Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality and the first abstract style. Different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented or abstracted (similar to a collage). Subjects are analysed, broken up and resembled in abstract form, presenting all different angles. Cubism is a very important art movement, because it opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and was the starting point for many later abstract styles including constructivism and neo-plasticism.
Cubism is presented not only in paintings, but in photographs, literature, architecture and music.
Cubism was also influenced by African curiosities and many artists used African art and African hunting masks for inspiration when creating paintings and photographs influenced by cubism, like Pablo Picasso.
Types of Cubism
Cezanian Cubism – Cezanian cubism was heavily shaped by Cezanne’s geometric simplification. The cubists adopted this method of dissecting objects into geometric forms and reassembling them from multiple view points.
Analytic Cubism (Pre 1911) – Analytic Cubism is a style of painting Pablo Picasso developed with Georges Braque using monochrome brownish and neutral colours. Both artists took apart objects and “analysed” them in terms of their shapes. Picasso and Braque’s paintings at this time share many similarities.
Synthetic Cubism (Post 1912) – Synthetic Cubism saw the reintroduction of colour, while the actual materials often had an industrial reference (e.g., sand or printed wallpaper). Still lifes and occasionally heads were the principal subjects for both artists.
What Influenced Cubism
Cubism began in 1907 with Picasso’s painting Demoiselles D’Avignon which included elements of cubist style. However, the name ‘cubism’ seems to have derived from a comment made by the critic Louis Vauxcelles who, on seeing some of Georges Braque’s paintings exhibited in Paris in 1908, described them as reducing everything to ‘geometric outlines, to cubes.’
Picasso was inspired by Seurat and cezanne. George Seurat was a painter, who painted using dots, which made his paintings appear to have lots of texture and shapes within them, which inspired Picasso’s cubist paintings with different shapes and angles within them.
Paul Cezanne was a French Post-Impressionist painter and was best known for his landscapes of Mont Sainte-Victoire, the mountain near his hometown of Aix-en-Provence, France. His landscape includes a range of features that relate to cubism, such as all the different angles of the mountain, ground, homes etc. as well as the colours used within his landscape.
Pablo Picasso created cubism, so that he could challenge the traditional ideas about art and to create more abstract and expressive paintings. He also wanted to ‘express what was inside of us.’
Artists
Pablo Picasso – Born 25th October 1881 and died 8th April 1973 and was a Spanish painter and sculptor, who felt most of his adult life in France. He is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for the co-founding the cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore.
Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the 20th century, his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. After 1906, the Fauvist work of the older artist Henri Matisse motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art.
George Braque – Born 13th May 1882- Died 31st August 1963 and he was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor. During his early years he trained to be a house painter and decorator like his father and grandfather and he also studied artistic paintings. His most notable contributions were his alliance with fauvism from 1905 and the role he played in the development of cubism. Braque’s work between 1908 – 1912 is closely associated with his colleague Pablo Picasso. Their respective Cubists works were indistinguishable for many years, yet the quiet nature of Braque was partially eclipsed by the fame of Picasso.
Braque’s paintings of 1908–1912 reflected his new interest in geometry and simultaneous perspective. He conducted an intense study of the effects of light and perspective and the technical means that painters use to represent these effects, seeming to question the most standard of artistic conventions. In his village scenes, for example, Braque frequently reduced an architectural structure to a geometric form approximating a cube, yet rendered its shading so that it looked both flat and three-dimensional by fragmenting the image.
In 1909, he began to work closely with Pablo Picasso, who had been developing a similar proto-Cubist style of painting. At the time, Picasso was influenced by Cezanne and African masks, whereas Braque was more interested in developing Cezanne’s ideas of multiple perspectives, resulting in a joint effort between them both of cubism. Braque and Picasso, in particular, began working on the development of Cubism in 1908. Both artists produced paintings of monochromatic colour and complex patterns of faceted form, now termed Analytic Cubism.
A decisive time of its development occurred during the summer of 1911, when Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso painted side by side in Céret in the French Pyrenees, each artist producing paintings that are difficult—sometimes virtually impossible—to distinguish from those of the other. In 1912, they began to experiment with collage and Braque invented the papier collé technique (type of collaging technique, where paper is adhered to a flat mount).
