paint

Valedictory Final

At the start of this shoot, I dressed her in a suit because she is someone who doesn't display herself as very masculine, and it's not something you see every day. Then, I placed her in the forest to contrast the suit decision because usually you don't see women in suits in the woods. I wanted to play with the idea of the absurd, and have surreal situations with realistic and artistic photos. In addition, the three different settings are supposed to tell a story; this forest setting has her very uptight, with her hair in the tight ponytail and the suit fully intact to represent oppression and being alone in the woods is to represent a feeling of isolation. They are a progression of relaxation, these two being the before images.

Here, she has let her hair down and is in a homey setting. She is starting to relax and to rid of her worries, even though the serious face implies that they will always stay with her, and the suit is still in tact. The no smile is also to make them more artistic looking and less commercial, though. She is also still alone showing continuing and isolated feeling. Also, I'm really glad I did the purple suit because it has worked into my color scheme for all three settings very well.

I didn't originally plan to take the milk photos, but after discussing Annie Leibovitz and some of her work with my sister and some friends, they said that they would help me recreate Annie's famous picture of Whoopie Goldberg in a bathtub of milk. What I did; however, was took Annie's concept and incorporated it into my own series of pictures. These pictures represent the final stage of relaxation that the woman lacked in the first setting. She submerses herself in the milk as a figurative baptism, freeing her of her worries for the moment. Also, another person shows up in this set of photos to show that she is no longer isolate--no longer alone. The suit is undone and ruined, her hair is all over the place or submersed in the milk with her.

My valedictory project was loosely based on Annie Leibovitz's photography, which is mostly fashion portraits of celebrities for magazines like Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. However, Annie's style of photography is iconic, and different from the normal portrait photographer because she takes photos that display celebrities in an interesting way. Whether she is putting them in a setting that corresponds to whatever work they are doing, or making an artistic statement by taking a familiar face and showcasing it in a rather absurd and intimate way, her portraits always make you stop and think about them, and you can always tell that she has a connection with her subjects. That is what I aimed to do with this project. I wanted to do fashion portraits that were also very artistic, and that made people stop and notice them. I wanted to make them look real, but on the edge of surreal, and I wanted, most of all, to make people think. I think this project was a great way to end the year for me. This type of more fashion-based and strange portraits is something we didn't really get to do this year, and I feel like I was able to experiment with editing and photographing in a way which I came to really like. I feel like I learned a lot about myself as a photographer with this project. Before, I was a lot more comfortable and felt a lot stronger with documentary-style photos, and to some extent I do still feel like I am better at that, but I know I definitely have broadened my horizons. I am very pleased with these photos, particularly the ones in the milk. 

Valedictory Project Explanation

For my valedictory project, I want to take a series of fashion portraits showcasing people I know in a way that they wouldn't outwardly showcase themselves. I want to take Annie Leibovitz inspired portraits combining portraiture, a little bit of surrealism, general strangeness, and most importantly intimacy. I want people to look at them and see that the subject of the photo would need to have at least a small amount of trust in the photographer to even consider being in the portraits. I want to take portraits that are artistic and intimate, where someone would look at them and have something to contemplate. I don't want people to be able to figure them out right away, because although I do believe that one can produce very beautiful shots without much of a conceptual idea or meaning behind it, that seems easy to me. I want that sense of complexity, confusion, intimacy, and general absurdity in my portraits that Leibovitz displays in many of her most famous works.

Annie Leibovitz Research

• She started out only shooting black and white, and photographed for Rolling Stone magazine from 1970 to 1983.
• Her Rolling Stone cover featuring Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1980 is considered by some the best magazine cover in the last 50 years.
• Published a book, Annie Leibovits: Photographs in 1983
• She toured with the Rolling Stones for a long time and has said that she often got lost in that work. She doesn't regret it, but wishes she would have been more aware and done more
• Joined Vanity Fair magazine in 1983, and was made first contributing photographer
• She became known for her wildly lit, staged, and provocative portraits of celebrities at Vanity Fair. 
• Some of her most famous shots there were Whoopi Goldberg submerged in a bath of milk, and Demi Moore naked and holding her pregnant belly, which stirred controversy, but is also a renowned cover. 
• Leibovitz has photographed celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ellen DeGeneres, the George W. Bush cabinet, Michael Moore, Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton, Scarlett Johannson, Keira Knightley, Tom Ford, Nicole Kidman, Suri Cruise with parents Tom and Katie, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Beyoncé, Cate Blanchett, and countless others.
• Her portraits have appeared in Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, and The New Yorker, and in ad campaigns for American Express, the Gap, and the Milk Board.
• She has been made a Commandeur des Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and a designated living legend by the Library of Congress
• Wrote the book, Women, with Susan Sontag in 1999
• Wrote, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005, which she called a memoir of photographs.
• Shot a series of surreally lit, disney themed photographs featuring celebrities as Disney characters called Disney Dream Portraits, which Disney has featured.

Valedictory 48 Shot Contact Sheets

Surrealism Final

•  For this picture, the studio pose is a type of juxtaposition to represent the juxtapositions in my outward personality. I have a very strange, awkward, and sort of erosive pose with a contrasting strong, calm face. The secondary photos add an element of mystery and darkness. It is also a photo of the woods behind my house, showing a part of me that I don't display outwardly. I added the birds for the symbol of flight or freedom, which represents a state of freedom and consciousness that that I hope to one day achieve.I have never felt more emotionally attached a photo of myself than I am to this one. I don't think I can exactly say why, but I feel this picture is a perfect representation of who I am at this point in my life. 

•  For this photo, I wanted to use the studio photo to show the ambition and brightness that I see in Angela outwardly with a sharp downward angle showing her smiling up at the face of her future. I also added a fading effect toward the top of the photo to represent the future as well. I used the theme of flowers for her inward self photos to show growth, life, and vitality that she has inside her. Her inward and outward self are very similar, I think.

•  Out of all of my pictures, this one was probably the most thought out, conceptually and mechanically. I wanted to represent my own ambition in this one, and my desire to rise above where I am now. That is why I am pictured larger than, and stepping over my house. In addition, I used contrasting skies to show the bright, colorful potential in me compared to the, not exactly stormy, but duller skies around me, and that I have already experienced. 

• For this one, I wanted to show growth again with the flowers, but this time, they are larger, and fully bloomed. The pose is more stoic and mysterious than the picture of Angela before, showing more confidence in herself. This picture would sort of be the continuation of the story in the picture of her before. Perhaps, it is what she is looking at in the first one.

I think my work reflects the nature of both individuals pretty well. I started off knowing I wanted to use flowers for Angela because she is a very lively, and generally happy person, which I see symbolized in the flowers. Her pictures are a bit more bright, optimistic looking, and have more serene coloring because that is how she is. For myself, I am the subject that I know best, so I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to represent myself conceptually. I captured the sense of ambiguity about myself that I think a lot of people feel, the uncertainty of who I am exactly and the mystery and thrill that comes with it. I also think I captured a lot of not just who I am now, but where I want to be, which I explained above.

I really love this type of abstraction. This was by far my favorite project that we have done this year. Telling a story within pictures, making people think, and putting a really figurative sense of self  and underlying meaning into my work is something that I really enjoy. It is very artistic and contemporary as well which I liked, and I think I got to showcase my photoshop skills more in this project than any other. If I could change anything, I would have liked to get more shots in the studio and taken more shots of the inner self just to have more variety, and I would have liked for them to be even more thought out than they already are, especially for the pictures of Angela. However, I still am very pleased, and loved this project.

Valedictory Abstract Photo Examples

Rene Magritte Questions

1.     What is surrealism?
      
Surrealist artists developed their ideas from the strange things that happen in dreams. They juxtapose unrelated objects, placing them side by side, which makes them seem both real and surreal.

2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant?

He used the motif of a man wearing a bowler hat to signify the time period, and how almost all businessmen like himself wore that bowler hat. Some think he used it as a symbol for himself. 

3.     In his work Golconda, why is it important that Magritte varied the image of the man in the bowler hat?  How does it add depth to the work?

The variation made the painting more dynamic and complex, and makes the viewer look into the piece more. It makes it less boring by giving the piece more perspective.

4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art?

