For this part of the brief `the body`, our task is to photograph someone either from the local area of Medway or another student from uca who we do not know. The photograph has to be taken in black and white and be taken on either using medium or large format.
What is a portrait?
This unit, The Body, aims to explore the symbol of the human body in particular, portraits.
Answering first, what is a portrait? A portrait is not just a simplistic recording of a persons appearance, as it uses much of the same principles of still life, the same use of semiotics can be applied to the portrait to tell a deeper and more complex story of the subject. It signifies you capturing a person's emotions and feelings in that moment in time. Their feelings might be completely different the next minute, but the photographer has done his or her job. A portrait can be used to get to know a person. What they surround themselves with and their mannerisms in the photo can be used to describe the subject's personality.
For the body task, I've began my research looking at different artists that were shown to us in previous lectures. There were a few artists that I have previously studied, which helps when defining an idea.
Bill Henson is an Australian contemporary art photographer. Henson's photographs reflect an interest in uncertainty and transition. The use of chiaroscuro is common throughout his works. His photographs show a painterly style and are often presented as diptychs, triptychs and other groupings. His images often use a flattened perspective and tend to be noticed as abstraction. The faces of the subjects are often blurred or partly shadowed and do not directly face the viewer. I think this creates a sense of imagination reflecting on the persons point of view, perhaps a hidden identity. Henson's intention is to use photography to capture a creative expression. He states that he is not interested in a political or sociological agenda, although the viewer cannot help but relate his works to their own stance on these issues. Henson, however, is not intending his photographs to be authoritative evidence but rather to suggest endless possibilities and cause people to wonder. Luckily I studied his work in previous years which helps define a possible idea for my project.
I've also studied the work of Irving Penn. He is an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography. He specializes in celebrities and uses black and white film to photograph.
Many times his photographs were so ahead of their time that they only came to be appreciated as important works in the modernist canon years after their creation. For example, a series of posed nudes whose physical shapes range from thin to plump were shot in 1949-1950, but were not exhibited until 1980.
Usually in Penn's portraits the darker areas are extremely black, and the lighter areas are seen as white. His work I think, gives a feel of drama, emotion and ultimately makes you focus on an image longer, than if there was a large tonal range.
Whilst researching onto his work I tried looking for the book he published titled "A Notebook at Random" which offers a generous selection of photographs, paintings, and documents of his working methods, which I thought could give me great inspiration for ideas.
In alot of Penn`s portraiture work in the 1940`s, he began taking portraits for the company Vogue. I liked the idea of how he photographed Pablo Picasso as a secretive, shy man hiding behind an upturned coat collar and a hat brim. on a closer examination, I like how he uses props, and how they are used in the photographs for a more personal nature.
I was inspired by Richard Avedon's work because I find it interesting how he manages to capture the subjects personality in his images, with his subtle usage of light. A lot of his work is known by his advertising style, but his real passion was the portrait, and its ability to express the essence of its subject. Avedon’s ability to present personal views of public figures, who were otherwise distant and inaccessible, was immediately recognized by the public and the celebrities themselves. His artistic style brought a sense of sophistication and authority to the portraits. I like how his images are well lit on the subjects face, and are placed against a white backdrops. His use of shadow I also admire as I think the technique helps us see into the persons personality.
Style's I like ….
portrait research /idea`s
While self portraiture can be a noble, expressive, art that comments on our social world. It can also be narcissistic if oneself is the only subject a photographer can find inspiration in.
Valerie Belin is another photographer that I admire. Her portraits are fairly basic, however look completely different with several key changes. I really liked her series of portraits covered with flowers. I admire how she turns her lens on a dreamy montage of women who embody the ideal post-war female, interlaid with sharp images of flowers.
On a personal level, I like to have my portrait taken and do feel that self-reflection is valid self-expression. However, I want my photographs to be valued for their own meaning independent from mine.
Paolo Roversi
Paolo Roversi is an Italian-born fashion photographer who lives and works in Paris. The photographer captures romantic, intense, and ethereal fashion portraits. I love his use of light, dark and the timeless quality of his pictures. He as a photographer understands that fashion is about nostalgia as well as novelty.
Cecil Beaton
Beaton is best known for his fashion photographs and society portraits. He worked as a staff photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue in addition to photographing celebrities in Hollywood. Beaton focuses on staging and compelling a model or scene and looking for the perfect shutter-release moment. His images capture the era of the 1920`s-1930`s, and combine theatre and glamour.
