New Idea for layout

My new idea is to have a poster with a photo of a person in their normal disposition on the left, and on the right, they will be wearing a traditional Arabic (or another culture's) traditional headpiece known as a Hijab or Burka.

Hopefully this will show how we put labels on people who dress a certain way, both subconsciously and consciously. 

Only thing I have to do now is locate a headpiece.

I chose a headpiece rather than a full outfit because I feel that portraits are more powerful than full body shots.

JR: Photography's answer to Banksy?

TASK:

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http://www.lensculture.com/jr.html

Just another thing for you all to consider...

How do you view artists who use public spaces, sometimes somewhat less than legally, as a vehicle for conveying their message?

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Some examples of Banksy's work:

"JR is a young French photographer who has become a hero to many people who encounter his work. He doesn’t use his real name, because most of the work he does is illegal.

 

 

"JR makes provocative black-and-white photos, and enlarges them into very large billboard size prints. Then, with a friend or two, under cover of the night, he illegally pastes these photos onto large walls in very public urban spaces.

 

"His illegal work has been celebrated by several outlets of mainstream media, and he has been granted official, authorized exhibitions of his photographs in prominent places in Paris and Amsterdam in recent years. 

His illegal work has been celebrated by several outlets of mainstream media, and he has been granted official, authorized exhibitions of his photographs in prominent places in Paris and Amsterdam in recent years.

"This summer, JR was invited to show his work at the international photo festival in Arles, France, where he covered the walls of a large roofless warehouse with his images to the amazement and delight of thousands of photography lovers."

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 How do you view artists who use public spaces, sometimes somewhat less than legally, as a vehicle for conveying their message?

I believe that artists should be able to use any public space to get their message across. Their art is for the public afterall.

TASK:

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What is appropriation in art?

 

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/a/appropriation.html

 

"Appropriation - To take possession of another's imagery (or sounds), often without permission, reusing it in a context which differs from its original context, most often in order to examine issues concerning originality or to reveal meaning not previously seen in the original. This is far more aggressive than allusion or quotation, it is not the same as plagiarism however. An image reused in collage is an example, but more complete are the photographs that Sherri Levine (American) made of photographs by earlier photographers."

 

Find some contemporary photography work that uses appropriation in some form.  Why do you think artists use appropriation in their work?  What statement do you think they are trying to make?

 

http://www.lensculture.com/curtin.html

The above artist has used images from the early 20th century to create sculputral, architectural forms.  Write a critique of the work, focusing on how the use of old photographs has influenced the way the work is interpreted.

 

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Julia Curtin:

 

"Resettlement focuses on the vernacular architecture, the transient, makeshift structures inhabited by the migratory victims of the 1930s Great Depression.

By sampling images from the Farm Security Administration catalogue, a vast collection of works by photographers (e.g. Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange) that became central in defining aspects of the Documentary genre, and images that are embedded in the history of photography, I have deconstructed and subsequently reconstructed these buildings to form a three dimensional model of the settlement depicted in the original image.

Through this process I attempt to open up a contemporary space for the interpretation of this work."

~ Julia Curtin

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Why do you think artists use appropriation in their work?  

I believe artists use appropriation in their work because of the controversy it attracts. As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity. If an artist's work is being talked about, whether positively or negatively, their work is nevertheless out there and being looked at. 

Another reason would be to address originality and ownership of photographs. Or to find deeper meaning in other photographs.

What statement do you think they are trying to make? 

I think they are trying to say many things: 

That an image should be the property of the community rather than a sole person. 

That nothing is completely original anymore.

Laura Sackett: Liminal Portraits

TASK:

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http://www.lensculture.com/sackett.html

 

Sackett's series Liminal Portraits is an interesting investigation into the popularity of online social networking with teens. 

 

Think about your practical project for this session.  How could the social networking phenomenon influence your work?

 

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" Liminal Portraits, chronicles my investigation into the teenage world of social networks and iChatting. Adolescence is a particularly transitional time in life, a time when teens are experimenting with and forming their identity. And with today’s wired kids, they have the opportunity to create virtual identities – every time they log on to a computer. "

~ Laura Sackett

 

(taken from http://www.lensculture.com/sackett.html)

 

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Think about your practical project for this session.  How could the social networking phenomenon influence your work?

