Presenting my ideas so far and a little of my research was very helpful. To talk about them with another person has given me even more ideas and areas that I want to explore. One of the things to consider though is not to try and take on too much work.
The area that kept coming up as being exciting was the aspect of social networking, so Facebook and Twitter. Both are tools that people used to present themselves and communicate with others. It's the whole idea that sitting behind a keyboard, a lot of people may feel more confident or some may be even more private about how much of themselves they expose as they're afraid what others may think.
It's an area that I think has potential to make work around. I have already decided to have my own experiment on it by either asking people to describe me in 3 words (though I'm aware that some people won't answer me seriously) OR putting 'Identity is...' and seeing if anyone answers. I'm thinking a good place to start might be with the latter to get an idea of how everyone sees identity. This is a variant if you ask me, so I'm interested to know whether others think that.
Incorporating text with images and possibly even making video from some of the results may be a good option. Basically, the tutorial gave me even more ideas and further points, so it's about taking it one thing at a time and seeing where it leads to.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Research- Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German photographer and artist, best known for his work with portraiture which is why I'm looking at him. He's different to the ones I've looked at previously and so I'm looking at another approach to it.
There is something casual about his work, nothing too flashy or overly complicated about the method of making the work. It's more of a focus on the story behind an individual and what it's like to be an individual in this day and age. A book I looked at of his work had some critical reviews at the beginning and someone said that the medium he uses is unimportant and it could have been anything, but it's the way he documents it and gets his point across.
His images are usually taken in the subject's environment which instantly puts them more at ease and there is an honesty in the image. You get the sense that the person has opened up to him and is keeping open for the camera to record that part of them. He has photographed celebrities and every day, regular people but his style doesn't alter for either and both are shot in that relaxed, whatever makes them comfortable sort of way. When looking at his book, 'Portraits', there were some where I wondered if his subjects had forgotten that he'd be taking an image at some point because they just seem too relaxed compared to how I would be.
Something very noticeable about his images though, is the eye contact. I don't remember seeing any more than two images where the subject isn't looking at the camera and I love that he's got them to engage without looking petrified or upset about this.
I've included ones I particularly like below, including one of fellow artist, Gillian Wearing!
This last image is actually the photographer himself and since I may, or may not, include myself in the project I liked that he'd kept the entirely same approach when photographing himself. It's very reflective of who he is and his statement that opens the book 'Portraits' is very inspirational for this project.
He writes:- "All of the people depicted in this book have been photographed in a portrait situation. The selection therefore does not include reportage or documentary portraits or scenarios in which the sitters represent anything but themselves.
Making a portrait can take a few minutes or several hours. The only requisite is that, or the duration of the portrait situation, the sitters are prepared to make their own person the main subject of the photograph in progress.
The portrait is the only form of depiction based on the equality of subject and object: sitters and photographer have to make a commitment to the situation as human beings. If they do not, the pictures becomes an illustration of an imagined relationship of power. To my mind, a compelling portrait depends on a mutual readiness to acknowledge personal vulnerability and weakness."
There is something casual about his work, nothing too flashy or overly complicated about the method of making the work. It's more of a focus on the story behind an individual and what it's like to be an individual in this day and age. A book I looked at of his work had some critical reviews at the beginning and someone said that the medium he uses is unimportant and it could have been anything, but it's the way he documents it and gets his point across.
His images are usually taken in the subject's environment which instantly puts them more at ease and there is an honesty in the image. You get the sense that the person has opened up to him and is keeping open for the camera to record that part of them. He has photographed celebrities and every day, regular people but his style doesn't alter for either and both are shot in that relaxed, whatever makes them comfortable sort of way. When looking at his book, 'Portraits', there were some where I wondered if his subjects had forgotten that he'd be taking an image at some point because they just seem too relaxed compared to how I would be.
Something very noticeable about his images though, is the eye contact. I don't remember seeing any more than two images where the subject isn't looking at the camera and I love that he's got them to engage without looking petrified or upset about this.
I've included ones I particularly like below, including one of fellow artist, Gillian Wearing!
This last image is actually the photographer himself and since I may, or may not, include myself in the project I liked that he'd kept the entirely same approach when photographing himself. It's very reflective of who he is and his statement that opens the book 'Portraits' is very inspirational for this project. He writes:- "All of the people depicted in this book have been photographed in a portrait situation. The selection therefore does not include reportage or documentary portraits or scenarios in which the sitters represent anything but themselves.
