The Rhetoric Of Images - Student Task

Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol is famous for taking images from popular culture and turning them into his art. for example the above image for Campbell's soup, has all the traditional associations of the soup brand, but has captured it in a painting. the fact that the colours of the soup tin have been changed does not distract from  the reputation the branded can holds, even though is a reproduction and not the real thing, therefore it shouldn't hold the same values as the original. it shows how associations in popular culture can be instantly made to objects, even if not necessarily true. this image instantly gives the viewer an association to a long standing product with a good reputation, purely by reproducing its image, which drives the viewer to put those associations to the painting itself purely for being centered around this product. Warhol was very clever with associating his work with icons, such as the coca cola bottles and  screen prints of Marilyn Monroe, and i think that helped his success. He used the fact that people could instantly associate something good with iconic figures and therefore he used those associations for his own success. everybody looks at an image of Marilyn Monroe and sees a beautiful film star who everyone

adores, so to use her image in your work would instantly create a sense of admiration and awe due to that association, even if the work isn't necessarily that fantastic

i took an image to play around with this idea, and used the same conventions as Warhol, i took a picture of a popular drink and changed the colours about. now i have created a piece of personal work from that product and i have put any associations that came with the image of the can into my image. 

I look at this image and i see one of my favourite soft drinks, i know ill always enjoy it and as its cheap I'll always be able to afford it. just like how Warhol uses coca cola in his images, he knows people the world over from all backgrounds find coke accessible and enjoy it therefor his work is accessible to everyone too.

“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.” – www.Tate.org.uk

Documentary Student Task - Research and compare historical and contemporary documentary photography

example of historical documentary image -

'Woman with injured finger being administered first aid in the infirmary of the Hood Rubber Co: Photo by Lewis hine'

example of contemporary documentary image - 

Sama Ashaibi. 

documentary photography has always documented wars, the top image by Lewis Hine was taken during the American civil war, and documents a woman having her finger treated. the image itself isn't particularly interesting, it literally documents something that was happening at the time. the shot contains a lot of detail and shows the viewer where the treatment is taking place and generally allows you to see whats happening without much description. On the other hand, Sama Ashaibis image of a woman with her eye missing documents war injuries in a different way . the image itself is more artistically shot, focusing the viewer on the injured eye to create more drama, its as if the image intends to shock you by making the wound so prominent. the fact that the woman in the picture is actually the photographer with make up on, to represent the real wounds of other women also shows how documentary has changed, you only need to represent something now to document it. Sama documents how women suffer in the background as a result of war, and i think the focus in the wounds being healed  

shows that they are having to live through these injuries and Carry the effects of war with them forever as scars. contemporary documentary is aimed to shock people more and more, as the original images such as the civil war images seem to be mundane in today's society. It's as if the war photography is seen more as entertainment, than an actual simple document of of something that has happened.

The Gaze - Student Task

Nobuyoshi Araki

The lens captures what the eye sees, or in the case of photography, what the eye wants to see. 

A photograph is a literal window into the gaze of the photographer at the time the image was taken, and is a reflection of how that person sees the object in the photograph. when it comes to looking at the above image by Noboyushi Araki, you can see an example of the 'male gaze', so that no matter who looks at the image, regardless of gender, they see it from a mans perspective. 

The image appears to represent an exaggerated reflection on societies forced view of women that runs as an undercurrent of female imagery even to this day; that they are submissive, sex objects, should be told what to do and need men to make the decisions on their future. This can be represented by the fact that the subject in the image is tied up and wearing lingerie, as if she were a toy. her eyes look lifeless, and the way her head is limp on the floor seems to show an aspect of surrender, as if she has no choice in her fate and has decided against fighting it, she has completely succumbed to the will of the viewer, who has total control over her future whilst tied up. This is how the photographer wanted to portray the subject, which could be construed as meaning that this is how he views women, although if you look at most of his work, its all pretty much on the same lines so there is definitely an element of personal gratification from taking these images. it is strange as a woman to look at an image and see what a man sees, but as a part of a male dominated society, this has always been a part of viewing images. 

FIRST TASK - Surveillance

NAN GOLDIN

This image captures an off guard intimate moment of the subjects life. Goldin makes use of the available light to create an eery atmosphere in the picture. The way the image has been shot makes the subject resemble a dead body in the way the eyes are closed, hands crossed over the body and with the shape of the bath similar to a coffin. I think Goldin knew how effective using the bathwater against the thin body in the blueish light would be in creating a sinister undertone to the image, its like you're watching someone on their deathbed, and it doesn't make for particularly comfortable viewing.

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HELMUT NEWTON

this image is a perfect example of voyeurism, even though it is constructed, the angle of the image makes the viewer feel like they are peering through a hole into the room where the women are standing, as though the subjects of the image do not know they are being watched. Obviously, the image is designed to do this. Newton knew how to take people more darker desires and put them into fashionable images in a way that makes voyeurism seem glamourous and high profile. This image is very clever in the way it draws the viewer to look at the women and really loose focus of the rest of the image, as if the whole point is to make it seem as if you yourself are peering into the room.

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MERRY ALPERN

This image is similar to the other two, in the way that it shows the viewer something they aren't necessarily supposed to see, but Alpern, unlike the other two, took these images without any permission from the subject. She took the images through a window of a brothel that she came across one day secretly, and slyly. These images show a sort of underworld, that most people don't enter. the fact that you can see the bar across the glass of the window almost makes it seem like you're looking into a cage, as if the subject behind the glass might be trapped there.