I was inspired by photographer Stephen Gill and his series Hackney Marshes. I admired how he used organic material, to give a photograph a new meaning and to make it more interesting. This is something I wanted to experiment with, as I had not done this previously.
I began by choosing Four photographs which I thought could be enhanced with the addition of organic material.
I decided to choose old photographs I previously took for my previous OCA photography course, where I documented fly tipping in my local areas. These photographs on their own were quite boring in a way, as if you didn’t know the context behind these photographs and the narrative, then they just appear to be photographs of rubbish.
I decided to buy some flowers, and waited for them to die gradually, before drying them out and keeping some fresh. I then printed the photographs, and began experimenting with which flowers I would use for each photograph and where they should be situated within the image itself.
I used strong glue to hold the flowers in place, and some sticky glue dots, I did also have to use cellotape for one flower as it would not stick in place with regular glue. When I stuck the purple flowers onto the photographs, and the individual petals, they were a bright purple colour, however, after leaving them to dry over night, they turned black and speckled in places. This was interesting for me, as I originally started this experiment, wanting to enhance the photographs with a few brightly coloured flowers, and to give them a new meaning, however, looking at how they have slowly deteriorated whilst on the photograph, has given the photographs even more of a different narrative. It is as though I have attempted to enhance them, but because they are photographs of fly tipping, and the slow deterioration of our area in regards to waste and disposal of rubbish, it is as though the flowers themselves are slowly deteriorating along with my area.
This was an interesting experiment for me, which I really enjoyed doing. It is something I would like to try again in the future, however, I would need to find a way to stop things ‘dying’ and discolouring, once they have been glued down onto the photograph. Perhaps glue was not the best idea.
The arrival of affordable digital cameras in the late 1990’s, along with the accelerated growth of the internet and the development of mobile phone devices, had a profound impact on a new generation of artist-photographers keen to reflect on the changing world around them.
Eva Stenram was born in Stockholm, Sweden, but lives and works in London, UK. She gained a degree in Fine Art, from Slade School of Art in London, and a Masters in Photography from Royal College of Art in London. Stenram uses found images in the form of negatives, magazines and images from the internet. She re-works the images, in order to make their original function or meaning undermined or subverted. She uses digital technologies to explore how both photography and the ways in which we use the internet play a large part in the representation of desire and human sexuality.
Her series Drape, 2011, she begins by collecting old, vintage pin-up photographs from the 1960’s period, which specifically had a model posing in front of a curtain or a drape. With the use of processing software, Stenram then digitally extended the curtain or drape, in order to partially cover the model’s body. In reference to this series, Stenram quotes,
“Drape uses vintage pin-up photographs as its source material. These photographs, probably mostly from the 1950’s and 60’s, depict women that are posed in interior, semi-domestic sets in front of curtains or drapes. After scanning these pin-up photographs, the curtains or drapes were digitally extended in order to partially obscure the women. The background (the drapes or curtains) and foreground (the model’s body) are exchanged and this digital manipulation causes a rupture within the scene. Once the backdrop falls in front of the model, showing just parts of her body, our voyeuristic desire becomes clearer. By deflecting and redirecting the viewer’s gaze, our attention is drawn to the rest of the scene that sets the fantasy, yet often remains overlooked.” [1]
Drape VII, Drape series, 2012, Eva Stenram. Reproduced with permission for the OCA.
A video of Stenram discussing the series Drape, can be viewed here.
Stenram is one of a growing number of artists working with found material. Her constructed images are made up of material, often found online, which is then scanned and manipulated on-screen. The resulted images are represented as photographic prints.
British artist Stephen Gill works in a similar way, scanning and re-photographing images alongside objects found on location. Born in Bristol, 1971, Gill became interested in photography during his early childhood thanks to his father. He used to collect insects and pond life, so he could study them under a microscope.
In his Hackney Flowers projects, Gill uses fragments of organic material (flowers, etc.) along with photographs to give a poetic and multi-layered picture of life in Hackney Marshes.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Unknown, Hackney Flowers Series, 2007. Stephen Gill.
Gill is a highly experimental photographer who often rips, tears, folds and even burns the photographic image to create the effects he wants. These strategies are present also in the work of another British artists, John Stezaker.
I really admire Stephen Gill’s work. I find it both unique and interesting. Incorporating the organic materials, helps to give the photograph a 3d effect, and brings it to life in a completely different way. Part of me wants to see what the original photograph underneath looked like before he stuck these pieces on, however, part of me believes that they may not be as interesting as they are now. His work has inspired me, and I am going to try and re-create some of my own pieces, using inspiration gained by researching his work.
The video is in reference to a piece of work, created by both Kennard and Picton – Phillips, which depicts the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair. He is stood, smiling, whilst taking a selfie. This has been layered in front of what looks like an explosion.
