VE EVAL.

  The previous 25 blog posts have been a collection of images, photographers, blogs and things that I generally find fascinating through doing so I have found the many ways in which we explore information and can draw knowledge for our own work through many contexts. 
  The idea of Visual Exploration for me is the ability to have reference from many media's with a visual reference in order to create a final piece with an all round view upon many subjects not just holding a camera and taking a photo of your pet. It has more than helped me understand more of what I can include and draw context from.

Filippo Minelli - Place Branding

  Filippo is a contemporary artist using open public spaces and urban typology to represent his vast interest into graffiti art however in recent years he has tried to break away from this by using more provocative unusual interventions in city squares to try and estrange him from the 'conventional' graffiti art. 

  His new project is called Place Branding and he is experimenting with both silence and speech in order to represent and area in Spain. His images are very creative and challenge what both silence and speech physically represent. 

Here are some of his images for the project of Contradictions: 

  When speaking about his photographs Minelli says; 'The aim of the project is to point out the gap between the reality we live in and the ephemeral world of technologies.
Writing the names of anything connected with 2.0 experiences in the slums of the third world as to underline the idealization connected with these experiences, which provokes a small-but-important detach of the perception of reality.'

  These photographs really interest me and I am very much agree with the concept Minelli speaks about that our reality is majorly warped by the fact that we are so obsessed with our social networking world that third world seems so detached and it should be priority.

http://www.filippominelli.com/contradictions/

Xu Bing: Tobacco Project

  During this week my boyfriend decided that he wanted to quit smoking, but whilst doing some research into what tobacco really is and does I came across Chinese artist Xu Bing who did a project in 2011 called ' Tobacco Project' its based upon a strong interest he had upon the subject of tobacco and in recent months Bing had a two week residency at Richmond.

  Xu Bing uses tobacco as both material and subject to convey a wide range of problems including global trade and the ironic factor of advertising a potential harmful substance. He is a bookmaker and the fascination he has with visual culture and packaging especially has influenced him to into the trilogy of work he has produced in reference to tobacco in recent years.

  His projects involved physical cigarettes with an emotional link; An installation created in an abandoned tobacco plant near Duke included a recorded voice reading the medical records of Xu Bing's father, who died of lung cancer, conveying a personal connection to tobacco and death. In exploring the complex connections between people and tobacco, the project ultimately concerns fundamental issues of human culture and of tobacco as a medium of social exchange. 

a tiger-skin-pattern rug made from over half a million cigarettes standing on end, with either filter or tip up to make an alternating pattern of orange and white.

  I found this work interesting at this moment and time because the relationship being of both physical and mental links within the exhibition and project for Bing is fascinating and when looking at the images they look pretty and interesting but the background message is horrific, dark and doesn't necessarily have to completely be related to you for you be able to share the knowledge upon tobacco. 

  After smoking for three years he has now, quit for three weeks four days.

                           http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/Exhibitions/Xu-Bing/

Katie Piper : Science of Seeing Again.

This week I had a chance to actually watch my television and watched television documentary Katie Piper: The Science of Seeing Again, I have previously seen her story and charity work she has done and this documentary particularly fascinated me. In the sulfuric acid attack Katie was subjected to in March 2008 her face was left heavily scarred with third degree burns, however during the same incident she lost vision in her left eye and in recent months has had eye tissue from the cornea of an anonymous male donor donated in order for her to be able to see again. 

  This documentary really fascinated me and its amazing how life changes so drastically and one person can provide the power of sight for somebody as unfortunate as Katie Piper. I am very interested in how our eyes work and the idea that Channel Four can provide knowledge of this without having to be a scientific program, but simply of how it is a life changing event. 

 

 Katie: The Science of Seeing Again 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2096767/Katie-Piper-Acid-attack-survivor-eye-sight-restored-stem-cell-surgery.html

Quoteskine - Lee Crutchley

  

  This week I bought a book of an illustrator I follow on Tumblr his name is Lee Crutchley and he has put all of his jottings, lyrics he admires and sayings into a book called Quoteskine Volume One. It's printed in color and he has individually scanned every one in. I really like his work and the messages behind it he uses clever color techniques to be able to make people see exactly what he wants you to. His art is really interesting and simple drawings are a great way to be able to establish yourself with a particular style. 

