Works in Progress Critique

 Constructed Miniature Stage

Subtle Constructions

Prompt 24

A. Pick two images from any of the “constructed reality” photographers presented in class or linked on the assignment sheet. Describe how you could recreate these two images on a “smaller scale”.

I really enjoyed "Throne of Aphrodite" that Lauren posted and "Voodoo Queens" by Nina Chakrabarti.

I could recreate these images on smaller scales, first by using Voodoo Queens as an influence. I could take portraits of friends and family and do designs on their faces digitally, yet have the designs relate to the kind of person the subject is. To recreate the Throne of Aphrodite, I could create make a little chair out of candy and use other colorful candy to create the colorful surroundings.

B. Describe your plans for your self-proposed final project (if the plan is the same as before, paste it here again and give a bit more detail). During the final critique for Assignment #5, you will discuss/present these ideas to the class.

"A way I could create a series of photographic images is to take a topic such as childhood dream jobs and create multiple pictures to express the subject. I could create scenes in which would represent the multiple stereotypical jobs that a child would dream of doing: Teacher, Astronaut, Artist, Veterinarian, Policeman, and etc. 

If I could combine any other media with my photography, I would incorporate digital drawing. Since drawing is my hobby and passion, I feel it would be important to use this project to show the differences between the expressive qualities of drawing and the more realistic qualities of photography. I would use the idea I mentioned in Part A. "

Gathering a few friends and asking them about their childhood "dream jobs", I could use those friends as subjects and photograph them. Using photoshop and other pictures I take, I can combine them into the proper job setting. Then I can digitally draw in the rest of the project to create a scene in which the subject's childhood dream job is played out visually.

Seven Last Words of Christ (1898) by Fred Holland Day 

Fred Holland Day, born July 8th 1864, was an American photographer. He was one of the first in the USA to suggest that photography should be considered a fine art. Many of his photos included symbolic imagery and his photographs "allude to classical antiquity in manner, and often in theme". 

"Day, who was part of the late 19th century pictorialist movement that attempted to apply the characteristics of painting to the photograph, donned a crown of thorns and played the crucified Christ for his camera. He appears in a series of photographs inspired by the last utterances of Christ on the cross. 

    Crump said, "I became interested in Day when I viewed Robert Mapplethorpe's Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective in 1988. This series of pictures, which certainly influenced Mapplethorpe, inspired the subject of my second book, 'F. Holland Day: Suffering the Ideal.' "- http://www.aeqai.com/articles/102010.htm

This image, depicting the dying words of Christ, is interesting in the way it is laid out and how Christ is portrayed. I feel that the artist using his own image to portray a religion's person of interest is a bold move. Other than that, this image does not evoke much impact upon me because of religious religions, so I feel that I cannot relate.

http://www.sandyskoglund.com/
From this website, I found an image that was quite interesting. Titled Fresh Hybrid, the image consists of life-like models of people in bright colors, combined with abstract people/tree combinations and lastly, real people. The blossoms on the trees are small chicks, like the ones I used to receive on Easter. The image is suggested to give a meaning of a lost innocence. 

Blog prompt 23

1. In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?

I construct my identity by wearing certain clothes, dying my hair, and wearing makeup. I "perform" by acting differently according to 

different situations. In some settings, one must act more professional and respectful.

2. Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.

Some ways my social environments are constructed: Get togethers with friends are scheduled and we often meet at certain places. Another way a social environment are school dances. The school usually transforms the gym into a dance area and adds decorations and light fixtures. 

3. Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.

My physical environment/space was planned out, and is had been set up as many other dorm rooms had been already set up. We all start with the same furniture in the same areas.

4. In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?

Most physical things in my daily life are constructed and fabricated, so I consider "emotions and feelings" to be the most "real".

5. Describe a narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. A narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” ( Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler , 34).

A narrative tableaux I could create could be a birthday party, a first date, or a protest. 

6. Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34).

An idea I have for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life is using paper dolls that look like my friends or family  and have them interacting with each other or a recreation of a fairy tale with paper dolls.

In this image, I chose to do a play off of fashion photography. Like in the next image, I put the model in a weird outfit (to mimic the ridiculous outfits fashion models sometimes wear). I would like to re-take this photo because I feel the lighting did not create enough of a contrast. It would have been nice if the lighting lightened up the model, but was darker in the background.

This lighting in this photo is dramatic and high lights the face. This lighting helps to heighten the contrast. This picture is a parody of fashion photography. In most fashion photos I see, the models are wearing the most ridiculous outfits. I asked the model to bring tons of different items to wear and she chose to wear a blonde wig with a mickey mouse cap, and darkened her face with bronzer to create a clashing effect.

In this image, I created a composition while thinking about the prompt "Crime scene". I used high contrast to mimic the harsh flash that crime photographers use. I chose to focus mainly upon the pill bottles, rather than the "dead body" in order to show the focus was "evidence". Looking upon the photo, you assume that the cause of death would be suicide, but instead I chose to show the evidence being concentrated on heavily, which could prompt someone to wonder if it was just a set up to cover a murder.

 

 For this last image, I chose to create a movie poster. I wanted to create something scary, but at the same time get a laugh out of the viewer. This isn't the printed version, where I darkened the contrast, centered the text and changed the font. I also added a small paragraph of text underneath the title to mimic the small, almost unreadable text on movie posters that most people tend to ignore. To create this image, I went into my bathroom because I do not have a curtain on my windows. Instead, I used the shower curtain. In order to create a softer look on the shower curtain, I set up a strobe light in the bathroom with the light off. My camera was set on a slow shutter speed and I moved the camera slightly, which created a double "ghost" image and made the curtains appear softer and the fingers more bone-like. 

Blog 22

A. Series: Brainstorm various ways to make a “series” of photographic images.

A way I could create a series of photographic images is to take a topic such as childhood dream jobs and create multiple pictures to express the subject. I could create scenes in which would represent the multiple stereotypical jobs that a child would dream of doing: Teacher, Astronaut, Artist, Veterinarian, Policeman, and etc. 

B. Final Project: Your final project in this class will be designed by you. If you could tackle any photography project, what would it be? You could combine other media with photography (video, sculpture, drawing) or you could take one of your earlier assignments and expand it to create a larger project. If you are expanding an earlier project or creating an entirely new series of images, shoot for a series of at least 5 images. Describe an idea you have for your final project.

If I could combine any other media with my photography, I would incorporate digital drawing. Since drawing is my hobby and passion, I feel it would be important to use this project to show the differences between the expressive qualities of drawing and the more realistic qualities of photography. I would use the idea I mentioned in Part A. 

High Fashion Recreation

By Jason Christopher

In my recreation, I wanted to create a similar, but different image. In the first photo, it is a clear full body shot. However, a lot of the emphasize is on the model's legs. When ever I view "High fashion" photography, I feel like the large exposed area of skin is shown a lot. 

In my portrait, however, I wanted to make a more dynamic and eye catching pose. The straight on shot is almost too boring for me and I like there to be movement in my photos. 

The legs here are still the main focus, but the figure is standing in such a way that the focus goes from the legs to the upper body. I also wanted to create a higher contrast upon the subject in order to further blend it into the background.