When developing my research i wanted to look closely into glamour and what is real and not? I began researching into stereotypes for women and how they are perceived? To help gain knowledge i looked at the photographer Cindy Sherman.
Throughout the 20th century, photography and television, and even footage from the popular culture have been transformed into art media. Photographic record was originally a tool and commemorative, The artists distilled the collage of the technical approach from photographic, combine objectivity of images, and makes them into personal narrative method, then emergence the surrealism photography, like Cindy Sherman.
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director known for her conceptual self-portraits.
Sherman works in series, typically photographing herself in a range of costumes. For example, in her landmark 69 photograph series, the Complete Untitled Film Stills, (1977-1980) Sherman appeared as B-movie, foreign film and film noir style actresses. Sherman's most recent series, dated 2003, features her as clowns. Although Sherman does not consider her work feminist, many of her photo-series, like the 1981 "Centerfolds," call attention to the stereotyping of women in films, television and magazines.
'Untitled Film Stills`
Modelling in several roles, she reveals gender as an unstable and constructed position, which suggests, there is no innate biological female identity. On the contrary, women adopt several roles and identities depending on their circumstances. Therefore, the roles in the Untitled Film Stills series vary from an immature schoolgirl to an attractive seducer and from a glamour diva to a caring housewife. Importantly, her work encourages self-reflection in the spectator. As Sherman argues, “I’m trying to make other people recognize something of themselves rather than me.”
The premise of post modernism is that we now live in a culture so saturated with media imagery and media models of how people live that our idea of how one lives one's life and who one is, is made up of that kind of media myth. And in a sense it negates the idea of portraiture, the idea that you can dress up and go to a studio and somehow reveal your strength of character, or your inherent humanity.
But you can still dress up which is exactly what artist Cindy Sherman loved doing. She turned a familiar children's game, 'dressing up as someone else,' into art by photographing the result. In her series called 'Untitled Film Stills' Sherman created over a hundred publicity shots reminiscent of scenes from old B movies. She appears in every one as a general type you seem to recognise only all too well. In denying her own identity she also captured something of the times.
In the 1980s, Sherman introduced bright light and high-contrast colour to her work. Moving away from established female stereotypes seen in the Untitled Film Stills series, she began to deal with topics such as eating disorders, insanity and death, focusing on the consequences of society’s stereotyped roles for women rather than upon the roles themselves.
In 1984, with bright light and high-contrast colour, Sherman focuses on the consequences of society’s stereotyped roles for women — in this case as a victim of fashion — rather than upon the roles themselves.
Exaggerating her facial gestures, she models in fashionable clothes by top designers such Jean-Paul Gaultier and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. However, she tries to show that the clothes don’t feel comfortable and attractive. woman loses her self-confidence and cannot bear the pressure of her forced role.
If we look at the image below, you notice the photo is a classic Sherman Untitled Film Still. This photo (Sherman, 1977) was taken in 1977 at the beginning of her career. The subject is located in a kitchen, at the sink. There is a pot on the stove and she's, of course, wearing an apron. This is clearly making a statement on "woman's place in the house." A few questions can be asked: why is that look on her face? is her husband out of frame berating her? why is she clutching her stomach? is she pregnant? is she hungry? These are the kinds of questions one has to keep in mind when looking at not only feminist artwork, but any artwork. You need to ask yourself why this artist has this particular staging and what it could possibly mean. The interpretation is totally up to you, you just have to look closely at what is being presented.
This photo (Sherman, 1990-91) Titled (Cosmo Cover Girl). You can simply see her social commentary. She's attacking the models you usually perceive on the covers of glamour magazines, such as Cosmo. She states: "I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you’re looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It’s more challenging to look at the other side." (Sherman, 1990-91)
Here she's addressing body image. How often do you see a real woman that looks like the cover models on Cosmo? More than likely you're going to see more women that look like the one Sherman is portraying. You would never see someone who looked like this on the cover of Cosmo, but the women on the cover of Cosmo don't exist. Sherman's art is her way of fighting back against today's society.