The piece can be viewed here: https://www.kennardphillipps.com/photo-op/
The piece was made in protest of the invasion of Iraq, and the decision to go ahead with a war. Both artists wanted to express their frustration and somewhat anger, towards the government, for not listening to the 1million voices which had taken to the streets in protest of the governments decision to go to war.
The pair have worked together since 2002, however, Kennard has been producing political pieces since the Vietnam war, where he joined the anti-Vietnam demonstration. He describes the differences between the Vietnam and Iraq demonstrations, noting that organisations and people listened to the Anti – Vietnam demonstrations and a large movement built up against the Vietnam war, whereas with the Iraq demonstrations, despite there being a number of demonstrations and 1million people protesting, there wasn’t a big movement of organisations helping to try and stop the war. Hence why these two artists joined together to produce these pieces in order to continue expressing their feelings and to draw attention to the Iraq war, which the government were still continuing with and the media coverage was hiding.
Look at British artist Lisa Barnard’s recent book Chateau Despair. Barnard used found archival news images of Ex- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher alongside shots of the then Conservative HQ to construct her narrative.
This series of photographs was taken inside the abandoned Conservative party headquarters which Barnard was given access to in 2009. The HQ was running from 1958 – 2004, but was abandoned by the Conservatives after their move to Victoria Street, thus giving the abandoned building the name Chateau Despair. 50 years worth of memories and history, was left etched on walls, surfaces and discarded in corners of rooms. Barnard also found a blue rosette, an internal envelope, an ornate silver spoon, a balloon and a strip of film negative. Old portraits of smiling Thatcher were also found in an old cupboard.
Barnard carefully constructed the book, documenting the unseen interior, with its cold, simple, plain and boring rooms, with its peeling paintwork and pops of corporate blue colour on the walls and stained carpets. Breaking the flow of the boring interiors, Barnard places the portrait of Thatcher at different stages in the book. The portrait remains the same, however, it appears as though it is slowly being destroyed from the bottom, upwards. Was this done purposely…?
I find this series really odd, and the photographs very simple, however, when you read into the context behind the series, you begin to understand that Barnard has created this as a way to document and archive that period of Thatcher’s reign. We are give an insight into things we as citizens, wouldn’t have normally seen before, as we wouldn’t have been granted access. There is a curious side to all of us, and a saying that we don’t always know what happens behind closed doors. Everyone one of us would love to be a ‘fly on the wall’ behind the closed doors of number 10 Downing street, or at certain times of the year in regards to politics. With this series of photographs, Barnard has enabled us as viewers to see what is was really like behind those closed doors. The doors of a building which housed one of the most powerful governments and women at that moment in time. The shabby interior and simple, cold rooms, makes you question, if this is what is kept behind the closed doors for the public not to see, then are the government and the people in charge, really trustworthy enough to be able to run the country, when they can’t even look after the building they are in, let alone the country.
To end this exercise, use readily available images to make a short narrative series of 4 or 6 collages based on a recent or contemporary news event.
Digitally Manipulated Collages:
US President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump to update him on transition planning in the Oval Office at the White House on November 10, 2016 in Washington,DC. / AFP / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
During the nineteenth century, there was a rise in deliberate manipulation of photographs, however, since the arrival in the early twentieth century of readily available printed photographic matter in the form of mass-produced newspaper and magazine reproductions, artists have used and re-used photographic material to make their own work. The twentieth century saw a rise of print media and found photography, being cut up and re-arranged, in order to produce politically motivated images using montage and collage.
The ‘invention’ of photomontage is disputed between Raoul Hausmann and John Heartfield, however, one of the most famous artists who produced photomontage’s at that time was German born Dadaist Hannah Höch.
“Whenever we want to force this photo matter to yield new forms, we must be prepared for a journey of discovery. We must start without any preoccupations; most of all, we must be open to the beauties of fortuity.” [1]
Double Vision, 1928, Hannah Höch
In her use of found images from contemporary media, Höch’s work both incorporated and critiques the media culture that surrounded her at that time. In her series From the Ethnographic Museum, she combined reproductions of tribal statues in museum catalogues with images of eyes and limbs cut from contemporary magazines to produce an unsettling series of cut-up bodies which reflected on the colonial attitudes of the time.
The image Cut With the Cake Knife is an early example of her photomontage pieces.
Cut With the Kitchen ( Cake ) Knife, 1919, Hannah Höch
The image itself has no meaning, however, there is an underlying theme and commentary of political and gender issues within Germany at the time, with the inclusion of cut images of political figures and maps, which have been included in the collage.
Photomontage was embraced by the Dadaists in the Weimar Republic from the Post – World War One period onwards, but had existed since the birth of photography itself, and often for political ends. Höch noted:
‘For decades photojournalism has used photographs to cut up very modestly but quite consciously, often pasting on parts of photographs whenever it felt a need to do so. For example, when a potentate was welcome in Trochtelborn, and the journalistic photo taken on the sport was not impressive enough, various groups of people from different photographs were glued to it, and the sheet was photographed again, thus creating an immense crowd when in reality the welcoming crowd was only a male choir.’
