Social Commentary

At first my mind was blank as to what I was going to pursue for my Location assignment. I came up with a few ideas, which all took place back home in Cootamundra: One, to photograph my friend who works at a local child care centre and also tecahes dancing at one of the studios in his spare time. Two, my Grandfather and his friends playing in a lawn bowls tournament at the local Country Club. Three, to photograph those who play Bingo at the Country Club each Friday. I eventually came up with a final idea, and settled on it.

I chose to photograph my Dad who is an aircraft engineer. He works at the local airport, Masling Industries. I intended on following him and displaying what he does there. Maslings specialises in aviation turbine engine component maintenance and overhaul. Although they are a small organisation in the town they are a leading component overhaul facility, and have customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific

Throughout his office and the hanger, this is what I came up with.

Products

I went with the first idea that popped in my head for the product assignment - Barbies! Excitement central, going through all my old Barbie stuff and coming up with interesting ideas... well that was the beginning. Now I'm glad I don't have to touch another Barbie again. I have plenty of Barbies from when I was a little kid, so ideas weren't a problem and ranged from Beach Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Workout Barbie, Ballerina Barbie, and even Shopping Barbie (complete with the trolley and miniature food items). The final ideas I ran with ended up being Dorothy, Ballerina, Esmerelda, Winter Wonderland, Bathtime Kelly and the Birthday "party". When setting up, I used fishing wire and trusty blu tac to help hold them up, which at times was frustrating...(especially with the little Kelly dolls and their big heads). So the only photoshopping done was to remove the wire and blu tac.

My first shoot was with Dorothy, which went smoothly. I had painted the background and foreground myself, and she came with a little basket and dog Toto, so the setup was simple. To capture her glittery red shoes lit up, I had all the room's lights off and set the shutter speed to 5 seconds.

Next came Ballerina Barbie. I wanted to try and create a stage-looking scene, which is why I set up the coloured fairy lights in the background behind some soft white material. This shoot took longer because I couldn't get the right lighting to make the fairy lights appear nice and soft in the background, while keeping the doll sharp. Finally with Julian's help, we used a constant light and there you go.

Originally my third shoot involved a Beach theme. I had set up the scene with real sand and sea shells (thanks Chi!), a beach buggy, and Barbie lazing beneath an umbrella. However I didn't like it in the end and ditched it. Sadness. So the next shoot was with Bathtime Kelly. She came with the little pink bathtub, bathmat, soap and the foam duck. I used one of the glass blocks from the studio as my background, and a tile as the foreground. The lighting turned out a little warm, and even though it was meant to be a bathroom setting it was a bit flat.I got sticky bubbles, which compared to normal bubbles last alot longer. But we soon found out that the downside to this was that they leave white stuff everywhere...

For Winter Wonderland Barbie, I got some white tulle material which had these little glittery bits scattered all over it. Along with the white glittery foreground, it appeared like snow (almost!). This shoot went well, with the only problem being a harsh shadow on her right side which was easily removed with a reflector.

Next came the Birthday Party. The two Kelly dolls came wearing their part dress and hats, and also with presents and balloons. The pink bunny added a girly childlike touch, while also hiding the blu tac that held up the balloons. I also used blu tac on the bottom of both doll's feet, lots of blu tac... The lighting caused shadow on their left side, which was fixed with a reflector.

Finally, I ended my Barbie shoot with Esmerelda, who comes from the Hunchback of Notredam story. As she is a performer, I made her appear as though she was in mid-dance. I used the deep purple material for the background, which makes her appear more prominent. For the foreground, the gold glomesh type material was used to add more colour.

Portraits

HEAD TO WAIST - I wanted to use one of the crochet blankets my Grandmother made as the background. I have a bit of a weird liking (maybe an obsession...) towards crochet blankets, so thats mainly why it was my first thought for a background. I love the different colours of wool used and the way it appears so intricately held together. To fit in with the background I went with a hippie theme, dressing Nikki in a cheesecloth shirt, bright headscarf and beads. What I didn't think about before shooting, was the length of the blanket. So I ended up having some trouble with its length, and in the end the portraits ended up being quite square.

