Examination dates: 15 hrs controlled test over 3 days Group 13C: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13A: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13D: 3, 25 & 28 April (please check your email from C Farrow re : dates + clashes)
RULES: No use of mobile phones. No talking to each other or ask teachers for help.
You will have access to the blog to produce blog posts, BUT no access to the internet.
The blog will only be available for you to access during exam times each day between 09:00 – 15:20. In other words, you will not be able to make any changes/ improve work outside of exam times.
It essential therefore, that you have done must of the preparatory work – research/ artist case studies/ photo-shoots/ evidence of creativity, development and experimentation of images – before the exam period begins on day 1.
Work to be done 1. PRINTS: Final selection of images in print folder above (ready by end of Day 1: Wed 2 or Thurs 3 April of the Exam) 2. PRESENTATION: Complete mounting all final prints 3. VIRTUAL GALLERY: Present final images using templates here: M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\EXAM 2024\Gallery mock-ups 3. PHOTOBOOK: Complete design and evaluate 4. BLOG: Review and complete all supporting blogposts 5. FOLDER: Label all final outcomes and put in Exam folder 6. SIGN: Student authentication form
DEADLINE: LAST DAY OF YOUR EXAM FINAL PRINTS > PHOTOBOOK > BLOG POSTS
IN PREPARATION FOR YOUR EXAM MAKE SURE THE FOLLOWING IS READY BY THE END OF THIS WEEK:
Complete and upload new photoshoots and begin to edit in Lightroom – make sure to produce blog posts showing selection process and experimentation of images.
A draft layout of your photobook using BLURB templates in Lightroom – exam time is used to fine tune design with teacher’s approval
Review Checklist on blog for overview of work that must be completed – improve, complete and publish missing blogposts.
Structure your 3 day Exam as follows:
DAY 1: PRINTS: Complete editing photoshoots, select and prepare final prints. Make sure you have produced blogposts for each photoshoot with a clear progression of selection and editing.
BLOG: Produce blog post showing presentation ideas and create mock-up in Photoshop. Consider appropriate sizes and ways of presenting images as singles, diptych, triptych, multiple grids/ collages/ combinations in window mounts or foamboard etc.
You must save final images (see guidelines below) in print folder here by end of the day: M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\PRINTS EXAM 2025
DAY 2: Photobook: Experiment with photobook design using BLURB in Lightroom – show variation of layouts and creativity.
Blog:Evidence of photobook process 1. Research and deconstruct photobook used as inspiration. Comment on different design element such as: feel of the book, paper, binding, format, size, cover, title, design, narrative (if appropriate), editing, sequencing, image and text.
2. Write a book specification and describe in detail what your book will be about in terms of narrative, concept and design with reference to the same elements of bookmaking as above.
3. Produce a blog post showing your layout and design process in Lightroom using a combination of print screens + annotation.
4. Final layout of every spread and write an evaluation.
5. Upload book design in Lightroom to Blurb and order your book via Blurb account. Once uploaded produce an hyperlink to book browser – see below for more details.
6. Once you have received book in the post bring into school.
Those who are not making a photobook can begin to mount up final prints and follow instruction below for Day 3.
DAY 3 PRESENTATION: Begin to mount your final prints as per your mock-up plans. Each final outcome must be labelled and velcro attached too. Make sure all your final images are presented in a folder with your name.
BLOG: Produce a virtual gallery and write a final evaluation of the exam module and your final outcome. Consider the following:
– How successful was your final outcomes? – Did you realise your intentions? – What references did you make to artists references – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual? – Is there anything you would do differently/ change etc?
FINAL CHECK: Finish and publish any missing blog posts as per Checklist/ Go4School Tracking sheet and comments from teachers.
No students is allowed to leave until an authentication form is signed and teacher has signed off too.
PHOTOBOOK Make sure you have a made a blog post that charts your design decisions, including prints screens of layout with annotation and write an ongoing evaluation. Final book design must be checked and signed off by teacher.
BLURB – ORDER BOOK Inside Lightroom upload book design to BLURB, log onto your account on their website, pay and order the book.
Consider spending a few extra pounds on choosing better paper, such as Premium Lustre or Premium Matte in check-out, change colour on end paper or choose different cloth/ linen if needed.
LINK TO ONLINE BLURB BOOK
Your final blog post should be an online link to you BLURB book with an evaluation. If you have already written an evaluation as part of another blog post on your book design then add the online link to that blog post and change the date to make sure it sits at the top.
Log into your blurb account and click on Sell my book
Click on Privacy & Sharing
Copy link circled in red above.
Make a new blog post: MY PHOTOBOOK and copy in link from Blurb into the title of your book using Link button above.
FINAL PRINTS Select your final prints (5-10) from various photoshoots or photobook and make a blog post showing ideas about how to present them.
In photoshop produce a mock display (create new document size A1: 594 x 841mm) using different image sizes, for example: A3 x 2, A4 x 2, A5 x 3
PREPARE AND SAVE IMAGES FOR PRINTING:
Add your images to the print folder here…M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\Yr 13 Exam
Complete any unfinished work from last term if you have time, For example check your coursework portfolio and mount up any prints from previous projects.
File Handling and printing...
Remember when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to 1000 pixels on the Short edge for “blog-friendly” images (JPEGS)
BUT…for editing and printing when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to Short edge for “high resolution” images (JPEGS) like this…
A5 Short Edge = 14.8 cm
A4 Short Edge = 21.0 cm
A3 Short Edge =29.7 cm
This will ensure you have the correct ASPECT RATIO
Ensure you label and save your file in you M :Drive and then copy across to the PRINT FOLDER in IMAGE TRANSFER:
For a combination of images, or square format images you use the ADOBE PHOTOSHOP > NEW DOCUMENT + PRINT PRESETS on to help arrange images on the correct size page (A3, A4, A5)
You can do this using Photoshop, Set up the page sizes as templates and import images into each template, then you can see for themselves how well they fit… but remember to add an extra 6mm for bleed (3mm on each side of the page) to the original templates. i.e. A4 = 297mm x 210 but the template size for this would be 303mm x 216mm.
Making a Virtual Gallery in Photoshop
Download an empty gallery file…then insert your images and palce them on the walls. Adjust the perspective, size and shape using CTRL T (free transform) You can also add things like a drop shadow to make the image look more realistic…
Here is a selection of Gallery mock-ups that you can use to superimpose your own final images onto walls using Free transform tool in Photoshop.
AO1 – Develop your ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
To achieve an A or A*-grade you must demonstrate an Exceptional ability (Level 6) through sustained and focused investigations achieving 16-18 marks out of 18.
Get yourself familiar with the assessment grid here:
To develop your ideas further from initial research using mind-maps and mood-boards based on the theme ‘UNION’ you need to be looking at the work of others (artists, photographers, filmmakers, writers, theoreticians, historians etc) and write a Statement of Intent with 1 or 2 unique ideas that you want to explore further.
