My Photography heroes
The leaflet's work
For the summer holiday, I had to go and visit different exhibition and collect leaflet. I had to do this on august because I wanted to come up with an idea what theme I should do for my personal study. Also, it gives me a brief of how I want my leaflet design to look like.
Exhibition theme: Images of illusion
For this task, I'll be exploring many aspects related surrealism. I have chosen this theme because I think it is very fascinating photography to look at. It's not like documentary and fashion photography preposition it is completely different. When you look at the image above it's really strange and it makes look really interesting. To me, it gives you the attention of examine the theme deeper and that exactly what I want. Furthermore, I am going to imagine of setting up an art exhibition splitting up into two rooms with different artists or photographers.
Room 1: Surrealism the historical art movement
Wanda WultzWanda Wultz was an Italian photographer born in Trieste 1903. In the 1900s her family owned a photographic studio and she wanted to take part the family business. Wanda Wultz has captured the main intentions of the Surrealist movement: Here we have elements of realism put together in a way that is unreal. This is the type of imagery you would see only in your dreams- a key influence on the Surrealists who were intent on showing visually our subconscious.
She was an experimental photographer as well. she was famous for her work on the left called "lo piu gatto". It is a self portrait that is merged with a cat and she has developed this picture in the early 1930s. she took a photo of herself in a studio and used the photo-montage technique to create it. Wanda wultz was trying to archive her own style of photography and produced high dynamic quality pictures. Wultz wanted to represent how much she love cat. Overall, this image is a fine art image. It shows that the pictures are being merged together and it is in black and white. The background shows there is colour tone between light and dark. Also, the dark background represent how secretive the environment is. Wanda Wultz's has framed her work to cut off the far top part of the subjects head. However, the important aspect such as the subjects facial features are in the centre of the frame. This means that the audience attention is instantly drawn towards them. |
Herbert BayerHerbert Bayer was one of the most leading figures in the Bauhaus movement in Germany. His career had a very high influence on artists and graphic designers. During the first stage of his career he began to experiment with photography while he was a teacher at the Bauhaus school. The artist had developed some simple photographs and sculptural qualities of objects. Although, he was never intrigued by the technical side of photography.
In 1932, near the end of the Surrealist movement, he created a piece called "The Lonely metropolitan".He did this by putting eyes on palms of hands. Herbert Bayer wanted us to think how frightening it can be to live in a city and he is using surrealism in this piece of work- expressing the subjects subconscious.This is shown by using things we can recognize and putting them together in a strange way which makes a surreal effect. Bayer made two more artworks in the same year. He named them "Hands Act" and a "self portrait". The "Hands Act" Herbert Bayer has arranged hands onto a map and re-photographed it. The joins of the separate images are barely visible and it creates another surreal effect as well. Finally, the self portrait picture he has made, creates a surreal effect much like his other work. We can see that his arm has been chopped off and his other hand is holding a chunk of his body part. This is obviously not possible. The photographer intended to create an image which represents horror. Bayer has used photo-montage in creating these works. In Conclusion these illustrations by Herbert Bayer are all fine art forms. The tones within the image demonstrate Bayer's strong use of dark and light to achieve a powerful image. However, the backgrounds tend to be very different. The Lonely metropolitan background is a real life urban building whereas the Hands Act as a self portrait they are very secretive or just a random object. In The Lonely Metropolitan photograph the composition of the subjects are being placed in the centre. This means that the crowds will draw their into the palm of the hands much like the arm being chopped off in the self portrait image. |
Man RayMan Ray is an American artist born in Philadelphia 1890.
In the late 1920s he became part of the Surrealist movement. He had created a piece and named it "le Violon d'Ingres" . This piece is an image of a naked women with violin F holes on her back. Man Ray admired another artist called Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and was inspired by his work 'nudes'. Man ray wanted to present his nudity work in a traditional way. When you look at it carefully I can see that he wanted to create a transformation of a woman's body into a instrument. He gave it the title 'Le Violon d'Ingres', which is a french idiom for "hobby'. In the "Le Violon d"Ingres" photo, the composition of the subject is being placed on the centre of the frame. That way, the audience will draw their attention to the violin shape hole on the woman's back. Also, the background has a light and dark tone as well. the negative space contrast the females body and it emphasis the outline of the her shape. Next, Man Ray had create a series called "Rayographs". The images are basically photograms with realistic objects and presented in a bizarre way. The object that he uses on the photos are solarised and looking at it doesn't feel normal. Also, when you tried to photogram a face or a hand you'll get a squash results. Seeing it with your eyes is very intriguing because you have no idea how he get that results Finally, The random outcomes that Rayograms gave fitted perfectly with the ideas behind Surrealism. The Surrealists wanted their work to be uncontrived and left to chance. Photograms were difficult to predict. |
Room 2: surreal photography
Randy Scott SlavinRandy Scott Slavin is an American photographer from New York City. He his best known for his strange three hundred and sixty degree landscape photography work.
