Thursday 1 December 2011
I have packed my bags and embarked on a quest for greener pastures...
I now post my illustrations here. I do hope you'll have a look :)
Monday 13 December 2010
Monday 6 December 2010
Contextual Studies, assessment task two: conceptualising your own work
A specific piece of art that has had an influence on the work I have created in recent weeks is ‘The Whites of Kenya’ by Martin Parr. I love the composition of the image, the inability to see the face of the subject yet his whole figure is captured in the shadow. The photo really focuses on the high life of those white and slightly older rich men who live in Kenya. They live above the lower black classes; playing bowls, hunting, attending dinner parties in their large houses. To me the picture represents the facelessness of such characters. I really feel that Martin Parr is trying to communicate the inequality of race in such countries. The way the picture is composed definitely shows this, the slight overexposure lets you know the picture is taken somewhere very hot - not just your regular English summer. The man’s skin looks freckled like he has been on an extended holiday. He is watching another man bowl, but his face is also hidden, out of focus. Even the handkerchief in the subject’s back pocket represents that he is upper class.
I love the way the subject of the picture has no personality, or visible distinctive features, which makes him a stereotype and a representation rather than an actual person with a story to tell. I am really interested in the idea of people representing a stereotype or a group of people, rather than a personalising it, trying to make every person individual. I think art that embraces stereotypes is more poignant as that is the true way we view the world. Our minds need to create stereotypes to process people.
I think that portraiture is a hard subject to break into. Although it is the thing we are most interested in (the faces of others), it is also the thing we see most every single day and therefore in order to create a reaction with such imagery you need to make a portrait which really makes the viewer think. I think taking the identity from a person can really get a reaction. We brush past people every single day, not caring who they are or what they look like, but if we are presented with a piece of art where we are prevented from making a connection with the subject even if we wanted to, that can really get under the skin.
I created a piece of art with this same principle, my conceptual photography project where I took pictures of strangers in the street, from just below their eye level. I finished with an illustration of each of my subjects. The images did not contain any eyes, this prevented the viewer from connecting with the subject but also made the viewer aware they could not connect, that the stranger was unattainable, just another face in the crowd. I really enjoy experimenting with this idea and I hope to continue along this thread with other work I create.
Rachel Atulomah
Tutor: Annabel
Word Count: 502
I love the way the subject of the picture has no personality, or visible distinctive features, which makes him a stereotype and a representation rather than an actual person with a story to tell. I am really interested in the idea of people representing a stereotype or a group of people, rather than a personalising it, trying to make every person individual. I think art that embraces stereotypes is more poignant as that is the true way we view the world. Our minds need to create stereotypes to process people.
I think that portraiture is a hard subject to break into. Although it is the thing we are most interested in (the faces of others), it is also the thing we see most every single day and therefore in order to create a reaction with such imagery you need to make a portrait which really makes the viewer think. I think taking the identity from a person can really get a reaction. We brush past people every single day, not caring who they are or what they look like, but if we are presented with a piece of art where we are prevented from making a connection with the subject even if we wanted to, that can really get under the skin.
I created a piece of art with this same principle, my conceptual photography project where I took pictures of strangers in the street, from just below their eye level. I finished with an illustration of each of my subjects. The images did not contain any eyes, this prevented the viewer from connecting with the subject but also made the viewer aware they could not connect, that the stranger was unattainable, just another face in the crowd. I really enjoy experimenting with this idea and I hope to continue along this thread with other work I create.
Rachel Atulomah
Tutor: Annabel
Word Count: 502
Contextual Studies, Assesment Task One: visual analysis
Visual analysis of ‘La Poupe’ and ‘Untitled Film Still’
Hans Bellmer’s ‘La Poupe’ is a very dark, disturbing image. I absolutely love the use of colour, or rather lack of it, all greys and blacks. The location, a wooded area, brings to mind fear, and parental warnings of danger. The composition is interesting, as it is almost entirely horizontal lines, which is quite calming or soothing in comparison to horizontal composition. The juxtaposition of the composition and subject is striking. The forefront of the image contains a repulsive image - a jointed doll with legs growing out of the top and bottom of the stomach, so there is no head. It has an element of voyeurism about it, the deformed doll figure to me represents a naked woman and slightly further back, a male figure stands half hidden behind a tree. Overall, to me the image represents the grotesque nature of voyeurism and pornography mixed with the unattainable nature and pull of a beautiful but very young girl. I think that the white ankle socks and shiny black dolly shoes are reminiscent of a child at primary school age, however the picture is undeniably sexualised. The fact the doll has no upper body or face to me represents the unattainable.