ARTISTS REFERENCES
Research and analyse the work of at least 2 (or more) photographers/ artists. Explore, discuss, describe and explain key examples of their work relevant to your project and intentions. Follow these steps:
1. Produce a mood board with a selection of images and write an overview of their work, its visual style, meaning and methods. Describe why you have selected to study their work and how it relates to the exam themes of UNION
2. Select at least one key image and analyse in depth using methodology of TECHNICAL>VISUAL>CONTEXTUAL>CONCEPTUAL
3. Incorporate quotes and comments from artist themselves or others (art/ media /film critics, art/ media/ film historians, curators, writers, journalists etc) using a variety of sources such as Youtube, online articles, reviews, text, books etc. Make sure you reference sources and embed links in your blog post.
4. Compare and contrast your chosen artists in terms of similarities and differences in their approaches, techniques and outcomes of their work.
5. Plan photographic response and record new images in relation to artist case- study. Don’t copy what they are doing how you could respond creatively to the image-making process, technically, visually, conceptually.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
Write a Statement of Intent that clearly contextualise;
What you want to explore?
Why it matters to you?
How you wish to develop your project?
When and where you intend to begin your study?
Make sure you describe how you interpret the exam themes; UNION, subject-matter, topic or issue you wish to explore, artists references/ inspirations and final outcome – zine, photobook, film, prints etc.
AO3 RECORD IDEAS, OBSERVATIONS AND INSIGHTS RELEVANT TO INTENTIONS, REFLECTING CRITICALLY ON WORK AND PROGRESS
PHOTO-SHOOTS
Each week you are required to make a photographic response (still-images and/or moving image) that relates to the research and work that you explored in that week. Sustained investigations means taking a lot of time and effort to produce the best you can possibly do – reviewing, modifying and refining your idea and taking more pictures to build up a strong body of work with a clear sense of purpose and direction
PLANNING & RECORDING: Produce a number of photographic responses to your exam theme and bring images from new photo-shoots to lessons:
Plan at least 4-5 shoots in response to your ideas and artists references. What, why, who, how, when, where?
Save shoots in folder on Media Drive: and import into Lightroom
Organisation: Create a new Collection from each new shoot inside Collection Set: EXAM
Editing: select 8-12 images from each shoot.
Experimenting: Adjust images in Develop, both as Colour and B&W images appropriate to your intentions
Export images as JPGS (1000 pixels) and save in a folder: BLOG
Create a Blogpost with edited images and an evaluation; explaining what you focused on in each shoot and how you intend to develop your next shoot.
Make references to artists references, previous shoots, experiments etc.
EXPERIMENTING:
Export same set of images from Lightroom as JPEG (4000 pixels)
Experimentation: demonstrate further creativity using Photoshop to make composite/ montage/ typology/ grids/ diptych/triptych, text/ typology etc appropriate to your intentions
Zine design: Begin to explore different layout options using InDesign and make a new zine/book. Set up new document as A5 page sizes.
Photobook design: Make a rough selection of your 40-50 best pictures from all shoots.
Make sure you annotate process and techniques used.
EVALUATION: Upon completion of photoshoot and experimentation, make sure you evaluate and reflect on your next step of development. Comment on the following:
How successful was your photoshoot and experimentation?
What references did you make to artists references? – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual?
How are you going to develop your project from here? – comment on research, planning, recording, experimenting.
What are you going to do next? – what, why, who, how, when, where?
For more help and guidance on image analysis go to Photo Literacy
Photography Agencies and Collectives World Press Photo – the best news photography and photojournalism Magnum Photos – photo agency, picture stories from all over the world. Panos Picture – photo agency Agency VU – photo agency INSTITUTE – photo agency Sputnik Photos – photo collective made of Polish and East European photographers A Fine Beginning – photo collective in Wales Document Scotland – photo collective in Scotland NOOR – a collective uniting a select group of highly accomplished photojournalists and documentary storytellers focusing on contemporary global issues.
Below are inspirations and artists references exploring the exam themes of OBSERVE, SEEK, CHALLENGE.
See pages 24-27 in exam booklet which provide creative starting points that may help you form ideas. Use them as a source information or produce your own individual response to the theme. Make sure you read the whole paper as any section, eg. Fine art or Textile design or Three-dimensional design may provide you with inspiration.
PORTRAITURE > PEOPLE > SOCIAL NARRATIVES > FASHION
Portrait photography often captures wider social narratives. It helps to inform the viewer of how globalised and homogenised culture unifies photographers from different countries and continents. Contemporary photographers from Africa and the Middle East have raised significant issues through their portrait work.
Hassan Hajjaj, Dior XL, 2012
Hassan Hajjaj is a Moroccan photographer who is influenced by reggae, hip-hop, fashion, West African photography and a UK lifestyle, leading to a synthesis of cultures in his photographs. Read an interview with him here.
Currently he has an exhibition People of My Time at Hannah Traore Gallery brings together 50 works spanning two decades, celebrating the intersection of tradition and pop-culture. Explore more here.
Hengameh Golestan is a pioneer of female Iranian photography, documenting the demonstrations in Tehran that brought together thousands of women of all ages and from all social classes, on International Women’s Day in 1979. Read an interview here.
Born: Tehran, 1952.
Studied: I did a course at Hastings, England, when I was 18. The rest I learned from my husband, Kaveh Golestan, a photojournalist.
High point: “Being in Tehran at the time of the revolution.”
Low point: “When I had my son, it was harder for me to travel.”
Top tip: “Build a relationship with your subject. Compassion is important.”
See also exhibition: Strong Vision a group exhibition of female Iranian photographers.
Gelareh Kiazand’s series 100 Portraits captures the portraits of one hundred actresses’ emotional reactions as they watch the film Shirin; a tragic love story.
The advent of camera-less photography marked a revolutionary departure from traditional image-making techniques. Photographers from across the world have unified their creative exploration of using light-sensitive materials in a physical way.
Artists, such as Man Ray, Christian Schad and László Moholy-Nagy, pioneered this avant-garde approach. Moholy-Nagy, associated with the Bauhaus movement, embraced photograms as a means to merge art and technology.
I paint what cannot be photographed, that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive. I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.
Man Ray and his Rayographs.
Christian Schad and his Scadograhie.
It was László Moholy-Nagy who coined the term ‘photograms”
Pierre Cordier I Have A Dream, 2013 chemigram
More recently, photographers, such as Pierre Cordier, Barbara and Zafer Baran, Floris Neusüss, Susan Derges, Garry Fabian Miller and Helen Chadwick, have all adopted camera-less techniques to create light-sensitive imagery, inspired by the original pioneers Anna Atkins and William Henry Fox Talbot.
Floris Neusüss
Barbara and Zafer Baran
Susan Derges
Garry Fabian MillerHelen Chadwick, The Labours IV 1986
Aomori: “It is peculiar how forests have such an affect on us,” observes Jersey-born photographer Alexander Mourant of his latest project Aomori, which was shot in Japan’s ancestral forests. “As temporal dimensions crumble, objectivity leaves us. We are found in a still, oneiric state, contemplating our own accumulation of experience.”
