Sources For CPS project

Here are the links I used for the CPS final project.

I did the first slides on  a brief history, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth and Thomas Ruff.

some background info:http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/kultur-medien/main-content-09/bildende-kunst.html
→ pretty much just saying how “young german artists” came to be known; how photography wasn’t recognized as an art at first, the break-through came in the 90s (i think a lot has to do wth the fall of the berlin wall, and no more german democratic republic...) with three students of this photo-couple (Bernd and Hilla Becher): Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Ruff → became known as “Struffsky” for their new style which was now known internationally...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Gursky
Andreas Gursky is known for his “enormous architecture and landscape colour photographs”
- born in Leipzig, grew up in Duesseldorf; son of commercial photog.
- studied at Kunstakademie Duess. (It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke,Thomas Demand, and Andreas Gursky.)
- studied under HILLA AND BERND BECHER: they photographed/cataloged industrial mahcinery and architecture.  (Dieter Appelt, Candida Hofer )
→ heavily influenced by his teachers + BRITISH lanscape photog John Davies; American photog Joel Sternfeld

http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/11/andreas-gursky-photo-rhein-ii-sells-43-million-auction


http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2011/01/andreas-gursky-photography.html

http://b-uncut.com/blog/2010/07/27/andreas-gursky-photography-legend-in-pictures/

http://nathalie-bergstrom.blogspot.com/2011/10/andreas-gursky.html

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~squires/gursky/

THOMAS STRUTHhttp://thomasstruth25.com/all/html/800_architecture.htm
http://thomasstruth25.com/all/html/800_portrait.htm
→ http://thomasstruth25.com/all/html/800_allworks.htm
http://spaceframed.blogspot.com/2011/03/thomas-struth.html

http://www.annina.fr/contemporary-art/thomas-struth/

http://photo-graph.org/2011/08/30/thomas-struth/

THOMAS RUFF
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/ruff/
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=thomas+ruff&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=98728l99251l1l99804l4l4l0l0l0l0l151l439l2.2l4l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1230&bih=924&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue5/ruff_image1.htm
→ portraits explanation http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1999.210
→ ruff portrait series thing http://www.rfc.museum/past-exhibitions/time-capsule/artwork-images/thomas-ruff
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/show-full/piece/?search=Portrait%20(M.%20Roeser)&page=&f=Title&object=2001.31


HILLA AND BERNDhttp://www.google.ca/search?{google:searchFieldtrialParameter}{google:instantFieldTrialGroupParameter}sourceid=chrome&q=hilla+and+bernd+becher&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1230&bih=924&sei=dqbWTvKzKOno0QHgs9z6AQ
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/95
http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/04spring/stimson_paper.htm
http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/03/theory-interview-with-bernd-and-hilla.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_and_Hilla_Becher

New German Photography

Allison, Emily B., Laurence and I will be doing our research project on NEW GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY.

Here are some links that I found, that may be useful for the research.

I'm most likely going to be speaking about the trio that started this "movement": Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Ruff.

http://www.economist.com/node/186360
→ Thomas Struth and Andreas Gursky

Gursky: http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/11/andreas-gursky-photo-rhein-ii-sells-43-million-auction
http://thesegunsdontquit.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/gursky99cent12.jpg

Tillmans:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Tillmans
German interview:  http://www.art-magazin.de/div/heftsuche/tillmans/1979/2008/0/OGOWTEGWPPRPHPOGOASTSGCWCHSGWTRWWOER/%22Es-dreht-sich-jetzt-nur-noch-um-gute-Kunst%22
  http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,486281,00.html

Juergen Teller
DE interview: http://www.welt.de/lifestyle/article5655767/Madonna-hatte-Angst-vor-mir.html

article w/ more photog names:http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/41052/gute-aussichten-new-german-photography-at-goethe-institut-wednesday-june/
    http://www.guteaussichten.org/index.php
→ http://www.katrinkamrau.de/
→ Aussehnsucht http://www.rebeccasampson.com/
→ Samuel Henne http://ilikethisart.net/?p=10483
http://www.triangulationblog.com/2011/08/something-specific-about-everything-by.html
→ Helena Schaetzle http://www.helenaschaetzle.de/de/portfolio/
→ Andre Hemstedt and Tine Reimer http://www.wehaveseen.de/fotografie.html
→ Stephan Tillmans http://www.stephantillmans.com/index.php?/portfolio/leuchtpunktordnungen/

some background info:http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/kultur-medien/main-content-09/bildende-kunst.html
→ pretty much just saying how “young german artists” came to be known; how photography wasn’t recognized as an art at first, the break-through came in the 90s (i think a lot has to do wth the fall of the berlin wall, and no more german democratic republic...) with three students of this photo-couple (Bernd and Hilla Becher): Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Ruff → became known as “Struffsky” for their new style which was now known internationally...

Narratives

My idea for this narrative shoot was to place my subject relative small in the frame compared to a larger landscape that's surrounding the subject. I wanted to underline the feeling of  loneliness, by placing the subject in an open area or in an area where nature just surrounds them and they're all by themselves. This was also to play in with the idea of insignificance one feels when surrounded by nature; it's actually a 'normal' human feeling to feel insignificant in the universe, and I think that feeling sometimes makes you feel very alone, and it may also translate to other areas in life... (This is also the reason why I chose to put the pictures in black and white; I did like the colour versions, but felt that the black and white versions underlined the idea of loneliness more.)

