Lecture Notes: Metaphor & Allegory
POSTED ON Monday, 25 February 2013 AT 11:24 \\
met·a·phor  (mt-fôr, -fr)
n.
1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison

al·le·go·ry  (l-gôr, -gr)
n. pl. al·le·go·ries
1.
a. The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.
b. A story, picture, or play employing such representation.

(definitions from the free dictionary)

I found there to be a strong link between these terms and semiotics and their relevence to the art world. Creating a narrative or symbolising something is a common occurance in photography, props, people and colour can all contribute as metaphors for something. For example: 

Tracey Emin
I Got It All, 2000
(image source)

Philip Lorca DiCorcia
Mario, 1978
(image source)

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Lecture Notes: Semiotics
POSTED ON Monday, 11 February 2013 AT 11:21 \\
se•mi•ot•ics (ˌsi miˈɒt ɪks, ˌsɛm i-, ˌsi maɪ-) 
n. (used with a sing. v.)


1. the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing.
2. a general theory of signs and symbolism, usu. divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics.
(definition from the free dictionary)
CLICK TO ENLARGE (source)

 Examples in our culture:
  • Traffic lights: Red = Stop, Green = Go (red is a universal indicator of danger)
  • Toilet signs: Ladies toilets are represented wearing a skirt


Analysis of semiotics takes place in three ways:

  •  A "LINGUISTIC" MESSAGE: this is the use of words alongside an image
  •  A "NON-CODED" ICONIC: this is the identifiable object in the image (symbol)
  •  A "CODED ICONIC" MESSAGE: the connotations

Use of semiotics in art, photography & film

Johnny Cash - Hurt

In some cases of film and video, dialogue and sound isn't the sole contributor to making a situation understandable. The lyrics to the song Hurt talk of loneliness and pain: "everyone I know goes away in the end". The lyrics are significant in the impact that they have on the music video in the same way that a linguistic message or the use of words has on a sign. Words and dialogue provide meaning and explanation, but it is also the visual aspect that shows this. Watching the music video on mute provides a somewhat similar effect that watching with sound would have by the use of symbols, such as the disappearing photoframe, the flash backs to Cash's earlier life and career. The bleakness, the regret and the despair can still be felt through the imagery of the video without the music. Semiotics are a useful tool used by artists and photographers to convey a meaning to an image. Photographers who heavily stage their photographs such as Gregory Crewdson is just one example of this.

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Forum Debate: Digital vs. Analog
POSTED ON Wednesday, 6 February 2013 AT 12:28 \\
Here is what I had to say on the topic of Digital vs. Analog:


"I think it all depends on what the photographer or artist is trying to achieve. In the commercial world, where products and services are trying to be sold, the digital route would seem to be the smarter option: creating sharp and high quality images that can be further enhanced through Photoshop as a way of selling products (even though this can lead to false advertising).
In fashion photography, for example, a majority of photographers do choose to work in digital, but earlier fashion photographers would have used film and still created some beautiful images. Even Tim Walker, one of the most sought after fashion photographers of our generation, chooses to work in film rather than digital, and creates some images that in some cases feel impossible to achieve through a film camera and with no manipulation from Photoshop and the likes. Film has its uses, positives and negatives the same as digital. I personally feel that digital photography is shot down too often- yes, everyone nowadays has a camera, be it a professional camera or just on a phone but to say that everyone who owns a camera and presses a button immediately could make it as a professional is a little unreasonable. That's like saying that if someone is using a film camera, even if they just bought a lomo as a fashion accessory is a more credible photographer than someone who works on an SLR. The digital age has come on leaps and bounds and even digitally taken photographs can be manipulated so well that they would pass for a film print, but then you do lose the 'magic' that comes with the processing and printing of film. I think that it is important that photographers or those interested in the subject should never forget the roots of photography and how it began: learning the processes of using film and being in the darkroom are highly beneficial to improving your own image making even if you do work on digital as it helps you to be more selective with what you photograph and take greater care over your work rather than taking thousands of images at once and maybe not being so selective.
When I was researching Nan Goldin for our portraiture timeline I came across this statement from the artist: 
"I've never considered photography one of the higher art forms. Everyone takes photos; now even phones can. The whole issue of digital is so depressing to me; my process is gone. There were all kinds of unknown things that could come out in a photograph, things you didn't know were there until you saw it; now it's all so flat." (article here)
Personally I strongly disagree with what Goldin says here, both digital and analog create impressive images, and I'm sure we've all taken a photo on a digital camera and seen something in that image that we didn't expect to see, much like on a negative."