“Aomori, meaning ‘blue forest’ in Japanese, is a synthesis of two existential ideas – the forest and the nature of blue,” explains Mourant. “Together they create a place of high intensity, a place which questions our relationship to time, colour and self.”
“Aomori addresses the most intangible colour, blue,” Mourant says. “For an artist, an intimate investigation of one individual subject can lead to limitless fields on intertwining narratives and unseen connections. There is so much in the colour blue.”
Five Sketches Running for Two Hundred and Ten Seconds or Five Furrows, 2020
Dimensions: 5: 398cm x 39cm prints 5: 400cm x 40cm x 5cm steel trays Artwork scale: 400cm x 260cm
Cyanotype, photogram, watercolour paper Unique
Anna Atkins was an English botanist and photographer. She is often considered the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images, British Algae. Photographs of British Algae was published in fascicles beginning in 1843 and is a landmark in the history of photography. Using specimens she collected herself or received from other amateur scientists, Atkins made the plates by placing wet algae directly on light-sensitized paper and exposing the paper to sunlight. Her nineteenth-century cyanotypes used light exposure and a simple chemical process to create impressively detailed blueprints of botanical specimens.
See how contemporary artist, Tom Pope has responded to Anna Atkins plant studies and work with cyanotypes, uncovering her family links with plantation economy in the Caribbean and slave ownership during British colonial history in his ongoing research and performative work, Almost Nothing But Blue Ground
Karl Blossfeldt: Art Forms of Nature
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German photographer. His artistic work is based on an irrepressible curiosity, intensive preparatory research and continual engagement with the technical and aesthetic potential of the medium of photography. His visual language is characterized by a close observation that opens up a deeply humane approach to our surroundings. Familiarity and empathy, friendship, community and closeness can be seen and felt in his pictures.
Tillmans’ is also a prolific photobook maker and has made many (40+). One of his most celebrated is Concorde which was published by Walther König, Cologne. The photographs were taken at a number of sites in and around London, including close to the perimeter fence at Heathrow airport. consists of images of the Concorde flying over Tillmann’s home in west London. Study his series here at Tate Modern which has also been exhibited in various museums as an installation.
Michael Wolf, Hongkong books
Lorenzo Venturi: Dalston Anatomy
Lorenzo Vitturi’s vibrant still lifes capture the threatened spirit of Dalston’s Ridley Road Market. Vitturi – who lives locally – feels compelled to capture its distinctive nature before it is gentrified beyond recognition. Vitturi arranges found objects and photographs them against backdrops of discarded market materials, in dynamic compositions. These are combined with street scenes and portraits of local characters to create a unique portrait of a soon to be extinct way of life.
His installation at the Gallery draws on the temporary structures of the market using raw materials, sculptural forms and photographs to explore ideas about creation, consumption and preservation.
Whether documenting religious rituals, sacred landscapes, or diverse expressions of faith, photographers often visually capture religious unity. Some photographers challenge established perceptions, while others celebrate the beauty and diversity of religious traditions, contributing to a nuanced dialogue on the role of faith in continuing to shape our visual and cultural life.
G Roland Biermann’s Apparitions allude to the metaphysical in their content and their composition, often presented as a triptych. His Apparition 17 hints at the ascension of Christ.
G. Roland Biermann, Apparition 17, 2004
Sam Taylor-Johnson, Idris Khan, Shirin Neshat, Nazif Topçuoğlu and David LaChapelle all make explicit references to religion in their photographs.
In her 2002 video work Pietà, Sam Taylor-Johnson held the body of Robert Downey, Jr. in a pose that mimics Michelango’s Pietà located at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. From 1996-2001 Downey, Jr. was arrested numerous times on drug-related charges. His public trials were ongoing at the time of the performance, and Taylor-Johnson had recently completed treatment for cancer.
The Pietà or “The Pity” (1498–1499) by Michelangelo Buonarroti
The majority of Pietà depictions focus on the wounds of the martyred Christ, with Michelangelo’s sculpture famously being an exception. Taylor-Johnson’s also deviates from this trend. The lack of overt religious reference (other than that implied by the pose) reminds us that what we are seeing is a scene of grief and physical struggle to support a loved one. It is rare that our focus and empathy is with the grieving parent in a Pietà. It feels relatable to modern life in a way that more explicit depictions of Virgin Mary and Jesus fail to be.
Nazif Topçuoğlu Artist statement: The underlying thread in my work is a constant preoccupation with time, memory and loss. I worry about the transience of people and things in general, and try to reconstruct unclear and imperfect images of an idealized past. Such an attempt inevitably requires the ability to recapture past, hence my constant art-historical references to classic paintings and photographs as well as to authors such as Proust and Thomas Mann. Hence I have no problems with my images becoming visually seductive in the process. Another and more specific aspect of the recent Readers, is its pre-occupation with the contradicting positions of women in Turkey. When employing the representations of youth as imagery, one has to deal with the issues of gender roles and male gaze. In these photographs, unlike the more common examples, a respectful stance towards the female has been taken. The subjectification of the female youth as a gender-free ideal, inevitably involves her intelligence, beauty, energy, and struggle as the major concerns of this work I do photography because… I need to produce the images which are provocative but not exploitative that I would enjoy looking at.
Nazif Topçuoğlu Brave New World
David LaChapelle(b. 1963) is known for bridging the gap between pop culture and conceptual art: he’s portrayed celebrities and shot commercial work as well as exhibited his photos in galleries as autonomous artworks. Yet, no matter his subject or client, there has been a throughline of emotion in his work, one which gravitates towards the light. He’s just released two books—Lost + Found and Good News—which together form both a retrospective of his thirty-odd year career as well as deliver a narrative of the vapidity of our current consumerist excess and the path towards redemption. He speaks with us in this interview about taking Jesus back from the fundamentalists and nudity back from pornography.
David LaChapelle’s religion-tinged portraits of Kim Kardashian / Mary Magdalene and Kanye West / Jesus Christ.
David LaChapelle, ‘Jesus is my homeboy: Anointing’ (2003).
David LaChapelle, Jesus is my Homeboy: The Last Supper, 2003
Idris Khan: Drawing on diverse cultural sources including literature, history, art, music and religion, Khan has developed a unique narrative involving densely layered imagery that inhabits the space between abstraction and figuration and speaks to the themes of history, cumulative experience and the metaphysical collapse of time into single moments.
Idris Khan every… Bernd and Hilla Becher Prison Type Gasholder, 2004
Idris Khan….Every page of the Holy Quran
Read a review here of a recent exhibition, Seasons Turn: A Review of “Idris Khan: Repeat After Me” at Milwaukee Art Museum.
Shirin Neshat (b. 1957, Qazvin, Iran) is an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker living in New York. Neshat’s early photographic works include the Women of Allah series (1993–1997), which explored the question of gender in relation to Islamic fundamentalism and militancy. Her subsequent video works departed from overtly political content or critique in favor of more poetic imagery and narratives. In her practice, she employs poetic imagery to engage with themes of gender and society, the individual and the collective, and the dialectical relationship between past and present, through the lens of her experiences of belonging and exile.
