My staged work looks so real that people actually take it for documentary. But, in fact, that is my intention, to disguise the manufacturedness of it.
-- Wolfgang Tillmans
Disguise…
Inge Morath collaborated with Saul Steinberg to produce a series of photographs in a book called ‘Masquerade’ . These were creative photographs based on people wearing masks which had facial expressions drawn on them. Richard Burbridge has produced portraits for fashion magazines in which the model wears a surreal mask often made from found materials. Using photo manipulation on a digital software it could be used to alter features or to add a persons appearance or identity.
Inge Morath collaborated with Saul Steinberg to produce a series of photographs in a book called ‘Masquerade’ . These were creative photographs based on people wearing masks which had facial expressions drawn on them. Richard Burbridge has produced portraits for fashion magazines in which the model wears a surreal mask often made from found materials. Using photo manipulation on a digital software it could be used to alter features or to add a persons appearance or identity.
The reason why I chose this topic is because I like the way that photographs look like in reality but are actually abstractions. Last term we explored in class taught me how to really examine photographs in a deeper way because they might not always been what they seem at first glance. Most people think a photograph is a kits a copy of nature or the real world. However when you know more are photography you realise that all photographs are constructed in very special ways. The photographer has to choose where to stand, the angle the photo is being taken at and when to click the shutter. The effects can disguise the precise contours of the subject. Contemporary photographers are more likely to play with images, asking the viewer to work a bit harder to identify what is going on and drawing attention to the artificial nature of the image.
John Stezaker…
I chose John Stezaker as a photographer I would love to research about because his work involves re-examines the various relationships to the photographic image: as documentation of truth, purveyor of memory, and symbol of modern culture. In his collages, Stezaker appropriates images found in books, magazines, and postcards and uses them as 'readymades.
The approach...
This would be my favourite picture John Stezaker has created. This is because there is a pop of colour inbetween the black and white photograph. This makes me think about the image more because the colour draws me in questioning what is going on in the photograph, why it was taken and how he did what he did.
My response to John Stezaker
Lucas Blalock
Lucas Blalock interests me because of the way he uses digital tools to manipulate objects and people he photographs in his studio. He combines photography, sculpture and drawing to create images that question what and how we see the world. Here are some examples of his digitally altered portraits:
My Written assessment
This is a photograph taken by Lucas Blalock named ‘ Tessa sitting’ in 2016. On first glance the face of the photograph caught my attention. The face looks like it has been made up of loads of shoe laces with the face print still placed on the laces. This gives an element of disguise because the main features are morphed Into something different. Looking further down the photograph we begin to see not only is the face edited but the rest of the body is too. Studying the middle part of the photograph, I begin to see an ocean blue jacket with a pair of arms cradled like they are holding a baby, however the photo has been edited into something different creating another element of disguise. This photographer has removed the persons body and just left the jacket which is connecting to the head like a normal neck would. The photograph makes it seems like your are given X-ray vision into the person, nevertheless anything human like has been edited out. So we can see the inside of the jacket with the label. Looking further down we spot a pair of arms cradled like they are holding a baby. This has been edited onto the picture giving it more human like features so we can get the true understanding of the photograph. Lastly we can see a wooden chair what which would usually been seen in gardens. In the left hand corner we can also see a plank of wood with red tubing in the corner of the photograph. This picture is an unusual portrait. Genres of the picture have been edited into something different making it not a normal portrait photograph, so this picture in my opinion would go under the title ‘disguise’ because the features within it have been morphed into something new . In a normal portrait photo we would be able to see every feature of the picture, however in this photograph all the things we would focus on within the picture has been edited into something different . Surprising my normal expectations of a portrait photo. This is because the photographer has decided to take a creative path and edited the photograph giving the element of disguise.
The creation of the photograph looks like it involved many editing resources to create the final image. Lucas Blalock may have used a number of photo editing apps like, photoshop or photo editors. If I was challenged to create my version of this photo inspired by Lucas Blalock's photograph I would take a normal portrait photograph with somebody sitting on a chair. Once that has been taken I would then continue to edit my photograph on my preferred photo editing app photoshop on the laptop. I would begin editing the face by taking out the main features eg. nose, mouth, eyes and then morph the face into a different shape. For example stretching it out so the viewer wouldn’t really know that its head. Then I would place the face features back onto the face but in random places. For instance the mouth where the eyes would normally go and the nose where the ears would go, which would have the element of disguise embedded into the photograph. Next I would remove the torso of the body completely from the photograph and keep the arms and legs there. Then is would place the legs there? imitating the torso and place the arms going across the middle of the photograph. The equipment I would need to go about creating this photo would be a camera, laptop and 2 or more editing photo apps to create my version of Lucas Blalock’s work.
On first glance of photograph I was very confused because the picture had been edited into something different. On better inspection I began to understand the photograph more. I find the face the most interesting part of the photograph because it has been changed and redeveloped into something new. This made me use skills like imaginative and curiosity to understand the photograph in better depth. In addition I find it interesting how Lucas has edited the middle of the photograph creating an element of disguise. This really was like a challenge to try and get a better understanding of the photograph. One thing I would criticise about the photo would be is he could of changed the background of the photo to make me question the photo more. This is because once I understood what was going on in the middle of the photograph the background seemed very basic and dull where as maybe if he had of edited the background too, it would have made me think harder about the picture.Three questions I would like to ask Lucas would be …
· How did you go about taking this photo and what equipment and tools did you use?
