portrait project

For this part of the brief `the body`, our task is to photograph someone either from the local area of Medway or another student from uca who we do not know. The photograph has to be taken in black and white and be taken on either using medium or large format.

What is a portrait?

This unit, The Body, aims to explore the symbol of the human body in particular, portraits.

Answering first, what  is a portrait? A portrait is not just a simplistic recording of a persons appearance, as it uses much of the same principles of still life, the same use of semiotics can be applied to the portrait to tell a deeper and more complex story of the subject. It signifies you capturing a person's emotions and feelings in that moment in time. Their feelings might be completely different the next minute, but the photographer has done his or her job. A portrait can be used to get to know a person. What they surround themselves with and their mannerisms in the photo can be used to describe the subject's personality.

For the body task,  I've began my research looking at different artists that were shown to us in previous lectures. There were a few artists that I have previously studied, which helps when defining an idea.

Bill Henson is an Australian contemporary art photographer. Henson's photographs reflect an interest in uncertainty and transition. The use of chiaroscuro is common throughout his works. His photographs show a painterly style and are often presented as diptychs, triptychs and other groupings. His images often use a flattened perspective and tend to be noticed as abstraction. The faces of the subjects are often blurred or partly shadowed and do not directly face the viewer. I think this creates a sense of imagination reflecting on the persons point of view, perhaps a hidden identity. Henson's intention is to use photography to capture a creative expression. He states that he is not interested in a political or sociological agenda, although the viewer cannot help but relate his works to their own stance on these issues. Henson, however, is not intending his photographs to be authoritative evidence but rather to suggest endless possibilities and cause people to wonder. Luckily I studied his work in previous years which helps define a possible idea for my project.

 

I've also studied the work of Irving Penn. He is an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography. He specializes in celebrities and uses black and white film to photograph.

Many times his photographs were so ahead of their time that they only came to be appreciated as important works in the modernist canon years after their creation. For example, a series of posed nudes whose physical shapes range from thin to plump were shot in 1949-1950, but were not exhibited until 1980.

Usually in Penn's portraits the darker areas are extremely black, and the lighter areas are seen as white. His work I think, gives a feel of drama, emotion and ultimately makes you focus on an image longer, than if there was a large tonal range.

Whilst researching onto his work I tried looking for the book he published titled "A Notebook at Random" which offers a generous selection of photographs, paintings, and documents of his working methods, which I thought could give me great inspiration for ideas. 

 

In alot of Penn`s portraiture work in the 1940`s, he began taking portraits for the company Vogue. I liked the idea of how he photographed Pablo Picasso as a secretive, shy man hiding behind an upturned coat collar and a hat brim. on a closer examination, I like how he uses props, and how they are used in the photographs for a more personal nature.

 

I was inspired by Richard Avedon's work because I find it interesting how  he manages to capture the subjects personality in his images, with his subtle usage of light. A lot of his work is known by his advertising style, but his real passion was the portrait, and its ability to express the essence of its subject. Avedon’s ability to present personal views of public figures, who were otherwise distant and inaccessible, was immediately recognized by the public and the celebrities themselves. His artistic style brought a sense of sophistication and authority to the portraits. I like how his images are well lit on the subjects face, and  are placed against a white backdrops. His use of shadow I also admire as I think the technique helps us see into the persons personality.

 

Style's  I like ….