  After looking at Lee's work I would really like to incorporate text / lyrics imagery against some of my photography because as well as being able to have my photo to look at the words add depth to the photograph giving it a better understanding and adds to the understanding of the photo I have produced.  

'99 Problems' - Jay Z paraphrase, Lee Crutchley

Joy Division, Lee Crutchley

http://www.quoteskine.co.uk/

Crutchley, L,. Quoteskine Volume One.

Daniel Shea

  

Racine Ohio, 2010 Daniel Shea

Old Lock 24 Campgrounds, 2009 Daniel Shea

 Removing Mountains, 2007, and Plume, 2009-2010.

  Daniel Shea is a photographer I found when blogging on tumblr, I didn’t particularly take much notice instantly but after looking at this website I became a little bit obsessed with his project he shot in Ohio concerning the study of the social and political institutions surrounding these practices he carries on study further into the cultural implications this sort of coal collections has caused. He included a PDF file with this images explaining what exactly he wanted to do and this made my understanding of the work a lot more in depth and precise. His social documenting techniques fascinate me and I really love his work in Ohio.

Raymond City West Virginia, 2010 Daniel Shea

                            http://www.danielpshea.com/photography/coal-work/

Marco Rea - Altered Visions

My Sad Clown, Marco Rea

  Marco Rea an Italian artist born in Rome in 1975 has lived and worked there his whole life and is amongst one of the only artists that creates and uses spray on his advertising posters. His pop surrealist influences mean that he takes close reference from the emptiness and silence of aesthetics as a general. He begins his work with a glossy image one which is aesthetically pleasing to sell a product and then the fascination and desire to see this allows him by simply editing out the original image to completely change the image to bend the atmosphere of the art itself; making it other than self.  
  The work is somewhat creepy but making the images of exactly what he wants to portray by using mixed media makes the image very powerful and personal to the artist himself.

no name, Marco Rea

 http://marcorea.carbonmade.com/about

Damien Hirst

Beautiful, amore, gasp, eyes going into the top of the head and fluttering painting, 1997

 On Wednesday I visited the highly hyped new Damien Hirst exhibition at the Tate Modern. I must say it’s basically the best exhibition I have ever been to mainly because I have always been a huge fan of his work, but also because from looking at this work in it’s physical form with his thoughts has allowed me to properly understand the concepts of his art and how his background heavily influenced him.

  Growing up in Leeds Damien Hirst was expected to fit a certain criteria his mother had set him; it soon became obvious that Hirst wanted to pursue a career in the arts and has made a ton of money in doing so. His eccentric ideas have provided fascinating works based mostly around the topics birth, death and decay; in his exhibition a collection of his work provides a fascinating thought provoking insight into his mind.

A Thousand Years, 1990

  I particularly enjoyed his project “A Thousand Years” a sculpture of a vitrine is split in half by a glass wall: a hole in this partition allows newly hatched flies from a box reminiscent of a die in one half, to fly into the other where an Insect-O-Cutor hangs. The corpses of the flies inside the vitrine accumulate whilst the works are on exhibition. In ‘A Thousand Years’, a decaying cow’s head is presented beneath the fly-killer. 

A Thousand Years, 1990

  It’s not a particularly aesthetically pleasing sculpture but the thought behind it and detail makes it beyond fascinating. Damien Hirst has really hit the nail on the head with successfully providing a visual display upon the exploration into the research of life and death and in-between. His use of movement with flies allowed suspending things without strings or wire and makes you realize the extent of how precious life is.

  Hirst has many talents but the way in which he provokes reaction to the art forms he assembles, then closely narrates with his concepts really makes you think and wonder exactly how one person could create such a grand intelligent understanding of the world yet capture imagination in all that view it. I was very happy after visiting the Tate Modern and am glad to have been able to have to opportunity to be in the same room as such magnificent art with admirable narration throughout. 

I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds, 2006

http://www.damienhirst.com/
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/damien-hirst
(notes taken from exhibition pentathlete also)

Haifa Street Art.

Haifa Broken Fingaz Studio. (Rudi Khalastchi)

  London's idea's upon street art have previously been highly popularized by Banksy but recently a group of Haifa style street artists have brought its wild Israeli style to the chic London galleries inhabited previously by D*face, JR, and Banksy. The work has been criticized by Governmental bodies saying street art is a form or graffiti and vandalism however the group are young, local artists who are contributing to a changing face of the urban landscape and simultaneously redefining the boundaries of their medium. I love the work and there is no political reasoning for the work it is simply art and the group enjoy speaking about inspiration and their own opinions.

