Evaluation
My FMP is based around anonymity and creating an image that, although you can relate to, looks and feels out of place. Doing this required a lot of technical work in photoshop to remove details that would give the picture away as being from somewhere familiar. Using Photoshop I painted over street signs, and shop adverts to make them look as though they were never there at all. I used tools like the Clone Stamp tool to duplicate areas of the image over one another and the Paint Brush to re paint signs and window reflections so that the removed writing doesn't leave an empty space where it previously was. Nearly all the shops had writing on their glass and in one case I had to almost entirely repaint a white van back into the reflection on the glass. Although removing all the signs from around 25 shops was a laborious process, I feel that in the end I managed to produce a result that showed my creative and technical ability as a photographer and artist.
During the duration of this course I have gained a lot of technical knowledge on how to use photoshop for various tasks, from basic corrections like colour and brightness to more advanced techniques like, Skin smoothing and object removal. In my FMP I wanted to create one final image that brought all the skills I’ve learned together. I’ve used photoshop to join together 35 images and remove the signs to create an anonymous environment. During this project I researched multiple artists to inform my final decisions. Researching artists in terms of their different techniques, approach and theme is a skill I’ve developed as part of the course. This helps with my understanding of the effectiveness of different techniques and also helps with idea stimulation. From this I like to experiment with technique and composition. This can be seen in my FMP where I’ve combined the theme of anonymity with an experimental technical composition, a panoramic composite landscape. The final image combines the ideas of different artists in a new way
My initial working title for my project was Distorting the Familiar. In developing my idea I moved more towards the theme of Anonymity. I experimented with manipulating and eliminating familiar features and characteristics in portraits and researched artists who have produced similar works. i liked the way that artists such as Desiree Dolron explored the area between the real and unreal, fragility and resilience.this gave me idea for development around the idea of familiar and unfamiliar. Oleg Dou’s work occupied the area between beauty and repulsiveness creating an unnatural creepy effect which was intriguing. The same eerie quality was in the work of Larretta Lux’s work. All these artists challenged the viewer to perceive the subject differently. I was also interested in the work and techniques of Ruud van Empol who used multiple childrens faces and features to create a final image. At this Stage i decided to change my subject of my FMP from Portraits to landscapes while maintaining the same theme of anonymity. A strength of my final project is that it reflects the ideas of my original proposal and is informed by the research i completed. The research into the portrait artists helped me develop my own ideas i then took my ideas forward into a new idea. I felt that by making the landscape the subject of the composition rather than a person was more unique and would ultimately communicate my theme more successfully.
The second half of my researched focused on my subject. I looked at two artists with contrasting ideas and techniques both of whom concentrated on environments, interior and exterior. I took a defining feature of each. From Ed Ruscha I used his technique of creating a single image of a very long street form multiple images taken while walking down it. From Thomas Demand I used his idea of stripping back a scene to its bare objects with no writing or clues as to where the scene is from. This helped me realise my end result effectively.
By monitoring my progress through the project, I realised that my theme would be better suited to different subject. Through a discussion with one of my tutors I decided that an anonymous portrait would be too close to the work of other artists I’d researched. I wanted to produce something more creative and innovative. This project proved quite challenging in terms of the physical format of the piece as I was using 35 images which made the final image very long and difficult to manage in terms of construction and manipulation of features to get the faceless finish I wanted. I could improve this image by only photographing half the street so that the image would be easier to produce.
I think my FMP represents the best creative work that I can produce both technically and conceptually. I have created an anonymous yet familiar street that viewers will relate to but find perplexing because all features and signs have been removed and the buildings look devoid of life. The image provokes a sense of moving down the street in a car as the viewer’s gaze has to travel the length of the image. My image differs from a panorama because I have moved down the street whereas in a panorama you normally stand on the spot and turn capturing the scene around you. I am pleased with this creative aspect of my piece. Overall i feel this image works because it achieves my initial proposal and explores the theme of anonymity in an original way.
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