SUMMER 2022: DISGUISE
This summer you should research an artist of your choice and evaluate a single image in detail. You have practised this recently in the assessment. Choose an artist and image(s) that interest you. It is important to be genuinely curious.
RESEARCH
Research is important. You need to discover some reliable information about your chosen artist/photographer. You must not copy and paste the information. This is called plagiarism. When you copy somebody's work you cannot claim it as your own. Secondly, you must choose what is relevant to your project. How would you describe the artist/photographer's practice? What equipment do they use? What is the concept or idea behind their work? What experiences of theirs are relevant to the work? It is good practice to read a few different articles. Make some notes or bullet points and then write about them in your own words.
Research Example:
I often look at the work of artists and photographers and, recently, I discovered these images by Zohra Opoku. The simple compositions, with the face almost central, instantly made me think of the theme 'Disguise'. I liked the fact that they were all in black and white and, in some of the images, the darker tones appear sepia. The faces hidden by plants, fruit trees and foliage, was a simple but effective disguise strategy. I decided to look at more images and do a little more research. The best place to find information was either from the artist's website or a gallery where she had been exhibited. I knew that the information would be reliable.
I found out that she is from Ghana and has a German mother. Her work is primarily focused on examining the political, historical and cultural influences of personal identities in Ghana. Although her work is primarily photographic, what I found most interesting is that she uses the technique of screen printing onto fabric. She also uses alternative and traditional photographic techniques in her work. I understood why the colour and texture of the first image interested me as it was probably the effect of screen printing on fabric. I decided to search for some more images.
I found out that she is from Ghana and has a German mother. Her work is primarily focused on examining the political, historical and cultural influences of personal identities in Ghana. Although her work is primarily photographic, what I found most interesting is that she uses the technique of screen printing onto fabric. She also uses alternative and traditional photographic techniques in her work. I understood why the colour and texture of the first image interested me as it was probably the effect of screen printing on fabric. I decided to search for some more images.
Image Analysis Example:
I was most interested in this image. It appears to be a portrait but with a 'curtain' of leaves in front of the figure. We can see just a little more than the head and shoulders. The figure is central and the composition is balanced. The artist seems to have used daylight. This is because the shadows of the plants are relatively soft and the tones appear natural. There is a lot of information in the image. The leaves are dispersed across the picture plane but there are areas uncovered like the blouse. I like the range of tones in the image, although the lighting is fairly subdued with no real highlights. The shadows also contain detail. I wonder used a timer or cable release to make this self-portrait. There is a stillness in the pose and because of this the image makes me feel quite calm. This image makes curious about the facial features which have been hidden by the leaves. This is a simple idea for a portrait but so interesting. To find out that it has been screen printed makes me want to experiment with using a variety of materials and simple processes. This artist made me realise that creating an interesting photographic image can consist of a simple idea enhanced by using various techniques and processes. |
EXPERIMENTATION
Take a series of 20 photographs as a response to your chosen artist. Don't need to simply copy their work. Think about an element of the work that interests you. Think about how your artist has explored the idea of disguise. Will you photograph in colour or black and white. Think carefully about how you will compose your images. Will you edit your image after you have shot it?
REVIEW AND REFINE
Choose a selection of your images to refine. This means that you will need to look at the images, write a few comments about what improvements you need to make and then make those improvements. Take another set of images and make the improvements that you have written about.
PRESENTATION
Present these images as a set and evaluate them. Your final set of images should be ones that you would like to present in a gallery or exhibition.