Brian Duffy is a photographer I have mentioned previously in my blog about David Bailey. Duffy was a massive success but strangely stopped taking photographs in the late seventies. He madly enough burnt most of his negatives! Along with the class I watched a documentary on his life and work, and burning his negatives was not the only mad thing he used to do! He famously shot David Bowie’s album cover which then inspired Bowie’s sense of style. He worked a lot with the same models, such as Joanne Lumley who he built up a friendship with. Recently he teamed up with her again to recreate an image he took of her and her son years ago. Now Duffy’s son is trying to gather together as many of his dads old images he can find and put them back out there in the public eye. Duffy is not to go forgotten as he has created many masterpieces and has created a style of photography which will always inspire others.
He also worked on a lot of advertising campaigns such as Smirnoff and Benson & Hedges. The Benson & Hedges adverts in particular went on to change the face of advertising forever.
(for some reason it will not let me upload photos so I will do that at a later date!)
http://www.duffyphotographer.com/duffy_website.html
Thursday 27 May 2010
David Bailey
Bailey is a well known English photographer who still works today. He has worked with many famous faces and has a very unique style. Whenever I see one of his images I can tell straight away that he took it. He works with black and white photography which helps create his own personal style. He started his professional career in 1959, working as a photographer’s assistant. Along with fellow photographers and friend Brian Duffy and Terence Donovan he helped create the swinging 60’s, a decade of celebrity and high fashion. They themselves became celebrities. He has worked a lot with fashion photography as well as record album covers, television commercials and documentaries.
As you can see from the images above, his portraits are very hard hitting and he always confronts his subjects head on. Bailey quotes "The pictures I take are simple and direct and about the person I'm photographing and not about me." This style has become very popular and is always something I think about when shooting my own portrait images.
After watching a documentary on him and his fellow photography peers you realise what an unusual and somewhat grumpy character he is! However his work is inspiring and almost perfect. He has become such a well known name and celebrity in his own right.
After watching a documentary on him and his fellow photography peers you realise what an unusual and somewhat grumpy character he is! However his work is inspiring and almost perfect. He has become such a well known name and celebrity in his own right.
Modernism: Weston & Adams
Weston was an American photographer who co-founded the f64 group. His images are taken with such detail that they turn normal objects into abstract works of art. The image below is of an almost unrecognizable pepper. The sharpness of the lines and shapes on the pepper give the image and object such beauty and interest that would otherwise be overlooked. His image above of a woman also changes the way we view the subject. Usually we would view a naked woman differently to this but in this image we concentrate much more on her curves and shape rather than as a sexual being. Weston and other modernist photographers such as Ansel Adams showed us the world and its subjects with a new fresh modernist twist. Some of Adams landscapes were shot somewhat different to how we would usually view a landscape. He brought different shapes and objects in a landscape to our eye. He thought deep into the composition and light in his images to give it an abstract feel. Modernism photography has become so popular nowadays it is almost the norm. It gives you a chance to experiment and be more creative. You can play with something standard and bring unusual objects and shapes to the eyes of the audience.
August Sanders
Sanders was a German photographer. He first started working with photography in Germany and Austria, but due to the Nazi regime much of his work was restricted. His first book was named ‘Face of our Time’ and contained 60 portraits from his series ‘People of the 20th Century’. Much of his work was destroyed by Nazi’s and they made it very difficult for him to work and preserve his negatives. He worked with all genres of photography but he is most well known and greatly appreciated for his portraits. His images identified different German characters and their different professions and roles in society. His images are so precise and accurate and have been a massive influence on many generations of photographers. A man named Graeme Mitchell talks on his blog of how Sanders at the time would have been unaware of art: “August Sander, who taking these portraits during the first half of the last century would have had little to no concern at all with art, but rather his concerns were of a documentation of a scientific sorts, a photographic record of the German people. When I look at these I wonder if he knew how good he was, how original…if he understood even partially the lasting influence he’d have on photographers of the genre to this day.” For me this quote represents exactly how I feel. Sanders was not trying to be over fancy or creative, he simply wanted to document his people, which works so perfectly and leaves a lasting impression. When you see his images and look into the eyes of the subjects you get a feeling for how their life must have been and how they must have felt living in the environment that they were in. It’s very hard to create such a connection between the subject and the viewer but Sanders was very talented and knew just how to capture someone’s emotions, from innocent to pride to worry. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Sander
graememitchell.com/blog/august-sander
caraphillips.wordpress.com/.../august-sander/
humanitieslab.stanford.edu/TenThings/39
Landscape Photography
A few years ago, not long after I first got my camera, I went on holiday to Spain. While away I began to take a lot of landscape images, mainly including the sea and its close surroundings. I became quite obsessed with taking my camera every where to capture all sorts of water, from seascapes to reservoirs to waterfalls. I then went on to use my images in a project as I was very happy with my results. I then developed a secret passion for landscape photography. There was something about a beautiful landscape, particularly seascape that I just loved. I began researching landscape photographers and came across many greats such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, but I also found that you didn’t have to be world famous to take a really good shot. I came across the Landscape photographer of the year competition. All you had to do to enter was be from Great Britain and have an image that was of good enough quality to be blown up to A4. I found some amazing images from across Britain and thought I would share a few of them with you. All below are from last years competition. Each year they four different categories which are: Classic View, Living the View, Your View and Urban View. There are two entry ages, adults and under 16s. 
