RESEARCHING SELF PORTRAITS
For my research I looked at various different self portrait photographers including the likes of Albert Watson, David Lachappelle and John Stezaker.
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I really liked the work of Albert Watson as the use black and white combined with well positioned lighting really made his photos catch my eye. I think the black and white works very well but the lighting and shadows have been thought about a lot and this helps make the photo look very simple but very effective.
In the second photo the positioning of the lighting creates the atmosphere to match the detail of a man holding a gun. The photographer has chosen to position a reflective gun at a certain angle in line with the lighter inside of the hoodie, that creates a frame around the model's face. The choice of position to take the photo also creates an effect that the model is a bit bigger and looking down on the viewer.
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For my self portrait I might use some of these techniques and details and have a similar sort of look inspired by Watson. I may possibly use Black and White but it is more in the style of his lighting that I would like to try to achieve. It is amazing how much of an impression of a person you get simply from their face in his photos.
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Looking at the work of John Stezaker.
When I looked at John Stezakers work I saw that all his work had very well positioned photos connected or placed together. I was shocked at how well some of the different photos came together to create an amazing image. The photo below caught my eye as the positioning of the arm and the nose really create an unusual but very interesting character. The combination of the two photographs is like no other. The joining of the hair line, the same direction that the models are looking in and the direction or hairstyle is very similar. The two noses together make a sort fish like nose that does transform the two connecting photos together to look like a sort of creature or something. The two photos joined together has ben done in a very clever way and finished makes a very powerful image. I am very impressed by his work but not sure that I would be going along this direction for a magazine cover. It feels more of an Art piece than for a Magazine cover although for an Avant Gard magazine, it could work.
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The second picture of Stezaker that I chose to look at again has a message to go with it. The positioning of the photo on top of famous Hollywood stars possibly shows what they are looking at or what the artist wants to make you think they are seeing. This possibly could be a message that the Hollywood lifestyle could be though of as very fake.
I really liked this piece for that reason and purpose of what it does in such a simple way.
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Research on John Berger
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Looking at John Berger Ways of Seeing.
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Ways of seeing is a very important book by John Berger. Many people say that it changed their way of thinking.
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Berger claims that the representation of women and men visually in culture means that men and women are looked at in different ways. The way women are shown visually, gives permission for men and women to look at women in a different way from how they look at visualisations of men.
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It has been one of the most important books about Art written and changed the way people saw when they looked at Art. He argues that photographs need context, a story, to make sense.
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From reading Ways of seeing by John Berger you understand that although it was written over 40 years ago (1972) it is still very relevant and a debate about power in Men and Woman. The book made the Art world see Art in a different way.
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It made me think about how the way you photograph someone can affect the way they are seen and different people will see things in a different way.
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For some research work with Simon we looked at the photo above and had to describe what we saw.
The image is a photo of Rita Hayworth from a cut in the movie Gilda (1946)
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From this image you see a well groomed glamorous woman in evening dress, wearing makeup, earrings, in a silk dress, smoking a cigarette in a holder and dragging a fur scarf or stole along the floor. The way the woman is standing combined with her outfit and look gives the impression she is a movie star or perhaps very wealthy.
The angle she is standing at and the positioning of her cigarette and stole being dragged along the floor implies she has an attitude or possibly doesn’t care and is presenting herself in this way of a femme fatal. This suggests she likely is an actor who maybe plays as a bad person in a movie. She looks powerful and confident not like a victim.
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The woman in this picture is clearly showing off her wealth or flexing by the expensive look of her clothes. She is wearing a dress revealing her shoulders and is very well groomed with makeup on. The fact she is dragging possibly a very expensive piece of clothing along the floor also shows she hasn’t got money problems, as she gives the impression she could just buy another one.
You see a black dark background behind her with a sort of sand or moonlike floor. This combined with her cigarette smoke gives the impression she is a powerful woman or even seen as scary. This could also just be the case she’s on stage or a movie set another reason it suggests she may be an actress or be in the Hollywood sort of industry.
Overall from this image you see a woman who must be an important figure of some kind as you see this threw her expensive outfit, her look and personality.
Rita Hayworth
The Most Famous Self Portraits
When you think of Self Portraits some particular ones come to mind. I wanted to remind myself how some of the most talented artists captured their own appearance so incredibly. I started this by looking at some of the most well know self portraits in history. Starting with quite possibly the king of self portraits.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh with a cut off ear
Vincent van Gogh like some of the other most known artists made many self portraits. These two being the most popular. The first painting shows Van Gough how we know him and the other after he'd cut his own ear off.
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I find Van Gogh's self portraits so fascinating as they all capture such personality.
Leonardo da Vinci
The first image created in the year 1510 Da Vinci would have been around 60 years old. I particularly like this one because da Vinci didn't do many self portraits and this one is how I have always pictured him. I like the style as with his long beard it almost brings across that he is possibly shy. I think the detail is incredible and you get an idea of what sort of man he was even that long ago.
Gustave Courbet
This is my favourite self portrait. I think not only is the detail so incredibly lifelike but the pose chosen by the artist is very unusual at the time. The painting captures in simple way that Courbet was different and creative.
Claude Monet
Monet self portrait is exactly how we picture him with his beard and French hat. Painted in 1886 you do get an idea of the look at that time. The self portrait captures Monet was a serious man. A serious but so creatively talented man in such plain but beautiful colours.
Pablo Picasso
The classic Picasso style works at best for the 1907 painting of himself as his style suits him and his personality. The oversized features like the big nose, the curved big eyes with huge pupils and the triangle forehead between his parted hair. These big features work so well with the perfectly chosen contrast of the green and fire colours.
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The painting being quite unrealistic actually works and gives you a real idea of what Picasso looked like at the time before the pictures we saw of him older.
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From this research I looked at many self portraits, some minimalist some not. This gave me a great idea of how I wanted to take a photo of myself that captured my personality and feelings towards life.