The Curious Collector
Emily Blincoe
I was immediately drawn to Emily Blincoe's work due to it's simple but satisfying composition. The image to the right is the one which attracted me to her work to begin with, it is called Driftwood. Blincoe's work inspired me in my Curious Collector project- Memento Humani. The way I presented my collection at the beginning of the project was highly influenced by Blincoe's compositions. It was simple but effective and I squared off the shape in my collection similarly to the way she has in Driftwood. I did this because I think that this layout, if done properly can be very eye catching even though it is very simple. However, that simple composition can be classed as minimalist which is a quite popular style which began in post–World War II Western art. I like minimalist styles sometimes, especially in my work space as it reduces stress- like this image which is very relaxing as nothing is out of place. I think this is what Blincoe was trying to portray, a relaxing environment for her viewers.
I like how she has organised the colours in a gradient like pattern, how it goes light to dark. It is very precise and well ordered which is why it made the cut to a website called Things Organized Neatly. It is a website which displays images of things organised neatly (as the title suggests), it updates almost daily and is very satisfying to look at.
Assemble
Assemble is a collection of 17 amateurs who worked on the Granby four project in Liverpool. This community was still deprived from the Toxteth riots in 1981 which began from long standing tension between the black community and the police. Assemble found out a street of Victorian terraced houses were going to be demolished and deiced to help prevent that it from happening so the people could still live in their houses- keeping their memories.
What really inspired about this project is that assemble called on all the locals and local artists to help repurpose old furniture to put into the old houses.
Assemble empowered the community to take action and work together to keep the history and memories of the Granby four street alive.
This links to my collection- Memento Humani- which is a collection of family heirlooms. I collected these objects to keep the history and memories of my family alive.
The idea of keeping history and memories fresh really appeals to me .
Mapping
A map is a representation of a time, a journey, a mindset, emotions, and many many more. A map is not just the traditional geographical one. This wasn't really apparent to me until I was shown the map- Looking for Success. It stood out to me because it made me think about my road to success and what I would map on my journey.
This work really caught my eye when i first saw it. This was due to the interesting shapes and textures in the centre of the image. My initial thoughts on this photograph was that it was really unique and quirky.
The more I researched and read about this image it intrigued me even more!
The main subject matter around this image is government surveillance- more specifically the Dutch government. Mishka Henner explains that the Dutch government censors the most places than anywhere else. It makes you think about how much information we as citizens know and how much is kept from us. What if everything was open to the public? Would that just cause chaos or would everyone be satisfied with the outcome of knowledge?
The ideas of surveillance which Henner portrays really makes me question the whole concept of watching and observing. This idea links to Big Brother the tv show and how everything is surveyed and nothing is censored.
In my psychogeography walk around my accommodation, I was reminded of the concept of observing. I took videos, almost like a surveillance of the space I was in, to show where I but also to link Henners ideas to my work and my space. To show that any place can be surveyed, and that nature is never censored to the public.
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This is a work by Chris Shaw. I was shown this image in class and it caught my eye. I find Shaw's technique of using sponges to create this interesting texture. It makes the image abstract which captures the minds attention. It looks like an image of a bridge of some sort and that could be a symbol of unification between art and everyday objects- like sponges. This is because you generally wouldn't think of sponges when painting, more likely you think of using paint brushes. Which is why I find this piece interesting as it is unique.
When completing my flag using sponges and paint I tried to mimic Shaw's technique as much as I could- I wanted to keep the square shape of the sponges in my work like Shaw does.
It's interesting that this image has a unifying atmosphere to it- as that is similar to what a flag does. It unifies the people of it's nation.
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Richard Serra and his Verbs
Richard Serra once said that "Drawing is a verb". He described the verblist he created as a series of “actions to relate to oneself, material, place, and process,”
When reading over this list of verbs Serra had created, I did have some new ideas for photoshoots pop into my head. I also started to think about my previous work and whether they link to a verb on the list. (Most of them did).
