RESEARCH

William Eggleston is an American photographer, mostly known for his colour photography work. Eggleston use of colour and his perspective to the every day and the use of him finding small details to present a world artistically. Eggleston timing for these photographs is excellent, for each picture he only takes one shot, no multiples, so he takes the opportunity of waiting for the right moment. And you can see this in his work from the composition, which is very controlled.

He started photography at the age of 18, self-taught, taking photographs using black & white film, printing the images himself. Even his earlier work, he has a similar style to which he later shoots in colour, even the subject matter. Eggleston significant influence was Henri Cartier-Bresson, at the time Eggleston loved how Cartier-Bresson work was so different from everyone else.

Through looking at his work in books, I can see he has a unique vision. His subject matter is the banal and every day, of his hometown, which he has shot thousands of photographs of, for over 50 years. Through a personal discipline of him, is to only take one photo of one thing. Because of this, Eggleston work is very simplistic, but when you analyse it, it becomes quite refined, and the messages in these images are captivating and complexed start too unfolded.

In the image above, (the woman in the blue dress), you start to get a sense of character and attitude to develop, the more and more you look at it. The middle-aged women is dressed clean and presentable, and so is her hair. However, the juxtaposition of this is that this immaculate looking woman sitting on the dirty concrete. Her shoes & dress look brand new, contrasting against, the old, cracked, rumble looking concrete. She may want to present herself as well-off, but may not actually be. You can tell this from her facial expression. The sense of attitude, you can see this in her stare through the camera, to Eggleston. Almost like she is thinking ‘who told you that you can take a photograph of me’ vibe. Though this is every day for Eggleston, it is incredible that Eggleston came across this bold woman. The colour contrast between the woman dress and the yellow of the concrete.

Tyler Shields is an American photographer, mostly know for his provocative photographs, pushing the boundaries of constructing political, religious images. His images create a story and a statement and taps into the soul of society. Shields work is all about shock value; he is not afraid of the boundaries, that people may say or don’t have the guts to do. However, his most provocative photos are his most respectable images, and also his best selling photos. Loved by the press, he is not afraid of backlash, even if his photographs are sensitive subjects. For example the images below-

As you see these images to some people are very offence. Even though they are constructed, they make an impact and statement to the world, on both sides of the party (people who support/don’t support trump). Shields creates the images, to let the viewer interpret it. The video below shows chooses, views, techniques, of Shields work and history of constructing the photos. It is fascinating to watch how his mind works, before, during and after the production of his pictures.

The two images at the top, (the girl holding the newspaper/aeroplane of people holding newspaper), is an interesting perspective of showing historical events. Rather than constructing what the event may have looked. Shields has created the behind the scenes of this event. The people reaction to the past event, whether good or bad. From one image being strongly emotion, but with a simple background. To a whole set, of multiple actors/models, props, clothing etc. Both are impactful, almost like they are real.

I feel this is down to the production of the images; every little detail adds to the story of these images and helps the viewer believe and interpret how they want. When constructing my pictures, i need to think about all the components, to help my viewer get the concept I’m going for. When you type ‘Men Walk On The Moon’ into google all you get are images of the astronauts, no reaction, so it an exciting perspective of the photo.

Jeff Wall is a Canadian Photographer that is known for being one of the leading figures of conceptual photography. Wall’s images with the combine fundamentals of photography, with components from other art forms, using parts of literature, cinema and paintings for the construction of his ‘cinematography’ images. Wall uses the word ‘cinematography’ to describe his photography to share specific characteristics, enabling the invisibility of certain things. Producing an image that contains both what is excludes and what it displays. Wall’s narratives and precise detail to his images make the viewer question the authenticity and spontaneity. It is allowing the audience to understand the representation of the event to the viewer.

Jeff Wall photograph, ‘A Sudden Gust of Wind, 1993’ (below) was created from the inspiration of a painting. It was based upon a woodcut ‘Travelers caught in a sudden breeze at Ejiri, 1831’, by Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai. As mention before Wall enjoyed the aspect of producing narratives from the inspiration of other art mediums, and this was one.

