STRUCTURE
The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.
A building or other object constructed from several parts.
To construct or arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organisation to.
A building or other object constructed from several parts.
To construct or arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organisation to.
THE RADICAL EYE: MODERNIST PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE SIR ELTON JOHN EXHIBTION
The Radical Eye is a Modernist Photography Exhibition from the Sir Elton John Collection is held at the Tate Modern. The exhibition consists of photos under the categories of architecture, portraiture, abstraction, surrealism and still life by 70 photographers such as Alexander Rodchenko, Andre Kertesz, Dorothea Lange and Tina Modotti. The photos are from a range of many different photographers from 1920s-1950s. Below are some photos from the exhibition as well as a video of Elton John in a home tour talking about his big passion for collecting as well as his Modernist Photography collection.
MY VISIT
ROOM 1 - THE RADICAL EYE
The beginning of modernism. Artists in the modernist period explored what the camera could do that the human eye alone could not, and how this could be harnessed to present a new modern perspective on the world.
Why has the attention been drawn to one person?
Possibly to show the emptiness of the area as beside the boy on the bike, there seems to be only two other people in the image. |
What can be found in the composition?
The picture shows a white collar on a black and white checked background. The collar takes up most of the space and is the main focal point that draws attention. |
Man Ray's pairing of positive and negative images alludes to the technical process of the image's creation. The title, 'Black and White', 1926, also refers to the elements in the composition: the face of a woman and a West African ceremonial mask carved from ebony. This formal juxtaposition alludes to cultural associations of 'black' and 'white'.
ROOM 2 - PENN'S CORNER PORTRAITS
Modernist portraiture harnessed photography's capacity to render an accurate likeness in clear, sharp focus and detail. But at the same time, artists and sitters pushed the conventions of portraiture with innovations in pose, composition and cropping.
ROOM 3 - PORTRAITS AND BODIES
ROOM 3 - EXPERIMENTS
ROOM 4 - DOCUMENTS
ROOM 5 - OBJECTS, PERSPECTIVES, ABSTRACTIONS
BRUTALIST STRUCTURE
The term Brutalism was derived from the French ‘Béton brut’, or raw concrete, was a term coined for the futurist architecture being created by Le Corbusier and others like him. From this label the term Brutalism was created as a way to classify this style of architecture.The expression became associated with a movement emerging in postwar British architectural offices. The architecture itself is characterised by the large size of the buildings and the use of raw unfinished concrete. Brutalist buildings also make use of geometric forms in a way to attempt to communicate the buildings function and what the rooms behind the slabs of concrete are used for.
The photography by Simon Phipps provides a unique perspective and portrays Brutalist architecture in a sensitive, realistic and distinctive manner. Phipps has spent the last 15 years photographing and documenting Brutalist and buildings in the UK, creating a survey of photographic images that demonstrate the breadth of this contentious architectural style.
Our task was to visit one or more of the brutalist buildings and experiment in capturing the structural makeup of brutalist architecture. We had to respond to the work of Simon Phipps and take a series of pictures that have a strong emphasis on line,perspective,and angle.
The photography by Simon Phipps provides a unique perspective and portrays Brutalist architecture in a sensitive, realistic and distinctive manner. Phipps has spent the last 15 years photographing and documenting Brutalist and buildings in the UK, creating a survey of photographic images that demonstrate the breadth of this contentious architectural style.
Our task was to visit one or more of the brutalist buildings and experiment in capturing the structural makeup of brutalist architecture. We had to respond to the work of Simon Phipps and take a series of pictures that have a strong emphasis on line,perspective,and angle.
MY RESPONSE
In response to Simon Phipps, I visited the Barbican centre in Central London and shot my images. The three things I focused on were line and form, perspective and negative space. Overall I am pleased with my images as I feel that they accurately represent the Brutalist style. However, if I were to do this task again I would be sure to visit lots of different locations such as Southbank and the National Theatre so that my work shows a wide range of buildings.
