Mindmap
Exhibition visit
As a class we visited the Tate modern to see 'The Radical Eye: Modernist photography from the Sir Elton John collection' this exhibition is built up of Sir Elton John's private collection. With over 70 artists and nearly 150 rare vintage prints there is a chance to see incredible pieces of work. I found the exhibition interesting as there were loads of different artists such as Dorothea Lange, Herbert Bayer and Manray. In the exhibit I really enjoyed the last room as the Images were displayed in a cluster and in different frames. I found this interesting as 'The Radical Eye' is arranged thematically and they are displayed in the frames that are in use at John's home, this gives the viewer an incite into John's visual interpretation of the work.
Brutalist structures
During the February half-term I went to south bank to visit an exhibition at Tate Modern. After this exhibition I walked along the south bank and took picture of brutalist structures. In these images I believe I have done well in capturing a good amount of negative space. I also so believe that I have also focused on different perspectives and lines to draw the viewers attention to specific focal points. To improve this task I think that I could photograph more brutalist buildings but in different places and explore form and shape more. In Photoshop I changed the images to black and white to makes the buildings more brutish and imposing.
Contact sheets
IBM Sampson house, Southbank
I chose to photograph Sampson House as I believe it has a raffish and brutal charm. When taking images i chose to play around with angles as the building had many different viewpoints and aspects to it. Another reason why I liked this building was due to its secluded placement. I like how the building contrasted with its surroundings. I would like to visit Sampson House again and show the contrast between the two.
Apartments, Southbank
Whilst walking down Southbank I also noticed a series of apartments which were brutalist buildings. Once again I liked this apartments as they contrasted with the modern glass building behind them. I also found that the block like design for perfectly with this theme of structure.
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The National Theatre, Southbank
Known to be one of the most famous brutalist buildings The National Theatre relates perfectly to structure. This Brutalist building is much more simplistic in its structure as there is less blocks and more jutted out beams. I chose this building as I like the way the building has a perfect mixture or structure and negative space.
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Artist Analysis
Simon Phipps
Simon Phipps is a London based photographer who mainly captures brutalist and modern architecture. Phipps' book titled 'Brutal London' is a photographic survey of brutalist architecture in inner city London. Phipps brutalist work is interesting as he plays around with angles. I also like the way he photographs very different (structural wise) buildings this creates a much more interesting image when they are compared. Phipps makes the images monochrome to show contrast in the images. In an interview Phipps stated his concerns are 'to document and present post 1945 modernist British architecture that (loosely) fits into the idea of the social contract.' This is evident in his work.
Thomas Danthony - Brutalism
These Images are done by Thomas Danthony a French artist who is now based in London. Anthony's work is interesting as it is minimalistic yet detailed. This project was in collaboration with Black Dragon Press and focuses burley on brutalist structures. To recreate these images I used two techniques in Photoshop both created good images yet I preferred the second technique.
Technique
To create these images I used a filter on Photoshop which is located on the bar at the top under filter. I like this technique as it makes the image more interesting and brutal. This work is a response to Thomas Danthony who uses a similar technique to create the brutalist images. To improve these photos I believe that I could've used more simple photos to create a more dramatic contrast between the levels.
Technique two - AVERAGE BLUR
By using the Polygonal tool I can select individual images and add an average blur. Each time you colour in a new square the colour slightly changes to add depth into the images. I prefer this method to the first as it create less grainy images and adds more depth. Although this method takes more time I felt that I could control the final outcome.
Exhibition visit
During the February half term I visited Wolfgang Tillman's exhibition at Tate. Tillman's is a German fine-art photographer whose vast assemblage of work is very different to any other photography as he creates natural images but also creates abstracted edited images. I liked Tillman's work as each piece is very unique and had very different styles. I especially like the way the gallery had used the space to display the work as it wasn't the usual eye level separate images, some where placed above eye level and some below. This is shown in my work as some images are shown incredibly close as a collective where as others are singles and enlarged. I enjoyed this arrangement and it related to this topic of structure as the structure of the work evidently was carefully thought about.
field works
For this task, I was told bring in plants and photograph them in response to Sanna kannisto's series Field work. In my response I like the composition that I have used as there is negative space, this is effective as it makes the plants stand out and contrast with the white backdrop. I also like how the images range in proximity as it shows more of the plant from different lengths and view points. To improve my response I would like to use more vibrant plants so that there is a clear contrast between the background and the plant, also it will makes the scientific stand become another focal point.
Contact Sheet
ARTIST ANALYSIS
Sanna Kannisto
Sanna Kannisto is Finnish photographer who captures images of exotic plants found on voyages. Kannisto works in Helsinki this is where she captures these images in her field studio. In an interview with Times magazine she revealed that her "inspiration comes from various things: science; biology; natural history; voyages of discovery; still-life paintings of 16th and 17th century; cabinets of curiosities; Romanticism; conceptual art; Surrealism; history of photography, out-doors life of my childhood and walking in the forest." Kannisto's work includes contrast between the vibrant colours and the white and black background. This series is interesting as it mixes science, nature and photography into one and creates lively and dynamic images.