In the painting, the foreground has multiple figures crouching down, holding on their hats, as another figure has lost their hat due to the strong winds. The woman figure on the left has all her papers flying into the air. The intensity of the strong winds even causes the leaves to blow off in the same direction as the pieces of paper. In the background of the painting has Mount Fuji, which is bare and simplistic. Making the foreground look busy and chaotic. Wall has identically reworked the structure of the painting to produce it into a substantial photographic version of Katsushika Hokusai painting. However, Wall photograph has less of a romantic notion compared to Hokusai painting. Each produce a different ambience, the painting has a lighter colour palette, which mesmerises us completely. On the other hand, Wall’s photograph has darker tones throughout, which makes the overall image ominous. By doing this it makes the viewer question what is happening, while they try to depict, they get caught in a frozen part of a story.

OTHER RESEARCH THAT HAS INSPIRED ME

“Alex Prager (b. 1979, Los Angeles; lives and works in Los Angeles) is a photographer and filmmaker who creates elaborately staged scenes that draw inspiration from a wide range of influences and references, including Hollywood cinema, experimental films, popular culture, and street photography. She deliberately casts and stages all of her works, merging past and contemporary sources to create a sense of ambiguity. Her familiar yet uncanny images depict worlds that synthesize fiction and reality and evoke a sense of nostalgia. Prager cultivates the surreal in her photographs and films, creating moments that feel like a fabricated memory or dream. Each photograph captures a moment frozen in time, inviting the viewer to “complete the story” and speculate about its narrative context. Prager’s work often makes the viewer aware of the voyeuristic nature of photography and film, establishing the uneasy feeling of intruding upon a potentially private moment. The highly choreographed nature of her photographs and films exposes the way images are constructed and consumed in our media-saturated society.”

“Matt Henry makes fictional narratives set in the Mid-century era. The narratives comprise a sequence of photographs staged across set-builds and dressed locations in the UK and USA. Each is storyboarded and typically features a cast of actors styled and directed by the artist.Matt’s interests include: the Sixties as unresolved political flashpoint; the counterculture, psychedelics, and social change; dream states and visions of utopia/dystopia; as well as themes relating to race and gender.”

“Cristina de Middel investigates photography’s ambiguous relationship to truth. Blending documentary and conceptual photographic practices, she plays with reconstructions and archetypes in order to build a more layered understanding of the subjects she approaches. Working from the premise that mass media is reducing our real understanding of the world we live in, De Middel responds to an urgency to re-imagine tired aesthetic tropes and insert opinion in place of facts.”

“De Middel’s work shows that fiction can serve as the subject of photography just as well as facts can, highlighting that our expectation that photography must always make reference to reality is flawed.”

“Duane Michals (b. 1932, McKeesport, PA) is one of the great photographic innovators of the last century, widely known for his work with series, multiple exposures, and text.

Michals first made significant, creative strides in the field of photography during the 1960s. In an era heavily influenced by photojournalism, Michals manipulated the medium to communicate narratives. The sequences, for which he is widely known, appropriate cinema’s frame-by-frame format. Michals has also incorporated text as a key component in his works. Rather than serving a didactic or explanatory function, his handwritten text adds another dimension to the images’ meaning and gives voice to Michals’s singular musings, which are poetic, tragic, and humorous, often all at once.”

VIDEO & BOOKS

I was researching seeing if any other artist has done a photographic project on the theme of ‘loneliness, emptiness & isolation’. I stumbled along with this video. The curator of this book Laurence Von Thomas put together a collection of contemporary photography centred around the theme of desolation and mysterious loneliness. The pictorial assembly features artists from all over the world—those interpreting what ‘Loneliness’ means to them.
It’s interesting to see different artist impression of the theme, and the different techniques in ways they chose to produce them.

Most of the images mention in the video say, they are dream-like moody images, which some have intention blur, some with movement or the picture as a whole. Depending on what construction of the image, these techniques/ideas could work well within my photo book.