Analysis of 2 Images
This painting by Pablo Picasso uses different light and dark shades/ paints to create elements of light and shade within the painting, so that Picasso could present different angles throughout his painting. He uses warm shades, like the orange and browns, as well as using cooler shades, such as the blues and greens to also create this element of different angles and perspectives.
In this image he uses orange, brown, blue, green, black and white paints in all different shades. He also adds texture to his painting by using different brush strokes to leave patterns in the paint that creates texture. He also uses a range of 2D shapes to create a flat image that has 3D elements due to the different shapes, shades, colours and textures he has used. He also uses repetition in this image, as he uses multiple shapes multiple times (2 African masks).
The layout of this painting includes 2 African masks, which are arranged next to each other with the mask in the background resting his arm on the shoulder of the mask in the foreground. Only their upper body (shoulders up) is inside the frame. The masks are the main viewpoint of this painting, specifically the mask in the foreground. There is also lots of contrast in this image, due to all the different lighter and darker shades and the different textures and shapes used.
Pablo Picasso was very inspired by African masks, which is what he has painted in his image. African masks play an important role in the Cubism Art movement. This painting is a cubist painting, due to the different angles and perspectives used in this painting and it following the Cubism manifesto.
This painting displays African masks, but I think they are to represent humans, due to the human characteristics used in the paintings (the resting of an arm on the others shoulder). The painting also uses human features, such as the masks representing human faces and the shoulders, arm, hand and fingers.
This painting by George Braque uses different light and dark shades/ paints to create elements of light and shade within the painting, so that Braque could present different angles throughout his painting. He uses mainly neutral shades, like brown, black and white rather than a range of warmer and cooler tones. However, he uses texture in his painting to create different angles and perspectives in his painting, by using different brush strokes and painting techniques to create different patterns in the paint. He also uses a range of 2D shapes to create a painting that looks 3D, even though the painting is on a flat surface.
The layout of this image includes a range of different shapes, with the main viewpoint being the centre of the image. Braque also creates a depth of surface illusion in his paintings, by having the shapes in the centre of the image smaller and the shapes on the outside of the image slightly larger. This is to create depth in the centre of the image, which leads the eye to the centre of the image (the viewpoint).
This painting plays an important role in the Cubism Art movement, as it follows the cubism manifesto and displays an abstract painting with lots of different angles and perspectives.
Manifesto
The cubist manifesto is a seminal text that outlines the principles and objectives of Cubism, emphasising the importance of abstraction and the representation of multiple perspectives within a single work of art.
The cubism manifesto was primarily written by Guillaume Apollinaire in 1911.
My final project is one I am passionate about but I also think it important for others to learn and understand. Having the term ‘union’ as the exam brief caused me to think about how I define the word, at first I thought politics. However quickly moved onto the idea of the union of man and land. A union we all rely on, under documented and misunderstood. Farming. As humans we could not live without the resources farmers provide, working endlessly with very little true understanding and appreciation for their work. Following this I liked the idea of focusing on one farmer, one who still uses the traditional methods and very little technology, in a way he is closer to the land listening to its cues rather than taking a modern approach. This is tricky in a modern world, reliant on technology and uncertainty but still, he remains a constant understanding working with the land not just taking from it. To start the project I want to look at art movements like romanticism and Impressionism both look to create beautiful scenes causing big emotional moments for the viewer. I like the idea of showing the vast landscapes and creating beautiful photos, I also want to include a documentary photography style. Linking the land to the farmer, the farmer to the land. To humanise the farmer I will include snippets of his life, his work, his thoughts and stories. I find many photographers who have looked at farming before don’t focus on the farmer so much as the industry. I want to capture the union between a farmer and his lifestyle, it’s tricky to separate the two instead capturing the skills, passion and raw depth of this lifestyle on an individual. One who has chosen to not progress to current technology instead utilising a lifetime of knowledge and experience. Within the impressionist movement the artists use bright colours as a constant throughout their work, capturing a scene through small details. Similarly in my work I will pull colours together throughout the shoots, from the red of the particular tractor brand the farmer uses, to smaller less noticeable elements. Highlighting the small parts of a bigger story. Using the contrast of the colours will highlight the harshness of the lifestyle it is brutal but equally one of the most fulfilling life’s you could live.