After experimenting with incense sticks and hearts drawn on her palm, I decided I liked the images with the daisies the best, choosing the last photo above as my head to waist portrait.

MULTIPLE EXPOSURE - I asked my friend Francine who plays soccer, to come into the studio. I wanted to get 3 exposures of her juggling the ball with her feet at first. Then I decided to have some variety, an have one of her juggling the ball on her knees, one juggling the ball on her head and the third of her simply holding the ball. After she'd kitted up in her gear we started. It all went fairly easily, with the main problem being Fran trying to juggle in complete darkness and not loose the ball halfway down the studio. The final image I chose has ghosting around the bottom, which I didn't crop or try to remove, because I like the effect and I wanted the boots and socks to be shown.

Final Folio Presentation

For my final folio, I decided to concentrate on the song response from week three. The song I chose for this was "Ending Start" by Metric. To me the words of the song depict a picture in my mind of someone who feels trapped, vulnerable and basically like a possession.

In the assignment I only presented two photos, to fit in with the cd cover topic, but for the final presentation I added three more photos. To fit in with the feeling of being trapped and vulnerable, I used a blindfold on my subject in the first photo. The next three photos are made to replicate the subject's thoughts and memories, and finally what has become of her. The last photo also gives a sense of breaking free.

The final photos have been cropped to a square shape, keeping with the cd cover size and because they look best viewed at that size. Instead of placing them in a cd case or framing them, I decided to pin them together with safety pins, with the intention that the pins symbolize the person's thoughts being penetrated and broken down. I then pinned them to a blindfold, fitting in with the first image.

Untitled

The creative writing piece I got was "Untitled" by Jane Pettit. (The poem is alongside the printed photo in the visual arts hallway).

Polly

Polly wants a cracker

I think I should get off her first

Think she wants some water

To put out the blow torch

Isn't me

Have a seed

Let me clip

Dirty wings

Let me take a ride

Hurt yourself

Want some help

Help myself
Got some rope

Have been told

I promise you

Have been true

Let me take a ride

Hurt yourself

Want some help

Help myself

Lyrics by Nirvana

NPG - Construction of Identity

Ok so this is a little late, but here it is... Unfortunately I couldn't find the images on the Internet, but the portraits I chose were Drew Barrymore by George Hurrell, taken July 1981, and La Nijinska, Two Studies by Man Ray, taken November 1922.

Hurrell's portrait of Drew was taken when she was just six years old. The photographer has captured a part of her innocence, and this is evident through the bright pink puffy sleeved dress she wears, with her blonde hair gathered into a bun. She is seated and stares straight into the camera, her gaze rather subdued and serious for a person so young. Her facial expression seems to give nothing away and leaves her appearing closed up.

The two portraits of Russian choreographer La Nijinska reveal a more open side. She is photographed wearing heavy black and white makeup, and her hair is a lovely mess with a large comb stuck through the middle.
In the first photograph she gazes into the camera, her eyes wide and full of sadness. The makeup adds to this, making her mouth seem upturned. In the second photograph La Nijinska has her head thrown upwards and her eyes closed. This appearance again gives the sense of unhappiness.

Both photographers have contributed to the construction of their subject's identities, through clothing, makeup and positioning (e.g. seated/standing, looking at or away from the camera). Drew is constructed to appear childlike by use of the pink girly dress and her soft features. However the serious gaze she has makes her seem older than she actually is, seeing as how it appears strong and sombre, compared to the usual smiling face of a typical child's portrait. In both of La Nijinska's portraits she appears unhappy, and also somewhat frightened.

As viewers we do not really know what these people are like in real life. Was Drew really a serious child? Did she really want to wear a bright pink dress, or was she forced into it? Was La Nijinska a depressed woman?

