Fashion: Constructed Image: Process of Visual References

We began creating mood boards based around the category of "Film" during the first week of having the assignment. These depicted scenes of films we admired the lighting choices of, examples of film noir, some of Tim Walker's fashion sets, strange and interesting rooms, the theme of exploration which particularly interested Joe Earley, photos of collections I found particularly interesting and some elaborate and even gothic make up styles. Generally, aesthetics we desired.

We displayed these mood boards and talked about them as a group. We discussed going for a similar look to the rooms in the last mood boards - we liked the extravagance and the vibrant colours. We also like Tim Walkers fashion influence upon our mood boards and thought we could work with something like this.

However, upon having differing opinions we began to talk about a set split between a modern and colourful look and a more subtle traditional feel. One of the suggestions was creating a room directly split in half, each half showing a very different picture as well as the model being styled very differently on each side of the body. Two things came from this: the idea of duality, and a reference (Dark City) dealing with the notion of two opposites residing together.

Due to this influence, we then narrowed down our ideas and came up with revised mood boards depicting the psychological aspects of films which also exhibited the idea of duality such as Blue Velvet, Donnie Darko and Fight Club. We also started thinking about the American Dream after exploring films like Blue Velvet and American Beauty thinking about the notion of duality within them.

 

After this we decided to work with the idea behind the American Dream and focus on the facade behind it. How everything seems perfect but behind closed doors it is a very different story. We thought about what would be involved in our set f we went down this route. We decided fairly early on that we would build a dining room, and have a female model who would be the housewife looking after the home. We created more mood boards from this point focussing more on fashion and character and also the period of the 50s and what the home would look like in this decade. The look of the model became important as we decided we wanted a false look; doll like and awkward.

After this we considered the composition of our photograph and what would be included. Originally we wanted a whole family around the table. However we realised this would cause more difficulties due to sourcing the right models and especially because children would be involved as well as possibly crowding the image.

We then considered the use of mannequins to reinforce the awkwardness and doll-like look to contribute to the false perfection behind the concept of the American Dream. From this we ended up researching the aesthetics of the Nuclear Towns designed for experimentation and analysis of the effect of nuclear bombs in which mannequins were used.

These are what we used as our final visual references to achieve the right aesthetics for our concept having developed from all the influences we had from the beginning and honed in on what we felt was strong. We tried to make our set look like a real home, just as the nuclear homes were designed t seem real and why mannequins were placed within. Having been unable to source a mannequin we directed our model to seem fake, like a doll or a mannequin with awkward limbs and a strange posture with a distant gaze.

As well as this, we wanted to involve the outside with the interior and we used these photographs as inspiration and references for creating a similar look in our set with the juxtaposition between this strange occurrence - sand entering the house from the desert with what is seemingly normal and everyday life for the housewife.

Fashion: constructed image - Our Concept (updated)

Originally written by Joe Borsos.

For our constructed image we decided that we wanted to look at the element of duality. We started with this idea so that we could construct a more complex narrative to portray interlaced binary opposites. This lead us to construct our narrative around the ‘American Dream’.

The concept of showing this idea of a duality to the American Dream, is to use the stereotypical signifiers of the ‘perfect American lifestyle’ but our narrative would subtly also portray the extreme ‘dark side’ to this concept of ‘American Perfection’.

The visual focus of this shoot will be tailored predominately to the 1950’s America. We made this choice as the high point of the American Dream and it’s most iconic propaganda campaigns are post world war II, starting in the late 40’s and 50’s.

Our set build will be of the typical 1950’s family dining room, as the dining room is the heart of the family life. It is where the family meet every day, to share their home cooked meal and bond together.
Looking at the concept of ‘Blue Velvet’, there is the idea that behind the white picket fence, past the perfect mowed lawn, there exists an incredibly dark and twisted life that is hidden from the world behind this mask of consumerism.

Our narrative will look at the American mother, as the mother is the one that keeps the house clean and in perfect order and prepares the meal to hold the family together. Our perfect American mother however, will be replaced by a lonely woman gone insane and delusional through her obsession with the ‘American Dream’; desperately attempting to pursue this. She has set up the full family dining room ready for dinner but she has no family. She has masked herself and life in the products of the American Dream to the extent where even her skin and posture will appear fake, and constructed, to show a loss of the human side to this consumerists’ dream.

Looking at other films like ‘American Beauty’, ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘Fight Club, we wish to take their concepts of obsession with possessions, with the material objects, and in this action the possessions consume the consumer, and they lose sight of meaning in their self identity until they are no longer human. Another visual and concept film reference is 'Donnie Darko' for it's physiological aspects much like that of 'Fight Club'.

