Unit 3 Project 1
Michael Wolf
When i look at the work of Micheal Wolf, I feel as if there is a reason behind why he took each photograph. For example, the image below i feel carries an edge of beauty from what is most likely a vast building simply under construction? It also carries with it a co-ordinated pattern of color and shape and makes me respond to it in a unexplainable way.. As if the photograph has a heart beat to it, its calm within what is clearly a hectitc and fast moving city. I think the reason for me feeling like this is due to many eliments that Wolf has taken into account beforecapturing this photograph, such as the light against the building, most likely taken with a setting sun. Also the distance from which Wolf took the photograph helps to ease the sheer scale of the building and make the image appear far more relaxed than as if the photo had been taken from possibly closer or above/below.
I am particularly interested in this image by Michael Wolf as it displays a unique side to the city often overlooked by passers by. Wolfs unrivaled ability to turn the ordanary into art is displayed here, with this image of a council flat appearing to show symmetry. Yet when the image is examined closer, the small details of difference can be picked out in between each small section of flats, indicating the individuality within the society.
Set 1 - Response to Michael Wolf
AIM: The aim of this set was to respond to the work of the photographer, Michael Wolf and to try and capture his unique style of photographing the patterns and combinations of the modern, urban world.
PROCESS: For this set i photographed buildings within central London, aiming to capture symmetry and as much as a direct, 'flat-on' angle as possible. CRITIQUE: I feel this set was successful as i was able to capture parts of central London on many iconic buildings, in ways that have not been observed before. I particularly tried to keep to a themed colour of blues and i feel this has made this set of photographs more interesting. |
Set 2 - Response to Berenice Abbot
AIM: The aim of this set was to photograph the city as a visual response to the work of Berenice Abbot. I desired to take photographs of a changing, modern and towering city.
PROCESS: For this set i used a very high ISO and photographed buildings from unique angle and often directly under them, in order to give them a sense of 'awe' and power. CRITIQUE: I feel the final images of this set were successful as they were able to create the effect i desired. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT: To take this set further i would like to photograph the city in another way to Berenice Abbot, i would like to photograph the often overlooked sites within a city. similarly to the ideas of michael wolf however i would be interested in using people as well. |
Edward Hopper
Whilst researching into the work of Michael Wolf and Andreas Gurskey I looked at the work of some of their influences, one of which was the painter Edward Hopper whos work i found interesting and would like to try to immitate, but with a camera. In a way coming across simply as street photography.
Hopper derived his subject matter from two primary sources: one, the common features of American life (gas stations, motels, restaurants, theaters, railroads, and street scenes) and two; its inhabitants. Throughout the urban environment there appears to be always something new and unique happening everyday, everywhere. However Hopper seems to focus mainly on the ordinary parts of life and society, in a way picking out more the loneliness of city life rather than the extrodinary. Michael Wolf was able to capture this in his photography as well with his set 'the transparent city', and i will aim to take photographs that show the reality of city life.
Urban architecture and cityscapes were also major subjects for Hopper as for myself. He was fascinated with the American urban scene, “our native architecture with its hideous beauty, its fantastic roofs, pseudo-gothic, French Mansard, Colonial, mongrel or what not, with eye-searing color or delicate harmonies of faded paint, shouldering one another along interminable streets that taper off into swamps or dump heaps.”, I am looking to capture both this and the loneliness of the city in my photography.
Hopper derived his subject matter from two primary sources: one, the common features of American life (gas stations, motels, restaurants, theaters, railroads, and street scenes) and two; its inhabitants. Throughout the urban environment there appears to be always something new and unique happening everyday, everywhere. However Hopper seems to focus mainly on the ordinary parts of life and society, in a way picking out more the loneliness of city life rather than the extrodinary. Michael Wolf was able to capture this in his photography as well with his set 'the transparent city', and i will aim to take photographs that show the reality of city life.
Urban architecture and cityscapes were also major subjects for Hopper as for myself. He was fascinated with the American urban scene, “our native architecture with its hideous beauty, its fantastic roofs, pseudo-gothic, French Mansard, Colonial, mongrel or what not, with eye-searing color or delicate harmonies of faded paint, shouldering one another along interminable streets that taper off into swamps or dump heaps.”, I am looking to capture both this and the loneliness of the city in my photography.
Set 3 - Response to Edward Hopper
AIM: Within this set i attempted to photograph the loneliness and sadness within a city, in response to the work of Edward Hopper and as a development from my earlier Berenice Abbot set of photographs.
PROCESS: For these photographs i set into central and east london, attempting to capture the sadness and loneliness that can be found so frequently in the city. I used the photographs that involved vanishing points within my final images in order to create atmosphere around the character within each image. I also played on the idea of character within the image with the final photograph of this set, leaving the viewer to assess who the character is and possibly find that it may be themselves. CRITIQUE: I am fond of this set as i like the way several of the images have turned out so that it appears they are trapped in a cage of these towering buildings. the size comparisson of us and our world is also highlighted in this set with hopefully the viewer realising the insignificance of our size compared to our abilities and what we can create. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT: To take this set further i would like to create a new and different landscape of the city, playing with our abilities to imagine the alternative and abstract. |
Tim Roeloffs
After observing the urban environment, i took an interest in making my own landscapes using photoshop. I was further intrigued by the work of Tim Roeloffs as i stumbled onto his photo collages by coincidence, and saw the messages he was able to create with his work as well as it being a unique form of art. Tim Roeloffs is the best known collage / photo montage artist in the world famous artist colony Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin, Germany. Having had works commissioned by Versace he has become known for his creations which reflect real life, not only Berlin but the rest of the world. His inimitable sense of humour has been influenced by a thousand impressions of television, beer and daily life on the streets.
Filip Dujardin
Belgian photographer Filip Dujardin makes images of unexpected buildings – that is, he combines photographs of parts of buildings into new, fictional, architectonic structures. Every montage, says Dujardin, is one project. It begins with an idea for a specific image. Often he starts off by building a model of the form he is trying to achieve – at first in cardboard, but he has recently discovered SketchUp. He then goes on a photo safari, often just around the corner, to find suitable buildings "with a lot of the same things," so that they can be cut and pasted and serve as building material. In fact most of the fictional structures are buildings in Ghent, just resampledThere seem to be multiple sub-themes, and even sub-projects, within the larger effort. There are surreal detached structures, for instance, like the image that opens this post, standing free amidst a recognizable but anonymous landscape. In some of his work it can be seen that even geological forms become subject to resampling and this is what particularly interested me in his work. I attempted to use this technique and style that Filip Dujardin desplays and create my own collage works.
I found this particular image by Dujardin interesting and related my work to this. The starting point has clearly been chosen as an open space in which Dujardin starts his layering and collaging on photoshop. I particularly like the playfulness of this image as its hard to interpret what it is that Filip wants the viewer to se within this image. I see myself viewing a block of flats, constructed from shipping containers and olf buildings layered on top of each other, set along side in assending order.
Set 4 - Response to Tim Roeloffs and Filip Dujardin
AIM: The aim of this set was to take a response set to the work of artists Tim Roeloffs and Filip Dujardin. I aimed to take generally open spaces and photoshop the landscape into them.
PROCESS: For this set i photographed plain back grounds and scenes i found interesting. I then edited these on photoshop and added layers of buildings and other images i had taken, carefully cropping particular parts out of my other photographs and adding them to the one canvas. CRITIQUE: I feel this set was a success and that the final outcomes were entertaining, interesting and unique. however they maintained a response and the techniques used by Tim Roeloffs and Filip Dujardin. |