exhibition visit: andreas gursky @ the hayward gallery
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this exhibition at the hayward gallery, that i visited on the 5th february, explores the work of andres gursky through photographs he has taken and made over the last four decades, ranging from pioneering early works to new pictures made last year. whether depicting vast landscape, teeming crowds or massive man-made structures, gursky's art has been driven by his insight into forms of collective existence- this relates to the theme secrets, codes or conventions, particularly conventions as he is looking at the different conventions across the world- such as nature in his landscapes, unrelated individuals and the chaos of people, in his works relating to crowds and competition at a formula one race, in f1 pit stop 1. in order to capture these epic scenes, he has developed ways of creating monumental photographs whose pronounced physical presence is matched by their unprecedented clarity. along with his frequent use of a distant viewpoint, this approach has produced pictures that feature a dizzying quantity of detail and highlight formal patterns, as gursky challenges the viewer.
99 Cent II Diptychon (2001)
south bank walk:
Annotate: www, ebi, what's next / potential ways forward
secret locations- bomb site task
Introduce the task and link to the theme
Jim Dyson
jim dyson is a Photographer who recently travelled to locations across London to make comparisons between scenes from the Blitz and present-day images, laying one on top of the other. The secrets that have now been covered are laid bare and his intentions which relates to the theme secrets, codes and conventions is that the locations past lives are shown for all to see.
my response
i went to different locations in London and photographed scenes in oxford street, including outside the john lewis compartment store where on the bomb sight website there were pictures from the aftermath of the blitz and the same with the main building in the oxford circus cross roads. then using images found on bomb site i photoshopped the old ruins of the city over the top of the my new pictures.
Annotate: www, ebi, what's next / potential ways forward
task 1 - glitch
Glitch art takes temporary pixelations, interruptions and glitches and turns them into visually arresting pieces, questioning the forms and traditions of art using digital techniques.The idea is that visual artefacts and distortion from data corruption can look even better than the original.
The process:
Firstly, i dragged the photos into photoshop and then to 'file' - 'save as'. Then from the drop down box, i chose 'TIFF'. as This format is the best for distorting images using audacity.
After i opened 'audacity' and clicked 'file' - 'import' - 'raw data'. Once i selected my image, i changed the first drop down box to 'U-law' |
Then, i randomly selected different parts of my audio image by highlighting a selected area. In order to distort it, i went to 'effect' and chose one of the ones listed. I found that it worked best when you highlighted smaller areas and used multiple effects. |
dark room glitch
task 2 - hidden beauty, perfection in the imperfect
Introduce the task and link to the theme
extension task 2 - compromises
mariah robertson's chemical reaction
Dust marks, light leaks and scratches are traditionally seen as blemishes that impede a photograph’s depiction of reality. However, some photographers have taken advantage of creative opportunities to explore the relationship between these unforeseen elements and the image captured by the camera.
In her work 11 Mariah Robertson creates both a photograph and a sculpture, 11 is made on a single roll of commercially available photographic paper, one hundred feet long and thirty inches wide. Robertson makes her pictures using analog darkroom processes—combining and enlarging negatives, placing objects directly on the paper and then exposing them, dripping or painting chemicals onto the paper, and exposing it to coloured gels (sometimes with a flashlight) and to other lights. The installation of 11 may vary; the print can be draped over walls or structures, piled up on itself, or suspended from the ceiling, possibilities limited only by the architecture and the properties of the photographic paper. In Robertson’s work, the materiality of photography is called into question, at a time when digital techniques are drastically changing the face of the medium.
i then took my own images of things i found on the streets, including cigarettes as irving penn did.
Annotate: www, ebi, what's next / potential ways forward
Task 3 - the group shot - codes of behaviour
The group photo has powerful underlying conventions, whether a family portrait or a gathering of friends. These reflect codes of behaviour that shift over time.
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the conversation:
.Using the technique used for the conversation take a series of images that illustrate the codes and conventions of your school life. Break time in the common room , Learning in the classroom are all routines that you carry out on a daily basis and reflect codes of behaviour.Use the concepts shown by Paul M Smith and create a series of images that challenge these conventions and have one person caring out all the roles portrait ed.
H/W
Photograph different scene at home that illustrate your conventions and behaviour. This could be Sunday lunch or Saturday night watching the Tv. As above use the concepts shown by Paul M Smith and create a series of images that challenge these conventions and have one person caring out all the roles portrait ed.
www- during this task, i successfully used the technique of taking a series of photos, and then editing them together to illustrate the codes and conventions of school life, such as boredom, confrontations and snacking in the common room, reflected by the routines carried out on a daily basis.
ebi- a brighter location, in order for the expressions on the girl to be shown and when organising the composition of my photos, i wouldn't let the hands over lap aswell as this made the editing process hard.
the process
using the lasso tool, i then outlined the figure of the model and select > inversed the outlined figure to the rest of the picture. to continue, i clicked on refine images and feathered out the outline of the figure, in order for it to blend in with the rest of the photo and soften its edges.i then pressed the delete button, to delete the background so that only the outlined figure was left layered over the background photograph. |
after Selecting the layer with the figure, i added layer mask by clicking the mask icon.
