Week 4.

Draw. Work by hand.

As a photographer, I should always have a camera by my side, and as a creative, I should have my RVJ. The 'Reflective Visual Journal', or RVJ for short, is exactly what it says on the tin, somewhere to think, in a visually communicative way, and record it over a period of time. You might ask why I would not make just a simple journal, and write down my ideas for future reference? Because I am a creative! What good are words, if the final piece is to be an image? It would be like a story writer drawing stick men to plan their next novel. By freely sketching and making notes, my ideas can develop, I can engage with my ideas, I can refine and improve them, because every thought process is laid out in front of me where I have recorded it, so I have a structured way of thinking, deciding what is better and worse, rather than just speculation in my head.

The very best, and most famous man for using this technique of 'thinking on the page', is Leonardo Da Vinci. 

 

He would fill book after book with his inventions, sketches, ideas, and subsequent notes, rather than writing an idea down, and then follow with a drawing to its specifications. This is visual thinking, and although Leonardo was also an artist, doing many portraits, he knew that these sketchbooks did not need to be pretty, aesthetically pleasing pictures, these were drawings for the sake of ideas and development, not for display. Even as a photographer, I intend to fill my RVJ with my visual thoughts, which will aid my work greatly.

Utilise your creative brain

The human brain is made of two halves, the left brain and the right brain. And after many years of science types testing brainwaves, they have deduced that the two halves work very differently. The right brain functions like that of a playful child, it is curious, spontaneous, likes adventure and the unknown, and will lose track of time playing and experimenting. The left brain on the other hand is like that of an accountant. It likes and needs to organise, classify, clarify, count and evaluate. Our brains work between the two without us even having to realise it, but by being aware of it, we can use it to our advantage.

Take an example of RVJ working such as this one, shown to me by a tutor. Both brains are at play here, the student seems to have created this illustration in a completely experimental way, playing with different medias and techniques, and resulted in some form of creature. They have used their right brain, exploring until they found something they thought worthy of working with. Then, they must consciously decide to move over to their left brain, and sit and think about what they have done. They ask, what the creature could be, where, and why? Using annotation and making notes they are analysing and justifying, which is just as important as the initial creation of a piece! Neither brain is better, or more important than than the other, its is only through alternating between the two, that our RVJ can be truly complete.

Week 3.

Tone of Voice.

That's a nice greeting, isn't it? A classy, sophisticated phrase perhaps.

But now, doesn't this greeting seem a bit childish? Rushed, careless? The words haven't changed, just the font, so why do the shape of the letters change how we read something so drastically? It's because how we perceive something is affected by our previous knowledge of experiences similar to it. From this, certain styles possess a 'tone of voice'.

For example,

This advertisement has a mature, elegant tone, not only through use of font, but its composition and colour scheme. I would assume its audience would be women aged between 20 and 60, and the simple, elegant style suggests quality, while the rich tones of the background evoke thoughts of a rich chocolate. It is tempting and encourages the viewer to 'enjoy the taste', a friendly and inviting phrase, made more so by its simple, soft font.

Another very different example is this anti-smoking advertisement.

The tone is immediately apparent, the colours are stark and cold, with a harsh and plain font, it aims to inform about the dangers of smoking, without glamorising it, the tone is a brutal one. It's target audience is anyone that does smoke, however it would be more poignant to men in the same age bracket as the one in the advert, as they would relate to him more. The use of shock tactics, and being presented with a harsh reality could make this effective on its own, but it's the way the advert has been constructed and presented that gives the 'tone of voice' to really hit home.

Researching the content.

To achieve not only the tone of voice, but every element that is needed for a piece of work, one must put in the research to know exactly what it is that must be communicated. When given a brief, one may have either extensive or limited knowledge of the subject, but in either case, the specifics must be known. For example, in an advertisement for a product, one must find out about the product itself and its positive attributes of which to highlight, perhaps look into any previous campaigns to draw inspiration or even make sure your ideas are totally new, the products target audience and what would appeal to that demographic, to name just some.

In this print ad for the off-road car the Jeep, the Jeep itself is stored in a garage in a similar fashion to the sports equipment alongside it. This is an odd and humorous situation, giving the advert its initial appeal, however it is this association with extreme sports that is the link the advertiser wants you to make. The reason the designer who created this would make that link would have resulted from his research. Only through investigating into the common use of the vehicle, would the designer deduce that the biggest market to pitch this car to is those who partake in extreme and off-road sports, as a car like a jeep is designed for the kind of environment these people would have to travel to, such as mountains, beaches and snowy areas. So by including the equipment used, the advert will catch the attention of enthusiasts

Without the backing research, who knows what this advert would have looked like!

Week 2.

By understanding the various ‘practices of photography’ one is able to progress and advance one’s own practice.

I have always found, that each photographer I meet has a favourite area of their practise. And In a subject as broad as photography, this is only to be expected. I personally am a fan of the unstaged, street or event photography, and while it is easy to discover this rut and stay in it, if I were to persistently create the same thing, my work would become stale, irrelevant and I would probably become bored of it myself! And so, this is where photography's broadness gives us such great range and possibilities.

The biggest and most obvious difference in modern photography, I think, is between the use of digital and analogue techniques. The use of film is dwindling, seen as a relic like vinyl, however I believe anyone who will only use a digital camera should try and delve into analogue photography. It is trying a different practise like this, that will improve your practise in that which you prefer. For example, being forced to manually focus every photograph rather than rely on 'autofocus' will make you more aware of this element in your photographs, it's not always the center of the picture that needs to be the focus point. On the other hand, those that are religious to analogue may be able to learn something from digital.

