Blog Response #24

A. Pick two images from any of the “constructed reality” photographers presented in class or linked on the assignment sheet. Describe how you could recreate these two images on a “smaller scale”. 

Alexa Meade
her images could be created on a smaller scale, perhaps by choosing just one body part to focus on, or maybe painting objects instead of human figures.

John Kriwol's paper realities
his images could be recreated on a smaller scale by using actual magazine pages and small objects/figures instead of people.

B. Describe your plans for your self-proposed final project (if the plan is the same as before, paste it here again and give a bit more detail). During the final critique for Assignment #5, you will discuss/present these ideas to the class. 


Anti-gravity
create and shoot compositions that create the illusion of antigravity, or distorted gravity.
ex: place subjects lying on the ground as though standing on the wall.
      create still lifes/props to enhance feeling of anti-gravity

Blog Response #23

1. In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?

I believe that your identity is being constructed/molded every day.  Through daily experiences and the way we deal with emotions and events, we are growing and changing every day.  Our interactions in society, the impact of media, and random incidents are all factors that stimulate thinking and self discovery. I think we are always performing in our daily lives except when we are alone.  No matter who/what the person/environment is, if there are others or the potential of others seeing/watching, everyone filters their actions and words thus putting on a "performance.

2. Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.

social environments are constructed by group psychology and expectations.  People as a whole tend to be moved by what the group decides/thinks, so everyone treads cautiously in social environments, "constructing" the dynamic of the moment.

3. Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.

not only are physical environment/spaces literally constructed with building equipment and materials, but they are also constructed by our projections of our identity.  Everyone personalizes and "constructs" physical environments and spaces by making it their own.  We project ourselves into our surroundings, thus "constructing" a totally unique environment.  Perhaps they are entirely different to others than they are to ourselves, making the construction even more interesting.

4. In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?

I consider the sky, and myself to be real, when I am alone.  I believe that all other things/people are at least a little bit constructed or fabricated.  The food we eat is created by a cook, social situations of all magnitudes are constructed by expectations and unspoken social rules, the land we walk on has most likely been altered at some point. The only things that cannot be tampered with are my own existence and actions when i am alone with no judging eyes, and the expanse of the sky/space.

5. Describe a narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. A narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” ( Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler , 34).

 I might attempt to create a narrative tableaux that depicts not the physical happenings of a moment, but rather the vibe/feeling/mood that is experienced by each person.  Perhaps the use of abstract dress/pose/space around each individual could be altered/molded to convey the vibe/feeling/mood of each person.

6. Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34).

 it might be interesting to photograph a tiny world in comparison to the big world. Set up a tiny miniature world in grass, where the grass is huge in comparison to the tiny figures and buildings in the set.  Then photograph the image focused on the tiny world, but also framing the real world around it.

Historical and Contemporary Photographers

Henry Peach Robinson
b. 9 July 1830; d. 21 February 1901

 Fading Away, 1858
This image is the composition of 5 negatives, in which the girl is shown dying.  Many criticized this image as being inappropriate.  It was also highly discussed because of it touched on the boundaries between science and art.  Though it is a joint image of 5 negatives, many who viewed the piece would never realize that it wasn't one image, although some who viewed the piece up close could see the "joins" of the negatives. 

http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/robinson.htm

Boyd Webb
1947

Harvest II 1983-2006
Boyd Webb was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he studied at the Ilam School of Art.  Later moving to London to get his MA in sculture at the Royal College of Art.  His photography depicts impossible/surreal images, and i was intrigued by this particular constructed space because of how the figure is casually reaching up to trim the plant, as though she is not sitting under what is seemingly the ground level.  I also like how the figure is nude, adding to the feeling that she is one with the earth.

http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?gid=139120&aid=17598

Blog Response #21

A. Series: Brainstorm various ways to make a “series” of photographic images. 

Different ways of interpeting one object.
placing it in places unexpected, using it in ways that are not conventional. thinking outside the box.

Easter egg style,
hidden compositional elements, secret messages, sneaky subject matter.

Distorting subjects.
use different angles, lighting, etc to cause typically recognizable objects to become foreign and strange.

B. Final Project: Your final project in this class will be designed by you. If you could tackle any photography project, what would it be? You could combine other media with photography (video, sculpture, drawing) or you could take one of your earlier assignments and expand it to create a larger project. If you are expanding an earlier project or creating an entirely new series of images, shoot for a series of at least 5 images. Describe an idea you have for your final project.

Anti-gravity
create and shoot compositions that create the illusion of antigravity, or distorted gravity.
ex: place subjects lying on the ground as though standing on the wall.

in progress