March 13, 2020

Lumiere Films (created by Louis and Auguste Lumiére) were filmed on a Cinematographe (early camera). They were too heavy to move, so it sat mostly stationary as film was being recorded.

They were filmed in a “locked” view. So rightly so they were “moving pictures”. They followed some rules as Remoscope 2003 creators would say (a group of Japanese media makers based in Osaka). The simplified these rules as:

Max 1 minutes
Fixed camera
No Sound, Zoom, Edit or effects

So if Lumiere Films we’re moving pictures. Then by analysis of photography we could image if an image is moving what narrative would we see, just with a camera being stationary on a tripod.

In our tute we were asked to analyse some pictures by composition, framing, depth, lighting, colour, focus, materials used and by the effects in editing.

One image that stuck out to me was this:

Jeff Wall, The Storyteller, 2986, Silver dye bleech transparecy in light box

When I first analysed the image I could already see life and movement. The image looked like it had been taken on a vintage 80s film camera. Though the scenery and landscape looked like the focus of the image, all the people in the image pulled their on focus – making this image feel very nostalgic in a way. The wide shot was able to capture different emotions in these peoples postures.
In furthur investigation this unfamiliar image turned out to be a very famous print by a Canadian photgrapher Jeff Wall. The tableux was staged the scale and ambition of the image was indeed the artists intent.

The MET described the image as:
“The Storyteller shows the liminal space where past meets future, crisscrossed by power lines and illuminated from within by the electric light that permeates our world of spectacle, consumption, and waste. Yet the work is ultimately hopeful, holding in suspension the potential for cultural traditions to survive and contest historical amnesia, the homogenizing effects of the media, and the empty promises of technological progress.”
(https://www.metmuseum.org/en/art/collection/search/286725)

Something as simple as a wide shot is able to provoke so much emotion and feeling. This instant storytelling in picture is something I hope to capture in my own film project.

Until next time,

Swoon. x

VCD101: WEEK 2

POP ART

The Pop Art movement began in the 1950s and created a famous form of graphic art. It takes inspiration from existing forms like advertisement propaganda and comic strips. Different to other art “movements” there were no organisations, no manifestoes or particular “angst” against art. It began at a time where fine art was widely popular, so artist were intrigued with art that ‘challenged the characteristics of fine art” (https://www.noop.com.au/pop-art-movement/, 2019) Pop Art intended to create controversial messages, similar to that of Dada Art.

Image taken from: https://curiator.com/art/roy-lichtenstein/drowning-girl

The Drowning Girl, Roy Lichtenstein 1963
Oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 67 5/8 x 66 3/4″ (171.6 x 169.5 cm)

Lichtenstein was a prominent artist throughout the Pop Art movement. The Drowning Girl is one of his most popular works. He uses a partiuclar style of doting and horizontal lines, like a pront. The colours are very monotone to cool blues. There isnt any shading of the girl, only the waves its very two-dimensional. I feel he sticks to this kind of one colour scheme to show the heartache of the woman in the image. The melancholy is also shown in the text, “I DONT CARE! I’D RATHER SINK – THAN CALL BRAD FOR HELP!“
The lines accross the image remind me of a kind of RBG glitch aswell, like the image is almost digital in a sense. I feel through the Pop Art movement without them knowing they paved the way for digital drawing and digital design.
Lichtenstein took heavy inspiration from comic books in this work, and used scale and cropping of original images to get this dramatic image. (https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/lichtenstein-drowning-girl-1963/)

BAUHAUS ART

The Bauhaus Art movement began as a reaction to the soullessness of manufacturing and industrial life. The Bauhaus School in Germany which opened in 1919 (six years later relocated to Dessau) felt as art was losing its place in society.

The movement drew inspiration from earlier movements that reacted to the same social conditions. Bauhaus embraced the new technologies and the aesthetics of machinery instead of rebelling of going against like many art movements before. (https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-bauhaus-movement-in-graphic-design-impact-application.html).

One of the ket concepts of Bauhaus Art was the phrase, “form follows function”. Which the artist of the time felt would blend the bold lines of creativity and industrial manufacturing. Typography was an element The Bauhaus School embraced – they felt unsatisfied with the functionary of letters, so they felt they needed to bring design into the world of print. “Like modern machines, architecture, and cinema, so too must type be an expression of our exact times.” a quote by a key typographer and Bauhaus artist Herbert Bayer.

Things to Come, Herbert Bayer
Herbert Bayer, 1938
Letterpress

Bayer was more famously known for his typography creation in the Bauhaus movement. But as an artist through The Bauhaus School – he was influences by so many things. I chose this image to look closer at because i was so intigued. I feel like I cant really grasp the intension like I was able to with Lichtensteins work. Perhaps as the movement grew so did the blending of Letterpress. This work feels as if its fallen into Surrealism more than Bauhaus. I just wanted to include this piece in the research because I think its fascinating to see the range of an artist.

Ausstellung Europaisches Kunstgewerbe
Herbert Bayer, 1927
Lithograph

The Bauhaus School released different magazines. This image is taken from one of the issues. I picked this piece because i feel like its very similar to some posters I’ve seen in modern times. The “font” Bayer has created has its own identity to those of the time. Its completely its own and original.

STUDIO REFLECTION
In my own studio works I felt drawn to the makings of Pop Art and the bright colour and Harsh lines. I tried it – weirdly enough – with my black and white images as old school comics books/cartoon strips had. So i cried to make it more black and white instead of black/grey/white. I also tried to enhance the grey areas because I couldn’t get rid of some and it turned into the comic book effect I wanted so I’m quite happy with the results.

Day: March 13, 2020

and WE ARE ROLLING! – birth of cinema

pop art and bauhaus art // vcd101