Jeff Wall
Wall's training as an art historian has clearly influenced his approach to photography, not only the references to famous paintings but also the level of control in designing the compositions of his staged images.Sol leWitt's photographs of conceptual art from 1967 was also a major influence, convincing him that the idea behind the image was as significant as its material reality. Wall creates large illuminated light boxes that appear almost like advertising display screens. They draw the viewer into fictional dramas that the artist has created from memory. Wall refers to his works as "cinematographic" and "near-documentary".
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Having worked mainly in studio, Wall experimented by taking to the streets to take "dramatic" pictures were he created a kind of theatre, directing actor and the lighting, concentrating on small physical gestures which speak a thousand words. These images mimic scenes of 60s and 70s films and street photography being produced by photographers like Garry Winogrand. Wall has also included influence from paintings by Caravaggio, Velasquez and Manet in which figures are near life size with dramatic tension between the figures. Wall decided to use a large 8x10 view camera, unlike street photographers who generally use 35mm cameras which produce relatively small negatives and grainy pictures . This produces large negatives with fine detail.
At first I believed that images 1st, 3rd and 4th where unstaged everyday life photography taken on the go, however once I was told that it was staged it became incredibly obvious that the actions were not realistic.
At first I believed that images 1st, 3rd and 4th where unstaged everyday life photography taken on the go, however once I was told that it was staged it became incredibly obvious that the actions were not realistic.
This was my response to photographer Jeff Wall. I asked my parents to pose in certain positions to capture his composed scenes of everyday life. My favourite image would be the 3rd, as I asked them to pose however they wanted to and the outcome was quite comedic and unnatural however natural to them in the moment.
I think my best response would be the last image of my parents in the kitchen because the lighting is the most natural, as the other images included flash it seemed to artificial and planned, however as the images were shot at night the lighting was rather dull and the image was clearer with a flash.
I'm not quite familiar with the camera settings yet, however when I attempted to turn the flash off I could not find an option.
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Cindy Sherman
From 1977 to 1980, Cindy Sherman created a series of 70 pictures which came to be called 'Untitled Film Stills'. she uses herself as a model, often transforming her body and features so radically that it's almost impossible to recognise her. These transformations created different characters in her photographs which portrayed and provoked emotions.
As the titles suggest, the 'Untitled Film Stills' reference the type of photographs taken by the stills photographer on the set of a film, in this case a low budget 'B' movie. Sherman's knowledge of the genre of such films were gained from watching them on TV. Sherman uses photography to explore the female actors in particular, casting herself in the main part, taking inspiration from how B movies represented female characters. The common features of all these images are that they are black and white and only feature herself using clothing, makeup and props to disguise herself. In each shot she is shown looking to the side, off camera in a different direction. Each photo is different in terms of the character she portrays and the setting she is in. Some inside in a domestic kitchen setting, others outside in empty areas. |
Photographs taken through windscreens are one of the most common tropes in the history of the medium in America. Associated with the road trip and employed by the likes of Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Simon Kossoff, they present a frame within a frame, a view of the American landscape as it appears through a moving vehicle.
However this image appears to offer a very different experience. It's shot at night in the driveway of a singular house, with the headlights illuminating it. We can see the dashboard and rear view mirror with the drivers silhouette in the left corner, suggesting the photo is taken from the backseat of the car. There is a strong element of surveillance as if we are spying through the windscreen, hidden by the shadows of the car. The image is slightly sinister and .... as its unclear the motive of the car waiting in the driveway, there are multiple very different reasonable explanations of this situation however it is unclear which one it could be. This could be a picture of the car waiting to pick someone up from the house infront, or a car watching from a far, spying on whoever is inside.