Your View Winner 2009
Landscape of the Year Winner 2009
Classic View Winner 2009
Highly Commended Classic View 2009
Classic View Runner Up 2008
Highly Commended Living the View 2009
Your View Winner 2009Wednesday 26 May 2010
Dryden Goodwin
Travelling around on the Jubilee line you are presented with various portraits by Dryden Goodwin of the Jubilee line staff. After seeing these and hearing a bit about his work in Carmen’s lesson I became more interested in his work and visions. I first looked at his work ‘Linear’ which is the work commissioned by Art on the Underground that you see along the Jubilee line. Goodwin hand drew 60 portraits of staff with a pencil. He also extends his idea of portraits by creating 60 movies of him while drawing each portrait. In each movie you see that way he connects with the subject and get a better idea of their personality beyond their job. Each portrait makes you think more about the underground staff and reminds you that they are actually people too. Goodwin quoted on this work “Linear exists as a repository of insights and histories, anecdotal and factual, revealed through the interplay of the drawn line and conversation, that is unique to the Jubilee line at this particular point in time. Drawing someone you’ve never met before results in an intense encounter and enables a unique intimacy to develop. As the portraits unfold, so too does openness in the conversation; Linear is all about different types of connection.”
The exhibition ‘Cast’ held at the Photographers Gallery in 2008 is the other piece of work by Goodwin that I became particularly interested in. In this series Goodwin photographed people he saw on his travels around London. His images tie photography and drawing together, as he scratches over the print surface. When viewed up close you can see how delicate and exact his scratchings are. I read a review for this exhibition on the Guardian website and it gives a really good insight into Goodwin’s work. I feel Goodwin has created a real art form, which may look easy but is hard to get right. Goodwin’s ideas really interest me, and the way he connects with his subject. His images are very captivating and eye pleasing, for me anyway! Another series of Goodwin’s which is worth looking at is ‘Art Now’ which he exhibited in 2002 at Tate. Again the series includes images as well as film.
http://www.drydengoodwin.com/
http://www.drydengoodwin.com/linear_documentation.htm
http://www.drydengoodwin.com/cast.htm
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/artnow/drydengoodwin/default.shtm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2008/oct/08/dryden.goodwin.cast.photographers.gallery
Feminism: Cindy Sherman
Feminism is a word used to describe movements that aim to give women greater rights and protection. Feminism is a big subject in photography as women are often used as ‘objects’ to complete an image. However some feminist supporters have used photography to prove their point and to present women in an equal way. One photographer I have noticed whose photography can be seen as enhancing to women is Cindy Sherman. Her images are all self-portraits and include her taking on very different roles and characters. In her images she plays out several stereotypes of woman, but also challenges these by posing as ‘unladylike’ characters. Her work questions the role of women in society and the media. Sherman is quoted as saying “The work is what it is and hopefully it’s seen as feminist work, or feminist-advised work, but I’m not going to go around espousing theoretical bullshit about feminist stuff." This quote is from an interview for Tate magazine where Sherman talks a lot about feminism and her views on it. After reading this interview I got a much clearer insight into how Sherman works and where she gets her ideas from. The image below is a very sexual image, but by using a plastic doll you get a completely different idea and meaning from it from you would if it was an image of an actual women. Images like this of women are not rare but by using a doll Sherman is messing around with the idea of women being viewed as ‘objects’. The image now is art, not porn, and it is confronting women not exposing them. I think the idea for the series of images of dolls in compromising positions is brilliant and very well played out.
