So I've been having some trouble with what had been my proposal. I decided to stop panicking and just write about what I REALLY want to do for this project. I suppose this is an appropriate place to post it. Feedback is greatly appreciated, I have no set images in my mind, all of this is still in progress.
new proposal?
I will not begin with a meaning; just like a good novel, I believe that the metaphors aren’t added by the author. The author just presents an image and the reader takes it in as they will. Intention does not always translate. All the creator can do is present something that is pleasing or moving to them in some way, and watch what the audience does with that information. On that note, I continue to find myself wrapped in the idea of the formal portrait. I want to completely utilize the 4x5 camera’s selective focus. I want to see what the camera is really capable of creating.
I like the production of portraiture. I like lighting, I like posing models, I like conceptualizing images without “meaning”. By “meaning” I mean some sort of intended message for the reader. If I wanted to tell them something about society, or life, or humanity, I would just tell them. I create photographs as a way of capturing the imaginary world in which my opinion is truth. It is a biased look through my own eyes. Photography adds a level of distance between word and listener, similar to how metaphor works in poetry. The space between photographer and viewer also grows with each layer of absurdity.
I continue to come back to the formal portrait. What if something wasn’t quite right about a fashion portrait? What if the woman who exists through the photographer’s eyes to advertise an outfit, exists to destroy it, exists to make the viewer not want to buy. Or what if you could see the advertised woman come undone? This is not commentary on the fashion industry, or on media exploitation of femininity. This is a simple documentation, with the 4x5 camera, of what happens when we dissolve, mentally, physically, spiritually, or otherwise. Abstracted by the format, the setting, and the pre-conceptualization, the viewer will be forced to not only search for a message, but to imagine a plot for a storyboard. In this way, the viewer becomes the creator. This becomes the pith of the image. What does the viewer make of it? How can I distort perception? I hope to explore these questions, and test to see just how far I can distance myself from the image, without losing control of it.
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3 comments:
Wow! This is a well-written proposal. I am excited about this new take on your project. A few questions:
How many different subjects are you going to photograph? Or is there only one subject and many different portraits?
I am assuming these are studio shots...have you thought about playing with the studio as a subject? or perhaps as a part of the subject? (in reaction to or with the subject?)
If you are not already familiar with other portrait photogs, I suggest you "have a conversation with" the following artists: Arnold Newman, Irving Penn, George Platt Lynes, Dora Maar, Tina Modotti, Lothar Wolleh, and Richard Avedon.
I agree this is very well written, but I'm not seeing a "road map." What's the plan? Portraiture is fascinating - no doubt it's hard to imagine tiring of looking at faces, imagining their lives and personal narratives. We have permission to look, to stare even, something our mothers told us not to do. Where will you start? You were concerned with finding models for your first proposal - with whom do you plan to work? I'd like to see more concrete information.
The big idea is a fine place to start, but we have only 2 weeks to the first crit. I'd like to see 8x10" prints of three portrait shoots so that we can then talk about what we see.
Also check out Lonnie Graham and Cathy Opie's early work.
Cheers.
deirdre
And still other artists: Rineke Dijkstra, Adrienne Salinger, Wolfgang Tillmans, Katy Grannan.
All of these artists work with different groups of people (familiars, strangers, specific types, friends) and as mentioned in class about postmodernism, everything within their images is a part of the portrait.
I hope this helps. Feel free to shoot back some questions.
-M
Modesto
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