Photomontage was used to devastating political effect by German artist John Heartfield, whose anti-Fascist photomontages are some of the most influential works ever produced in this medium. Like Höch, Heartfield used found image and text to create a powerful anti-Fascist commentary; these ideas were then disseminated in a variety of forms.
Working from a declared left-wing position, he used his images to offer increasingly satirical critiques of Nazi Germany, whereas Höch sought to undermine meaning through the use of the irrational, Heartfield uses the absurd and the juxtaposing of different elements in order to delate and expose. His perspective turns the photograph into a blend of the political essay and the political cartoon or caricature.
Hurrah, the Butter’s Finished! refers to a speech by Herman Goering and quotes him as saying that ‘Iron always makes a country strong, butter and lard only make people fat’.
Against the absurdity of this claim, Heartfield constructs a withering satire on its implications if believed. The montage is constructed with the use of exaggeration, juxtaposition, the use of the un-expected and visual hyperbole. The image shows a patriotic family sat at the dining table, with the absence of butter, but instead, they are embarking on a feast of old iron objects such as chains, bike frames, and nuts & bolts. The baby in the pram is biting down on an axe and the dog is chewing on a bolt instead of a bone. The wallpaper is made up of Swastikas, and there is a portrait of Hitler on the wall. The acute attention to detail, without reducing the essential message is what Heartfield was known for.
The manipulations of both Höch and Heartfield were purposefully crude. Whilst carefully composed, their aim was not to deceive the eye, but rather to get their ideas across in as immediate a way as possible.
Photo manipulation was of course also used to different ends. The close relationship between photographic manipulation and politics is explored in W.J.T. Mitchell’s The Reconfigured Eye. Mitchell gives several examples of photographs submitted as evidence at trials but later discovered to be manipulated and therefore worthless as evidence.
Peter Kennard follows in the tradition of Höch and Heartfield and uses both analogue and digital montage to questions socio-political structures. In Haywain with Cruise Missile, 1980, Kennard inserted three nuclear warheads into a reproduction of John Constable’s portrayal of an idyllic East Anglian scene, The Hay Wain, 1821.
Haywain with Cruise Missiles, 1980. Peter Kennard. Tate collection.
The impetus for this work was the proposal to base US cruise missiles in rural East Anglia. Using simple and direct compositional techniques, Kennard effectively conveys his message.
This image reminds me of two pieces of art work produced by the graffiti artist Banksy. The first being Study for Happy Choppers, 2003, and the second being The Banality of the Banality of Evil, 2013.
Study for Happy Choppers, 2003. Banksy.The Banality of the Banality of Evil, 2013. Banksy
For this exercise, you were asked to discuss a photograph that takes an existing work of art as its starting point.
I decided to look at photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer, who left his native Japan in 1970 to study art in Los Angeles. He has been known to describe himself as not only a technically skilled photographer, but as a conceptual artist as well. Minimalism and Conceptual art inspired his work enabling his techniques and attention to detail to evolve overtime, allowing him to produce several significant photographic series including Dioramas 1976, Theaters 1978 and Architecture 1997.
In 1999, the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, commissioned him to produce a series of life sized ‘portraits’, similar to those painted by the famous painter Hans Holbein the Younger. Sugimoto focused his portraits around thee most realistic wax mannequins of famous historical figures, from Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London. His carefully picked choice of wax figures ranged from Princess Diana, Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth 1st and King Henry Viii and his six wives.
Sugimoto carefully positioned the wax figure against a simple black background. With his attention to detail and inspiration taken from Hans Holbein the Younger, who too held a peculiar eye for even the smallest of details, Sugimoto recreated the lighting that would have been used by Holbein when creating one of his portraits, and similar portraits by other painters, of Tudor Royalty during the 16th and 17th Century.
“In the sixteenth century, Hans Holbein the Younger, German court painter to the British Crown, painted several imposing and regal portraits of Henry Viii. Based on these portrait, the highly skilled artisans of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum re-created an absolutely faithful likeness of the king. Using my own studies of the Renaissance by which the artist might have painted, I remade the royal portrait, substituting photography for painting. If this photograph now appears lifelike to you, you should reconsider what it means to be alive here and now.” [1]
“I was fascinated with these wax figures, for instance, Henry VIII and his six wives. I studied the painting itself, especially the lighting of the Holbein painting, so I was able to recreate this quality of light. Then I came to this very weird half-real, half-fake staged portrait, so I thought maybe I can try this same technique and give it to the fashion of the mannequin.” [2]
I am in awe of Sugimoto’ portraits. Ever since I was a young child, I have always loved Tudor history and Elizabeth the 1st. When looking at these portraits, if it wasn’t for the fact that you as a viewer knew the Tudors have been deceased for several hundreds of years, you wouldn’t have guessed that these weren’t real portraits of real people. You can see from his precise positioning of lighting, that Sugimoto has carefully studied the famous Tudor portraits, similar to the examples below, which are held at The National Portrait Gallery in London. Like Holbein the Younger and other painters at that time, Sugimoto has casted light onto the facial area, highlighting the contours of the face, in order to produce shadows, which help create depth within the image. He has also done this for the body area, casting light on certain parts of the clothing, helping to produce shadows within the creases of the clothing, and reflecting only off of the jewellery or ‘shiny’ materials used within the clothing, making them somewhat 3D and human-like.