However this image appears to offer a very different experience. It's shot at night in the driveway of a singular house, with the headlights illuminating it. We can see the dashboard and rear view mirror with the drivers silhouette in the left corner, suggesting the photo is taken from the backseat of the car. There is a strong element of surveillance as if we are spying through the windscreen, hidden by the shadows of the car. The image is slightly sinister and .... as its unclear the motive of the car waiting in the driveway, there are multiple very different reasonable explanations of this situation however it is unclear which one it could be. This could be a picture of the car waiting to pick someone up from the house infront, or a car watching from a far, spying on whoever is inside.
In the exhibition Moshammer mixes still photographs, extracts of text, screen shots from Google Earth and videos in a multi-layered installation. The letter received by the artist is from a lover, Troy. Moshammer's response to the letter is to use photography as a way of rationalising the non-existent relationship suggested by it. Troy promises to buy her a "cute, special fast car thats almost new". He offers to be her ticket to American citizenship, put her up in his house (where he lives alone) as an upcoming new celebrity. "You look like you ARE somebody", he writes. "I'm an inventor and upcoming first REAL Life Super Hero! I know a bit hard to believe but Believe it!" Moshammer's pictures play with doubles - motel room doors, lamps, stones, tire tracks etc. She photographs exotic plants with tangled leaves. The few people who appear in the photographs are heavily disguised, either by their clothes, cropping or through digital manipulation. One of the pictures shows a sign with the warning IT WILL END IN TEARS. As to whether these images are staged or documentary, Moshammer comments: It's a mix. Document, yes - when you take pictures of a place or people, you're documenting something, of course, but purely from a personal perspective. And staging too - because pictures often don't exactly reflect the reality on the ground, but are instead created by me in some shape and form. It's difficult to find a category. many levels play a role in my work. |
Morgan Ashcom
Leviathan, his body of work depicting a remote community established on the Appalachian Mountains of Southern Ohio.
He is interested in the fictional possibilities of photographs. He believes they can operate in a similar way to language, and like words or sentences, they depend on context for their meaning. For that reason, and for its ties to literary traditions, he likes to work in the book form. He also believes photography has the potential to create order and meaning from the chaos of life. Leviathan is not about any one thing aside from the experience of the book itself. That experience differs quite a lot depending on who is doing the looking, the Images provoke a response for the reading depending on their experiences and how they see the image. The name was taken from his interest in the book Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, (because of its It has multiple and conflicting meanings) as he noticed his project included threads in the photographs that pointed to the mythological creature of the leviathan with its various literary, biblical and philosophical traditions. The main influences of his photography have been the music, stories and landscape from around the farm where he grew up in Virginia and the experiences he had as a teenager traveling with friends. The photographs in Leviathan make no claim to representing a community. Leviathan was structured with the idea of representing an illusion central to the poem in the back of the book. The people in the photos were mere strangers that he often never saw or spoke to again after the pictures were taken. |
For one of my projects, I visited locations near my area which I only visited when walking through it. So I took the time to scout the area and try to notice things I had not before. This journey turned into a long story.
My journey started down an overgrown wooden bridge across a small river, here i focused on nature around me and tried to capture its small or hidden features. I was intrigued by the water and what was deep under, however it was hard to capture and the closest I got to revealing the depths of the water was pictures of waterlilies barely under the surface. The weather changed drastically whilst I was on my walk, from bright sun to clouds and then heavy rain.
The third image, of the lone man walking down the pathway I find is rather comical, as it looks staged, however he was the only person that had ventured down this path other than me. He looked so out of place, but was obviously a local who took a detour after shopping to enjoy the nice weather and overgrown surroundings . His choice of blue clothing was so fitting to the surrounding as it made him stick out like a sore thumb.
My journey started down an overgrown wooden bridge across a small river, here i focused on nature around me and tried to capture its small or hidden features. I was intrigued by the water and what was deep under, however it was hard to capture and the closest I got to revealing the depths of the water was pictures of waterlilies barely under the surface. The weather changed drastically whilst I was on my walk, from bright sun to clouds and then heavy rain.
The third image, of the lone man walking down the pathway I find is rather comical, as it looks staged, however he was the only person that had ventured down this path other than me. He looked so out of place, but was obviously a local who took a detour after shopping to enjoy the nice weather and overgrown surroundings . His choice of blue clothing was so fitting to the surrounding as it made him stick out like a sore thumb.
