Abstraction is defined as freedom from representational qualities in art. This means that abstraction, is just doing things out of the ordinary. It is also something that is representational of something from nature or something that exists but is still recognisable as something real. In short, it represents something real through something that is not real. You can achieve abstraction in photography, by taking photos that break the rules, for example, taking an image out of focus, or taking an image and editing over it in photoshop to make it more interesting.
Our task was to make a sculpture, and then take 12 pictures of it, whilst trying to incorporate the shadows into the image. I think I succeeded in this task because I managed to get 12 different images. I found this easy because there were lots of different angles on the sculpture, so it wasn't that hard to take 12 pictures. Whilst we were taking the pictures, the lighting wasn't very harsh, so the shadows weren't as bold, and they came out soft and sort of blended into the table, so it was hard to get good shots of the shadows. I like the second image because the light hitting the sculpture created a blend as it went down to the bottom of the image from light to dark, I also like the angle because it gives everything more shadows, and you can see more of the sculpture. We watched a video before we made our sculptures, so we could get some ideas of how to take out pictures.
Our task was to take an abstract image. I think I succeeded at this task because, the image I took has colour which I drew on over top to contrast with the background. I chose to use a black and white background so that it would contrast more with the colours. The lines/drawings on top are what your eye automatically goes to, as they're the only colour in the image. Originally, I was just going to use the background image on it own, because the building behind my house is a big striped red block, so I thought it might have been abstract enough, but I didn't like it very much.
|
Our task was to take 12 abstract pictures outside using the sculptures we made. I think I have succeeded at doing this task as I took more than 12 pictures and all of them have the sculpture incorporated in them somehow. I like the second image the most because the sculpture around the model is out of focus and it contrasts against the colours around the image. I also like the coloured pieces of film on the sculpture because it acts as a sort of filter and it creates colour in the shadows, it also creates contrast.
Out Of Focus-Uta Barth
Most of this image is out of focus, however there are some leaves in the corner which are in focus. This automatically directs your eye to the leaves. Most of the lines in the image are organic lines, with very little geometric lines or shapes. Most of the colour used are different shades of green, with some white in the unfocused parts of the image, also there is not much tonal range between the green colours, meaning that there is only lighter greens and some darker greens to contrast. The leaves are positioned to the top right of the image, so that it draws your eye inwards.
|
Unusual Framing Choices-Cristina Coral
The space in this image is mostly filled by the detailed wallpaper throughout the background. The lighting used would have been natural lighting, as the light in the image is dispersed and is covering most of the image, except towards the left of the wall there is a shadow covering it, probably because of the direction the sun was pointing in. The bright fluorescent green of the plant, makes it so that your eye automatically looks at it first, and then leads your eye in to the rest of the image. This image has a mix of organic and geometric lines and shapes that contrast with each other well.
|
Obscured And Disrupted Views-John Batho
This image is a bit more out of focus on the left side of the image. There are no colours in the image, only different tones of black and white. Most of the space is filled up in the centre, with lots of negative space around the people standing in the middle. The two people standing furthest away are the most out of focus, and there is more grey on them towards their legs and their heads. The black and white blend together to create a gradient, which also creates contrast between the two colours. The lighting used is artificial, which means you can't guess what time of day it is.
|
Expressive Colour-Ernst Haas
This image suggests movement or energy because the photographer managed to capture the cars as they were moving. The colours in this image are ver bold and bright, so it contrasts with the white arrows on the road. The space in this image is mostly filled towards the centre and the top left corner, leaving large areas of block colour towards the bottom of the image and around the cars. The lighting in the image is probably natural lighting from the sun, as there are no visible shadows, so the light is dispersed and spread through out the image.
|
Martin OSner
I think this image is abstract, because it is not something you would see everyday. The white car is positioned in the centre, which makes it so that it is the first thing you see. The dark grey clouds in the background contrast against the white car. There are very few colours in this image, mostly grey tones and some white, however in the top left corner there is a sign with some red on it, to create more contrast. The space around the car is mostly negative space, as there is nothing going on in it. The lighting is natural lighting, as its very dispersed and covers the whole image. The wall on the bottom of the image looks like it has a rough/bumpy texture.
|
Our task was to take 16 photos of a single piece of paper. I think I succeeded in doing this task, as whilst taking the images I made sure to not get any of the table in the picture, or get anyone else in the image. I found this easy because there wasn't many rules, apart from not getting anything other than the paper in it, and it's not that hard to scrunch up some paper and take pictures of it from different angles. I found it interesting to experiment with changing the focus of the image, and changing the angles and the lighting. The formal element 'Line' is used the most, because it was the easiest to mess around with the focus and lightings to make the lines pop out more.
