Spatial
Definition of Spatial: relating to or occupying space. Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime.
Mind map
I have also created a mind map relatting to 'spatial' to get all my thoughts written down onto one place. I will be continuously referring back to this, adding any new ideas and when I am looking for a source of inspiration.
New York City Trip - Architecture
To begin the theme 'spatial', I took the opportunity to a trip to New York City to photograph the iconic urban metropolitan global hub. I had the oppertunity to travel to the 'big apple' with my photography class and the environmnet brought me alot of inspiration when i began this theme 'spatial'. I took so many photos, that I decided to split and seperate the images I took into four categories or strands: face-on, zoomed in, interiours and looking up.
Strand one: Face - on
The images below were taken as i was walking along the New York highline, which is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan. I took the opportunity from being on an elevated viewpoint to photograph at a 90 degree angle, face-on of the city.
Strand two: Zoomed in
I brought with me to New York City a 'zoom lens' which enables be to zoom in to any part of the city. I really enjoyed experimenting with this feature as it enables me to focus on very small details.
Strand three: Interiors
The image below on the right is taken inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). I found the interour very fascinating as it related to the art which was being exhibited in. For example, the monuments here were from ancient Rome, and the ceiling and the small details related significantly with the ancient art. On the left is the Westfield World Trade Centre shopping mall at the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, that is operated and managed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. The mall opened on August 16, 2016 as the largest shopping complex in Manhattan, with 125 retail spaces. It replaces the Mall at the World Trade Centre, the underground shopping mall under the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed on September 11, 2001.
Strand four: Looking up
My images in the category 'looking up' are those of the famous New York city architecture and skyscrapers. The use of perspective made these images very intersting and effective in illustrating the sheer volume and hight of the man-made structures in the 'contrete jungle'.
Second Development: Marseille
For my next development, I had the opportunity to go to Marseille in France. Marseille was an important European trading centre and remains the main commercial port of the French Republic. Marseille is now France's largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the largest port for commerce, freight and cruise ships. The city was European Capital of Culture in 2013. It is the oldest city in France and the third - largest. I continued to split the shoot into 3 different categories; straight on, looking up and interiors.
Uwe Langmann
Strand one: Straight on
Strand two: Looking up
Strand three: Interiours
Third development: Structured lines in space
Sir Antony Gormely is a British sculptor. Gormely grew up in a Roman Catholic family living in Hampstead Garden Suburb. He attended Ampleforth College, a Benedictine boarding school in Yorkshire, before reading archaeology, anthropology and the history of art at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1968 to 1971. He travelled to India and Sri Lanka to learn more about Buddhism between 1971 and 1974.After attending Saint Martin's School of Art and Goldsmiths in London from 1974, he completed his studies with a postgraduate course in sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, between 1977 and 1979.
Gormley's career began with a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1981. Almost all his work takes the human body as its subject, with his own body used in many works as the basis for metal casts. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003, and was a Trustee of the British Museum from 2007 to 2015. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Institute of British Architects, honorary doctor of the universities of Teesside, Liverpool, University College London, and Cambridge, and a fellow of Trinity and Jesus Colleges, Cambridge.
Gormley's career began with a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1981. Almost all his work takes the human body as its subject, with his own body used in many works as the basis for metal casts. Gormley has been a Royal Academician since 2003, and was a Trustee of the British Museum from 2007 to 2015. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Institute of British Architects, honorary doctor of the universities of Teesside, Liverpool, University College London, and Cambridge, and a fellow of Trinity and Jesus Colleges, Cambridge.
Above is Gormley's project 'Exposure', which he photographed and curated in 2010. Gormley's whole idea of 'exposure' is that his work, made at a particular time, rooted to the ground, reacts over time to the changing environment.
For me, I selected these images from his project as they were a great illustration of what I intended to photograph in my next shoot. I wanted to study and manipulate the structures used and how that influences space and the relationship the structures have with both the sky and light. In his images, Gormley uses perspective to create an interesting angle. He also uses the large structures to his advantage, by filling the frame with the straight lines and shapes. He does this by really approaching the subject, and photographing from 'within'.
