Assignment 5 – Peer feedback

After my little lenticular and overlay experiment I wanted to see what reaction it might garner. In fact after sleeping on it I decided that the overlays really were not working and If I wanted to add text I could look to a different style of presentation.

I am really excited by the lenticular idea however I hadn’t planned for it so my images are not quite right for the final outcome. Perhaps it should be a simpler portrait which is then over edited rather than a cliché pout?

Overall I think I am going to return to choosing one of my original images but perhaps consider the idea of a rework using the lenticular idea. I just need to think about how I could present it for assessment?

The feedback can be seen here:

https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/c-n-assignment-5/7504

Creative Options

I have been reviewing my selections and culling them further but at the same time I have had a few creative ideas around my images.

Unfortunately I am not very skilled at Photoshop or Lightroom but I have had a go at it, if I was asked to do it again I am not 100% sure I would remember how I got there but persistence seems to have paid off. I am also aware that I really need to get my assignment ready for my tutor by the end of today, latest tomorrow!

First I explored adding an overlay of Instagram messaging, although I think I prefer the wider view of the first one out of the first two images.

I used subtle Vanitas references in the images (Too subtle in hindsight) and I had a little play with Photoshop and the mirrors in the second image.

 

My only concern is that I can’t seem to get the text bright enough at the same time as keeping the screenshot background transparent.

Then I decided to explore making a lenticular image. I’m sure that there must be a professional approach to this however my approach was painstakingly awkward. I made a new image twice the width of my chosen image. then I used the rectangular marque tool and cut and pasted strips from each image to create one image. I then printed this and folded it. I really like the effect and it does illustrate the fluid nature of selfie’s and the narcissistic effect of perfection as one image shows the selfie ‘sans’ make-up and natural, the other shows an edited, filtered, Instagram worthy version of the same image (The power of apps and social media!) The Iphone’s image being the only static item between the two highlighting that images are frozen in time.

But…

How can I get this effect to look more ‘polished’ and less ‘crafty’?

 

 

 

 

1st Selections

The first cull has happened, this is getting easier!

Contact Sheets- Making it up

Well the research paid off, I found I was more decisive over how I wanted to take / set up my images. Overall I am quite pleased although I am a little concerned that they are too cliché. I also wish the Vanitas could have been stinger in composition, or perhaps in more abundance so it was almost grotesquely over-stated. Perhaps that would be something to consider for the re-work.

I have also had a different idea after viewing Alma Haser’s three-dimensional work at The Photographers Gallery. I have taken a few extra shots to experiment with layering the image, the one on the underneath of it all being devoid of make-up, the second layer with make-up and the third layer digitally enhanced. I am hoping I will get time to explore this idea before my tutorial.

I am also considering adding a layer over the image showing likes and comments etc similar to those seen on social media… but first I will need to learn a bit more about working with layers!

Colour Psychology

As I have already considered poses that replicate art and props in the style of Vanitas I thought I should take a look at colour psychology.

The most interesting colour for me to consider is Orange:

Orange is the colour of social communication and optimism. From a negative colour meaning it is also a sign of pessimism and superficiality.

How apt is this definition in fact there were a few colours that I could consider, Red is the colour of passion and determination as well as sexual energy.

Yellow is both optimistic and cowardly and I expected green to represent jealousy yet it actually represents balance and growth? Indigo is another interesting colour as it signifies realistic and addictive behaviour and brown can be a sign of materialism.

Black is also extremely interesting :

Teenagers often have a psychological need to wear black during the stage of transition from the innocence of childhood to the sophistication of adulthood. It signifies the ending of one part of their life and the beginning of another, allowing them to hide from the world while they discover their own unique identity. It is important they go through this stage but a worry when it continues on into adult years if they continue to wear black to the exclusion of other colours.

Black is a secretive colour, we use it to hide things, hence the its use when you want to look a little slimmer!

I think I will see if I can bring in the use of Orange, Indigo and Black to my image, this image is building in my mind’s eye yet I still have not found how or where I can can position furniture to take the image my mind can see!

Vanitas

Whilst considering staging my final image in the style of the old masters I also wanted to consider the props and symbolism I might use, hence looking at mirrors.

Following on from this I wanted to also look at Vanitas and the use of objects to represent something,

From my research on Venus and Aphrodite I discovered the symbolism of the cowry shell, the clam shell, myrtle and doves to name a few but Vanitas painting hold many more symbols, I have marked in bold the items which I could consider as props in my image:

The skull is a reminder that we will all die, it is a reflection of a living being and shows how fragile life is.

