Rankin Inspired Work

I have created and modified portraits in the style of Rankin - Destroy. Like Rankin's work, each photograph represents an emotion, thought or belief. First I took basic portrait photographs of the subject expressing a particular emotion. I then printed the images and "destroyed" then by; drawing, painting, ripping, burning them etc. to enhance the emotions presented.  I then took a picture of the final outcome.                                                               

This image was created to present rage and anger. The subject was positioned in a typical pose that represents anger, her facial expressions also matched this. I then added reds and brown paint in an erratic fashion and drew birds flying from the subject's mouth to represent shouting and freedom of speech. 

This image represented sadness and loneliness. I tried to express loneliness by ripping up the picture and detaching the piece. I burnt some edges of the image to represent destruction. I also added blue paints and tears to the image to represent sadness. I then drew on the image in a random fashion to represent confusion and loneliness.

This image represents happiness. I wanted to keep the image simple and concentrated on the emotion therefore I only added to image to extend and exaggerate the smile. 

Rankin

Rankin - Destroyed Analysis

In celebration of Youth Music's 10th Birthday, 70 notorious musicians and visual artists such as U2, Alex Zane, Andre 3000 and Florence and The Machine, collaborated with photographer John Rankin Waddell to create extraordinary, abstract art based on the emotions presented in their portraits and lives inside and out of the music industry. 

              

 

Rankin took ordinary portrait photographs of the subjects and destroyed them creating unusual abstract images to repesent emotion, feeling and senses. He often appeals to the visual sense through his work by creating eye catching creative images. Through the uses of added materials, inserted images, painting and  burnet and ripped images, he presents the sense of emotions through what were, ordinary portraits. By destroying images Rankin is able to connote feelings of loneliness, sadness, anger and a range of other emotions as well as presenting dreams, ambitions and beliefs of his subjects. His work varies from busy images which engages the audiences visual senses and excites them through the abstractness of his pieces to simple art which encourages the audience to think and find meaning within each image. 


I love how each piece that he destroys is individual and represents the subject in both overt and subtle ways. By using a rang of colours and materials, he also is able to make audiences feel a particular way when looking the photographs. Amongst many, one of my favourite pieces is that of Billy Brag (third image above). I particularly like this photograph as it has been transformed from a somewhat conventional portrait, which would not provoke any thought, to an interesting piece of work that can connote many emotions and thoughts. The simplicity of ripping up the picture and the placement of the sections, to me connotes loneliness and being torn between beliefs or areas in the subjects life. The image seems slightly dirty which makes me believe that it is slightly old and forgotten, it has not been preserved or seen as a treasured photograph. This thought of loneliness and neglect is mirrored by the subjects positioning in the photograph and the expression on his face. He is crouched down and is slightly reserved, this connotes that he is unconfident and reserved, this is replicated by the lack of colour and the use of black and white. I also like how some segments of the photograph have been placed back together and others are misplaced and disjoined. 

Giacomo Brunelli Inspired Work

I have taken a number of photographs of my cat, and edited them in the

 style of Giacomo Brunelli's photography.

With each photograph I first edited it to make a black and white image. I then enhanced the contrast levels on each image and changed the 'levels' to make the highlights in each shot stand out against the darker shades. I also brought down the the brightness level to create and eerie effect across each photograph, I then changed the colour levels so that blues and slight sepia tones came through with the black and whites. On some images I changed the vividness of the shot and added blurs and shaddows to improve the look of depth of field on the necessary shots; such as the close ups, in which I wanted the face or main features to stand out and be perfectly crisp, which would contrast the blurred background. 

 I like this image as the slight low angle presents a feel of power to the shot and makes the subject appear of high status and proud as well as the positioning of the subject and how the direction of view is away from the camera . I also like the contrast levels, how the light hits the subject and how the whites contrast the shaddows and darker areas of the photograph and also the blurred areas of the shot, which makes the face of the subject stand out.

 

Giacomo Brunelli's work has inspired these photographs by the lighting, the colours used and the eerie, mysterious nature that is continued through his work. I tried to recreate the feel of his photographs by editing the above pictures to be darker and creating dramatic contrasts between highlights and shadows. However, unlike Brunelli's grainy, unclear images which present a sense of aged photography, I used high focus and clear images to create a modern twist on the photographer's work. 

Giacomo Brunelli

Giacomo Brunelli Analysis 

Giacomo Brunelli is an Italian photographer that uses animals to inspire his work to portray the effects of development in current urban and country side wildlife. His images are bases upon both wild and domestic animals in their own habitats and shows a slightly unsettling representation of the animal kingdom that we understand. His work makes us question how much we understand each animal and the predictability of animals that we familiarise ourselves with. His work presents us with the darker side of the life of an animal, by using darker tones and capturing unusual behaviours in black and white, Brunelli creates an eerie, mysterious adaptation to the images of common animals that audiences are used to. He often takes the photographs from low angles to be able to capture the subjects in full and uses shallow depths of field to concentrate on areas of the photograph which infers emotions such as fear and anger. His images are commonly slightly blurred and  unclear, he also maintains a border to images and finishes them with rounded corners to recreate a dated effect. He often captures subjects while startled or angry, to create the intense emotional power that his photographs present, this adds to the unusual, abstract nature of his work. By constantly pushing boundaries and creating dramatic, shocking images, Brunelli produces captivated pieces in which he has described as “animal focused street photography”.

Geraldine Georges

GERALDINE GEORGES ANALYSIS 

      

Geraldine Georges is a Belgian graphic designer that combines her fine art of photography and illustration to create abstract, eye catching pieces exampled above. Through the use of dramatic lines beautiful photography and nature inserts she creates amazing unique photographs. She is known for using soft delicate colours which contrast the unusual designs and dramatic lines. Behind every image is a hidden meaning which is left for the audiences imagination to discover and every outcome is different.

Georges is famous for using organic lines and colours; all sketched lines are always created in a smooth natural form and create a soft elegance to each piece. The models often replicate this through their posing. The use of hands and nudity are strong themes in her work and evoke a fragility and vulnerability into subjects. Through each piece she captures the theme of the sense and portrays images based on touch and smell through the use of objects such as flowers. 

Mood Board

Meetings, Encounters and Experiences Ideas Mood Board

Meetings, Encounters and Experiences Mind Map

A mind map of ideas relating to Meetings, Encounters and Experiences.

Meetings/ Experiences/ Encounters Ideas

•  New Borns - Experiences - The new experiences of new born babies, portraits.
• Grandparents - Experiences - In contrast to portraits of new borns, the experiences of the elderly representing a life cycle.
• Animals - The experiences of house or wild animals 
• Portraits - A range of portraits to illustrate emotion, experiences and ambitions 
• Transport - Photographs representing 'Urban Life' taken with a range of shutter speeds to create different effects.