I don't think a person's true self can be captured a second. No one knows what goes on before the photograph is shot, unless they are actually there. The subject could easily be told to force a smile, when really they don't feel like what the forced smile is suggesting. Without even being asked, the subject could automatically put up a wall and hide who they really are as soon as they are placed in front of a camera.

Bungendore and Braidwood

While in Braidwood we visited Stephen Best, who produces film scans, exhibition prints, fine-art reproductions and portfolios. He is located at 23 Elrington Street, Braidwood NSW, and can be contacted by Telephone: (02) 4842 2976 Mobile: 0403 079 145 Website: www.macquarieeditions.com.au

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosened upon the world

Queanbeyan

Garema Place

Heroes

Heroes never reveal themselves.

Skin Holes

Wet Plate Process

Invented by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, the wet plate process was a collodion-on-glass negative method. It was basically and emulsion of silver halides suspended in gelatin, involving exposing and processing the collodion before it dried.

It was the first practical way of obtaining permanant images on glass, which were of good quality and effectively grainless. Wet plate process proved to be quite inconvenient, as a whole darkroom set up would have to be taken everywhere. Also dirt and dust would be caught on the plate's sticky, adhesive surface. However, the process became an immediate success due to its low cost and high quality images produced, superseding daguerreotype and calotype.

The method used the following steps:

1. A solution of iodised collodion is poured onto a thoroughly cleaned glass plate. The liquid is spread evenly across the plate by gently tilting it backwards and forwards, allowing it to set enough for it to hold.The excess solution is poured back into a bottle.
2. A chemical reaction occurs when the plate is then immersed in a silver nitrate solution, forming both silver iodide and silver bromide crystals.
3. The plate is then exposed for about 15 seconds (depending on subject and lighting conditions) in the camera using a darkslide.
4. The plate is then transferred to a solution of water, iron sulfate, acetic acid and alcohol, therefore allowing it to develop.
5. After this, the plate is fixed in hypo, washed and finally dried.
   

Albumen paper was used to contact print a finished negative, creating a lantern slide. In normal temperature conditions, the photographer would have had approximately 20 minutes to coat, expose and process a plate. In cold conditions time was shorter, and the collodion had to be warmed to be able o be poured out of the bottle. In hot conditions, the solution would often take longer to set sufficiently on the plate.

Theodore Roosevelt on broken glass, taken between 1890-1910

References:

- (No author) 1984, ICP encyclopaedia of photography, Pound Press, New York

- Wikipedia, Collodion process, viewed 9 August 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collodion_process

Ending Start

Ending Start

All this that is more than a wish is a memory

All this that is ceases to be

All is revealed

The obvious door opens nothing

Nothing, nothing, nothing left

Nothing left to chance

When you try to see, we'll watch you

When you try to leave, we'll keep you

When you should be dreaming, we'll wake you

But don't scream, we'll make you swallow your words

Gave them our reactions, our explosions all that was ours

For graphs of passion and charts of stars

Gave them our reactions, our explosions all that we are

For graphs of passion and charts of stars

How ending starts

Ending starts with answers

(Lyrics by Metric)

Jabberwocky

NMA - Gallery of Australian Dreams

The feature that stood out the most to me within the Garden of Australian Dreams was the small area in which the Eucalyptus Ghost Gums were located. Eucalyptus trees are a classic part of the Australian landscape and when I think of Australia, I think of gum trees and wide open spaces.

I think trees and nature are beautiful to look at, so I think that’s basically why this feature appealed to me the most. Their colours, textures and overall stature are striking.

The trees represent the Australian bushland, and are as said above, a characteristic part of Australia. I think Richard Weller would have included the trees in the GOAD because they speak for themselves, signifying Australia and its bushland.

The GOAD would be considered a postmodern landscape architecture because it is original and uses many different mediums in its overall design. It is a creative embodiment made for the present.