· What influenced you to create this photograph. Did you base your work on someone else’s work or used your own imagination?
· What is one thing you wish you knew before taking this photo.? Would you have liked to change the photograph again now looking back at it?
Once reading the article on Lucas Blalock I gained a better insight into who he is as a person and where his creativity comes from in his work. I learnt Lucas is a “playful, comedic, humorous person.” This gives me a better understanding of Lucas and how he goes about creating his work. This made me like the photograph more because I like how creative he is with his work making the picture seem way more interesting in my eyes. This picture relates to the theme disguise in many ways. For example, how he edited the person in the photograph disguising the true identity of the person and what they are wearing. Another example of how Lucas used disguise in his work was when he edited the torso of the persons body creating another element of disguise. Lastly Lucas edited out the legs of the person and changed the whole persons body only leaving the arms and some features of the face giving another element of disguise.
The creation of the photograph looks like it involved many editing resources to create the final image. Lucas Blalock may have used a number of photo editing apps like, photoshop or photo editors. If I was challenged to create my version of this photo inspired by Lucas Blalock's photograph I would take a normal portrait photograph with somebody sitting on a chair. Once that has been taken I would then continue to edit my photograph on my preferred photo editing app photoshop on the laptop. I would begin editing the face by taking out the main features eg. nose, mouth, eyes and then morph the face into a different shape. For example stretching it out so the viewer wouldn’t really know that its head. Then I would place the face features back onto the face but in random places. For instance the mouth where the eyes would normally go and the nose where the ears would go, which would have the element of disguise embedded into the photograph. Next I would remove the torso of the body completely from the photograph and keep the arms and legs there. Then is would place the legs there? imitating the torso and place the arms going across the middle of the photograph. The equipment I would need to go about creating this photo would be a camera, laptop and 2 or more editing photo apps to create my version of Lucas Blalock’s work.
On first glance of photograph I was very confused because the picture had been edited into something different. On better inspection I began to understand the photograph more. I find the face the most interesting part of the photograph because it has been changed and redeveloped into something new. This made me use skills like imaginative and curiosity to understand the photograph in better depth. In addition I find it interesting how Lucas has edited the middle of the photograph creating an element of disguise. This really was like a challenge to try and get a better understanding of the photograph. One thing I would criticise about the photo would be is he could of changed the background of the photo to make me question the photo more. This is because once I understood what was going on in the middle of the photograph the background seemed very basic and dull where as maybe if he had of edited the background too, it would have made me think harder about the picture.Three questions I would like to ask Lucas would be …
· How did you go about taking this photo and what equipment and tools did you use?
· What influenced you to create this photograph. Did you base your work on someone else’s work or used your own imagination?
· What is one thing you wish you knew before taking this photo.? Would you have liked to change the photograph again now looking back at it?
Once reading the article on Lucas Blalock I gained a better insight into who he is as a person and where his creativity comes from in his work. I learnt Lucas is a “playful, comedic, humorous person.” This gives me a better understanding of Lucas and how he goes about creating his work. This made me like the photograph more because I like how creative he is with his work making the picture seem way more interesting in my eyes. This picture relates to the theme disguise in many ways. For example, how he edited the person in the photograph disguising the true identity of the person and what they are wearing. Another example of how Lucas used disguise in his work was when he edited the torso of the persons body creating another element of disguise. Lastly Lucas edited out the legs of the person and changed the whole persons body only leaving the arms and some features of the face giving another element of disguise.
My photographic response to Lucas Blalock …
WWW:
I really thought creatively about how I go about taking my images and how I make them. I decided to take normal photos and edited it into something new and different giving it the element of disguise. Another thing I like about my images is that they have more of a creative side, using toys and and things around my house and took things you would use to identify someone and changed placed it on another picture or modified it to mask the identity. One last thing I like is how I incorporated disguise into every photo.
EBI:
One thing I would improve would be to take more photos and try to edit them differently and to change the background and even the feature in the picture itself. Another thing I would improve would be how I take the pictures maybe by adding different fonts and different things around my house. One last thing I would improve is I would try and take one photo very similar to Lucas and use the tools he uses to make something more similar to his work.
I really thought creatively about how I go about taking my images and how I make them. I decided to take normal photos and edited it into something new and different giving it the element of disguise. Another thing I like about my images is that they have more of a creative side, using toys and and things around my house and took things you would use to identify someone and changed placed it on another picture or modified it to mask the identity. One last thing I like is how I incorporated disguise into every photo.
EBI:
One thing I would improve would be to take more photos and try to edit them differently and to change the background and even the feature in the picture itself. Another thing I would improve would be how I take the pictures maybe by adding different fonts and different things around my house. One last thing I would improve is I would try and take one photo very similar to Lucas and use the tools he uses to make something more similar to his work.