Critique of Jen Hall, by Vanessa DeZutter

JEN HALL

1) Immediate Response:

Jens image seems to contain a great sense of humor, almost seems like a critique or comment on “the ridiculousness of wealth or fame to a certain degree. The main subject is Pink, a well known music artist that generally speaks about rebellion and feminine power. Immediately I was drawn to the fantastic choice of color palette, the bright vivid props and clothing choices contrast directly against the dark, almost dingy dirty atmosphere.This darker background adds an element of depth and mystery, is she keeping her “fetishes” somewhat hidden, or underwaps perhaps? I feel this way because the image seems not so bold and intentional as the original sexual as the original images’ intent.

Objective Description:

Jens image contains very contrasty, vibrate colors, reflecting and contrasting heavily on the dark low key background. We as the viewer are very aware of the environment and placement is evident in a brick texture of the backdrop. This dark environment has a somewhat dungy dark feeling adding to my personal feelings of a “hidden fetish.”

The female is clad in lingerie with a glass of red wine in her hands, clearly completely comfortable in her environment. She has vibrant red hair and lips, very large “knockers”if you will, and an expression of utter thrill . In one hand, she holds a vibrant yellow rope, which is attached to a dog collar around a hopelessly skinny and white male clad in tight little green underwear. Who looks up at her with the seeming response of “give me more” The most fantastic color choice for me is the mimicry of the colors in the female shoes and the hot pink guitar.

Formal Complaints/Praise:

One of the biggest praises I have for Jens image is her careful selection of props and clothing in the models. He selection in the male’s underwear are fantastic in her choice of almost exact complimentary colors. In terms of realism, the images does not depend heavily on that factor. LaChapelle’s images are an imaginary world, hyperbolized hyper sexual activities on average, which I believe she was successful in achieving.

Also, I have given praise to Jen for her ability to present a clean and tight image, despite the content and amount of props in the photograph. The crisp, clean lighting immediately stood out for me, which she achieved she achieved with two strobes, one soft box and one silver lined umbrella. Her direct application of vignetting is successful in quite literally dragging the viewer into the image and allows the lighting to appear to wrap around the subjects making them look very three dimensional. The subjects, much like the original image are in almost directly in the center of the frame which is successful with the additions of the lines leading your eye through the composition. Formal complaints about the images may possibly include the tip of the male’s heal poking up causing some what of a tension for the viewer, along with the

hand of the female model bent backward quite awkwardly on the “leash.” Also, one final complaint could possibly the distracting aspect of the floor, which leads my eye around the interesting texture of the floor and away from the models. This background makes Jens image not as sterile and provocative looking as the original image.

What story does it tell:

Jen’s image tells a story of careful selection in models, makeup and props. She appears to have taken a great deal of time and preciseness to achieve this image. Jen tells me that she started out attempting an exact replication of the original image, but as the shoot went along the natural progression of this particular shoot was to attempt other positions facial expressions and movement, which turned out to be successful in achieving her own original image. Jen says about the models and their comfort level, “they stopped listening to the camera shutter and started having fun.” This image, to me, talks about her careful selection of location, lighting, models, props, clothing, hairstylists and makeup artists.

The work in the world:

Jen chose this image because she has been following LaCheppelle for quite some time. She grew up liking Pink as musician, so it was an exciting combination of favorite photographer and one of her favorite musicians. She was intrigued by this sense of reversed roles, generally a strong male and a more passive woman, so naturally this image of role reversal was one of interest for Jen . I think people would be generally amused by this image. Its not so provocative as the original so perhaps more acceptable in community (not art world) standards.

“Glosoli” – Photo by Kaitlyn

Upon first glance, Glosoli is very reminiscent of a dream. Kaitlyn has created a stunning image of herself, gently flying off the edge of a cliff. The colours are muted, the background is soft, and she is in a very natural and secluded setting. The picture exudes an aura of calmness. Somehow, this image is very believable; I feel as if I am standing on an opposing bluff, watching her float by. Kaitlyn’s work functions very well as a response to her chosen image for this project. Although it is not a direct copy, it perfectly mimics the sentiments found in the photo “Dream Room” by Rosie Hardy.

From an objective standpoint, I would say that Kaitlyn’s work is quite feminine. It is tranquil, gentle and romantic. It is very wistful, and brings forth a lot of emotion from its viewer. In this regard, it is certainly not just a formal work. It evidently has a lot conceptual value to it, and leaves the viewer with several questions. What makes this picture so believable? Why would she be flying off the edge of an overhang? How did she take this picture? The questions that this photograph poses lead the viewer to a deeper investigation of the work, rather than letting viewer simply skim over the work and move on to another piece.