Bat Yam, Israel BFC

 http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/97274/broken-fingaz%E2%80%99s-graffiti-art

Cinemascapist Photography

  After looking at Gregory Crewdson's work I came across artist Aaron Hobson who uses Google earth to collect images and use them as photographs. I don't know a lot about Aaron Hobson but I am fascinated by the way he uses a complex worldwide system to make this amazing photographs.

Examples of his work: 

 

Route 17, South Africa

Canary Islands, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic

http://aaronhobson.com/

Megatherium - Andre de Freitas

  
  Photographer / Illustrator Freitas is interested mostly in capturing stillness and when drawing he tries to capture illustrations by imagining in fact he is taking a photo of the subject. So by doing this it was his gateway in the photo-graphical world.

 
The most interesting to me were the set of double exposed images; below are a few pieces of his work.

  http://andredefreitas.com/

Gregory Crewdson

Twilight Series, 1998 - 2002

Twilight Series 1998 - 2002

 Over the past week I have been heavily looking at the work of well-known American photographer Gregory Crewdson after finding him when I was studying for my A-levels. I became almost fixated on how he took such fascinating and paranormal shots of suburban America with the use of artificial lighting and using his well-publicized love of the ‘twilight hour’.

  I first came across him again when looking through the library just for inspiration I looked at Twilight a set of forty photos displayed in a book accompanied with an essay by Rick Moody; I chose to spend a lot of time really looking at a few of photos trying to gain more knowledge on how he shot them but until I got to the back of his book and really began to fixate upon how they were shot I was engrossed on how such large scale expensive shoots created such amazing photographs.

  Amongst my favorites is a photo of a woman sat in her kitchen on a flower bed its simple but evokes such weird imagery its almost like she is possessed. I think the wonder and forced artificial lighting really makes it perfect for this staged distance he creates from reality.

Twilight Series 1998 - 2002

When you see the effort, direction and money that Crewdson applies to his sets you cannot believe he hasn’t made a film; but the appearance of these stills that he has made from these sets is put into perspective of how an average town in America has been changed by one mans mind and fascination with a very natural light form and enhanced by artificial lighting. 

www.vam.ac.uk/content/article/p/gregory-crewdson/

  Crewdson, G., 2002. Twilight. New York: Abrams. 

Picasso Light Painting.

  This is just a quick one on something I thought was really interesting; Light painting is when you use a source of light in an otherwise dark setting and this creates bright light streaks.  

  One famous artist who used light painting was Pablo Picasso during the 1940's so Gjon Mili, a freelance photographer of the time visited Picasso and whilst showing several artists some of his light patterns Picasso grabbed a small flashlight and produced similar light patterns but he then allowed Mili to photograph and do a short collaboration of images of Greek profiles and beasts of lasting around 30 drawings he could keep from the session. The effect was created by Mili keeping the shutter open on his camera and captured the light paintings with a 1/10,000 second strobe light.

  Here are some of the images from the shoot:

Picasso light painting original shoot, Gjon Mili

  Here are some more examples of work I have been looking at other light painting:

Marko 93

  After looking at several famous images of light painting by Picasso I decided to do my own of simple red fair lights and moving them around with my Nikon and they came out very successful so I decided to include them as a means of experimentation. I didn't make images as such but more light trails just to see what light and effects I could capture.

Image One of my own, Heart

Image two, Fairy

http://fadedandblurred.com/blog/picasso-painting-with-light/

(images from Picasso collected from above)

Irina Werning ; Back To The Future

Niko 1986 & 2010 Buenos Aires

  Irina Werning did a project in recent years which I really like and would like to do something similar to in the future. They are sets of old photos with the modern equivalent compared beside. They are identical photographs just one is modern and one is old. They are really interesting with the likeness but the difference's make them yet more fascinating and because I am also fascinated with what people used to look like and look like now its a lovely nosy little project with great results.
  Here are some of her photos;

Tommy 1977 & 2010 Buenos Aires

Lulu Geraldine 1980 & 2010 Buenos Aires

http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/

Amy Hildebrand

DAY 900, Amy Hildebrand March 2 2012.

DAY 903, Amy Hildebrand March 5 2012.