HUMAN CONNECTION > PERSONAL > PRIVATE > > FAMILY > LOVE > IDENTITY > PASSAGE OF TIME
Photographers often focus on very personal subject matter, documenting familial relationships that capture the essence of human connection, vulnerability, privacy and shared experiences. From candid moments to staged portraits, photographers use the familial lens to explore universal themes of love, identity and the passage of time.
Larry Sultan’s Pictures From Home explore both the traditional perceptions of family and the deep personal connections within it. His photographs of his parents in their retirement, capture the more traditional ideas of the American Dream, but do so striking a beautiful balance between candid photography and carefully crafted compositions. The result is a collection of family moments, frozen in an instant and seemingly strange in their immediacy, permanence and location.
Other photographers who use family and the home, both their own or the intimacy found in others, are Richard Billingham, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Sally Mann, Siân Davey, Chien-Chi Chang and Olivia Arthur.
Jacqui Davies Ella Smith and Justin Salinger in RAY & LIZ, 2018
Documentary approach > recording life as it is > camera as witness Documentary is storytelling through a series of images of people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a particular subject. Read more here Documentary Photography
Larry sultan vs Richard Billingham > artists photographing their parents > straight photography vs snapshot aesthetics > formal vs informal.
Larry Sultan, Pictures from HomeRichard Billingham, Ray’s A Laugh
Richard Billingham: Watch film where Sultan talks about his project Picture from Home and photographing his parents
Here are some Davey’s photography projects, most of which have been published as photobooks too.
Looking for Alice: about her daughter with Down syndrome
Martha: about her teenager daughter – see link to portfolio here on LensCulture
Her latest work, book and exhibition is: The Garden, which is currently on show at The Photographer’s Gallery in London.
Everyone has a place in our garden. I am the garden. Those who enter are the garden. Without distinction, without separation.- Siân Davey
Sam Harris, The Middle of Somewhere
Sam Harris and his project The Middle of Somewhere – see portfolio and review on Lensculture here.T
he body of work spans a twelve-year period in the life of the photographer’s family, since they have boldly decided to leave the rat race in search for a simpler existence. A Travelogue insert is included in the book from the family’s life on the road in Australia and in villages in India where they lived for several years and birthed their second daughter.
Simultaneously expressing something about the meanings of love, growing up, sisterhood, family, landscape, and the rhythm of nature, Harris’ work is at once both intimate and all embracing and is a memorable and inspiring collection of images that will both please the eye and stir the soul.
Sally Mann and her seminal work and photobook: Immediate Family
Tableaux approach > constructed or staged narrative photography Tableaux is a style of photography where people are staged in a constructed environment and a pictorial narrative is conveyed often in a single image, or a series of images that often makes references to fables, fairy tales, myths, unreal and real events from a variety of sources such as paintings, film, theatre, literature and the media. Read more here Tableaux Photography
Anna Gaskell vs Hannah Starkey > childhood vs adolescent > memories vs fairytales > literature vs cinema
Anna Gaskell
Hannah Starkey
Alfonso Almendros vs Maria Kapajeva > family reflections > memories > childhood
Alfonso Almendros, Family Reflections
Maria Kapajeva
Archival approach > photographs, moving image, sound recordings, documents and objects from public or private archives, such as family history, diaries, letters, financial and legal documents, photo-albums, mobile devices, online/ social media platforms. Archives can be a rich source for finding starting points on your creative journey. This will strengthen your research and lead towards discoveries about the past that will inform the way you interpret the present and anticipate the future. See more Public/ Private Archives
Rita Puig-Serra Costa (Where Mimosa Bloom) vs Laia Abril (The Epilogue)> artists exploring personal issues > vernacular vs archival > inside vs outside
Rita Puig-Serra Coasta, Where Mimosa Bloom
Laia Abril, The Epiloque
Carole Benitah (Photo Souvenirs) vs Pete Pin > family > identity > memory > absence > trauma
Carole Benitah, Photo-Souvenirs
Pete Pin
Ugne Henriko (Mother and Daughter) vs Irina Werning vs Chino Otsuka > re-staging images > re-enacting memories
See link to a photo-assignment based around the theme of HOME SWEET HOME which can act as a starting point to research and analyse artists work of and new photo-shoots/ photographic responses to the notion of home, such as Sam Harris (The Middle of Somewhere), Dana Lixenberg (Imperial Courts), Yury Toroptsov (Deleted Scene, The House of Baba Yaga), Nick Waplington (Living Room) Wendy Evald (This is where we live), Inaki Domingo (Ser Sangre), Diana Marksman (Inventing My Father), Mitch Epstein (Family Business), Nicholas Nixon (the Brown Sisters), LaToya Ruby Frazier (The Notion of Family), Sian Davey (Looking for Alice), Laia Abril (The Epilogue), Rita Puig-Serra Costa (Where Mimosa Bloom), Philip Toledano (Days with my Father, When I was Six), Mariela Sancari (Moises)
Use this simplified list to check that you are on task. Every item on the list represents one piece of work = one blog post. It is your responsibility as an A-level student to make sure that you complete and publish appropriate blog posts each week.
Examination dates: 15 hrs controlled test over 3 days
Group 13C: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13A: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13D: 3, 25 & 28 April
(please check your email from C Farrow re : dates + clashes)
The Theme: ‘UNION’
Each week you are required to make a photographic response (still-images and/or moving image) that relates to the research and work that you explored in that week. Sustained investigations means taking a lot of time and effort to produce the best you can possibly do – reviewing, modifying and refining your idea and taking more pictures to build up a strong body of work with a clear sense of purpose and direction
SPRING TERM
WEEK 1: 10-14 Feb 1. RESEARCH 1: Mind-map and mood-board 2. RESEARCH 2: Choose an Art Movement and explore what ‘united’ them. < ideology / meaning > context / legacy > aesthetics / style >
WEEK 2 + 3: 15 Feb – 2 March – Study Leave 1. RESEARCH 3 & 4: Case studies > Artists References (at least two) Why have you chosen them? How do their work relate to exam theme? What are you planning to do in response? > context > analysis > meaning > methods > techniques > 2. PLANNING: photoshoot 1 > ideas > intentions > response to artists studies > 3. RECORDING: photoshoot 1 > camera handling > composition > lighting > location > models/ props >
WEEK 4: 3-9 March – Study Leave 1. STATEMENT OF INTENT: Describe 1-2 IDEAS > why > how > who > when > where > 2. PLANNING: photoshoot 2 > ideas > intentions > response to artists studies > 3. RECORDING: photoshoot 2 > camera handling > composition > lighting > location > models/ props >
Week 5+6: 10-24 March 1. EDITING: Photoshoots 1 & 2 2. EXPERIMENTING: Develop images in post-production using creative processes > techniques > manipulation relevant to your intention 3. EVALUATING: Photoshoots and experimentation > reflect > review responses > compare with artists references 5a. PHOTOBOOK: Research, story and narrative 5b. FILM: research and storyboard 6. PLANNING: photoshoot 3 & 4 > ideas > intentions > response to artists studies > 7. RECORDING: photoshoot 3 & 4 > camera handling > composition > lighting > location > models/ props >
MOCK EXAM: Mon 24 – Tue 25 March 5 hours controlled test Rules: You will have access to the blog to produce blog posts, BUT no access to the internet. No use of mobile phones. No talking to each other or ask teachers for help.