They argue that, since we already know what the world looks like, why represent it literally on canvas? If our dreaming minds can create strange worlds, perhaps artists should try to do the same in waking life. For the record, I think this is brilliant, and I think this type of art is that type that holds just as much or more truth than a work of art that shows just what the world looks like. It is story truth vs. happening truth.

5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. 

They help him pull viewers into his compositions by using rich imagery, but doesn't provide all the answers, and in this way, the viewer becomes a part of the work. Every viewer's experience in seeing it changes the meaning of each painting.

6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects?

One theory says that it is because when his mother drowned herself, she was reportedly lifted out of the river with her clothes over her face. Another reason that I could think of would be to represent humanity in general. To represent humans without specific identity. Or, he might hide their faces because he wants to show how people all want to know what it hidden. I think he might hide their faces and make people wonder why their faces are hidden just to show that humanity is always worried with that they can't see rather than with what they can.

7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings?

He believed that realism allowed for the viewer to focus on the subjects of the work and not the techniques used to paint it. It also makes the scenes in his paintings seem all the more surreal.

8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.

o   Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work

o   Hint – review the words in bold from the reading

Magritte uses juxtaposition of the canvas and the actual window to show how man wants to assume and fill in what he can't see. He once again hides a part of the window with the canvas.

Here Magritte again uses the apple motif as well as the curtain and blue sky with fluffy clouds motif. He also uses juxtaposition making a section of sky look like a curtain, and repetition of the curtain shape. In addition, he gives the painting a background, foreground, and middle-ground showing scale. 

Perception vs. Reality

Outward

What are peoples perceptions about you based on looks, clothing, actions, and stereotypes?  How do you present yourself at school? What does that look like?  How would you pose in a portrait to represent these notions?  What would you wear?  How would the light look for a studio shot? 

Create a list of words that describe the outward you.  Provide a written response and find visual examples of poses to aid in your shot-taking.

• Artsy
• Reserved
• Old
• Receptive
• Conscious
• Self-assured
• Calm
• Smart
• Interesting
• Funny
• Ambitious
• Irritable
• Relaxed
• Lazy
• Dry

This is a hard question for me to answer, because I think that I, along with a lot of other people, project myself differently when I'm in different social settings. I could get a whole different set of answers from someone in, say, my 7th period class, than from someone in my 6th or 4th or 9th. I don't really think that there is one concrete perception of my outward self. However, most people see me as an artsy kid. They think I am more reserved, and smart because of that, which I don't really think is true. I've been told many times that I am "interesting," but I don't think that they suggest the word's regular connotation when they say that. They just aren't really sure what else to say. I think people think these things because I do generally present myself more quietly and subtly. I am not overt about myself. People think I am interesting and smart because I haven't really proven them otherwise, but am not shy either. This gives me a sort of mysterious or artsy vibe. Also, I really am into art, so that probably has a lot to do with it too. -- To have this come across in a pose, I think I would do something that is closed off, but confident in the face, with either silhouette lighting or very bright direct light. I would wear something simple, but pleasing to the eye that sort of drapes over me fluidly. -- Sometimes, I think,  people also interpret this as being a bit arrogant. For that I would do upward angles of me, making myself look larger, maybe walking over things or seemingly crushing what is below me, and I would definitely use bright, hard lighting for that pose, and for irritability and self-assurance, i would do an intense stare into the camera.

Examples: 

Inward

Who is the real you that people are unaware of?  What is a side of you that people don’t know or necessarily can’t tell just by looking at you on the surface?  What are your interests/passions?  How can you represent this realistic viewpoint of yourself through imagery (no selfies)?  How can emotions, moods, and feelings be personified through a static image?  

Create a list of words that describe the inward you.  Provide a written response and think of images you’ve taken that describe your true self.  

• Tired
• Caring
• Self-reflective
• Stressed
• Uncomfortable
• Determined
• Indecisive
• Optimistic
• Doubtful
• Bored
• Adaptive

A lot of people don't know that I actually live and have grown up on a farm, and I certainly don't show that on the surface. So, I think I might use images of the countryside, or even of just the scenery around my home to show my inward self that people don't usually get to see. I think I display a confidence or self-assurance that I described above, but I'm really unsure of myself most of the time. So in a sense, I am just as much of a mystery to myself- I am just as "interesting" to myself-as I am to those around me. But i do know that I am tired. I might represent this using darker, more mystical landscapes, like a dark forest, or a city. Something that doesn't make much sense, but has an obvious complexity to it. 

