JR Chronicles – Saatchi Gallery
A few days ago, I went to the JR Chronicles - Saatchi Gallery were we went around the exhibition seeing his photos and learning his learning his intentions and ideas behind his pieces.
JR started as a graffiti artist at 15. His style of street art changed when he found a camera on the underground two years later. He decided to create 'Expo de Rue' (sidewalk exhibitions) and paste his work up on the streets. He also gave his friends p/copies of the photos he took. After the riots in Les Boquets JR saw the images he had pasted of his friends in the area in news reports. JR wanted to show a different side to the people involved in the riots. JR used a 28mm lens and forced people to ask themselves important questions. JR is convinced that art should be taken to the streets, so it can reach all kinds of people. JR was also famous for refusing any sponsorship or branding. He did this so you could see the stories behind the portraits and because he believes the way he does things is as important as the outcome.
JR started as a graffiti artist at 15. His style of street art changed when he found a camera on the underground two years later. He decided to create 'Expo de Rue' (sidewalk exhibitions) and paste his work up on the streets. He also gave his friends p/copies of the photos he took. After the riots in Les Boquets JR saw the images he had pasted of his friends in the area in news reports. JR wanted to show a different side to the people involved in the riots. JR used a 28mm lens and forced people to ask themselves important questions. JR is convinced that art should be taken to the streets, so it can reach all kinds of people. JR was also famous for refusing any sponsorship or branding. He did this so you could see the stories behind the portraits and because he believes the way he does things is as important as the outcome.
Portraits Of A Generation
The 2005 french riots was a three-week period of riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, in October and November 2005. These riots involved youth in violent attacks, and the burning of cars and public buildings. JR nevertheless wanted to challenge the term racaille, or ‘scum’, the then Minister of the Interior had used to describe the rioters. Using a 28 mm lens, he shot full-frame portraits of young people pulling scary faces to caricature themselves and pasted the enlarged posters onto the walls of both Les Bosquets and ‘bobo’ (bourgeois bohemian) districts of the city. JR asked the people he photographer to choose the photo that they liked most of themselves so they can choose how they are portrayed. They all had scary expressions on their faces. JR would then paste these pictures all over the suburbs of Paris. It make you want to hear more about their story and also gives everyone the opportunity to share their portait and make a statement for what they stand for.
Portrait Of A Generation: Practical
In this task I was required to respond to JR Chronicles - Portraits of a Generation. JR worked with the community to capture portraits and then wheat pasted the images both in Montfermeil and throughout Paris. I decided to respond to JR by taking a few different photos of my partner from different angles with unusual expressions. I set up my camera to focus on my partners eyes to create a deeper feeling behind the person. Focusing on their eyes allowed everyone to have a sense of the persons thoughts and emotions. I also used a wide aperture in my photos so that the persons face was the only thing in focus.
In these photos I tried to portray anger through Adams stern face. In the first 2 photos Adam is looking directly into the camera with an angry and firm expression, this builds a connection with the viewer as it makes you feel how he is feeling. This photo is inspired
from the Saatchi Gallery photo where the camera is pointed as a gun almost to say we want change.
Next, I developed my piece by turning my portrait photos into a poster of myself and Adam. I put them up in lots of different locations to give a background to the photos and for the ones outside (to emulate JRs intentions) I put the photo up where everyday people can see it to really spread the message.
My First Set Of Photos
Best Edits
WWW: I successfully recreated 'Portraits of a Generation' using different locations. The backgrounds to my photos really made the focus of it stand out which was what I was aiming for with my work.
EBI: To improve, one thing I could of worked on is placing my photos in busier locations (like in town) to really focus on JRs ambitions.
EBI: To improve, one thing I could of worked on is placing my photos in busier locations (like in town) to really focus on JRs ambitions.
I created this pice by cutting out interesting and eye catching pieces of newspaper and sticking them on a sheet. I would then take my JR portrait and remove the back of it by taking a covering it in tape and using a sponge and some water to remove the back making it almost transparent is some areas.
WWW: I arranged the pictures in a nice way.
EBI: I could have placed the tape on more neatly so it had less creases.
WWW: I arranged the pictures in a nice way.
EBI: I could have placed the tape on more neatly so it had less creases.
