Sadly, today is the last day of my photography project class. The last assignment was by far the trickiest. In class we looked at the work of Gilbert and George, a British artist duo. I can't seem to find a website for them but if you're interested in checking out their work you can google them. Their pieces are large-scale and graphic (both in nature and style). They use symbols, text, and heavily bordered images to compose their unique style. They also include portraits of each of them in each work. Although it doesn't appear so, their work is entirely photographic.
My assignment was to, being influenced by their work, "Make up some statements that are expressions of your personal beliefs and ideas that are important to you. Design a layout into which the statement will fit. Make up some statements that are an expression of what you think society believes about young people. Use a clear visual language and a pared-down graphic style to communicate for maximum effect. It may help to reduce your statements to one or two words. Compose at least three separate 8"x10" panels/images/photographs that form a self-portrait or clear depiction of your individual presence in society. Make sure to use visual information that can be understood by people outside of your community and/or society."
Did you get that? If you did, I applaud you. It's a relatively simple assignment, but thinking of an idea that would work proved to be difficult for me. With some help from friends brainstorming, I decided that the "personal belief" I would base my assignment on would be my generation's standardized notions of women's beauty. Almost every girl I know wears makeup daily either to cover up blemishes or to excentuate certain features. Undoubtedly, makeup can make a woman glow. However, I personally feel uncomfortable wearing it as it feels like a mask to me, like I'm just playing a part. Concurrently, I choose not to wear clothes that are not a reflection of my personality, less I feel like again I'm just playing a part and not representing who I am.
In my series of photos I tried to express this personal belief in a way that is universally understood. Hopefully I got the point across. I am disappointed that the three photos don't visually sit well together. In putting them together though I forced myself to learn some valuable skills in Photoshop (a new program to me). Some simple things like cutting out an image, changing the opacity, etc. took me several hours to teach myself but now I'll understand for next time!
-Longest Blog Entry Yet OUT.
No comments:
Post a Comment