Glosoli is both intriguing and satisfying at the time. It ha been executed with a huge level of thought and skill. The integration of “floating Kaitlyn” into “maudlin background” is very successful, and has been done very naturally. There are no harsh edges, and it looks as if the photograph was taken as a whole, rather than having been composited together. As well, Kaitlyn has clearly thought through every detail in her image. Her wardrobe matches the colour scheme, and seems appropriate for the setting. The softness of the image suggests that the image is a dream of some sort, and the muted colours give us a sense of serenity.

The title Glosoli, meaning “Glowing Sun” in Icelandic, is aptly chosen. It is poetic, mild, and also happens to be the title of Sigur Ros song. Kaitlyn informed that this piece is indeed inspired both by Rosy Hardy’s image, as well as the video for the Sigur Ros song Glosoli (which depicts young children happily flying off the edge of cliff). The work tells a story, though its viewers may interpret it differently. It makes me feel as if she is searching for something, or as if she is longing for something else. Kaitlyn has told me that the narrative within her image is quite reflective of the Glosoli lyrics, which talk about innocence, feelings of insignificance and wishing for a new beginning.

There are innumerable works of art that examine the ideas of belonging, innocence, and searching for a new beginning. Kaitlyn’s work would function well with a variety of different works in this regard. Though her work has a very specific meaning, it can be viewed in broader terms. Its poetic, romantic and dream like qualities make it a work that would function well with many other works by Rosy Hardy, as well as with the works of Sigur Ros. Overall, Kaitie’s work is very successful in paying homage to Rosie Hardy, as well as functioning as work of its own.

Ali Clayton's “Like it, Love it, Live it” Project By Emma Kopstein

I was initially drawn into the painting's similarity in colour to the original image of Bob Dylan, and I enjoyed the artificial take on the original photographs background.

Objective Description: The Image is a copy of a Bob Dylan image shot by Elliot Landy. The background has a red painted forest scene to mimic the natural forest in the Dylan Image. It is a Self portrait of Ali; she sits on a log in front of her painting with a smug grin on her face. Beyond the Painting is an actual forest with much more dull colours which suggests a common contrast between real life and what we see in an image.

Formal Complaints/praise: I really enjoyed the concept of Ali’s piece, playing with the idea of an individuals passion becoming an extension of themselves more so than just an object or talent they possess. The only critisim I have for this piece is I’d like to see a more cropped in version, focusing more so on the painting, and allowing the grass around the bottom of her feet to suggest the artificiality of the scene.

The story Ali’s image tells of her process begins with a trip to Montreal several years ago where she first found the Dylan image at a Pop Culture Exhibit gift shop. The image drew her in initially only by the colour, not even aware that it was an image of Bob Dylan. The image has remained a favorite of Ali’s since then, being framed in her home allowing her to constantly return to it. As she decided on the process to take in mimicking this image, she knew she wanted to focus on the colour, and the idea of a person’s passion being an extension of them. After some thought she came to the idea of a self-portrait, and in place of Dylan’s guitar she uses the background painting itself to represent her passion for art. She chose to keep the real forest visible in her image to play on her fascination with the natural beauty of the west, and the idea that in the Dylan image it makes her wonder why he is in this particular scene, the sort of artificial placement in a natural space. Ali chose to be sitting in the image because it seemed more fitting in the scene, and the log she sits on is a reiteration of the natural forest behind her painting of a forest. The Car that Dylan sits on is less important to Ali than the contrast between the red and black colours in the image themselves; the simple casual position Dylan is in, in this setting is more intriguing than what he actually sits on.

The Work in the world applies to many other images by many other artists based on the fact that we often create an artificial scene made to look like a natural one and shoot the image in a way that is believable. Ali’s image shows us an almost “behind the scene” view of what many other photographers try so hard to hide.

Brendan's Work by Minwoo Lee

This photograph is very well represented and reproduced from the original image. This photograph really has the essence of the original photograph and carries conceptual interplay into consideration. This photograph also seems to have the idea of retracing of historical elements into modern context.