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Forum Debate: Is It All About Instagram?
POSTED ON AT 12:23 \\

One of the forums started for this unit was to do with the infamous app, Instagram. It seems that there are conflicting opinions regarding the app where you crop, edit and share your images with friends and followers.  It came to attention in the debate that it aggrovates some that people claim to call themselves photographers purely by using the app that seems to make pretty much any picture look good with the use of a filter or two. However, in my experience of the app, I haven't come across anyone that uses it to boast that they are a successful photographer when all they do is take a snap on their iPhone. I see that instagram is just an app, there for fun. It's a fast and easy way to connect through pictures. As one person mentioned on the forum "Besides, if you choose to display your photographic work on there then that's your choice, I personally don't have anything against people doing this but, let's be honest, it's a poor way to go about doing it." Established or passionate photographers are unlikely to post their work on Instagram, but there is nothing wrong with using it for fun. At the end of the day it's just an app, a boredom buster.

Another comment I agree with was this: "I am sure that when the photographic method was accomplished, traditional artists all around the world cried in outrage." The art world prior to photography, and even artists working now often put down photography and claim that it isn't an artform, that anyone can merely push a button and make an image. Photographers who are against Instagram are behaving in a similar manner, anyone can apply a set of ready to use filters to make an image look presentable. 

I personally use Instagram to communicate visually amoungst the social networking sphere, share something from my day to day life, much like you would tweet or write a Facebook status. I would never use Instagram to take images for a professional reason or for a portfolio. Instagram like all these things, is just a fad that in years to come will be superceded by something new. Just like in Photography, there is a craze amongst young 'hipsters' to use Lomos, cheap film cameras that let the light leak in and create an unpredictable colours or damage to the image or even using a fish eye lens to capture something 'alternative' and 'individual' because they are simply too cool for digital cameras now. It's all simply a phase that needs to be taken lightly, very few people who use Instagram will get significantly acknowledged for their photos on there in comparison to the millions that have the app so there is no need to be concerned that the future of Photography lies solely in an iPhone. 

Just take it lightly and enjoy it, and don't knock it until you've tried it.

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Gallery Visit: 'E Book Show' - John Hansard Central Gallery: Part 2
POSTED ON Tuesday, 5 February 2013 AT 09:24 \\
This post will give a brief overview of some of my favourite works from the photobook show. Overall I was very impressed with the variety of work displayed and the imagination behind it. The quality of some of the books was so outstanding that I was really surprised to learn that most of them were in fact hand made. Here are some of my favourite books from the show.

favourite books


Este Seu Olhar - Maíra Soares

This little book was the first I looked at in the show and remains to be one of my favourites. The use of soft pastel blue as a cover and a baby pink suede tie, along with the delicate pink page dividers between each image complimented the personal feel of the subject matter: photographs of her mother, taken by Soares' father during their honeymoon.
 (image source & website)



The Voyage - Peter Bennett

At first glance there are similarities between Soares photobook and this one as it also has a pastel blue cover. However the content is very different but equally well suited to the design. The book opens out into a consatina format, creating a new dimension to the other photobooks in the exhibition and presents the deconstruction of the pages in an old ship's log. The thing that drew me to this book was the use of soft colours and the square format of the book.
(image source & website)



