Natalie Fabbro
301090718
Image-making Ecology
A)
Comparisons between different artists
- Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange was an American Documentary photographer, best known for her work during the depression. Her photographs of the great depression opened people’s eyes and showed the raw images of struggling civilians (Oliver, Susan, 2003). The “Migrant Mother”, the original image which I got my inspiration from had a very real story behind it. Lange’s photograph of a desperate mother, Florence Owens Thompson did not show any hesitation from the camera, not much was said and no questions were asked (Cerkanowicz, Deirdre, (n.d)). Capturing this mother in turmoil, with her children draped on her portrayed the migrant worker conditions. Dirty, faded clothing, strayed hairs, soil on their faces but this picture could not be more beautiful. I found this quote to be very powerful as Dorothea Lange said “she seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it” (Dorothea Lange (2011).The social and cultural struggle is so apparent and so life changing that Florence Owens Thompson knew the impact this photograph would have. No words need to be said, the photograph itself is enough. When using Photoshop, I kept this story in the back of my mind to help me create my new imagine. I knew what I wanted to do with the picture but just wasn’t sure how I was going to accomplish it. First, I used hue/saturation and changed the colored image into black and white to mirror the “Migrant Mother” photograph. I wanted to put a more rustic look on this wholesome image so I put in a filter. The type of filter I used was Fresco because I felt it most portrayed the aged and distressed look of the original photograph. After doing this image-making process I felt that I accomplished a more real and raw photograph.
- Luis Sanchis
Luis Sanchis is a Spanish photographer who now resides from New York. At the age of 17 he got introduced to photography and started a living from that point on (Mossless: A new interview every two days). He started off doing tests for model agencies and worked his way up the business. He eventually started shooting for big time models which is where he gets his inspiration from. A lot of his work is from runways which is where I originally found my picture which was from the Alexander McQueen campaign. In the photograph Luis captured a beautiful African American woman from the spring 2006 campaign. He gave the image a more chic look but changing the color of her body to a smooth blue. My first process with this picture was to select and crop the body. I changed the hue/saturation to a vibrant blue, trying to get as close to the original as possible. I used the polygonal lasso took to crop out the woman’s lips and changed the color of them to a bright red. In the original photograph the woman had a neat hair style which I tried to mimic was using the polygonal lasso tool again and filled in the hair with a dark black. Lastly, I felt it was important to change the color of the backround so I used a gradient across the page to try and replicate the color in the other picture which had lighter and darker shades of blue. In completing this image I was trying to go for a stylish look because that’s what I thought most stood out when Luis Sanchis photographed her.
B)
Comparisons between different stylistic movements
- Pop Art
Andy Warhol is a very famous American painter and printmaker. He was one of the leading figures in the visual arts movement also known as pop art. His inspiration was wide ranged and varied from street people with a unique look to Hollywood figures (Andy Warhol, 2011). The method of silk screening which he used in painting Marilyn Monroe became controversial and admired at the same time. Andy was going for a popular culture look and moving away from the avant-garde appearance (Andy Warhol, 2011). The brilliantly colored image of Marilyn Monroe is the thing that stands out most in the picture and made it unique. The effect that silk screening gave a picture was hard hitting and it made me want to try and do a similar theme. I started off by taking a large picture of myself and cropping it from my elbows up. I made 4 new layers and copied and pasted each image 4 times. For each of the images I wanted to have a different color since bold affects are what make these pictures stand out. I used hue/saturation and changed one to green, the other to yellow, one to red and the last to purple. The Andy Warhol images look like they came from a comic look so I added in a filter to poster each of the pictured edges. In doing so this allowed the picture to have a more pop art feel. Without using the direct silk screening machine, Photoshop allowed me to play with different techniques and I created something which had similar characteristics but different at the same time.
- Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that happened during the 1920’s (Surrealism, 2011). Surrealist artists had images of surprise, something that you wouldn’t see on an everyday photograph. Surrealist artists are very expressive and show their creative talent in their photographs. Salvador Dali was one of the great artists and liquid shapes in his images became his trademark (Surrealism, 2011). His abstract photo is what made me want to take on this project and try to create a unique image. I first found two images, one of a clock and one of a desert. I selected the image of the clock and pasted it in the backround of the desert. I then wanted to liquify the clock so I put in a filer. Therefore I am able to transform the image and make it similar to the original picture. Looking at abstract photos is often very appealing as they make you think about different meanings.
C)
Examples of genres, techniques, or technologies
- Educational
Educational photography depicts many different images and the route I wanted to take was orphan children in less fortunate living circumstances. Educational photography is able to capture hard hitting images but with a great story behind them. With education photography it broadcasts the stories of struggling people rural areas. These pictures can then be used as stories and a documentation of a news story. The picture I used was smiling children. I first changed the overall backround to a black and white setting to mirror the original image. I then used a filter to change the artistic value and then chose to poster the edges of the image. In doing so the theme of the picture was more old school and rustic.
- Silk Screening
Silk screening created a new identity for print art, best known by Andy Warhol. Silk Screening is arguably the most versatile of all printing processes. Since rudimentary screen printing materials are so affordable and readily available, it has been used frequently in underground settings and subcultures (Andy Warhol's Marilyn Prints, (n.d)). In order to make the silk screening image process more compatible to the real image, the colors need to be bright and vibrant. The first thing I started off doing was to choose a bright yellow to paint Marilyn Monroe’s hair, I used different strokes to try and mirror the original image. Darkened the eye brows in a black to make it pop and used a bright pink eye shadow to brighten the image up. Her trademark mole was emphasised and her lips were more voluptuous and bright. Lastly, the filter that was used was to poser the images because in silk screening the images have a cartoon and unique look.
Works Cited
Oliver, Susan (December 7th, 2003). "Dorothea Lange: Photographer of the People".
Cerkanowicz, Deirdre (n.d) DOROTHEA LANGE: Focus on Richmond. Retrieved on February
1st from Google website:
Dorothea Lange (2011). Retrieved on February 1st from Google website:
Mossless: A new interview every two days (January 12th, 2011. Retrieved February 1st from
Google website:
Andy Warhol (2011) Retrieved on February 1st from Google website:
Surrealism (2011) Retrieved on February 1st from Google website: