After my visit to the Whitworth i went to the Manchester art gallery to see the strange to familiar exhibition which was a photographic presentation. I don’t particularly like photography especially not when it is all in black and white. I felt like the walls were just plastered with images that all look just too similar and they didn’t draw me in or interest me at all. I spent the time i was there looking for inspiration and artists to reference through my FMP. I didn’t find the ones within the photography section very interesting so i went for a wonder around the gallery to find some pieces that took my fancy. I already have a lot of images from the Wynford Dewhurst exhibit since i really like his work, i also looked at L.S. Rowley for inspiration too. I wrote a few pages in my journal and by then it was time to be meeting up to leave the gallery.
Today i went to the Whitworth Art Gallery to view the Andy Warhol exhibition, I was looking for inspiration for my FMP. I enjoyed reading about and viewing his work and i like how simplistic looking the work actually is and how it still manages to provoke a response in people. I like how he uses slightly broken text too or text out of context to guide the mind of the viewer such as in ‘Paratrooper boots’ (1985/6) where there is text along the bottom of the image saying “Boots hiking imung excell boots styled lier s remelliable u l by famou paratroopers” some parts of this may be written wrong but my point that the text becomes difficult too comprehend stands, The words that are more recognisable are ones which lead your thoughts and perception of the piece down a particular path.
Most work was displayed in duplicate amounts, usually doubles. The larger pieces were displayed as rows of four. The large scale of some of the works creates a very dramatic atmosphere such as the large double of “Gun”.
After i had been through the exhibition i went to see an instalment of multiple sculptural pieces on the upper floor. I liked some of the pieces such as the neon light named ‘fucking beautiful’ and the piece named ‘fall out’. They both drew my attention directly to them however some of the others were quite dull.
Anna Atkins used photograms to record information of natural things such as plants. This is how photograms were first supposed to be used and i really like how they look, i think it’d be quite interesting if they were still used in the same way but now they have been taken over by the digitalisation of information. Photograms started to be created in the early decades of the 1900′s. Anna Atkins created a book called ‘British Algae: Cyanotype impressions and instalments’ which was the first book created which was illustrated with photograms.
Christian Schad
Christian Schad was one of the artists who started using photograms artistically. The objects he used were very literal but they create images with how they look. The one below has very literal objects in a way which i think are supposed to imitate that of an old fashioned camera.
Man Ray
Man Ray created quite literal photogram pieces such as the one below which is named ‘Comb, Knife and Needle’ (1922) the piece clearly shows how he has used experimentation of materials and that makes you really look into the image and try to figure out the less obvious objects.
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy was a hungarian artist who used photograms artistically. His work is very ghostly and has an aerie atmosphere to it. They have a very shadowy look to them which makes they look like they’re from some sort of horror game.
Adam Fuss
Adam Fuss is an artist who uses photograms in contemporary ways. Many modern artists use photograms and have re-discovered them in a way much different from their original purpose.
Susan Derges
Susan Derges is an english photographic artist who specialises in cameraless photographic processes. Often focussing on natural landscapes and the use of water creating a very dramatic type of image. The ripples of the water are translated into the image which give that sense of water that has just been disturbed. I think water is something that often fascinates people, i know it makes me want to put my hands into it as soon as i see it and these images really translate that feeling onto paper.
The process begins by making sure that the dark room is sealed tight so that no light can get in there. If any light reaches the photogram paper it will turn completely black which is just a waste. Once that is all done you can begin creating the photograms.
First of all you need to get yourself some of the light sensitive paper and place it onto the base of the enlarger. Check how many seconds there are on the timer. (3-4 is best in my opinion) Place whatever you are using on top of the light sensitive paper and set the light off which is attached to the timer/enlarger leaving the impression onto the paper. Remove the paper from the enlarger and submerge it into the developer for about a minute making sure to disturb it until the image shows through. Once you have removed the paper from the developer it needs to be placed in the first water tray for around a minute or two minutes. After that the paper needs to be placed into the tray of fixer for 5 minutes at minimum, if it is taken out too early it will turn a different colour and wont be set properly. After the fixer the image needs to be submerged again into the second tray of water for about 5-10 minutes. Once that is done the image can be removed from the dark room without it corrupting. Another thing to take to mind is to double check that the paper is shiny side up because when i was in the dark room i set all my gubbins up on top of the paper and set off the light just to find out i’d done it on the wrong side of the paper and i had to do it again.