The second image is ‘Untitled Film Still’ by Cindy Sherman. This image also uses a jointed doll as the main subject, but the result is very different. The colour scheme of the image is very comforting, soft gold and blue. However, the doll, the main subject, is very frightening in terms of appearance. Her chest has been cut open to reveal another female head wedged in the cavity. For me this picture represents the feelings, emotions or secrets that we keep hidden inside us. A slightly science fiction theme to the picture, very similar to an eighties sci-fi movie. I think the use of a doll is to depict the lack of emotion, or disguising of inner feelings. Putting on ‘face’. The face trapped inside the dolls chest looks suffocated and trapped, the way we sometimes trap and suffocate our inner selves in order to achieve acceptance or to hide vulnerability. The viewer may even feel as if they are the one pushing the subject’s real inner self away, forcing them to conform.
I think both images have a definite controversy about them, challenging the expectations of those wishing to view women naked. I think it goes against the way of the world today, objectifying women. Men feel they have the right to view women in this way and I think these paintings spin that around and change the emotions that would be felt by those viewing a naked woman. The use of dolls prevents exploitation, and turns it on its head. I feel that the purpose of both pictures is to make the viewer squirm, to cause them to feel guilt, and remind them that it’s not acceptable to expect naked women to be attractive, with no other purpose.
Rachel Atulomah
tutor: Annabel
word count: 500
Hans Bellmer’s ‘La Poupe’ is a very dark, disturbing image. I absolutely love the use of colour, or rather lack of it, all greys and blacks. The location, a wooded area, brings to mind fear, and parental warnings of danger. The composition is interesting, as it is almost entirely horizontal lines, which is quite calming or soothing in comparison to horizontal composition. The juxtaposition of the composition and subject is striking. The forefront of the image contains a repulsive image - a jointed doll with legs growing out of the top and bottom of the stomach, so there is no head. It has an element of voyeurism about it, the deformed doll figure to me represents a naked woman and slightly further back, a male figure stands half hidden behind a tree. Overall, to me the image represents the grotesque nature of voyeurism and pornography mixed with the unattainable nature and pull of a beautiful but very young girl. I think that the white ankle socks and shiny black dolly shoes are reminiscent of a child at primary school age, however the picture is undeniably sexualised. The fact the doll has no upper body or face to me represents the unattainable.
The second image is ‘Untitled Film Still’ by Cindy Sherman. This image also uses a jointed doll as the main subject, but the result is very different. The colour scheme of the image is very comforting, soft gold and blue. However, the doll, the main subject, is very frightening in terms of appearance. Her chest has been cut open to reveal another female head wedged in the cavity. For me this picture represents the feelings, emotions or secrets that we keep hidden inside us. A slightly science fiction theme to the picture, very similar to an eighties sci-fi movie. I think the use of a doll is to depict the lack of emotion, or disguising of inner feelings. Putting on ‘face’. The face trapped inside the dolls chest looks suffocated and trapped, the way we sometimes trap and suffocate our inner selves in order to achieve acceptance or to hide vulnerability. The viewer may even feel as if they are the one pushing the subject’s real inner self away, forcing them to conform.
I think both images have a definite controversy about them, challenging the expectations of those wishing to view women naked. I think it goes against the way of the world today, objectifying women. Men feel they have the right to view women in this way and I think these paintings spin that around and change the emotions that would be felt by those viewing a naked woman. The use of dolls prevents exploitation, and turns it on its head. I feel that the purpose of both pictures is to make the viewer squirm, to cause them to feel guilt, and remind them that it’s not acceptable to expect naked women to be attractive, with no other purpose.
Rachel Atulomah
tutor: Annabel
word count: 500
Saturday 27 November 2010
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