Melanie Pullen

From Melanie Pullen’s art series of more than 100 recreations of crime scene photographs. Series was shot from 2003-2005

From Melanie Pullen’s art series of more than 100 recreations of crime scene photographs. Series was shot from 2003-2005

From Melanie Pullen’s art series of more than 100 recreations of crime scene photographs. Series was shot from 2003-2005

High Fashion Crime Scenes, 2003-2017

Between 2003 and 2017 Melanie Pullen created high fashion images, based on old LA archive crime scene photographs. This in itself could be interpreted as a statement on the glamorisation of violence and crime, and the juxtaposition between this and the glamorous couture appearance of the models makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. The isolation of the subjects, with the large amount of space left in the composition creates a surreal atmosphere, helped by the deep, dark, saturated tones. Particularly as these places (train stations, boardwalks) are rarely seen empty. The lines in the composition split each photo up, for example with train tracks, the boardwalk, or corridor walls. These elements lead the eye to the subject of the photo, without the model being the main focus. The viewer first looks to the brighter areas of the image, making the figure appear part of the scenery, and contributing to an atmosphere of isolation.

The series is shot on medium format colour film, giving the colours vibrancy and depth, as well as staying true to the original crime scene reference images. These images are effective as a series, as well as individually, as there is a strong narrative throughout each one that fits well within an overall theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Ideas For Moving Image

Constructed Realities

Constructed Crime Scene

Above is a mind map of crime scene photography, both genuine (Weegee’s 1950’s mob hit scene photos), or staged, for he purpose of fashion photography, or performance art (Stephanie Leigh Rose’s ‘Stefdies’). This fits the brief well, as I would be able to construct an entire scene, adding narrative and cinematic qualities to it. This would give me many stylistic options, choosing the surreal, out of place composition, or a exaggerated, hyper-realistic crime scene. The subject would allow me to include close-up details, and would be successful as a sequence of images in a book context.

1950’s Catalogue

My second concept for constructed realities is to take inspiration from 1950’s home catalogues, as pictured above, and use the style and poses in a modern interpretation. This would give me wide room to create a scene, adding in surreal elements, such as the object the model is modelling. As I am more limited in space for this project this seems more achievable. The format of faux-advertisements would work very well within a book format, as I could even create a catalogue format.

 

Website Design

For the final design of my website I wanted to keep it simple, with the focus on the photographs themselves.

For my home page I took inspiration from Anja Niemi’s website and used a single photo as my background, so the focus is on the work straight away. I used bold headings to navigate to the sections of my work, so that they would be clear against the busy background.

I split my work into sections, keeping the headings and photos consistently placed throughout. I did not want the images to be too cropped down, so placed in a scrolling gallery so they could each be seen in more detail. I kept a fewer number of images in and added an extra page for 35mm work, so there would be less scrolling to get through each section. I kept the background black with simple white text to contrast with my images, and draw all attention to them.

I finally added in a contact page, keeping the design in line with the other pages. This included an about section, as well as a form section to email and contact me.

Individual Project

During the country’s lockdown it felt important to keep an element of routine, so I have spent an hour everyday learning to roller skate. I therefore decided to base my project around it, in this strange time.

As there are connotations of the 1970’s and 80’s with roller skating, I decided to use Polaroid. This made it challenging to take self-portraits, as I could not get the variety of angles and shots that I could have got from a camera with self-timer. I matched my outfit (a vintage tracksuit), and makeup to the skates. The film in my camera had been left in the heat, which lightened the photos more than I was expecting, however the pink hues match the themes, and made them more successful.

For my final edit I plan to include the collage shot of all the Polaroids, as the format of them looks great as a physical object. For the others I think the ones with the railing behind are more interesting compositionally, as well as one taken upwards, and the one on the third row on the toe stops. I would like to include a variety, so there isn’t repetition, as I have a limited number to choose.

 

Website Design Research

Anja Niemi

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Anja Niemi uses a simple front page, with a single image, clear links to each page, and her name. I think this works effectively in its’ simplicity. Her work is then split into sections in a menu on the left hand side, and the user is able to scroll through the images individually. This allows you to view them larger, and in more detail, than other sites with a grid layout.

 

Latex Lucifer

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Photographer Latex Lucifer’s website has a very simple layout, with no individual sections of work. The grid layout allows the viewer to view his work as a whole, as well as individually when clicked on.

Juno Calypso

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Juno Calypso breaks her work into sections, using a scrolling layout, without cropping any images in the process. She also includes a video page in her website, as well as pages for interviews, press, news, as well as an about page and a contact page.

Evaluation + Final Book Layout

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Originally for Constructed Realities I had been planning out a series of 1940’s crime scene photographs. The research on my blog reflects this, and there is a disconnect between this and my final work. Due to the unforeseen circumstances of lockdown I was unable to create work with the models and equipment originally planned. In retrospect if I had began the shooting process earlier in my project, even with more experiments, I would have more work to play with. As this unit required a book designing element, I chose to create a narrative through recent, personal work. Paying particular focus to cutting the number of photos down into an order that flowed as a sequence, as well as on the layout. I feel this has been successful, as I experimented with ordering and sizing the images to create balance where tonally they may contrast or clash (Specifically for the beach photographs). I included a lot of first hand research of photography books, and was especially influenced by the layout of Todd Hido’s book. I feel the key at the back of the book is very successful, rather than having that information next to the photos, as I wanted to leave them space to breathe. The quote in the introduction ties the strangeness of the images together, to reflect this I added fake dates to the index (based on what particular media or style inspired the work). I wanted to keep the text simplistic, but be thought out, and I feel this works well. Going forward I plan to start shooting, even if just experiments, earlier in the process, as I did not get the development of my project I could have, even despite the circumstances.