Firstly this photograph has a women with a lit cigarette on her lips with smokes blending into the background. The model is wearing a bra with a fur coat that is draping down under her shoulder. The original photograph looks fifties hollywood fashion, and is carried out in the same theme to the reproduced image. The reproduced photograph carries the same mood, textures, lighting and details. The mood created by the lighting is very well carried out; especially with the colors and the details in the texture of the background. The background has grains and scratches that are similar to the original photograph. Small details in the lighting, texture and props are reproduced very well, but in a more modern sense. The smoke could look more real if it is more distinctly connected to the cigarette, but it still is very well represented. There are some aspects like the tattoo and the hair that is represented in the original photograph, but it seems to relate conceptually in relation of modern beauty and the fifties beauty.

Firstly Brendan was really interested in the idea of editing and the challenges of reproducing the fifties essence into modern context. The photograph is shot on a seamless studio with soft box directly lighting the portrait with a hot light slightly lighting the side of the portrait. The smoke in the cigarette is created in photoshop and the idea of creating a smoke from a unlit cigarette really interests me in the idea that social standards and cultures changed throughout history, and how it is literally retracing the historical content on the original photograph.

Conceptually this photograph seems to be relating historical fashion photograph and how it has evolved into modern fashion photography. The reproduced image has a model with a more modern hair style with a tattoo on her shoulder, which represents how historically feminism and fashion walked on the same evolution. This photograph seems to have the conceptual feeling of modern culture and modern fashion directly relating to fifties hollywood fashion. Even though the props and clothes are nearly similar, a single tattoo and the hair style really brings up the modern essence to the table.

Throughout modern fashion, historical fashion is brought up in industries. The connection of historical essence really brings the connection with the general audience to their own experience of historical context. This photograph is a homage to historical fashion and how it is directly related to modern culture.

There are a lot of photographs that are a homage to historical content that are incorporated in modern context. This photograph very well could be one of the photograph that represents the idea of re-representing a historical content in a modern context. Conceptually this photograph is retracing and pulling the historical elements into modern photography.

Dana’s Grace Kelly Inspired Photograph

When I first see this image I immediately feel it is a modern day take on a classic photograph. It is a snapshot that feels very natural. I first noticed the amount of detail and attention that has been paid to every part of the work. The work is calm and low energy, bringing back many memories of various times that I have gone through the same ritual. The artist made very good use of the visual elements present in the work to contribute to its esthetic and meaning. I feel in many ways the reproduction is stronger and more successful that the original, but especially when it comes to the narrative.

This is a photographic recreation of an image of Grace Kelly taken by Allen Grant. It is a photograph of a woman, in a white dress and gloves, who is in the midst of getting ready in her bathroom, to go out for a special occasion. In her backhand she is holding a tube of lipstick, her hair is up and she is almost ready to go. In the bathroom mirror the viewer becomes aware of the presence of a little girl who is peeking through the doorway on the far left, watching her mother get ready. The woman is located on the left side of the frame and looking towards the right. The scene is lit using one light source from over top the bathroom mirror. Many formal qualities of the work add interest such as the use of reflection, diagonals and texture on both the clothing and materials that make up the bathroom.

When comparing the original work to the reproduction, they contain many similarities. They both play with the idea of beauty and fashion. They have very similar settings and quality of light. The one difference that stands out is the narrative being created and the positioning of the main character. Grain has been added back into the new version to imitate the image quality of the original. Both images have a glossy quality on many of the objects included and lots of texture. The Clothing used in each work is very different but work well in their own setting. In the artists own work they have included a doorway, which was not used in the original, but adds interest. As well the energy level of the new image is significantly lower, mainly due to the amount of people in the foreground and reflection.

Once I had picked out the image of the little girl reflected in the mirror I instantly knew this photograph was about desire. The little girls eyes stare longingly at her mother as she hopes she too will be as beautiful as her some day. The artist talked of trying to emulate the gaze that was captured in the original work. She looked at the idea of fetish in that it is a photograph of a person who is looking at something else, touching on the idea of voyeurism. She remembered this image from a Life Magazine and it has always stuck with her. She tried to capture the element of documentary photography. The original photograph made her feel as though she was the young girl who desired to be the women in the beautiful dresses, and brought back memories of herself watching her own mother get ready in front of the mirror.

This work to me references all the amazing photographs that have been produced of Grace Kelly. It also seems to look at the back stage life or behind the scenes type of documentary photographs; or the amateur documentation of getting prepared for a special occasion.

Critique of Natasha by Julya

Critique – Natasha’s photo

Immediate response:

Really great reproduction of the image, great work on wardrobe selection for model, as well as the construction of props (rocket pack). Choice of model is very effective as well. The likeness to the original is remarkable.

