The purpose of this final assignment is to help you review your work and decide how you are going to submit it for assessment. Even if you are studying for personal development alone, it could still be helpful to take stock of the work you have made during this course and think about how you might develop it further. Although this sounds like a relatively straightforward and quick exercise, students generally find it takes much longer than they anticipated. Tackle this task methodically and allow yourself plenty of time to do justice to the effort you have made throughout the course.
Reviewing your assignments
Make sure you have carefully considered your tutor’s feedback on your assignments, and have made any changed that they have recommended. It is your decision whether or not to submit your assignments with the changes your tutor has suggested. However, you should at least consider their comments, and demonstrate this by taking appropriate actions. It may well be that your assignments are fine as they are, but since you have this opportunity to take another look at them, we suggest you do so.
For assessment, you should submit your original assignment (so that the assessor can look at it alongside your tutor’s feedback). Except for Assignment Four, you should also submit a hard-copy version including any revisions made in the light of tutor feedback, or any additional or revised images.
Pay particular attention to your Assignment Three, Critical Essay. This piece of work will be primarily used by the assessors to consider the fourth assessment criterion, Context-Reflection, research and critical thinking.
Review your Learning Log
Make sure your learning log is up to date. If you have skipped any of the exercises then now it the time to complete them. Look at your tutor reports and any correspondence with your tutor or peers and follow up on any suggestions they may have made (practitioners, techniques, books) that you have previously overlooked.
Check that the content of your learning log is logically accessible. Ensure all posts are appropriately ‘tagged’, e.g assignments, exercises, research, reflection. The ‘reflection’ element is vital: a blog without any reflective aspects will not constitute and true learning log.
If you have kept an additional hard-copy research folder, it is advisable to either photograph or photocopy it for security. Make sure that all of your work is clearly labelled with the number of the exercise and or assignment.
Your submission must look professional. Assessors are allocated equal amounts of time to look at individual students’ work, so remember: first, you don’t have to vie for the assessors’ attention; second, how quickly can the assessors access your work? They would rather spend the time looking at your work than looking for it.
If you have feedback from previous course assessments, remind yourself of the assessors’ comments as these may be useful to help you think about this submission.
Assignment One:
For Assignment One – Part One; I produced a series of twelve photomontage portrait photographs, using the traditional cut and paste method, taking inspiration from John Stezaker, Andrew Lundwall and Nicky Bird. I combined two portrait photographs, and pasted them together to make a new portrait photograph.
For Assignment One – Part Two; I produced a set of four photomontage portrait photographs, taking inspiration from John Stezaker, Andrew Lundwall and Marcelo Monreal. I combined several photographs together to make one final portrait photograph.
I have not made any changes to my original assignment submission. As advised by my tutor and his feedback, I did include a self-assessment and reflection about my assignment and explained my decisions when creating this assignment. I also answered his questions and included my replies under my self-evaluation.
Assignment Two:
For Assignment Two, Taking inspiration from Erik Kessels and Nicky Bird, I produced an online photobook that archived a series of related photographs that I found and purchased online. I asked the eBay sellers if they could give me any information about these photographs, and included their responses explaining where they had acquired the photographs from and whom they were of, on the opposite page to the photographs.
I have not made any changes to my original assignment submission. As advised by my tutor and his feedback, I did include a self-assessment and reflection about my assignment and explained my decisions when creating this assignment. An error was showing when clicking on the Blurb photo book link, due to it now being an expired link. I had to upload the photobook online and I have included a new – working link to the website.
Assignment Three:
For Assignment Three, I produced a 2500 word critical essay, answering and discussing the question – What is your understanding of the ‘digital self’ and what is the effect of our everyday use of photography upon it?
My tutor’s feedback – “You carried out a broad range of research for the essay. As mentioned above, I think you could have focused more on the first theme rather than diversifying in the final sections dealing with the ubiquity of the image.”
I have not made any changes to my original critical essay.
Assignment Four: Digital Identities Part One
For Assignment Four, I developed a project that explored the theme of identity within the current digital climate. I produced a series of 15 photographs that examined how I relate to digital culture and my own critical examination of the digital culture.
I have not made any changes to my original assignment submission. As advised by my tutor and his feedback, I have made changes to my contact sheets, as the size was too small and could not be viewed. I have also re-worked my self-assessment and reflection about my assignment and explained my decisions when creating this assignment, in more detail and included more research. I also answered his questions in my re-worked self assessment.
Assignment Five: Digital Identities Part Two
For Assignment Five, I produced a series of 11 photographs that continued with the theme of digital identities, from Assignment Four. This assignment was created to develop the digital identities project, to the point of resolution.
I have not made any changes to my original assignment submission. As advised by my tutor and his feedback, I have uploaded my final images singularly, so the assessors can open them up larger, as prior to this, the images were not loading to a large scale on the screen. I have also re-worked my self assessment and reflection, and I have explained my decisions when creating this assignment, in more detail and I have included more research.
Assignment Six:
For Assignment Six, I have reviewed my work for the unit Digital Image and Culture. I have made sure that all exercises are completed. I have made sure that all assignments are completed. I have made sure that all of my tutors’ feedback has been uploaded onto my learning log online and I have made changes, if needed, to my assignments or coursework. I have checked that all spelling is correct. I have made sure that all links are working. I have made sure that all menus are working and are easy to access. I have made sure that all research is referenced, with a bibliography.
This feedback was given using Hangouts online video call between myself and my tutor Russell. I have written my tutors feedback, taken from notes made during the video call.
You submitted your Assignment Four and Assignment Five, both at the same time, which unfortunately meant that I was unable to talk to you prior to you submitting Assignment Five. I was therefore unable to give you advice regarding your Assignment Five and any research advice. However, after our conversation, I have been able to give you research advice which you are now able to have a look at, and are therefore, able to use towards any changes or additions you may make to Assignment Four or Five.
Feedback on Assignment
Assignment Five has extensive research.
Your digital manipulation techniques are interesting and really well done, especially on the portrait where you combined the portrait of The Queen and your Snapchat filter/lenses selfies. I can see that you have an eye for detail and have taken a lot of time exploring and combining colours, shapes and textures, in order to blend the new and old portraits together.
Unfortunately, I did struggle zooming into your portraits with the gallery viewer being used on your online learning log. I suggested that for formal assessment, you may think about uploading the photographs singularly, in order for the assessors to open the photographs up larger, so they are able to see the fine detail, which I was unable to do in the gallery view.
During our conversation, I asked you, why have you produced these portraits and what are your portraits trying to achieve.
You mentioned during our conversation, that you felt somewhat restricted for Assignment Five, and you felt that you could only continue on from Assignment Four, by continuing with the theme of Snapchat filters and lenses, and using digital photography. You advised me that you wanted to use the photographs you had taken using the app Snapchat, and combine them with old found portraits, in order to highlight the contrast between new self-portraits and old portraits.
In order to highlight the contrast between new and old, I found that the use of the mobile phone within several of your photographs, was very strong and I can see that you took inspiration from the artist Olivia Muus and the series ‘Museum of Selfies’.
For Assignment Five, I would recommend researching well known, old portraits, by artists such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh and new modern portraits by Andy Warhol. Have a look at photomontage. Unfortunately the Snapchat app won’t allow images to be merged together to produce a montage, however, have a look at the Dada art movement. Research Hannah Hoch, George Grosz and John Hartfield an their social/political intentions. This may also help you with Assignment Four.
I continued by asking you what you would have done differently, in order to make Assignment Five feel less restricted. You advised me that if you had the time, and you could go back and re-do Assignment Five or try other experimental techniques rather than all digital manipulation, you would look at using different mediums to produce your portraits. You were interested in the embroidery techniques used by Julie Cockburn and Stacey Page and the 3D mediums used by Zeren Badar. I suggested that if you have the time, perhaps upload a few experiments using different techniques, showing what you may have produced without feeling restricted.
For Assignment Five, you produced an interesting series of photographs, and we discussed the use of frames. I enquired your reasoning behind the addition of frames to your portraits, and you advised me that the frames were experimental. Your reasoning behind it was because old portraits that were hung in museums, galleries or old period houses, were often framed in large, ornate frames and therefore, you wanted to experiment with the use of frames, to see how your portraits would look when placed inside a frame.
I suggested that perhaps you could look at the idea of not using the standard, ornate frames, and perhaps look at a different ‘type’ of framing. When you take a selfie on a mobile phone, that selfie is in fact framed already. It is framed inside your mobile phone screen and the mobile phone body itself. You suggested that you may look at choosing a selection of your final images that you produced and frame them digitally within a photograph of a mobile phone, as though you are looking at them on the mobile phone screen.
When writing your self evaluation for Assignment Five and Assignment Four, I advised you to use the OCA self evaluation guide as this would help you to explain your thoughts and feelings a lot easier.
Suggested Reading / Viewing
Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Hannah Hoch, George Grosz and John Hartfield.
For Assignment Six, I suggested that once you had completed the final changes we spoke about for Assignment Four and Assignment Five, that we would do a video call on Hangouts, and talk through Assignment Six. You advised me that you would be putting this unit of work in for formal assessment, and I advised you the new formal assessment rules meant that all submissions are to be digital. Therefore, for Assignment Six, we would make sure everything was completed and go through what you should submit for formal assessment.
