London trip/photography research

Apologies for not posting for a while, I have been catching up on photography theory work.

The London trip was brilliant, especially the 4 Designers conference. It was a great opportunity to hear from some of the U.K's top designers around, such as Tom Adams from FutureBrand, Morag Myerscough, James Cannell (creative director at Pret A Manger) and Greg Quinton from The Partners. All four where hugely influential for my next graphic design brief which is all about advertising myself to future employers. Hopefully after tomorrow I will have a clear understanding on how to approach the brief but I am starting to think of some ideas already.  

Moving on, I have been getting a lot of photography research done for the next project, which is all about still life. With the themes available, I was stuck between choosing 'touched' (photographing a tool that has a meaning), 'personal shrine' (photographing a collection of items that tell a story about a person, place or memory) or 'specimen hunting' (photographing a collection of items that could be interesting). To start, I did a bit of research for each theme to help make my mind up.

The first photographer I researched was Walker Evans and the common tools he photographed. I was fascinated by the way the photos were completed as he had glass behind the object and the background was one foot away. I found the end result to dramatically increase the appearance of these objects as there were no shadows on show and he emphasised the beautiful shapes of these tools well. I would love to try a similar technique myself but I was unsure on what object to use, so I did not choose this theme.   

Catholic shrine

Christian shrine

For the 'personal shrine' theme, I did some research on what a 'shrine' is. I realised it was a box or case that represents a holy or sacred place that serves as a figure of high importance. I also found shrines to be used in various religions too. From completing my research about these, I am considering choosing the personal shrine theme as I am confident in my ideas and will be able to show a strong link between the purpose of a shrine and who I want to dedicate as a sign of respect.

Adiantum pedatum (1898-1928)

Cucurbita (1928)

For the 'specimen hunting' theme, I found Karl Blossfeldt to be a great example in helping me establish ideas. I have taken a strong interest in his work as I love the abstract design of the flowers he photographed. He takes the look of a flower and transforms it into something that differentiates itself from the original object. As Walter Benjamin quoted, Blossfeldt "has played his part in that great examination of the inventory of perception, which will have an unforeseeable effect on our conception of the world". Hopefully in a test shoot I can try a similar style to this. 
   

Object (Abeilles) 1940

Untitled (Pink Palace) 1946-48

After careful thought, I decided to broaden my research with the 'personal shrine' theme as my focal point. From that, I researched the work of Joseph Cornell. His work has a Victorian essence to it, along with a combination of Constructivism and Surrealism. I am also intrigued by the objects selected for each box as they help accumulate a visual story about what the box contains and allow the viewer to expand their imagination. This inspires me to select items that have a meaning and are able to display a visual poem.   

Portrait of a monkey with books (2008)

The Low Countries, with Skull (2011)

I was intrigued by Olivier Richon's work as he includes animals to create his pictures. It has been understood that he uses them to emphasise the stillness of objects. It can also be suggested that his photos are like a script or a poem that have a hidden meaning. This can be compared to the style of Flemish still life in which the objects represent a gathering of signs. He has inspired me to select a number of items that can show a correlation.  

Still-Life with Pottery Jars (1660)

Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose (1633)

As well as researching photographers, I had a look at painters. With Francisco de Zurbaran, his work mainly contained religious imagery. I could see he approaches his subjects with a simple and naturalistic style, yet managed to emphasise his skill in lighting and shadows. I also appreciate how he gives the items space and that the pictures are not over-crowded. This allows the viewer to appreciate what has been painted. Again, I shall be considering the composition of my shrine, along with the lighting. 

The Brioche (1763)

Glass of Water and Coffee Pot (1760)

Another painter I have researched is Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin. I have been interested in his working style as he has used items that do not have a meaning and instead reflect their shape, texture and colour. It is clear that he has painted these subjects as something the world would see for the first time and has aimed to show the elegance of normal objects that are around us. I also took interest in the picture Glass of Water and Coffee Pot as the composition of the items allows the viewer to appreciate the opposite tones of the bright glass and the dark coffee pot. This has educated me for when I compose my personal shrines. 

As I was searching for items to photograph in my granddad's loft, I came across a Fender guitar catalogue from 1972. Even though the layout of the items might be suitable for the 'touched' theme, I thought since I am doing a music theme for one of my shrines, this will be useful for generating ideas. For instance, I love the eccentric colour backgrounds and I would like to try a similar technique in my photo-shoots. I also think it would be a great opportunity to take a few risks as this is something I wish to work on for this project.   

I came across the artist Jakob Kolding at the Liverpool Biennial in 2012. I was intrigued by the way he combined a range of pictures at various distances to which when seen together at a certain angle they appear as a whole image. This gives the impression of using the artistic space effectively, along with dismantling the world around us and trying a various 'way of seeing'. I would really like to attempt a similar technique in my ideas to see how the results would turn out!

After seeing the David Bailey: Stardust exhibition in London, I was amazed to see he had completed a few still life images. Analysing his work, I was intrigued by the composition of the items and when placed together they can produce a correlation and a visual story. As quoted by Bailey, he described that "flowers are about life and beauty. Skulls are about death. Skulls are the ultimate sculptures - nature's sculptures. Flowers are a symbol of civilisation and represent man's imagination. Previously people had only grown things to eat. It was a great moment when people would grow things for their beauty and not their function." I am now highly committed to display a shrine that has a purpose and meaning once grouped together.  

After completing my research, I had thought of two solid ideas for the shrine theme. The first one will be about my grandma and granddad as during the 1950s they rode a motorbike together around Europe. From that, I have a map of Europe, a large picture of a similar bike they rode, the helmet my grandma used to wear and original pictures of both of them on the bike. 

My other shrine idea is about my uncle, who was a professional musician during the 1970s/early 1980s. I have managed to acquire an old LP player, a range of music newspapers from around that time like Melody Makers and NME, a number of LP records from that era and LP covers of the band my uncle used to play in. 

At the moment, I really like both ideas and am very excited to try both of them out in my photo-shoots in the next two weeks. Very exciting times ahead!

Mike

References:
Walker Evans - http://www.fulltable.com/vts/f/fortune/aa/tools/a.htm
Shrines - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elmore_Roman_Catholic_Shrine.JPG and http://www.worldisround.com/articles/324832/photo34.html
Karl Blossfeldt - http://www.masters-of-photography.com/B/blossfeldt/blossfeldt.html
Joseph Cornell - http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/
Olivier Richon - https://artsy.net/artwork/olivier-richon-acedia and http://www.pinterest.com/fdwyer2/still-life/
Francisco de Zurbaran - http://www.allposters.co.uk/-st/Francisco-de-Zurbaran-Posters_c79202_.htm
Chardin - http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/still_life/chardin.htm
David Bailey - http://www.nowness.com/day/2010/6/6/689/david-baileys-now?icid=previously_683