Making a portrait can take a few minutes or several hours. The only requisite is that, or the duration of the portrait situation, the sitters are prepared to make their own person the main subject of the photograph in progress.
The portrait is the only form of depiction based on the equality of subject and object: sitters and photographer have to make a commitment to the situation as human beings. If they do not, the pictures becomes an illustration of an imagined relationship of power. To my mind, a compelling portrait depends on a mutual readiness to acknowledge personal vulnerability and weakness."
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
'Identity'
As part of my research, I do want to look at theories and opinion on what exactly identity is. So I've looked at various quotes, definitions and simple theories, posting anything I find interesting or might want to make an image around below.
"Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (such as national identity and cultural identity)" - wikipedia definition
"The value of identity is of course that so often it comes with purpose." - Richard R. Grant
"Committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying." - Unknown
"Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge." - John Perry Barlow
"Identity is such a crucial affair that one shouldn't rush into it." - David Quammen
"Identity is theft of the self." - Estee Martin
"The identity of one changes with how one perceives reality." - Vithy Jeyalogananathan
"A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same. " - Djuna Barnes
"An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience. " - James Baldwin
"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth. " - Alan Rudolph
Reading and looking for the quotes above, as well as the research on Gillian Wearing and Emily-Jane Major got me wondering what would happen if I were to say to people "Identity is...". What sort of answers would I receive? I'm going to put this theory to the test as more research.
"Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations (such as national identity and cultural identity)" - wikipedia definition
"The value of identity is of course that so often it comes with purpose." - Richard R. Grant
"Committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying." - Unknown
"Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge." - John Perry Barlow
"Identity is such a crucial affair that one shouldn't rush into it." - David Quammen
"Identity is theft of the self." - Estee Martin
"The identity of one changes with how one perceives reality." - Vithy Jeyalogananathan
"A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same. " - Djuna Barnes
"An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience. " - James Baldwin
"Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth. " - Alan Rudolph
Reading and looking for the quotes above, as well as the research on Gillian Wearing and Emily-Jane Major got me wondering what would happen if I were to say to people "Identity is...". What sort of answers would I receive? I'm going to put this theory to the test as more research.
Research- Gillian Wearing
As soon as I had the initial idea for this project, I was reminded of Gillian Wearing's work. I looked at while doing the research for my secrets project and it's a series that I really like. Wearing is an English conceptual artist and her work is extremely inspirational.
The series I'm looking at is the one entitled "Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what somebody else wants you to say.". The project was her first collaboration with the general public and so since this will be mine, I find it even more relevant to look at. She started the series in 1992 and it involved standing in an area of South London and basically asking people walking past to co-operate with the project. She asked them to write down what was on their mind on a piece of card and hold it for a portrait.
The charm of the proejct is the variety of responses. Some people took it seriously, others used it to be fun and playful. Some were honest, some lied, but all that took part offer something, a part of themselves. The man who wrote down 'desperate' is in my opinion the bravest, but clearly Wearing had a way of interacting with the public that made them feel at ease.
Wearing had a deeper intention with the project though and she wrote that the collaboration 'interrupts the logic of photo-documentary and snapshot photography by the subjects' clear collusion and engineering of their own representation.' It brings a serious element into it, with the decline of the UK's economy and the project has social and historical stature in these times. Oddly, it is as relevant today as it was then with the UK's current situation.
The inspiration is the simplicity of it all. Perhaps by originally wanting to do it in a studio it's too clean cut and might put people off. If I were to do the portraits more casually in the environment I found people, perhaps they would be more willing to participate and I'd get much more honesty as it's on the spot and people may only regret it afterwards.
Below are some of the images from Wearing's project.
The series I'm looking at is the one entitled "Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what somebody else wants you to say.". The project was her first collaboration with the general public and so since this will be mine, I find it even more relevant to look at. She started the series in 1992 and it involved standing in an area of South London and basically asking people walking past to co-operate with the project. She asked them to write down what was on their mind on a piece of card and hold it for a portrait.
The charm of the proejct is the variety of responses. Some people took it seriously, others used it to be fun and playful. Some were honest, some lied, but all that took part offer something, a part of themselves. The man who wrote down 'desperate' is in my opinion the bravest, but clearly Wearing had a way of interacting with the public that made them feel at ease.