I think his work is surreal because the environment is presented in a a very strange way. It has a bizarre circle effect in the middle of the image and I've never seen anything like it. Slavin uses a fisheye lens technique and he managed to do this process in the nature and urban areas around New York City. Randy Scott Slavin wanted to represent what kind of illusions he tends to have and he called these landscape work "Alternate perspectives". When I had a look of his surrealistic landscape I thought it was interesting. To me, once you have your eyes on the photo it draws your attention of looking at the circle instantly. |
Natsumi HayashiNatsumi Hayashi is a Photographer from Japan. She is best known for her self levitating portrait. I think her work is related to my exhibition because the portraits are presented in an ironic way. When you see these images you think that it is been edited by Photoshop, but if you look at it closely it's not. Hayashi has managed to capture a picture of herself in the urban environment in japan floating in the air. When I first saw her levitation portrait, I thought it was very interesting to look at. To me, it like looking at a strange spiritual world that we live in and seeing the her feet level draws your attention instantly. Hayashi wanted to represent that she's obsessed with dreaming that she is floating in the air without touching the ground. Furthermore, she uses a very fast shutter speed technique to capture the perfect moment.
|
Hugh KretschmerHugh Kretshmer is an American Photographer from Los Angeles. He is famous for his Unusual, Imaginative and dreamlike portraits. I think his work is very intriguing to look at because it is very different from any other studio portrait Photography that I've seen. To me, it's like looking at an image that you would see in a silly children's cartoon. For example, his portrait picture hair reminds me of cousin it from the Adams family.
The Penn and teller photographs create a huge sense of humor because, there's a man is becoming a balloon. When I have looked at this picture it give the vision that i am watching a "looney tunes" or a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon. Hugh Kretschmer wanted to represent what kind of visual he has on people much like Man Ray. Furthermore, Kretschmer work tends to be mixture of the surreal and Tim walker's photographic style. |
Leaflet design
Curatorship task
I have decided to expand upon my idea for the leaflet task for the curatorship task. I will be adding more photographers and analysis in greater depth for my exhibition: 'Images of Illusion'.
Introduction
The Tate Modern is proud to present an exhibition that will draw parallels between modernist surrealists and contemporary photographers.
Andre Breton was a very charisimatic man and he had a vision in 1924 that the world should be free of conscious thought. He saw Art and Literature as the ways in which people can be in touch with their subconscious and therefore free. He gained many followers including key artists such as Georgio de Chirico and Max Ernst, creating Surrealism, the Art Movement. During the latter parts of the movement several photographers also joined the movement. Today many photographers take inspiration from the Surrealists of the early 20th century. This exhibition will showcase the work of a variety of photographers that have surrealism as an overriding theme within their work.
In this exhibition you will see the photographic work of Wanda Wultz, Herbert Bayer and Man Ray who have produced their extraordinary work of the historical art movement in the early 20th century.Each photographer attempted to represent what kind of thought they had in their own minds. The work reveals the symbolism of what dreams we bear to have when we go to bed at night. In comparison the exhibition will present the work of Randy Scott Slavin, Natsumi Hayashi and Hugh Kretschmer who developed their own contemporary, surreal photography. Their work is very distant from the Art Movement, Surrealism however some comparisons still remain. Their use of digital technologies obviously has a huge impact on the potential of the images they are able to create.
Seen together these photographers will force you to re-examine your subconscious. This is a fantastic opportunity to see work from different times presented together.
Andre Breton was a very charisimatic man and he had a vision in 1924 that the world should be free of conscious thought. He saw Art and Literature as the ways in which people can be in touch with their subconscious and therefore free. He gained many followers including key artists such as Georgio de Chirico and Max Ernst, creating Surrealism, the Art Movement. During the latter parts of the movement several photographers also joined the movement. Today many photographers take inspiration from the Surrealists of the early 20th century. This exhibition will showcase the work of a variety of photographers that have surrealism as an overriding theme within their work.
