"The true authenticity of photographs for me is that they usually manipulate and lie about what is in front of the camera, but never lie about the intentions behind the camera." ~ Wolfgang Tillmans
I have chosen to base my personal project on disguise as in my eyes, there are endless possibilities and ideas that connote this idea of illusion and distortion to disguise a photograph. In addition, disguise can be interpreted in various ways to the extent that it disfigures the photograph as a whole, whether it uses portraiture or object photography. In many aspects, disguise photography can be depicted as an artificial, manufactured element of unconventional art as the deception quite frankly alters our perception of reality, making the photograph abstract.
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This photograph is my favourite as is displays the most peculiar, unconventional qualities and to me is the most striking in terms of disguise. First of all, there is evidently a huge ball of wires and cables covering the entirety of a mans face primarily establishing that perhaps the intention is to completely conceal his appearance/ facial expressions, enhancing this idea of disguise. The fact that he is also pouring milk into some books instead of a glass provides the photograph with abstraction (alongside with the wires and cables). The range of different shades of blue present in this photograph could reflect the mood too?
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Kensuke Koike
I am very intrigued with the techniques Koike uses as they are eccentric yet powerful, while also relating to the theme disguise in various ways. He physically deconstructs photographs to then make bizzare, thought-provoking compositions that give the photograph illusional effects. He predominantly uses pictures of people which enhance this idea of illusion because he essentially dismantles their features and rearranges them in a way that disguises and distorts their faces, therefore making it harder to recognise as a conventional photograph.
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Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, life has been very different. School closed for 6 months meaning we were unable to continue with normality and structure. We had to attend virtual lessons in order to maintain routine and productivity (even if we were very reluctant to attend the lessons). Therefore in present time, back to school, we have to go about things quite differently such as wearing masks in the corridor, staying in designated social time spaces and frequently sanitising our hands. It is undeniably difficult to adapt to these adjustments of course, however we mustn't let these restrictions limit our ability to move on and expand our creativity.
Similarly, many artists work under and embrace restrictions and constraints and use it to their advantage going on to produce some remarkably creative work. Besides, many would agree that restrictions and rules/instructions are in fact beneficial for our creativity as too much freedom and choice can be overwhelming and unhelpful. Having rules set in place helps us regain control and sets useful boundaries as we may find ourselves lost in thought of what to do next in a situation where anything is possible. |
Many artists use instructions as a form of guidance as well as a chance to improve their creativity. For instance, John Baldessari, a conceptual artist, has used instructions in his teaching of art students at the CalArt campus. Other artists such as Sol LeWitt purely bases his art from specific instructions expanding his creativity, as having too much choice may be overwhelming and unhelpful.
I had a go at assigning someone else with an instruction to take a photograph; it could be as broad or as specific as possible, it was my choice. These are some ideas that sprung into mind when thinking about what instructions i would give someone: -photograph silence -take a photograph through a mirror at 5:30pm -take a photograph out of focus with the lowest exposure possible - |
''Take a picture of something frightening through a mirror.''
To achieve this photograph, I used my phone to take a flash picture in complete darkness- this adds to the 'frightening' aspect of the instruction. This meant that the entirety of the mirror was dark and the objects surrounding it (directly in front of the camera) were illuminated. To add to the frightening effect, I incorporated a motif of red eyes (digitally drawn) into the mirror, giving the sense of being watched, which is a common fear sensed by many. For this I used an app called PiZap to simply layer and blend the eyes into the image.
WWW: I feel as if I have responded to my instruction effectively and thoughtfully; I quite enjoyed digitally constructing a photograph that evoked fear as it was quite an interesting topic to base my work on. EBI: Perhaps I could've experimented with a portrait through a mirror and digitally contorted it to draw back to the theme of 'frightening'. I also could've blended the eyes into the photograph a little more to give it a heightened sense of realism. |
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I decided to make a stop motion video to showcase how I reworked one of these photographs and turn it into an animated process. By corresponding to Koike's theme of geometric shapes being cut into images, I made use of variously sized circles and animated them to turn in different directions to form a new composition. I feel as if this is a really inventive experimenting technique because a video shows much more than a photograph in terms of what's happening.
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"In, with, and alongside photography."
Klavdij Sluban is concerned about how prisons are completely hidden from society and shares his knowledge with young people who have had their liberty taken away from them. He believes that having a photo-graphical vision is extremely beneficial for young people in this position therefore chooses to work with them as he is concerned about the existence of prisons. He gives these inmates disposable cameras and starts without hesitation and soon gains their trust. Upon arrival he soon recognises the extreme lack of activity provided to them and the mundane, lifelessness of prison becomes apparent in these prisoners' reactions. He remarks that there is an evident sense of 'nothingness' and 'absence' however he teaches them to embrace this nothingness by photographing it. This lead to a flow of creative ideas by those who pushed beyond their creative limits or 'extremes'; he describes this as 'falling into a world of creation'. It was essentially a way of re-awakening these adolescents' spirits by letting them take photographs perhaps as a form of self expression. I also feel as if this resonates with our current situation regarding lockdown rules and restrictions, (obviously not the same as being in prison but in terms of constraints and loss of freedom) and this video teaches us that although we may be feeling like we are slipping into a void of nothingness, we can still embrace it and in fact 'fall into a world of creativity' as he says.
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