For Assignment Five, I wanted to combine everything I had researched during Digital Image and Culture, and all of my practitioner research. I wanted to continue with the theme of exploring my identity within the current digital climate and how I relate to digital culture.
I would continue with the theme of ‘selfies’ and using my own selfies to produce my final photographs. For this assignment, I wanted to explore more techniques that I could use to manipulate my selfies, to help me make more interesting final portraits, and therefore researched practitioners such as John Stezaker, Greg Sand, Julie Cockburn, Maurizio Anzeri, Stacey Page, Zeren Badar and Olivia Muus.
The sharing of ones self portrait, predates technology and the internet. Paintings, drawings, sculptures and carte de visite were popular choices throughout time. These pieces enabled the sitters to portray themselves how they wanted to be seen by others.
“…the one I want others to think I am…” (Barthes.)
Oftentimes, multiple frames, colours choices, varied poses, outfits, props and backgrounds were offered to the sitter, enabling them to present their interests and the breadth of their attributed and accomplishments. Many sitters would also wear their most expensive outfits and accessories, to help portray them as being more ‘wealthy’ or ‘physically well’ than they actually were.
Modern self portraits, selfies, show us that nothing has changed over the years when it comes to self portraiture. We still want to present ourselves at our best, we still pose for the camera, we still worry about how we look, how our make-up and hair style is, what clothing, shoes and accessories we are going to wear. Where we may take the photograph, do we want to have a simple background or perhaps use a background or location that shows us off. Perhaps you may take a selfie posing whilst you are on holiday, or in an expensive restaurant, as to appear more well off to others on social media platforms or where ever you may share that photograph of yourself.
You could argue that narcissism has always existed in relation to self portraiture, however, with the use of technology and ease of uploading your selfie onto a social media platforms, and being able to share your image world wide, maybe this makes it more common and apparent in modern society. We see selfies everywhere.
Old self portraits were usually for more wealthy people, who wanted to show off to others, very narcissistic, and these self portraits were usually large paintings or drawings that were hung for everyone to see, in grand houses or museums, or the carte de visite cards that would be handed out like business cards, even more narcissistic, because you are giving your photograph to someone as a way of showing off.
Exploring the current digital climate, I wanted to use juxtaposition to highlight the contrast between new and old. I wanted to combine my ‘modern’ selfies that had been taken on the app Snapchat, and combine them with old paintings and portraits I found online. I was inspired by Zeren Badar and his series Accident, and Olivia Muus and her Museum of Selfies series.
Inspired by the works of Badar and Muus, I wanted to produce a series of portraits that were amusing. I decided to produce two sets of images, one set would contain a mobile phone in them and the other set would not. The set of images with mobile phone, were created with the intention of making the final image appear as though the subject in the old painting was taking a selfie of themselves using Snapchat filters, and the photograph we are looking at is their final selfie that they took. I use the cut and paste technique, and layered sections and parts of my Snapchat selfies onto the old paintings, creating amusing faces. I then included a mobile phone being held by the subject in the painting.
The set of images without the mobile phone being held, were created to imitate the large, old portrait paintings in ornate frames, that you see in museums or hung up in large houses. These old portrait paintings were created for the sitter to show off, and were usually hung for all of their visitors to see. I wanted to create amusing portraits that used my Snapchat selfies on the sitters head area and face.
Below are my final portrait images.
Final Images
Number One
Number Two
Number Three
Number Four
Number Five
Number Six
Number Seven
Number Eight
Number Nine
Number Ten
Number Eleven
Once I had produced my final images, I decided to insert them into baroque, ornate frames, similar to those that frame the old portrait paintings as mentioned above. I also produced a set where I applied a texturize filter on Photoshop Elements, which would give the appearance of brush strokes on canvas paper. By doing so, it would make my final portraits appear as though they had been hand-painted onto canvas paper.
Framed Portraits
Number Six
Textured Canvas Paper Portraits
Number Four
Brief Self Evaluation
For assignment Five, I wanted to continue with the same theme as Assignment Four and continue using Snapchat lenses/filters. I wanted to continue exploring my own personal views and dislike towards the modern selfie culture, taking inspiration from practitioners I have researched throughout the course. I wanted to incorporate a juxtaposition between modern self portraiture and old self portraiture. I wanted to merge the two together, to highlight the similarities and differences between the use of different mediums and platforms, such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, carte de visite, photographs and social media.
For this assignment, I wanted to still remain anonymous within my self portraits, therefore distorting my photographs using the cut and paste, layering, collage techniques, meant that I could still achieve this. My aim for this assignment wasn’t to produce a series of self portraits that went down the route of fake social media profiles, producing fake profile photographs, I wanted to juxtapose new and old self portraiture. You could argue that these final photographs could be used as fake social media photographs on fake social media pages, because I have manipulated them so they don’t look like me, even though they are of me.
This whole assignment for me, was experimental. I wanted them to be amusing, and I spent a long time playing around a lot with cut and paste, and layering different photographs together. It took many attempts, with several photographs cut and paste together, before I completed one final image that I preferred. I had to make sure that the facial area was still recognisable as a face, whilst still keeping my anonymity, despite them being made up of several photographs. I also looked at colours, shapes and textures, as I wanted the final completed photograph to work well as a whole.
If I were to re-do this assignment, I would look at using a mixture of different mediums in order to produce 3D final self portraits. Taking inspiration from Zeren Badar, Julie Cockburn and John Stezaker, I would love to produce colourful self portraits, using embroidery, painting, collage or layering of 3D objects. I did create a few 3D photographs for Assignment One, and I really enjoyed making them, however, I would love to go bigger and more colourful with 3D experiments, when making self portraiture. I felt a little bit restricted making these final photographs digitally and online, because there are only so many Snapchat lenses, filters and cut and paste collage techniques you can apply, before all of your photographs begin looking the same. With 3D experiments, I would be able to touch and feel different objects, and I would be able to cut different photographs and combine them together, and perhaps manipulate them to still keep my anonymity with the use of paint, ink or any other type of medium.
After researching photographers and artists that use either their own self portrait of portraits of others in their work for Assignment Four, I wanted to continue my research for Assignment Five by researching artists and photographers that use ‘found’ images, such as photographs, paintings etc, for their work, and studying what manipulation techniques they use in order to distort their final portraits.
John Stezaker
Marriage
Marriage, John Stezaker
John Stezaker is an English conceptual artist, who was born in 1949. In 1973, Stezaker graduated with a Higher Diploma in Fine Art, from The Slade School of Art, in London.
He creates surreal collages, made from found images such as old photographs, vintage postcards, old film stills and old publicity photographs. He gives old images new meanings. In the series Marriage, he focuses on the concept of portraiture, by gathering found images of famous film stars, taken from their old publicity shots. Using traditional cut and paste techniques, to an uncomfortable effect, he then cuts the portraits in half, in order to overlap the two portraits, where he then pastes them together, forcing connections between the previously unconnected images. He couples both the male and female portraits together, creating surreal, unique and interesting final portraits.
Stezaker suggests that the identities created in these publicity shots are both constructed and infinitely interchangeable. This can also be seen in his Untitled series of portraits.
I really like Stezaker’s portraits. What I admire the most, is that Stezaker doesn’t just cut and paste any old portrait together, hoping that they will ‘fit’ and ‘match’ together. You can see from his work, that he actually sits and looks at the individual portraits, before he cuts them. He takes time to compare certain facial shapes and features, so that when he cuts a portrait a certain way, they will match in certain areas, such as the nose or eyes, when he overlaps them and pastes them together. He has a very skilled eye and can see how his final image will look if he cuts the photograph a certain way.
For Assignment One, I studied Stezaker and his work and I re-created my own handmade cut and paste portraits with found images. I really enjoyed experimenting with cutting up old photographs and sticking them together. It takes a good eye to spot similarities between faces and to be able to match certain facial features in order for the faces to work well together. For Assignment Five, I may continue with the theme of cutting and pasting images in the style of Stezaker.
Greg Sand
Remnants
Jimmy, Remnants, Greg Sand
Clara, Remnants, Greg Sand
Betty, Remnants, Greg Sand
Herbert, Remnants, Greg Sand
Eleanor, Remnants, Greg Sand
David, Remnants, Greg Sand
Greg Sand is an artist who explores the issues of time and death. He produces work that addresses the nature of photography and its role in defining reality.
Remnants is a series that was inspired by cloth and the metaphor of memory. Sand took inspiration from Peter Stallybrass in Worn Worlds, “The magic of cloth is that it receives us: receives our smells, our sweat, our shape even.” (Stallybrass). Remnants has been made with the theme of recollection and remembrance, showing the marvels of memory and how we perceive each moment in our lives. These moments we remember are eventually woven together to form our memory.
Sand uses found photographs to make hisremnants. He uses three found photographs, each from a different point in the subject’s life. He then cuts the photographs into strips and begins weaving them together to form a new portrait of a person who has passed away. ‘Each piece in this series creates a likeness of an individual that – rather than depicting an accurate visual representation of that person at any given time – presents a recollected coalescence of that person’s appearances throughout his or her life.’
This series of work is really awe-inspiring. I admired Stezaker for having the ability to ‘match’ different faces together to form one new portrait, however, Sand has taken it one step further by cutting three photographs into thing strips before he tries making a whole new image. He clearly has an eye for detail and the patience to be able to match and weave three photographs together to end up with a final portrait that not only looks exactly how the deceased person used to look, but is visibly a portrait. There is only slight distortion, but from afar, it is much clearer. The little square shapes give it a layering feeling similar to the photocollages made by Hockney and Brno Del Zou, but on a much smaller scale.