Union means joining together for a common interest. For my project I would like to take the ideas that unified artists in the movement of futurism (technology, growth and glorified modernity) and combine them with modern architecture, something that requires the culmination of many different people, talents and recourses. Compared to Jerseys high-rise cap, cities build massive sky-scrapers that sit above the skyline invading public space with logos and reminders. I was interested in this topic because in contrast to the island these cities feel dystopian and dangerous. I would like to photograph a variety of both offices and skyscrapers as well as smaller homes so I can edit them in ways reminiscent of Futurism/Vorticism. Messages I aim to portray are the dangers of the overpopulated cityscapes on the environment and privacy as well as the seeming sanitary white future seen in modern architecture.
In terms of artist references I am going to look into László Moholy-Nagy who was inspired by the integration of technology into the arts and Idris Khan who creates the appearance of dynamic via multi exposure, Lewis Bush and potentially even Michael Wolf. When experimenting with outcomes I would also like to create collages of buildings similar to a geometric futurism painting. I think collages are important for the outcomes because cityscapes are mashes of various buildings without much consideration for how they look next to one another, they’re all extremely loud in appearance. The final outcome will be final prints because I intend to experiment with edits as opposed to constructing a narrative. I might experiment with creating a small zine or a leaflet to show structures photographed like products which will line up with the photographs focusing on high-rise banks and offices as a product of capitalism.
I will start with some photographs of buildings (both houses and offices) and begin collaging them into 2 types of images:
This one will be made up of multiple buildings arranged together. this one will use a mixture of houses and offices set in black and white.
I also want to make an image that looks like this by use of collage also. I will make a megastructure out of multiple high-rise offices to create a tall structure like this one with a coloured background.
Write a Statement of Intent that clearly contextualise;
What you want to explore?
My interpretation of Union is how two things are joined or connected together in a type of way, or in other words are united together which form a type of relationship. I am going to explore the theme union through relationships of two things such as a person within their environment or scenario that evokes a type of memory. I want to capture the connection created from this, as it creates something personal and meaningful expressing how it is united together. I want to capture this in a documenting way, showing moments that unfiltered and real.
Cubism relates to this closely, this idea of showing you things for what they truly are, not for what they look like – for example showing you moments through fragmented, disconnected pieces that are pieced back together, expresses how new connections are brought together through multiple perspectives and view points, forming a type of union as subjects are brought together and united. From emphasising the flatness of the picture surface by breaking down the pictures into geometric shapes, results in this fragmented look, which leads you to look deeper as the subject isn’t evidently clear. I want to explore the multi dimensional forms which alters your perspectives, showing you things from different angles revealing the inner life of a subject as its different from what we are used to seeing. This ultimately forms a new reality as you are shown thing in a new way/ perspective. My aim is to explore this through different realistic scenarios that are personal and carry a lot of meaning, for example for each photo shoot I am going to focus on one subject, which is a person (that has some type of relationship to myself eg. a family member or a friend). My focus is femininity and looking at how girls in particular are connected to what they do within their natural environment. For example looking at how they personally fit into society around them through their personal traits. I want to capture unique moments that personally connects to them but also connects and unites them to society – such as applying makeup, doing hair, reading, music…
I want to capture the photographs as clear as possible, showing the viewer a clear insight to someones personal life and how this unites people together. Linking back to Cubism, I want to show things for what they truly are expressing this through different perspectives. This is so that it connects with you in different ways, showing you things differently. I like this idea of taking a perfectly, composed image and distorting it – showing how it can be disconnected and broken up, then fitted back together and it being different yet the same. David Hockney perfectly presents this idea, and I am greatly inspired by his work. Hockney’s method involves piecing together a mosaic of photographs to form a cohesive image that challenges and transcends traditional perspectives. I like this idea of disconnecting / breaking images apart, then reconnecting them which forms a new perspective that challenges your feelings and thoughts towards the photograph.
slightly edting,
adjusting image,
realistic scenes ,
staged
At first when capturing the photographs, to then editing using different techniques such as merging, overlapping, blending, and joining.
Expressionism is ways that the inner world of emotion is expressed rather than external reality, which creates a subjective perspective.
Why it matters to you?
From looking at connections between a person and their environment evokes this new type of reality, which is what i want to explore. This could be different compared to our life or perhaps relate to ours, forming this connection between the viewer and the subject. A person within their natural environment such as their bedroom displays union, as we are shown a personal and private connection. I want to compare this personal connection, to a more public place such as town, or the streets. Capturing people on benches, door arches, windows, to building walls. This creates this new reality as the subject is out of their personal environment which could evoke new emotions and poses which relate to how the person is feeling. Otherwise this displays union in a new way, that is different compared to a personal way.This matters to me because I want to explore the personal connections between people within their environment, as it creates this relatable concept showing you new realities.