Fruits symbolise fertility and wealth whereas rotten fruit signifies ageing , even different fruits have meaning associated to them; figs, plums, cherries, apples or peaches are considered erotic.

Flowers: Rose as we saw before is the flower of Venus and therefore represents love and beauty, it is also linked to vanity. The poppy signifies sin and laziness and the tulip stands for foolish, Myrtle is associated with fertility whist Ivy is a sign of life and birth.

Shells as mentioned previously are signs of sex and lust.

A candle represents the soul and bubbles are signs of sudden death, aka the bubble bursting.

Many Vanitas paintings show cards and dice etc , signs of living a sinful life and vices. Armour is a sign of power and keys signify the power of the wife.

Mirrors obviously are a symbol of vanity and a carnival mask reveals a lack of a person ‘inside’.

A  knife is a reminder of  mortality. It is also a phallic symbol and the image of male sexuality.

Broken dishes,  symbolise death and fragility, white china standing for purity. The pestle & mortar are symbols of male and female sexuality, The bottle is a symbol of sin.

clocks show the passing of time, Hourglass is of vanity and the transience of life.

 

Coin purses, jewellery boxes, jewellery and cosmetics are linked with the vanity, narcissism and the mortal sin of arrogance. They also signal of their owners’ absence.

Crowns and sceptres  are signs domination but Like masks, symbolise the absence of those who wore them.

Selfie’s

Taken from Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie (accessed 12.05.18)

A selfie (/sɛlfiː/)^[1] is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a smartphone which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social networking services such as Facebook, Instagramand Snapchat. They are for vanity, usually flattering, and are casual in nature (or made to appear casual). “Selfie” typically refers to self-portrait photos taken with the camera held at arm’s length, as opposed to those taken by using a self-timer or remote. A selfie, however, need not include a sole individual. “Selfies” may include multiple subjects as long as the picture is actually being taken by one of the subjects featured in the photo.

 

Posting intentionally unattractive selfies has also become common in the early 2010s—in part for their humor value, but in some cases also to explore issues of body image or as a reaction against the perceived narcissism or over-sexualization of typical selfies.^[46]

The practice of taking selfies has been criticised not only for being narcissistic, preventing assessment and appreciation of what is happening in the present, but also for being mindlessly conformist behaviour, when everyone does what everyone else is doing, “like that scene in The Life of Brian – where the crowd gathers outside Brian’s window and enthusiastically chants in unison: ‘Yes, we’re all individuals! … Yes, we are all different!’ “^[47]

Selfitis

Another event that may have given rise to the term “selfitis” was when Danny Bowman, a 19 year old, attempted suicide after being obsessed with selfies. Reports had shown that he took up to 200 photos of himself every day^[92] The original article also claimed that there were three behavioral levels to the condition selfitis. These were defined as borderline (taking a selfie at least three times a day, but not sharing the selfie on any social media), acute (taking a selfie at least three times a day and sharing to on social media, or chronic (having an uncontrollable urge to take a selfie and sharing those photos on social media at least six times a day).^[90]

The classification of selfitis was found to be a hoax, but did gain commercial popularity and has been empirically studied as a mental disorder. Although there have been studies done on obsessive selfie taking, it is currently not listed as a mental disorder in the DSM-5^[93

Mirrors

Definition of mirror

1: a polished or smooth surface (as of glass) that forms images by reflection 

• She looked at herself in the mirror.

2a : something that gives a true representation

• the press as a mirror of public opinion
•  —C. G. Bowers

b : an exemplary model 

• She is the mirror of feminine beauty.

Interesting that the definition of a mirror is to give a true representation, if we consider that photography should also capture the truth then where does the selfie belong? Even a passport or driving licence photo does not feel like a true reflection of ourselves and the now infamous pouting lips of a selfie does not represent reality.

In ancient times mirrors , and smooth reflective surfaces, were used for divination, magic and repelling evil.they were also feared for their power to steal the soul.

Mirrors have also been used as tools in psychic development to increase clairvoyance and to gain knowledge of past lives.

Magic mirrors have been popular since medevil times, they have been used by magicians, witches and sorcerers. Today when we think of magic mirrors we think of the distorting mirrors used at funfairs.

In many tribal groups the reflection is believed to be the soul. Exposing the soul in a mirror makes the soul vulnerable.

Going back to ancient Greece and the story of Narcissus it is a belief that a person who sees his or her own reflection will soon die. The ancient Greeks also believed that dreaming of seeing ones own reflection was an omen of death. It is a custom to remove mirrors from sick rooms so that the mirror does not draw out the soul of the weakened person.