Work to be done:
MOUNTING FINAL PRINTS: Present final prints from your Personal Study project on foamboard/ window mounts and put in your coursework folder. Make sure it has a label and velcro on the back. You may want to take make sure that you produced evidence on the blog of how you planned to present your final prints – see below
PRESENTATION OF IMAGES: Produce mock-ups in Photoshop showing how you wish to present your images, ie. singles/ diptych/ triptychs/ grids in window mounts or on foamboard with or without borders.
VIRTUAL GALLERY: Select images from our folder below of empty gallery walls/ spaces and create a virtual display of your images using Photoshop to resize images to fit using templates here: M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\YR 13 OBSERVE, SEEK, CHALLENGE 2024-2025\Gallery Mock-ups
EDITING IMAGES: If time allows you can also edit images from exam project and produce blog posts showing selection and adjustments of best images and write an evaluation of photoshoot etc. Be mindful that there is no access to the internet and the blog will be ‘offline’.
Week 7: 26 – 31 March 1. EDITING: Photoshoots 3 & 4 2. EXPERIMENTING: Develop images in postproduction using creative processes > techniques > manipulation relevant to your intention 3. EVALUATING: Photoshoots and experimentation < reflect > review responses > compare with artists references 4a. PHOTOBOOK: Begin design and layout of photobook in LR 4b. FILM: Begin editing process in Premiere/ Audition 6. PLANNING: final photoshoot 5 > ideas > intentions > response to artists studies > 7. RECORDING: final photoshoot 5 > camera handling > composition > lighting > location > models/ props >
Week 8: First day of the EXAM Group 13C: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13A: 2, 23 & 24 April Group 13D: 3, 25 & 28 April
Rules: No use of mobile phones. No talking to each other or ask teachers for help.
You will have access to the blog to produce blog posts, BUT no access to the internet.
The blog will only be available for you to access during exam times each day between 09:00 – 15:20. In other words, you will not be able to make any changes/ improve work outside of exam times.
It essential therefore, that you have done must of the preparatory work – research/ artist case studies/ photo-shoots/ evidence of creativity, development and experimentation of images – before the exam period begins on day 1.
Work to be done 1. PRINTS: Final selection of images in print folder above (ready by end of Day 1 of the Exam) 2. PRESENTATION: Complete mounting all final prints 3. VIRTUAL GALLERY: Present final images using templates here: M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Image Transfer\EXAM 2025\Gallery mock-ups 3. PHOTOBOOK: Complete design and evaluate 4. BLOG: Review and complete all supporting blogposts 5. FOLDER: Label all final outcomes and put in Exam folder 6. SIGN: Student authentication form
EASTER: During Easter the blog will not be online and available for publishing work, but you can use this time productively (if needed) and work on producing written and visual content for the blog using either Words or PowerPoint and transfer it onto the blog during examination. If you still need to produce photoshoots, this is the last opportunity to do so, but you would need to be editing any new images made at home on your own computer using Lightroom or Photoshop downloaded from Adobe Creative Suite.
Follow the 10 Step Process and create multiple blog posts for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
Mood-board, definition and introduction (AO1)
Mind-map of ideas (AO1)
Artist References / Case Studies (must include image analysis) (AO1)
Photo-shoot Action Plan (AO3)
Multiple Photoshoots + contact sheets (AO3)
Image Selection, sub selection, review and refine ideas (AO2)
Compare and contrast your work to your artist reference(AO1)
Evaluation and Critique (AO1+AO4)
PREPARE AND SAVE IMAGES FOR PRINTING:
Add your images to the print folder here…
File Handling and printing...
Remember when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to 1000 pixels on the Short edge for “blog-friendly” images (JPEGS)
BUT…for editing and printing when EXPORTING from Lightroom you must adjust the file size to Short edge for “high resolution” images (JPEGS) like this…
A5 Short Edge = 14.8 cm
A4 Short Edge = 21.0 cm
A3 Short Edge =29.7 cm
This will ensure you have the correct ASPECT RATIO
Ensure you label and save your file in you M :Drive and then copy across to the PRINT FOLDER / IMAGE TRANSFER
For a combination of images, or square format images you use the ADOBE PHOTOSHOP > NEW DOCUMENT + PRINT PRESETS on to help arrange images on the correct size page (A3, A4, A5)
You can do this using Photoshop, Set up the page sizes as templates and import images into each template, then you can see for themselves how well they fit… but remember to add an extra 6mm for bleed (3mm on each side of the page) to the original templates. i.e. A4 = 297mm x 210 but the template size for this would be 303mm x 216mm.
Here is an Exam Planner that will provide you with framework for you to follow. However, it is paramount that you are proactive and make sure that work is produced on a weekly basis.
Further resources can be found here in our shared folder on the M:drive M:\Radio\Departments\Photography\Students\Yr 13 EXAM 2025
Assessment Objectives
You should provide evidence that fulfils the four Assessment Objectives: AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
Definition in dictionary:
UNION noun: union; plural noun: unions; noun: the Union
the action of joining together or the fact of being joined together, especially in a political context.“he was opposed to closer political or economic union with Europe” Similar: unification uniting joining merging merger fusion fusing
HISTORICAL the uniting of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603, of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707, or of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. singular proper noun: Union
a state of harmony or agreement. “they live in perfect union” Similar:unity accord unison unanimity harmony concord agreement concurrence undividedness
a marriage. “their union had not been blessed with children” Similar: marriage wedding partnership pairing alliance match
2. a society or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose. “members of the Students’ Union” Similar: association alliance league guild coalition consortiumcombine syndicate confederation federation confederacy partnership fraternity brotherhood sorority society club group organization trade union
BRITISH an association of independent Churches, especially Congregational or Baptist, for purposes of cooperation. 3. a political unit consisting of a number of states or provinces with the same central government.
the United States, especially from its founding by the original thirteen states in 1787–90 to the secession of the Confederate states in 1860–1.
“California is the fastest growing state in the Union when it comes to urban encroachment” The northern states of the United States which opposed the seceding Confederate states in the American Civil War. singular proper noun: Federal Union; singular proper noun: the Federal Union
South Africa, especially before it became a republic in 1961.
BINARY OPPOSITION
Binary opposition – a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.
Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory in Linquistics (scientific study of language) According to Ferdinand de Saussure, binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. Using binary opposites can often be very helpful in generating ideas for a photographic project as it provides a framework – a set of boundaries to work within.
How to start
Read the Exam Paper and Exam Planner thoroughly, especially pages pages 4-5 and page 24-27 which details specific starting points and approaches to the exam theme – make notes! Look up the word in the dictionary, synonyms and etymology (the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.)
Brainstorm your idea and research artists listed – look also at starting points in other disciplines e.g. Fine Art and Graphic Communication etc.
