AS UNIT 1 - PORTRAITURE
Representation of a person is the title for the UNIT 1 PORTRAITURE project. You will have a period of 7 weeks (including October half term) to develop your ideas. You will start off by undertaking the series of set tasks and then develop one of these strands further before producing a final outcome as part. You should aim to be ambitious in your final outcome and presentation.
What is a portrait |
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.
Lesley Stevenson, Senior Paintings Conservator: A portrait is an evocation of a person. It gives the sense of that person. It doesn’t necessarily need to look like the person but it would have to give some impression. David Taylor, Senior Curator, Scottish National Portrait Gallery: I think a portrait is probably different things to different people but in general terms it’s a depiction of a person which can be idealised to flatter them or it can be an impression of their personality or it can even be an abstract depiction of some element about them. |
Checking Out Me History - John Agard
In the poem ‘Checking Out Me History’, Agard’s speaker expresses a desire to learn more about his own country of origin, not just the British history he has been taught in school. Agard himself was born in Guyana in South America in 1949 and moved to England in 1977 This poem will form the begining of your portraiture unit. Who are you what is your history. |
Checking Out Me History
Dem tell me Dem tell me Wha dem want to tell me Bandage up me eye with me own history Blind me to me own identity Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat But Toussaint L’Ouverture no dem never tell me bout dat Toussaint a slave with vision lick back Napoleon battalion and first Black Republic born Toussaint de thorn to de French Toussaint de beacon of de Haitian Revolution Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon and de cow who jump over de moon Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon but dem never tell me bout Nanny de maroon Nanny seefar woman of mountain dream firewoman struggle hopeful stream to freedom river |
Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo
but dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492 but what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp and how Robin Hood used to camp Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul but dem never tell me bout Mary Seacole From Jamaica she travel far to the Crimean War she volunteer to go and even when de British said no she still brave the Russian snow a healing star among the wounded a yellow sunrise to the dying Dem tell me Dem tell me wha dem want to tell me But now I checking out me own history I carving out me identity |
Brainstorm
Think about the title representation of a person and think about the different things that represent you. Different parts of your life personality interests background that make you unique. Create a visualmind map of your ideas. Include images where possible. Below are some ideas to help you get started. Family background Friends / Neighbours Religion personal interests clubs Fashion School |
Character Recognition - Myra Greene
The photographer Myra Greene creates portrait images of herself using traditional photographic processes. In the project character recognition she focusses on different parts of her face as a process of recognition and exploration. Set Task 1 Take a number of pictures of different parts of your face in the the studio put these images together on your weebly as a representation of yourself. Homework Take a series of images of different members of your family in the style of Myra greene with the intention of creating a visual representation of the person without showing their full facial portrait. |
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GEORGE TOWN - LEWIS KHAN
A friend, a neighbour, a familiar face in the street. Georgetown is a view into the life of south london resident, George. During a period of my adolescence that saw playing football in the street as a daily ritual, George and myself often shared the same space. Frequently we would meet with a simple nod, more frequently a hello, and on occasion George would join in for a kick about. Georgetown is informed by six years of these impromptu and informal meetings in the street, usually the same one Portraits can be taken anywhere and often the most powerful images are taken of everyday life. From the extraordinary to the mundane all subject matters can create exciting and inspiring photographs Set Task 1 Capture the three different enviroments and people that you will be taken to in class. 1) The canteen and the cooks 2) The front office and the admion staff 3) The security guard at the front gate Upload all of your photographs to your weebly in the form of contact sheets and then create a slideshow for your best images. Homework In reference to the work of Lewis Khan and the brief set photograph a chosen person that has particular relevance to you. Try to capture their everyday life and all things that are unique to them.Build up a visual picture of your subject that can be presented on your weekly |
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Sayako Sugawara - Cyanotypes
Using the Portraits as a starting point the workshop will introduce students to different techniques on printing and manipulating of the photographic image looking at how these tactile processes could bring out new meanings to the original image. As well as being a introduction to techniques the workshop is an intro to processes as a tactile thinking process. Artists examples Sigmar Polke (Photocopy Manipulation, Darkroom distortion) Joseph Parra (Cutting,Folding,Photography as a sculptural installation) Michael Macku (Reshaping and Reforming Images) You will need a selection of portrait shots of people,people in environments and shots of belongings people. Tasks-Cyanotype Expose and dry paper on 3D non porous surface A5 Acetate Negs Tasks - Darkroom Use at least two different types of techniques introduced to create prints. (photocopied neg+add washes, overlay thin materials, fold prints while in developer, bend paper in angles etc) Tracing Paper, Tissue Paper,Distorted paper negatives, normal paper negatives Look at Polke and experiment with manipulate image on photocopier or scanner and use as negatives Retaking Photographs Create temporary 3D collages by folding, bending, Can use tapes and clips or use hands. Install collage in different places. Use light shadow, angles etc and take a photograph. A4 b/w print outs of portraits,environments, objects belonging to portrayed people etc. |
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The Photographic Object
For 180-years, people have been asking the question: is photography art? Some complain that photography was "too literal to compete with works of art" because it was unable to "elevate the imagination". However, photographers have been incorporating techniques commonly associated with art that reclassify their works as one off pieces, sculptures, paintings and installations. They become pieces of art. Within portrait photography, artists and photographers use many techniques outside of the darkroom and beyond the digital world of Photoshop to enhance the message being stated in the photograph. Other materials and ways of installation can both blur and intensify the points the creator is making. SET TASK 1 Using the work of Lucas Simones, Joseph Parra and Gerhard Richter as a starting point you are going to physically manipulate your portrait photographs. For example, you could make the photographs more sculptural by folding, scoring, bending, twisting, shaping them, or you could suggest a more painterly and tactile quality by adding paint, string, collage, chemicals. How are these physical manipulations affecting the contextual aspect of your images? Are you changing or enhancing the meaning? Are they becoming something else? How are the techniques appropriate to the theme portraiture? HOMEWORK Choose an artist from the included slideshow. Do some further research on their work and create a critical and contextual study on your weebly page. Discuss why you have chosen them in particular, how they have manipulated and installed their work in the past and what affect this has had on the overall image. Then take a series of portrait images or make some in the studio relating to their practice and have them printed off ready for your next lesson. You will be experimenting with and developing their style, so ensure you have enough images printed and of a big enough size to work with. SET TASK 2 You will be using your portrait images taken for homework and the ones created with our resident photographer to develop a final photographic installation. You will use your critical and contextual study of your chosen artist to influence your creation and develop your own response to working with the photograph as an object. (To be continued out of class) SET TASK 3 Finally, you will install your creation in a location of your choice and document this. Then, you will present this documentation and any physical work you have made to the group, discussing how and why you have worked in that way, and how this has affected the images portraiture context. (Installation to be completed in and out of class) |
Ulric Collette Genetic Portrait
The eye-opening series of photographs created by Ulric Collette features family members' faces spliced together, with startling results. Set task Using the work of Ulric Collette as a starting point take a series of portraits in the studio and following the tutorial below merge the faces into one Homework Take a number of shots of different family members with the aim of merging their faces together. make sure to take a mixture of ages and gender. |
Three Strands
Once you have completed each workshop task above you need to determine three strands (starting points) for your project. The presentation of each strand must include a rationale (reasons why and links to the theme), connections to relevant contextual information, photographers and any other visuals.
The first set of observations should include each of the three strands.
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Once you have completed each workshop task above you need to determine three strands (starting points) for your project. The presentation of each strand must include a rationale (reasons why and links to the theme), connections to relevant contextual information, photographers and any other visuals.
The first set of observations should include each of the three strands.
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