With the use of lighting, and well thought out positioning of the wax models, Sugimoto has created interesting portraits, which trick the viewer into believing that the model could in-fact be real. I would love to try and re-create a Tudor portrait myself. It would depend on whether or not I can get someone to model for me, and the necessary outfit(s).
[1] Quote by Hiroshi Sugimoto, in regards to his Portraits, 1999 series of photographs. Taken directly from his website https://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/new-page-50/
The introduction in the late 1980’s of professional digital backs suitable for rendering high-quality images, meant that many artists working with photography now turned towards digital methods of production. Canadian artist Jeff Wall, was one of the first and most established photographers to experiment with digital imaging in relation to photography. He often produced large-scale photographic works which referred directly to the history of painting. ( Wall trained initially as an art historian ).
Wall’s early images were presented not as paper prints, but rather as large-scale transparencies mounted in light boxes. In changing the way to express developments in the technical world. These were changes that he believed traditional autographic photography was not capable of expressing.
A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), 1993, Jeff Wall. Transparency in light box 229.0 x 377.0. Reproduced with permission of the artist, given to the OCA.
‘ For Wall, applying this technique to photographic material is a process akin to cinematography. In common with film, the image on a light box relies on a hidden space from which light emanates to be seen. Wall believes that this inaccessible space produces an ‘experience of two places, two worlds in one moment’, providing a source of disassociation, alienation and power. ‘ [1]
Wall often uses digital techniques to make reference to existing compositional structures within painting, as seen in one of his most recognisable (and complex) digital photographs, A Sudden Gust of Wind(after Hokusai), 1993.
This image takes its inspiration from an 1832 series of woodcuts, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji by Japanese painted and printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, and re-stages it for a new millennium. Wall photographed actors for a period of five months, in Vancouver, when weather conditions were similar to the weather in the woodcut prints. Wall then collaged elements of the photographs together digitally, in order to make his final desired image. It depicts a flat, open landscape, in which four foreground figures are frozen as they respond to a sudden gust of wind. Using local actors, Wall produced tableaux that mimicked its original source.
As with many of Wall’s works, the digital interventions are intended to be seamless, allowing the narrative structure of the image itself to remain to the fore. The resulting image is both fantastical and believable. In After Hokusai, Wall shows us that our belief in photography as a mirror on reality is misplaced. Rather, photography is a highly subjective medium, which can, like painting, bring disparate elements together to create a fictional whole.
The relationship of photography to painting is further explored in the digital practice of Wendy McMurdo. McMurdo’s experimentation with digital practice began in the early 90s with her project In a Shaded Place – The Digital and the Uncanny (1995). This project looked at the relationship to authenticity and originality in the face of an emerging digital culture. Using the image of the doppelganger or double to explore issues of identity in a digital world, McMurdo produced a series of digitally montage interiors where the figures of children, one ‘real’ and the other now, appeared to meet an alternative self. The children pictured in McMurdo’s photographs represented the first generation of ‘digital natives’ – children who would grow up in a digital world, which would affect almost every aspect of their lives.
Helen, Backstage, Merlin Theatre (The Glance) 1996. Wendy McMurdo. Image reproduced with permission of the artist for the OCA.
Both Wall and McMurdo use digital montage to refer back to the narrative traditions of tableaux painting and also to critique the status of the photographic image as a document. Their work often references previous works of art (usually painting); in doing so, their work is emblematic of a post-modern generation that frequently re-presents or alludes to the work of others. This has ben an important strategy for artists since the beginning of photography and has been further developed by Japanese artist Hisaji Hara. In his series of expertly-staged tableaux entitled A Photographic Portrayal of the Painting of Balthus, he takes the strange and mannequin-like gestures of the figures in the works of painter Balthus as a starting point and re-uses these gestures to create his own referential photographic tableaux.
Wall, McMurdo and Hara use medium – or large-format cameras to produce their highly detailed images which are often displayed as large-scale prints. The work is often carefully lit and then composed. In this sense, their work, like that of the earliest photographic experimenters (Rejlander, Peach, Robinson, ) refers back to the pictorial traditions of painting. However, rather than mimicking existing tableaux, artists such as Hara extract a gesture or a particular pose or action that evokes a memory of that image. They then take this fragment and re-make the image through their own lens. The resulting work could in some ways be described as ‘an image of an image’, but by using radically different techniques, Hara re-works Balthus’ image and in doing so creates something new.