Wearing had a deeper intention with the project though and she wrote that the collaboration 'interrupts the logic of photo-documentary and snapshot photography by the subjects' clear collusion and engineering of their own representation.' It brings a serious element into it, with the decline of the UK's economy and the project has social and historical stature in these times. Oddly, it is as relevant today as it was then with the UK's current situation.
The inspiration is the simplicity of it all. Perhaps by originally wanting to do it in a studio it's too clean cut and might put people off. If I were to do the portraits more casually in the environment I found people, perhaps they would be more willing to participate and I'd get much more honesty as it's on the spot and people may only regret it afterwards.
Below are some of the images from Wearing's project.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Research- Emily-Jane Major
An American photography magazine alerted me to this artist and project and besides being a brilliant idea for a project and also well executed, it struck me as a great way of collecting 'data' for my own project.
Her project entitled 'Love is...' required making stills for every second of the film "Last Tango In Paris" then printing the 7000 or so stills onto postcards which she then posted in London and the West Midlands. The postcards had the image on the front and a freepost address already put on the back. The idea was that people would write next to 'Love is...' with whatever they felt it was and then post it back. I think it was a brilliant idea, but unfortunately for every 1000 or so mailed, she only received 50-60 responses which, although still good, is quite sad. However, she states that the project was as much about the cards that didn't return as those that did.
Personally, I'd love something like that to drop through my doorstep! Much better than bills and I'd be very intrigued by the concept, I'd probably want to know more about it and might have attached a note enquiring when I returned it. Love is one of those things that everyone has an opinion or a question to ask about it. It's something that I'd say most people strive for, worry over or don't truly understand. She undertook a big project with a deeper meaning which is why I find it relevant and also fascinating.
Here are some stills of the postcards.
Looking at it from a method point of view, I think it's a perfect way of achieving honesty. Of getting people to be open and express themselves. Some people find it easier to be anonymous, a voice on paper rather than saying the words. Although I included one where a woman had signed her name and another where the person put an address of their own. I like the interaction involved and the connections made by Major.
Perhaps it's something I could consider on a smaller scale. If I was to hand a postcard around university that people could fill in anonymously where they write two things on (1) 3 things I think people think about me, 2) 3 things I'd like people to think about me) and explain where to hand it in by putting a box in Portland building or perhaps the student union then I'd be able to collect more about self-perception. I could then work with the postcards themselves or do what I did with my secrets project and give people a random postcard so their own truths aren't with them. This may be one way of getting more people to participate if they didn't have to be photographed with their own 3 words. It's definitely something to consider.
Her project entitled 'Love is...' required making stills for every second of the film "Last Tango In Paris" then printing the 7000 or so stills onto postcards which she then posted in London and the West Midlands. The postcards had the image on the front and a freepost address already put on the back. The idea was that people would write next to 'Love is...' with whatever they felt it was and then post it back. I think it was a brilliant idea, but unfortunately for every 1000 or so mailed, she only received 50-60 responses which, although still good, is quite sad. However, she states that the project was as much about the cards that didn't return as those that did.
Personally, I'd love something like that to drop through my doorstep! Much better than bills and I'd be very intrigued by the concept, I'd probably want to know more about it and might have attached a note enquiring when I returned it. Love is one of those things that everyone has an opinion or a question to ask about it. It's something that I'd say most people strive for, worry over or don't truly understand. She undertook a big project with a deeper meaning which is why I find it relevant and also fascinating.
Here are some stills of the postcards.
Looking at it from a method point of view, I think it's a perfect way of achieving honesty. Of getting people to be open and express themselves. Some people find it easier to be anonymous, a voice on paper rather than saying the words. Although I included one where a woman had signed her name and another where the person put an address of their own. I like the interaction involved and the connections made by Major.
Perhaps it's something I could consider on a smaller scale. If I was to hand a postcard around university that people could fill in anonymously where they write two things on (1) 3 things I think people think about me, 2) 3 things I'd like people to think about me) and explain where to hand it in by putting a box in Portland building or perhaps the student union then I'd be able to collect more about self-perception. I could then work with the postcards themselves or do what I did with my secrets project and give people a random postcard so their own truths aren't with them. This may be one way of getting more people to participate if they didn't have to be photographed with their own 3 words. It's definitely something to consider.