 

My work will be a lot about racism and appearances. Racist comments often occur in social networking sites, mostly facebook.

 

Also, I could use my facebook page to distribute my photographs to a larger audience then otherwise possible.

Chaotic Harmony- contemporary Korean photography

TASK:

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http://www.lensculture.com/chaotic_harmony.html

http://mfah.org/exhibition.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=610&par4=1&currentPage=1&lgc=4&par6=1

Use the above links to look at the photos in the Chaotic Harmony. Select a piece of work that appeals to you the most and write a critique on it in your blog. Use the questions provided in the tasks section of this site to assist you.
Provide a brief biography and a link to more of their work.

Further the research on your chosen photographer:

What has inspired their work?  What are the ideas portrayed within their work?  How have these ideas been conveyed visually?  How does the work make you feel about Korean culture?

Compare this photographer to the contemporary photographers of our western culture.  Are there differences in the ideas or concepts in the work?  If so, how is the work of the Korean photographer different?  Why do you think this is the case?

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Chosen Work:

This photo is titled Tour Bus, by Sungsoo Koo. From the series Magical Reality (2005-2006), 2005. Chromogenic photograph. Courtesy of the artist © Sungsoo Koo

For more photos by Sungsoo Koo click here 

Questions:

1. The photographer's use of the design elements and principles

Sungsoo Koo uses mainly repetition and symmetry in his photographs. Many of his works often contain contrasting blue and red colours to make them stand out. He also often uses the rule or thirds and other design principles.

2. The intended purpose of the work- why did the photographer create it?  When was it created?  How was it created?

The purpose of the work, it seems, was to show urbanization withink North Korea, and to use repition of patters and colours to give the photograph a sense of harmony and rythym. Also to show how subtley chaotic south Korean life is. 
Tour bus, is a Chromogenic photograph.

3.Your personal response to the work.  Do you find it appealing?  Why/why not? Does the work appeal to a particular audience?  How do you think the photographer has done this?

 I found it appealing because of the colours and the symmetry in the photo and throughout the rest of the series. The work appeals to a younger audience because of the subjects in the photos. I believe the photographer has done this by photographing things with lots of colour and vibrance. 

4.Does the work remind you of anything?  

No. Maybe this is why I found it so appealing.

5. Do you think it was a response to something in particular?  For example, a cultural issue, an icon, a particular social/political need or issue?

I think it was a response to the social issue of urbanisation in south Korea.

Changes to Project

I recently had a chat to my photography teacher, Nikki Van Buuren. She told me that I needed to develop my idea more, and that my theme might not be clear through my photographs.
So I thought about it and came up with this:

I will have two portraits of each person, a sort of before-and-after kind of thing. The first picture will show white Caucasians as they are, and in the second photo, they will be wearing a traditional arabic headpeice. Each photo will have the label: 'Did it change YOUR perception?'
The work as a whole will be titled perceptions.

It's purpose will be to show how people who dress certain ways attain labels that are often racist and innacurate.

Each pair of portraits will be printed separately.

Project Proposal

Ideas for photos:

The aim of my photographs is to show that we should not judge by appearances. For this reason I want to take a series of portraits. They will be simple colour photographs with different coloured backgrounds, to signify that together we are unique but equal.

Inspiration:

My inspiration for this series was the work of Roger Ballen. He photographed interesting and unusual faces which I found to be fascinating.

I was also inspired by a previous year 12's series of portraits.

And lastly, after reading Julie Morris' blog I came up with my final idea.

Techniques:

I will be exploring the use of a studio for my project. I will also be using a digital SLR camera. For digital editing I will primarily be using Photoshop programs such as Photoshop, Bridge and CameraRAW. 

List of Equipment: 
- My Camera: Sony Alpha 33
- Tripod
- Coloured Fabric (backdrop)
- Models (16). ages 15-19. Mixed sex and race. 


Layout:
- although i may not have time, this is how i would like to layout my photographs 

The colours I have chosen are: 
- Orange - to represent a multicultural society
- Purple  - the international homosexual colour
- Red - (and green) to balance out the other colours and to look aesthetically pleasing.
- Green