Abelardo Morell

Abelardo Morell 

I have chosen Abelardo Morell as one of the photographers I would like to research because I like the use of camera obscura in his work. This is a technique that I haven't used before however I would like to try it. I think that Abelardo's work links very well to the exam brief of 'transformations' as by projecting an image of the outside world into a room completely transforms its look and feeling. By trying this new technique I am hoping it will enhance my work showing a wide skill set. 

Abelardo Morell was born in Cuba in 1948 however he immigrated to the United States with his parents. Morell received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and his MFA from The Yale University School of Art. He has received an honorary degree from Bowdoin College in 1997 and from Lesley University in 2014. Throughout his life he has also received a number of awards for his work in Fine Art Photography. This shows how successful Morell's work is nationwide. 

This image above shows one of Abelardo Morell's pieces of work using camera obscura. This was taken in a room that had a north facing view of Central Park. One of the most striking aspects about this photograph is the array of colour that is shown in the landscape from the trees, the orange and red tones indicate that this was taken in Autumn. I feel that the landscape being projected onto this empty, grey wall brings it to life. It completely transforms the way the room feels and appears to the viewer than if the landscape was absent. The saturated colour and vivid detail of the landscape are almost surreal in this image, much more enhanced than you would expect from a camera obscura photograph, making it all the more spectacular. I think this image celebrates the life that nature and the outdoors brings into our otherwise mundane lives. 

This photograph shows an early morning view of the East side of Midtown Manhattan, New York. What I enjoy about this image is that it looks like the landscape has been painted onto the walls due to the perfect layout, proportion and colour of it. The blue sky looks almost too perfect to be real and something you probably wouldn't view outside, however when brought inside it is seen in a completely different light. The reason this camera obscura is the right way up is because in Abelardo's later work he sued a prism in his lens that meant the landscape would be projected the way we view it. I think this is important in this case as it enhances the feeling of it being a painting. One of the main aspects I would like to take from this photograph is the slight detail you can include in the room to improve the image. For example in this one there is the glow coming from the bottom of the doors that is very inciting. It invited the viewer in and perhaps makes them curious as to where this was shot and whats through those doors. 

The image above was taken in a hotel room overlooking Times Square. Upon first appearance this photograph is very complicated with a lot of different pieces of wiring, images and colour spreading all around the room. I think this reflects the confusing and potentially overwhelming nature of Times Square itself, the hustle and bustle of city life. What I like about the image is the slight blur you can see on the road on the ceiling and on some of the billboards, this is due to the fast pace of the city that doesn't slow down. The blur that is shown in this peaceful and empty room reflects what can be seen outside that you otherwise wouldn't predict was there based on the room alone. This landscape has been kept upside down which I think works best as it means that the road runs along the ceiling in a straight line as opposed to curving around objects. 

Lastly, there is this image by Abelardo Morell that shows a view of Philadelphia from Loews Hotel Room. As you can see from this image the landscape takes the main priority on the wall of the room, making it upon the first appearance look like this is just a regular landscape image. However, it becomes apparent that in fact the whole image has been turned upside down as the bed appears to be on the ceiling. This is original compared to the rest of Abelardo's work as it makes the landscape centre stage perhaps putting the importance of the outside above what is inside. This image is very simple yet effective, something I would like to include on my own work as I think that Camera Obscura works better when the content of the room is kept to a minimum, like this one. 

Influence 

The image above was inspired by Abelardo Morell in the style of camera obscura. The image focuses only on the interior and the landscape outside the window as that is what Morell does. It doesn't include people or the main subject like my other images do. I decided to shoot this image with the landscape hitting my wardrobe doors as I found this was a common theme throughout Morell's work, it helped enhance the detail of the work. I followed the technique that Abelardo does by turning my bedroom into a dark room and having a small hole in the window as a lens, this worked really well and led me to produce a successful camera obscura shoot. 

In conclusion, Abelardo Morell was the biggest inspiration for the camera obscura idea as he is the most well-known photographer that done this. I researched the technique and learnt the best way to do this through his work consequently leading me to produce good photographs that I can then work on throughout the project. I feel that Morell has provided me with a good stepping stone to further my work on camera obscura leading me to introduce my own style through experimentation.