Layout of the book

As the collection of images I have is eclectic, but are all self portraits and fit into the theme of constructed realities, it was important to work on editing them down and laying them out. I started out with the photos I considered lighter, through to ending with the darker ones.

The first photos I paired were two sets of self portraits. The colour tones and palates are similar, and the direction of the photos is mirrored in both sets. I kept the images equal size as they are compositionally so different, and this allowed them to flow as a sequence.

I chose to pair together my 35mm beach photos with my fake beach set VHS images. When taking the VHS self-portraits I wanted to create a surreal and absurd scene, as the set is made of coloured fabric, and every element is exaggerated. This contrasts with the ethereal dream-like quality of the 35mm photos, and the viewer creates a narrative between the two. On the first spread I paired the images together as the horizon line and cliffs mirrored the lines of the body. As the colours are brighter it looked more effective to leave space around the images.

I chose to make the image on the left fill over the page as I felt it was a strong photo, filled with emotion, and was more effective larger scale. I paired the image on the left with it, as the tones and colours are very similar, but left it smaller, as to not overpower the first image.

I cropped these images to just the figure, this helps them flow as a sequence when placed together. I experimented with many of the images from this shoot, and decided on these as they moved best as one continuous action.

As this image is very dark toned it appeared clearer over a double page spread. I tried positioning it in the centre, but found the composition worked better at the top, as it gives the lighter parts of the images room at the bottom.

The tones of dark with highlights linked these images together, as well as this section of the book. The final image is lighter, and I left room for it to breathe, as it is the last one in the book. I think the simplicity of it works well.

Anna Fox

ANNA_FOX_EXHIBITION_16

Country Girls, 1996-2001

In Country Girls Anna Fox & Alison Goldfrapp took inspiration from growing up in rural Southern England, as well as from the violent murder of Fanny Adams. There’s a juxtaposition of the glamour of the dresses, and red heels in particular, with the muddy, rural surroundings. No faces are seen in the series, and the viewer focuses on the sculptural lines of the body shape, directly to the shoes, as the colour contrasts the other elements of the image. In the first image the silhouette of her body matches the dog, as well as the colour of the dress and her legs.

I took inspiration from Country Girls for a set of photos. I contrasted the red heels on a white rug, using flash to create contrasting tones within the white. This gives the image a lot of different textures. The legs cut off early, giving the image a fetishistic quality, turning the legs into objects alongside the shoes, with no wider context to them.

Developments

Due to the changing circumstances of coronavirus and lockdown, I have been unable to do the photo shoot I planned, creating a 1940’s crime scene. I have the VHS experiments, and will use recent personal work that fits the theme of constructed realities to create a strong narrative, and focus on the layout and order of pieces.

This first shoot was inspired by the films of John Waters. I created a beach using different fabrics, and wanted to create a surreal, intensely coloured scene. I used contrasting colours for the green hair, and the red in the clothing and magazine. I wanted to match the vintage styling of the clothing, hair style, and magazine, and used VHS-C, as well as this matching the theme of beach home-video.

For this shoot I was playing with materials, using velvet backdrops and a lace nightgown. I used a lamp to create soft light, with an almost glowing quality, inspired by my collection of 1980’s playboys. This is especially evident in the first image, where it lights up the hair, creating more contrast than the darker images.

These three photos were all taken during December 2019, and are self portraits taken whilst crying. They were all taken on 35mm colour film, the framing and colours of the bottom being the most effective.

I shot this on VHS and took snapshots throughout the video. I took the idea of exorcism and sleep paralysis, and used VHS quality to add to the candid creepiness of the images. I did not include my face, as I thought this also added to the mystery of the photos.

 

My inspiration for this shoot was Patricia Arquette in the end sequence of David Lynch’s film ‘Lost Highway’. I was attempting to recreate the dream-like quality of the movement, as well as the references to old Hollywood. I think these could look more effective cropped in and laid out together.

These images were experiments using neon red lights, contrasting with lace gloves, and playing with texture and colour.

These 35mm photos were taken at Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. They are slightly overexposed, giving them a etheral quality.

 

Book Layout Research

 Desert Realty, Ed Freeman, 2003

The landscapes and architectural photos in Desert Realty are not arranged uniformly. They are also not sized uniformly, some are very wide and short, and spill over two pages. Others, as pictured above, are a mixture of filling pages, and leaving a symmetrical white border to frame the image.

Andre Kirchner, The City’s Edge 1993/94, 2019

The photos in The City’s Edge are each spread over a double page, leaving equal space on the width borders. Throughout the book they shift from being placed higher, to the middle, to lower down. This is done in sections, and breaks up the book well.

Todd Hido, Intimate Distance, 2016

In Intimate Distance images are placed in a variety of sizes and ways. His landscape photos are larger, leaving only a small border. Others are placed smaller on the accompanying page, often leaving a large amount of white space. This gives the photos room to breathe, and is more effective than if they were all uniformly sized. It builds more of a narrative, is more visually interesting, and is therefore an approach I would like to take forward into my own work.

 

 

Double Exposure Experiments

An experiment with the theme of crime scenes. I used a VHS-C camera to record myself in two different positions, and overlaid them in Photoshop. The grain helped the two images to blend, creating a more successful image. The format also adds to the candid, found footage aesthetic. However the contrast using VHS-C is low, and using a background that is primarily one colour also contributed to this, making the images more difficult to read.