Gordon Magnin
Gordon Magnin creates work that is in response to his environment. He lives in a city that is influenced by Hollywood advertising. He does this by using found female fashion images. He creates geometric systems by either cutting out images and replacing them on a new angle or by completely removing the shape. Gordon Magnin grew up skateboarding and getting into trouble. Despite this, he technically inclined and a bit of a perfectionist. Gordon Magnin suffered from having amblyopia in his left eye. This basically meant that he was blind in that eye and it had a huge effect on depth perception. It made him see things in a completely different way. He is interested in creating an unusual piece that is outside of our normal existence. When people sees his photography he want them to stop, look, contemplate and re-evalute something you think you already knew. He did this by taking his photos and different unusual angles and editing the photos in a way that is completely disjointed and unusual.
The directions I gave to my model were to look both directly and away from the camera. Instead of telling my model to stay stiff and awkward I told them to loosen up and try different actions. I think this helped to make it more realistic and natural. When telling my model to look directly at the camera, I wanted to portray meaning and I wanted to make it eye catching so you would wonder why he looked so angry. To add a further element of wonder I edited the photos in photoshop the way Gordon Magnin did. See Below:
WWW: The edited the portraits well to make Adams body seem almost disjointed and I felt like it added confusion to the viewer.
EBI: Some of the original photos were not in focus so that is something that I definitely need to remember.
EBI: Some of the original photos were not in focus so that is something that I definitely need to remember.
Recreating Famous Paintings Task
Here are the famous paintings I chose alongside my attempt of it.
WWW: The photo was edited well to emulate the original painting.
EBI: I could have also added in more historical paintings as I feel that I would be able to complete that task well.
Kehinde Wiley
When Kehinde Wiley took his photos his intentions were to add a combination of traditional and abstract art. As shown above the flowers in the background give a softness to the painting. This contrasts with the typical profile of a black man. Over many decades, middle America has come to “instinctively” see African-Americans as threats. The blossoms are painted behind and across the subject, showing us that the two elements inhabit the same space. Wiley used the Old Master style, which was intended to impress the supremacy of the subject upon the viewer. For Wiley, it was about changing middle America’s view toward all African-Americans.
WWW: I successfully matched Kehinde Wiley's portrait photos where some of the background is layered on top of the original photo. The pose that Adam has performed is also relatively similar to Kehinde Wiley's portrait.
EBI: I could have blended the background of Adam more nicely e.g. start the main photo really faded out from his feet and get the background to become more and more visible as it goes up.
EBI: I could have blended the background of Adam more nicely e.g. start the main photo really faded out from his feet and get the background to become more and more visible as it goes up.
Building Fragments
Task 1 - Patrick Cornillet
Cornillet is a painter, not a photographer. He works with painting where the detailed realism of photography is united with sensuous brush strokes. His works investigates both issues concerning picturing and urbanity.In this series, he has painted architectural elements isolated from their environment and reconstituted in the form of objects on a white background. The concrete makes us aware of the material and of the remains left by the humans and of time passing by. Even if the architectures seem austere, spaces seeming uninhabited, dehumanised, Cornillet creates a particular poetry and a mesmerising mysticism.
|
My Response
Best Edits
How To Complete This Task:
WWW: I successfully completed this task and elaborated by turning the background to looking like a sky.
EBI: To improve I could have taken more photos and take photos from standing further back and looking onto bigger buildings.
EBI: To improve I could have taken more photos and take photos from standing further back and looking onto bigger buildings.
Mauren Brodbeck: Task 2
The buildings and car parks in Mauren Brodbeck’s photographs do not register in the thoughts of passersby. They are so unimposing that their existence seems almost doubtful.
We pay so little attention to them that we can’t recall what they look like, they leave a mental blank.
Mauren Brodbeck registers this secret to memory and changes it into a visual moment representing space and time.
We pay so little attention to them that we can’t recall what they look like, they leave a mental blank.
Mauren Brodbeck registers this secret to memory and changes it into a visual moment representing space and time.
My Edits
How To Complete This Task:
WWW: I completed several photos with relative ease. Then photos I edited fulfilled Mauren Brodbecks intentions.
EBI: I could have gone around more precise details.
EBI: I could have gone around more precise details.
To add a further element onto this task, I decided to make a gif of the same photo with different colours.