Inward Self Contact Sheet 1

Surrealism: 6 Examples That Inspire Me

Surrealism Contact Sheet

Dada final

Color Block

Cut/Copy/Rearrange

Halftone Screen

Text

I liked working more spontaneous like this for the Dada project, but I don't mind working more planned either. I think both give very interesting results. One thing I noticed was that I never really knew when to stop editing a photo in this unit. The editing was really fun and more creative than we have done before, and you could do anything you wanted and make the pictures as abstract as you like, so sometimes I found I didn't know when the photo was finished. I ended up focusing a lot on composition, complimentary color schemes, and unity throughout the pieces, but I also tried to make each one unique- from my own photos, and from everyone else's. Overall, I think this unit was a great way to display photoshop skills, and I like that. Even though I didn't know when to end sometimes, I am very happy with the results of this project. I think my pictures are artistic and unique, and the freedom of the project allowed me to do this. If I could change anything or offer any advice, I would try to not get so hung up on one photo and just go with what I felt came naturally with the piece instead of trying to plan so much, and I also wish I would have got more pieces done. 

This project ties in with the Dada art movement because there was a lot of freedom with it, and it had much to do with chance and the abstract. You might look at some of these pieces and wonder why, which is what the Dada movement tried to do. 

:-)

Exquisite Corpse

For the exquisite corpse project, we folded a paper into 4 parts to represent 4 sections of the body. We then passed it around to a different person to draw each different section of the body however they wanted to draw it. We could be as creative as we wanted with our section, and everyone else in the group couldn't see it until the corpse was finished. Surrealism is defined as a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images. Our exquisite corpse is an example of surrealism because we were able to just draw and be creative without really thinking about the entire picture. However, the entire picture end up being something very cool looking. It also is definitely an irrational juxtaposition of images. You can tell that by just looking at it.

DADA Studio Experimentation

MoMA Questions

What is Dada and why did it come into existence?

Dada is an art movement that I think came with the postmodernist movement in the early and mid 20th century, as well as the first World War. With postmodernism and the war there came a new way of thinking about and perceiving the world, and people wanted to make art that expressed these new ideas. They wanted to flip conventional art on it's head and make people wonder; make people actually feel something, no matter what it was.

Discuss Duchamp’s notion of “Readymades.” What are they?

Duchamp was interested in ideas, not just visual products. Readymades are normal, every day objects, presented as art, even though one wouldn't normally consider them to be art. Ordinary things could be art simply because the artist wanted them to be. In addition, Readymades combat the notion that art has to be beautiful. Much of Duchamp's work was ugly or confusing, but made people use their minds and react more to the art.

How do they change your expectations about what art can be

The article states,"'Readymades' ... disrupted centuries of thinking about the artist’s role as a skilled creator of original handmade objects."Art no longer had to be something that the artist made from scratch. It could just be random things that the artist describes as art. Basically with readymades, anything could be art.

      

      Dada artists turned to non-art making strategies…

     

          What did they embrace?

      They started making collages, assemblages, and photomontages, and subverted elements that had long defined artistic practice like craft, control, and intentionality. 

      Why did they take this approach?

They took this approach as a form of personal protest and a tool to play with and critique the time period which they lived in. Dada artists “could attack the bourgeoisie with distortions of its own communications imagery." They put their feelings about the war, how the world was being run, how people were being killed, and the general injustice of the time, and expressed it in their art.

What is the value of art made by Dadaists?

The value of art made by Dadaists, according to them, lay not in the work produced, but in the act of making and collaborating with others to create new visions of the world. The value of the art is the effort put into it and the people who collaboratively make the effort.

·      How and why did Dada artists work with words?

      Dadaists wanted to flip societal structures on their heads, and words are how every rule is constructed and every law communicated, so to Dadaists in this time period, "to destroy words and disrupt syntax was perhaps the ultimate act of subversion." They used puns, wordplay, and experimental poetry and literature. They turned words into abstract forms to expose the arbitrary relationship between words and their meanings.