References:
Wall, Jeff.
A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), 1993, Jeff Wall. Reproduced with permission of the artist, given to the OCA.
Valérie Belin is a French photographer, born in 1964, in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. She began her art education at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Bourges from 1983 to 1988, where she applied her artistic research towards the practice of photography. Some of her early work was based around photographing light sources, giving her photographs the appearance of X-Rays or pure imprints left by the light source. She also studied Philosophy of Art at the Paris-Panthéon-Sorbonne University, where she obtained a DEA qualification in 1989.
[1] ‘Colour began to appear in work by Valérie Belin and introduced ambiguity regarding what was real and what was virtual…. In her most recent works, the artist has detached herself from an indexed concept of photography, and her style has evolved towards a form of magical realism. Valérie Belin now positions her topic at the heart of its era’s evolution. Her new works display a hybrid character which places the subject between the organic and the sublime.’
One of Valérie Belin’s recent pieces of work, is the series Black Eyed Susan, with the first set of 11 portraits being published in 2010-2011 and the second set of 6 portraits in 2013. For the gallery press release in 2010, Belin quotes,
[2] “Photography is currently undergoing an upheaval which is similar to the one that affected painting when photography first appeared on the scene; since painting no longer needed to reproduce reality, it became abstract.”
Not much is known about Belin’s series of work, as she offers no information regarding her pieces. Instead, she lets her art work speak for itself.
Black Eyed Susan, is a series of beautiful portraits, which have been layered with flowers. Belin quotes, [3] “Where women and flower merge together.” Belin began by selecting models who were elegant and could pull of the Grace Kelly glamour, made famous in the 1950’s. She styled them with the vintage make-up, hair styles and pearl jewellery. The waves and curls of the hair, accompanied with the round shapes of the pearls in the necklaces and the colours of the make-up, would all help to produce a dialogue and a perfect relationship with the baroque shapes of flowers and leaves that would be layered on top of the portraits.
Belin has carefully layered each bouquet of flowers, with the same attention to detail she used when preparing her models for their portraits. Belin was concerned with what type of flowers to use for the layers, so she decided upon flowers with a simple, precise outline, as they would be used purely for their graphic qualities and not their colours. Colours were therefore limited to two or three shades, with a black background.
Black Eyed Susan 2010
Amazon Lily (With Garden Roses), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Choisya (Mexican Orange Blossom), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Cosmos (Early Sensation Giant), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Early Flowering Narcissus, Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Painted Daisy (Carmine Blush Chrysanths) Black Eyed Susan Series, 2010. Valérie Belin
Black Eyed Susan 2013
Arcotis Fastuosa (Namaqua Marigold), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2013. Valérie Belin.
Astrantia Major (Ruby Wedding), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2013. Valérie Belin.
Giant Exhibition Aureole, Black Eyed Susan Series, 2013. Valérie Belin.
Pieris Japonica (Mountain Fire), Black Eyed Susan Series, 2013. Valérie Belin.
I really love these unique portraits. They are feminine, colourful, bold and stand out from normal, everyday portraits. The vintage 50’s style portraits, combined with the beautiful flowers, is what stood out the most for me, as I’ve always loved the 50’s style glamour, and the 60’s style made famous by Marilyn Monroe. They remind me of the vintage fashion photographs which would have adorned the front covers of Vogue, Charm or Bazaar. Similarly to photographer Kate Turning, I could also see these portraits being used to advertise high end products in today’s era, such as perfume or jewellery.
Belin’s use of layering, filters and reduced opacity, enables the background portrait to still be visible, amongst the numerous layers of flowers. She also manages to keep all of the detail sharp. She only keeps bold colours on the flowers in several places, whilst reducing the others around that area, in order to not over power the image.
I have been inspired by these portraits, and I have decided that I will recreate some of these portraits myself, with old portraits I have taken in the past, layered with photographs of flowers I have also taken over the years. My portraits have not been taken with the 50’s glamour style, however, I believe that I will still be able to create portraits similar to this.
Photograph One
Photograph Two
Brief Self Evaluation
This was entirely experimental. I decided to experiment with old portraits I had taken and a large amount of floral photography that I had taken. I wanted to try and recreate final images similar to Black Eyed Susan.
I really loved making these portraits and I will continue making more. They do take a while to make, and I found that cutting and pasting each flower took longer than expected as I had to find the right placement for each one and re-arrange a lot of them whilst reducing the opacity in certain areas. I wanted to place them in certain ways that made sure the portrait underneath could still be seen.
Using the list of artists researched previous to this, as inspiration, create a series of six to eight images using layering techniques. To accompany your final images, also produce a 500 word post on the work of one contemporary artist-photographer who uses layering techniques.
My post processing techniques and digital manipulation is no where near as experienced as the photographers/artists I have researched previously, however, I have taken inspiration from each artist, and have applied it when making these final images.