For me, I selected these images from his project as they were a great illustration of what I intended to photograph in my next shoot. I wanted to study and manipulate the structures used and how that influences space and the relationship the structures have with both the sky and light. In his images, Gormley uses perspective to create an interesting angle. He also uses the large structures to his advantage, by filling the frame with the straight lines and shapes. He does this by really approaching the subject, and photographing from 'within'.
My Response
For my response, I visited an industrial park in Brooklyn. I had the oppertunity to photograph on the roof of the building, which is where I found many interesting structures. The bright sunlight from that day accentuated these lines and created intersting and effective photographs.
Evaluation
I am very pleased wth this shoot as the light blends in well with the metal structure. The combination of the two really accentuates the lines and shapes in the photo. In his images, Gormley uses perspective to create an interesting angle. I tried to do the same through my shoot. Gormley also uses the large structures to his advantage, by filling the frame with the straight lines and shapes. I also think I succeeded in doing this, by filling the space. However, there is also some element of negative space through the crisp blue sky.
Second Response
Third Response
Evaluation
Exhibition Visit: Jan Svoboda: Against the light
I went to the photgraphers Gallery to visit an exhibition of Jan Svoboda. 'Against very light' marks the first retrospective of Czech photographer, Jan Svoboda (1934-1990) outside his home country. His ground-breaking experiments which form rank him as one of the world's pioneers of photographic appropriation and forerunners of conceptual photography. Svoboda sought to redefine the language of photography in relation to developments in painting and sculpture, bridging the traditions of symbolism and romanticism with late modernism.
Jan Svoboda began experimenting with photography in the late 1950s, initially using it to illustrate his own poetry. Inspired by fellow Czech photographer Josef Sudek, his early work encompassed observations of Prague, as well as metaphysically charged still lives. In 1963 Svoboda was accepted as the only photographer into an avant guard artists groups in Communist Czechoslovakia, bringing you into contact with other important artists.
By the end of the 1960s, Svoboda’s work - almost completely Studio based - began to interrogate the boundaries of the photographic image itself, playing with the process, composition, and Tonality while questioning the physical substance of the photograph. Between 1969 and 1972, Svoboda produced some of his most radical and philosophical visit philosophically self-representative works often focusing on the reverse side of the image, or showing photographs ripped up on his studio floor.
Against the lights encompasses over 50 vintage works, some of which were originally shown at his first UK exhibition held that TPG in 1982. The presentation also offers a rich biographical resource, illuminating Svoboda’s life through documents, personal photography and video interviews.
Jan Svoboda began experimenting with photography in the late 1950s, initially using it to illustrate his own poetry. Inspired by fellow Czech photographer Josef Sudek, his early work encompassed observations of Prague, as well as metaphysically charged still lives. In 1963 Svoboda was accepted as the only photographer into an avant guard artists groups in Communist Czechoslovakia, bringing you into contact with other important artists.
By the end of the 1960s, Svoboda’s work - almost completely Studio based - began to interrogate the boundaries of the photographic image itself, playing with the process, composition, and Tonality while questioning the physical substance of the photograph. Between 1969 and 1972, Svoboda produced some of his most radical and philosophical visit philosophically self-representative works often focusing on the reverse side of the image, or showing photographs ripped up on his studio floor.
Against the lights encompasses over 50 vintage works, some of which were originally shown at his first UK exhibition held that TPG in 1982. The presentation also offers a rich biographical resource, illuminating Svoboda’s life through documents, personal photography and video interviews.
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Exhibition visit: Picture Britain
This exhibition that I visited was situated in Borough Market. It is titles 'Picture Britain: Our People, Our Poverty'. and was in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The exhibition is a stunning and significant collection of photographs that celebrate the strengths and resilience of low-income communities.
A sense of community has been at the heart of Borough market since its establishment as a charitable trust in 1754 and is still central to the ethos of the Partners today. The exhibition features 20 portraits and stories from across the country. The stories have been captured by Stephen Armstrong and the portraits were taken by a award-winning photographer Jillian Edelstein.