When and where you intend to begin your study?
My intentions are to photograph portraits of people displaying different emotion and poses, some which could be disturbing for the viewer while others are more softer and pleasing. I am going to capture people within their bedroom during specific moments as well as portraits , something which is personal to them. I then want to show how the subject is further connected by editing influenced by David Hockney.
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)
Born in 1880, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner studied architecture and painting. Kirchner produced art that drew in the subject matter from studio life with artists, friends and models to the streets and nightclub life of the city to the summer trips and beaches.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is a German painter and printmaker who was part of expressionist group of artists called ‘Die Brucke’ (‘The Bridge’). June 1905 Die Brucke group was established, also was recognised as the birth of expressionism. Four architecture students came together in Dresden to form the group; Ernist Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Fritz Bleyl. Without an prior artistic training they came together as a group and quickly became a huge art movement. Within this the artists produced a much more simplified or distorted form which complemented the unusually strong, unnatural colours that provoked an emotional response.
Expressionism meaning:
‘The artist or writer seeks to express the inner world of emotion rather than external reality.’
Die Brucke was German based – in Berlin, 1905-1913. The name indicates the influences on their work, with their art viewed as ‘the bridge’ between the past, present and future. The theme centered around social life – bourgeois lifestyle which means belonging to or characteristic of middle class which is perceived as having materialistic attitudes. We typically associate this with portraits and self portraits.
Tilted Program, Kirchner
Above is the Groups first manifesto Tilted Program, Kirchner wrote ‘We call all young people together, and as young people, who carry the future in us, we want to wrest freedom for our actions and our lives from the older, comfortably established forces’. This explains how they were particularly drawn to the marginalised or lonely individuals on the fringes of urban society, with an aim of capturing tortured pain and anguish brought about by modern life. This idea of zoning into someone’s life, that surrounds them creates this type of new reality as we are shown an insight into someone’s life. Or otherwise expresses union as we are presented with a connection between two people.
The artists produced paintings, printmaking and sculpture, expressed through free brushwork of simple, heightened colour and jagged, elongated forms. Firstly influenced by post-impressionist painters such as Vincent Van Gogh to the vivid, colours and expressive techniques of French fauvists. However Die Brucke’s style was far more aggressive, meaningless (shown through life), and uncontrolling – this was expressed by the inharmonious colours, harsh, jagged outlines or deliberate crude or ugly forms. The movement began when European cities underwent periods of rapid development and urbanisation, resulting in the people feeling alienated and lost. Many of these artists were looking for an art that could express intense emotional responses which fitted into impressionist art collections. This is expressed through the distinct brushstrokes of colour which formulate the overall painting, creating this dramatic, expressive image.
Ultimately, Die Brucke artists intentions was to reveal the inner truth – which means revealing the inner soul of humans even if it was shocking, uncomfortable or confronting for the viewer. This particular theme was carried on throughout Kirchner’s work as we are presented with very emotional, figurative art work. The subjects are presented in ways that reveals a type of expressive emotion which is noticeable straight away as the upfront portraits of the subject reveals this dramatic emotion. Specifically the first three painting below, they give this sense of loneliness as each one gives us a new emotion. From a girl lying on a bed that looks tured and worn out, to a girl sat leaning away from her cat with empty and half drank bottles, to then a girl perched on a seat with someone standing in front. The frozen scene we are presented with, expresses a very realistic, unfiltered snapshot of someone’s life, as raw emotions are revealed which aren’t hidden away which perhaps creates this connection as we could relate. Bold pigmented, block colours are used which I think enhances the painting even further as it the scene is easily described to us, we don’t have to look for it. Otherwise shapes, patterns and lines are brought out through this which helps to clearly define each hidden shadow and feature in a simple form. I think this is a really interesting effect as not much is added to express detail and emotion, as we are presented this through very simple formations and compositions.
