festivals; her most famous being a 45 minute show in which 800 pictures are displayed. I like how this photography is displayed being continuos and narrative.
Critics have said she glamorises heriowin use, yet i find their suggestions hard to believe seeing as her subjects within her works showing drug use from back then are now dead.
Strong messages are shown in her work which i love, and the rawness and realistic feelings seen visually in her work make it all that much more interesting. I feel as though i would like to document my friends and people and places close to me in such a way, showing messages through shorter more specific snippets of time, showing a time lapse in a way that i ultimately perceive them, as i have the power to construct the final images in the way i want to. YET i will do this fairly and honestly. I would then maybe like to construct images of how i feel they may perceive me. The project is on going..
Below, a few examples from Goldin's earlier work, inspiration to me.
Nan Goldin is an artist who i have particularly warmed to.
From a middle class Jewish family with parents whose ideas were moderately liberal and progressive. Her first show was based on her photographic journeys among her city's gay and transsexual communities. She began documenting the post-punk new-wave music scene, along with the city's vibrant, post-Stonewall gay subculture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was drawn especially to the Bowery's hard-drug subculture.
These snapshot aesthetic images depict drug use, violent, aggressive couples and autobiographical moments. Most of her Ballad subjects were dead by the 1990s, lost either to drug overdose or AIDS; this tally included close friends and often-photographed subjects.
Goldin's work is most often presented in the form of a slideshow, and has been shown at film festivals; her most famous being a 45 minute show in which 800 pictures are displayed. I like how this photography is displayed being continuos and narrative.
Critics have said she glamorises heriowin use, yet i find their suggestions hard to believe seeing as her subjects within her works showing drug use from back then are now dead.
Strong messages are shown in her work which i love, and the rawness and realistic feelings seen visually in her work make it all that much more interesting. I feel as though i would like to document my friends and people and places close to me in such a way, showing messages through shorter more specific snippets of time, showing a time lapse in a way that i ultimately perceive them, as i have the power to construct the final images in the way i want to. YET i will do this fairly and honestly. I would then maybe like to construct images of how i feel they may perceive me. The project is on going..
Below, a few examples from Goldin's earlier work, inspiration to me.
"Chronos" (Ron Fricke)
"I feel that my work has evolved through Koyaanisqatsi, Chronos and Baraka. Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal" (Fricke)
I found Chronos (1985) a fascinating and beautiful film to watch. So far in my research in my opinion this is time-lapse shown at its mightiest , With the film locations at their most beautifulest and in all their glory. Its fascinating how stagnant the atmosphere is in the more natural and untouched locations such as the rocky mountains and the Egyptian tombs with cast shadow showing the only main form of change visually, in contrast to the sudden switch of city life, displaying it as the rat race it really is. The change in non diegetic sound conveys this busy and hectic atmosphere very well, and puts in to perspective how different parts of the world really are, despite time being an unavoidable factor.
My particular favourite part shows an audience and performance at a London Theatre. The performers are made to look almost ghostly and there really is a deep poetic feel about the whole thing. The people on the tube are also fascinating. I think this film portrays more of a circulation of time, rather than bearing any particular political messages, yet is still fascinating to watch and consider, being stunned with the time and effort put into making it.
While considering my project, i have looked into the systematic and strategics into making Chronos, and like the way specific rules were instilled in order to build the film, such as a 24-hour shot of a desert while perfectly-evenly panning 180 degrees. Some other scenes were just 45 minutes long, shot with custom build time-lapse cameras.
I think drawing up rules like this to abide to can make for an entirely different project, making it more specific and definate, rather than random and on the spot. I am thinking about showing people and places close to me, highlighting what they do with their time. I will be the one to document this perhaps for ex. 1 hour, taking a shot every 5 minutes of them in the space in which i have met them. There will be alot to consider technically, ie. should i keep the camera on a tripod in the same place, shall i move it around etc.. I am looking forward to doing this, and have been influenced by a number of artists so far in which to display this imagery. Duane Michales in particular.
Thanks to Youtube, I was able to source and watch "Chronos" Link follows...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I8N74t2x50&feature=related
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Month Banana Experiment (Earlier works)
A post that i have been meaning to upload, and should be a lot nearer the start as it was pretty experimental. I set the time frame of a month to complete this shoot, and have simply documented the slow process of naturally decaying bananas. I set the whole thing up including all props used (Tray, lamp, cloth, curtain etc) to construct a photo sequence with a colourful and eye pleasing aesthetic, creating quite a successful composition. The subject matter was influenced from my earlier works last year with the use of foods and decay. Time has clearly passed, and i think this little experiment shows this quite well, although i did this for the sheer experimental reasons.
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