Photograph One:
For photograph one, I decided to focus on only using one layer. I took inspiration from Catherine McIntyre, and used leaves for this photograph. I used a photograph of old leaves/plant seeds I took several years ago, and applied it onto the top of the portrait. I reduced the opacity and changed the layer type. I enhanced the image with a detail tool brush, to sharpen the details.
Example:
Photograph Two:
One Layer.
Photograph Three:
For photograph three, I was inspired by Helen Sear’s Beyond the View series, photograph No6. I started off with a beautiful photograph I took of different coloured dainty flowers.
I attempted several times to layer it on-top of a photograph, but nothing I was doing seemed to work how I wanted it to go. This is something I will try again.
For this picture, I applied a grain filter, to make it appear like the canvas material Sear uses for her series. I then cut and paste the individual flowers, over the photograph, reducing the opacity and size, in order to try and replicate Helen Sear’s photographs.
Photograph Four:
For photograph four, I used a portrait, and layered a butterfly onto the face, almost like a masquerade mask. I applied a vivid light filter, then reduced the opacity to let the eye show through. I cut and paste orchid photographs I took, using a neon filter and reducing the opacity.
Photograph Five:
For photograph five, I decided to produce a spooky photograph, something which may be used for Halloween. I used a photograph of an illuminated train station. When I took this photograph, I framed the train station, whilst looking through the metal gates, making sure I kept the railings in the foreground, as I thought it would be an interesting photograph to use later on in the future. I decided to layer a photograph of a tree I took, and reduced the opacity. I then cut and paste a photograph of my friend, I took several years ago, positioning her to look as though she was about to walk through the entrance. I reduced the opacity on this layer too, in order to make the figure appear somewhat ghostly. I then added a lens flare, which looked similar to a full moon.
Photograph Six:
For photograph six, I used inspiration gained from photographer Catherine McIntyre. I studied McIntyre’s photographs, and noticed several layers used to make the background, before she then began layering the middle and foreground areas. For this photograph, I began with a simple photograph of a distressed wooden door, and converting the image to sepia. I then cut and paste a portrait of a friend, on to the background layer, and converted this layer to sepia. I then cut and paste a cog section, taken from a photograph I took of a steam train’s wheel area, and made a headdress on the model, similar to McIntyre’s photograph The Astronomer. I then cut and paste circular holes, which were taken from a rock I found on a beach. I reduced the opacity on the layer, and converted them to sepia. I positioned them in and around the several layers I had put down before. I layered several clocks, reducing the opacity, and positioned them towards the bottom of the frame, covering the gap.
I recently purchased a book called Pixel Surgeons, Extreme Manipulation of the Figure in Photography, By Martin Dawber, which I thought may help me with the exercise 1.1
Pixel Surgeons, Martin Dawber, 2005.
The book showcases 30 artists/photographers work, all of whom use post processing software, to manipulate and enhance their photographs.
There are several photographer/artists, who’s work I fell in love with in the book. The first being Catherine McIntyre.
McIntyre is a digital artist who lives and works in rural Scotland. She trained as an illustrator at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, in 1993, where she received her Bachelor of Design with first class honours, and in 1994, she received her Master of Design. Her work has been published in books and magazines worldwide and is in private and public collections in the UK, US and Europe.
McIntyre combines portraits, still life and nude subjects, with found objects and old drawings. Using subtle layering techniques on Photoshop with reduced opacity, McIntyre creates beautiful, vintage style photographs, which are full of different textures and details. Her attention to detail within her photographs, means that you as a viewer are enabled to discover different sections within the frame, making them very exciting and interesting.
Japanese Winter, 2004, Catherine McIntyre.
Yokohama 1903, 1999, Catherine McIntyre.
Weights Floating, 2002, Catherine McIntyre.
The Astronomer, 2004, Catherine McIntyre.
(left) The Seventh Daughter, 2004. (right) Nephthys, 2004, Catherine McIntyre.
Despite knowing that her final portraits are completely constructed on Photoshop, you can’t help but be attracted to their beauty, and somehow, she manages to make you believe that you are viewing old photographs that could have possibly been found stored in a box in a loft somewhere for several years.
I have several favourite pieces of her work, Carte d’identity, Michellations, Rita, Meretaten, Asha, The Astronomer, Weights Floating, Lily Invisible, Raduriel, November 18th, Honesty and Micheu.
When viewing Weights Floating, The Astronomer, The Seventh Daughter, Michellations an Ruthra, I am immediately drawn to her use of clock hands, cogs, bolts and other mechanical workings, which she used to make and construct headdresses and necklaces on her models and her use of different mechanical pieces within the backgrounds, making the portrait look other worldly with an almost ‘Steampunk’ type theme. With the photograph Michellations, McIntyre has also included a background of a landscape, with a reduced opacity cog type working on the top, before layering the portrait photograph on the top, which is very unique, yet it works really well. This is something I would like to try.