Monday, 25 October 2010
The Title Of The Blog
I haven't really decided what the title of this project shall be yet. When we had to write one down in the seminar, I wrote down 'Identity' as I hadn't decided and this is a blanket cover for the general aims of it. That will probably remain the working title until I decide on something more permanent.
The title of the blog actually comes from a song by a band I like. The Switchfoot song, 'This is your life' came to me while trying to think of what I could call the project and also the relevant blog for it. It has the lyrics, "This is your life, are you who you want to be? This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose." which seem to mean something for what inspired me to start this project.
It also occurred to me that it pretty much sums up everything I was trying to achieve. Looking at self-perception and how people view themselves, you always come back to the point that this is your life. You're the one who controls your destiny and if there's something you don't like then it's up to you to change it. The lyrics being the title of the blog are there to try and remind me of the aim and asking that question 'is it everything you dreamed that it would be' might seem premature when I'll be asking a lot of people ranging from 18-25 which is still young, but even at this age, I think all of us dreamt that we would be a certain way or doing a certain thing. How that has altered, whether because we wanted it to or just because things haven't worked out. It's another direction I could take the work in.
The title of the blog actually comes from a song by a band I like. The Switchfoot song, 'This is your life' came to me while trying to think of what I could call the project and also the relevant blog for it. It has the lyrics, "This is your life, are you who you want to be? This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose." which seem to mean something for what inspired me to start this project.
It also occurred to me that it pretty much sums up everything I was trying to achieve. Looking at self-perception and how people view themselves, you always come back to the point that this is your life. You're the one who controls your destiny and if there's something you don't like then it's up to you to change it. The lyrics being the title of the blog are there to try and remind me of the aim and asking that question 'is it everything you dreamed that it would be' might seem premature when I'll be asking a lot of people ranging from 18-25 which is still young, but even at this age, I think all of us dreamt that we would be a certain way or doing a certain thing. How that has altered, whether because we wanted it to or just because things haven't worked out. It's another direction I could take the work in.
Research- Ian Phillips-McLaren
Ian Phillips-McLaren is a British photographer, who mainly does portraits. I wasn't really familiar with his work until I stumbled upon it because of an actor. I saw it, liked how fun it was and how it showed a different side that I'd not seen before to this actor and decided to do some more research on the photographer. He is well known within the photography world, namely for having had a BBC show about him early into his career.
These days he photographs a lot of celebrities and artists as well as regular, everyday people. The reason I'm looking at him and his work is because his portraits look genuine. They don't look overly staged and it seems as though he's taken at least some amount of time to try and get to know the person and then express this in his photographs.
Expressive is probably the best word I can think of to describe his images as the people look at ease, comfortable to let their guard down and in some cases have fun or play around. That level of ease is what can make for a good portrait and like with the previous piece of research, I feel like it can help show me what I should be looking to do to get the best out of my subjects.
My favourite of the images below is probably the very top one of Tom Riley. The expression isn't staged. It looks genuine and as though that was the actual emotion he was feeling. The photograph captures that second of him expressing how he's feeling. Again, it's that connection to the subject that the photographer has allowed us to have that inspires me.
These days he photographs a lot of celebrities and artists as well as regular, everyday people. The reason I'm looking at him and his work is because his portraits look genuine. They don't look overly staged and it seems as though he's taken at least some amount of time to try and get to know the person and then express this in his photographs.
Expressive is probably the best word I can think of to describe his images as the people look at ease, comfortable to let their guard down and in some cases have fun or play around. That level of ease is what can make for a good portrait and like with the previous piece of research, I feel like it can help show me what I should be looking to do to get the best out of my subjects.
My favourite of the images below is probably the very top one of Tom Riley. The expression isn't staged. It looks genuine and as though that was the actual emotion he was feeling. The photograph captures that second of him expressing how he's feeling. Again, it's that connection to the subject that the photographer has allowed us to have that inspires me.
Research- Timm Kolln
The subject is obviously the most important part of my project as I'm looking at identity, individuality and everything that goes with that. For that reason, I'm as much interested in the portraits themselves as the relationships with the subjects. Some photographers are just good at that and it's why they get better images. I'm hoping that by looking at some of these practioners, it might help me and make my own work improve.
