After some consideration, I have decided that my third idea (tunnel art) is the one that will be the best to use as my final exhibition for FMP. To develop my ideas on how exactly I am going to do this, I have found two photographers (Paul Butler and John Stezaker) who have completed work similar to what I have in mind.
Artist Research- Paul Butler
Paul Butler is a documentary photographer most known for his series called ‘What’s Within’, where he explores themes of identity and self-discovery through unique and creative photography and collage techniques. His series involves cutting out areas of street photographs- centering mainly around silhouettes of people. He then partially fills the void with similar shots from the same location so they can be seen in the place of the cut out area. This creates a sense of the subjects being there but viewing what’s inside through symbolism and meaning rather than what’s on the outside.
Artist Research- John Stezaker
John Stezaker is a contemporary British conceptual artist, best known for his collages of found images taken from vintage post cards, film stills and commercial photographs. Many of his collages explore ideas of photographic truth, memory and modern culture. A series of his which I am focusing on is called ‘Third Person Archive’, where Stezaker removes delicate, haunting figures from the margins of obsolete travel illustration books to layer on top of one another. His use of these figures create eerie and uncanny final compositions.
Idea 3 Development Shoot Plan
Because the work of these two photographers is similar to what I have in mind for my final piece, I am going to attempt to create work similar to theirs as practice for my final exhibition. My plan is to use a model and take photos of them in an outdoor setting. I will then print out the photos to cut out their silhouette by hand and place it on top of another photo taken in the same area.
Week 10 Reflection:
During the tenth week of FMP I…
- Researched Amy Friend and planned, shot and evaluated an experimental shoot based on her
- Decided which final piece idea I was going to stick with (Idea 3)
- Developed Idea 3 by researching 2 similar artists (Paul Butler and John Stezaker) and carried out a final piece practice shoot
For the final two weeks of FMP I am going to complete my final piece and final evaluation.
Idea 3 Shoot (Final Piece Practice)
I decided to take photos of a model in a wooded area, making sure to take pictures where they were positioned slightly behind trees or some sorts of vegetation. This was so when I cut out their silhouette, it could look like an empty space peaking out from behind something else. This was also so the silhouette didn’t look too solid. Additionally, I photographed some empty spaces without the model to use as a background for some images as well. I chose which pictures I was going to use before making some curves, brightness, vibrance and saturation adjustments. I then printed them out and used a craft knife to cut the model out of the photo. I made various arrangements by placing different photos behind the ones I had cut and scanned them both together.
I decided to try out an arrangement in photoshop as well. I chose two photos which were taken in the same place- one with the model and one without. Using the Magic Wand tool, I selected the model before completely deleting it to leave the empty space in the middle of the photo. I then added the other picture behind it.
I chose to make some Colour Balance adjustments so both photos had the same hue. I really like what that did for the final image as it makes the bottom part of the silhouette blend in with the background so its edges can barely be seen at first glance.
I am satisfied with the final outcome of this development shoot so I am now 100% confident about using this artistic technique for my final piece.