'Texture and pattern should function as a surprise' Robert Denning
Statement of Intent
I aim to produce a portfolio of work presenting my ideas, progression, development and outcomes based around projects theme; Texture. By the end of this project I aspire to have created an array of images and which represent my best work and the journey that I have gone on with them after producing them.
For my initial research I will start by looking into Aaron Siskind and his photography as I am inspired by the this photographer captures his work. Although I am not specifically going down the route that he does which sees trees and bark being zoomed into I am interested by how much depth and detail goes into his images which I hope to intertwine within my own work. In addition to him I will also look into Marc G.C. photography as his work is what I am inspired by with my project. I believe that my project will be advanced if I use these photographers as my guidelines. Furthermore I want to research some of Edward Burtynysk's as once I have produced some content I want to use his work to work on my outcomes.
My initial ideas for this project consist of capturing the textures of natural elements such as oil and water as I believe you can go on a journey with these two things. There are many ways in which I plan to capture my images with these including using a professional studio set up and capturing images in their natural state. I will not constrict myself to a certain way of capturing my images as there are a plethora of ways however I ensure to make all of my work flow smoothly and to connect well in order to achieve the highest quality for my portfolio.
I really aim to show progression throughout my work with this project as it allows me to be creative and unique with my work therefore I will be sure to use Photoshop in order to refine my images and to develop them into various forms and not just the original thing. This will help and boost my work to a top standard. In addition to this I hope to capture my work in various locations so that there is variety in my work whilst still linking together.
To showcase my ability of using the camera I hope to use a wide range of techniques to boost my grade. I believe that aperture and depth of field will play an important role in my work as being able to zoom in to capture the different textures will be important.
Photographer analysis Aaron Siskind
Aaron Siskind
In this image there is a morphed background of texture with what seems to be a woman's face. It looks to be quite new as the way it has been put together seems advanced. The predominant colours in the picture are black and white which in my opinion makes it more effective and gives the picture a different tone. Although the location of this image is not clear I can assume it was taken in New York which is where Siskind is originally from. In addition to this I believe that this image was heavily altered in Photoshop and that the original picture was taking of a piece of texture from a wall.
The focus point of the image is the woman's face which is embedded into the wall. The lighting seems to be dim which creates a soft contrast to the darker accents of the picture. For the original background image a tripod may have been used to get a steady shot. As well as this the foreground is the center point of the picture which captures whoever is looking at it right away. Therefore this helps the message to come across better as the simplicity of the picture helps to keep the focus on the image to one thing and it doesn't over complicate it. My eye is immediately drawn to the woman's eye which is composed right at the center of the image which then goes to the rest of the image. Siskind placing the composition of the eye there is effective as it draws the viewers attention straight to it.
This links to my work as although I am not going down the same route as Siskind I am inspired by how he takes his images and the depth he goes to which is something I wish to reflect in my own work. In my opinion, the message behind the image is to show how society and humans are intertwined with the nature of the world and material things. Siskinds work mainly revolves around zooming into things really closely and capturing the simplicity of things such as with a black background which allows the attention to be in the center of the work. I also aim to incorporate black and white within my work however it will not be the only colour theme as texture comes in many variations.
I like this image because even with its simplicity it holds a lot of meaning to it which is what I want to have in my own work. The strengths of this picture are that it holds a deeper meaning to it then what meets the eye therefore making it more interesting to think about. However there is not much to it to look at, at first glance. Overall this image will help me in my own work as it connects with my own project and I will aim to use Siskind's style of photography in my work in order to achieve the highest possible grades for my project. In my opinion if I incorporate his style of work with mine specifically the techniques he uses then my outcomes should prove similar also.
Sara Fanelli
In the above photo there is quite a few elements within it such as texture and the high quality use of Photoshop to further enhance the image. You can see an array of knives which have been deselected and replaced with detailed and zoomed in pictures of wood grain texture. The obvious colours in the picture are seen to be beige's and black with a hint of red and white. The simple undertones of these colours work well together. The photographer ( Sara Fanelli) is a native-British Italian photographer and artist leading me to assume that her ideas have spawned from cultural aspects of those places. In addition to this they have clearly used Photo shop to bring the whole image together.
As there are many things within the image there is not a set center point to the picture however with the photographers use of colours it allows for whoever is looking at it to not feel over whelmed by it all. Furthermore the artist would have had to physically create a template for the knives to go in so that the texture of the wood grain could fit in well. The effect of having the illustration is effective as it allows you to think about what other meaning there is behind the actual image. For example when I first saw this I noticed that the illustration had child like connotations such as the way it was drawn however the actual content of the image is something dangerous that shouldn't be associated with kids so it caused me to question why it was composed in such a way.
This links to my own work as I am aiming to use illustration within my project to create a story using texture and the above image captures what I want to produce. The theme of the image is also similar to what I had to mind because it uses drawing and texture to capture a certain message. In my opinion, in regards to this image I think the underlying message is something dark and mysterious which links to the photographers own work and her project. I am also considering to use colour in my work like Sara which will add more depth to my work.
Overall I like this image because it has multiple meanings to it and it is interesting to look at. In addition to this I can use this for inspiration in my own work as I want to create something similar in my project. With the amount and quality of Photoshop and alteration made it shows a high level of execution and hard work which is what I will need to have in order to achieve the highest grades possible. Using both Fanelli and Siskinds style of work I hope to produce something that I am proud of and that really captures my message and aim which is to use texture of nature, man made and water to create a story.
