Artist Precedents - Collage
Annegret Soltau
The series of images that captivated me is called 'Personal Identity'. Soltau took self portraits which she then stitched paper onto, masking the face. The series began with the stitching of her birth certificate, and she says that she will end it with her death certificate, which one of her surviving family members will put together. The rest of the series is made up of the artist's SIM cards about which she says "are in everyday use and in which my self is saved in digital format." The series discusses personal identity in the age of digital information.
Annegret Soltau. Personal Identity. 2003-16, photographic collage, http://www.annegret-soltau.de/en/galleries/personal-identity-2003-14/artworks/konto-geschlossen. Accessed 28 Sept. 2020.
Renée Matthews
This work by Matthews speaks to me about my topic, as on a very surface level, it has a person taking a selfie. I am interested in the idea of chopping the head of the people so that they are unidentifiable. This makes me think that the person taking the selfie could be anyone, even myself, so it has that aspect where I am able to project myself into the photo. I think this is an idea I might try out as my topic relates to lots of people, and I want it to be approachable, and universal in a way.
Renée Matthews. Rebirth of Venus. N.d, photographic collage, https://reneemathews.format.com/collage. Accessed 28 Sept. 2020.
Nydia Hartono
I like Hartono's two collages here, as I think they speak to how my project is progressing, as we both are using imagery that is obviously impossible. I particularly enjoy the symmetry of this first collage Deborah Emmanuel, and the use of butterflies, which to me symbolises transformation. I also like how the grand canyon looking background gives it some depth.
The second collage doesn't relate as much to my own work, but I included it anyway because the textured, colourful background and the black and white person inspires me.
Nydia Hartono. Kiran Ghandi for PAPERMAG. 2013, photographic collage, https://www.nydia-hartono.com/mood-magazine#0. Accessed 28 Sept. 2020.
Ben Lewis Giles
Ben Lewis Giles makes incredibly detailed, complex collages which look like they have been done by hand. The top one that I have included caught my attention as it reminds me of the over-exaggerated, permanently happy to the point of craziness idea that my work is aiming for. This is portrayed in this image with the bright colour blooms, yet something feels off about it as the mouth is falling down and the eyes are lopsided as well as all over the flowers. This paradox of imagery really works here.
My Project
Brainstorm of how to further my work
- try making the background colourful and the person black and white
- everything black and white except for what is in the line of the camera, including the head
- try cutting off the head of the person taking the selfie
- replace the cut off head with the head of someone else, maybe somehow famous and beautiful?
- use textures, such as paint
- could place a scene in the background to give it depth
Photoshoot
These are the contact sheets from my second couch photoshoot.
Edits
I didn't actually get the chance to try any of the edits that I was brainstorming earlier as I finished up these edits the day before the formative. I was planning on trialling them after the formative if my images weren't up to standard, but it turns out that they were so I probably won't be trying the other edits out.
Sourced Images
Flower
Photo by Larisa Birta on Unsplash
Hot air balloon
Photo by Raoul Croes on Unsplash
Butterfly
Photo by Amy Baugess on Unsplash
Photo by Aleksandr Rogozin on Unsplash
These were the images I presented for the formative. I included the dolls houses images to show the process I went through to get to where I am now.
Feedback
- The leading lines of the blue diagonal which represents the screen are useful as they direct the viewers gaze
- Could try an edited version from the phones perspective, for this I would edit the look of the people (I probably won't do this as hand in is in two weeks, and that is a lot of work)
- The photos of myself and my friend Leona (butterfly image) are working well
- There is too much blank wall space still behind the photo of Aidan (plane image), add a couple more things in here
- The photo of Ellie (statue on couch) is not working as well because having stuff sitting on the couch whereas nothing else is in the series is a bit off, and as well as this she is taking up most of the photo whereas the other images have a lot more empty space in them. Reshoot this photo.
- I could have Ellie taking the selfie with her other hand to put a bit of variance into the series, as they are all looking the same way at the moment
- Could reverse the screen so that what is in the line of the camera is clear and the surrounding image is blue and half-toned, this is just to try, not sure if it would work
I'm feeling pretty happy with where I'm at after the formative. I have to reshoot one of the photos and touch up one of the others but two of them are fine which I'm pleased about. Reshooting won't be hard and I should have a finished series to show Caroline next Thursday. I also forgot to ask about how I should present my work in the formative. I am still thinking about presenting on Instagram, seeing as my work is literally about social media, and the audience I'm aiming at uses social media. My other option is just to print the images, but I do think that my target audience would encounter them more on Instagram.
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