Timm Kolln is a Dutch photographer whom I actually found out about through watching cycling. Someone who knew I was interested in photography sent me to a link to a series he was doing called "The Peloton" which involved him making portraits of the riders straight after they'd finished whichever gruelling race or stage they were taking part in.
The images were simply beautiful and incredibly powerful. You could see the race; the pain, the fun parts, the heartbreak or in some cases, the glory, all over their faces and in their eyes. They're dramatic images, very strong in grain and contrast as they're shot in black and white. I had a lot of respect for cyclists anyway, but I think these justify that respect and perhaps make me respect them even more. You can tell how much it means to me and how they throw their everything into it and more than often get nothing in return but sore legs and cuts and bruises.
I admire his dedication to the project as I'm sure the riders just want to get into the bus and away from cameras and blinding flashes after riding a bike for anywhere up to six hours, but he always manages to get that portrait and they all have their own story and personality to come through. Because of these particular portraits being so beautiful, I looked further into his work and saw that he is a very talented photographer.
He has done portraits of various figures within sports and seems to bring out something that no other pohtograph has in each individual. The relationship the viewer gets to share with the subject is all down to how he captures the image and this is something I admire a lot about his work. Although he does, like Corbijn, work in black and white a lot, I still think he's very relevant as much for his technique of portraiture and the element of personality that he seems to be able to lock into the photographs.
Below are some of the images I particularly like and get inspired by.
Timm Kolln is a Dutch photographer whom I actually found out about through watching cycling. Someone who knew I was interested in photography sent me to a link to a series he was doing called "The Peloton" which involved him making portraits of the riders straight after they'd finished whichever gruelling race or stage they were taking part in.
The images were simply beautiful and incredibly powerful. You could see the race; the pain, the fun parts, the heartbreak or in some cases, the glory, all over their faces and in their eyes. They're dramatic images, very strong in grain and contrast as they're shot in black and white. I had a lot of respect for cyclists anyway, but I think these justify that respect and perhaps make me respect them even more. You can tell how much it means to me and how they throw their everything into it and more than often get nothing in return but sore legs and cuts and bruises.
I admire his dedication to the project as I'm sure the riders just want to get into the bus and away from cameras and blinding flashes after riding a bike for anywhere up to six hours, but he always manages to get that portrait and they all have their own story and personality to come through. Because of these particular portraits being so beautiful, I looked further into his work and saw that he is a very talented photographer.
He has done portraits of various figures within sports and seems to bring out something that no other pohtograph has in each individual. The relationship the viewer gets to share with the subject is all down to how he captures the image and this is something I admire a lot about his work. Although he does, like Corbijn, work in black and white a lot, I still think he's very relevant as much for his technique of portraiture and the element of personality that he seems to be able to lock into the photographs.
Below are some of the images I particularly like and get inspired by.
Research- Anton Corbijn
Whenever I think of portraiture photography, there are hundreds of photographers I could look at but the first one that always comes to mind is not the most obvious one out there. It's not Testino or any of the other very famous ones you might be thinking. It's Anton Corbijn. I am a huge fan of his work, both photographic and with his videos and more recently, films.
The Dutch artist been taking portraits since the 1970s and is best known for his work in the music industry. He has photographed most big acts you can think of and it's where I first saw some of his work, because of the stuff he did with U2. His style is quite distinct and I like his take on portraiture. There's something different about it and more interesting than some of the other practioners I've looked at. He works primarily in black and white, which adds that gorgeous, grainy film quality to the images. While I think my project will be best suited for colour, I find his work very inspirational and he is someone I look up to. Possibly my favourite part of his work is that connection he has with his subject. They look at ease and as though they share a mutual understanding in getting the photograph to look right.
Often the photographs are simple, or at least appear so, but that is the beauty of them. They are a look at the person's identity, at their personality and a glimpse of something deeper. Corbijn has the ability to get that from his subjects and this is something I want to achieve. I want them to be comfortable enough to reveal a part of themselves, no matter how small, big dark or secretive.
Below is some of his work.
The Dutch artist been taking portraits since the 1970s and is best known for his work in the music industry. He has photographed most big acts you can think of and it's where I first saw some of his work, because of the stuff he did with U2. His style is quite distinct and I like his take on portraiture. There's something different about it and more interesting than some of the other practioners I've looked at. He works primarily in black and white, which adds that gorgeous, grainy film quality to the images. While I think my project will be best suited for colour, I find his work very inspirational and he is someone I look up to. Possibly my favourite part of his work is that connection he has with his subject. They look at ease and as though they share a mutual understanding in getting the photograph to look right.