Task 3: Thomas Kellner
Kellner's’ work shows us segments of the total which come together as one image. His photographs do not necessarily deconstruct architecture but instead reconstruct our view of it. His work offers an alternative view of famous landmarks, one that intends to question our thoughts on how we visually process them and develop a sense of place.Kellner uses the traditional process of film photography to create montages. Using just one roll of film, Kellner often takes images of the same landmarks or buildings of significance from different angles to later re-arrange them on a contact sheet and create a unique composition.
My Edits
WWW: The photos are all aligned up and look like one large building.
EBI: I could of twisted the individual photos so it looked kind of distorted.
EBI: I could of twisted the individual photos so it looked kind of distorted.
Task 4 Anastasi Savinova
Breaking down “authentic fragments and details of architectural environment” in her mixed media practice, Russian artist Anastasia Savinova creates collages, drawings and wooden sculptures that harness the symbolic energy of various motifs and materials.
My Edit
WWW: The top half of the photos are lined up pretty straight.
EBI: I feel like my attempt of Anastasi Savinovas collages could have been a lot better. Firstly I needed to add more photos onto the piece and secondly the quality could have been improved.
EBI: I feel like my attempt of Anastasi Savinovas collages could have been a lot better. Firstly I needed to add more photos onto the piece and secondly the quality could have been improved.
How To Complete This Task:
Independent Development
Strand 1 - Simon Phipps
Simon Phipps, is a photographer based in the London. He is a graduate in sculpture from The Royal College of Art. Growing up, his parents were architectures and were involved in designing the city, this inspired him to start taking photos of different buildings. In 2017, Phipps has an exhibition finding brutalism, at the museum in Ballpark in Kriens, Switzerland. After this exhibition, Simon saw how the utopian ideals of the post-war vision are easily undone. His black and white photographs of brutalist Britain capture a period of optimism and community buried under almost half a century of Privatisation and Individualism. He brings aesthetic dignity to an architectural period that was lambaste almost as soon as the concrete set.
Images By Simon Phipps
My First Set Of Photos
The Editing Process
Here are some of the usual steps I follow in order to edit my Simon Phipps photos:
Best Edits:
WWW: The photos I completed for Simon Phipps were taken at a good time of the day. This helped my (mainly black and white) photos as there was a sunset which stood out in the photos. I also took my photos from different unusual angles from a perspective that you wouldn't normally look at. This really helps my brutalist photos stand out.
EBI: A lot of the photos I took were not completely straight. Next time I could line up my camera better so the photo looked more professional. To further improve for next time, one thing I could to is to take more close up photos that focus more on detail, although Simon Phipps doesn't tend to normally do this, I think focusing on the detail would be beneficial as it gives more variety to my photographs.
EBI: A lot of the photos I took were not completely straight. Next time I could line up my camera better so the photo looked more professional. To further improve for next time, one thing I could to is to take more close up photos that focus more on detail, although Simon Phipps doesn't tend to normally do this, I think focusing on the detail would be beneficial as it gives more variety to my photographs.
Strand 2 - Thomas Kellner
Thomas Kellner is a German Photographer. His main intentions are to change the object of the image and question what we see. Examples of Thomas Kellners work have been taken from 1997 to 2021. He is facisnated by architecture and takes photos of buildings questioning what it actually is. Kellner often takes images of the same landmarks or buildings of significance from different angles to later re-arrange them on a contact sheet and create a unique composition. Below are some examples.
Images By Thomas Kellner
My First Set Of Images
How I Edit My Images
To start of with the edit, open both the photo you want to edit and the contact sheet layer and use the arrow tool to draw the contact sheet onto your photo.
Then use the magic ward tool and select all the boxes then press delete to make the photo underneath show through the contact sheet.
|
Then go edit, scale and size the contact sheet so it covers the whole photo.
Then press select the image layer below and then delete. Repeat as many times as you require.
|
Once completed, press window key T and slightly change the rotation of the photo underneath.
Then flatten the image and save as a JPEG.
|
Best Edits
WWW: My intention with these photos were to change the image and question what we see. This went well as the edited photos were twisted around.
EBI: I could have focused on taking more photos of actual, unusual buildings instead of focusing on a wider range of photo.
