-Pages Lane Allotments-
In my Allotment photos i tried to focus on texture and patterns and how it affects surfaces.
-Lewis Baltz-
Lewis Baltz is best known as one of the icons of the 'New Topography' movement in photography of the late seventies. Presented together in the exhibition 'New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-altered Landscape' in 1975, this group of young photographers brought a shift in landscape photography in showing the images of a world far removed from an heroic vision of America. This move was also illustrated by the subject matter of urban and suburban realities under change, as well as the photographers' commitment to a critical and ironic eye of contemporary American society. Thirty years after its opening, this exhibition still remains one with the strongest impact on landscape photography world-wide in its attempt to define both objectivity and the role of the artist in photographic creation. Lewis Baltz' contribution to the show consisted of photographs of an industrial warehouse complex in Southern California, in which the images of blank concrete walls and prefabricated buildings offer a critical position toward the claustrophobia of urban life. Often displayed in a grid format, it is important to Lewis Baltz that these pictures are seen collectively as a group or series, as for him one image should not be taken as more true or significant than another. Through his original approach, Lewis Baltz most clearly embodies the essence of the movement’s critical depiction of the American landscape. This, according to some authors, makes him more closely aligned with conceptual art than with traditional photography. |
'Useless'
During the autumn students from Umeå School of Architecture worked to develop proposals for a sustainable improvement in the area Mokattam Village in Cairo. The area is a so called informal residential area in central Cairo, where the inhabitants live to collect, sort and recycle the city's garbage. During fall the students spent four weeks in Cairo, where they examined the physical urban environment as well as the social and economic aspects of the society.
First Set
I used the work done by the students at the Umea school of Architecture to explore the term 'useless'. I visited the scrapyard, and tried to portray things that were thrown away and deemed unneeded, as something alive and artistic. In addition I tried to photograph objects with a range of colours and increased the contrast when i was editing, this i felt gave the pictures more personality and made them seem useful.
Hipstamatic
In responce to reading about the hipstamatic exhibition at the Orange Dot Gallery, I decided to do my own but to focus on landscape rather than people or families. I tried to involve light as much as possible as i found this aloud me to get the best results. By take photos at night and in the day i was able to capture an array of different moods and themes as well as presenting the city in different ways. If i would have done this differently i would have maybe done day and night photographs of one building and capture it at different times of the day. In addition the choice of landscape could have been more than just sky scrapers and the city, instead i could have used more rural of suburban areas and tried to bring some life to them.
Relationships with your Environment
John Clang
"The mundane and the commonplace attract me—I always profess an affinity for subject matters closely related to my daily life. I often dwell upon urban and contemporary themes and landscapes; be it the city or its inhabitants. Intrigued by subtle changes in my environment, I find a corresponding shift in my feelings and thoughts. Hence, my images are a poetic reflection of myself in response to the nuanced changes in my environment." Clang grapples with issues of estrangement and intimacy in an urban space, such as the displacement of familiar urban objects, views and perspectives. He also works with themes and memories of his childhood and living oversees.
Tom Gould
New Zealand-born, New York-based photographer Tom Gould documents people and their own interpretations of self expression. He focuses on various types of people from all walks of life, using contrast, juxtaposition and awkwardness to convey these themes
My Work
In my own work i tried to incorperate themes and concepts shown seen in both Gould's and Clang's work, with a hint of my own. I focused mainly on someones interaction with there environment and how they can have a affect on a greater picture or even someone else in there environment. For instance the photograph of the trumpeter expresses his interaction with those who walk past him and here his music. In addition, the photo of the man walking through trafalgar square merely shows how someone walking through somewhere at a certain time can have a, even minimal, effect on the surrounding environment.
Final Outcome
For my final outcome a decided to use a video, as i felt this would best show the impact one person can have on different environments and landscapes. From doing it from behind you have no real connection with the character and therefore focus mainly on how he walks and his surroundings. I feel i captured well his story of his journey from A to B whilst illustrating his impact on the people around him, as he weaves and avoids certain people in his environment to reach his destination. My word theme was interaction as it sums up his journey to his destination. With out realising he is interacting with his environment by changing the way it looks and how other people interact with it. The speech at the beginning also opitimises the idea that you do not realise your impact on life and that you just do what you have to do to get by.