The photograph Yokohama 1903, reminds me of a page from an old scrap book. It has several layers, the first being old vintage letters used for the background, with reduced opacity leaves then placed on-top of a portrait of a woman. The leaves remind me of pressed flowers, which people keep as mementos. Incorporating these into this photograph with the letters, gives it the feeling that someone has kept them together as a way to remember cherished memories.
I will be using her photographs as inspiration for exercise 1.1, and I will be trying her multiple layering techniques, with reduced opacity, in attempt to create several vintage style photographs.
Christos Magganas:
Christos Magganas is a Greek artist who began his studies in Greece. He moved to London to study design, where he later earned his Masters of Arts degree in Communication Design at Central Saint Martin’s.
Magganas digitally combines and manipulates, photographs, printmaking material and 3d models which have been specifically made for each piece, in order to create his final pieces of art.
” … I am trying to bring together, through a variety of different media, different methods of representing the body; to comment on aspects of identity and appearance in relation to gender, race, nationality, sexuality and technology…. I am fascinated by genetic engineering and the so-called post-human body. I am also interested in the Greek tradition of using stories, narrative and myths. There is a poetry in the language of Greek myths and music that is an expression of an aspect of myself, which is difficult to express in any other way. Also, I like to create implied narratives within my images. My work, therefore, often takes the form of a staged event. [1]
Renaissance, 1998, Christos Magganas.
IKAROS, 2004. Christos Magganas.
Using several layering techniques, Magganas produces beautiful, surreal, mythical and fantasy themed pieces. Similarly to McIntyre, Magganas uses a lot of different layers and details within his pieces, which enables the viewer to find different pieces throughout the frame. Renaissance is extremely detailed, and although I find it a very interesting piece of art to look at, I found this one image tough to try and read. I’m not 100% sure what this piece is meant to represent or what story it is meant to tell. However, his attention to detail is fantastic, and a goal of mine would be to be able to process a digital image as amazing as this, as at the moment, I find it difficult in places, to blend different layers. I especially like how he has incorporated the zip section on the mans back, and the skeletal pelvis area underneath the cloth.
My favourite piece is IKAROS, as it reminds me of an old Biblical angel painting, only with this, you are able to see the ‘inner workings’ of the angel, as Magganas has layered cogs and mechanical pieces, similarly to McIntyre. It’s a dark piece of artwork, and with the addition of the mechanical pieces, breaking away from the insides of the angel, for me, I believe it can be seen as representing perhaps the death of this angel, as if he is falling apart.
Kate Turning:
Kate Turning is an American artists who graduated from the Art Centre College of Design, California.
“When I make a photograph, I try to expose the heroic nature of my subject by celebrating the sublime over the ordinary. I want the viewer to have an emotional response, so I pay great attention to the internal integrity and details of the image. The viewer can only surrender disbelief in order to experience the palette of my photo if I create a world with its own atmosphere and sense of place…. I am in love with the blending of light and the crafting of colour. The computer is my dark room…. For me, dramatic lighting and a strong sense of colour have a deep emotional impact and they figure heavily in my work….I also take inspiration from the use of light and the other-worldly feel of Baroque and Pre-Raphaelite painting.
Violette Dazzle, 2003, Kate Turning.
Pear Illusion, 2004, Kate Turning.
Peach Shimmer, 2004, Kate Turning.
Moonlit Rose, 2003, Kate Turning.
Berry Sparkle, 2004, Kate Turning.
Kate Turning’s pieces are completely different to McIntyre and Magganna’s. They are bursting with bold, vibrant colours and are full of detail. She surrounds the models with numerous layers, of all different opacities, turning them into decorative forms with individual personalities, demonstrating that enhanced photography can also be used as performance art. I can imagine these pieces being used to advertise expensive perfume, either on the television or on large, dominating posters, as there are similarities to several brands such as Dior, Chanel and Nina Ricci, who make extremely detailed ‘movie’ type ads to entice customers in.
I find her work really beautiful, and they remind me of something Disney would produce when making a Disney Princess film. The gold Rococo and Baroque influences are something you see in the new Beauty and The Beast 2017 film. They do also strike a resemblance to the Harrods Disney ‘Once Upon a Dream’ campaign, where several brands teamed together, to produce Disney Princess themed photographs. Harrods have relied heavily on their set production and props for their series of photographs, however, there are similarities between both photographers.
Harrods, Once Upon a Dream, 2012. Unknown Photographer.
My post processing techniques are no where near as good as Turning, however, a goal of mine one day, would be to be able to produce a digitally manipulated image similar to hers. This is something I will work on throughout this course.
I will use inspiration gained by researching the artists from this book, and I will apply it to exercise 1.1, when processing my images.
References:
Pixel Surgeons – Extreme Manipulation of the Figure in Photography, Martin Dawber. Octopus Publishing Group London, 2005.