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i then SELECTed THE BRUSH TOOL and CLICKed on THE SMALL TWO OVERLAPPING SQUARES IN my TOOLBOX TO SET THE FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND COLOURS TO BLACK AND WHITE. finally,
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three strands
strand one- codes of identity
sandy garnett
There are few symbols which represent humanity to the extent that fingerprints have left their marks all over the evolution of civilization. Humanity is inclined to enjoy the fingerprints of its creativity, although no artist has explored this symbol of human identity like Sandy Garnett.
Garnett’s career as a professional artist began at the age of twenty. His motivations above all else have centered upon the discovery of truth through the mastery of multiple genres of painting. In an era of pluralism, where genres learn to coexist as the philosophies behind them are revised or collapse, Garnett continues to evolve four distinctive bodies of work concurrently, moving from one genre to the next as a fundamental exercise of his creative process. As a self-described first generation Reconstructionist, Garnett’s mission statement is to build bridges between the genres now that the twentieth century art world has thoroughly deconstructed itself. Garnett’s unorthodox process, fluent range and ambitious engagement with the issues that challenge contemporary art reflect a timeless quality that pervades the artist’s work and life. The Fingerprint Project is one of the cornerstones in Garnett’s evolution as an original creative spirit. The Fingerprint Project is a collaborative exercise between the artist and the world’s inhabitants. Garnett collects fingerprints with which he creates art objects. Garnett investigates a wealth of materials and means of creativity through the project that most artists have trouble achieving with one theme or cohesive body of work. This series stands as an original contribution to the dialogue of contemporary art.
artist statement: Working with the thousands of fingerprints I have collected from friends, family members and strangers over the years, I explore identity through painting, drawing, sculpture, silkscreen, photography, digital art and video. Fingerprints allow me to create in several mediums and genres at once. While investigating the formal qualities of an abstracted fingerprint composition I am nevertheless painting a portrait of Bill, for example. The formality of a given fingerprint art work challenges but rarely supersedes the inherently spiritual nature of my fingerprint portraits, a tension I always look for in my creative process. The Fingerprint Project requires the collaborative energies of subjects who support my fascination with their uniqueness. I am at work on a lifetime project that responds to the contemporary art arena while exploring fundamental symbols of human identity.
Sandy Garnett's fascination with identity has led him to explore the detail of the fingerprint through portraits. We all know we can be identified by our fingerprint but the print must be magnified for us to notice its unique patterns and design. Looking closely is the primary job of an artist. If he does it well we are compelled to notice things we have not seen before.
SANDY GARNETT'S FASCINATION WITH IDENTITY HAS LED HIM TO EXPLORE THE DETAIL OF THE FINGERPRINT THROUGH PORTRAITS. WE ALL KNOW WE CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY OUR FINGERPRINT BUT THE PRINT MUST BE MAGNIFIED FOR US TO NOTICE ITS UNIQUE PATTERNS AND DESIGN. LOOKING CLOSELY IS THE PRIMARY JOB OF AN ARTIST. IF HE DOES IT WELL WE ARE COMPELLED TO NOTICE THINGS WE HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE. this is shown in the photos above, as garnett projected each of the models fingerprints over their faces.
barcodes and scancodes
in these images, i projected barcodes and scancodes over the faces of my friends, this is because as fingerprints are the genetic coding of human's identities i wanted to contrast this with the identity of objects. The identity includes their price, worth and information of the object. i projected this over their faces, as the codes objectify my friends in the pictures as it does the objects in for example, a supermarket.
fingerprints
in these compositions, i projected fingerprint scans over the faces of the models, in response to sandy garnett to explore the idea of identity as a projection of ourselves.
STrand two- Alphabetical Codes- mandarin
Thoroughly annotate like you did with the first strand
chosen strand three- surveillance
This needs annotating too- introduce your intentions, link it to the theme....
first response~ mechanisms of surveillance
-sustained investigation ideas
third response- WHERE'S THE SECOND RESPONSE? ~ photos from the surveillance point of view- places
alleyways and sidestreets in Genoa, italy
Really tenuous. Make it explicit how it links to your theme / intention
places of surveillance~ tunnels
fourth response greenwich foot tunnel under the thames
Annotate- explain intentions of this development, www, ebi and what's next
fifth resonse woolwich foot tunnel under the thames
Annotate- explain intentions of this development, www, ebi and what's next. Are these edited. You must include unedited contacts / selects first.
sixth response~ derelict tunnel in highgate
Annotate- explain intentions of this development, www, ebi and what's next
CCTV
seventh response~ surveillance of a derelict place- the old holloway police station
Annotate- explain intentions of this development, www, ebi and what's next. Don't forget contacts and selects BEFORE edits
eighth response~ surveillance of people- at greenwich market
Annotate- explain intentions of this development, www, ebi and what's next