Reference for image - http://www.nma.gov.au/about_us/the_building/#row_4

Dada Poem

Singing gleam stir but no night his can bottle old in a quiet there’s lost snow through tears a stove the with red in alone beauty dawn till green feeling what a she love cup leans her about come dreams in there’s incense-pillow outside others in has her dusk. 

Bauhaus

The Bauhaus movement reflects works that exhibit features of simplicity, functionality and that are visually appealing to the eye. I looked around the house and came up with a few things that I think are inspired by the Bauhaus movement:

Door handles. They are uncomplicated and practical –

Bathroom towel rack. It is sensible yet contemporary, with an attractive feel -

The television cabinet. It is modern, smooth and compact, while overall efficient of its purpose to support and conceal -

The dining chair. The soft suede material creates a comfortable dining experience, while its appearance is once again simple and aesthetic -

National Portrait Prize

We visited the National Portrait Gallery again, this time to view the National Photographic Portrait Prize. Our assignment was to pick what we thought should be the winner, and what we thought shouldn’t have even made it into the finals.

Dichotomia by Peter Brew-Bevan, 2008

I chose this portrait as my winner. It immediately caught my eye because the white bodies against the white background make it stand out. The word dichotomy means a division, or duality. This is apparent in the portrait from the different facial expressions – one looks unsure and somewhat uncomfortable, while the other appears more content and almost devious.

Also, the mischievous left hand side is clutching 3 paint brushes in a hold that makes them stick out, seeming dangerous, like claws. The more submissive right side has his finger to his mouth, adding to his uncertain appearance, and holds the opposite’s hand hesitantly. His collar (yeah I can’t remember what these things are called…) also gives him an amusing, child-like look.

There is thought to be a certain degree of duality within a person - the devilish wild side, compared to the more straight-edged overall good side, and I think this portrait represents it well.


http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/nppp2/images/photos/large/36.jpg




Nina and Paul by Emma Thomson, 2008

I really got nothing out of this portrait. To me it’s tasteless, and has nothing to offer the viewer. Visually it is flat and there is nothing that jumps out at you or catches your eye. It seems very point and shoot, as if no thought has gone into how it could have been shot.

Compared to a lot of the other portraits on display I find it weak. The way the subjects are positioned doesn’t represent them well, apart from the simple fact that the man enjoys photographing the woman in unappealing poses, shirtless...

Obviously this was the portrait I chose as the one that I thought shouldn’t have made it to the finals.

http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/nppp2/images/photos/large/47.jpg

Primitivism

For our fourth assignment we discussed Primitivism. Some formal characteristics of Primitivist art include: abstraction of the human figure and change in the body’s proportion, flatness of space and geometric designs, simplistic and rough nature of work, the people in the art are marginalised and also unconscious or unaware that they are being used for the purpose of the art (as there is usually no eye contact with the viewer).

Primitive refers to the period of time where humans were leading simple, unsophisticated lives. They lived “in the wild”, so naturally and very basic with no technological impact. Primitivism however, is the art movement that captures the lifestyle and culture. It suggests that life within the early stages was simple, yet more ethical than today’s contemporary world.

Contemporary primitivism has the ability to manifest itself by today’s modern residents desiring to live how those in the early stages of civilization lived, simplistic with no technology aids.

The piece of art I came across that I find to be primitivist is titled Woman Planting Rice by Eduardo Masterre, from 1934. The photograph shows a woman bearing traditional woven clothing, planting rice in a rice field. She is concentrating on her work, face down, and doesn’t seem to be aware that her photograph is being taken. Looking at the woman’s clothing and the surroundings she’s in, the conditions appear relatively poor and disadvantaged.

NPG + NAA

National Portrait Gallery

I enjoyed going to the portrait gallery. There were quite a few portraits I liked, but ended up choosing these two...