I currently have a A4 print out of this list up in my room/ Studio wall. It has already helped me when I've been stuck on what to do for my work!
The idea that a simple word can influence a whole piece of art really makes me think about what else could inspire artist. If something as simple as a word can anything can.
Dilemma of Photography
Self Portraits
Claude Cahun
Claude Cahun was an interesting photographer and person! Her work looks like it could of been taken in the present day and I feel like it would be more appreciated now than it might have been back then in the 20s. The composition has a very tense feeling about it- very dramatic atmosphere. This could be due to the expressions Cahun is portraying mixed witht he positioning and posing and the contrast in the images. These are all good techniques in portrait photography as it catches the eyes attention.
I read in a biography that she changed her name three times but ended up with Claude Cahun as gender neutral name. She liked exploring the concept of gender identity and the subconscious mind. I find it really cool that someone in 1928 was apart of the LGBTQ+ movement before it was a movement. It relates to recent protests which protest for the social equality for the members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In her images she dresses and poses herself in a way that is neither feminine or masculine which I find really smart as it allows people to fully focus on the composition of the image not how feminine or masculine the model is or should be. In the biography I was reading about Cahun (by artnet) it was stated that Cahun "fully embraced her gender fluidity" which is pretty amazing for someone living in a time before it was accepted to be different. It's really inspiring, especially since the term "gender-fluid" wasnt even invented at that time! But yet she still listened to her feelings and figured it out for herself.
Another mind blowing fact about Cahun is that her and her lover were inprisoned by nazi's for producing and distributing anti-nazi propaganda but they escaped in 1945 as they were liberated by allies. I am fascinated with the life that Claude Cahun had lived and the work produced by it! She really has made an impact in my take on photography and how it can be used to portray what you are passionate about like gender identity!
I am in awe!
Elina Brotherus
Elina Brotherus is a Finnish photographer who works mainly in self portraits. I love her work as he uses a lot of bright colours which really draws the attention of the viewer in.
The way she uses the colours in her surroundings in her images works really well with her compositions. For example the way she matches her yellow t-shirt and yellow post-it note to the yellow door is really interesting to look at. I want to interrupt this style into my self portraits as I think that it is very eye catching and I think it makes the overall mood of the image very joyful- especially with the bright colours she uses.
The story behind this image, which I find very amusing, is that she left post-it notes all around her house with French words on them as she was trying to learn French (La Main means the hand)- she just decided to turn it into a photoshoot. The story behind the image makes me think about all the photoshoots I could do around my learning or everyday life- how I could match my Post-it notes to the colours around me.
Also the other image of hers that caught my eye is the one where she is standing in a yellow sunflower field with a yellow bag over her head. Although the yellow plastic bag matches the surroundings, when I look at this image I feel like this is Brotherus highlighting this issue with pollution and litter all over the world. On the other hand it could also how the message of how we could use everyday litter like plastic bags for art- reminding me of the phrase I learnt in Primary School, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Manifesto
John Hearfield
John Heartfield's photomontage really stood out to me as when I first saw it (without knowing the context) I thought it was a piece on mental health. This is because I imagine the newspaper wrapped around the man's head is a representation of his thoughts and how he is trapped by them- or how they consume him. This however is not the case for this photomontage, the fact is that the man is trapped and consumed by the media and its manipulation- propaganda. This could also link to mental health as the media could influence that.
The main idea behind this photomontage is that Heartfields wants people to realise that they are becoming blind and deaf due to the media's manipulation.
This relates to modern day issues around "fake news" and how it is sometimes unclear what is real and what is fake in the media. Fake news in the present day is really used to damage someone's reputation or business and sometimes it is hard to tell if it's real which can be very manipulative. I feel like Heartfields motive behind this work is for us to understand that the media isn't the only thing in the world and that we shouldn't let it consume us or control us and our decisions.
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