Begin to gather information, collect images, make a mood-board and mind-map,
Make plans for photoshoots and write a specification.
Produce at least ONE PHOTO-SHOOT over H-Term as a response to tasks listed below and initial research and ideas.
You must show evidence of the above on your blog– complete at least 4-5 blog posts.
Each week you are required to make a photographic response (still-images and/or moving image) that relates to the research and work that you explored in that week. Sustained investigations means taking a lot of time and effort to produce the best you can possibly do – reviewing, modifying and refining your idea and taking more pictures to build up a strong body of work with a clear sense of purpose and direction
Prior to the timed examination you must produce and submit preparatory supporting studies which show why and how the supervised and timed work takes the form it does. You must produce a number of blog posts 15-30 that charts the development of your final piece from conception to completion and must show evidence of:
Development of your thoughts, decisions, research and ideas based on the theme
Record your experiences and observations
Analysis and interpretation of things seen, imagined or remembered
Investigations showing engagement with appropriate primary and secondary sources
Experimentation with materials, processes and techniques
Select, evaluate and develop images/ media further through sustained investigation
Show connections between your work and that of other artists/ photographers
Critical review and reflection
Controlled Exam 15 hrs over three days: (Final Outcome)
This time is for you to fine tune and adjust your final images for print using creative tools in Lightroom/Photoshop and/or complete a final edit of your photobook, film or video in Premiere. Your final outcome(s) must be presented in a thoughtful, careful and professional manner demonstrating skills in presenting work in either window mounts, picture frames, foam-board, and/ or submit pdf of photobook, or embed (from Youtube upload) moving image and video based production to the blog.
IDEAS > INTERPRETATIONS > ARTIST EXAMPLES from pages 4 & 5 in exam booklet
Art movements and isms. Start by exploring some of the avant-garde art movements in the early 20th century, such as CUBISM, FAUVISM, DADAISM, DE STIJL, RUSSIAN CONSTRUCTIVISM, SUPREMATISM, FUTURISM, SURREALISM, EXPRESSIONISM.
SuprematismCubismDadaismSurrealismFuturismFauvism
Expressionism
De Stijl Cubism
Russian Constructivism
Choose one movements and produce a comprehensive blog post where you consider the following:
1. RESEARCH > artists associated with the art movement and produce a moodboard of examples of different art works
2. ANALYSIS > Write a couple of paragraphs where you describe what ‘united’ them? – IDEOLOGY / MEANING > artistic, political, cultural, conceptual – CONTEXT / LEGACY > what inspired the art movement and who in turn have they inspired? – AESTHETICS / STYLE > how something looks > visual language > artistic techniques > pictorial surface
3. ARTISTS CASE STUDIES > select at least one artist associated with movement and produce an in-depth review of their work. Choose one key image and analyse using Photography Vocabulary Support: TECHNICAL > VISUAL > CONTEXTUAL > CONCEPTUAL
4. RESPONSE: Plan and produce a new photoshoot in response to chosen art movement / artists case study.
5. MANIFESTO: Most of the art movements above developed a MANIFESTO which set out the aims and objectives of the movement. You could respond to the ‘rules’ of a manifesto by producing photographic images / artistic responses and work towards writing your own manifesto from which new work is developed. In the spirit of the theme of UNION – a small group of students could collaborate and develop an artistic collective and produce a manifesto See previous A-level photography TASK 1: BREAKING THE RULES and TASK 2: MAKE A MANIFESTO
EXAMPLE:Cubism, a groundbreaking art movement birthed in the early 20th century, fundamentally altered the artistic landscape, introducing a novel perspective on representation and perception. Pioneered by luminaries Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Cubism sought to challenge the singularity of perspective, advocating for a multifaceted view of subjects. Through the deconstruction of objects into basic geometric forms and their subsequent reassembly, Cubism unveiled a new visual lexicon that emphasised the subject’s essence from diverse viewpoints, thereby questioning the traditional, fixed perspective paradigm.
Influential cubist artists:
Pablo Picasso
George Braques
Juan Gris
Jean Metzinger
Paul Cézanne
Pablo PicassoJuan GrisGeorge Braque
Paul Cézanne, Bibemus Quarry, c.1895
CUBISM’S INFLUENCE ON DAVID HOCKNEY’S ‘JOINERS’
In his joiners, Hockney’s engagement with Cubism is clearly evident, reflecting a deliberate integration of fragmentation and multiple perspectives into a cohesive visual experience. This technique allowed him to weave together distinct snapshots into a unified image that challenges and expands the viewer’s perception. By adopting Cubist principles, Hockney’s joiners break the constraints of space, offering a dynamic and enriched representation of scenes that revisit Cubism’s holistic approach to its subjects.
Learn more about Cubism here and other movements such as Dadaism, Futurism and Surrealism and other avant-garde art movements in the early 20th century.
Experimental filmmaking often overlaps with several of the avant-garde art movements described above. Though typically far less controversial than the most extreme avant-garde efforts, experimental films often confound audiences with their bizarre and boundary-pushing presentation and ideation. Experimental films and the avant-garde movement also sometimes share a penchant for the surreal.
Marina Abramović and Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen) were a collaborative performance duo known for their groundbreaking work in the 1970s and 1980s. After meeting in 1976, the two artists embarked on a twelve-year partnership that produced provocative performances exploring physical endurance, trust, and the artist-audience relationship. Their work together included notable pieces like Rest Energy and Imponderabilia, often testing the limits of their bodies and emotions. In 1988, they ended their relationship with a performance piece titled The Lovers, in which they each walked from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China until they met in the middle to say goodbye. While they pursued separate careers after their separation, their collaborative work continues to be celebrated as seminal in the field of performance art.
THE ARTIST IS PRESENT
The morning that Ulay visited the MoMA, he popped in for a visit with Abramović after 22 years apart. And later on in the day, he surprised her by participating in The Artist is Present. When Abramović opened her eyes to view her next participant and realized it was Ulay, she smiled bashfully. The two former lovers gazed into each others eyes, emotions presumably racing, with Abramović finally reaching across the table to hold his hands. The crowd around them burst into applause and cheers for the reunion of this iconic pair. As Ulay got up and walked away from the table, Abramović wiped tears from her face. The genuinity and emotion of the moment moved audiences around the world and will live on in the hearts of many following his recent passing. To watch their interaction, check out the video below.
RELATION IN SPACE
RELATION IN TIME (1977)
For this performance, Abramović and Ulay had their ponytails tied together, sitting back to back for hours on end. They first sat in that position in the museum without anyone else present (except for a photographer who took the odd photo of the status of their joint ponytail,) and once they got to the point where they could take it no longer, they invited museum visitors to view them. They wanted to see if having an audience could push them to stay longer, and succeeded with one extra hour back to back.
