Final images and some thoughts

While I struggled with the initial 'bigness' of the "light" concept - as I have with every other brief, I feel like I got into this one faster and narrowed down my concept earlier so I could focus on just one topic.

I enjoyed shooting this one despite the time pressure becuase it let me explore one object under different conditions. This was especially good as it was an object I have extremely easy access too and is somthing that I hold close to my heart. 

I also enjoyed having the oppourtunity to explore black and white images again as this was where my photographic interest initially lies and is the form which I first started learning about photography in.

On the whole, as this is going to be my last post, I've enjoyed this course, it's given me some interesting insights into the design school, and has lent my a greater understanding towards my friends when they say they have a massive project due. This has been like nothing else I have experienced in my University career.

All the best.

My favourite

This image doesnt fit in my series, nor is it one of the most photographically fantastic images I have prodcued however I am strangely attracted to it...

Final Proposal information

Final proposal;

Exploring the bed in a variety of states of “undress” through landscape.  

A persons bed is likely a place that they both spend a lot of time and often wish they could spend more. For many people their bed is an intimate place, one where they can escape the rest of the world, where they can rest, where they dream and on a purely physical level one where they sleep with others. Your bed is a place that fills needs that other places cannot. When people dream about beds it is said to represent security and safety.  

On a metaphorical level, a bed can be very representative of a person. Undressed, all beds comprise of the same elements; a very basic bed may be only be made up of a mattress. More advanced beds may entail foam, springs, slats and legs. But every bed has a mattress. Mattresses represent physicality.  Ultimately, every human has a body – on the whole they comprise of the same things and humanity is at a very basic level very uniform. This will be shown through images of a mattress; uniformity, repetition  

From that point people dress themselves; both physically with clothing, but also emotionally, through personality, experience and those who they associate themselves with.

How well that “dressing” holds up to the pressure of the world, the tosses and turns of the sleeping body, will show up in the end. Crinkled and creased sheets. At the end of the day, we have to throw off the “costume” and show the state we are in as individuals.

Imogen

Imogen Cunninghams work



My imitation



Like Martina

These images were taken in my and my brothers childhood bedrooms ( we both wanted blue...but a different blue each time). I wanted to imitate Martina Mullaney's turn in series however these are the only bedrooms I know of with brightly coloured walls.....

making progress?

Its becoming obvious that making a series of images of this subject is going to prove hard.....

Artist inspiration

A variety of artists have used similar mediums as the one I plan to use with this project. I have drawn inspiration from:

Originally, when I was looking as using people as landscape objects i looked into Kim Weston and Karin Rosenthal. I enjoy that both of these artists' use of black and white, which was what I studied in the first time I studied photography at school. I enjoy how it can say a lot while still being extremely simple; that it is both classic and modern at the same time.

Karin Rosenthal

 



Kim Weston



After talking to Matt, I expored what other artisits used to create landscapes. I enjoyed Sian Bonnell's use of food and Laura Letinskys lack of food. I think if I had more time I would expole this idea more. Using food as landscapes. Imagine a whole city scape of foods...a dark and somewhat muted cityscape in chocolate in comparsion to the bright and colourful world of fruit and veges. I imagine that would require both a lot of time, financial investment and space amoungst other things; like huge amounts of creative vision. 



Lauras work quickly took me toward Martina Mullaneys "Turn in" series. This series created my focus on beds as a subject. While my work does not have the depth that Martinas does - she studied lonliness and introspection through the beds at homeless shelters in the UK, i enjoyed the simplicity of her images. I liked her use of colour - ususally somthing associated with happiness and joy in such a contrasting situation. However, I know of very few bedrooms with such brightly coloured walls which I could access in the short period of time which this project was running over. I did however return to my childhood home (where my parents still live) and take some images including my bright blue bedroom walls.

Leading on from Marinas images I got to thinking about Tracy Emin (we talked about her during the time project) and her "Unmade bed" exibition. This show piece discussed the intamicy of a persons bed, and the things that go on not only in bed but in the room a bed is kept. While searching for her work, I was also reminded of Imogen Cunninghams work "The Unmade Bed" which was my most relevent precedent. I enjoy that Imogens image is something that people surely see almost every day, without realising it.




Tracy Emin

Imogen Cunningham - Unmade Bed



Strangely, while searching "unmade bed" I also discovered that Sonic Youth, an American band who first formed in the early 80's have a song by the same name:

"A man like thats like an unmade bed" the song discusses the return to a harmful relationship. Is that the bed? Who knows, for some an unmade bed is a thing to shy away from, everyone always talks about getting into a freshly made bed with clean sheets, but for some, the return to an unmade bed is comforting and soothing. Similar to going to your mum for a hug.

To end, Im going to explore this idea of landscapes in bed. I will be using Black and White and I will explore the bed and the sheets on it in a number of ways.