Personal favourites of journey part 1.
journey part 2. the thames
After finished the walk on the bridge I ended up by the Thames where the stony river banks were bare as the water was out. I took this opportunity to venture across it, coming across an art piece bench, that stood in the centre, piled with treasured finds along the Thames. I focused on small aspects of the beach as it is so vast its easy to miss little items.
I ventured further down and got carried away were I had walked the perimeter, and far down where there was no signs of an exit for me to be able to climb up, however judging from the water, the thames water seemed to be going out. The beach became mire sandy and muddy, much clearer with no signs of disposed items washed up. However I came across a discovery of trollies, tens of them, all sunk into the sand. Some half sunk, others so deep in that the wheels were the only remaining part visible. It was a weird atmosphere, a somewhat deserted land with the sad sight of sinking trollies. However there was an obstacle before this weird sight, and being this was such a great opportunity to photograph, I risked getting stuck in mud. There was a pipe gushing water, which had created almost a mountain of mud. With a lot of effort, planning different routes around, and attempting to find object to use as a bridge across, I tested by luck and jumped where I believed was firm enough for me not to sink. After making it to the otherside, I began taking loads of images of these weird trollies, which led in a sort of path further down the thames. This intrigued me to walk further until the mud no longer allowed me. I decided to venture back the way I came to arrive home. However once I reached the mountain of mud I did earlier, the thames water can began to come in, leaving little option but to jump however there was too much mud, which when I attempted to cross, I got stuck in. I frantically tried to release my foot from the mud before the water rose to high, and when I was free I ran to the safest part of the beach, furthest away from the water. This area was meters bellow the thames walk way and the only option for me was to climb a ladder leading to a construction site. My images became more rushed as I noticed the water coming in and how soft the sand became underneath my feet where I was more concerned about staying safe than the quality of my images. |
I risked it and bagan climbing up so I was safe, at this point I was unaware of how protected this construction site was. It was completely vacant, with barbed wire surrounding me. I attempted climbimg out several times which lead to no success so I patiently waited for a builder to see me. I shouted to get their attention and after a long time, they noticed me. None of them had keys to unlock the gates so whilst a total of eight workers surrounded my calling others to try let me out, I had to explain how I had ended up there. After more time, someone with keys finally came and let me out. I am very greatful to be completely safe and unharmed and have learnt a very good lesson as well as gotten some great opportunities for some photographs. If I was to revisit these locations I would be sure to check the water times to ensure there was no risk of me getting stranded on the sides of the thames.
Again my picture where rushed as I was in a strictly forbidden area where I didn't want to look as if I had climbed in to take images. |
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What I learnt from these images that I took , that I assume people are able to see the bigger picture of the images I took. I regret taking so many close ups and not of the whole subject its self as I forget that others have no clue what It looks like from afar.
Visiting the same places virtually.
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I visited the same locations on google maps. The images from the street view were taken, last year May 2018, from these pictures I could see the vast change in the surroundings a year later. The famous Yacht Club art piece bench has little items hanging upon it, but a year later is piled with finds on the beach from visitors. Some features are still present such as the bunting and the washed up traffic cone. I noticed there used to be only one discarded barrel on the thames bank, and now, a year later there is around 7, which are covered in green algae which never used to be as present. The actual bedding of the thames has also changed drastically were previous years it was mainly sand with little rocks, but now has changed to half the beach being covered in rocks and mud. Further down the overhanging construction disposal platform has obvious ageing to is with more rust and graffiti. Same with the trollies and shopping baskets. There previously were only a few, however since then more have been chucked over. Over time they have sunken deeper and are covered in more algae from the thames. The construction site that I was locked in also has changed, the lorry in the google maps image replaced with a construction tip. Its interesting seeing the gradual change of the surroundings after a year and surprising how much it has change. |