When researching i was drawn to this image and think Cindy Sherman has tried to address no certain women identity. She's used the bright colours to give emphasis on the woman's clothing and make-up. Sherman Plays with the stereotypical woman idea and did the opposite. The character is wearing a dress made from top designers and it is not flattering to a woman's body. This then shows a woman very uncomfortable in her own skin. Cindy has also exaggerated the make-up and facial features to express her feelings of self-consciousness. The woman is being forced to look a certain way and doesn't feel too confident about it. I think the colours make the picture have more emotion. And think suggest the person is angry, uncomfortable and upset by this view of herself.
I really admire this idea, and the control over a women's self consciousness, i think i will maybe consider this stereotype as an idea and think how i could incorporate it in final developments.
In the series titled “Untitled Film Still 10″, she is the centre of attention that she strongly takes on a seemingly vulnerable role that strongly has an act of femininity. She generally thought about the conception of her images as a way of thinking of general stereotypes that Sherman was able to portray the idea of surrealism in woman due to the artificial appearances to make her images have that weirdness in them so that they look unreal to convince her audience of the awareness of it. Sherman portrayed a lot of things that in women social take serious to show their appeal with lots of make up, a lot of hair and wearing awkward clothing such as hig heels and short skirts. Sherman began experimenting with her self image, playing around with how she could make herself appear as; such as the types of personalities or characters this could conger. In the seventies, the development of feminism had made a huge impact on our society, that her work was truly influenced the way women think about themselves, that Sherman’s art and photography has hugely been successful. People wanted to reinstate themselves in the modern world and to direct the male vision away from their previous stereotypes.
After researching into stereotypes of women and how they are perceived i then began looking into feminism and how they is portrayed throughout society?
Feminism
The politics of Feminism has its own interesting journey during the past decades. Tracy Emin is the next
Tracy Emin is the next example of a diverse visual artist who explored the relationship between women and the contemporary world. From the movement of Biological Feminism to Social Construction and Post-Feminism political and social feminists, in general, seek for women’s place in the world whereas Emin finds her own ways to reflect and response to the ideas of femininity. In the picture above she explains “I’ve Got it All” which indicates the idea on how a female has surrounded her world with money. The image uses symbolism to indicate the idea of greed. Because it's a self portrait of Emin, it tells a story of her personal life to what life is like for Emin that her and money have a strong connection of her success and desire of money. It also indicates her sexual desire also judging by her clothing . Most of her work are large scaled photographs of herself, recording and expressing particular moments of emotional significance in her life, and records it as parts of her work as a photographer.
Sophie Calle is another artist who focuses on producing feminist work, but her feminism has to live with uncertainty. Calle’s piece taken from her Hotel Room series shows that the space in which the woman is in, reveals as if she is transported into an imaginary world that is beyond this world. Her work reveals sexual, voyeuristic work similar to Tracy Emin’s, and emphasizes in depth, the humour and poetry. Calle’s Hotel Room series, was produced in the 80′s. She's worked as a chambermaid in a Venetian hotel where she photographed people’s belongings as she cleaned the rooms. She then took notes of her findings and then those notes become vignettes of voyeuristic transgression, of human frailty and the mystery of private lives. She records the used towels, the slippers, the half-finished crosswords, wigs, tablets, carnival masks, and in recording she becomes almost a fictional character, an embittered, compassionate trickster figure.
Whilst researching another photogprher that i admired and who i thought linked well towards my work was Judith Golden.
In 1986: "Again and again Judith Golden has revealed her own concern about appropriate roles for herself as a woman. Her interest in problems of gender, sexuality, career, fantasy, and, ultimately, her relationship to life are themes that have never been absent from her art. Golden has become one of photography's most powerful voices of commentary on contemporary issues."
I like how she uses cut out magazines to change someone's identity an approach towards others, almost imaging the character feels self conscious and uses the mask as a screen.
After researching, i then looked into the idea of how plastic surgery can change someone's appearance and how every women desires to be the perfect appearance.
Beauty is a hot commodity on today’s market. With the price of cosmetics, clothing, perfume, cars and cosmetic surgery ever-increasing, it is no surprise that the spending power of women is increasing as well. “In spite of contemporary commentary that plays down the differences between the genders, dolls our earliest symbolic role models continue to be manufactured, marketed and purchased along gender lines.
Today the focused marketing strategies of advertisers are honing in on the money women are making, the money they are spending and how they are living. At the end of an average life-span a consumer will spend nearly three years watching or listening to advertisements. Advertising through television, print ads and radio commercials has become the norm.