Test shots
First Shoot
Setup
The set up for my shoot was contained as I didn't need a lot of equipment or space. My camera was consistently set on the tripod at an angle where it was overlooking the objects I was photographing. I used a lamplight , oil , water , ink and sea shells for my first section. The second set of photo's consisted of different vegetables (mushroom, cauliflower and cabbage) and some metal objects.
Oil and Water
Vegetables
Metal, Foil, Screws
Photographer Inspiration-Sara Fanelli
My project will be inspired by Sara Fanelli's work which consists of creating abstract forms using different features. To personalise her work to my own I will be creating my own mythical creatures using the textures of metal, vegetables and oil and water. Above are some ideas that I will use to base my own work of. I will begin by drawing some templates of creatures in which I can put into Photoshop to refine further. Creature 1- Based on water and oil: Mr Ripple Monster Creature 2- Based on man-made objects: The Grater who lives in scrap heaps Creature 3- Based on vegetables: Mr Flourette Then I will create a three page story using the three creatures
Creating the creatures
This is the template for my first monster which I have created using the texture shots of vegatables using the macro lens. I used a cauliflower flourette for the body of the creature and the leaves for the wings with detailed texture of a mushroom which I used the horns and tail. I then added eyes in order to further refine it and depth to it.
For the second creature I used a mixture of oil and water to create the the in depth texture and colours for it. Including this I used food colouring to further enhance the colours and then found a pair of lips online to make it look abit more abstract.
For the metal monster I created it using foil which scrunched up to create the detailed texture and then I took the metal screws and placed them as arms and legs and used some electrical wires as a mouth and nose. As with the previous creatures, I have incorporated some abstract features with the use of a human eye in order to add something else to it and to show how I have used Sarah Fanelli's work for inspiration.
Mock up Ideas for my Final exam
For my exam I aim to produce a children's three page book that includes the textures I shot. I will use photoshop to refine and develop my ideas and for a final outcome have a mini story. The story will include descriptions of the creatures I have created. Then I will print out the pages and create the physical version of the story and photograph someone reading it which will finish off my work.
29th of April 2018 from this point I will not touch my preparation work. The only work from this date will be work created in my exam.
Front Page
Page 1
Page 2
Page 1 Refinement
Page 2 Refinement
Page 3
Back Page
Black and White Outcomes
I created these black and white outcomes in order to see how they would look with a different effect. I wanted to create contrast as the idea of the pages are to be fun and aimed at children of a younger age therefore adding the black and white layer has given my work a more eerie feel to it. This also links to Sara Fanelli's work as her outcomes also appear to be strange when first looking at it due to the contrast she puts into her own work.
Individual character pages
Evaluation
For my project around Texture I researched a photographer called Sara Fanelli who has been the main inspiration for my work. Her work consists of abstract features which was the main thing I had used to base my work off of. She incorporates mythical creatures and creations alongside abstract backgrounds to create a contrast in her work that stands out yet appears simple and clean whilst looking at it. I found her work through researching different styles of abstract work that focused on different types of textures put together. As I wanted to focus on details in different types of texture such as fruit and vegetables,water and oil and hard materials such as screws and and metals Fanelli’s work was best suited to mine as she herself did this in her own way using different types of textures but in the same concept.In addition to Sara Fanelli, I researched another photographer called Aaron Siskind who although hasn’t been the main inspiration for my work helped me to gather my ideas in regards to how I wanted to capture the texture for my work. His work was very refined and detailed as he focused very intensely on the definition in different textures.I discovered Siskind’s work whilst looking for artists who focused on texture and the detail of it.I was inspired by both artists/photographers as they both helped me to create a vision for my own project and how I was going to capture and develop it over time.
To curate my ideas I created a moodboard which consisted of different types of textures such as water,oil,fruit and fur as my initial ideas. I also thought about how I could link each of these things to my work and in the end figured that water and oil and vegetables and metal materials would work best for my work. I then took these ideas and began to photograph different items in depth in order to to see how they would look. I was pleased with the initial outcome however I wanted to further refine my work and develop it so I thought about how I could do this and then saw the idea of creating story book pages for children which included my texture through the use of creatures and mythical animals.I liked this concept as it was simple yet allowed me to show the detail that I wanted to.
Over the course of my exam preparation I enjoyed using the macro lens which allowed me to capture the utmost detail in my texture. It was enjoyable to experiment with the lens and I also learned a new skill in using it for my work as I had never had the opportunity to beforehand. I believe that this really boost the standard of my work and has made the process of refining my work much easier. Furthermore, I also enjoyed creating the creatures for my work as it allowed me to express my creativity and showcased a different skill aside from photoshop and physically capturing pictures and using a camera. Along the course of my project I had changed quite a few things such as the style of work I wanted to have however I believe this has improved my work and allowed it to be a high standard. Fanelli’s work was very enjoyable to look at and be inspired by through my own personal project.
To conclude, I believe I have created and showcased a successful project from the writing to the physical work.It has been thoroughly enjoyable to experiment and create ideas and being able to learn new things along the way. The theme of texture is subjective and can be explored in many ways however the way in which I have done in my opinion is unique and creative. If time was not a factor I would have liked to create even more final outcomes however with what I have done now I am more than happy and I hope whoever views my work garners the same satisfaction and joy that I personally have when looking at it.