Often the photographs are simple, or at least appear so, but that is the beauty of them. They are a look at the person's identity, at their personality and a glimpse of something deeper. Corbijn has the ability to get that from his subjects and this is something I want to achieve. I want them to be comfortable enough to reveal a part of themselves, no matter how small, big dark or secretive.
Below is some of his work.
Friday, 22 October 2010
Some more inspiration
Something I remembered over the summer while I had this idea floating around was an episode of the television series 'One Tree Hill'. I remember it looking at self image and one particular scene, so I rewatched it.
It was while the characters were still in high school and they were split into pairs to do a class assignment. The school recently suffered a tragedy and the assignment was to look at their deepest secrets and desires. The idea stemmed from the teacher telling them that they were what their classmates thought they were in terms of stereotypes but only until after graduation when they could start again or be who they wanted to. One character, Brooke Davis, who appears to have no end of confidence and is very popular surprises everyone with her warped view of herself. She also has to reveal something about herself she isn't proud of to someone that she had been trying to impress.
The standout scene for me was where they did the photograph to go with the assignment. The character wrote all of her fears onto projector paper and then projected them over herself and a wall. It's a great idea and one that I'd like to try on a larger scale. It's one way that I could incorporate the text into the project. Whether I focused the words only over the person or did it much larger, across a whole wall and then stood the person somewhere in the middle, I'm not sure yet as it will require experiment.
In terms of content, the episode was very relevant for my project as it looked at self-perception, self-image and also stereotypes. There were some good quotes in it and several characters got to know people that for various reasons, they'd just never spoken to and had their first impressions changed. I think it is the same in UK schools, but in America, people are portrayed as trying so hard to be the right kind of person in highschool. One particular quote from the episode hammers this point home, the character is always portrayed as dumb and is sick of her friend treating her this way, retaliating with:- "I think Carl's right, pretty soon we're all going to graduate and I can start over. But it'll be harder for the people who need this place to make themselves feel special. People who use high school to build themselves up and then find out that the real world doesn't care so much about who you were in high school. People like you."
This is the list of things that the assignment told the students they had to do.
1. Share something personal;
2. Lighten up. Do an impression of a celebrity or famous character;
3. Admit something that worries you or you are afraid of;
4. What do you want to be in 10 years?;
5. Tell your partner a secret.
I was wondering if it might be worth me taking that list and geting people to do the 5 things on there that result to me making the portrait of them at the end (or during in some cases). That particular idea may transfer more easily for video than photographs but does interest me.
It was while the characters were still in high school and they were split into pairs to do a class assignment. The school recently suffered a tragedy and the assignment was to look at their deepest secrets and desires. The idea stemmed from the teacher telling them that they were what their classmates thought they were in terms of stereotypes but only until after graduation when they could start again or be who they wanted to. One character, Brooke Davis, who appears to have no end of confidence and is very popular surprises everyone with her warped view of herself. She also has to reveal something about herself she isn't proud of to someone that she had been trying to impress.
The standout scene for me was where they did the photograph to go with the assignment. The character wrote all of her fears onto projector paper and then projected them over herself and a wall. It's a great idea and one that I'd like to try on a larger scale. It's one way that I could incorporate the text into the project. Whether I focused the words only over the person or did it much larger, across a whole wall and then stood the person somewhere in the middle, I'm not sure yet as it will require experiment.
In terms of content, the episode was very relevant for my project as it looked at self-perception, self-image and also stereotypes. There were some good quotes in it and several characters got to know people that for various reasons, they'd just never spoken to and had their first impressions changed. I think it is the same in UK schools, but in America, people are portrayed as trying so hard to be the right kind of person in highschool. One particular quote from the episode hammers this point home, the character is always portrayed as dumb and is sick of her friend treating her this way, retaliating with:- "I think Carl's right, pretty soon we're all going to graduate and I can start over. But it'll be harder for the people who need this place to make themselves feel special. People who use high school to build themselves up and then find out that the real world doesn't care so much about who you were in high school. People like you."
This is the list of things that the assignment told the students they had to do.
1. Share something personal;
2. Lighten up. Do an impression of a celebrity or famous character;
3. Admit something that worries you or you are afraid of;
4. What do you want to be in 10 years?;
5. Tell your partner a secret.
I was wondering if it might be worth me taking that list and geting people to do the 5 things on there that result to me making the portrait of them at the end (or during in some cases). That particular idea may transfer more easily for video than photographs but does interest me.
Friday, 15 October 2010
The Inspiration For The Idea
There were two main inspirations for this idea. One was the desire to work with portraits again and builds on a project I did in first year that looked at secrets. I got people to give me secrets and also found some on the internet. I then put these secrets onto postcards and gave them to random people to hold in portraits for me. None of the actual secrets, to my knowledge, represented or were true to the person holding them, but it was interesting to see how the person looked while holding them and how other people's reactions to them were.
Below are several images of mine from this project. While I like them, it was a shorter project and I've wanted to go back and explore portraiture and the aspects of identity again ever since.
While this project started out as fun, I got more interested in how intense and serious it could be and wanted to look at that side more which is one of the reasons I'm so interested in this project. Self-perception, self-confidence and the way people see themselves is a serious issue. You only have to look at the recent suicides in America by homosexual teenagers. It's tragic that because of the way they're treat and they think people see them that they've been pushed to this. I don't intend to go quite that deep with the project, but it shows you that self-image is a current topic and this is something that spurs my idea on more.
I also have a personal interest in this project. I've struggled with self-confidence and body image from a young age and most of it has been self-inflicted. I'm more confident now than ever before, but I'm still quite shy and nervous around new people or in new situations. It's hard to explain why, I never experienced much bullying in school, I was generally left alone, but the lack of confidence seemed to come from me. I'm pretty sure my own description of myself wouldn't match how others would describe me, or possibly it would. It might depend on how well people know me. I did a lot of thinking during the summer as a project more personal to me is one I tend to produce the better work for and the issues I have are ones that most people have in one way or another. Exploring identity and msyelf were the other big inspiration for this project.
Below are several images of mine from this project. While I like them, it was a shorter project and I've wanted to go back and explore portraiture and the aspects of identity again ever since.
While this project started out as fun, I got more interested in how intense and serious it could be and wanted to look at that side more which is one of the reasons I'm so interested in this project. Self-perception, self-confidence and the way people see themselves is a serious issue. You only have to look at the recent suicides in America by homosexual teenagers. It's tragic that because of the way they're treat and they think people see them that they've been pushed to this. I don't intend to go quite that deep with the project, but it shows you that self-image is a current topic and this is something that spurs my idea on more.
I also have a personal interest in this project. I've struggled with self-confidence and body image from a young age and most of it has been self-inflicted. I'm more confident now than ever before, but I'm still quite shy and nervous around new people or in new situations. It's hard to explain why, I never experienced much bullying in school, I was generally left alone, but the lack of confidence seemed to come from me. I'm pretty sure my own description of myself wouldn't match how others would describe me, or possibly it would. It might depend on how well people know me. I did a lot of thinking during the summer as a project more personal to me is one I tend to produce the better work for and the issues I have are ones that most people have in one way or another. Exploring identity and msyelf were the other big inspiration for this project.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
The Idea
At first, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go with video or not as I'm doing photography in the other module. While I wouldn't rule out doing some video in a project, I don't think I want to go for a festival or competition that is video only as I'm still very inexperienced with video and find the limitations of my own ability sometimes hamper my ideas and the scale. So while some of the ideas intrigued me, I decided to go with something more photography based.
An idea I had over summer involved the themes of self-perception and involved portraits so I kept coming back to two competitions. The LPA "Let's Face It" one is perfect for the idea that I had and so I think I shall be going for this one. Below is a screen shot of the competition information.
(Click to enlarge) The only concern I'd have with this brief is depending on where my idea takes me and how big the project becomes, whether 6 images only would really represent what I was trying to achieve. However, until I get into the project, this is something I don't know.
The actual idea I have in more detail:- I got thinking over the summer when someone used that classic line "I don't care what people think of me.". I think everyone has used that line in some way or another, but none of us truly mean it. If we did, we wouldn't present ourselves in certain ways depending on the situation (take the contrasts between how you'd dress and act in the pub than if you were going to an interview) and we definitely wouldn't do things like untagging ourselves from photos on social networking websites or take time picking 'the right profile picture'.