A sense of community has been at the heart of Borough market since its establishment as a charitable trust in 1754 and is still central to the ethos of the Partners today. The exhibition features 20 portraits and stories from across the country. The stories have been captured by Stephen Armstrong and the portraits were taken by a award-winning photographer Jillian Edelstein.
Fourth Development: Structural lines within architecture
Alexander Rodchenko was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design.
Rodchenko was one of the most versatile Constructivist and Productivist artists to emerge after the Russian Revolution. He worked as a painter and graphic designer before turning to photomontage and photography. His photography was socially engaged, formally innovative, and opposed to a painterly aesthetic. Concerned with the need for analytical-documentary photo series, he often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or down below—to shock the viewer and to postpone recognition. He wrote: "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."
Rodchenko was one of the most versatile Constructivist and Productivist artists to emerge after the Russian Revolution. He worked as a painter and graphic designer before turning to photomontage and photography. His photography was socially engaged, formally innovative, and opposed to a painterly aesthetic. Concerned with the need for analytical-documentary photo series, he often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or down below—to shock the viewer and to postpone recognition. He wrote: "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."
andré kertesz . jan groover
The editing process on photoshop
Firstly, I used the 'burn' tool. This tool darkens certain selected sections of the image. The size and hardness of the tool can be adjusted accordingly. In this instance, I wanted to mildly darken the top half of the glass building which was slightly overxposed. Therefore, i used a large brush size and a small percentage hardness of 14%.
BEFORE
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AFTER
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Similar methods of editing the subsequent images:
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BEFORE AFTER
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BEFORE AFTER
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Artist and me
Evaluation
There are many similarities and differences between my image and that of Alexander Rodchenko. Firstly, our subjects are very different: Rodchenko's is of a electricity pylon and mine is of a builting. Although there is a sharp contrast of the subjects, there are many similarities. One of these is that mine and Alexander Rodchenko's image are taken from the exact same angle and perspective - looking up at an 180 degree angle.
Another similarity between mine and Alexander Rodchenko's image are the shapes dominating the images - triangles. The constant repetition of this shape is incredibly effective in the two images. The lines and shapes are also very interesting to view as it shocks the viewer and encourages them to look closely at the sheer scale of structure involved.
One main difference between mine and Alexander Rodchenko's image is the colour and saturation. In my image, there is a sight hint of blue and grey however Alexander Rodchenko's is completely monocronal. Even though our colours may be contrasting, I still think they bring the same simplistic effect when it comes to tone and contrast.
Another similarity between mine and Alexander Rodchenko's image are the shapes dominating the images - triangles. The constant repetition of this shape is incredibly effective in the two images. The lines and shapes are also very interesting to view as it shocks the viewer and encourages them to look closely at the sheer scale of structure involved.
One main difference between mine and Alexander Rodchenko's image is the colour and saturation. In my image, there is a sight hint of blue and grey however Alexander Rodchenko's is completely monocronal. Even though our colours may be contrasting, I still think they bring the same simplistic effect when it comes to tone and contrast.
I am very happy with my images and I think that a lot were very successful. There was a true mixture of photographic styles within this shoot. There were many structural lines which were very similar to Alexander Rodchenko's work, from a wide range of perspectives such as looking up and zoomed in. There was very much a focus as well on reflictions, and how that portrays space through the image. I had fun experimenting wih reflections. It enabled me to manipulate my images and to cause some confusion for the viewer, as they wonder if there is a reflection in the image, if so, how many and where they were situated.
Fifth Development: Spatial manipulation
Following on from my previous development, I have decided to put one of my images into photoshop, and experiment with it. The purpose of this was to see perhaps how I can manipulate space, through formatting, cutting and pasting to create abstract and interesting features which were not present in the original.
Firstly, when I loaded the original into photoshop, I realised that the left side of the image of the building stood out of me and I began to have this urge to get creative as I saw many possibilities.
Firstly, when I loaded the original into photoshop, I realised that the left side of the image of the building stood out of me and I began to have this urge to get creative as I saw many possibilities.