The definition of a Photogram (other than it actually being magic) is an image made without actually using a camera. They are made using a light sensitive paper which is effected when you shine light onto them creating shapes, patterns and silhouettes through negative shadow. Depending on the transparency of the objects above the paper being exposed changes the tones that are translated.
Photograms were initially used for scientific recording of natural objects. Anna Atkins was one of the people who created photograms like this (1943).
Later on in time people started to using photograms for artistic expressionism. The whole process was rediscovered and used for artistic movements such as Dada, Surrealism and constructivist periods of art. This was heightened throughout the 1920's by artists such as Christian Schad, Man Ray and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy.
Contemporary re-discovery came after this period and is much more modern in this form of dying out art. People use photograms now to create a wide variety of designs and surrealist images. Artists such as Adam Fuss and Susan Derges are two artists who use photograms in this way.
Photograms are simply a way to record objects, textures and shapes. All sorts of materials can be used to create photograms. For example liquid, jars/glass objects, yourself, transparency sheets and card.
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, author and manga artist. He is best known for his Studio Ghibli movies such Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Porco Rosso. These are all movies i absolutely adore for how well story is told and how strongly they make you feel along with beautiful landscapes and artwork. He is the co-founder of the extremely successful Studio Ghibli along with Isao Takahata. The Ghibli style is best recognised from Miyazaki's work since it is such a soft and thorough style, The fact that he has been creating pieces for decades really shines through in his work as everything shows such detail and understanding of how it works. A few of his pieces involve planes (The Wind Rises and Porco Rosso), planes are something he has studied in detail and his work and you really see that deep understanding. Another thing is what is dubbed as 'Ghibli Tears' which is when a character cries enormous tears that stream down their face or welling up in their eyes and its something you see a lot of artists pick up and incorporate into their own art and i love the fact that Hayao Miyazaki has inspired so many people and that is something that has stuck with them.
Junji Ito
Junji Ito is a Japanese horror manga artist best known for works such as Gyo, Tomie and Uzumaki. He has said he has been influenced by H.P Lovecraft (known for The Call Of Cthulhu) and Yasutaka Tsutsui (known for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). There are multiple reoccurring themes including body horror, Irrational compulsion, the downfall of society and inevitability. His work often involves characters who are suffering cruel circumstances which they can't fight back against. Uzumaki is the one i'm most familiar with and that is a piece which strongly follows that line of inevitable doom and impending death. I was introduced to this artist through a video game which was the playable trailer for the new silent hills game called P.T. The main directors of it would've been Guillermo del Toro and Hideo Kojima. However it was cancelled after half a year which i was really upset about because i think it would've been a truly interesting and scary game with that particular combination of those peoples ideas and i was really excited for its release.
Vanitas is a set of photographs showing the passing of time and mortality. It is created through images or even short film it shows the passing of time, an example is Tacita Deans moving film presentation Sisters 2005, Which portrays the quiet daily rituals of nuns in the south. The images are in colour allowing the viewer to see the deterioration.
Michel Szulc Krzyzanowski
Michel started working independently on his own photography after graduation. His photography is split into two fields, the conceptual photographs from a deserted beach in mexico and the documentary photography which is published in books, magazines, newspapers and presented in exhibitions. He works on his own ideas which include photographing people. I don't really find his work that interesting but i feel like that's just my lack of interest for photography.
Duane Michals
Duane Michals is an American photographer, he creates photo sequences and often uses text to analyse emotion and philosophy. He describes his skills as completely self taught. He is noted for two innovations in artistic photography developed in the 1960s and 1970s. First, he told a story through a series of photo as in his 1970 book Sequences. Second, he handwrote text near his photographs, thereby giving information that the image itself could not convey. I think because the layout of these images is very aesthetically pleasing they're more interesting because their layout leads you to follow them for more of the message that's being put across.
