Artist Study: Cecil Beaton

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Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. 

Sir Cecil Beaton was a British portrait photographer celebrated as a society photographer and had his claim to fame when he held his first exhibition in 1926 and signed an immediate contract with vogue. He was also the costume designer for 'My Fair Lady' and 'Gigi'.


Pictures and more after the jump.

1980's Fashion

The 1980's. A pioneering decade for fashion ads; and fashion itself. The young, hipsters of the 70's were now growing up and looked towards more defined lines and structures to wear. It seemed as if every twenty -something year-old woman was wearing high waisted skirts and buttoned up shirts whilst every twenty-something year-old man was wearing shorts and pop-coloured blazers. Other than these trends, there were many others that enjoyed their popularity in this decade:

Power Dressing trend was most popular at the end of the decade.

It carried on through to the early 1990's.

Pictures and more after the jump.

Authenticity in Photography - 1980's House Party

After I done my photo shoot on the 1980s party with my model, I organised anther house party candid photo shoot but n a wider scale. I invited 35 of my friends to get dressed up in 1980s clothes authentically styled and come and take part. I made  flyer and handed it to them to make it seem that much more real and authentic!

Photoshoot: 1980's House Party

Following on from my authenticity in photography segment, I wanted to do a shoot based around a house party. I played around with the lighting settings on my camera to produce a raw candid photo style. These are the photos I took.

Authenticity in Film: The Film - My Film

Authenticity in Film: The Title

When I completed the shoot, I made a short fictional film about a 1980's actress having a short interview in her dressing room. I did this film because I wanted to film to show how you can portray a time period through the content spoken and the mise-en-scene. The props in the film were all relevant to either something that the actress spoke about or about the time period portrayed in the film.



The title screen for the short film. It is very much like an 1980's TV title reel.



A tv soap from the 1980's. This romantic/ dreamy style was very popular in this era.



Authenticity in Photography - My Photography

If you, as a photographer or a film director, are trying to portray a certain decade or era through your work, it is important that attention to detail is considered in every micro aspect to gain that authentic look you are going for. I wanted to do a response to James Nader's work and also link it back to chiaroscuro (light and dark).


Pictures and more after the jump.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a Italian word used to represent light and shadow as they create three dimensional objects. It originates from the Italian renaissance and was heavily used by artists such as Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. Usually, the shadows casted are separated into values. The area closest to the object is usually the darkest area that is being portrayed. Then, as light becomes more available, the same cast shadow lightens in increments until it reaches the shadow's edge.


Read more after the jump.

Rembrandt van Rijn was one of the pioneering Chiaroscuro artists. He is known for his singular brushwork, use of colour and his good use of light and shadow.


Rembrandt was able to portray the contrast between light and shadow through his paintings. For example, in ‘Two scholars disputing’ he creates depth in the photo by transforming a two-dimensional flat painting into a three-dimensional room with depth.

Artist Analysis: James Nader

This is one of James Nader’s photos. It is of a woman’s profile. I like this shot in relation to the theme. The woman is standing at an angle and her face looks tough; giving off a masculine pose and expression. However,  in contrast to the super 1980’s power woman inspired styling and strong make-up, the masculine pose and expression become very womanly.

Pictures and more after the jump.

Artist Study: James Nader

James Nader is a British Fashion photographer working mostly on editorial projects and expresses his distinctive style thorough conceptual ideas. His work has featured in such campaigns as Krispy Kreme adverts, The Bath Magazine and various TV work and galleries.

Androgynous Photography & Film - My Photography

Following up from Mario Torres' work, I decided to do my own response. So I got another friend to help me do some androgynous photography.

I found that whilst doing androgynous photography it was easy to drift over to gender-bending photography (which is more extreme with its messages and values).


Video, pictures and more after the jump.

Artist Analysis: Mario Torres

This is one of Mario Torres' photos from his website. It shows a female model embodying the attitude of a boy/ man. This style of photography is becoming more and more popular. The androgynous looks is very interesting and you can always do something daring, something different with it.


Read more after the jump.