This week I came across an article about a woman whom born completely blind due to albinism; in her teens she had special surgery performed and this improved her eyesight. Once her sight had partially returned she then studied photography at college and has become a commercial photographer and is nearly finished an ambitious goal she set of a “1000 photos in 1000 days”. She started this in 2009.

  I think the work she has created is inspiring and proves that despite having been born with a genetic disorder she has overcome the complications and made some astounding images.  Too look at the full 1,000 days so far her blogger is: 

http://withlittlesound.blogspot.co.uk/

DAY 927, Amy Hildebrand March 30 2012.

Birds Eye Views - Katrin Korfmann

'gravitation, amsterdam' by katrin korfmann, 2010

  

   In recent months I have been visiting London a lot and been wondering about they way society is being portrayed in different ways; the business of the city makes you wonder what it would look like from above and then this week I came across female photographer Katrin Korfmann and her birds eye view images. I saw them on a website I regularly look at just out of interest and really liked the way they were shot and her ideas upon society.

  German born Korfmann a large-scale image connoisseur captures scenes of daily human life in public spaces focusing in on the vibrancy and tries to show society when observed from an Ariel view.

   She uses several final images and molds them together to create a constant flow of movement and display a progression of events or occasion giving it more significant importance.

  I really like her photos of the vast public spaces and daily life because its an angle we rarely get to see of the world and society and it makes you feel as if you are watching the public without being really having to be in that place. My favorite image is ‘Horizon Vanished’ and image of the public but the way in which their shadows fall in somewhat perplexing as you see the figure almost as if they in the scene and not shot as an Ariel View.

 

'horizon vanished' by Katrin Korfmann, 2011

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/20537/birds-eye-view-images-by-katrin-korfmann-at-galleri-anderssonsandstrom.html

Jeff Divine - Surf.

1970's Surfer, Jeff Divine

Jeff Divine is a surf photographer with a career span from the 1960's taking photographs of his fellow surfers and believes that he is one of the photographers that took photos before the media took hold of it. He has the largest archive of surf photography known and has some really time defying photographs with intense knowledge of the sport itself. 
  Before University I surfed every year if not twice a year and my love for water and the sea allows me to appreciate the archival photographs of the surfing and I am really intrigued by how the surf lifestyle has shaped the photography used and taken within the sport.

1970's Surfers, Jeff Divine

1980's Surfers, Jeff Divine

Brighton Murmations.

  Four years ago a close friend moved to Brighton and it is a fascinating city with not only man made productions but some of the most fascinating natural spectacles. Every time I visit I walk down the beach to get to my friends flat and each time I aim to be able to see the murmuration of starlings over the west pier. I think its really fascinating but adds a humble aspect to the very highly populated city that Brighton is and means a lot to both me and my best friend because we always associate it with each other and the love we share for the City she moved to. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

The book itself.

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an epistolary novel written by Stephen Chbosky; based upon a series of events in an alias called Charlie's life who writes to an anonymous person of whom he does not know. The story explores topics such as introversion and the awkward times of adolescence. The book also touches briefly on drug use and Charlie's experiences with it. As the book progresses, various works of literature and film are referenced and their meanings discussed.

 I read this book in 2004 and since then it has laid heavily upon my mind because of the truthful descriptions of his real life. I adore this book and despite it not being a traditional book I find the references to my own life at the time beyond comprehension and recently The Perks of Being a Wallflower has resumed itself into my life. The novel is being made into a film with Emma Watson starring as one of the main roles; surrounded by gossip I cannot wait to see the film itself!

The film is set to be released in September 2012, I am very excited and cant wait to see what adaptation director Stephen Chbosky has done with the written documents into cinematic movement and acting.

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659337/

Ron Ulicny

Antler, Ron Ulicny

Ron Ulicny is the creator of viscurrealistic fabrications, he makes contemporary sculptures amd earns his living with an inherent tendency to make "stuff" his 'viscurrelatistic' version of art is in fact from a group of words combined;

- visceral, a relation to deep inward feelings rather than intellect

- surrealism a 20th century movement in literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, e.g. irrational juxtaposition of images
- fabricate to invent or concoct. 


Ulicny has a really farfetched version of objects which I really adore. 


Here is some of his sculptures: 

no...ahhh...no!, Ron Ulicny

skateno.2 Ron Ulicny

http://www.ronulicny.com/