Sunday, January 23, 2011
Reading: Charlotte Cotton "Once Upon A Time" for Thursday, Jan 27th
Choose two artists from the Charlotte Cotton reading. For each artist, explain how their images fit into Cotton's theme of storytelling in imagery (for some artists, a quick round of internet research might be helpful). How is the artist's approach visually and conceptually unique? What do you find compelling about the artists or images that you chose to discuss?
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In Charlotte Cotton’s chapter Once Upon a Time we are asked to look at photographs that depict either a specific scene or show a story unfolding in front of us in an attempt to draw us into the photographs. Of the many artists that were shown, the work by Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Christopher Stewart seemed to present the idea of storytelling the greatest. While Philip-Lorca diCorcia was directly trying to replicate the lighting typical of the “cinematic” style, both of the artists seem to show scenes that could easily be film stills.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, one of the major differences between professional movies and amateur footage often has to do with lighting a scene and obviously the camera work. In Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s photo although it has a natural look to it, the subtle details of lighting the foreground and subject while looking through a window where certainly planned. The framing also gives a very “set-up” feel to the scene. Perhaps to people who have not experimented with a camera or film may think this is an easy effect to achieve, when in fact it is not. Although this is the case, modern movies have conditioned us to believe this is the “natural” so in that sense the photograph is very successful. It is almost that the photo is so un-unique in that sense, it could be lifted from a range of modern films.
In the work of Christopher Stewart, we again see a scene that is telling a story, in particular the one of a spy observing someone else. In this photo, again lighting plays a major role, particularly the contrast between inside and out. Although Stewart mentions that he intended to portray a drama, instead of a documentary or photojournalism; in the age of having embedded press members in the military, it is much more difficult to tell what is real. I can recall seeing many actual images in the New York Times that although look like a movie scene are actually real depictions. I think that if the artist makes me raise that question then this is a successful series and clearly shows Cotton’s link between still photos and action. I think another interesting aspect is that in the photo you are not clear whether you are looking at someone who is there to do good or evil – or perhaps in these situations such a distinction is not possible.
"While reading i was constantly reminded of Charolette Cotton's importance for the artist's invitation to an audience, -whose meaning is reliant on investigating the image with our own trains of narrative and psychological thought" However, I was particularly inspired by Jeff Wall because I enjoy his ability to create and capture the relationship between character, props, environment, and audience. Jeff Walls' style of photography definitely fits into Cotton's theme of storytelling through imagery. In specific, Insomnia (1994) uses similar stylistic elements of Renaissance painting but because the interior space is modernized, wall has created a story that depicts the progression and events that led up to the point of this transformation. While the props and environment provide clues to a chronological transformation, Wall's character choreography implies the psychological digression of the self. wall's stylistic and conceptual approach is interesting because his work requires extensive amounts of time, preparation, and assistance, " the use of actors, assistants and technicians, needed to create a photographic tableau redefines the photographer as the orchestra of a cast and crew, they key rather than sole producer." Jeff Wall's approach is also interesting because a lot of his work is done on sight, in his created environment, where as several other artists rely on the capabilities of the studio.
ReplyDeleteBecause I was inspired by Jeff Wall and his approach to capturing moments in time, psychological and cultural progression, I was also interested in Hannah Collins' "In the Course of Time,6 (Factory Krahaw)" because the series uses architectural street scenes to captures a period in time. He images appear to be attempts to restores histories of culture.
The reading, "Once Upon A time" by Charlotte Cotton emphasized the photographs that unfold as fairytales, events and myth. The photographers featured in the reading allows the spectator to delve into everything that is shown in the still. The viewer can identify the lifestyle of the character and invite themselves into the story that is being told. I was most intrigued by Sharon Lockhart and Jeff Wall. These Artists both tell stories, however they do so in different ways. Sharon Lockhart combines cinema and photography to create self-concious photographs. She often uses long exposure to make pictures for raw. She also uses framing to emphasize off-screen space. The Japanese basketball stills along with her Goshogaoka (1998) stills inform the viewer that these girls routines are posed and are meant to be posed for the audience which in this case is the camera. I also enjoy her Pine Flat series. In this series she only relies on daytime lighting, she uses children as her subjects and places them into front of a barn wall. The long exposure challenged the kids to stay still and concentrate without fidgeting.
ReplyDeleteJeff Wall is a huge representative of Cinematic Style.He uses actors, sets and background surroundings to create a story. A lot of Wall's pieces seem to push the boundaries and at times seem a bit twisted.The interior or background lends a plethora of information about the story present in the frame. He also stages events to make them feel casual. I remember last year in Imaging I looking at Milk ( 1984) and Mimic ( 1982). These stills evoke tension and compels the viewer to find out more about the story.