EBI: I could have focused on taking more photos of actual, unusual buildings instead of focusing on a wider range of photo.
Favourite Strand - Simon Phipps
My Favourite Strand is Simon Phipps, this is because I love the brutalist photography and black and white images that gives of a dark and moody atmosphere. Many of his images often look industrial even though they are sometimes photographs of peoples homes. A lot of his images have a dystopian feel that makes them stand out from other photographers. Here are my 4 developments to respond to his photography:
Development 1
To start my project, I visited Lismore Circus in London NW5. This is an estate comprising of high and low rise accommodation and the majority of them have used concrete as their main building material. The graffiti immediately stood out to me as the warm and colourful paintings contrasts to the bleak and cold concrete above. The image of the tower next to the church is a good contrasts with classical architecture alongside modern architecture. I have deliberately left fencing and mesh etc in my photos as it adds to the brutalist mood. Two of my favourite photographs have birds flying up into the shot. I waited for the birds to fly before I took the photograph to add a sense of life the otherwise concrete world. A few of the photos also have the vapour trails of aeroplanes in the sky and I think this adds an element of escape to the bleak environment. The plant pots on the balcony of the flats adds a sense that there is life within the home. The only photograph in my set to show a person is an old lady carrying bags and walking towards the tower block. My aim is to make you think about whether the lady lives there, how long she has lived there and whether she has found happiness in such a brutal looking building.
My First Set Of Photos
My Edits
My Favourite Three Edits
Editing Process
Development 2
For my second development I decided to go to the Isokon. The Isokon was seen as a new way of urban living. It was the first block ever to be built using primarily reinforced concrete
I continued my project by focusing on an individual building - the Isokon in Belsize Park, NW3. The front of the building is almost exclusively white. There are some interesting shapes within it where the stairs and the balcony are. There aren't many windows on the front of the building and not much sign of a place where people actually live. However at the back of the building there are large windows looking out onto a nature reserve (unlike the front that looks out onto a road and other buildings). I wanted to make sure I included some photos from the back of the building, the much less famous bit of it to show that people actually live in this building. I liked the photograph that shows a lightbulb inside the building as evidence of humans! Although this building is about 100 years old I still think it look incredibly modern.
My First Set Of Photos
My Edits
My Favourite Three Edits
Editing Process
Development 3
My First Set Of Photos
For my third development, I decided to go to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. I wanted to find a large concrete building that was a little bit less obvious. The Royal Free is an enormous 1970s building hidden in plain sight. A lot of people would think it is a ugly and unfriendly building but I really like the fact that on the inside it is a kind and caring building because it is a hospital full of doctors and nurses. The more you look at the building the more you realise how interesting the building is because of the symmetry and patterns formed by the huge concrete blocks. By walking around to the back of the building you see a side of it that you would never see if you were a patient or a visitor and I was able to take some photographs of the building that I bet even locals would not recognise. I really liked the picture with the moon in the background because its a symbol of our place in the universe and that life is precious, something hospitals do their best to preserve.
My Edits
A Few Of My Favourite Edits
Editing Process:
Development 4
My First Set Of Photos
For my final set of images I went to the Barbican in London. I saved the best for last as the Barbican is the one of the worlds best examples of Brutalist architecture. It is a collection of buildings that is more like a concrete town rather than a collection of buildings. I waited for a grey day to visit as I wanted to exaggerate the moody environment. With many of my images I decided to try different levels of buildings with structures in the foreground as well as in the distance. Even though thousands of people live within the buildings in these photographs I deliberately didn't want to show people in my pictures to emphasise the brutalist nature of the buildings. There are only two people in any of the pictures. One is a solitary man walking across the concrete concourse. The other is me the photographer in the reflection of two photos. I really like these photographers as it highlights the loneliness of the environment. I have tried to exaggerate the perspective by shooting up at the towers. In one of my favourite pictures you can see two other towers looming into the side of the photo, this frames in ominously and suggests the presence of other large buildings near by. Another of my favourite images shows the tall tower block with a wet pavement in the foreground showing off some good reflections and light. There are also some cranes in the background which suggests that buildings are forever changing and you wonder what the next big London building might look like.
My Edits
A Few Of My Favourite Edits
Editing Process:
Final Piece
Here are my favourite pieces: