Personally, I like objects a lot more over other themes because I have always enjoyed being a perfectionist when it came to almost anything. I enjoy the arranging, and re-arranging of different objects to what I deem as perfect. For my whole life, I have despised the faulty placement of objects, and if they aren't kept placed in an orderly fashion. I like the image below because despite the photographer having selected a vast majority of different items, they have made the objects link to something similar on the table. For instance, the book and the glasses are grouped together, but what is the significance of that? There is always a reason for something, and so I believe that because books and glasses share something in common, being that people wear glasses to help them read, the photographer of this image below has taken that into consideration, and decided to group them up with each other. Personally, I love the object theme because it makes you think and wonder why the photographer had placed these objects here, or why they had chosen to place the objects where they did, because there are trillions of ways as to how the photographer could have arranged it, but this photographer had decided this arrangement, and the importance of objects is not what objects are in the image, but why they are arranged that way.
Camilla Catrambone
Camilla Catrambone's photographs are linked to the idea of childhood. For instance, she had stated that she had became fascinated with by the way that certain objects had the power to trigger strong childhood memories within people and her family members. She had stated that it had started through the possessions of her grandparents, but she was captivated at the thrum of life coming from the objects, even though her grandparents had already passed away. Her photographs are all homages to her family members. Camilla uses not only possessions passed down to her, but also her own objects and personal belongings, creating photos that evoke a sense of childhood. I like her work because it is simple, but also effective in the emotions that it produces in people, as her photographs give me a sense of comfort. Her work is also really appealing to look at, as you can tell that she thinks closely about composition.
Camilla Catrambone Response:
Thirza Schapp
Thirza Schapp creates most of their art that I have seen with plastic, supposedly plastic from oceans that have been thrown away. This artist has found unique and creative ways to create compositions with the plastic that she has. This artist mostly uses clear pastel backgrounds, but in a lighter shade to not take away from the main aspect of the image, being the objects. The artist has thought deeply about the colour of background for each and every photograph, as the different colours can blend well and closely with the objects in the image. Some examples of these are shown below ↓. From researching this artist, it has given me new ideas to maybe try and create my own objects, which I can ultimately end up using for my images. I might also try and use plastic that has been thrown out. A way I can do this is pick up any plastic bottles that I find laying on the ground and take them home to experiment for later. I would then try and create unique sculptures out of the plastic, for instance, I could make a flower out of plastic straws.
Thirza Schapp Response:
What I had done here was gain a lot of inspiration from Thirza Schapp in general, as she uses a lot of pastel colours, and she manages to avoid a lot of harsh, neon colouring. What I had done here was find a lot of objects around me that had that sort of pastel colouring, and I had decided to photograph them together. The first thing that I had did was find a lot of objects around me that were the same colour, but they were also different objects entirely, being two different looking bottles and a cup. I had then decided to put them in different compositions, while also taking photographs from many different angles. Afterwards, I had then moved from the dining room in my house, to my room, as I decided that a different backdrop will benefit my objects a lot, in which it did. I like these photographs a lot because I think that I chose a lot of objects with different colours that compliment each other, and I think that it turned out especially well. Overall, I like the artist Thirza Schaap in general because her photographs are not especially bright in terms of colours, but are appealing to the eye, which is why they are so beautiful.
Tony Cragg
Tony Cragg is described as a foremost sculptor, meaning someone who practices a mechanic art or craft. He has been said to constantly push to find similarities and relations between humans and the material world, as we can see from some of his photographs. He creates his images through unconventional materials. Some examples of unconventional materials are plastic, fiberglass and bronze. There is no limit to the materials that he might use , as he had said that there is no limit to the ideas or forms that he might conceive. He described manmade objects as "fossilised keys to a past time which is our present". Tony Cragg explores the use of material, and how material and the form of materials affect and form our ideas, and the emotions that we may feel. These different forms of materials can link to his photographs, as the materials that he uses are thoughtfully put together to create the outline of a person, or a moon. Using unconventional materials to create photography gives us another way in seeing objects as a whole.
Tony Cragg: Riot (Photo Evaluation) ↓
My first impressions of this photograph is the story of a massive uproar, or a massive riot as it consists with a lot of unconventional objects sculptured into people. My main instinct of this photograph is that it has some sort of history to it, and that Cragg had made this to mark a revolutionary day in history. The style of the photographs links to objects, but Cragg uses objects to create foremost sculptors. The composition of the objects sculptured into people seem to be crowded and compact, which evokes the emotion of anger and rage. There are also some sculptures holding some sorts of weapons and shields, which gives the idea that they could be police. You could say that this photograph is very authentic, as it most likely tells a story from the past in photographic form. As the photograph has a lot going on in it, Cragg had most likely wanted the viewer to take their time with viewing the image, and taking in the emotion that it tries to evoke. After taking a second view of the image, there is also a chance that it is not to be a violent photograph, but instead a powerful one, created to state a point for or against a influential part of history.
"Riot" seems to be a historical photograph, or more like a historical document of the events that had taken place in the past. This is good because it provides to us a glimpse into specific sections of society that were never examined/explored properly. The photograph clearly shows an uprising or a police riot of some sort. I infer this from the image, as I can see from the sculptures that they are designed to look like policemen, as I can see some of them on horses, but also some of them holding shields and batons. The photograph was created in 1987, and was actually a photographic response to the political and social turbulence of the 1980s in Britain, making it a truthful depiction of what it's based on. It is also actually considered as one of Cragg's "most acclaimed works". You could most definitely say that the photograph had achieved it's purpose because it had been created to re-create the turbulence in the 1980s, which it had done effectively. This photograph will be remembered for a long time, which is good as it is informative and teaches the new generation of past issues in our world, and the valuable history that humanity holds. The photograph tells a story of the 1980s in Britain, as I did not know anything about the turbulence that had happened back then, but after researching this photograph, I have been informed with new information about the country that I was born in.
Peter Fischl and David Weiss
Peter Fischl and David Weiss (Response) :
Albert Chong
Albert Chong is a famous photographer from an African and Chinese descent. He produces series of photographs which also link with the creation of sculptures, sort of similar to Tony Cragg. He had stated that the main purpose of his art is to "represent and reanimate his family history". He had also said that he usually uses his family heritage as an "alternative way of putting more out there that's about people of colour, letting other stories be heard, other viewpoints". As well as being a successful photographer, Chong has also been said to have taught at several different colleges and universities, further showing us the drastic influence that his photos have on the art of photography. He has been described to be a contemporary artist, meaing the "art of today" which meaning art which defines art produced after the Modern Art Movement to the present day/ 21st Century.
Albert Chong (Response) :
With these photographs, I was mainly inspired by Albert Chong, and his use of old - looking photos and flowers. What I had done in response to his artist research was find a photo of my own, but instead I had used photoshop on my own personal computer to make my photo appear as if it had been taken a long time ago, to get that look of the photo looking old. After doing that, I had printed out the outcome, being my newly refined and edited photograph, and had then gotten artificial flowers from around my house to place around the photograph. I had decided to take the photographs without scanning first, as I wanted to take multiple photographs of the flowers and the way they are placed, I also wanted to take photos at different angles with the ring light that I was also using for shadows. There are some things that I would do to make these photographs much better, one thing that I would honestly do to improve these photographs is find more images next time, as I had only experimented on one image, another thing that I would also do to change this is change the composition of the flowers more, as they barely move, or use more flowers next time. I would also like to use real flowers next time, as they are much easier to work with, and give off a much more realistic look than artificial flowers. And that is the final thing that I would also like to change for next time, as the artificial flowers were specifically difficult to work with.
With these photos, as I had only done one photo, I wanted to try out more with the shadows that the flowers made, as I did not do that last time. To create the shadows, what I had done was use a ring light, and also I had changed the settings of the ring light, being the colour of the light itself, as it had two built in colour options: white or a much more warmer colour. I personally had chosen the more warmer light not just because I thought it was much more elegant than the white, and not just about personal preference, but I thought that the colour of the light will nicely compliment the colour of the "old photograph" in which it did.
Plan for Making Days
- Day 1 make sure to bring in some artificial flowers - bring in many photographs and objects of my own - edit the photographs in photoshop and make them appear as if they are old. - place the flowers and the leaves that i had brought in onto the photograph. - scan the photographs with the flowers on top in the printer. - email the photographs to my account - possibly evaluate the photographs and put on my website if i have any spare time left.
Plan For The Real Exam On 5th May (Real Exam) :
- create a digital negative with the photographs that i use - i will bring my photos in from home and use them in class tomorrow - i will bring a lot more flowers in, some will be artificial and some will be real - i will use the chairs in class - could use photoshop maybe to refine my photos if i am allowed to - will create images that are similar to peter fischli and david weiss - will bring in my pastel coloured objects