I want to look at the way people think the world views them and the way they want to be viewed. In some cases, I imagine the two will be the same if not similar, but it's interesting to look at identity and the self-perception of ourselves. I think to do this I'll be combining text and image in some ways, but I also had initial ideas to do a documentary style video exploring this theme. The next job is to look at the initial inspirations for this idea and start researching to try and define exactly how I want to go about exploring the themes.
An idea I had over summer involved the themes of self-perception and involved portraits so I kept coming back to two competitions. The LPA "Let's Face It" one is perfect for the idea that I had and so I think I shall be going for this one. Below is a screen shot of the competition information.
(Click to enlarge) The only concern I'd have with this brief is depending on where my idea takes me and how big the project becomes, whether 6 images only would really represent what I was trying to achieve. However, until I get into the project, this is something I don't know.
The actual idea I have in more detail:- I got thinking over the summer when someone used that classic line "I don't care what people think of me.". I think everyone has used that line in some way or another, but none of us truly mean it. If we did, we wouldn't present ourselves in certain ways depending on the situation (take the contrasts between how you'd dress and act in the pub than if you were going to an interview) and we definitely wouldn't do things like untagging ourselves from photos on social networking websites or take time picking 'the right profile picture'.
I want to look at the way people think the world views them and the way they want to be viewed. In some cases, I imagine the two will be the same if not similar, but it's interesting to look at identity and the self-perception of ourselves. I think to do this I'll be combining text and image in some ways, but I also had initial ideas to do a documentary style video exploring this theme. The next job is to look at the initial inspirations for this idea and start researching to try and define exactly how I want to go about exploring the themes.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Introduction
This is the blog for my research, development and work made for the PHVP 3412 module. Due to some confusion with the group over summer, most of us only had one very solid idea for this year's work, and the second and third ideas I had I wasn't as keen on. The point of this module is 'creative professional practice' and the work we make should fit into a brief of a competition, festival or other outlet. We have free reign over this and so this is where I decided to start.
The work is supposed to be centred on personal interest while responding to an outside stimulus (competitions or festivals like I mention above) and so to start with, I decided to look at the various film festivals and photographic competitions around. I thought that this might help inspire me with an idea or might encourage me to think more seriously about the minor ideas I had over summer but decided not to run for the other module.
The initial ones that interested me were:-
The work is supposed to be centred on personal interest while responding to an outside stimulus (competitions or festivals like I mention above) and so to start with, I decided to look at the various film festivals and photographic competitions around. I thought that this might help inspire me with an idea or might encourage me to think more seriously about the minor ideas I had over summer but decided not to run for the other module.
The initial ones that interested me were:-
- "Brief Encounters" - The Encounters film festival taking place from the 16th of November to the 21st in Bristol and focuses on short (and animated short) films. Obviously the theme is very open which I like but their aim (seeking to promote the importance of short film as a means to develop and progress the next generation of UK film and animation talent) also interests me.
- "Under Open Skies", a competition for part of the 'Borderlines Film Festival', they are looking for films of up to 50 minutes (a very large project, but you can make them shorter) that explore the natural world. The thing that appealed most was that it's documentary and this the area I feel most comfortable, and enjoy working in, the most.
- "2 days later" short film competition. It seems like a very challenging brief as they want the short to be made and finished in just 48 hours but that does sound exciting. The theme is horror and that is an area of film that I like but have never really tried anything in. I think of the various competitions and festivals I looked at, it seemed the hardest. Though it does intrigue me and the challenge would be fun.
- "The Lux awards" - Although a competition run for America/Canada only, the briefs interest me. It is photography based and there are four categories you can enter work into. 1) Bodies in motion (sport), 2) The natural world (wildlife and nature), 3) Universal Faces (portraits), 4) The urban landscape (travel). It would be the sports one that interests me the most as cycling and football are both personal interests of mine. The downside to this project is that I'm already looking in a documentary style at football for the other module and so think that doing something different would be more exciting and keep me more interested.
- "Let's Face it 7", a portraiture photography competiton run by the LPA. Portraits are something I've dabbled in and enjoyed, but never done a project around and one of my summer ideas that I didn't really develop much revolved around portraits. The brief is quite strict and wants up to 6 images in a series of portraits that explore identity.
- "Shoot Nations 2010" which is another photography competition and the theme is "City living" focusing on the urbanisation of places and things. That is something which is forever increasing and might be interesting to look at.
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