Week 5... Textiles... Textile Artists

From the library i quickly researched several textile artists to get a overall idea about the different specialisms within textiles:-

Katrina Thompson 

I particularly like her work because of the detail and repetitive nature of  her pieces, like the piece above which i think is quite unusual and rugged, yet you can see the thought and detail that has gone into the creative process.

http://www.karinathompson.co.uk/


Sue Rangeley

I really appreciate the way that she uses bright and contrasting colours, as i think that it catches the viewers eye extremely well. I also like the exclusiveness of herf pieces as well as the practical element of a garment.

Like the image above, where Rangeley has created what looks like quite a rugged effect and yet you can tell that a lot of time and effort has been put into the process of making the garment.

http://www.suerangeley.co.uk/


Michael Brennand Wood

The particular reason that Wood's work caught my eye is the way that his work is cluttered and yet simple, and instantly recognisable by its unique style.

I also admire the way he uses bright, contrasting, yet, effective colours and colour schemes, and i think they often set the mood/ tone/ setting in his work.

Finally i like the way that Wood creates both 2D and 3D work throughout his career.

http://www.brennand-wood.com/michael.html

John Blakemore

A short study of John Blakemore's photography...


The main reason i was drawn to John Blakemore and his photography was the way in which he photographs nature and his surroundings...  

In the image above i particularly like the way he hasn't remotely tried to capture the entirety of the forest, but just a snapshot that brings across the atmosphere extremely well. I also admire his use of contrast to bring out the image and the way it is compostionally positioned within the space.
     

I like the above image because of its slightly abstract nature, where you cant tell what the focus of the image is, yet it doesn't matter because it is still aesthetically pleasing because of the contrast in colour and its interesting shape.

One point i learned from his photography is that an image could be of anything but the distinction between a good image and an exceptional image is all in the looking and listening within your surroundings.

Annie Leibovitz

A short study of Annie Leibovitz' photography:-

The main thing that caught my eye about Leibovitz' photography is the way that they are highly thought through and executed, compositionally and  in the way that she contrasts dark and light. For instance this is shown in the image below where the ravine/ cliff shows just a tiny peek of the stucture behind, yet, that peek shows just enough of the structure to make the image appear intriguing and compositionally sound.

I also quite like the way that she creates a stereotype and description to the object / model of her photography. I think the below image is a prime example of this in the way that she has captured the dancers in strong, linear yet graceful poses much like the stereotype for the male dancer.

I also admire how she has created contradiction in the above image, by capturing what appears to be a strong, linear male in what could be seen as a decidedly female position. 

 

Steven Klein

A short study of Steven Klein's photography...

The first thing that caught my eye about Klein's photography is the fact that most of his work has an underlying theme of gore, yet somehow through that he still manages to make beautiful photography, like the image below ...

Using the above image as an example, i also like the way he has used different effects to distort the image. I really enjoy the way he looks at the world with a sence of juxtaposition.

In the above image i like the way he has used lighting and that there is an interesting background without taking away from the models in the image...

I also think that the majority of his photography could be seen as raunchy and extremely voyeuristic.

Thorsten Brinkmann Inspired Imagery

The above images were taken by Thorsten Brinkmann I like the way he covers he whole of the body without making the model look awkward and silly.

Below are a selection of images that i created by experimenting with colour props lighting and covering the body completely.

Photography Life Drawing..

Drawing with a torch in the darkened photography studio, Above we stood in a line and the people behind us drew around us. T create this effect on the camera we used the 'B' setting on the shutter speed and held it down for thirty Seconds.

 Here we scribbled with the torch behind the models, i really like the different ranges of colours and the reflection on the floor.

Here is my individual image where my model stood under the light behind the camera so i could draw her from life, i really like the flowing lines and exaggerated shapes in this image.

The above image was where five people stood in a line and we all drew one person each, mine was on the left.

Like the one before this image was done in a similar way, however i used more colour here (left).
I really enjoyed the production of these images and i like the way that they turned out in the end.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

A short study of Hiroshi Sugimoto's photography...

The reason i find Sugimoto's work so enthralling is because of the way he looks at nature in interesting ways, sometimes there is a surrealaspect to his work:-

I like the fact that in the image above he has composed the photograph to be stereotypical of the human sepecies, i also like the way that the viewer's eye is drawn automatically to the more darker part of the image, whereas the background creates a subtle setting and explanation for the whole photograph.

Anotther image that i think he captures nature well is below:-

Here I think Sugimoto has really thought about the composition in the photograph, with the horizon towards the middle of the image and the way that the lighting creates a lovely contrast betweenlight and dark.

Another aspect of his work that i found to be intriguing is his photography of architecture like the image below, depicting a concert hall:-

In this image i really like the way he looks at the huge scale of the stage, along with the contrast of light and dark in the middle of the image which draws the viewer's eye immediately. I think this all goes towards creating a highly awe inspiring piece of well thought out photography.

Julia Margaret Cameron

A short look at Julia Maragret Cameron's Photography...