David Hockney
David Hockney creates drawings on the iPad, 16 of these make up the collection 'The arrival of spring'. Each drawing took around 2-3 days to complete. Even though the pieces were drawn on the iPad they were designed to be printed much larger. They use bright colours and up close look quite messy but when you look at them from more of a distance an image appears from it. I think this artists work is very unique especially because of the medium used and i really like how vibrant all the colours are.
Bruce Nauman
Nauman had hit a wall when he started this piece and had decided to work with what he had, which is his studio, a video camera and an influx of mice. The idea was to set up cameras in different areas of the studio to see what they would capture. I really like this idea and set of work since i think its really interesting to see the mundane things that happen whilst people arent around since its a subtle reminder that life is continuous. The sound in the background of the piece is amplified even hough it is just that of ambience.
Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture, drawing, film and photography. His work is quite strange to say the least. Most his work is based in film form and the characters are not to everyone's taste since some appear to be grotesque. I personally don't like his work, i think this is because i don't really like film or photographic media. That's just my preference though.
Kathe Kollwitz creates work which includes a lot of negative space and often shows mothers protectiveness over their children.She would create pieces using printmaking too such as the one above. Her work heavily relies on the lack of colour and the white lines create the image. The people in the images often look gaunt which can strike a response from someone viewing the piece. The heavy contrast between the black and white create a very dramatic feeling to each piece.
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti creates art both in 2D and 3D form. He maps out the whole mass of what he is creating so he doesn't only draw what he can see but the anatomy that he knows is there. He uses a similar method in his sculptural work using wire. he twists it creating quite spindly and elongated figures.
Nuala O’Donavan
Nuala creates sculptural pieces using repetitive shapes and by varying the density of how they are placed together. Most are a very clean white and colour only appears on them from the shadows cast into it from an outward light. Their shape and colouring reminds me of seashells.
Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth is best known for her sculptural work. Her work is quite abstract, it interacts with the nature around it (particularly the ones at St.Ives) There is a particular piece that collects water inside of it which then reflects onto the rest of the sculpture creating a rippling pattern that glimmers in the light. Most of the pieces have the holes in their sides which work like little windows creating completely different viewpoints if you see where they lead your eye.
Euan Uglow measured all his work using squares which are visible even in the final pieces and you can see his working out for his work and proportions. His work was meticulously measured with many corrections in it which creates a very accurate image of proportion however it does make the image seem quite static.
He really captures the placement of weight on the body and you can see how her weight, in the image above, is put into her knees/lower legs. The use of colour in Uglows work is something i like quite a lot its done in a somewhat geometrical pattern and you can see how the skin moves and how shadows are cast onto it by the change of tone in areas such as the face and the waist. The block colour used in the background is a great use of negative space which he does on quite a lot of his works and it brings the figure forward and makes it really grab the viewers attention. The negative space creates the line necessary around the figure to really bring it forward instead of using harsh lines on the edge of the body like Egon Schiele does.
Egon Schiele
Egon Schieles work is strongly based on the element of line and using line to create form. His work isn't completely proportionate however that creates a lot of character and i really like his style. He integrated a certain amount of colour but nothing too bright or harsh to the eye, everything remained a very dulled tone which is complimentary to the style. He manages to capture how peoples bodies move and bend when weight is put in certain areas which can be difficult to do as an artist. The texture appears quite uneven due to the blotchy effect of the paint used which adds to the character of the piece.
Jenny Saville
Jenny Saville tends to draw people in a very brutal manner, she changes up the viewpoint from conventional ones to unflattering angles and doesn't beautify the figures in the way quite a lot of artists do. Her work is very honest and i think that creates a response in whoever is viewing the piece since it isn't very common and its quite unexpected. Tone is one of the strongest elements in this as the tone of the skin gives it form and allows you to see where the light is coming from. Most of her work seems to be done in oil paints.
Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud was predominantly a figurative painter, painting those he knew. Similar to Jenny Savilles work tone is a very strong element of his work allowing a form to show shape, you can see that more on the stomach and chest area. The colours are quite dulled and faded with a flat lighting. The background appears a lot more solid and realistic than the women however she doesn't look out of place on the page, it just draws your attention to her instead. Especially since the background is quite dark compared to the foreground.
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