The photograph displays an upward diagonal line from the lower left to the upper right. From this angle we are brought to unusual perspectives that brings the observer to a position which is superior to the model. The high angle shot alters your perspective of the photo, as we are looking down onto the subject. This makes the subject appear smaller with the surroundings appearing more vast – meaning that what surrounds the subject is evidently more clear, shifting our view and attention onto the smaller objects that surrounds the subject, which communicates a relationship to the subject. The details within this widens our perspective as we wouldn’t typically notice this straight away as our attention is automatically drawn to the main subject of the person. However the composition is more softer to the eye, as there is a harmony of colour, marked by soft predominantly green colour fields, brought together by contrasting lines and patterns which give a contoured /broken up shadow effect.
The photograph is of a girl, lying on a sofa, with a cat to her lower right and open/ empty glass bottles to her upper left – where she is facing. She is displaying a worries or anxious emotion. This communicates something quite personal, as it is obvious she is going through something and the viewer is almost ‘invading’ her personal environment. I find this concept really interesting as we are presented with a view that is up close and personal, which reveals a slight insight to her life as we are shown a lot in her personal life. This style of environmental portraits is what I am going to further experiment with, as the the emotional concept formed by the person who is in their natural environment such as their bedroom creates unique and personal relationships and connections, otherwise uniting two things together forming a close relationship which could be one that we can relate with or one that we can’t.
“Impressionism is only direct sensation. All great painters were more or less Impressionists. It is mainly a question of instinct.”
What is Impressionism?
Impressionism is a 19th century art movement produced in France, notable by its visible brush strokes and emphasises light. A main characteristic of the work is the bright, colourful paintings normally of nature, like meadows in summer and wildflowers. The movement was considered revolutionary, new to the time period as it captured light, in a completely new way, focusing on its changing element and the colours it created. It began in the late 1860s when artists like Renoir and Monet began to paint landscapes and waterways, adjusting their colour pallet to light, sunny bright colours unlike the previous type of landscape pairing that used muted browns, greens and greys. Completely changing the style, for example in the shadows instead of using blacks and greys they used complementary colours to the rest of the painting, greens and yellows. Perfectly outlined scenes became blurred lines, creating a more abstract look to the style. Compositions became warped into bright, sunny blurs of beautiful landscapes (and further into the movement streets and railroads) completely changing the dark, gloomy landscape style that had been used for years before hand. The movement is also associated with philosophy, specifically the Avanade Garde movement. In simple terms, impressionism looks at the union of human perspective and light, how it changes what it really is.
Impressionism artists
Many of the artists were in their early 20s exploring new techniques, new ideas. Art studios were common practise at the time but as the movement progressed more artists took to painting outside looking at the scene they were capturing. In fact, multiple artists like, Gleyre closed their studios and took to moving to wherever their subject was. Théodore Rousseau was another artist who took inspiration from the Fontainebleau Forest, devoting himself to capturing the reality of the forest in real time, capturing even the mundane details. They were young and tried to capture the ‘impression’ a landscape or person left on them rather than an accurate depiction.
Technique
When it comes to actual technique, the impressionists used bigger brush strokes, less focused on precision and more on the colours. They also used much lighter colours than the previous art, bringing new bright yellows, pinks and greens as their main colours. In leu of having abandoned traditional art techniques they also refused the 3D style much loved by other artists instead wanting to focus on colour and light. Painting an ‘impression’ not a tangible thing. This did lead to many criticisms from other artists, ones with a more traditional manor of painting, saying the slightly abstract appearance was ‘seemingly amateurish quality’ and ‘unfinished in appearance’. Impressionism records the mid century shift in styles in Paris, deciding the new public enjoyment and scenes of the cafes.
Painting outdoors is not specific to Impressionism, but they were the main pioneers for the idea. Claude Monet, the most well known impressionist artist with soft colours, painting multiple times a day to catch different lights and damp paint layers upon damp paint layers to create a deeper abstract look. ‘Plein air’ became common within the impressionist movement, showing the new change in painting, encouraging emotional depth rather than technical prowess within painting.
Impressionism in use outside of painting
Impressionism isn’t just in the art world, it is used as a term through out the world. Music was another big industry with an impressionist movement, influenced by the change in visual arts. Writers like Émile Zola started to try and replicate the emotive, human perception rather than true to life realities of his scenes, similar to the painters. However, while influenced by impressionism the writing style became known as ‘Naturalism’ seeking to convey the emotions and appearance of the world to a certain individual.
Science was progressing in the start of the impressionist era, it was starting to understand that what the eye sees and what the brain understood it as, is different. Leading to the impressionists trying to capture what the eye sees, shapes, colours and more importantly light. This included changes in weather, (Claude Monet painted the same scene multiple times a day to capture the changes) light and colour. The art was not based on what the brain saw but what the eye saw.
