Research Log

Research Log 

John Stezaker - Old Mask V 

       This image is by John Stezaker who transformed portraits using landscape images. His work first started emerging in the 1970's, however his portrait work didn't start to become of significance until the 1980's when portraits were of a high value, especially those of well-known people. When commenting on his work John Stezaker states that by physically composing these images you get the cuts and seams of the photo, a kind of art against the seamlessness of computer edits. As the portraiture work emerged it was an acknowledgement of surrealism that was slightly taboo at the time as it wasn't often seen. Stezaker concentrated on this as it portrayed a different meaning to a usual portrait image. The landscape images that are overlaid are referred to as masks by Stezaker, an obliteration of identity, the person behind the mask is no longer important as seen above there is only a framework of a portrait. This image was titled 'Old Mask V' this refers to the age of the man reflected in the aged landscape photo. The image is a metaphor for interiority (an inner character), it isn't important who the man is, it is only important whats underneath as the image of people and the mask conceals much of who they are. The reason Stezaker uses landscapes that look like tunnels and caves is because its important what is inside and you can't make out what it is until the inside is revealed. This is the meaning behind using a mask on the portraits that John Stezaker produces. 

Abelardo Morell 

This image displays camera obscura and is by Abelardo Morell. The image description states that this is a view of Manhattan and the Chrysler Building, looking West on New York.  This image is very effective in its placement and sizing, the landscape that is outside the window filled the wall perfectly with the Chrysler building toughing the very bottom of the wall. It perfectly reflects the size and power of the city by completely overwhelming the room, the same way that when a person is in the city it completely overwhelms them. I like the perspective of this image as you get to look out over the skyline making it much clearer as to what you are looking at, unlike if Abelardo had taken this image from a lower floor of the hotel. I think the simplicity of the room is what makes the image work so well, theres slight detail in it that makes it apparent what is going on and where it's being taken but not os much that it makes the image confusing. The shadow round the door works well too as it makes the image look three-dimensional, without this added layer I think the image would look flat and therefore appear as a photograph on the wall. By creating an image that brings the outside world in I think Abelardo displays the connection between the two, showing the viewer the a perspective that they wouldn't see by just passing by. A perspective that encompasses the feeling of a room relative to it's location. 

Ethan Jackson - Clerestory 

The image above is an example of camera obscura taken in a library in Denver, Colorado. It is from the collection titled 'Clerestory, the term clerestory refers to the building it is set in. With the high roof and many windows, this is why it is classed as this title. This particular projection was natural, it used nothing but the natural light with any electronic light. It was bright enough to see even with the ambient light of the library, showing how powerful the brightness outside was. This project was one of the largest in Jacksons work as it was five years in the making and used many optical elements. Special window housings had to be installed for this project as there needed to be more room for the lenses and mirrors in order to project the landscape on the well-designed ceiling. Most of the optics in this project were on the ceiling, there wasn't much concentration on the walls. I feel that because the landscape appears to be the clouds and the tops of buildings it's like looking out of a window at the top of the building. The muted and natural colours of the landscape are extremely peaceful and still, reflecting the feeling of being in a library. I think Ethan chose to do this particular scene in this building as they tie together very nicely, it seem's that where the library is situated is perfectly suited to it's function. Despite Ethan Jackson not taking images that are particularly artistic he is still an inspiration in my work as I love the way he fits the landscape to the building not the other way round. I feel that this shows a lot of consideration rather than just setting up a camera obscura wherever he can. 

Marja Pirila - Interior/exterior 

The image above was taken in Rouen, France and is from the collection titled 'interior/exterior'. Marjas early work was inspired by that of Abelardo Morell who photographed spectacular landscape projected into a room. The concept behind her work was to be able to photograph a person and the view from their room as a way of encompassing one person's living environment into just one image. As you can see above this is very powerful in showing us some depth into this persons life, the location where they live tells us a lot about their lifestyle and their preferences. As Pirila's work went on it started to expand into showing the fears, dreams and memories of the person in the image. This is through the expression on their face in relation to where they are and what they can see. We can also get this information from the objects they have around them, this helps us look more closely at who they are and what they hold onto. I especially like the image above as the man isn't looking straight at the camera instead he is more engrossed in his setting. He is looking around the room showing comfort in his surroundings and perhaps a familiarity, proving that this person actually lives here. The landscape we can see by the man is in great focus and shows so much detail which is amazing for a camera obscura. I would love to be bale to achieve this in my own work. 

Lucas Simoes - Ausencia (absence) 

The image above has been created by the artist Lucas Simoes. Lucas works with already taken images and fire, combining the two to create a powerful piece that has a lot of meaning. This particular image is from the collection 'Ausencia' which translates to absence in English, this gives the viewer an idea of what the photographers aim was. Despite this not being a camera obscura image it is still one that I have researched as it will be an important part of my physical experimentation. I want to try this approach in my work as I think the burnt area will work well to portray the concept of camera obscura and the small 'burning' hole of light that is used to achieve it. The reason the image above has the burn mark on it is because Lucas uses it as a way of adding meaning by using the erasing of the mans face as showing 'absence', an absence of identity and facial expression, leaving us with just his body and the helmet. I think this added detail and the destructiveness of burning adds to the feeling of absence, the taking away of perhaps emotion or feeling and just leaving pain. The fact that the burn is real shows us the raw emotion and the realness of the pain this person is experiencing, rather than it just being edited on to give a similar effect. As mentioned above I would like to try this in my own work to portray the burning power of the sun. 

Lee Kirby 

The image above is by the photographer Lee Kirby, one I haven't previously researched. Instead, I have just used this specific image as inspiration in my own work as it isn't strictly camera obscura. This image falls into the category of projection, similar to camera obscura but using a projector to show a chosen image the right way up instead of the landscape outside the room upside down. Therefore it is a similar concept however not entirely the same as the camera obscura approach has some limitations. The aspect I would like to take from this image is the curvature of the projected image onto the ladies skin. The way the landscape fits onto her perfectly as if she's been wrapped up in it. I think this will be powerful in my work when it comes to shooting my subject in their own bedroom as that in their environment ( they are wrapped in this landscape all of the time). I also think the vibrant colours of this image work well with the concept as they almost drown out the subject a little bit, rather than being consumed by the person it is the other way round. In order to achieve this kind of vibrancy in my work I will need to make sure I shoot on a bright day where the sun is extremely bright in a relatively bright room. 

Marja Pirila - Room in the Attic 

The image above is another one of Marja Pirila's work, taken from her collection 'interior/exterior'. As we can see the image is of a room the has been made into a camera obscura, it is very simple with what looks like just a few books on the floor. It is such a simple image yet is still so effective in showing the life of someone who lives here. By showing the small details of how they live and what their home is like we get a small insight into their life. This mixed with the projected landscape from outside gives us as the viewer a detailed view at their environment and where they live. It seems to me that there is forestry outside of their window, indicating they may live an urban life. I feel that this fits into the interior decor as its very simplistic and rustic, compared to modern homes in the city. Usually in Marja's work she uses people as her subject however I feel that this image breaks the collection up making it stand out and is powerful without the subject. I enjoy the composition of this photograph as it mainly focuses on the floor and the little bits of furniture you can see around the room, the reason this works so well is because it shows off the landscape in great detail and makes it the main focus of the image. I would like to have some shots similar to this one in my own work as it breaks up the shoot and keeps the viewer intrigued by the landscape.