We will move away from the concepts of photographer’s like Gregory Crewdson and take elements of the lighting concepts of Finaly Mckay, where everything is lit meticulously to eliminate all shadows, making the person appear plastic.

Fashion: constructed image - Our Concept (Film)

Since being assigned the brief for our constructed fashion image project, we have been developing our idea and researching concepts for a week now.

We spent 2 days producing A2 mood boards full of visual references that related to our chosen category - film. We had a range of images involved in our findings from black and white surrealist film stills to fashion images of Tim Walkers' to a number of images involving hoarding and collections dealing with the obsessive side of personalities. Having such a vast range of references was good and bad. We had a bigger choice but then we had to narrow it down a lot to what we really wanted our image to be about.

Upon displaying our presentation on Friday, we have realised we still need to make a lot of decisions about our narrative, aesthetics and the general photographic choices we will employ for our final image. We will also refine our idea, which is explained in our presentation below:

video coming

Researching Thomas Struth

Some of Thomas Struth's photographs really appeal to me visually. Perhaps the sharp, striking black and white structures of the cityscapes and scenes seemingly devoid of life are what makes them eye catching and engage me as a viewer. It seems he photographs a few different subjects but sticks to only these - jungle-like scenes, black and white streets, and groups of people. 

My impression of Struth's city scenes majorly contradicts thoughts about his shots of people: "he captures people observing and therefore we connect with people and places he portrays". It is known that through photographs he attempts to show the relationship between people and their modern day environment. In some it seems there is no relationship.

These photos are part of his earlier work where he has drawn great influence from Bernd and Hilla Becher in the typographical sense. A difference I notice is that I see some emotion in Struth's work, even if only slight, and The Becher's weren't interested in that aspect at all.

A technical choice Struth uses for his photographs is not focussing on and drawing attention to a certain part of the photograph. This causes a large depth of field; everything is sharp and nothing is blurred.

"His work is a sensitive and ample vision of reality without artificial techniques which would divert viewers from the real meaning that the photograph has to communicate."

This analysis relates his simple way of taking photographs to how he wants people to read them simply; read what they are communicating without unnecessary distractions to "divert viewers from the real meaning". The use of the lexis "has to communicate" in particular proves the photograph is making a point. Struth wants to get this point across in his photographs easily. As the saying goes: what you see is what you get. It is a recording of reality.

My favourite photograph of the three is the first. It is the most interesting in my opinion and really attracts my attention. The contrast probably contributes to this which the last photo is somewhat lacking and it seems flatter in general in comparison. Compositionally I can really appreciate the symmetry. Although it's not perfect it seems better this way - much more natural. Complete symmetry would transform the photographs notion - it would seem less realistic and Struth is telling a story through it's theoretical simplicity. There is still a sense of real balance and the proportional lines and textures all make the photograph really nice to look at and explore. How the car draws you in, manages not to through off the balance and doesn't detract from the rest of the photograph is really effective and in my eyes, makes the image very successful. I like the sense of desertion and how the image seems devoid of life or at least like time has stopped (the stationary car waiting at the stop sign) but not in an eerie or uncomfortable way. It just seems calm.

There are some obvious similarities which each of the three photograph's of Struth's share; some of which I have mentioned already. These are:

• the large depth of fields to cause everything to have equal rights within the images
• the proportional lines and accurately portrayed structure of the buildings
• the flat and uninteresting sky (similar to the Becher's work)
• and most of all, the streets fading into the distance drawing your eyes with them - the dominating sense of perspective

Reflection on Processing - B&W and colour

Before learning how to print, I was shown how to process my negatives (of which I have learnt how to do 35mm, medium format and large format now).

I was given a proper induction on the medium format which seems to be the hardest of the three. This was the first format of film I processed. I had someone in the darkroom to help me and they were definitely needed. I took the sticker off my roll of film before I entered the dark room and I was glad I did this because it wasn't an easy job. When I got into the room it was hard to place myself. I was confused where I was facing and when it came to finding the bin I struggled and then thought it was the paper I was holding while looking for it but I had the film in my hand.

I hole punched the end of the film easily enough and putting the feeder on the end was easy but it was a bit of a struggle to take the tape off the end of the roll because I was trying to be careful. Putting the film in the machine was also simple enough when I knew where it had to go and to put the rest of the roll on the velvet patch while it was waiting to be pulled in.

My negatives came out great. The exposure looked good on all of them excluding one which was quite bright and each was in focus. Despite having some trouble in the darkroom because it was my first time I think I can do it again next time with some confidence.

Since then I have developed my own rolls of 35mm film (colour) which I find a little tricky and have had help with but hope next time I can do it on my own. Most recently I have processed large format film which I find is the easiest and fastest.