Julie Cockburn
Julie Cockburn
Julie Cockburn was born in 1966. She studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She now lives and works in London, and has exhibited her work extensively in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Similarly to Stezaker, Cockburn gives meaning to old photographs, by using found images such as old vintage portrait photographs. Breathing life into something old, she contradicts the generic and mass-produced by creating unique, hand made collages and embroidered patterns.
“Working with old photographs is similar to engaging in a dialogue. I am not working on a blank canvas. Rather, I am entering into a pre-existing conversation that took place between the photographer and sitter, and where I experiment with a personal visual language.” (Cockburn)
What I like about Cockburn’s work is that she makes old photographs, modern. She uses mixed media, and I love her use of bold colours, because it really makes the portraits stand out. There are similarities to previous practitioners I studied for Assignment Four, especially Matthieu Bourel’s series Duplicity and his most recent geometric works, and there are also similarities to Giacomo Favilla’s series Double Trouble, only instead of illustrations being drawn over the photograph, Cockburn hand embroiders her designs. Cockburn again, like previous practitioners, manages to create mystery and anonymity by slightly hiding parts of the subjects face.
Maurizio Anzeri
Formula A, 2010, Maurizio Anzeri
Edith, 2011, Maurizio Anzeri
Robert, 2011, Maurizio Anzeri
Yvonne, 2011, Maurizio Anzeri
unamed, Maurizio Anzeri
Giovanni, 2011, Maurizio Anzeri
Round Midnight, 2009, Maurizio Anzeri
Maurizio Anzeri is an Italian photographer, born in Loiano, Italy in 1969. He currently lives and works in London, England. Similarly to Julie Cockburn, Anzeri sews, embroiders and draws on found photographs.
“I take inspiration from my own personal experience and observation of how, in other cultures, bodies themselves are treated as living graphic symbols. I then use sewing and embroidery in a further attempt to re-signify, and mark the space with a man-made sign, a trace. The intimate human action of embroidery is a ritual of making and reshaping stories and history of these people. I am interested in the relation between intimacy and the outer world…I put tracing paper over the photo and draw on the face until it develops. ……When I begin the stitching something else happens, drawing will never do what thread will.” (Anzeri)
Unlike Cockburn’s portraits which are colourful and playful, I find Anzeri’s portraits quite psychological, dark and mysterious. Like previous practitioners, he covers most of the facial area, only keeping several parts visible. His embroidery makes it appear that his subjects are wearing vintage costumes or face masks. Comparing Cockburn and Anzeri, It shows that depending on the artist, their imagination and how they embroider their photograph, embroidery can be used to create different feelings and themes depending on the person.
Stacey Page
Alana, Stacey Page
Beth, Stacey Page
Bobby, Stacey Page
Jess, Stacey Page
Kathy 1, Stacey Page
Leonard, Stacey Page
Marcine, Stacey Page
Melanie, Stacey Page
Rochelle, Stacey Page
Todd, Stacey Page
Unnamed, Stacey Page
Stacey Page
Paula, Stacey Page
Stacey Page is a mixed media artist from Georgia, USA. She’s previously worked with paint, clay and wood, however, in her most recent pieces, similarly to artist Julie Cockburn and Maurizio Anzeri, she has settled on using found photographs with the addition of different coloured thread.
“The photographs start as a lost, discarded or mortal identity…. (They) are extinctions or discarded, and I don’t begin by having any relation to them….They choose me as I find them attractive in some way or another. It is the beginning of a relationship, so naturally I want someone usually quite healthy and engaging….The photographs mostly come from obscure auctions in the backwoods of Georgia which in themselves can be more bizarre than the art itself.” (Page)
Deciding what designs to hand stitch can be a long process, and Page often spends a lot of time staring at the portrait photograph in order to develop a bond between them. She uses paper to sketch out different designs, playing around with different colours and types of stitches. Her final designs tend to focus around obscure fantasy and mythical creatures.
I really love Stacey Page’s series of portraits. Unlike Cockburn and Anzeri, Page’s portraits are much more detailed. She keeps their faces visible as much as possible, enabling us as viewers to ‘connect’ to the portraits more. She creates beautiful costumes, masks and headdresses for her subjects, in a way, giving them a personality and a story behind who they might be. Her designs remind me of the Snapchat filters used when taking selfies. It is as though these people have taken a selfie with a Snapchat filter on them and have produced an interesting and unique final selfie. I am really inspired by her work, and I want to incorporate it into my Assignment Five final images.
Zeren Badar
Zeren Badar is a Turkish, self-taught conceptual artist, currently living in NYC. His works have been exhibited internationally including in Aperture Foundation, New York; The Centre for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO; Aljira Centre of Contemporary Art NJ.
Hybrid Series
Fashionista, Hybrid Series, Zeren Badar
Hipster 4.0, Hybrid Series, Zeren Badar
Eye-Phone, Hybrid Series, Zeren Badar
Cellphone Head, Hybrid Series, Zeren Badar
Princess, Hybrid Series, Zeren Badar
In his series Hybrid, he uses a quote by Albert Einstein to open his portfolio; “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity” (Einstein, A)
Hybrid is a series of 3D futuristic portrait collages, containing mixed media. Badar uses found photographs taken from magazines, and uses several manipulation techniques such as cutting and layering, scrunching and crumpling layers to create deep sculptural shadows and placing gadgets within the collage such as iPhones, Digital Cameras, Remotes, Wires and Hardware. Unlike normal collages, these works are temporary because Badar doesn’t ‘stick’ his items down, instead, he photographs the final collage, making a digital photograph for his final piece.
“This project explores the relationships between how we live and how we look in the future. I want to challenge the viewers by evoking feelings of surprise, discomfort & hallucination. These portraits are my obsessions with appearance and technology but also concerned with notions of future. These might be my fantasies or might be my speculations. You will be the judge of this….” (Badar)
Hybrid Series is not only similar to the photocollages made by David Hockney and Brno Del Zou, but is also similar to Annegret Soltau’s series Personal Identity where Soltau hand stitches in her used SIM cards and personal documents. It is also similar to how Stezaker hand picks and chooses found photographs to cut and paste together. Being able to ‘build’ and manipulate a portrait in 3D means that you have control over what tactile items you want to include, I really like this series and I like the idea of creating 3D portraits made from tactile items.
Accident Series
Very First Accident, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Sea World, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Trash, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Baby Love, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Aquarium, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Unnamed, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Target! Homage to Jasper Johns, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Homage to Lucio Fontana, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Brian Fog, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Treasure, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Organic Red Dots, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Acquilescense, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Blue Dream, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
White Lies, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Malignant Thoughts, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
Mysterious, Accident Series, Zeren Badar
In his series Accident, Badar explores the peculiar combination of photography, paintings and collages. Again, he creates 3D collages with found objects such as food, buttons and plastic lettering and places them on top of cheaply printed old paintings. Using the same techniques as Hybrid, he creates strong shadows to give the 3D effect, by layering items, folding them and crumpling them.
“I turn pre-existing works of art into Duchampian ready mades and take photographs of them….I reduce the details and forms of painting by covering objects, food. Copies of old masters paintings initially evoke viewers’ memory. By using unexpected juxtapositions of objects, I try to create ambiguity and pull viewers’ attention deeper to my photographs. In many ways, I examine new type of still life.” (Badar)
We are so used to seeing these types of famous portraits in art galleries or museums. They all have the same type of facial expression and pose, the same type of composition and colour tones, and in a way, can become quite ‘boring’ to look at. Badar has produced a series of portraits which are quirky and stand out, thus creating a talking point. I really like this series, especially because he has been able to make old ‘boring’ artwork, modern.
The use of different, quirky tactile items, makes these portraits a talking point and the colours used make them stand out. Again, he has hidden either parts or all of the subjects faces, making them mysterious and anonymous. I am a big Tudor history fan and have been since I was a young child. I expressed my love of this period in history during Part one of Digital Image and Culture when I researched photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. This series also reminds me of another photographer called Olivia Muus and her Museum of Selfies series.
Seeing old Tudor and period portraits re-imagined has really inspired me for Assignment Five and I have several ideas for final pieces that I want to try and explore.
Olivia Muus
Museum of Selfies
Catharina, Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Gerard, Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Gundel, Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Hermitage, Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Museum of Selfies, Olivia Muus
Olivia Muus is a half Danish – half Finland Swedish artist/photographer born in 1985.
She is currently working as a freelance art director based in Copenhagen. The series Museum of Selfies, originally started when Muus and a friend visited the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen. Muus creates new, modern, funny portraits by photographing someone holding a mobile phone in front of an old painting. She keeps the persons real arm and hand holding the mobile phone in the shot, giving the photograph the effect that the subject in the painting has stuck their arm out to take a selfie of themselves and we are looking at their selfie.
“I took a picture for fun and liked how this simple thing could change their character and give their facial expression a whole new meaning.” (Muus)
Olivia Muus has made this an open project/series of work, by allowing others to participate in re-creating similar selfie portrait. Everyone can join the museum by submitting their own selfie at museumofselfies@gmail.com or Instagram #museumofselfies. All they need is a painting or sculpture, and a friend with a smartphone and a camera.