Cameron's work is portrait based. The thing that caught my eye about her work first of all is the way that she captures emotion and innocence, like in the image below:-

I also quite like the tinting of colour she adds to some of her photographs, as i think it adds a sence of calm and sereeness to the images. I think her use of liting is eceptional, and that, in most of her images, can mean the difference between highly contrasting emotional depictions and effects. An example of this is the portrait below:-

I like the fact that the majority of her work is given over to one continuous theme of depicting the models in her photographs as devine, angelic, holy and innocent beings. One final thing that i find to be eceptional in her photography is the way that she captures interaction between people and the subtle underlying messages that are present throughout.

Andre Kertesz

A short look at Andre Kertesz's work...

Kertesz's photography, in my opinion, could be seen in two different lights. It could be seen as both abstract and unusual, yet it encorporates an aspect of realism/ juxtaposition too. One example of this could be the following image:-

 

The first thing that cought my eye about this image was the arm, which at a glance, looks like it appears fromthe fan, However after looking closer i realised that there was a hidden concept within his photograph, of a man trying to get fresh air and yet instead of letting the fan do the work he does it himself. I find this both interesting and unusual.

 

I like the way he captures the surroundings in his photographs, using the following as an example:-

 

 

One particular part of this image that caught my eye is the lighting in the photograph, but also the way that the boy is sitting and studying with a gorgeous view out the window, again, portrays an aspect of looking at things the way that they are.

 

I also like that Kertesz's work is very stereotypical and covers a wide variety of controvercialities, like the image below which i think is quite sexist:-

 

 

 

Digital Photography Slideshow... A Busy Day in Town

 

 

A selection of 15 digital photgraphs i took in Chesterfield...

 

We were challenged to look at juxtaposition, composition, colour and contradiction. 

Carrie May Weems

A short study of Carrie May Weems' work...

One of the many reasons that Carrie May Weems' photography caught my eye is the fact that she 'tells a story' with her imagery, often creating series' of work on what i consider to be quite controversial subject matter, like racism and sexism.

   

The above photograph is from a series called 'Louisiana Project'. I particularly like this image because of the way she has captured the flowing movement of her skirt without it appearing to be blurred, I also like the fact that she focuses on the surroundings as much as the model in many of her photographs. Another aspect that i like is the way that, in most of her photos, she herself is hidden within the image, putting a stamp on her own work.

I think that many of her photographs depict emotions extremely well, one example of this is the below image from her 'Kitchen Table' series:-

Using the above photograph as an example, I think Weems depicts emotions in highly thought out, yet extremely simple ways throughout her imagery.  I also admire the fact that she adds captions to her images to drive home the message behind a series of photographs, for example the image below from the series 'Ain't Jokin'' :-

Here she has used the most controversial subject matter of all, racism. Overall, I admire Carrie May Weems' work for its originality, storytelling and highly thought out composition.

Sandy Skoglund

A short study of Sandy Skoglund's photography...

I find Skoglund's work particularly eye catching because of her use of bright, vibrant and sometimes contrasting colours in her work, like the above image aptly named 'The Cold War'. I think this photograph, along with her other work depicts a very strong message and gets it across well, for instance the way the viewers eye is trained towards the middle where the person is bigger, however the army is smaller yet, more of them, overpowering the 'enemy'. Another image that is quite meaningful is the below photograph 'Revenge of the Goldfish'...

I like the fact that she incorporates an aspect of surrealism into her work, while again focusing the eye on a particular part of the image. The final photograph, 'Body Limits', i believe, to be an unusual piece. I like the way Skoglund uses aspects of both live models and sculpture/3D arts throughout her work.

   


 

Week 4... Photography... Richard Avedon

A short look at Richard Avedon...

Avedon's photography, in my opinion is cleaver and sophisticated however, there is always an amazing degree of elegance in his work. Take the above photograph, for example, I admire the way he has captured the movement of the woman's hair and how he has caught the different tones within the image and yet, there is still the face which stands out the most.

 I  particularly like the fact that he creates strong messages in his photographs, like the above, which depicts a famous contralto singer, captured in the moment where her eyes are closed to bring the viewers attention to the mouth. I think that Avedon's work hold a lot of originality, one photo that i think that particularly shows this is the one below depicting Audrey Hepurn.

In this image i like the way he has combined images with silhouettes to create a very abstract yet somehow, meaningful image. I think his use of contrast between light and dark here focuses the viewers attention more on the intended parts of the image. I also think that tghe way he has captured the light throughout his work is beautiful.

Illustration Reflection

I feel that after my introduction to illustration i do often find myself looking at illustration in every day life, on packaging, for instance. I think in the future i will be more open minded and look at and consider everything, and the hard work that has gone into quite miscellaneous objects in every day life.

I hve been slightly inspired by some of the work i have been introduced to such as the observational drawings with ink and charcoal and the fact that not all work has to be perfect and that sometimes nondescript lines could mean something to the viewer. I have learnt that not everything has to be aesthetically pleasing.

The particular speciallism that i am interested in within illustration is producing an image to go with a text because, i find that it can be quite litreral and yet abstract at the same time and you are working to a brief but not being overwhelmed with detailed instruction.

I trhink for me i could be persuaded to take up illustration and i will have to think more but i may do it as a specialism.