In this exhibition you will see the photographic work of Wanda Wultz, Herbert Bayer and Man Ray who have produced their extraordinary work of the historical art movement in the early 20th century.Each photographer attempted to represent what kind of thought they had in their own minds. The work reveals the symbolism of what dreams we bear to have when we go to bed at night. In comparison the exhibition will present the work of Randy Scott Slavin, Natsumi Hayashi and Hugh Kretschmer who developed their own contemporary, surreal photography. Their work is very distant from the Art Movement, Surrealism however some comparisons still remain. Their use of digital technologies obviously has a huge impact on the potential of the images they are able to create.
Seen together these photographers will force you to re-examine your subconscious. This is a fantastic opportunity to see work from different times presented together.
Room 1: Surrealism the historical art movement
In this room, you'll see the early work surreal art. These artwork was created in the early 20th century and you'll gather the information of how surrealism started.
|
I have researched many variety of artist, I have found a video related to surrealism. here are the notes that I have made:
|
Photographers timeline
Max Ernst |
|
Max Ernst was one of the first artist to be associated with surrealist movement. Before other artists like Salvador Dali, Man Ray and Herbert Bayer became part of the movement with surrealism, Ernst had created his recognisable work called 'The Elephant Celebes.'
The Elephant Celebes was created in 1921. The circle rounded shape came from a photograph of a sundanese corn-bin and Ernst transformed it into a terrifying robotic creature. This work originally came from a german rhyme and it started of with "The elephant from Celebes has sticky, yellow bottom grease'. The audience suggested that it is an imagery of dream it very quirky as it uses mechanical object to depict an elephant . Ernest was one of the first surrealist to use collages. His first series was called 'The Hundred-Headless Woman' and it made nearly one hundred and fifty collages. He was giving his own vision of biblical plot by his own surrealist point of view. |
Wanda Wultz |
|
Wanda Wultz was an Italian photographer born in Trieste 1903. In the 1900s her family owned a photographic studio and she wanted to take part the family business. Wanda Wultz has captured the main intentions of the Surrealist movement. Here we have elements of realism put together in a way that is unreal. This is the type of imagery you would see only in your dreams- a key influence on the Surrealists who were intent on expressing our subconscious visually.
Wultz was an experimental photographer. She was famous for her work on the left called "lo piu gatto". It is a self portrait that is merged with a cat rom the early 1930s. she took a photo of herself in a studio and used the layering negatives to create it. Wanda wultz was trying to archive her own style of photography and produced high dynamic quality pictures. Overall, this image is a fine art image. It shows that the pictures are being merged together and it is in black and white. The background shows there is colour tone between light and dark. Wanda Wultz's has framed her work to cut off the far top part of the subjects head. However, the important aspect such as the subjects facial features are in the centre of the frame. This means that the audience attention is instantly drawn towards them. |
Herbert Bayer |
|
Herbert Bayer was one of the leading figures in the Bauhaus movement in Germany. His career had influence on artists and graphic designers. During the first stage of his career he began to experiment with photography while he was a teacher at the Bauhaus school. He had developed some simple photographs and sculptural qualities of objects. Although, he was never intrigued by the technical side of photography.
In 1932, near the end of the Surrealist movement, he created a piece called "The Lonely Metropolitan".He did this by putting eyes on palms of hands. Herbert Bayer wanted us to think how frightening it can be to live in a city and he is using surrealism in this piece of work- expressing the subjects subconscious.This is shown by using things we can recognize and putting them together in a strange way which makes a surreal effect. Bayer made two more artworks in the same year. He named them "Hands Act" and a "self portrait". The "Hands Act" Herbert Bayer has arranged hands onto a map and re-photographed it. The joins of the separate images are barely visible and it creates another surreal effect as well. Finally, the self portrait picture he has made, creates a surreal effect much like his other work. We can see that his arm has been chopped off and his other hand is holding a chunk of his body part. This is obviously not possible. He is looking at his own reflection at the mirror. It almost that this picture was made out of plastic and his arm is still in an upper position. It clearly shows a surreal effect. The photographer intended to create an image which represents claustrophobia, isolation and loneliness. Bayer has used photo-montage in creating these works. In Conclusion these images by Herbert Bayer reflect the intentions of the surrealists. The tones within the image demonstrate Bayer's strong use of dark and light to achieve a powerful image. However, the backgrounds tend to be very different. The Lonely metropolitan background is a real life urban building whereas the Hands Act as a self portrait they are very secretive or just a random object. In The Lonely Metropolitan photograph the composition of the subjects are being placed in the centre. This means that the crowds will draw their into the palm of the hands much like the arm being chopped off in the self portrait image. |
Man Ray |
paper. - outcome are white figures of images on a dark background.
|
Man Ray is an American artist born in Philadelphia 1890.