” The “Buying Barbie” advertisements feature products or campaigns that target female purchasing power. Roles of women in advertising images have changed drastically over the past fifty years, no longer do we see the passive June Cleaver-like woman cleaning her kitchen, today it’s Kelly Ripa working to keep up with her busy TV career, family and home.
Advertising itself is a “mirror of social values, and a powerful, usually malicious force that shapes those values” . Mac cosmetics teamed up with Mattel and the Barbie brand to create a line of makeup that mirrors the painted face of a Barbie doll. Models donning the cosmetics of a doll, pose in the advertisement for Mac’s new line. The women in the photograph displays typical Barbie-like traits. One has bright blonde hair and rounded eyes, drooping her vibrant pink lips. The second woman is dark-skinned with black hair, sparkling green eye shadow and the same doll-like lips. Both models wear pink. Both are looking out and away from the camera, diverting their gaze upward. Each Barbie-like model is asking to be looked at. She is allowing viewers to see her face, her eyes and lips as frozen and still paintings. Their blank stares call upon the emptiness of the actual doll’s facial expression. The mortise in the upper right corner of the image reminds readers that the cosmetics, while eliciting a Barbie-feel, is actually endorsed by the Barbie brand and manufactured to purposefully look like doll-make-up. The construction of Barbie as a cultural icon “involves a dense web of products identified not only with Barbie and Mattel but also with other corporate sponsors and popular culture” Mac and Mattel make an agreement to sell, promote and distribute the image and ideals of Barbie though a joining of companies. Each benefactor profits. Mac sells makeup and Mattel promotes an image and ideal of Barbie-Beauty through product purchasing.
All celebs are role-models
In all that concerns fashion, appearance, and even life we many times refer to, all celebs are known as the ideal women. But they are humans who also can make unhealthy choices, because they feel pressured to look ‘good’ whatever it means – skinnier, flatter, tanner. And they too may suffer from complexes about appearance, weight, skin, and other stuff. Thinking that all celebs are beautiful and flawless is a mistake too, just take a look at their candid photos without all the makeup, fuss, and airbrushing. That’s what real people are all about about, the inner beauty.
Without the make-up mask, celebs can more easily disguise their identity, but when observing the photo you can see the confidence level rises when the celeb is seen in a more glamorous style. I think this shows insecurity and an unnatural look, whilst portraying a false impression. I think natural beauty should be seen as a more positive look, identifying their true character.
Many women in todays sociey like to model themselfs in a simlar way to magzine models. Here is an article that explains this....
portriat research + Ideas...
When linking back to plastic surgery, i think the power of the cosmetic, can cause a dramtic change on todays society. When researching i found a picture that interested me and therefore researched and wrote about it.
This photograph I think focuses upon today’s society and its obsession with plastic surgery, especially among women. When it comes to physical appearance women are constantly being advertised with innovative ways to look younger, sexier, thinner, buffer and prettier. The list for perfection and the methods of achieving a certain image are immense. However, plastic surgery is the new craze that women are utilizing as a quick fix to alter their appearance.
I think when photographing her friend, in bright lighting, she wanted to make the models breasts the main focus. The model stares at her chest with a questionable face that is mixed with concern, possibly content, yet overall confusion. She was made to look as though she underwent breast augmentation and is still contemplating the results of her surgery. I think the photographer wanted the image to appear blurry and have the viewer’s gaze go directly toward her chest, as if that's the only part of being that matters.
That’s also why her eye contact is directly looking down as she makes no eye contact to the camera, due to her caught up appearance. By doing this the photographer wanted the viewer to realize that this is society telling her that her body and the way it looks is the only thing that matters.
She is unable to take note of anything else or truly realize the other components of her being, because of her initial idea of having larger breasts thinks would make her more beautiful. I think this is what society tells women. It was one of those preset values that is automatically deemed appropriate and correct for all women because society says to. Even though the model looks unpleased and unsure of her decision she went ahead with plastic surgery because she felt it necessary to be considered beautiful and to look sexier and more womanly. I think this an issue that many young girls face, and the model is able to feature the extremes they will go to, to achieve a certain look.
women want to look like the perfect shape and size and therefore take maters into consideration.