Mirrors are associated with evil, The plate used to serve the host during mass is said to be reflective so that if there is no reflection then a demon can be spotted, only angels have reflections. Witches and Vampires are also said to have no reflections , Russian folklore suggests they are the creation of the Devil and are used to draw out souls.

strangely mirrors can also protect against evil, reflecting the evil eye and breaking a mirror can lead to seven years of bad luck!

Mirrors used in art are painted in such a way that it is impossible to be a true reflection, this is called the Venus effect. People are led to think they are looking at a person gazing into a mirror but the reflection ‘we’ see is not the one that should exist. The only replicate the experience of looking into a mirror as if we in fact are the subject.

Narcissism

I was thinking that the current trend for ‘selfies’ ties into the story of ‘looking at ones own reflection’.

Everyone experiences Narcissism to an extent in their live, teenagers often think ‘the world revolves around them’ and that they are ‘always right’. It is a stage / rite of passage that we all go through as we discover our ‘self’. It is not because we love ourselves but because we are exploring ourselves, our boundaries, our place in the world.

We are trying to love ‘ourselves and have confidence in ourselves, for some people they do not move beyond this self obsessed stage. Remember in the Roman version of the tale Narcissus was only sixteen, he never discovered who he truly was beyond his reflection therefore he did not move past the Narcissistic stage.

narcissist

ˈnɑːsɪsɪst/

noun

noun: narcissist; plural noun: narcissists

1. a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.

   “narcissists who think the world revolves around them”

 

The Gods

Venus

Venus is the Roman goddess associated with love, beauty and fertility. Venus was considered to be without flaws, a perfect representation of beauty, in fact the planet Venus was named after her as after the moon it is the brightest natural object in the night sky and is bright enough to cast shadows on others. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

The word Venus means sexual desire in Latin but her name is also derived from the word venerari meaning to honour, to try to please.

The symbols / signs for Venus include roses (For love) and myrtle (considered an aphrodisiac; note that word starts with aphro!)

Aphrodite

Aphrodite was also the goddess of feminine beauty, sex, love, and grace, she is the goddess of desire who rose naked from the sea. It has also been thought that she is an androgynous deity , the combination of Hermes (One of her many lovers) and Aphrodite = ‘ hermaphrodite’.  The translation of her name means ‘Foam born’ she was born of the sea and rose from the foam on a scallop shell (As in Botticelli’s painting).

She epitomises social charm, in fact if she was in the modern-day her social network would be vast, so many admirers and invitations. She is unself-conscious and celebrates her beauty and the beauty of others, she had both male and female lovers, illustrated by kissing cowry shells, representing female anatomy. The fact that she was born fully grown tells us that in order to be like her and to be uninhibited we need to be fully mature, her quest is for the ‘perfect’ lover and she uses glamour and beauty to seduce.

Aphrodite’s sacred tree is the Myrtle tree, much like Venus’ and her symbol is a scallop shell, other symbols that have been associated with her are the poppy, rose and apple as well as birds such as the Swan, Swallow, Sparrow and Dove. Other references to Aphrodite link her with the goddess of ‘Death in Life’, Apostrophia ‘She who turns away’ , the postponer of old age.

She  had magical powers of transformation that could cause both gods and mortals to do as she bid them. She cast spells which resulted in mortals and deities falling in love but she is also known to have had a cruel streak, proving that beauty is only skin deep.

Narcissus

Narcissus was the son of Cephisus and Lyriope, he was known for his beauty and was loved by Apollo (Sister of Aphrodite). There are various versions of the story of Narcissus (Both Greek and Roman).

In the Greek version a young man fell in love with Narcissus. This young man was spurned by Narcissus and he killed himself at Narcissus’ doorstep praying to the gods to teach Narcissus a lesson.

Narcissus was then walking by a lake one day and decided to drink some water, he saw his reflection in the water and was surprised by the beauty he saw, he fell in love with his own reflection. As much as he tried he could not obtain the object of his desire and died at the bank of the lake from sorrow.

In the Roman version Narcissus parents were worried about the extraordinary beauty of their child and asked a prophet what to do. The prophet told them that the boy would grow old as long as he didn’t get to know himself. When Narcissus was sixteen he was walking in the woods and Echo saw him and fell madly in love with him. She started to follow Narcissus and he asked ‘Who’s there?’ , feeling that someone was following him. Echo responded ‘Who’s there?’ and that continued for some time until Echo decided to show herself. She tried to embrace him but Narcissus  stepped away telling her to leave him alone. Echo was heartbroken at being spurned and spent the rest of her life in glens until nothing but an echo sound remained of her. Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, heard the story and decided Narcissus should be punished. Narcissus then sees himself in a pond and falls in love, once he realises that this love can never be real he kills himself.