In the late 1920s he became part of the Surrealist movement. He had created a piece and named it "le Violon d'Ingres" . This piece is an image of a naked woman with violin F holes on her back. Man Ray admired another artist called Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and was inspired by his work 'Nudes'. He made this piece in 1924. When you look at it carefully I can see that he wanted to create a transformation of a woman's body into a instrument. He gave it the title 'Le Violon d'Ingres', which is a french idiom for "joke'. In the "Le Violon d"Ingres" photo, the composition of the subject is being placed on the centre of the frame. That way, the audience will draw their attention to the violin shape hole on the woman's back. Also, the background has a light and dark tone as well. the negative space contrast the females body and it emphasis the outline of the her shape. Man Ray also developed darkroom Photogram techniques which he "Rayographs". The images are basically photograms with realistic objects and presented in a bizarre way. They are created by placing everyday objects on photographic paper and exposing them to light. The chance element appeals to the Surrealists’ desire to connect with the subconscious whilst presenting familiar objects in a way that is unreal or unexpected. The object that he uses on the photos are solarised and looking at it doesn't feel normal. Also, when you tried to photogram a face or a hand you'll get a squash results. Seeing it with your eyes is very intriguing because you have no idea how he get that results Finally, The random outcomes that Rayograms gave fitted perfectly with the ideas behind Surrealism. The Surrealists wanted their work to be uncontrived and left to chance. Photograms were difficult to predict. |
Room 2: Surreal Photography
The second room of this exhibition is the contemporary photographers. These following artist are different from the first room because their pieces are modern and created by a completely different technique.
Sandy Skoglund |
|
Sandy Skoglund creates surrealist images by building elaborate sets, furnishing them with carefully selected coloured furniture and other objects, a process of which takes her months to complete. Finally, she photographs the set, complete with actors. The works are characterized by an overwhelming number of one object and either bright, contrasting colours or a monochromatic colours scheme.
Sandy Skoglund spends 6 months to a year planning and creating each installation. Then she brings in her models for a one-day photo shoot before she dismantles her creation. Many of her work are dreamlike quality, 'Radioactive cat' emphasises the aspects of her pieces. The composition is centered around the kitchen. The elder man is awake sitting down on the chair. In preparation for this photograph, Skoglund sculpted each of the cats in terracotta. While domestic cats are hardly dangerous animals, the title transforms what is already a mysterious scenario into something vaguely threatening. We know that that theres no such thing of radioactive cats and they are not bright green. Furthermore there no bright red foxes in real life. |
Natsumi Hayashi |
|
Natsumi Hayashi is a Photographer from Japan. She is best known for her self levitating portrait. Her works deceive the eye. For example, her work presents people, who appear to be floating in mid-air when of course this is not possible. Hayashi has managed to capture a picture of herself in the urban environment in Japan floating in the air.
Hayashi says the symbolic meaning of her photographs was inspired by an old English idiom: 'to have one's feet firmly planted on the ground,' which applies to a practical type of person'. Hayashi feels that she is the opposite of this. When the audience first saw her levitation portrait, it was very interesting to look at. It like looking at a strange spiritual world that we live in and seeing the her feet level draws your attention instantly. Hayashi wanted to represent that she's obsessed with dreaming that she is floating in the air without touching the ground. Furthermore, she uses a very fast shutter speed technique to capture the perfect moment. While she was developing her own surrealist portrait photographs, Hayashi uses the self timer technique as well. Whist she was process her levitating portraits, Hayashi had to repeatedly used the same process jumping in the air. She doesn't give her floating portraits a specific names, She calls them 'Today's Levitation'. She gives them that title because she is processing these images in the present time. |
Hugh Kretschmer |
|
Hugh Kretshmer is an American Photographer from Los Angeles. He is famous for his unusual, imaginative and dreamlike portraits. His work is intriguing to look at because it is very different from any other studio portrait Photography.