Salaryman Project - Bruno Quinquet

Because of my interest in Japanese and Korean culture, the content of this book by Bruno Quinquet appealed to me the most of all the photobooks. I really liked the format of the book, displaying the photographs in the format of a business schedule, including a calendar under each page and even pages of important Japanese holidays. This format complimented the photographic content of well dressed Japanese businesmen whose lives are heavily organised and structured. Quinquet states that "On one hand, it explores images of masculinity and normality in the world of Tokyo office workers. On the other hand, it is an observation of the sense of the season in the Japanese capital. The photographic style is an attempt to adapt in a creative way to the increasing constraints of portraits rights on candid street photography. As a result, mystery and poetry seem to blossom around the supposedly boring corporate world." (credit)

(image source & website)


other books 

Here are some of the other books in the show that caught my attention.
Speaking of Scars - Teresa Eng 
I liked this book because of the use of layering. Some images were printed on opaque paper (like tissue paper) and it also included little open out sections of paper. You can see this in the video link above.

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Gallery Visit: 'E Book Show' - John Hansard Central Gallery: Part 1
POSTED ON Monday, 4 February 2013 AT 12:46 \\
The E book show is an exhibition showcasing a variety of different photobooks from all over the world by a whole host of different photographers, students and artists. Some of the photobooks are handmade, others made professionally or using online book publishing software and come in all shapes and sizes.
I attended the opening night of the book show for a first glimpse of some of the work on display and was stunned by the amount of creativity and diversity amongst the selection.

the gallery space




The name of each artist whose photobook was featured in this year's show was printed on the gallery wall.


One large table positioned at an angle going diagonally through the space. 

Books are all positioned on this singular table along with a name tag to each book including a website, number of copies, and other information. The use of white throughout the exhibition space (table, ceiling, walls) to keep things neutral and not to distract the viewer from the works. the long tubes of lighting above the books had to be considered too. Positioning the light to close could injure or distract the audience, and too high up could cast shadows on the books. Every effort was made to create the appearance of natural light so that colours in the books wouldn't be altered by a yellow/harsh coloured light. Overall, I really liked the simplicity of this gallery space. It kept the focus purely on the books themselves, books that in many cases were small and intricate and required your full attention to understand them. 

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Gallery Visit: 'Drawn Together, Drawn Apart' - Southampton City Gallery
POSTED ON AT 12:45 \\
As the module begins, it seemed fitting to begin looking at some galleries. From today's session we were sent off to independantly look at one of the exhibitions currently taking place at Southampton City Gallery. The exhibition Drawn Together, Drawn Apart: The Philip Schlee Collection of Drawings is a selection of works by a variety of different artists, bought by avid collector Philip Schlee. In this post I will be breaking down what can be found in the four galleries that make up this exhibition and drawing out some of the works that caught my eye for futher analysis.

gallery 1:

Preparotory drawings as a means of exploring decisions on factors such as composition, tone and colour. The sketches were acquired with assosciated finished works- aiming to provoke questions on their relationship: What is lost when a drawn line is replaced with a brush stroke? What effect does scale have on the relationship between colour?  This space is a representation of drawings carried out as part of an artist's daily routine.

gallery 2:


This gallery featured a large variety of different mediums used to create a vast expanse of work, using materials such as pencil, charcoal, acrylics, ink, pastels, watercolours, collage, screenprints, mono prints and etchings. The questions asked here: What constitutes a drawing? Is the manipulation of a line to enclose shape or colour? The works in this collection give off the impression of something incomplete; an image that asks the viewer to collaboration with it to achieve its completion.


Left: Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Omaggio a Michelangelo, 1975

Right: Tong Cragg, Untitled (ink on paper)

galleries 3 & 4

Gallery 3's space consists of a selection of works accompanying studies from the City Art Gallery's own collection- it features a wide range of approaches, from traditional to unconventional. The final gallery, Gallery 4 holds a selection of life drawings. In this final gallery, you are informed of the use of a grid to accurately transfer scale. This is a technique used by post-impressionists such as Edgar Degas and Walter Sickert.

Henry Lamb, Edie McNeill, 1911 
(oil on canvas) (image)

I really love the use of colours in this painting. I am partial to the use of soft colours and lighting in imagery and I feel that the use of muted shades fully compliments the figure in the painting.

my favourite work


John Salt
A-Ok Autos, 2003 (casein on canvas)
(image source)
Photorealism

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