ISBN: 1845331575
McIntyre, Catherine.
Pixel Surgeons – Extreme Manipulation of the Figure in Photography, Martin Dawber. Octopus Publishing Group London, 2005.
Photography has been subject to manipulation since its birth and its history has been inextricably linked to science, chemistry and engineering. ( Photography’s founding father, Henry Fox Talbot, worked closely with Charles Babbage, whose inventions paved the way for contemporary computing.) Often, early photographs signalled a desire to capture an aspect of the world, such as movement, before it was possibly consistently to do so.
Oscar Rejlander, The Juggler, 1865. Image reproduced by permission of the Royal Photographic Society / National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library, for the OCA.
In Oscar Rejlander’s The Juggler, 1856, a young man is depicted casually juggling a number of balls.
The unnaturally even spacing of the flying balls, their sharp focus without a hint of blurriness, and the relaxed, even blasé expression of the juggler combine to convince the viewer that this is not live action, but a facsimile. This image is probably a composite print, made artificially in the studio by combining a negative of the figure with one or more of the balls printed into the area above him.
As Phillip Prodger notes in Time Stands Still:Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement, the kind of instantaneity suggested in The Juggler, (i.e, the kind that could freeze rapid action) remained elusive throughout this period and would only come later, with the advancements ushered in by Muybridge. (Hand-held cameras with high shutter speeds would transform the subject matter of photography, with exposure times decreasing from 40 seconds in 1850 to a fraction of a second by the time Harold Edgerton shot the famous milk drop exploding into a corona in 1957.)
Rejlander’s image depicted something that was – at that point – beyond the limits of the camera. However, the Industrial Revolution was creating a need to depict speed and movement and it would not be long before Eadweard Muybridge stepped out of the wings with his experiments with electronic shutter releases.
With its ‘staged’ appearance, The Juggler is perhaps more reminiscent of a Victorian painting than a photograph and in many ways, this image is emblematic of Pictorialism – a term coined to describe photographs from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century which moved beyond the concept of a photograph as a mere depiction of ‘reality’. One of the most recognisable images from this movement is Henry Peach Robinson’s Fading Away, 1858. This made use of five negatives and combination printing techniques to depict a young girl dying of consumption. Today, this image looks obviously doctored, but to a Victorian sensibility the image was controversial; death by consumption was not considered a suitable subject for photography. The allegorical compositions of the Pictorialists relate directly back to the history of painting.
As photography developed, confidence in the medium’s intrinsic value grew and distinctive genres began to emerge within the medium. The often backward-looking approach of the Pictorialists eventually gave way to the Modernist movement of the early 1920’s which ushered in an intense period of experimentation for photography. Led by the pioneering Bauhaus School and artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, this group – with their experimental and playful approach to the photographic image – were to pave way for a generation of digital practitioners who, instead of scissors, light and glue, began to work with the camera, software and the pixel.
The Layered Image:
The technique of layering – the placing of one or more images over another to make a second image – has been in continuous use by artist-photographers since the end of the nineteenth century. Early photographers such as Rejlander used layering techniques to evoke painterly compositions. Later, these techniques were used to great effect by the Surrealists and the Bauhaus group to convey ideas that could not be expressed within the single frame.
The arrival of digital imaging, with its ability easily to separate an image into its constituent layers, opened up a Pandora’s box for artist-photographers. Now any image could be manipulated and layered on top of another to create a seamless composite In 1980, US artist Nancy Burson was one of the first to produce an influential series of composite portraits using digital techniques:
In 1968 she began to consider a project of producing computer generated portraits that could add the development of aging onto the faces. Her concept was not totally possible until the late 1970’s when computer scanning of images was developed. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was interested in her ideas and in 1978 MIT and Burson were making their first ‘aged’ portraits. This process was labour intensive and slow and it was not until 1982 that the processing speed was increased.
As digital techniques became more sophisticated, many began to experiment with layering. Today, contemporary photographic practice is suffused by artists using this technique, including Esther Teichmann, Corinne Vionnnet, Idris Kahn and Helen Sear.
British-based artist Idris Kahn overlays multiple texts or musical scores to create intriguing single-frame compositions. Working almost exclusively in monochrome, Kahn uses multiple layers to construct highly complex compositions.
Welsh artist Helen Sear uses manipulation, layering and colour to create highly aesthetic images where the interplay of subject and ground is constantly in play. Both Kahn and Sear use the digital layer as a fundamental part of their creative process.
Helen Sear, from Beyond the View series, 2008. No6. Image reproduced by permission of the artist for the OCA.
References:
Rejlander, Oscar. The Juggler, 1865. Image reproduced by permission of the Royal Photographic Society / National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library, for the OCA.
Sear, Helen. No6, from Beyond the View series, 2008. Image reproduced by permission of the artist for the OCA.
Photograph Two 
Chantelle Grace Photography 