This image is abstract because it is giving a message and a representation perhaps of the mind and how people could have different perceptions of the world around them. This is kind of shown, by the way the photographer chose to use a black and white filter everywhere else apart from the pictures which are positioned so that they are coming from her head. I also think that this image is showing how photography can change the way you look at things, for example, the rest of the image is very simple with lots of negative space, whereas the pictures are bright and colourful and full of different things going on.
|
Our task was to take pictures of objects that incorporate the formal elements some how. I think I succeeded in this task because each of my images have at least one of the formal elements. The image I think worked the best was the sixth image. I think this because theres block colour behind the persons shoes, and because I used the flash, the shows look as if they're glowing, so it automtically directs the viewers attention. The orange block colour background creates contrast between the foreground, which is the main focus in this image, and the background.
saul leiter
I chose this image because has lots of different formal elements. The most dominant formal elements are the use of shadows to create lots of sharp and defined lines on top of the umbrella. The umbrella has the most dominant block colour throughout the image, which makes it so that the umbrella is the fist thing your eyes go to. The area around the image has a pattern of bricks on the walk way. The image is abstract because it captures lots of different formal elements in one image and it is taken from an angle which you usually wouldn't see that object from. Saul Leiters images are abstract because he uses specific formal elements (e.g, focus, light and colour) He changes the images by changing the focus to emphasise a specific part of image.
|
John Baldessari
John Baldessari was a conceptual artist known for his photography work. Originally an artist, he started incoporating texts and photography into his canvases. He has created thousands of works that demonstrate and combine different types and forms of art. In 1970 he began working in printmaking, film, video, sculpture and photography. The first image is very detailed compared to his other images. There are lots of smaller details in this image due to the raindrops, compared to the other images which were mostly consist of solid block colour and shapes. His images are abstract because they are a representation of people without showing their faces. The forth image is different to the others because he combined geometric and organic shapes, and he used primary and secondary colours that are similar on the colour wheel. It is common in his images to find solid block colours and organic and geometric shapes. He uses organic shapes to fit the shape of persons body or clothes. He also uses an element of collage in some of his works as in some of them he hasn't covered up their noses, so it looks as if he has collaged in different noses over the top of the block colour.
Hannah Höch
Hannah Höch was a German Dada (European art movement) artist. She is one of the originators of photmontage (Collage). Her work is absract because her images are a representational of how people look, but she combines different faces to make one big collage of people without it being how an actual person looks. In the fifth image, she uses a monkey head and collages it on a human body, which could be representational of Darwins theory of evolution, as humans evolved from monkeys. She collages lots of things together on the foreground and leaves a block coloured background which creates contrast. Another way she creates contrast is by collaging smaller halfs and bigger halfs of a persons face as shown in the last image. In the smaller face there is more detail whereas the bigger half has less detail.
experimentation
Final piece
An idea I have for a final piece, is to take pictures using fomal elements and editing over them with different shapes and colours to create contrast with the background image. The main formal elements that I want to use are colour and focus, because I think it will create more contrast with the drawings. I also want to experiment with different filters for the background image so the drawings on top contrast more, especially with a black and white filter.
EvALUATION
Before I started the project I researched a variety of different photographers to get some inspiration for how I wanted my final piece to look. One photographer I looked at was John Baldessari. I really liked the way he used bright eye catching colours and drew/collaged over pictures. His work influenced my idea for what to do for a final piece as I based my idea around using photoshop to overlay organic shapes and lines onto images.
I think I succeeded because my images turned out how I imagined they would. One thing I changed was that originally I was going to use really bright, contrasting colours, but instead I used lots of pastel colours and used black and white to balance out the image more. I think to improve I think would experiment with images with different backgrounds, or create more geometric shapes and play around with the composition of the random colourful lines. I originally wanted to take pictures of landscapes that had buildings and draw around them, but after experimenting, I decided that using people to model in my images was more interesting because you can play around with how the people look, and you can decide what areas of the person you want to show and which areas you don't (e.g, covering their face). I like how John Baldessari covered the subjects faces, so I decided to replicate it but put something different overtop of their faces. I took my images using my phone, because using a phone is more convenient for catching the subjects whilst they were mid-action so the images are more candid looking.
Overall, I think my images are abstract because they have lots of the formal elements, with colour being the most dominant element.
I think I succeeded because my images turned out how I imagined they would. One thing I changed was that originally I was going to use really bright, contrasting colours, but instead I used lots of pastel colours and used black and white to balance out the image more. I think to improve I think would experiment with images with different backgrounds, or create more geometric shapes and play around with the composition of the random colourful lines. I originally wanted to take pictures of landscapes that had buildings and draw around them, but after experimenting, I decided that using people to model in my images was more interesting because you can play around with how the people look, and you can decide what areas of the person you want to show and which areas you don't (e.g, covering their face). I like how John Baldessari covered the subjects faces, so I decided to replicate it but put something different overtop of their faces. I took my images using my phone, because using a phone is more convenient for catching the subjects whilst they were mid-action so the images are more candid looking.
Overall, I think my images are abstract because they have lots of the formal elements, with colour being the most dominant element.