Kretshmer's work tends to be dreamlike even though he is addressing social issues. It is a commentary on the human condition, and seeks to embrace the strengths and weaknesses we all share illustrated through quirk and irony. His 22-year career is marked by both editorial and advertising imagery, with an endearing use of metaphor and hand crafted, trick-of-the-eye elements. The artist cites an “amalgamation of different influences from many years of absorbing” as inspiration. Dark, whimsical, and innovative all at once, the artist sees his vision come to life after meticulous set design, styling, lighting, shooting, and post production. Recognition and commercial success came early, driven by Kretschmer’s unique, conceptual still-life collages combining Cubist and Dada influences and in‐camera film techniques. Hugh Kretschmer wanted to represent what kind of visual he has on people much like Man Ray. Furthermore, Kretschmer work tends to be mixture of the surreal and Tim walker's photographic style. 'My ideas are conjured-up by my dreams and desires of what life would be, if only…’ The boxing glove, He said "a personal image reflects my unexplainable fascination and repulsion to the sport of boxing, a theme that seems to keep appearing my work". "The selections were really based on my heart of hearts and the projects that will always have a place there. There are some real favorites from ten years ago that I look at today and I still say to myself, “That was a great day”. ‘My work has been described as many things, from “dark” to “whimsical”. I like that and I take it as a compliment. I appreciate a great many things and, perhaps, that’s showing up in my work. Regardless, I think the biggest goal it has to achieve is fulfilling me creatively.' |
Conclusion
After researching surrealism within photography, I have discovered a huge amount of information about them. When I was analysing certain artwork from the following photographers in the two rooms, I've managed to gather details of what was the meaning of the pieces. For example, 'The Lonely Metropolitan' by Herbert Bayer, I understand that it represents claustrophobia, isolation and loneliness. Also, I have fathomed out of how they could create their own individual images.
There were some similarities between the 20th century and the modern photographers. However, the 1920s and the contemporary photographers used different photographic skills to create their images. The artist in room 1, they have used photomontage technique whereas the room 2 photographers uses the digital technology process. The room 2 artist had more sophisticated processing like Hugh Kretshmer. He used Photoshop to create his own surreal images.
This research influenced my practical work because it gave me the motivation of developing my own 'surrealist' artwork. When I see a photographic work on the internet, I would navigate to the internet to research Photoshop tutorial on how to create this particular piece. It also supports me to try and go beyond with my notion developing my practical work.
There were some similarities between the 20th century and the modern photographers. However, the 1920s and the contemporary photographers used different photographic skills to create their images. The artist in room 1, they have used photomontage technique whereas the room 2 photographers uses the digital technology process. The room 2 artist had more sophisticated processing like Hugh Kretshmer. He used Photoshop to create his own surreal images.
This research influenced my practical work because it gave me the motivation of developing my own 'surrealist' artwork. When I see a photographic work on the internet, I would navigate to the internet to research Photoshop tutorial on how to create this particular piece. It also supports me to try and go beyond with my notion developing my practical work.
Bibliography
http://imageexchange.com/exhibits/manray/intro1.shtml
http://www.sandyskoglund.com/pages/resume/bio%20100806d.html
http://prezi.com/dsdyw7bqle_u/sandy-skoglund/
http://learner.org/courses/globalart/work/242/index.html
http://irenebrination.typepad.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2013/01/rediscovering-wanda-wulz.html
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-ernst-max.htm
http://www.spiral.co.jp/e_schedule/detail_509.html
http://www.featureshoot.com/2009/07/qa-hugh-kretschmer-los-angeles/
http://www.ignant.de/2013/08/14/surreal-photography-by-hugh-kretschmer/
http://www.hughkretschmer.net/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=9&p=2
http://www.sullivangoss.com/herbert_bayer/
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/118066
http://www.spamula.net/blog/2004/07/misfortunes_of_the_immortals_a.html
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ernst-celebes-t01988
http://imagenoire.com/la-femme-100-teeters-rare-max-ernsts-book-of-collage-scans/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383158/Tokyos-Levitating-Girl-Natsumi-Hayashi-causes-internet-sensation.html
http://yowayowacamera.com/pineapple1/
http://www.sandyskoglund.com/pages/resume/bio%20100806d.html
http://prezi.com/dsdyw7bqle_u/sandy-skoglund/
http://learner.org/courses/globalart/work/242/index.html
http://irenebrination.typepad.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2013/01/rediscovering-wanda-wulz.html
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-ernst-max.htm
http://www.spiral.co.jp/e_schedule/detail_509.html
http://www.featureshoot.com/2009/07/qa-hugh-kretschmer-los-angeles/
http://www.ignant.de/2013/08/14/surreal-photography-by-hugh-kretschmer/
http://www.hughkretschmer.net/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=9&p=2
http://www.sullivangoss.com/herbert_bayer/
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/118066
http://www.spamula.net/blog/2004/07/misfortunes_of_the_immortals_a.html
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ernst-celebes-t01988
http://imagenoire.com/la-femme-100-teeters-rare-max-ernsts-book-of-collage-scans/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383158/Tokyos-Levitating-Girl-Natsumi-Hayashi-causes-internet-sensation.html
http://yowayowacamera.com/pineapple1/