Artist Study: Mario Torres

New York based photographer Mario Torres

Mario Torres is an American photographer. He featured in ‘The Ones2Watch’ (an online magazine that showcases up and coming photographers, stylists, illustrators, designers, make-up artists etc) in their September 2010 issue.

Read more after the jump.


I believe that the idea of the photos is to show a woman's femininity does not come from the clothes on her back. For, example, the women are in the men's suits but still appear to be ‘womanly’ in their pose and attitude. This shows that the suits act as barriers between a feminine attitude and men's apparel. From this collection, I would take Torres’ idea of using a underlying metaphor in the photography.

Conveying Messages through Photography II

 - My Photography

This photo shows me the 'idea' idea of a woman's image. The whole 'picture perfect' concept in the magazines is highlighted in this photo. It connects with a lot of what we see and hear in today's media. What is beauty? What is it to be a lady? Is it what we see on the billboards and in the magazines or is it something more sensual?

The photo is in black and white but still shows natural lighting; this is apparent through the different tones of lighting in the photo. No artificial light source (lamp, flashlight etc.) was used because I wanted to create a raw effect.

There is a framing created over the image by the window frame shadowed onto the model and the magazine. The window frame could depict the barriers between true beauty and man-made beauty.

When I look at this photo, it makes me think about what she could be thinking about. She is still in the process of applying her make-up so she could be thinking about how bare she looks. It reminds me of an old saying "I haven't put my face on yet".

This photo was shot out of focus. On my camera, I experimented with the focus settings to try and create a different feel to the final image. I wanted to see if it changed how it would be viewed and analysed. I also done it to age the photo to get a 1980's photography feel so I reduced the contrast and changed the colour balance to be more green-biased.

Conveying Messages through Photography - My Photography

Sometimes, a photographer will take a photo of something and not have no reason in mind for doing it. The photographer may just be looking for inspiration. But whether the photo is of beautiful scenery or a hobo begging for money outside a train station, every photo has a meaning.


Pictures and more after the jump.

Artist Analysis: Eduard 'Edu' Grau

This is one of the photos taken for the French Connection campaign by Edu Grau. I particularly like this photo in terms of male representation and masculinity because the male model used is the complete opposite to the stereotypical image of a ‘man’ shown in media today.

Read more after the jump.

Artist Study: Eduard 'Edu' Grau.

Does the name Eduard Grau sound familiar? Think French Connection's The Man/ The Woman campaign. Think of the blockbuster A Single Man. Think The Lazarus Effect's '40c a day' campaign. Eduard Grau directed all of these famous film pieces.

Spanish cinematographer Eduard 'Edu'  Grau

Pictures and more after the jump.

Gallery Review: Polytechnics at Raven Row

Polytechnics is a moving image art gallery on Artillery Lane, EC1. It features work from the early 1980’s and late 1970’s that was all recorded with new technology on video cameras. Work from contemporary (at the time)  filmmakers and photographers are exhibited in the gallery from artists such as John Adams, Stuart Marshall, Graham Young, Susan Hiller, Ian Breakwell, Cordelia Swann, Roberta Graham, Catherine Elwes, Steve Hawley, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Ian Bourn and David Critchley.


Pictures and more after the jump.

Brainstorm 3

My last brainstorm turned out to be all about the 80's and technology. It includes ideas about people & Identity, Technology and sound.

This is the idea that I am going for. It is ambiguous and can be lead in many different directions. I do not know what I want my final piece to be so an idea as wide as this one is perfect for me. Through experiments, practicing and projects, this project could produce something great.

Brainstorm 2

This second brainstorm turned out to be based around paper, structure and colour. I found this idea to be quite interesting. If I took this forward I could do work with paper structures and even coloured paper glued to peoples clothes. I could have a model doing odd shapes and statuesque poses wearing paper etc.

Brainstorm

For me to have an idea/direction I would be happy with I would have to do a few brainstorms. I needed to gather an idea that I could develop and take to extreme lengths. This first brainstorm turned out to be centered around nostalgia & the 60's.

My Final A2 Digital Art Project

For my final project, I want to do some work with gender. I do not know what exactly yet but I am interested in using gender to show representation of different ideas and messages.