Objective description:

This is a black and white photo, vertical orientation. There is a tall thin man in the photo wearing a rocket pack on his back – it looks like something a person would build in their basement. The man is seen in profile. The rocket pack looks like two large tubes topped with cones, and the tube closest to the viewer is dented and looks old. There is smoke coming out of the bottom of the rocket pack and the man is just taking off. The man is in a grassy field with a line of trees in the background. The man takes up much of the vertical space of the frame. The man’s clothing looks old-fashioned – he is wearing plain dark pants, a dark pea coat, and a newsboy cap.

Formal Praise/complaints:

Looking at the composition of the two images, I actually like Natasha’s version better – the square of the original image feels a bit cramped in comparison. In Natasha’s it looks like the man has more room to fly, there’s more motion, while in the original it looks like the man has nowhere to fly and might not get off the ground.

The Story it Tells:

Natasha’s title: Flying Mr. Jones To The Moon.

So the image is supposed to evoke the time before people had been to the moon, so in constructing the rocket pack the goal was to make it look homemade.

Natasha used a large cereal box for the main part of the frame, with large tubes made of paper attached to the sides and paper cones for the tops of the rockets. The pack is held on by straps made of rope. The entire pack is covered with duct tape.

Mr. Jones did not make it to the moon…

The image was shot in colour originally, then converted to black and white in Photoshop, where Natasha also added the smoke and took out the houses that were in the background so that only trees remained.

Tried shooting first with a background fabric printed with stars, but wasn’t happy with the effect – it looked too cramped. With the background removed, the shot worked better just using the natural environment.

For the model’s clothing, he was shown the original photo and also directed to think about the 40s when choosing his outfit.

The original image that Natasha chose was a different one by the same artist (Rodney Smith), but once we learned we’d have to recreate it she wasn’t sure she could do that one so she chose this one by Smith. She like this one because it’s humorous, and also because this is her favorite photographer and she thought she’d really like to try to recreate this particular shot.

Work in the world:

Compares this artist to Henri Cartier-Bresson – while Rodney Smith is actually a relatively modern photographer but his work looks like it is from an older era. The black and white, the settings and costumes, the feel, all evoke the early to mid-1900s.

Min's work. By: Brendan Stephens

Brendan writing on Min’s work

It is a panoramic shot of Calgary from a tall buildingWith imperial star destroyers from the original star wars movies.I was immediately drawn to this image because Star Wars is my favorite movie, and the integration of star wars into the Calgary skyline is a great concept.It reminds me of the movie District nine. Touching on the theme of something from the unknown (outer space) being integrated into the known (urban city area)

-9 images stitched together in a panoramic style

-Images of imperial star destroyers where found on the Internet

It is a panoramic shot looking taken from the top of a building looking to the west of the city. 5 high-rise buildings and be seen spaced out between the frame. It was taken on a cloudy day just when the sun was setting over the horizon. One large imperial star destroyer from the original star wars movies can be seen situated just above the horizon slightly to the right of the center of the frame. Two other star destroyers can be seen in the far distance behind the clouds.

Formal the fact that it is 9 images stitched together to create one panoramic image is great craftsmanship. And the integration of the ships into the image is also very well crafted. The use of artificial lighting on the ships and use of natural lens flares helps to give the shot a very realistic quality. The only formal complaint I have if that the scale of the closest ship is a little off, and seems to be smaller than actual size. This could be because it is situated just below the horizon, so it gives it the appearance of being closer than it actually is.

What drew Min to the original photograph was not any of the formal qualities about the photo, but more so the emotional theme he took out of it.

The theme of how when faced with impending doom or destruction, most people wouldn’t run, instead they would stand and watch.

Some people just want to watch the world burn

Min did extensive research on the state of mental health of people in urban areas of large cities, and because of the tightly confined areas that they live in and find security in, most people hope for freedom from their lifestyle.

The theme or watching destruction also ties into the sense of feeling like a bystander in a busy area when something bad is happening, something that happens with crime in urban areas.

This photo also ties into the theme of escaping from routine life. Most people feel constraint from looking at the same things everyday that they want some change in their life, some kind of intervention. So they look for someone or something outside of the urban setting that would change their mental state. Hence the use of imperial star destroyers, a theme from something outside from day to day life, integrated into the scene of a city skyline, something that most people see everyday.

When the earth stood still

“But it’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our movement. Don’t take it from us, we are close to an answer.”