Contextual Studies Task 4

Guy Bourdin, Vogue, 1975

Display, imitation, framing

Roe Ethridge

Out-of-place, motif, contrast

In this photo a bag of soil, and an object associated with outdoors, juxtaposes the setting, as the ground is something the viewer recognises as carpet, inside. Thematically the soil links to the focus of the photograph, the suit.

Inside/Outside:

-an object becomes different in context when removed from place and put inside, a familiar place

-private -> public boundaries blurred

-everyday object becomes centre of attention

Contextual Studies Task 3

Books containing definitions of the street:

Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution

Walls, historic, public space, illegal

Tokyo Street Style:

Fashion, subculture, individuality, snapshot

Harlem Street Portraits:

Everyday, humanity, portraiture

Carnaby Street: 1960-2010

Historic, fashionable, evolution, change

Hard Furnishings: street furniture

Features, practical, objects

Compositions in Architecture:

Geometric, practical, design

 

Images inspired by my research:

Moth Muse, Miss Van, 2019

Mural, Street Art, Public

Carnaby Street, Graham French, 1973

Snapshot, fashion, historic

New York, Garry Winogrand, 1969

Candid, portrait, everyday, documentary

 

The street by dictionary definition is a public road, and there is therefore an architectural, geometric, practical design aspect to it. These buildings can in themselves be artistic, both in their construction, and the design externally. Murals are an example of this, where the art has been planned and commissioned, but street art is not limited to this. Though graffiti is illegal the artists in cities have created their own rules, for example the biggest offence would be to graffiti or sticker over someone else’s artwork.

The street is a public space where people can show their style and individuality, but is conversely a place to pass through for the everyday worker. Street photographers can take a further away, more removed viewpoint, documenting the landscape of the street, or they can go further in. One approach to this is to take candid photos of the ephemeral moments and interactions taking place. But street photography can also be more posed or planned, especially when the main subject of the photo is fashion. Taking this concept further would be those that photograph members of a certain subculture, as the everyday photographer is able to take a glimpse into a culture they might not be a part of.

 

Contextual Studies Task 2

Camile Silvy, River Scene, France, 1858

Picturesque, postcard, idyllic

Ansel Adams, Monolith, 1927

Sublime, scale, emotion

Lee Friedlander, America by Car, 2007

Juxtaposition, framing, lines

Richard Misrach, Hazardous Waste Containment Site, Dow Chemical Corporation, 1998

Nonnatural, disruption, ethereal

Joe Deal, Untitled View (Albuquerque), 1974

Manmade, geographical, human

Robert Adams, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1968

Coexistence, Manmade, vast

Mark Power, 26 Different Endings, 2003

Geography, suburbia, everyday

Martin Munkasci, Harpers Bazaar, 1933

Movement, leisure, modern woman

Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harpers Bazaar, 1941

Travel, exotic, lifestyle

Norman Parkinson, Anne Gunning in… India & Kashmir, 1956

Imperial, exotic, fantasy

Wolfgang Tillmans, Lutz & Alex sitting in trees, 1992

Juxtaposition, simplistic, naturalistic

Tim Walker, Vogue, Spring 2015

Colour contrast, sublime, exotic

Mel Bles, Pop, 2014

Banal, motion, space

Juergen Teller, Kanye, Juergen & Kim, 2015

Realness, juxtaposition, everyday

I have chosen to compare Tim Walker’s photo for Vogue in 2015, and Wolfgang Tillman’s ‘Lutz and Alex sitting in trees’ from 1992. Both photographs use a forest landscape as a backdrop for red clothing, as it is a complimentary colour to the green forest, and therefore contrasts well. This is important as the purpose of the images is advertisement of the garments. However the first image shows a view of the sublime and exotic, a fantasy world with vast rolling mountains and mist. The second photo is more naturalistic and everyday. It uses a far closer perspective,  and is more of a snapshot of a moment. Without the coats this would be a photo of his friends playing, very childlike and free, by adding the coats it has become a fashion photo.

Contextual Task 1

Aziz & Cucher, Chris (Dystopia), 1994

Portrait, surreal, uncanny

Aziz + Cucher’s Dystopia consists of a series of digitally manipulated photos, in each photo they have removed the orifices of the face. The simple and familiar portrait composition juxtaposes the surreal nature of the image, creating a feeling of uncanny valley. The convincingly realistic nature of the manipulation poses the question to the viewer; what is natural and what is artificial? Both in photography and the technological world we exist in. The lack of any identifiable features and clothes represents a loss of identity. Through the ever-evolving and increasing use of technology we have lost our sense of self, and this is something that continues to be relevant over twenty years later.

Henry Peach Robinson, Sleep, 1864

Scene, collaged, painterly

Eadweard Muybridge, A Shock To The Nervous System, 1887

Sequence, motion, movement