This photograph I find to be the most blunt and completed in a manner that solely focuses upon the models thin frame and her still unhappy state. Her face resembles the self consciousness of her personality, signifying her disgust and desperation. Overall the photograph represents eating disorders among young girls and the pressures placed upon them by society to remain thin because thin equates to being beautiful. This photograph specifically highlights that although the model is very thin, she is still unpleased with her body and unable to cope with the idea of having a less than perfect physical appearance. She is engulfed into the idea of loosing weight and is willing to go to any extreme to do so. When viewers look at the photo I think the photographer wanted them to experience a sense of pain for her. Pain regarding the way she looks and how it is sad the extremes she has gone to, to please society. She has become so wound up in her body that she is in a state of desperation as to what to do next. This stereotype I find to be extremely prevalent in today’s society and relatable to many girls who have either experienced eating disorders themselves or have witnessed a friend or family member who has underwent such a struggle. The photographer has tried to keep the lighting bright as symbolic of a room for change and that an end to this can surface if people are willing to stand up to the demands of society.
Phillip Toledano “a new kind of Beauty”
The photographer Phillip Toledano is interested in what we as the public, define as beauty, when we choose to create it ourselves.
Beauty has always been a currency, and now that we finally have the technological means to mint our own, what choices do we make?
He questions, “Is beauty informed by contemporary culture? By history? Or is it defined by the surgeon’s hand? Can we identify physical trends that vary from decade to decade, or is beauty timeless? Perhaps we are creating a new kind of beauty. An amalgam of surgery, art, and popular culture? And if so, are the results the vanguard of human induced evolution?
When annualising these concepts I began to question “When we re-make ourselves, are we revealing our true character, or are we stripping away our identity? After thinking about this question, I began thinking ideas and how I could develop further.
portrait final print
After lots of research and thoughts and ideas, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to photograph women that lack in confidence and have a low self esteem. My inspiration for this, was the research based on stereotype's. I was interested in how women wanted to convey the ideal body, which made me approach this particular model. From other people I knew, she lacked confidence with her appearance, and therefore was perfect for my shoot. When meeting her, I asked questions that were based upon my idea. Through general information Nicky the model, explained her figure did not match the perfect stereotype women. She felt the only way to lift her confidence would be cosmetic surgery, which would involve a tummy tuck. This story combined well towards my research and ideas. Unfortunately, my model felt uncomfortable revealing her stomach for the shoot, and therefore I came to the conclusion of revealing her in another approach. I then looked back at previous research, and noticed the photographer Cecil Beaton captures unnoticeable hidden confused expressions, whilst forming the typical stereotype women. When arriving on shoot day, I asked Nicky to wear make-up and dress up, as I wanted her to feel comfortable with her own appearance. My idea behind this shoot was to reveal the lack of confidence in ones own body. When shooting I tried not to ask my model to portray any specific expression or pose, instead I wanted her to fell comfortable and natural, but became apparent, she obviously clamped up and formed a barrier. However I like the dream –like quality almost dreaming of the ideal appearance.
Before shoot day we had many portrait workshops where we experimented with lighting, expression etc.....
This is one of my contact sheets showing this....
This is one of my contact sheets showing this....
Final portrait shoot
Equipment :
Light metre reading f16 / everything in focus
Mamiya rz
Delta 100 film
Black backdrop
Beauty dish
Prolight
Final Print
The day for my Body shoot had finally approached, and I was nervous to say the least. My most concern was model. As soon as Josh, my assistant, had arrived we started to build the set and the lighting. I used the same light set up in previous workshops but added a new tool that I had never used before a beauty dish. As I had a simple lighting plan i was recommended to use what's called a beauty dish. When using this tool I thought it produced more abrupt shadow edge transfers better I think then using a soft box. I think overall the beauty dish produced more diffused quality of light than a standard reflector , so was perfect for my style of shoot.
Before my model arrived I did some test strips to gain confidence and understanding. I used a high aperture of f16 as I wanted everything in focus, defining all features and expression. Once contact sheets were done, luckily all I had to change was my lighting control, and where my model sat, due to shadows and a dark background. Once completed I waited for my model and began shooting.
For my second roll of film I had trouble centring the model in the frame, I think due to the background being black I found it difficult to find the frame in the camera. I also thought the background still looked to dark, therefore moved the model forwards and turned the light up.
After test shots and contact prints i finally had my final shot.