Michael Hutchence by Harry Borden
Gelatin silver photograph - 1997

As soon as I saw this portrait I immediately liked it. His clothing, sunglasses and cigarette in hand scream rocker (well that’s kind of obvious I guess..) His pose and facial expression appears natural. I like the depth of field used to make him and the building in focus, while the rest of the photograph is out of focus. The street below looks crowded and rushed, while he looks at ease.




Image -
http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/dof/7.htm


Vali Myers by Eva Collins
Type C Print – 2001

The first thing that caught my eye about this portrait is Vali’s vibrant wild red hair. And then the tattoos that decorate not only her hands but also her face. Her clothing and chunky costume looking jewellery give her a free spirited gypsy feel. Her eyes are bright and piercing, surrounded by heavy makeup. To me she looks like a person who has lived and has a lot to tell.



Image - http://www.portrait.gov.au/site/collection_info.php?searchtype=advanced&searchstring=:::::&irn=725


National Archives of Australia

At the archives I found the following:

Inquiry Records from 1928, compiled by J W Bleakley. The records give an insight to the status and conditions of Aboriginal people in central and northern Australia during this time. They include photos of farmland, the sparse outback, homesteads and gum trees in the dry dusty summer. All things which represent the authenticity of the Australian land.

Photograph album from 1919. The album documents vocational training classes for those who had returned from war, along with the widows of those who tragically did not return.

The vocational classes included plastering, building and bricklaying. This shows how much Australians stick together during times of hardship, and how valued we are to our country.

NGA + AWM

Okay so this is a bit late – but once again having Internet troubles. Yay for technology :)

Anyways here are two artworks I chose from the gallery and the assignment from our visit to the War Memorial.

National Gallery of Australia

Artist: James Gleeson
Title: The attitude of lightning towards a lady mountain
Date: 1939

Dada and Surrealism





This work was created using oil on canvas. The first thing that stood out to me when I saw the artwork was the pink coloured objects against the blue green background. Their texture reminds me of coral, while the shapes appear to be a human body and torso. I like how they appear jagged and rough, while the background is simply soft.

Image - http://nga.gov.au/Gleeson/

Artist: Mike Parr and John Loane
Title: Polish Mud
Date: 1995

Australian Contemporary

I like the rough looking technique used in creating this piece. It has a feeling of sadness, confusion and struggle. Each of the 12 parts to this piece has a face, and each represent these feelings.




Australian War Memorial

Throughout the war was time of great technological change. Photographs taken during World War 1 were black and white and would tend to appear blunt, blurry and marked. As time and technology progressed, photography moved into colour and there were a lot more action shots being taken. Video footage also came on the scene, with video cameras being attached to missiles as to view the actual bombing.

A photograph I came across from WW1 showed a group of exhausted soldiers taking roll-call after battle. They are shown shielded in a trench, with the terrain in the background completely war torn. The trees are shredded and the earth upturned. The soldiers lean their weary bodies against the trench wall, with looks on their faces showing not only their fatigue, but also concern.

Fashion during wartime changed over time, as well as country to country. A uniform would denote distinction as to rank and culture. Materials and style would contribute to form and function. For example, summer uniforms would be made from light material such as an earthy canvas to keep cool, while a winter uniform would consist of a heavier material that would have had a lining such as wool for warmth and resistance to water. Lycra was also used as it would allow easy movement but still provide a certain degree of warmth.

A tight fitting uniform would contribute to an authorative and intimidating figure. Some uniforms were more for show instead of for function. More practical uniforms had ammunition webbing and belts situated higher than normal to allow better movement (e.g. for crouching and crawling). Helmets varied from different cultures, with Australian helmets appearing very basic compared to the more convenient helmets used by the Germans. Their helmets had a strap to prevent losing the helmet, and it also went over the ears adding to the protection.

When parachutes came into use they were created to allow movement when jumping out of the plane. Machine guns were developed in a way so they were able to be used upon departure from the plane instead of having to drop the guns to the ground separately, leaving the soldiers unarmed.