I find these photographs amusing. I like the juxtaposition, showing the difference between the old and the new with the incorporation of old paintings and a new mobile phone. Highlighting how we have transitioned from old paintings to photographs, from hard copies that we hold on to a keep to digital files that are stored on our devices and online.
Use your tutor’s feedback on Assignment Four to help you develop your digital identities project to the point of resolution.
The method of presentation that you choose for your project should be appropriate to, and complement, the work you make. Your work may suit a print-based submission, or it may be appropriate to present your work in a book, audio-visual form, web-based project or installation.
Your project should involve substantial artistic investigation, and the method of presentation should do your efforts justice. You should view the project as the culmination of the Digital Image and Culture course.
Include a 500 word text that contextualises your project and provides a self-evaluation.
This feedback was given using Hangouts online video call between myself and my tutor Russell. I have written my tutors feedback, taken from notes made during the video call.
You submitted your Assignment Four and Assignment Five, both at the same time, which unfortunately meant that I was unable to talk to you prior to you submitting Assignment Five. I was therefore unable to give you advice regarding your Assignment Five and any research advice. However, after our conversation, I have been able to give you research advice which you are now able to have a look at, and are therefore, able to use towards any changes or additions you may make to Assignment Four or Five.
Feedback on Assignment
For Assignment Four, you have produced an interesting set of final images. The techniques that you have used, by combining the app Snapchat and its pre-installed filters/lenses, and then manipulating and distorting them using Photoshop, is an interesting way of exploring your identity within the current digital climate.
You may want to research more into the app Snapchat, and see whether or not the pre-installed filters/lenses, vary depending on where you are in the world. For example, in China, women are known to manipulate their photographs in order to make their skin lighter and their facial features more ‘westernized’. They also pose using their hands, in order to ‘frame’ their facial features in a certain way. Can this be seen in China’s pre-installed filters/lenses on Snapchat or are they the same all across the world?
When looking back at your Assignment Three – Critical Essay, regarding changing your appearance online or creating a fake profile, it is also worth looking into the virtual online gaming in China. Female players often create male profiles or profiles with no gender, in order for female players to be anonymous when playing against male opponents online. By doing so, the female players are not subjected to derogatory comments for being a female player in what is normally a male ‘sport’.
When looking at your final images for Assignment Four, despite being technically interesting, I find it difficult somewhat, to understand what they are trying to say. What kind of identity are you trying to create with these photographs? Were they just experimental or were you trying to show us who Chantelle really is? If so, what are your personal characteristics that you want your photos to show or are showing in these final images?
If not, were you trying to create a series of photographs that would be used on a ‘fake’ profile? Or were you trying to retain some sort of anonymity by manipulating your photographs? You did mention at the beginning of Assignment Four that you didn’t like taking selfies.
Is this series of images political? Like Cindy Sherman’s ‘Grotesques’ photographs. Are you showing your own political view towards the dislike of the ‘standard’ aesthetics and promotion of narcissism through selfies, that the media and celebrities are promoting? Have you deliberately produced a series of final self-portraits, that have been distorted and caricaturized, in order to make a mockery out of the ‘standard’ selfies being used across social media?
Expand and discuss your views in your self evaluation at the bottom of your Assignment Four.
Your contact sheets are slightly too small and I was unable to see the photographs up close. I would advise making them larger for the assessors to view. However, I can see from your contact sheets, that your work was extensive.
Coursework
Your coursework and research are extensive and all exercises are completed.
Research
Your research for Assignment Four is really strong and extensive, and you have covered a lot of ground. However, try looking beyond photography, for example, research artists, paintings, collages, drawings and even music.
Learning Log
Your learning log is up to date, but you just need to make several additions to your self evaluations underneath your assignments.
Suggested Reading / Viewing
For Assignment Four, have a read of this PDF file.
As mentioned above, despite you already submitting both assignments at the same time, I have provided you with several research options to have a look at for Assignment Four and Assignment Five.
Develop a project around the theme of identity within the current digital climate. This could be an autobiographical exploration examining how you relate to digital culture, or it could be a more critical examination of an aspect of digital culture.
For this assignment I have decided to combine the themes that the OCA have set out, and I have created an autobiographical exploration examining how I relate to the digital culture for example using apps, whilst at the same time, highlighting my critical examination of the selfie culture.
Taking inspiration from everything I have studied for Digital Image and Culture, and from photographers I have researched such as Cindy Sherman, David Hockney, Brno Del Zou, Annegret Soltau, Matthieu Bourel and Giacomo Favilla, I have decided to focus this part of the assignment around selfies and the way artists manipulate their portraits.
During my research for Assignment Three – Critical Essay, I was able to express my dislike for the current digital climate due to it’s rise in the selfie craze thus leading to the constant bombardment of selfies on social media. People are influenced by the falsehoods that we are being shown daily by celebrities and others, on social media, in the magazines and on the television, to the extent where we now judge our own appearance harshly and make the choice to use apps, lenses and filters to manipulate and enhance our selfies before we upload them online. These selfies are manipulated to the point where we not only do not look like ourselves anymore, but we seem to be morphing into the people around us and on social media; everyone wants to look the same. There is no individuality or authenticity on social media anymore, and we aren’t showing our true selves to others online.
As mentioned at the beginning of this assignment, due to my own personal experiences with bullying and cyber bulling, I am a private person and I like to keep my social media accounts private. I dislike taking selfies of myself, and I rarely upload photographs of myself onto social media, therefore, for this assignment I knew that I would need to step out of my comfort zone completely, and challenge myself, in order to produce a series of selfies.
Taking inspiration from photographers researched, I knew that I didn’t want to produce a series of selfies where I look ‘the same as others’ on social media. I wanted to look completely different and I knew that in order for me to keep my identity somewhat anonymous, then I would need to distort them but still keep the shape of my facial features visible and recognisable in the final portraits. I decided that in order to distort my facial features even more, and to explore my identity within the current digital climate, I would use Snapchat, to take my selfies. I used my Samsung Galaxy mobile phone with front facing camera, and used Snapchat’s pre-installed lenses and filters to take my selfies. Once I had taken my selfies, I used Photoshop Elements to manipulate and re-construct my images, in order to produce my final series of photographs.
Final Images
Contact Sheets
Brief Self Evaluation
For Assignment Four, I wanted to produce an experimental collection of photographs that explored my views and feelings towards the dislike of the ‘standard aesthetics’ and ‘beauty standards’ we are subjected to daily, via social media, television, magazines and other platforms. I also wanted to explore my dislike in how the selfie culture, celebrities and social media, are known for promoting narcissism through selfies.
Taking inspiration from Cindy Sherman’s ‘Grotesque’ photographs, I used the pre-installed Snapchat lenses and Photoshop Elements filters, to produce manipulated and distorted selfies. As mentioned above, I hardly take selfies of myself, and if I do, I rarely upload them onto social media. Therefore, I wanted these selfies to explore different ways that I could remain anonymous online, whilst producing selfies that were still recognisable as selfies.
Distorting my selfies and using the pre-installed lenses, enabled me to not take my selfies ‘seriously’, therefore meaning that I could enjoy taking them to some degree, as the lenses were comical and made me laugh. I also enjoyed playing around with the photographs on Photoshop Elements and seeing what I could distort further, and cut and paste together.
With the use of colourful, comical lenses, I suppose you could see this as being a completely different type of selfie compared to the narcissistic selfies that are taken by some, where they spend ages making sure their appearance is ok, their pose or pout is ok, the lighting or background are ok, thus leading to these people taking hundreds of selfies with different poses, lenses or filters, before even choosing one or several final selfies to post onto social media. Admittedly, I did take a large amount of selfies for this assignment, and I suppose you could say this is narcissistic too, however, for me, I didn’t spend time doing my make-up or hair, posing, pouting, ‘setting the scene’, I just took a quick photograph. I took a large amount of selfies, because I wanted to try all of the Snapchat lenses and filters, with different angles etc and I wanted to have a large selection to choose from, as I knew that I would be needing to cut and paste different ones together.
I am happy with the outcome of my final images for this assignment, however, I do believe there is still room for more exploration and manipulation of my selfies. I did find a few difficulties when producing my final images, the first being that several of the Snapchat lenses make your images blurry, thus meaning when I attempted to enhance details to make them clearer, the areas still had a lot of blur and noise. This does however help me to some extent with wanting to distort my images to keep my identity private.
The second difficulty I had was that the Snapchat final images were quite small, so when opening them up on my laptop and on Photoshop Elements, I found that when attempting to manipulate them in the wavy distorted style of Matthieu Bourel’s Duplicity series, I didn’t have enough space on the image to create one large horizontal image of multiple layers. This is something I would look at trying to re-create in the future to see if I can produce images similar to the Duplicity series.
The third difficulty I experienced was when looking at all of the selfies I took on Snapchat, I tend to photograph myself at one angle, which meant that when trying to make the collages out of several images, I had to look for images where my pose was similar so I could join them as best as possible.
With the difficulties I had, I then looked at using shapes on Photoshop Elements, like triangles, rectangles and squares, as I knew these shapes would layer well on top of each other or as a collage. I also used the liquify filter on Photoshop Elements, to help distort my images similar to those by Cindy Sherman.
