Photography has many genres, some of which are borrowed from painting (e.g. still life, portraiture, landscape). Some are special to photography (e.g. photojournalism). Artists/photographers often play with our expectations about genre for creative purposes.
We live in the age of Selfies. Over 1,000,000 Selfies are taken every day and many of them posted online and shared to millions. But, the Selfie has been around for a lot longer then we think. In 1839 a man called Robert Cornelius took a self portrait the same year Daguerreotype process had been invented.
Self portraits aren't as original as you may think. It's a borrowed type of art from self portraiture in paintings (when artists paint themselves) and now it's evolved into a common everyday thing. |
|
At first I played with the idea of the selfie- What is it and what makes a selfie a selfie. I took many reflective selfies but also played with just plain pictures of parts of my face, that includes my lips and eyes.
|
I have taken a massive interest in Francesca's piece of work from her photography series, angel. I enjoy the mystery and creepiness of it, its different and I like work that leaves questions and stay on peoples mind. So i have taken inspiration from her work to create my own little series for my assessment;
|
The first attempt is quite conventional and quite repetitive but I was playing with the idea of framing in pictures, and the hidden face idea, a mystery. My friend took these pictures by me but I directed it so its technically a selfie. The movement was to create a blur, but next time I think i'd use long exposure so it looks more creepy. But I can always attempt to edit the pictures in photoshop. |
The whole idea of making the pictures look old and withered is from my love of old, creepy looking photos. Pictures that leave questions and stay in peoples minds for a long time. Thats the effect I wish to have on people. Something that will stick with them and inspire them also. I used photoshop to edit one of my pictures, fading the pictures and making them look aged and deteriorated on the edges by using images from online. I love the outcome of this picture because it was had the exact effect I was hoping it would give. But personally, i think the picture needs to look more aged and blurred so it gives off more of a unsettling and sinister vibe. |
I got inspiration from as series by a woman called Francesca Woodman, Angel. Where she explores the world of anti pictures and obscurity. She plays with minds and the concept of a ''normal photograph'' and I love that. And I want to achieve the effect she has on me on other people Francesca Woodman was an american photographer best known for her black and white, eerie pictures featuring herself of other female models. Her photographs contain a lot of nude female models merging with their background due to long exposure, or whose faces are hindered by things. But she committed suicide in 1981 at the age of 22. Her work was found 5 years after her tragic death and continue to lives on online and is in the Tate in London as-well. |
Las Meninas (The Ladies-in-Waiting) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. (Wikipedia)
Its a very mysterious self portrait. On the surface it seems simple but as you look into it it slowly becomes more and more like a puzzle |