Exam Question Overview

Issues

Pressure to Be Perfect

Pressure to be perfect is a major issue around the UK and even the world, having the advertising of size 0 models with a high extent of airbrushing in magazines and on TV, this has become a normality in mixed genders minds hence determination to be stick thin or call yourself fat with the wonder of why their skin isn't flawless. If you don't look like the models in magazines or in any other advertising you are classed as 'ugly'. The most common influence of these issues are involved with fashion advertising, on the catwalk or even on a shops windows to advertise their clothes or makeup.

I will project and develop these feelings of pressure, weakness and the contrast of skinny, normal and overweight throughout my project from the human body to advertising, picturing natural movement and expressions involved in the industry of fashion. I will experiment with multiple different artists and techniques of how to picture these images, all evolving round the human body/fashion/food/natural products and developing a story behind each concept.

I will experiment with different lighting from soft and sharp studio lighting to ambient light emphasising the shadows from loss of weight or the different shapes created from the multiple positions models or objects. I will contrast with different techniques with close up, aperture, shutter speed and many others to portray the message of the image.

experimenting with mixed medias to emphasise the feelings from a healthy normal human being to a pressured weaker and thinner representative, from cyanotype, photogram, liquid light, sellotape transfer and many different mixed mediums but I will choose affectively so they link with the project. 

I have been inspired for this project by multiple adverts in magazines and fellow peers from always having similar thoughts and written pieces for the only way to be perfect is to be a size 0 and evolving around fashion. I want to reflect the ideas of skinny as beautiful, fat as ugly and a mixture of other ideas from fashion and natural objects in the oncoming photos I will take also my images will convey a story behind them to represent the story.

Artist Research-Jenny Saville

Jenny Saville

Jenny Saville portrays her photography with multiple stories behind them, the reason I love this technique and the way she has photographed her models by enhancing and expressing the slightly more chubby human by placing the face or the body itself up against a piece of glass to create a flat image, this creates many layers and textures throughout the body, this links in well with my idea of issues as they can be seen as ugly by the way they are placed. Jenny Saville has inspired me with the close up photography, the use of lighting and the creativity of using a piece of glass to create different unusual shapes with the body and shadows. The colours in these photos are more natural and pastel to make the image look for lifelike and project the realness of the issue and how this is what people see slightly chubby to be 'ugly'.

 

Photoshoot

‘Being Fat Is Ugly’

The lighting is coming from a low angle shining up to enhance and create multiple shadows from the ridged fingers, this is exaggerated by the skin pressed up against the glass to represent 'being fat is ugly' and not looked upon as attractive, this was entailed by using a close up mode to get all the detail on the body. The technique of using the body pressed up against the glass also amplifies the 'fat'. I edited this image by decreasing the saturation to give the skin more of a natural appeal, also decreasing the light so it’s softer and not sharp.

The image is mainly to create and enhance the 'ugliness'  with the squashed face up against the glass, this create a stronger illusion and emphasising the undoubted ugliness which people portray fat people. I used a strong light to show the texture of the face on the glass and to create shadows which show the creases in the face more. I used a close up mode on my camera to have a greater depth of colours and detail, I also used a tripod which helped me focus my image and not have a shaky and blurred affect.

This image was cropped using Photoshop, this made the had the main focus of the image along with the shadows and lighting to really show off the depths and contrast of soft pastel colours in the image and then the jet black with lighter tones, I did this by moving the light around on this image the light is face upwards from the left to really get a larger and sharper shadow from the fingers. I used a tripod on close up to get this detailed and non blurred image, I also put it on manual focus to choose the hand being slightly more in focus than the body, this is started to become and lead into aperture. The hand squashed up against the glass expresses the fat is turning into something ugly by the stomach flattened creating multiple shapes along with the pressed hand.

The soft light in this image works really well as it isn't over exposed and makes it look more natural, the face is scrunched up and pressed on a pieces of glass to have the message of the image to represent 'being fat is ugly' as this is how people see fat people, ugly. Using these images I wanted to express that and show how people portray it and how it is an issue. The technique I used was close up expressing the detail on the face and having the right focus, I adjusted the focus on auto focus but it wasn't how I wanted it to look so I used manual focus instead so I could set it. The soft pastel colours really link to my artist and the way she has taken the images, but mine was subjecting a different story and message.

Mixed Media



Emulsion

This mixed media is a great way to add and create texture in your work, it can be used on mainly any type of fabric and still have the same effect. I covered the piece of thick card with the emulsion, this has to be thick so it can hold the image, I then covered the images with emulsion layered them how I wanted and left to dry for a few nights so it was ready to have water over the top of the image and rubbed off without falling apart, I created some holes in mine to look rustic and have a good amount of texture and also contrast with the dark images on the white emulsion background. This technique was very effective and unusual.

 

The images i used for this layout was the photo-shoot I had done as I wanted to develop these images to bring out the contrast and rustic appeal to them.



 

 



Mixed Media

Sellotape Transfer

Sellotape transfer is a easy and very affective method of mixed media, the method step by step follows as - 1. Print of chosen images and in the size you want.   2. Cut them out or tear them if you want a more vintage affect.  3. Arrange your images how you want or you can do with just one.  4. With your images face up on a table, stick the sellotape down onto the images and onto the table where it is too long. repeat this over the image with half a inch over lap of each piece.  5.  Pull the image off the table and face it down.  6. With a sponge spread water over the image, as much water as possible, leave this for 5 minutes.  6. In circles rub off the paper and you're then left with the end result. This process is really affective as I can now use this as a thin piece of acetate for photograms or other techniques, it is also a good overall image on its own. Fashion has inspired me to use this process with the unusual fabrics which are used on the catwalk/fashion shows in the past years.

 

 

Artist Research

‘Behind closed doors’

Looking into a mix of cultures which has their element of fashion to be a secrecy, most people don't know why the sheikhs wear burka's, some say its for privacy and others find it rude their are many views on the religious views. The burka in this culture has inspired me to develop the secrecy and in my perspective hiding from something, not confident enough and relating it to fashion with different colours and textiles to use a fabric draping over a models face to show some parts showing and others hidden with elegant strands of lace, reflecting fashion life and confidence. These images below were taken in natural light with some added lights to pick up and focus on the person itself and burka, using a close up/portrait setting to have the depth of detail, this will be reflected in my work but on manual to chose the ISO and F. to get it perfect using studio lighting.

Mixed Media

Crackle Glaze 

Crackle Glaze is a very easy but dramatic mixed media, you can use any colours you want to and on any surface. Cardboard was my first experiment, I put on a base layer of red acrylic with a very dry brush, waited for it to dry then added a lot of glue over the top in one direction I chose downwards then straight after brushed on the blue over the top, then left for this to dry which took a hour on the heated dryer. the overall affect is creative and different as the blue separate's as the glue dries, has a very rustic appeal to it. There are many uses for this afterwards, scanning into the computer, using as a decorative piece for mounting so on.