Assignment 5

Blog #24

A. 1. I can't seem to find the construction that I really liked that someone presented in class. There were "peeps" in the trees, then there were fake/created people made out of pipe cleaners, and there were real people/a family in the background. This one was a little bizarre but also very interesting to look at. Now, I'm sure there was some meaning behind the photographer's idea, but I tried to recreate a similar image for my assignment. At my work, the mascot is this odd fuzzball type guy. There is a replica of him in the office that is made out of styrofoam, googley eyes and these weird leafy things. Then, there is a separate plate in the building that has paper strands which I used at the grass. There are also feathers in the paper. So, I put these 2 things together and got up close to take the photos. This way it seems that the items are larger than they really are.
2. Then, I also liked the idea of Henry Peach Robinson of placing several images over each other. I also liked how he created him image based on a poem. I'm not sure what piece of literature or poem I would use, but I would like to experiment with placing several images on top of each other to get a "drawn" look.

B. I can't remember what number the blog was last time for this quesition. However, I think my idea is similar to what I previously though. Since I'm in advertising, I'm continuously looking for ideas of projects to try out and things i can add to my portfolio. So, I would like to do a "campaign", in a way, for a brand/company. So, this would include adding copy, headline/slogan, etc. However, this might be too much for me to do before the end of the semester. So, another idea might be continuing a series from one of my other projects from the class. Or, it would be interesting to go around to different buildings on campus and take pictures of the different architecture in each building. Those are my ideas right now :)

Contemporary Photographers-- WAng Qingsong

 

This photograph entitled Debacle was created by Wang Qingsong in 2009. His thoughts for this piece were centered around humankind produce merchandise. He questioned whether "the world is what we make or we are what the world makes." For this piece he decided to collect as many advertisements as he could. Then, he reproduced the ads into hand writing which produced 3,000 pieces of paper. He then glued all the papers to asbestos tile. After waiting several days, he scratched off the layers of ads, which produced this worn looking piece. He liked the way it looked like an abstract painting when all of it was put together. He says "This process of production and destruction is like a game of building blocks. We like to build up something new and then we must destroy it for a brand-new style again. What a dilemma!"

Historical Photographers-- Henry Peach Robinson

This photo, entitled The Lady of Shalott, was taken by Henry Peach Robinson in 1861. It was illustrated after a poem by Alfred Tennyson. Robinson thought of everything for this photo. He created the barge, he set the model's hair, found the clothes, took the photo on a rainy day so the trees had a sadness to them, etc. Everything was to follow the poem. The only difference was the spelling of the title on the boat. When the photo was exhibited, people criticized that the model's position wasn't logical, that there weren't ripples in the water to show the movement of the boat...So the audience didn't understand that the photo was an illustration based on a poem not a realistic photo based on real life. After the reaction of viewers, Robinson realized that he did not succeed in showing a photographic illustration because the audience could not imagine it properly. It was believed at that time that a photograph must have a literal meaning. Robinson also realized that he should not create any more illustrative photographs. However his photograph "exemplifies the limitations of photography as an illustrative medium."

Blog #23

1. I'm not entirely sure what "construct" means in this sense. I don't really know how one constructs their identity. I think that people's identity is determined by their genes and by their environment. The environment in which one grows up plays a huge role in how their personality and actions develop. I'm not sure how I construct my identity now. Maybe it is the people I hang out with and the social environments I place myself in...

2. My social environments are constructed by the friends I hang out with and their preferences on where we should go/what we should do. Sometimes we do things because it will be busy and popular, other times I just hang out with a couple of friends and watch a movie. Everyone meets people in classes, or through other friends. Those people may become really close friends and you hang out with them all the time. Other times, you have one class with them and never see them again. I guess I "construct" my social environments because I choose what classes I take and when I take them. I also choose the people I hang out with and where we go to hang out. ''

3. My physical environment/space is getting pretty deep and philosophical...I'm not really sure what I do to construct either of these. Maybe this would include recycling and volunteering, both of which help the environment and help in a small way to make the world better/cleaner. I think this topic also goes along with going "green"; preserving energy. Although, I probably don't do as good a job in this area as I should, i try to turn out the lights when I don't need them, I don't leave the water running, I take short showers, etc.

4. I guess everything is constructed in a way. It depends on how you define it, but we choose to do everything/all of our actions. I guess something that would be real would be disease/death/illness. Getting cancer isn't exactly something that is constructed.

5. I think a social scene would be interesting. Such as friends going to a concert. It would be interesting to photograph it and create a story board narrative. Something that involved a lot of movement. Then, maybe it could be turned into a flip book or a short stop motion-type film.

6. Right now, school is a large part of my life, so maybe doing a miniature stage of the campus, or part of the campus, such as the Communication arts building since I'm there most of the time. I think it would also be cool to recreate local hangout places or places that I like to go in general. Examples, Comm. arts building, Grand River Coffee, Dublin Square, my apartment, etc.

Assignment 4: Popular Media

 

Blog #22

1. A series can be made in many different ways. I guess where the idea usually starts is with one photo that has a certain focus. Then, the idea is expanded in different senarios. For example, during the place assignment, I took a photo of a "private drive" sign. I could expand on this photo by creating a series of photos with different "forbidden" signs. Also, with the current assignment, advertisements, I could create a series by each brand that I use. Then, I think that a series can be represented in different ways. If they are all in a horizontal line then it creates a sort of narrative.

2. I would really like to practice food photography. I just don't know where I could photograph fancy/professional food. I'm not sure if there is a culinary major at MSU...so maybe there is a kitchen somewhere on campus...? But food photography would be a really cool exploration.

Also, my major is advertising, so I might continue with this area, and do a series that I could eventually use in my portfolio.

Recreate-- Spice Girls