And so, one must always remember that whilst learning new skills is widening your knowledge, which is merit enough itself, these new practises will relate back to the work you wish to progress.

An understanding and knowledge of ‘an audience’ can enhance and focus the communication.

One way to simplify the above comment it is this; imagine, telling a story to your best friend, and your gran. With your best friend, you might make references to pop culture that your gran wouldn't understand. On the other hand, you might go in to detail about what you ate that day, because you know that your gran likes to know you eat properly, whereas your best friend wouldn't care. This might seem obvious, but these are decisions we make everyday in our communication, almost subconsciously, editing what we say to appeal to our audience. And so it is no wonder that we must use these same skills when we are creating a visual communication, for it to be wholly effective.

For example,

this was created by the advertising company Zurich, for condomshop.ch in 2006. The communication the piece is trying to make is that having sex without a condom is as dangerous as going into a warzone without any armour. Whilst extreme, it is a clever and witty comment, and the way it is made appeals to its audience. The target audience here would probably be men aged between 16 and 30, who will be responsive to humour in advertising, and the situation presented is comical. Perhaps less obvious, as men in that age bracket are more likely to play computer games, especially war-orientated ones, their eye would be drawn by the army theme.

In conclusion, this piece is made much more effective, by probabaly a great deal of time being put into looking into their products target audience, enhancing and focusing their communication.

Week 1.

Notions of originality.

Considering the sheer amount of time the Human race has existed, and in that been creating, one could say that nothing created now, is entirely original. If you were to strive to make something original, though nothing identical to it may have been created before, it will still be made of a fusion of things that have come before it, as its creator will have taken influence, inspiration and ideas from that which surounds them. But is this necessarily something to be looked down upon, or seen as a lack of creativity? Not at all. For with each development of an idea, each slight change of a concept and each variation of a technique, the world, or more specifically to my interest, the art world, is kept fresh, vibrant, ever changing and forever relevant.

 For example, this Photograph, taken in 1869 by American photographer and surveyor Timothy H. O'Sullivan, is a beautiful Albumen print of the Uintah Mountains in Utah, taken whilst on a scientific mission to map the American West. While it has scientific use and value, it can also be appreciated as a piece of fine art, due to its serene beauty and the artists masterful use of the technique of thirds to make it appealing and balanced.

However, if one was to then look at this photograph taken in 1944, a striking similarity would be noticed. Would you then point at this newer artist and accuse him of plagiarism? Probably not. For the renowned photographer and lover of the American landscape, Ansel Adams may not have even been aware of the photograph taken 75 years before, as he stood and took this shot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. And even if he had, would that give him any reason to take the photograph differently? For it is the differences that are already present that give this photograph its originality. The fact it is a gelatin silver print gives us a clearer, sharper imagine, making it more relevant and interesting to the people in the time in which it was created than the previous photograph would have been. The looming shadow is striking, adding interest to the picture, whereas in O'Sullivans work this would have been impractical, as he was trying to document, not create fine art. So this picture is another step ahead, towards photography being used for aesthetic rather than commercial purposes.

Many more examples of such similarity and yet progression could be found in every practise, which all practises must strive for to keep ahead. For example, while a new mobile phone may boast the brand new technology to turn off your oven from anywhere in the world, it will still make a phone call, just like one made 20 years ago.

Can recontextualised ideas Be contemporary?

So, we've deduced similar ideas are developed every day, for the sake of progression and originality. But what about when an artist takes an already existing piece of artwork , and deliberately reproduces it, perhaps in a different form or media, to give it a new meaning? This recontextualisation of work is common, and is often called 'paying homage to' an artist.

To show an example,

this Image was created by Matteo Bertolio for 'Tank Magazine' in 2004. Look familiar? It should do.

This is the famous screen print by the legendary pop artist Andy Warhol in 1962, but to understand why each picture is contemporary for its time, you must look into their context.

When Warhol broke the pop art scene, his work made a very bold move. He wished to bring art to the masses, and break away from the confines of the modern view of art, which was a high-brow society that believed only certain types of people could really appreciate it. His work involved people and objects the common people could understand and relate to, coca cola bottles, cans of soup and celebrities , and utilised a process that could bring the images to those masses affordably – the silk screen print.

So, Warhol was the most contemporary artist of his time, joining consumerism with art, where we find our contextual link to Bertolios piece.

Bertolio's time is one where art and consumerism live hand in hand. Whilst fine and expressive art are still important, a large portion of working artists function in the advertisement industry. So, the significance of an artist that one could say owes his career to a man who paved the way for his line of work to exist, paying homage to him by using his style in a commercial work itself, is one to be noticed. Bertolio is using the style which is widely recognised, imitating a silk screen print, with a more modern, digital method, so making the work attractive to the modern day consumer, whilst giving them the satisfaction of recognising the influence, whether they are particularly knowledgeable in the history of art or not and therefore making them take note of it, a very good marketing technique. The consumer will think about the piece, perhaps try and remember the name of he original artist, and this thinking process will stick the image in their mind, whereas they may look straight over an art reference they do not recognise.

So, while both of these images are modern and contemporary for their time, despite one being a recontextualisation of the other, because Warhols piece was more original and outlandish for his time, his works will always be the more famous and strongly remembered. Bertolios work is clever, but breaks no boundries. However, it does illustrate to us just how effectively a change of context can make an old piece of work relevant to modern day society.

And so in conclusion, I hope that next time you stand your children in front of the house in their new school uniforms, your friends line up and smile, or as a groom picks up their bride, and you lift your camera to your eye, please don't think to yourself 'has this been done before?', because it is the relevance, that makes an unoriginal piece, entirely special.