Michelangelo Antonioni - L'eclisse

L'eclisse (The Eclipse) is a film by the Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni set on the outskirts of Rome depicting the relationship that forms between the central characters and also the relationship that occurs with the environment and architecture of the world around them. 

"His ideas for films are born of visual epiphanies, fleeting but revealing glimpses of the world around him."

"What Antonioni finds in the environment is immensely rich and aesthetically coherent." 

Quotes taken from Antonioni - or The surface of the world

Film stills

"His ideas for films are born of visual epiphanies, fleeting but revealing glimpses of the world around him."

http://dvisible.com/2009/03/02/the-architectural-vision-of-michelangelo-antonioni’s-the-eclipse-1962/

Evolution of a piece

Continuing on from the idea behind my photocopy collage I began to think more about layers and traces hidden by time. Walking past this wall with peeling paint and weather damage almost everyday it seemed like an excellent opportunity to explore this idea. As the wall was too large for me to photograph successfully in one image I decided to create more layers and depth by using multiple photographs to form composites of the surface of the wall which would therefore mimic the layers and traces of paint. From this point I then decided to separate the composite photographs to create a grid with which to display the different layers of both the 'joiner' and the paint to create a sort of history of the wall. My intentions with the final evolution of this piece was that when placed on a wall it would blend in with the surround paint or surface to create in a sense the history of what could potentially be hidden beneath the surface to only be revealed by peeling it back. 

 A selection of the composite images.

The full montage

Final Layout

^ Exhibition images 

Hockney "Joiners"

“I’m interested in all kinds of pictures, however they are made, with cameras, with paint brushes, with computers, with anything,” - David Hockney 

Hockney has always been interested in photography. He first used it as preparation for his painting, but during the 1970s photography gained an independent role in his work. Using 35mm commercially processed color prints, Hockney created photocollages, which he called “joiners” until the mid 1980s. He compiled them to create a 'complete' picture from a series of individually photographed details. In the 1980s, Hockney primarily experimented with the Polaroid camera, making composite images of photographs arranged in a rectangular grid.

His collage technique explores the mysteries and nuances between natural and camera vision. Although, his subject matter ranges from portraiture to still life, his style from representation to abstraction, Hockney uses photography to examine our perception of reality. Family, friends, and collaborators and his own residence, the pool, his dogs, and the California and Arizona landscape are seen in many of his photocollages.

http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/07/24/28901.html

http://www.moca.org/museum/exhibitiondetail.php?id=8

Photocopy Collages

Experimental photomontages using photographs and photocopies of photographs. Inspired in part by the David Hockney's 'joiners' and by the idea of hidden layers and peeling to reveal. 

Re-photographing

After having used photocopies of images in my previous work I have now begun to look at the idea of re-photographing photographs taken by well known photographers. I was inspired in doing this by Sherrie Levine's series After Walker Evans series in which she  famously appropriated a Walker Evans exhibition catalog First and Last. 

Sherrie Levine - Untitled 1979

After Walker Evans 

The pictures that I have re-photographed are taken from William Eggleston's Los Alamos and Stephen Shore's Stephen Shore. I chose to use these specific books because they are two of my favourite photography books. 

William Eggleston - Los Alamos

Stephen Shore - Stephen Shore

Photographs taken of a photocopy of
Chas Kincaid grocery store, Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas. June 16, 1976

From the series Uncommon Places

U.S. 97, South of Klamath Falls, Oregon. July 1973

From Uncommon Places

Photocopy Transfers

After discovering some discarded photocopies in the library I was inspired to make something with them or to include them somehow in my exploration of traces. In doing this I decided to transfer the images on to different kinds of paper and fabrics. By mixing both the found images with those that I had previously taken of discarded objects and rubbish I have attempted to create pieces that reuse and re-tell the stories of the refuse. What appeals to me most about these pieces is the damage and distortion of the images, the way that they seem to tell a narrative yet at the same time conceal it from you. 

Peel

A selection of photographs taken of discarded refuse seen on my daily journey into college.

Peel slowly & see

Thinking more about layers and the possible traces hidden underneath things we see everyday.

Coming across this poster on the platform of a tube station I was reminded of the work of the Italian artist Mimmo Rotella. Rotella creates pieces made up of multiple layers of old posters that have been ripped and peeled away to reveal what is underneath the surface. 

An advertising poster seen on the platform of Oxford street station.

MIMMO ROTELLA 

With A Smile -1962

Pepsi - 1979

Damage

One of my favourite things about using film be it polariod or 35mm are the lack of total control you have over the way that a picture can turn out. The unexpected damage to film by light or development and how that can completely change the way a photograph looks and how you look at it is something that i feel adds so much more interest and depth to an image than a clear, crisp, potential mundane and everyday photograph, in this case of my cat.  

Cradle

DRYDEN GOODWIN - CRADLE

http://www.drydengoodwin.com/cradle_2008.htm

Guido Guidi

Photocopies taken from a book I recently discovered, Guido Guidi: In Between Cities. In this book the photographer explores the changing landscapes of Europe between Russia and Spain. What I liked about the images in this book was how Guidi was able to photograph the bleak landscapes of Europe in a way that made them seem like places I would actually want to go to.

Disposable Photos

First roll of film, taken using a disposable camera. Looking more at the themes of waste and marks left behind. What I find most interesting about these images is the texture and grainy quality of the film and also the light damage on certain images caused by the camera itself. This in itself creates a trace/leaves a mark on the way the images are viewed which could potentially be an interesting effect to explore further.