ARTIST ANALYSIS
Myoung Ho Lee
Myoung Ho Lee is a young photographer from South Korea. In this series 'Trees' Ho Lee focuses on the separation of trees. This creates interesting images where the viewer is immediately drawn to the tree but is also enticed by the surrounding nature which the tree has been isolated from. The artificial background could be interpreted to being similar to a billboard which would interesting for the viewer. In concept Myoung Ho Lee's work looks simple yet in execution complex. Ho Lee's work is largely composed of four procedures Selection of The Subject, Separation of The Subject (meta-subject), Photographing, Confirmation of The Separation.
Structure IN NATURE
This task was in response to Myoung Ho Lee's series 'Tree's'. For my response I went to a local woodlands (Coppetts woods) and used a piece of paper to recreate Ho Lee's work on a smaller scaled. I found this task challenging as I wanted the paper to stand on its own without a hand in the images but found this difficult to place. If I was to use this technique again I would make sure the paper was straight and really focus on a specific plant.
Structure of the body
For Structure of the Body the task was to create a blend between skeleton and human. This images relates to the theme of structure as the images explore skeletal structure. To create these images I used Photoshop to create layers and erase the skin away. I like the way these images turned out although I do believe I can improve the arm image as it didn't turn out as well as I would've liked it to.
Technique
Artist Analysis
Gunther von HAgens
Gunther Von Hagens is a German anatomist who invented the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination. For the first 20 years this technique was used only to preserve small specimens for medical studies.
Extended- Structure of the body
To create these images I used the same technique shown above but to make the images different I used a muscle structure. I used this structure to show the inside of someone body through a series of images.
Development 1: GEOMETRIC SHAPES in bubbles
For my first development I would like to experiment with taking photos of bubbles. I like this idea as the bubbles make a structure that looks similar of that a cell or close up plant. To distance my work form other Artists I will experiment with adding colour and perhaps editing the images in Photoshop to create a sort of abstract structure. Below I have included the Artists who inspired me to create this strand.
Artist inspiration
JAMES BALOGDIRK WIERSMA |
Robin Broadbent |
My work
Development 2 - Edited images
For this strand I decided to take my previous images and and revert the colours in to very saturated colours. I like how the images when changed in colours create a totally new image. Although I think that instead of carrying on bubbles I will change the developments to something which express more natural structures as I believe it is had to make a development just purely of bubbles.
DEvelopment 3: nATURAL Structures
ARTISTS INSPIRATION
I used these artists as my inspiration because it relates to my idea of natural structures. I like how both White and Adams photography in monochrome as it makes the pictures very focal and adds a strong contrast between the light and dark, whereas Eggleston uses very saturated colours. I would like to take the landscape aspect from White and Adams and mix it with the saturation from Eggleston's work to create a development of natural structure.
William EGGLESTON
For this strand I decided to capture natural structures. I like this strand as I have captured the landscape but at different times. I think I can improve on this strand by incorporating other structures from perhaps a city or a busy place. This would make an interesting contrast between natural and man made. I believe that in this series of images I have incorporated my inspiration from my Artist Inspiration. I think these images on their own could be incorporated with other to fit the brief of structure better.
DEVELOPMENT 4: Ancient structure
ARTIST INSPIRATION
I have researched the work of J.P Girault De Prangey to inspire a more accurate depiction of what I want my development to achieve. Prangey was a French photographer and draughtsman who was working in the middle east. His daguerrotypes are the earliest surviving pictures we have of Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. Girault de Prangey was keenly interested in the architecture of the Middle East and photographed over 900 daguerreotypes of architectural views, landscapes, and portraits between 1841 and 1844. I'm inspired by Girault De Prangey's as I believe I can exemplify the changes that have been made other time to these ancient structures and how buildings in general have being adapted to fit in with modern landscapes.
J.P Girault de Prangey
For this strand I decided to photograph classical structures. I think this idea is interesting as it contrasts with my earlier work of 'Brutalist Structures.' I think if I developed on this strand I could experiment by contrasting the ancient structures with more modern and perhaps brutalist structures. I believe that could make an intersting development but it may not lead very far.
DEVELOPMENT 5: revisiting natural structure
Artist inspiration
For this development I have taken inspiration from Kristen Ferguson's work to create my own response of images. I like the idea of merging modern structures and Natural landscapes as it shows a contrast between nature and man-made structures. I like how instead of layering two images together Ferguson instead traces over her images this is interesting as you can see in-between the lines. As a development I would like to recreate some of Furgesons work and then expand on putting my own twist on her work.
KRISTEN FERGUSON
Development 6: Layering
After my previous strand I decided I needed to stray away from Kristen Ferguson by layering the images. I like the way this has turned out as there is a lot more colour and it creates a sort of cluster in the middle of the image. I think to improve this development I could start blocking in certain shapes. I believe this subject i chose to create suits the theme as it shows a contrast between two structures and contrast with the background.
Development 7: Blocking in colours
This development is different from the others as I have decided to colour in and block different shapes. I think this works well as it adds more depth and definition to the image. I believe that my images express my intentions which were to show a contrast in both colour and structure. Although I think to improve I can perhaps even further distance my work by creating a gif or short video in which the buildings move or are animated in some way.
fINAL PIECE
For my final piece I decided to combine my developments to create a gif. This gif consists of three man made structures placed on a natural structure. I am proud of how my final piece has turned out as it includes almost every aspect of my developments plus something new. I believe that this final piece links to the theme of structure though layers and contrasts. I think that I managed to create a good piece that incorporates many tasks and techniques which i have learnt thought the topic of structure.