EXPLORING NEGATIVE SPACE WITHIN MY IMAGES
When taking my photographs, one of the elements I had to think about was negative space. As a took my photos on quite a cloudy day, I decided that it would be quite interesting to remove the backgrounds of some of my images and see how they could turn out. I am pleased with the images as they highlight the structure and shapes of the buildings and as pull focus as the background is blank.
EXTENSION PART 1 - THOMAS DANTHONY
Thomas Danthony is a French artist based in London. His work focuses on graphic design, illustration and even animation. He creates his artwork using simple colours and shapes, especially in his brutalist work that I used as inspiration for my work. He puts a lot of emphasis and focus on the shadows in his work, which is effective because it reflects the style of brutalism.
MY RESPONSE
STRUCTURE IN NATURE - MYOUNG HO LEE
Myoung Ho Lee is a photographer from South Korea, who focuses on nature in his work. The idea behind his photos is really simple but actually the production of the final outcome is difficult. The artist uses a white backdrop that is the same size as the tree, and places it behind it to present the tree as the main focal point of the photograph. Myoung concentrates on the foreground of the photo as much as on the background and makes sure the two still have a similar colour palette. He uses this technique of separation to emphasise the beauty of nature and reality.
MY RESPONSE
In response to this artist I have taken white card out into the natural environment and have searched for interesting structures within nature to photograph against the white background and then experiment with showing the extra context of the surroundings where the photo was taken. Below are my images.
SANNA KANNISTO - FIELD WORK
The core practice of the natural sciences is to collect in order to inspect more closely. Collecting implies taming and containment, traits shared to some extent by photography. Breaking away from the conventions of scientific documentation, which typically presents specimens in isolation and devoid of context, Kannisto’s work addresses the acts of staging and image-making. Her photographs, with their biologically correct titles, show not only the breathtaking beauty of nature, but also the tools used to achieve the would-be image at centre—the velvety black drapes at each side, the difficult “neutral” lighting rig, the seamless white background. Our task was to create a series of images that used Kannisto's ideas as well as using the backdrops and the scientific apparatus provided. We used our chosen flowers to create an artistic representation of their natural structure and to show the natural beauty of the plant and also the context behind the image creation.
MY RESPONSE
These are my responses to the work of Sanna Kannisto. In order to achieve the same kind of look as seen in her work, I set up the plants and flowers in a clamp and set against a white background with soft lighting. For most of my images, I chose not to include the whole image but crop it to really focus on the contrast of the deep greens of the plants against the plain white background.
STRUCTURE OF THE BODY
Moving on from our exploration of structure in nature, we have begun to explore the human body and more specifically, the different parts that it is made up of and the inner structure. Using a model skeleton, I was able to take a series of images focusing on different bones and parts of it. These images will then be edited onto portraits of my classmates, creating a skeletal effect, showing what we all have inside of us.
PHOTOSHOP EDITS
Once I had the images of the skeleton, the next step was to take pictures of my classmates and attempt to use photoshop to create a skeletal effect on their faces. I followed a tutorial in order to achieve this effect. Below are my images.
THREE STRANDS
STRAND 1 - CREATING INTERESTING COLLAGES USING BUILDINGS AND SHAPES
For my first strand I wanted to experiment with creating unique collages using cut out images of building and also geometric shapes. I also wanted to include body parts as natural structure, representing the fact that buildings are built by us through manual labour and so the fact that the buildings were being held in a hand was quite fun. I found an image on Pinterest which I could use as a starting point and my ideas stemmed from there.
MY RESPONSE
STRAND 2 - ABSTRACT LINES AND SHAPES IN NATURE - THOMAS JACKSON
For my second strand I wanted to experiment with create shapes and lines again but this time in the natural environment. I found an artist called Thomas Jackson who uses everyday objects to create these shapes and found his use of colour and contrast interesting and something that I would like to try and use in my work. I created some images of my own by going out into the natural environment and taking pictures of trees, grass and nature which I could then use photoshop to edit and enhance with the shapes and lines.