Which form you wish to present your study (photobook, film, prints etc)
When and where you intend to begin your study?
For my project on the theme of Union I have decided to focus the relationships and interactions between people, in particular within family. Union can be defined as the action or state of being joined together, and for this project, I’m interpreting it as the connections between individuals that unite them. I thought using relationships for this theme works well as a connection between people whether its a couple, siblings or parent and child can be seen as powerful examples of unions, where the bond between individuals creates something deeply meaningful and unique.
In my photos, I aim to capture both candid, natural moments between people and a few staged shots in the studio. The central focus of my work will be the relationship between my friend and her younger brother, and I intend to highlight the strength of the sibling bond and the importance of this particular family connection. By focusing on family, I can show how these connections help shape an individual into who they are. I believe that the ties between family members (siblings in particular) are significant, as they represent lifelong friendships and deep, meaningful connections.
The artist I am wanting to focus on for this project is Emma Hardy who’s photography is known for taking a contemporary approach. she tends to try and create stories within her images using her children as the main subjects. She aims to bring across strong emotions in her images by getting her subject to express a certain emotion in the image of by the use of lighting (eg darker weather or time of day would create a different feel to a sunny day with bright light. Her photos consist of a mix of staged photographs and naturally occurring ones which I am also aiming to do. Hardy takes images of her children and showing the relationships between them she captures happy moments in their lives liking playing together in fields or on family road trips. she also explores the union between the subject and their relation with the environment around them.
I decided to focus my photoshoots on my friend and her brother as I think creating images representing an older sister and younger brother would create warming images especially when in the correct setting such as parks or good lit natural environments. I think this relationship is special as the image will be able to represent how much care the older sibling has for the younger and how much the younger one loves and looks up to their older sister. I also want to try and get images in their natural environments such as their family home so that there is even more connection within the image as the environment around them, toys in the background or household items that that hold personal connections which would enhance the unity of the image will represent a stringer connection such as possibly images on the walls. I would do a variation of different shoots where id involve close up shots o the two to make the main point of the image their expressions and moods in the moments (eg laughing together) and also further away shoots to capture certain activities they may be engaging in and showing how their union represents its self in a larger environment. (eg pushing a swing at a park). I would alter the lighting of the images so that it resonates with the mood of the two. for example if their is a conflict between them like usual siblings them I could change the warm lighting and aim for it to be more cold. As well as this using warmer lighting like the natural light of a sunset while they are playing in a park or field I would be able to capture the happy moments and the viewer of the image will be able to see that much clearer when the lighting of the image.
When editing/ presenting my images, I am planning on taking inspiration from David Hockney. The artist’s style ranges from collaged photography and opera posters to Cubist-inspired abstractions and paintings of the English countryside. He is renowned for his own takes on perspective and use of colour which make his work noticeable and very obviously belonging to him. David Hockney uses the artist movement of Cubism in his artwork and photography. Cubism is a movement that was originated by artists such as Pablo Picasso. It presents photos in unique and abstract ways by breaking objects down into geometric shapes. Cubism is able to show multiple perspectives where it is able to give many viewpoints to the photo giving the viewer an opportunity to interpret the images in the way they think is correct for them. I wanted to use cubism in my work to make my photographs more interesting and abstract. I’m planning on doing both edits on photoshop and also to make the cubism effect with the camera by taking many different photos of the same scene and then putting them all together. when doing a shoot like that I will have to do more portraited images as it would be difficult to conduct if the subjects were moving around a lot. For this shoot I want to conduct it in a indoor and person space (like their home).
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.
below is a mood board with my thoughts and interoperations on Union
Deciding what to do
I want to follow an art movement for my project as an art movement is like a union of artists, writers, sculptures and photographers coming together to create a style/movement.
However I am finding it hard to choose one as there are a few I like, so I narrowed it down to my top three:
Surrealism
Romanticism
Tonalism
Out of all of them I feel like choosing romanticism as we did it in year 12 with landscapes and I really enjoyed it because I really like landscapes and like to photograph them. Tonalism was a close second because I really like the overall aesthetic of it, however preferred romanticism a bit more. Surrealism looks fun but I feel like I won’t end up doing as well on it because it looks really complicated to do and I don’t think I have the right level of creativity for it at this moment in time.