If I was to re-do this assignment again, I would try taking selfies on Snapchat, from every angle, like David Hockney, in order to give myself as many different sections of my face, head and neck area, to play around with, as this would help me to build up and layer images and I would then be able to produce larger final images like David Hockney and Brno Del Zou.
I have several ideas of what I want to produce for Assignment Five. I will continue on with my photographer research for Assignment five, to gain more inspiration. The practitioners I have researched for Assignment Four, also help inspire me for Assignment Five.
Assignment Four Updated Research
After speaking to my tutor Russell, he advised me that I should research into whether or not Snapchat have different lenses and filters, depending on your location in the world. For example, are the Snapchat lenses and filters in the UK, different to the ones used in China, or the USA. Different countries have different ‘beauty standards’, therefore, these companies may adjust their apps, in order to accommodate these views.
I decided to research into this, and unfortunately, I am unable to find a direct final answer, According to Snapchat, there are anywhere from 10 to 20 lenses or filters used daily and these change every day or so. Therefore, I am still not sure whether or not different countries have different lenses that adjust their users facial features or aesthetics, depending on where you are in the world.
I suppose every country does have their own unique lenses and filters, because you can use different lenses showing things that are happening in your country, for example, Chinese New Year or the Rio Olympics. You can only use these lenses if you are in that country. I did find an article that shows that you can get different lenses depending on your location in the world, for example, you can use a lens that shows you are in London, Cairo, or San Francisco, however, this user was able to change his settings on his mobile phone, and by doing so, he was able to use lenses from around the world, as if he were actually in that country. I will attach this article below.
I did however, find two controversial articles regarding Snapchat and their release of two racial lenses/filters. In 2016, Snapchat launched a Bob Marley lens for April the 20th, also known as 420, which is a date of significance for people that enjoy the use of cannabis. Snapchat produced a lens which altered your appearance to look like Bob Marley, giving you a dark skin tone and a cap with dreadlocks. Many users complained to Snapchat and voiced their concern via social media. Many believed that this was similar and too reminiscent to ‘Blackface’ or painting your face black to appear as a Black person, which was used world wide on stage, in theatres, in movies, on television and more. Bob Marley has nothing to do with the 420 movement which originated in California during the 1970’s. Therefore Snapchat can be seen as not only stereotyping an individual because of the colour of his skin, and use of cannabis, but by enabling users to use a lens which makes their facial skin tone darker, it can appear insensitive and racist.
A Snapchat spokesperson sent the following statement to Mashable.com, “The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.”
Snapchat didn’t learn from their previous mistake, and in the same year, they released a new lens, only this time, it was ‘Yellowface’. Similar to ‘Blackface’, ‘Yellowface’ is a term used when referring to non-Asian people or actors, portraying or playing stereotyped or caricatured versions of Asian people onscreen or elsewhere. I am unsure if Snapchat apologised for their Yellowface lens, however, they did say that the lens expired and will no longer be circulated again.
After researching Snapchat and their lenses, I believe that they don’t care when it comes to peoples feelings. Their company produce hundreds, if not thousands of different lenses and filters every year for a global audience. They seem to produce these lenses and filters for people to enjoy themselves and have fun, however, as you can see, there are occasions when certain lenses actually offend their users and they don’t seem to care. It would be interesting to see if their lenses alter users facial features etc, depending on the county the lenses are used in, as this would show that as a social media platform, they too adjust their app in order to accommodate narcissistic qualities of users worldwide. Snapchat appear quite secretive and finding information online is difficult. I may have to ask around on social media to see if someone can advise me.
Bibliography
How to get Snapchat filters from around the world without actually going anywhere. By Jacob Shamsian, 11/07/2016
Taking inspiration from Cindy Sherman and her distorted self portraits – selfies, I have decided to research photographers that use different techniques to distort either their own self portraits or portraits of others.
David Hockney
Joiners – 1980 onwards
My Mother, Bolton Abbey, 1982. David Hockney
David Hockney is an English photographer, artist, printmaker, stage designer and draughtsman. During the 1980’s, he began creating interesting portraits known as Joiners, using a collage type technique. These photocollages were made from Polaroid prints, then later on, 35mm prints. Hockney would photograph his model several times, from multiple angles, similarly to how Matthew Mohr’s 29 automated cameras would photograph every angle of the model inside the giant head. Once processed, these prints would be layered on top of each other, like a patchwork, joining them all together to make one large portrait of the model. One of his first Joiners portraits was of his mother.
What inspires me about Joiners is that unlike Sherman’s distorted selfies, you are still able to see Hockney’s subjects. Their faces are hidden somewhat, giving them a type of anonymity by using the layering technique, however, you are still able to see snippets of that model and who they are. I would like to try this technique in Assignment four on my photographs.
Brno Del Zou
Photosculptures
Veronique, 2016, Brno Del Zou
Bene, 2013, Brno Del Zou
Brno Del Zou is a French artist born in 1963. Similarly to David Hockney, Brno Del Zou uses a photocollage, layering technique with his photographs. Photosculptures is a series of photographs using the fragmentation technique in order to better understand the human body and faces.
“Beyond the body itself and its beauty, there is its unity. Fragmenting the body, in this case, doesn’t mean cutting it up in order to dissolve it, it means trying to recompose it in the hope to achieve and create unity, an identity, perhaps the fundamental one, the one that supports all the differences, all the variations, all the points of view, which is saved despite everything, despite the light variations and the positions in the space, resisting any immediate apprehension, multiplying as it wishes, without ever losing this unity without which the body itself could not exist.” (Brno Del Zou)
I am really drawn to David Hockney and Brno Del Zou’s portraits simply because they are striking and abstract. They are interesting because even though you can only see parts of the faces, you still aren’t able to see the full face, giving that model a sense of mystery and anonymity. They are somewhat distorted, because there are multiple eyes or noses, however, it doesn’t look out of place, because they still manage to keep the shape of the facial structure. These portraits make you as a viewer look at the face more, examining all of the details more closely. They are very interesting techniques when making a portraits and it is something I want to look at recreating for Assignment Four.
Marcelo Monreal
Faces [UNBONDED]
Faces [UNBONDED], Marcelo Monreal
Marcelo Monreal is a Brazilian digital collage artist, based in Santa Catarina, Brazil. His surreal series of portraits is called Faces [Unbonded]. Using digital techniques, he splits apart photographs of famous celebrities faces, where he then pastes beautiful flowers and leaves within the broken facial areas, some of which have small flowers and leaves growing from behind eye sockets and broken areas.
Monreal expresses that people do not often tell us who they really are, instead, they keep parts of their real selves hidden. With the series Faces [UN]bonded, he opens the person up with his collages, and reveals the rare moments in which we see the beauty behind their appearance. In a way, he can be seen as exploring the same theme as Cindy Sherman. Both artists are aware of the selfie culture in this digital climate and expose how we alter and manipulate our self portraits – selfies, to an extent where we don’t reveal who we really are, our true selves. We use filters and lenses to manipulate our faces in order to deceive others.
I find his portraits really beautiful, the colour is what caught my attention first. I love anything floral, and for me, this type of portrait is amazing. His choice of colours and flowers, appear to be very vintage in style, they remind me of old vintage floral wallpaper, or the sketches of flowers you would find in botanical books with the Latin names of the plants underneath. He uses a lot of different types of flowers and leaves within his images, however, they do not over power the portrait at all and I believe they enhance it somewhat. They remind me of the lenses and filters you can apply on Snapchat or Instagram, where your face is surrounded by flowers or parts of your face becomes floral.
He distorts the facial areas slightly, but not to an extent like previous artists studied. He still keeps parts of faces visible, and only cuts away certain areas, but still leaves it somewhat intact.
I was inspired by Monreal, and for Assignment One, I recreated two portraits using his techniques.
Matthieu Bourel
Matthieu Bourel is a French collage and digital artist born in 1976. He is also a musician under the name Electric Kettle. His parents were fond of the cinema, and ever since he was a young child, he has been inspired by the glamourous, iconic images of celebrities he would see, from either films or books. He would keep collections of images of faces and people, and would start assembling them on his bedroom walls, mixing these images together with other sources.
“… In a very simple way first, then mixing them with other sources and finally in a more complex manner and with a more personal vision. Images then lost their identity to become a whole. I’ve always liked the reactivity between two images that had nothing in common at first…I long kept collage to myself, without considering it was a serious activity, more of a hobby. But I think that, in the end, my approach to editing, music and collage is very similar: to assimilate, copy, paste, digest, to make these sources mine and create my own blend. It’s a whole process that goes through a multitude of ‘small moments.” (Matthieu Bourel)
In his series Faces, Bourel uses old vintage photographs of Hollywood stars. He cuts holes and shapes into their faces, similar to photographer and artist Marcelo Monreal. Monreal uses beautiful flowers in his portraits, where as Bourel reveals the hidden beauty of connective tissue, muscles, arteries and veins, underneath the skin. Similar to the saying, ‘Beauty is only skin deep’.