Sherman has influenced many photographers, especially women around the world with her art. Her images make you question identity and stereotypes, and the fact that she is always dressed up makes you want to experiment yourself, not just experiment with your work but also with your own style and appearance.
Cindy Sherman: Working Girl - Book
Early Work of Cindy Sherman - Book
http://www.cindysherman.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sherman
http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue5/sherman.htm
http://ponygraph.blogspot.com/2010/01/cindy-sherman-1954.html
David LaChapelle
From the first time I saw David LaChapelle’s work I knew I wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. His images are so bright and attention-grabbing that they just can’t be ignored. His ideas are always crazy and often controversial. He has worked with many famous faces, magazines and brands and is a very sought after photographer. I noticed that he was holding an exhibition in Mayfair and I immediately started looking through his images again. They are always fun to look at and it’s amazing what he can get some people to do! He has been quoted as saying he is drawn to “sexuality and spontaneity” which are two words I would definitely use to describe his work. He has also directed a few music videos, which are instantly recognize as his once you are familiar with his work and style. I’ve looked closely at his images of celebrities and how he has made them confront controversial issues about themselves and society. He often gets them to joke around with their image and their own work. Below is an image of Kanye West. In this image he is dressed as Jesus on the day he was crucified. This image doesn’t just question religious issues but race issues as well. Some people may feel offended when they see this image while other will believe it is a true representation of what Jesus could have looked like. Some will appreciate it as art while others will see it as blasphemy.
Below are a couple more examples of his images. The first image has a strong sense of the idea of semiotics. To me the image is showing how fast food is taking over the American people.
“My work is about making candy for the eyes. It’s about grabbing your attention. Even though my work is appearing in magazines I am trying to make a large picture. I want my photographs to read like a poster.” - David LaChapelle - American Photo
“People say photographs don't lie, mine do.” - David LaChapelle - Collector's edition of Life
“My idea was that if I took a picture of somebody and years later, or whenever, they would die and if someone wanted to know who this person was, they could take one of these pictures and it would tell who the person was.” - David LaChapelle
http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=147&name=LaChapelle,David
http://www.lachapellestudio.com
David LaChapelle – Heaven to Hell – Book
David LaChapelle – The Rape of Africa - Book
Friday 7 May 2010
Irving Penn Exhibition
Along with the rest of the class I went to view the Irving Penn exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Penn is a world famous and much loved photographer and I believe this exhibition of his portraits reflects this well. His images are all beautifully shot and I was captivated as soon as I walked in the room. The exhibition boasts images from seven decades, including many famous faces such as Christian Dior, Al Pacino, Pablo Picasso and Alfred Hitchcock.
Penn was quoted as saying "In portrait photography there is something more profound we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only so far as it is apparent on the outside". Penn used a very plain and basic set when shooting his subjects so that they couldn’t hide behind the luxury that they were usually offered and they only had their true personality to count on and shine through. His portraits were often shot close up, and he used many different visual tricks to get the subject to express their personality to the camera. He became well-known for introducing this new style to portrait photography, which now has become a successful and popular style for many photographers since. His close-up images showed every single detail on the subjects face and gave me a real feeling of intimacy with the subject. You can see every single hair, line and mark. This is displayed in the two images I have added.
Penn once said that "sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is the one they would like to show to the world … Every often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe." When looking at his images I feel the connection between Penn and his subjects and how he coaxed them out of their shell. This then gives me, as an audience member, the same feeling of connection with the model which then makes me warm to them more as a person. He makes his subjects appear more ordinary as the image is shot with such a minimalistic style. Overall I think this exhibition is a must see and it imprints that Penn is a inspirational portrait photographer of whom there is a lot to be learnt from.
National Portrait Gallery - Irving Penn Portraits - £10
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/feb/22/irving-penn-portraits-photography
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/irving-penn-portraits-exhibition-article-9153.html
http://slamxhype.com/art-design/irving-penn-portraits-exhibition/
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