REST ENERGY (1980)
Read more here about the story of Marina Abramovic and Ulay
Martin Toft: INTERVENTIONS – A walk across Europe to Kosovo
INTERVENTIONS was conceived under the influence of war in Europe when NATO decided to intervene in the conflict in the Balkan in 1999. I was watching news bulletins on TV most nights and witnessed both the ethnic cleansing by Milosevic’ troops and the bombing by air by NATO forces. In the guise of a landscape painter (plein air) I began walking through Europe putting myself in the picture as a frontman; my own subjective broadcaster, interpreter and adventurer. I wanted to challenge the artist’s social function and explore people’s perception of art and its possibilities of creating a dialogue for peace. My idiosyncratic performance during 78 days across the European landscape is an inquiry into distance – the journey itself. It is the existence of the journey, and not the essence of the destination. Kosovo is not the subject of my work but a mere stop to my journey. My position is akin to that of a passer-by constantly trying to situate himself in a moving environment. Each intervention is another fragment of the story that is being invented and a challenge to the narrative and economic structure of Western representation.
‘We’re here because we’re here’ was a modern memorial to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, in which around 1500 voluntary participants dressed in First World War uniform appeared unexpectedly in locations across the UK. Commissioned by 14-18 NOW (the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary) and created by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller in collaboration with Rufus Norris (Director of the National Theatre), each participant represented an individual soldier who was killed on 1 July 1916. The work was partly inspired by tales of sightings during and after the First World War by people who believed they had seen a dead loved one.
Audrey Flack, Wheel of Fortune. 1977, printed 1984
Still life has captured the imagination of photographers from the early 19th century to the present day. It is a tradition full of lavish, exotic and sometimes dark arrangements, rich with symbolic depth and meaning.
However, before we begin making images of our objects collected over the summer period we need to learn about how still-life emerged as an independent genre, in particularly during the early 1600s Dutch and Northern European paintings. Many of the objects depicted in these early works are symbolic of religion and morality reflecting on the increasing urbanization of Dutch and Flemish society, which brought with it an emphasis on the home and personal possessions, commerce and trade. Paintings depicting burnt candles, human skulls, dying flowers, fruits and vegetables, broken chalices, jewelry, crowns, watches, mirrors, bottles, glasses, vases etc are symbolic of the transience and brevity of human life, power, beauty and wealth, as well as of the insignificance of all material things and achievements.
Throughout its long history, still life has taken many forms, from the decorative frescoes of antiquity to the high art of the Renaissance. Traditionally, a still life is a collection of inanimate objects arranged as the subject of a composition. Nowadays, a still life can be anything from your latest Instagram latte art to a vase of tulips styled like a Dutch Golden Age painting. Read here for more details about the different categories within still-life paintings such as Fruits, Flowers, Breakfast pieces, Trompe L’Oeil and Vanitas.
Vanitas
Abraham van Beyeren (Dutch, The Hague 1620/21–1690 Overschie) Brilliant surfaces of metalwork and glass reflect lush fruits and a lobster in this still life. Heavily laden tables like this one, boasting both foodstuffs and imported luxuries such as the blue-and-white porcelain bowl from China, typify Dutch still life in the second half of the seventeenth century. Such paintings represent a shift away from the reminders of immortality and vanity in earlier still lifes and toward a wholehearted embrace of earthly pleasures.
Watch video: What does it mean? Symbolism in still life photography
READ the following two short essay linked with the exhibition above for more understanding of still life in art and photography—with its roots in the vanitas tradition.
1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Produce a blog post and describe origin and definition of still life as a genre in history of pictorial practice. Read texts above and below to gain an overview of how still-life emerged.
2. ANALYSIS: Select a key painting and comment on the religious, political and allegorical symbolism of food and objects in terms of wealth, status and power, or the lack of.
Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit c.1620-5 Sir Nathaniel Bacon 1585-1627 Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund 1995 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T06995
Listen to curator Tim Batchelor discussing the painting
For further insights into the symbolic meaning of food and objects in still-life paintings, read this text Secret Symbols in Still-Life
ARTISTS REFERENCES > STILL-LIFE / OBJECTS
Emile F. Guiton: Autochromes:The founding father of the Societe Jersiaise Photographic Archive was also a very accomplished photographer who experimented with early colour photography in the beginning of the 20th century. Read this essay by Archivist Patrick Cahill on Guiton’s still-life images of flowers in a vase and other domestic scenes using Autochrome – the first commercially available colour process. Produce a blog post that demonstrates your understanding autochrome and its colour process using Guiton’s images as illustrations.
Emile F. Guiton: Autochromes:The founding father of the Societe Jersiaise Photographic Archive was also a very accomplished photographer who experimented with early colour photography in the beginning of the 20th century. Read this essay by Archivist Patrick Cahill on Guiton’s still-life images of flowers in a vase and other domestic scenes using Autochrome – the first commercially available colour process. Produce a blog post that demonstrates your understanding autochrome and its colour process using Guiton’s images as illustrations.
Klaus Pichler: One Third According to a UN study, one third of the world’s food goes to waste – the largest part thereof in the industrialized nations of the global north. Equally, 925 million people around the world are threatened by starvation. The series ‚One Third‘ describes the connection between individual wastage of food and globalized food production. Rotting food, arranged into elaborate still lives, portrays an abstract picture of the wastage of food whilst the accompanying texts take a more in depth look at the roots of this issue. ‚One Third‘ goes past the sell by date in order to document the full dimensions of the global food waste.
PHOTOGRAPHY-ASSIGNMENT > OBJECTS
What you must do…
Collect a group of objects that you think combine well. Consider shape and size, colour, texture etc.
For ideas, look carefully at how Mary Ellen Bartley groups, lights and photographs her objects. Aim to create a set of images by altering the layout, lighting, focus, composition etc.
Stack objects
Also photograph individual objects as specimen applying a typology approach, ie. deadpan and uniformly framed and lit in a way that is the same in all images.
Matt Brown, Yr 13 photography student 2021
Darren Harvey Regan: The Erratics 2015
Walker Evans: Beauties of the Common Tool, 1955
EXPERIMENTING > DEVELOPING
PHOTO-SCULPTURE: Print a selection of your images and mount them onto foamboard/ mountboard cut-outs and begin to work analogue with knives/ scissors and glue constructing a 3D photo-sculpture.
Jack Dale
Ideas for constructing a photographic sculpture
Joseph Parra
Jody Powell
Noemie Goudal
Lethe Wilson
ARTISTS REFERENCES. As inspiration for your photo-sculpture select at least two artists references as a case study. Explore, discuss, describe and explain key examples of their work relevant to your project and intentions. Follow these steps:
1. Produce a mood board with a selection of images and write an overview of their work, its visual style, meaning and methods. Describe why you have selected to study their work and how it relates to your project.
2. Select at least one key image and analyse in depth using methodology of TECHNICAL>VISUAL>CONTEXTUAL>CONCEPTUAL
3. Incorporate quotes and comments from artist themselves or others (art/ media /film critics, art/ media/ film historians, curators, writers, journalists etc) using a variety of sources such as Youtube, online articles, reviews, text, books etc. Make sure you reference sources and embed links in your blog post.
4. Compare and contrast your chosen artists in terms of similarities and contrasts in their approaches, techniques and outcomes of their work.