Princess/Headcut, Face, 2013. Matthieu Bourel
Skinned/Beauty, Faces, 2013, Matthieu Bourel
Third Eye/Outrage, Faces, 2013, Matthieu Bourel
Gina/Headcut, Faces, 2014, Matthieu Bourel
Tallulah Blankhead, Faces, 2013, Matthieu Bourel
Colorful/Diva, Faces, Matthieu Bourel
Melancholia, Faces, 2013, Matthieu Bourel
Faces, Matthieu Bourel
In his series Duplicity, he uses vintage, old photographs to create surreal portraits, by using a layering technique, where multiple slices of an actor or actress’s face are placed one inside another, emphasising the falsity of image and beauty, or the possible truth of the character beneath.
In some of his recent works, he has played around with different shapes, creating photocollage portraits similar to Hockey and Del Zou.
Broken Mirror, Matthieu Bourel
Crystal / Eve, 2019, Matthieu Bourel
Misconception, 2018, Matthieu Bourel
Abrasions, 2013, Matthieu Bourel
I really like Bourel’s portraits, especially his series Faces. His most recent pieces remind me of John Stezaker, where he uses found images in order to ‘cut up’ and remake new portraits, with the strong triangular shape. Similarly to Stezaker, Hockney and Del Zou also use square or rectangular shapes to layer their photocollages, where as Bourel doesn’t just stick to one shape and technique, he uses several different types for his portraits, from the strong triangular shapes to the more distorted wavy shapes. His work is really interesting and I like how he gives old portraits a new modern twist. He is still able to give the person in the portrait a sense of mystery and anonymity, by distorting their face, but he still keeps the facial and head structure visible.
Giacomo Favilla & Valeria Crociata
Double Trouble
Double Trouble, Giacomo Favilla
Double Trouble was created by photographer Giacomo Favilla and illustrator Valeria Crociata. It is a series of portraits that explore faux-personalities and the loss of authenticity created by social media ‘copycat culture’. Similar to the series Phone Buddies by Andrew Rae & Ruskin Kyle, this is a mixed media series of work, using both photography and illustration.
Double Trouble’s photographs were taken just as a strong burst of air was directed at the subjects face, opening and deforming the mouth area of the subjects. Once the photographs had been shot, Favilla and Crociata then began experimenting, by playing around with the subjects facial features and expression, adding geometric shapes, thus creating a double meaning. The duo wanted this project to “… interpret the parts of the subjects which are often concealed to the outside world, and bring them to the surface… as an opportunity to convey non-judgment of others, freedom of expression, and the value of showing one’s authentic self.”
This series is very similar to Phone Buddies. I really like the mixed media and I enjoy the colours used, as they really help make the portraits stand out. Similarly to Phone Buddies, they have also concealed the identity of their subjects, and have given them a mystery and anonymity to the portraits. The theme behind this series is similar to Cindy Sherman and her views on the selfie craze and social media.
“Once upon a time in those clothes lit by the blueish light used to be a person.” (Lapkovsky, 2018)
Al Lapkovsky is an award-winning photographer who began his career in London in 2003. He is currently based in Riga, Latvia. His work challenges conventional notions of photography, exploring themes which others have not. In his series Disconnecting Connection (2008), he explores society and our use of digital technology on a daily basis. We have become engrossed in technology and our mobile phones to the point where we would rather text a person sat next to us, than speak to them face to face, and we would willingly engage in conversations with people who are strangers to us online, but we won’t have a conversation with a real person in the same room as us.
Many people are looking downwards at their devices, and are not taking the time to look up and communicate with loved ones that are in the same room as them. There is a saying which mentions someone being in a room full of people, but still feeling alone. I believe technology and social media have essentially made many people feel alone, hence why there is a rise in mental health illnesses.
“We are disappearing, cease to exist, perish. We can’t imagine our lives without the blue screens….We’ve got thousands of friends and yet we are alone. We are semi-transparent, lost in the blue light of useless information and a fake feeling of belonging.” (Lapkovsky, 2018)
Lapkovsky has managed to project his own awareness of the impact of digital technology, by producing a series of simple, blunt and powerful photographs, showing just how digital technology and social media is taking over our lives. He wanted this series to highlight how we as a society, “keep disconnecting from the reality around us… and become engaged in something that is perhaps real but not that important and relevant right now.” (Lapkovsky, 2018)
Disconnecting Connection / 1st Place, Advertising, Self-Promotion, International Photography Awards, USA, 2018. Al Lapkovsky
Disconnecting Connection / 1st Place, Advertising, Self-Promotion, International Photography Awards, USA, 2018. Al Lapkovsky
Disconnecting Connection / 1st Place, Advertising, Self-Promotion, International Photography Awards, USA, 2018. Al Lapkovsky
Disconnecting Connection / 1st Place, Advertising, Self-Promotion, International Photography Awards, USA, 2018. Al Lapkovsky
Disconnecting Connection / 1st Place, Advertising, Self-Promotion, International Photography Awards, USA, 2018. Al Lapkovsky
Lapkovsky uses various photographic techniques for example, special techniques of light and lenses, as well as photomontage and multiple exposures. For this series, he used LED panels, placed in several locations around the model and LED strip lights. He explains that he made DIY smartphones which were to be held by his models for the photographs. Using a real smartphone and relying on the light that is emitted from it normally, wouldn’t be bright enough for his final photographs. Instead, he made a smartphone that was surrounded by LED strip lights and a blue filter which would help replicate the light coming off of the smartphone screen.
I really enjoy this series of photographs. Not only has Lapkovsky used interesting lighting techniques and shared his method of using them, in order for others to achieve a similar results, but he has also been able to photograph my feelings towards digital technology and social media.
UNSHARED– 2019
Lapkovsky also produced other photographs which are untitled and part of a personal project called ‘Unshared’. This personal project was created to remind us about the importance of a healthy emotional balance between real life and social media.
UNSHARED, 2019. Al Lapkovsky
“Social media is great in terms of staying connected with friends and families, finding new contacts, exploring new ideas and sharing your life with humanity. But for some reason in most cases we tend to share only most beautiful moments of our lives, highlights so to speak, leaving behind everything else. And if something bad happens, we disappear for a while from our social timeline keeping all that emotional trauma to ourselves or sharing the burden with only our close ones, that is if we are lucky to have them.” (Lapkovsky, 2019)
For assignment three, critical essay, I wrote about how our social media accounts are essentially our online diaries and they are used by us to present ourselves to the world. We control what we upload onto these sites, and many people only upload certain snippets of their daily life, simply because they want to portray themselves or their lives as ‘perfect’. You can see this as a way of deception, as you are deceiving others into believing that you and your life are ok, when in reality, they may not be ‘perfect’ at all. Mental health illnesses are ever increasing and sometimes people are not ok, but we feel embarrassed to talk about it to others. Lapkovsky’s Unshared series, explores how we as individuals are suffering due to social media. We aren’t expressing our true feelings to ourselves or one and other. His statement below captures similar thoughts to mine which I expressed in my critical essay.
“…Traditional family picture albums also keep only the best photographs. But the difference is that these family albums are kept privately, in a chest of drawers, and are shown only once in a while to a family and friends. Whereas social media is public and everyone has got access to ‘your life’. I might be mistaken, but it looks like by posting only the good stuff we are creating a huge bubble of lies and misunderstanding and missing out on an emotional support and help from the society if we need one. ‘I’m great. I’m successful’, – this is what we keep saying. And if we don’t feel that way right now – we say nothing. But we keep looking at the ‘lives of others’ and start to feel as though we are left out. And the longer we have nothing to share due to our ‘unexcited’ life, the more depressed and lonely we feel while watching our social media friends enjoying holidays on faraway islands, traveling around the globe, eating at fancy places, and throwing wild parties. We might even understand and realise that everybody can have down times occasionally and holidays do happen once or twice a year in most cases, but it’s still undeniably difficult not to react in a negative self-destroying way scrolling through a perfect imaginary world with the help of that blue screen in your palm.” (Lapkovsky, 2019)
I really like Lapkovsky’s work and I believe he captures the theme of assignment four perfectly. He has been able to produce a series of photographs which explore our identities within the current digital climate, and he has been able to highlight his own awareness of the impact that social media and our digital culture is having on all of us. His work is something that will guide me when producing my final photographs for assignment four.
Andrew Rae – Illustrator and Ruskin Kyle – Photographer
Phone Buddies – 2019
Phone Buddies, 2019, Andrew Rae & Ruskin Kyle.
Phone Buddies, 2019, Andrew Rae & Ruskin Kyle.
Phone Buddies, 2019, Andrew Rae & Ruskin Kyle.
Phone Buddies, 2019, Andrew Rae & Ruskin Kyle.
Andrew Rae is an award winning illustrator who has produced worked for several large, well known companies. He has published many books and his work has been published in magazines, books, online and has been used in advertising. Rae was inspired for a series of work, when he noticed the crowds of people immersed in their phones, when walking around the streets. Rae had an idea of the type of work he wanted to produce;
“I started thinking of the phones as if they’re little pets or creatures and people are tickling their bellies to keep them happy…I mentioned this to my friend Ruskin one day when we were out with our two-year-olds and he liked the idea.” (Rae, 2019)
Ruskin Kyle is a London based photographer. In order to start this series of work, known as Phone Buddies, Kyle took to the streets of London and began photographing people that were using their mobile phones. At the beginning of this series of work, illustrator Rae was supposed to draw over Kyle’s photographs, however, the mobile phones that were being held were too small, and the illustrations wouldn’t work;
“The phones were too small in the shot, and I couldn’t get it to look like the people were holding the little creatures.” (Rae, 2019)
Realising that the original idea wouldn’t work, illustrator Rae was then inspired by an interview with Edward Snowden, and the idea that the NSA is monitoring us through our mobile phones. “Instead of replacing the phones, I’d draw objects or creatures coming out of the phones and looking back at us. The different styles of the photograph and the drawing would make sense together, as the phone screen is like a portal where the real world and the digital world meet.” (Rae, 2019)
Using the photographs taken by Kyle, Rae began illustrating and drawing futuristic, colourful monsters and machines, emerging from people’s smartphone screens. In order to keep the users privacy, Rae made sure that the monsters and illustrations covered the faces of the people.