STRAND 3 - INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND EMOTION - DRYDEN GOODWIN
For my third strand, I wanted to focus on internal structure and the 'structure' that goes on in our heads. I was still interested in using lines to represent structure but this time, using a more free and less restricted movement. In a few collections entitled 'Cradle' and 'Cradle Heads', Dryden Goodwin presents black and white portraits of strangers on the street. On the image of the passer by, Goodwin uses etching techniques to create images which portray a sense of intimacy but also may present violation as throughout the scratching, the image of the person becomes more and more vulnerable. Almost as the person is caught up in unravelling thoughts and feelings. I found this idea interesting and wanted to see if I could use Photoshop in order to try and create the same effect.
MY RESPONSE
DEVELOPMENT 1 - BLOCKING OUT FACES AND BODIES - HAYLEY WARNHAM
For my first development, I wanted to exploewthe use of old, collected photographs and giving them a modern twist or update. However, I wanted to explore a technique which would allow me to change the image in a more drastic way, rather than just simply creating shapes over the top of the image. I found an artist called Hayley Warnham who uses this technique on photographs she finds, mainly from older members of her family. Warnham's work, titled, 'Everything is Beautiful' was inspiring and I found her use of bright, contemporary colours to be both striking and eye catching and felt that they complimented the original pictures. I wanted to produce some images that were similar to Warnham's, using the same technique but on Photoshop. I have done two developments to this idea which are documented below, one using scanned images of old photographs I collected and the other using photographs I have taken myself.
FIRST RESPONSE - FOUND PICTURES
DEVELOPMENT 2 - BLOCK COLOURS ON BUILDINGS - MAUREN BRODBECK
For my second development, I wanted to again explore how I could use block colours to shape a picture and create something entirely new. Unlike my first development, this time I will use the same technique but on buildings and other structures. I found an artist called Mauren Brodbeck who uses this same technique and decided that I would create images similar to this.
DEVELOPMENT 3 - GEOMETRIC SHAPES OVER VINTAGE POSTCARDS - SHAUN KARDINAL
For my third development I decided to move into looking at geometric shapes and the effect that they can have on an image. I also wanted to revisit the idea of using old photographs that I have found, in this case, old postcards. I found an artist called Shaun Kardinal who sews intricate designs, shapes and patterns onto vintage postcards and the results are amazing. I found this work eye-catching and appealing and so wanted to see if I could create something similar.
FIRST RESPONSE - FOUND IMAGES
Below are scans of some vintage postcards that I found in a charity shop and purchased to use in my work. I am going to edit some shapes similar to the work of Kardinal on to the top of these images but also I am going to take my own images in a similar way to this 'vintage postcard' style.
MY OWN PICTURES
DEVELOPMENT 4 - REFLECTION COLLAGES
For my next development, I looked into creating collages that still used similar shapes i had been using before but added something new. I wanted to keep the strong triangles and circles but decided that I needed to create collages that had more purpose and structure rather than simply creating lines and shapes on top of an already existing image. I found some images online which gave me inspiration and will use them along a tutorial to complete the process. I have also decided that for these collages I will focus on natural structure rather than buildings.
DEVELOPMENT 5 - GEOMETRIC COLLAGES OF NATURAL STRUCTURES
For my next development I stuck with the idea of using circles and triangles to create interesting pictures, this time focusing more on how I can manipulate an image by moving sections around into other spaces. I found a tutorial online and used Illustrator and Photoshop to create my image.
FINAL PIECE - GEOMETRIC COLLAGES
For my final piece, I wanted to create 3 collages that combined all the ideas I had over the course of this unit and create something interesting and appealing to look at. I found an artist called Jelle Martens who created collages similar to ones I had created before and liked the combination of colours, shapes and nature. I decided that I wanted 3 a3 sized collages, one using the same style as Martens and two unique shapes which show different images.
THE PLAN
Use cut outs of landscapes/nature
'Retro' style colours
Experimenting with opacity
Experimenting with geometric shapes
MY FINAL IMAGES
Overall, I am pleased with my final piece as it reflects all the work I have done previously and demonstrates my skills. If I could change one thing it would be to create more collages and have more final pieces. I would also liked to have been able to cut out the individual shapes and then re arrange them when I display my work.
I have mounted these 3 prints on white A3 foamboards.
I have mounted these 3 prints on white A3 foamboards.