3DDESIGN PROCESS: Make sure you produce a blog post that show stages of your experimentation using camera/ phone to document your 3D photo-sculpture as it develops. Make sure you annotate the various processes and techniques that you are using and also describe creative decisions and choices that you make.
FURTHER EXPERIMENTATION: You can produce more than one photo-sculpture and create an installation of several pieces. Be creative and not afraid to make mistakes, Try out the following:
Print off a selection of carefully chosen images that you can then paste to either foamboard or mountboard. Then cut and arrange these choices so that you can create a free-standing photo-sculpture (see Lethe Wilson above)
Print same set of images (or chose a different set) — and then rip, tear, cut-n-paste to create a photo-montage. Re-photograph this and develop the composition into a final outcome using same method as above.
Layering various sizes of foam board with images and re-create a shape of a rock, or details of granite from geological sites of special interests.
Construct a organic or geometric shape first out of cardboard/ mountboard and wall paper your 3D sculpture with your own images
Manipulate images first in Photoshop using various tools and techniques to distort, blur, pixelate, liquify, render, stylise etc before printing and gluing onto your 3D model.
Consider incorporating other elements such as text, typography, figures, found material.
For example, add Jerriais words into your photo sculpture – see Other Resources below for ideas
Consider Jersey myth and storytelling as part of the meaning behind your photo-sculpture
INSTALLATION 3D Photosculpture > 2D image Upon completion of your 3D sculpture photograph your sculpture as an object experimenting with creative lighting techniques in the studio playing between light and shadows, creating a false sense of scale and size. Produce a blog post with a set of your most successful edited images and annotate.
Communist posters
The Definitive History of the Soviet Propaganda Poster. Read more here
The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged state-sponsored direction of Socialist Realism.
Exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Covering the period of artistic innovation between 1912 and 1935, A Revolutionary Impulse: The Rise of the Russian Avant-Garde traces the arc of the pioneering avant-garde forms after Socialist Realism was decreed the sole sanctioned style of art. The exhibition examines key developments and new modes of abstraction, including Suprematism and Constructivism, as well as avant-garde poetry, film, and photomontage.
Alexander RodchenkoVarvara Stepanova, The Results of the First Five-Year Plan, 1932 (State Museum of Contemporary Russian History, Moscow)
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei’s colored vases: Clever artwork or vandalism? read article here
51 ancient Chinese vases covered with brightly colored paint
Exhibition visitors have expressed feelings of uneasiness or even pain and nostalgia when seeing Colored Vases by Ai Weiwei1. The 51 vases that make up the artwork are originally treasures from the Neolithic Age (5000–3000 BCE) and the artist has dunked them in common industrial paint.
Why did Ai Weiwei do it?
By doing this, he commented on the devastation caused by the Chinese Cultural Revolution2 and the disregard for centuries-old craftsmanship3. By covering the surfaces, the history of the vases is no longer visible but still there, beneath the dried layer of industrial color. Some viewers have felt provoked by this audacious act, in their eyes destroying something rare and precious instead of safeguarding and worshipping it.
Conclusion
Like many other works by Ai Weiwei, he uses irony to challenge viewers’ assumptions and perspectives. As China’s most notorious artist, he finds himself in constant confrontation with the Chinese authorities, and Colored Vases is an essential piece in his rebellious oeuvre.
Ai Weiwei, Study of Perspective
Study of Perspective is a photographic series produced by Ai Weiwei between 1995 and 2017. Throughout the series, viewers see Ai’s left arm extended forward with the middle finger raised to significant institutions, landmarks and monuments from around the world. These pictures mimic tourists’ photos and encourage people to question their adherence and acceptance towards governments, institutions and establishments. This series speaks out about Ai’s beliefs regarding freedom of speech, empowerment of the people, and democratic values and showcases his activist side in true colors.
Sunflower Seeds 2010 consists of millions of individually handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds. The work has a volume of nearly ten cubic metres, weighing approximately ten tonnes. The artist has stipulated two different configurations for the work. In the first, the seeds are arranged in a continuous rectangular or square field to a depth of ten centimetres. This ‘bed’ of seeds conforms to the dimensions of the display space, with walls confining the work on three sides. Alternatively, the work is presented as a conical sculptural form, approximately five metres in diameter. In this second configuration, there is no containing structure or support for the conical form, which is installed by carefully pouring the seeds from above to form the shape. Any uneven edges can be adjusted by hand at the time of installation.
This work is derived from the Eleventh Unilever Series commission for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall for which Ai created 1-125,000,000 2010, a bed of ceramic sunflower seeds installed across the floor of the space. The Unilever Series commission was the first time Ai Weiwei presented this multitude of sunflower seeds as a continuous rectangular field to create a ‘unique surface’, and the first time he proposed an interactive element, in which the public was invited to walk on the seeds. In the event, after the initial days of the exhibition, it was not possible for viewers to interact with the work by walking on it due to the health risks posed by the resulting dust.
The fabrication of the seeds was carried out in the city of Jingdezhen in northern Jiangxi, a region of China south of Beijing. Historically famous for its kilns and for the production of imperial porcelain, this region is still known for its high quality porcelain production. The sunflower seeds were made by individual craftspeople in a ‘cottage-industry’ setting, rather than in a large-scale factory, using a special kind of stone from a particular mountain in Jingdezhen.
The symbol of the sunflower was ubiquitous during the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960s and 1970s, and was often used as a visual metaphor for the country’s Communist leader Chairman Mao (1893–1976) and, more importantly perhaps, the whole population. In Sunflower Seeds Ai examines the complex exchanges between the one and the many, the individual and the masses, self and society. Far from being industrially produced, the sunflower seeds are intricately and individually handcrafted, prompting a closer look at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon commonly associated with cheap mass-produced goods. The myriad sunflower seeds – each unique yet apparently the same – can be seen toevoke the quest for individuality in a rapidly transforming society.
In his proposal for the Unilever Series Commission, Ai commented on the significance of the sunflower seeds:
[In] the times I grew up, it was a common place symbol for The People, the sunflower faces the trajectory of the red sun, so must the masses feel towards their leadership. Handfuls were carried in pockets, to be consumed on all occasions both casual and formal. So much more than a snack, it was the minimal ingredient that constituted the most essential needs and desires. Their empty shells were the ephemeral traces of social activity. The least common denominator for human satisfaction. I wonder what would have happened without them? (Ai Weiwei, unpublished proposal for Tate Modern Unilever Series, March 2010.)
Ai’s practice is increasingly driven by issues facing contemporary China, such as the exercise of autocratic power, the disappearance of Chinese cultural and material history, and concerns about human rights, hard labour and poverty. Sunflower Seeds explores the complexity of the Chinese individual’s relationship with society, the authorities and tradition.
Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei holds some seeds from his Unilever Installation ‘Sunflower Seeds’ at The Tate Modern on October 11, 2010 in London, England. The sculptural installation comprises 100 million handmade porcelain replica sunflower seeds.
Some well known international and locally based artistic and photographic collectives> Magnum Photos
In Jersey: The Moving Arts Collective > get them to come and talk??? The Photographic … (Max le Feuvre Jersey Photography Club