Similarly to Lapkovsky, Rae and Kyle have used the theme of people being immersed in their mobile phones to the point that they are oblivious to their surroundings and others in the vicinity. They are literally in their own world. Both series of work are similar, because they both show people looking down and using mobile phones, however, Phone Buddies, is more light-hearted and whimsical, by using colourful drawings, instead of the hard-hitting photographs taken by Lapkovsky. Phone Buddies are also more snapshot photographs and not staged like Disconnecting Connection.
I like the idea of drawing over photographs, and combining two mediums together. It reminds me of the work created by Stacey Page, Julie Cockburn and Maurizio Anzeri, where they use embroidery over old found photographs. This is an idea I may want to use for my final images in Assignment Four.
Annegret Soltau
Personal Identity 2003-2016
Personal Identity 2003-2016, Annegret Soltau.
Personal Identity 2003-2016, Annegret Soltau.
Annegret Soltau is a German photographer, born in 1946. Her series Personal Identity began in 2003 up until 2016, and it is a collection of self portraits that have been re-stitched with original, personal documents and items, such as her birth certificate and used SIM cards. She wanted to “… examine the question of personal identity in the age of digital information.” (Soltau) and therefore began stitching in biographical traces of herself into the photographs. The conclusion to this series of work, will be one of her family members stitching in her death certificate into one of her remaining photographs.
In her series Motherhood, Soltau uses the same hand-stitched technique to sew together fragments of faces which have been torn out of photographs, only to be sewn back together to make grotesque family portraits. On the back side of the photograph is a web like, abstract drawing of threads.
Motherhood 1977-86, Annegret Soltau
What inspired me about Soltau, is how different her work is to other photographers I have seen. Many artists and photographers have created series of work where they overstitch photographs with embroidery or used mixed media to re-make portraits, but I haven’t seen a photographer use original personal documents to create their own self portraits or sew photographs back together. In my critical essay, I spoke about how computer servers located in remote locations, store and keep all of our online personal data, and it is made up of code, similar to our DNA. For her series Personal Identity, Soltau has essentially combined her paper DNA, the documents that identify her as being her, for example her birth certificate and personal belongings, and has merged it with her portraits, to make digital copies, thus making a new type of digital DNA. “in which my Self is saved in digital format.” (Soltau)
These aren’t the most ‘prettiest’ photographs to look at, they are quite strange and unique. However, the theme behind the series is what makes them interesting. I am not sure that I would be comfortable using original personal documents like Soltau has, however, combining personal documents like this into portraits may be an idea to think of for my final pieces.
Manny Robertson
Embroidered Metropolis
Embroidered Metropolis, Manny Robertson
Similarly to Annegret Soltau, 23 Year old student Manny Robertson uses the stitching technique to stitch portraits together. Embroidered Metropolis was inspired by the film Metropolis, and this series of portraits were created to “… represent how dark emotions like Depression can attach and fuse themselves to people like masks of sorts. Using a robotic aesthetic…to distinguish between normal feelings (color) and the emptiness of the others (black+white), whilst using thread to act as both robotic attachments, and the struggle of dealing with said affliction.” (Robertson, M)
I really like both Soltau and Robertson’s work. I have always wanted to try hand-stitching or embroidery on photographs, but I have no idea where to start. This technique is something I definitely want to try.
Matthew Mohr
As We Are – 2017
As We Are, Matthew Mohr, 2017
Matthew Mohr was born in Ohio, USA. He began his career as a graphic designer, then proceeded to become a silk screen artist, then a web designer. In 2001, he moved to New York City and began his MFA in Design & Technology. In 2011, he was selected to join the faculty of Columbus College of Art and Design.
In 2015, as part of an art initiative incorporated into the redevelopment of the Columbus Convention Centre, using his knowledge of art, design and technology, Mohr proposed a large-scale, interactive sculpture, which was selected. This interactive sculpture was entitled ‘As We Are’. As We Are is a large fourteen foot, 3d sculpture of a human head, which is made up from layers of LED screens which stretch almost 360 degrees around the sculpture and contain 850,000 LED’s .
As We Are, Matthew Mohr, 2017
In the back of the neck area, is a large photo booth containing 29 cameras. A visitor is able to step inside the neck and into the photo booth where the fully automated cameras take their photograph. Upon stepping out, their photographs have been stitched together using a process called photogrammetry, thus producing one large 3d photograph of the person. This 3d photograph is then uploaded onto the LED screens thus making one giant 3d interactive head.
As We Are was created to show the diverse and welcoming culture in Columbus. Mohr wanted to produce an art piece where visitors and residents were able to engage with each other on multiple levels, via the interactive experience of digital technology and art. “It is an open-ended, conceptual piece that explores how we represent ourselves individually and collectively, asking participants to consider their identity in social media and in public. It asks all viewers to contemplate portraits of people from different ethnicities, and gender identities.” (Mohr, 2017)
With the debut of As We Are, Matthew Mohr Studios was launched with the intent to continue exploration in service of art, humanism, and engagement with technology.
This giant interactive head, displaying your portrait, makes many question the willingness to share your photograph not only on social media but with others, especially once you are able to see other visitors of the centre, looking up at your photograph on a giant head. Essentially hundreds of people view your photograph on social media, so it makes you question just how comfortable you really feel with others looking at it. Similarly to selfies, this photo booth enables you to retake your photograph over and over again until you achieve the ‘perfect’ shot. However, showcasing your self portrait on a giant head may be daunting for some, but for others, they have enjoyed the sculpture and have even posted photographs and selfies on social media with the hashtag #AsWeAre. I’m not sure that I would want my photograph displayed on a giant screen, however this is a very interesting art piece.
This sculpture displays photographs in an entirely different way to other photographers work. This again is another mixed media piece of work, using photographs and interactive LED screens. The way it has been made makes the photographs look almost robotic, and I am almost expecting the giant head to start talking, like a futuristic guide that welcomes and advises visitors to the centre on where to go or what art pieces are on show, it is very clever.
Cindy Sherman
Instagram
Cindy Sherman is a well known artist from the United States, known for her use of photographic self portraits. For over 40 years, she has produced numerous series of portrait photographs which explore and critique identity, beauty, gender, Western self-representation, the male gaze and the documentary nature of photography. Unlike other portrait artists who painstakingly try to present their subjects as truthfully as possible, Sherman’s portraits are the complete opposite and are based on manipulation, deception and lies. They are fake portraits, containing only herself as the subject. Making no attempt at hiding it, she disguises herself in costumes, outfits and disguises and photographs herself in various surreal and dramatic poses. The final photographs are almost caricatures. In order to take a photograph of herself, she takes on the various roles of costume designer, make up artists, hair stylist, photographer, lighting, and much more in order to produce her final series of photographs.
In 1977 she produced a series of work called Untitled Film Stills, where she photographed herself in various scenes that resembled classic Hollywood tropes. “I never see myself; they aren’t self-portraits. Sometimes I disappear,” (Sherman, New York Times, 1990)
Sherman is a very interesting artist. Despite all of her photographs being of her, we don’t get to see her real self in any of her photographs; she is always in a disguise. There are only a handful of photographs taken by others, of Sherman as she is in real life.
Untitled, Self Portrait Series, Cindy Sherman
Untitled, Self Portrait Series, Cindy Sherman
Up until just recently, when Sherman decided to open it up for the world to see, her social media Instagram account was kept private. Visitors to her Instagram account finally thought that they would be able to see inside Sherman’s daily life and see the real artist and who she really is, however, Sherman being the private, mysterious, interesting and creative artist she is, decided to keep visitors guessing by only uploading digitally manipulated, surreal, distorted and twisted selfies and several videos.
Cindy Sherman, Instagram
Cindy Sherman, Instagram
Cindy Sherman, Instagram
These distorted, manipulated selfies are a critical examination of the selfie culture we are wrapped up in as a society today, focusing on the theme of identity within the digital climate, exposing the fake perfection that is sold to us on social media, television, in magazines, advertising and by celebrities. Sherman uses caricature like disguises to reference the filters, lenses and manipulation techniques we use daily in order to disuse who we really are, and try to make ourselves ‘look better’ in our photographs before we upload them onto social media. They remind me of the weird shapes and faces you get when you stand in front of those mirror that distort you, often found in circus’ or theme parks.
