Concertina Book and Dali Emulation

Following up on my previous post -- in order to put my emulation into a presentable form, I decided to create a concertina book.

I chose this style of a book because it works well with square formatted pictures, which is how I chose to present mine. I also like how the folds along the photos distort the images slightly, because it adds to the surreal feel I'm trying to emulate in this body of work.

 Overall I am pleased with the end result of my book and emulation, because I think I succeeded in portraying the surreal and nature-infused themes in "Elephants."

Emulation Research

I'm planning on emulating this piece by Salvador Dali titled "The Elephants." This painting has been a favorite of mine for years, and i love it because of its surreal atmosphere and the vibrant colors in the background. Its at first disconcerting because of how the elephants have been contorted, and I like how the elephants act as a sort of frame around the picture. The scale is also fascinating. Because this painting makes me feel uncomfortable and also extremely drawn in, I'm going to work with a fairly uncomfortable and surreal format -- infrared film. I am most fascinated by art that warps reality, and infrared film does that by changing the lighting and the way we see nature especially. I plan to experiment both with shooting nature and portraits with infrared film, and then toning it to get the same sort of odd color that appears in this painting.

UPDATE: After further consideration, I decided to use the photographs I had taken on my recent trip to Moab, Utah for this emulation project. When converted to infrared, they evoke the exact eery and isolated feeling that "The Elephants" makes me feel. Also, the barren desert landscapes correlate well with the reddish and ruddy hues in Dali's painting, not to mention the painting itself looks like it takes place in some sort of desert.

Working with Infrared Digitally

In order to prep for my body of work on infrared film, I decided to convert a few of my old landscape photos to "infrared" using photoshop in order to feel out how the technique works. It was interesting to see the process digitally, and allowed me to figure out what sort of scenery and lighting lends itself best to infrared. The second photo is my favorite of the two, because I love how ethereal of a feel it has. 

Inspiration for Work With Infrared Film

I am working on creating infrared photographs digitally, in preparation for my work with infrared film. These are a few images that I'm using for inspiration. I especially like the cityscape converted to infrared, because at this time of year there isn't an abundance of foliage and it's inspiring to see this technique work with a more urban environment.

Joe Farace

(keep looking for artist)

Dave Beckerman

Working with Polaroid Transfers

I really liked the antique and vintage feel that polaroid transfers give to an image, so I knew I wanted to work with a nostalgic and also somewhat abstract subject -- because of the wrinkles and tears that can distort this type of transfer. I decided to use slides of childhood photos, and picked ones that would look interesting with some "wear and tear" in them. I think the pebbles and rocks in the last two do this well, because it almost looks like the tears and wrinkles are part of the landscape. My personal favorite is the one of me standing on the beach, because I like the dramatic (dark) tint to the colors and the fact that it fades into white in the background, because it blends with the paper well. 

Working with Nostalgia

I decided to try to depict the word 'nostalgia' for these photos. In order to evoke that emotion, I overlaid a photo of childhood events with a picture of the place now. For example, I put a picture of me and my mom playing at my grandparent's house over a picture of how the house looks how. You can see the changes the house has gone through, and it creates, in me at least, a yearning for the past and for the old home.

To complete the feeling of nostalgia and the past, I did a transfer onto mulberry paper with these images. The worn-in and handmade quality of the paper is perfect for the personal and earnest content of the photos. 

Independent Work with Vaseline

I recently experimented with nighttime photography and vaseline, as well as long exposures of light. I was toying with the concept of isolation, which I hoped to create by strategically spreading the vaseline to imitate fog. Fog, in my mind, makes one feel isolated and engulfed, and I liked the contrast of that with light. To take these photos, I placed my camera on a tripod at night and shot long exposures (ranging from 2-5 seconds) through a vaseline-coated lens.

Independent Work Inspiration

These are some shots of night photography that are inspiring for my work with night photography and vaseline. 

Night Photography By Przemyslaw Wielicki

Eerie Urban By Bartosch Debicki

 

Brassai By "T Squared"