I do feel like this series isn't complete though, and I wanted and probably will still take more "portraits" to complete it. I'll try to more landscapes, and also more subjects. (And maybe this would also work for our CPS magazine, if I do expand on it.)

My Environmental Portraits

Here are my environmental portraits of a little adventure we had by the water.
I decided to put these images in black and white, because I wanted to experiment with the tones of the image; the blue water was very nice and beautiful, but I think in black and white it underlines the textures and I feel like I can focus on the subject more.

Narrative Research

More of a Documentary Aprroach:
Stephen Shames: "Bronx Boys"

Shames photographed these boys through out their childhood and then later on in their teens and adulthood. These images work especially well as a large series, because they complete each other and tell the story of these boys' life. But in each image, I think you can imagine a story about these boys and one wants to figure out what that story is. 

Lissy Larichia: "surreal portraits"

This series of pictures tells a story in a more imaginative way, so the viewer can really imagine anything that could be happening. I like the use of the outdoor environment, because it gives a bit of a dreamy effect and it seems to be telling a story of some kind of journey this girl is having.

Daniela Edburg: "Drop Dead Gorgeous" Series
(more elaborate, staged narratives)

This series of images is more elaborate and is staged. They all have this common thread where the female character in the picture is "dropping dead" from a crazy mishappening, often do to with sweet candy or cake. I especially like the first image, because of the outdoor environment and the colours in the picture; I get the point with this image and it's not as "over-the-top" as the others...

More of a Fashion Approach:

Erik Madigan Heck

In this series of pictures, I really like the use of patterns and colours, which I think make the image interesting. Since it's a fashion approach to narrative photography, I think the model is more posed than in documentary for example, but none the less, I think the model serves as an actress in these images, telling a story about her "home" or environment. It's a bit more of a subtle approach to a narrative, because it's a bit more down-played than some other fashion-narratives; it's more like a "slice-of-life" to this fashion character's life...

Images found from: http://www.featureshoot.com/

Bad Environmental Portraits

With the background here, we can kind of see what the photographer is trying to portray (although her being in a church is kind of confusing...), but the lighting is just very dark and dull. It doesn't make the subject appealing whatsoever.

I understand what the photographer wants to show, and it's kind of quirky and an interesting concept... but the alignment is all crooked, the lighting is dull, and the whole picture is just really awkward.

For this more commercial approach, what I really don't like is the halo-like light in the background. It seems like it's not white balanced at all, and I'd want to see a shot that is cleaner than this for something commercial. (It also doesn't look like she's in an office, rather it looks like a poorly lit basement.)

Yes, we get that she's looking at a computer screen, but we have no idea of the sense of location, and the subject's face is just awkward, and distorted.

The lighting could be better in this picture, and I'd prefer it if the subject wasn't smiling...It's also the photographer's job to make the subject look attractive (or interesting)...and she doesn't...

Yes, we know she's doing yoga, and we could deduce that she's a yoga teacher. The lighting though isn't that great, and the whole pose is just weird and awkward, as well as her face expression.

This has potential, but the post-production just ruined everything...

I have no idea what's going on here, and what kind of story they photographer is trying to tell us. And this picture doesn't make the subject look attractive at all, even though that's the main purpose...

This has potential, but the lighting is dull, and the composition isn't the greatest either. Maybe if there was more interaction between the subject and photographer...

I have no idea what is going on here, and what the "environment" even is. Maybe it's about our 'green' environment? If we would know more about the context the picture could be a lot better, because this person actually did a decent job with lighting.

Photos found on Flickr, by searching "Environmental Portraits".

I know that these pictures are quite terrible, and I could've chosen pictures that are more subjective and better than these, while still not being great, but I decided to take these ones, as they're from people on Flickr, who are experimenting with environmental portraits. Some of them have the right idea going on, but these pictures really underline that when you have poor lighting, uninteresting compositions, and awkward poses, that the environmental portraits could go horribly wrong, even though, some may have thought they were "thinking outside the box". We have to be careful not to make these same mistakes...

Good Environmental Portraits

Araminta de Clermont 

Cédric Gerbehaye

Jake Verzosa

Jodi Bieber

Larry Louie

Larry Louie

Mariano Vivanco

Nicola Lo Calzo

Nicola Lo Calzo

Paul D'Amato

Stephen Dupont

Overall, I like how these photographers include quite a bit of background, as it helps the viewer to understand the subject in great detail. The background also adds to the narrative qualities of the images, helping the viewer imagine the subject's story, life or situation. Most of these photographers also chose more of a documentary approach to environmental portraits, rather than a commercial approach, which I personally prefer, as I get the feeling that it's a slice of life and more realistic.

pictures found from: http://500photographers.blogspot.com/

Louise Dahl-Wolfe Emulation

Here are some pictures of my attempted emulation of Dahl-Wolfe:

based on this image:

based on this image:

 

based on this image:

For this shoot, I tried to focus on being outdoors, as that was one of Dahl-Wolfe's main ideas, and I tried to emulate the lines in her composition; while trying to stray from the fashion side of her pictures a little bit. Preferably I would've had more models, but I wanted to show this model in different locations, all outdoors, to sort of portray different sides of her....