I spoke about the selfie culture in Assignment Three, Critical Essay, where I referenced that the constant taking of ones selfie can be seen as narcissism and could be due to an underlying mental health illness or could lead to one. Sherman’s selfies and her use of filters and manipulation apps,
In 2017, Sherman fell off of her horse and broke her ribs, thus leading to her being hospitalised. A friend of hers put a photo manipulating app onto her mobile phone, which makes people look younger and prettier, “I thought, right away, I am going to play with this.” (Sherman, 2017)
Cindy Sherman, Instagram
Cindy Sherman, Instagram
Lying in her hospital bed with tubes up her nose, she used the app to manipulate her ‘selfie’. She gave herself perfectly smooth skin, perfect make up, thick long eyelashes and blusher on her cheeks. The caption underneath was “Am I cured doctor?” Then she did the opposite, turning herself into a cartoon caricature with no teeth, with the caption “On the mend!”.
Over time, her Instagram posts have become little jokes that play words off against images, and mock the selfie culture and the obsession with youth and self-promotion.
In an interview with writer and editor Derek Blasberg, Sherman opens up more about her views on her portraits and her thoughts about selfies. Below is a snippet of the interview.
DB – What do you think of people who compare your work to selfies or self-portraiture?
CS – I don’t actually see any of the work I’ve done as self-portraiture. I always refer to those characters in the third person, not as though they’re me.
DB – You once said you hate the word “selfies.” Is that true?
CS – The thing I hate most about selfies is the way most people are just trying to look a certain way. They often look almost exactly the same in every pose, and it’s a pose that’s aiming to be the most flattering, which isn’t at all the way self-portraiture has traditionally been used—it was never about self-promotion or making one look one’s best, it was more about studying a face, using one’s own face to learn about portraiture in general when, I suppose, no other face was available. Also, I’ve always thought that phone cameras distort the face. The lens is slightly wide angle, which isn’t inherently very attractive anyway. I have friends I follow and I can tell when they’re feeling vulnerable or insecure because they’re suddenly posting all these pretty photos of themselves. They’re just wanting people to like them.
DB – How did you get on Instagram?
CS – I’d been hearing about Instagram all the time but I didn’t really know what it was until I went on a trip to Japan with a friend and she insisted on doing it. I thought, “Well, I’ll just share photos of my vacation.” And then, slowly—it’s kind of fascinating how it creeps in—I got interested in discovering all these different sorts of subcultures, like people who do makeup but aren’t really makeup artists as I know them. It’s a whole separate art form that I wouldn’t have known about if it wasn’t for Instagram.
DB – Oftentimes I think people are trying to show a more real version of themselves in this selfie culture. Are you showing real versions of yourself or unreal versions of yourself?
CS – I would say they’re unreal versions of myself, but I don’t even see them as myself at all. I feel like I’m disappearing in the work, rather than trying to reveal anything. I’ve never thought of it as revealing fantasies or getting to feel this or that character. I’m hiding beneath the makeup, so it’s about obliterating, erasing myself and becoming something else. DB – So it’s not even self-portraiture?
CS – I’m trying to find other faces and other personalities. I don’t know what it is I’m looking for until I put the makeup on and then I sort of find it or it’s somehow revealed.
I dislike taking selfies, and therefore, I really enjoy Sherman’s work. Distorting my selfie or using filters to manipulate it, is something I want to look at for Assignment four, as I think I can produce a series of interesting autobiographical portraits showing my exploration of how I relate to digital culture and the selfie craze, whilst still being able to show my critical examination and dislike for it.
When I first read the theme for Assignment Four, I instantly thought of a song by the singer Katy Perry called ‘Chained to the Rhythm’ that was released in 2017. The music video is an exaggeration of ‘us’ as a generation, consumed by technology, social media and our digital selves, so much so that we become oblivious to the world around us and everything that is happening, simply because we are only focused on ourselves.
The music video is based in a strange vintage yet fantasy type theme park called Oblivia. In the background, everyone is happy with smiley grins, they are well dressed but they are completely unaware of the symbolisms being used around them, showing what is happening in the world that they are unaware of. For example, the nuclear bomb candyfloss, the great American Dream Drop ride with houses that rise and fall, referencing the housing market prices constantly rising and falling, there is a giant logo with spinning eyes that says ‘The Greatest Ride in the Universe’ referencing us as individuals, stuck on planet Earth, riding it like a ride only we can’t get off of it.
Theme park users are walking around taking selfies in synchronised movements, they also participate in synchronised dances and movements whilst queuing in lines which references to us as citizens almost being robotic with our movements in daily life because it is how we are ‘programmed’ to function as a society. One of the ques leads to a large hamster type wheel, where one person runs continuously – referencing how our lives are constantly moving full circle, we never stop, we can not get off this spinning planet, it is up to us if we decide to stop following others and stop running and focus on ourselves and the world around us. That is when the theme park users finally ‘wake up’ and see what reality is reality like.
There is a ‘LOVE ME’ rollercoaster ride where you get love hearts, likes and smiley faces – the buttons that are used on Facebook – this ride shows how through every experience we have, in this case riding a rollercoaster, when we document it and upload it onto our social media pages, all we are looking for in return are likes, loves and smiley faces which make the user feel good about themselves and not necessarily about the experience they had.
There is a ride called ‘No Place Like Home’ which launches couples over a large fence with their suitcases which references immigration and sending or deporting people ‘back home’. Another ride called ‘Bombs Away’ which launches and drops bombs – referencing government, military and war. There is also a point where the ‘Nuclear Family’ is referenced and a staged example of what a nuclear family looked like.
The lyrics of the song are below and a link to the music video. Reading the lyrics help explain the message of the song a lot easier.
What inspired me about this song and accompanying music video in order for me to use it as inspiration for Assignment Four, is that Katy Perry has been able to express certain beliefs and feelings that I have towards digital technology. I left secondary school just as Facebook was new and becoming popular, up until then we had BEBO, Myspace or MSN messenger. I only started using Facebook simply to stay in contact with friends that were leaving school at the same time as me, my old teachers and family & friends. Looking back on old status posts on social media, I noticed that I posted a lot of random, mundane updates containing information about my day which people probably weren’t interested in, however I was not the only person doing this, and it seemed that everyone on my friends list was copying each other by posting mundane status updates simply to pass the time and to stay ‘popular’ or ‘relevant’.
I also used to post a lot of photographs as a teenager, especially selfies or silly photographs with friends, all the way up until I was attending college and studying photography. During my teenage years I experienced bullying in school and cyber bulling at home from a group of individuals I had been friends all of my life. After leaving secondary school and escaping them, I was able to limit what information they could find out about me on my social media pages by deleting them as friends and making my accounts private. I limited what photographs I uploaded and what status updates I wrote, simply to stop them finding out anything about my life after leaving school. Since then, my feelings toward social media have changed and I dislike taking photographs of myself, probably because of the negative comments I received when being bullied. Taking selfies now isn’t enjoyable and taking them makes me feel uncomfortable, even if I am taking funny Snapchat photographs to send to friends and family. I rarely use a selfie as a profile photograph on any of my social media accounts, simply because I still have the negative feeling towards them, and feel as though people still judge your image.
As time moved on and I became older, I have kept my social media accounts very private and have only kept old photographs from my time at school, college or friends and family. I have also removed certain photographs that I had previously uploaded and removed many mundane status updates. The reason being is because as mentioned in my Assignment Three Critical Essay, our social media accounts are like our online diaries, and I didn’t want my personal information and life put out on social media because essentially I have no control over my personal information and who views it. I am also aware that my old photographs and information are already ‘out there’ somewhere on the internet and it worries me to think how many people have had access to it in the past, or have seen old photographs of me and family & friends.
Katy Perry’s song is relevant 3 years after it was released, and it still speaks to almost every age group that uses social media and technology. As a teenager, I was using social media far too much and I was using it in a way, to document time spent with friends and to keep up with them by staying ‘cool’ or ‘popular’ online. However, after experiencing cyber bulling from people I thought were close friends, and as I have grown older, distancing myself from social media and stripping it back to basics has enabled me to focus more on myself, my loved ones and the world around me. I only use social media as a way of communication between loved ones, or sharing memes and funny videos to each other. I rarely upload new photographs of myself or family and I only send them to loved ones through private messages. I am more aware of the world around me and have taken interest in different aspects of it and new hobbies rather than focusing on social media. As Katy Perry’s video suggests, I have ‘woken up’ and am seeing digital technology, especially social media, in a whole new light. I completely understand the pros and cons of digital technology and social media, however, I believe my past experiences with social media and bullying have guided my Assignment 3 Critical Essay and I have a somewhat negative view on digital technology and social media because of this.
For Assignment 4, I want to look at digital identities on social media and the digital culture we have today focusing especially on the selfie craze and the use of apps, filters and lenses we use to alter and manipulate our image.
I want to research photographers who’s work may be selfie based, photographers that are known for producing self portraits or portraits of others. I want to research photographers who use different techniques, whether it be digital or handmade, in order to make or distort their portraits or self portraits. I want to research photographers that may use popular apps such as Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook to make their work or who may use filters or processing apps for their work. I want to research photographers who expose the users who are obsessed, engrossed or ‘chained’ to social media and digital technology and the users who are the complete opposite and are private and may only use digital technology and social media as a form of communication. I have several ideas for my final pieces for Assignment Four, however, I am hoping that by researching several photographers, I will be able to gain inspiration from their work in order to make my final decision.
![Faces [UNBONDED], Marcelo Monreal](https://chantellegracephotography4.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/df93be543c3db8801f16a39d10671e05.jpg?w=420&resize=420%2C420#038;h=420&crop=1 "df93be543c3db8801f16a39d10671e05")
Chantelle Grace Photography 