Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark was a photographer who prided herself on her street photography and was best known for her photojournalism and documentary photography, among much more.

The Guardian collected a few of Mary Ellen Mark's "legendary photographs" to present an article commemorating the photographer after her death in 2015.
The article features this statement:
The award-winning photographer, who has died aged 75, was famed for her documentary work and intimate portraits, always regarding herself as a street photographer. 

The statement suggests that maybe you can say a lot about a person in a few short words.

Along with her street photography, she also created photo series' including self portraits, portraits of others, including celebrities such as Johnny Depp and also series' looking at her family. The photographer had so much credit to her name before she died, showing just how much she cared for her craft.

The Photographer 

Streetwise, which became a documentary film directed by the
photographers husband, Martin Bell.

Ward 81

Twins

A Week in the Life of a Homeless Family

One of the intersting things about Mary Ellen Mark is how diverse she is. It is also intersting to see that despite how varied the work is, I am still able to make comparisons to so many of her projects and series'.
While most of her work is about the human form, where she has situated and photographed the subjects is just as important. She selects her locations to compliment the subject and this is where my interest in the photographer lies.
It would defninitely be interestign to explore this careful consideration further with my own experiementation and primary photographs.


Mary Ellen Mark's website
The Guardian's article

Fay Godwin

I discovered the photographer Fay Godwin when looking at landscape artists and forms in the landscape. The photographer was suggested to me by a peer. I went on to research the artist and found her series Our Forbidden Land to be most interesting. The photo series features spaces, natural land, that features something human: be it a man-made structure or the human form itself.
My favourite works from theseries, those which stand out to me, are the following:

The ways in which Godwin photographs these locations perfectly relates to the ideas of forbidden land, suggesting isolated areas, bu mostly those which have been cordoned off. Even the self portrait of the shadow in the water has a similar idea, with the reflection unable to go further than the waters edge. 

Godwin also photographed portraits, again using black and white film. These are rather close up portraits however, almost like headshots. A lot of them do seem rather casual however, as though the photographer has caught them at a moment in their lives; captured something about the person as they going about their day to day activities and tribulations.

It is interesting to see the flexibility in this photographer, while still being able to gain a sense of her style within each of the different photo series'.

I found an article featured on the Guardian website that looked at and discusses Godwin's work and exploring her life.



https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/jan/08/margaret-drabble-fay-godwin

Chris Killip

Chris Killip is a photographer who reminds me slightly of George Shaw. I know him best for his industrial portraits and I believe this is where the similarities lie.
Killip created the photo series In Flagrante.

The thing that separates Killip and Shaw is Killip's use of the human form, to compliment his industry in an oddly successful juxtaposition.
The use of young children using the estates as playgrounds, contrasted with the serious adult workers creates much more contrast, which again, only heightens the significance of the series.

"You didn't have to be a genius to realise how important it was to get in and photograph it before it all fell apart." Killip allows us to understand the fragility of both the location and the community with this statement, and his photographs only prove this further.
The images are beautiful in strange and perplexing ways. It should be discomforting to see the breakdown of a person *, but the vulnerability that Killip is able to capture makes this beauty.

*

It is certainly intersting to see how Killip captured people in the most appropriate landscape that was able to bring together every quality and characteristic of the location he selected and this is something very important to look to in my own project.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/11145782/Chris-Killip-In-Flagrante.html?frame=3064309

George Shaw

After looking at human interaction with nature, through beginning to explore my visuals from a trip to Hull, I wanted to  move onto the idea of how we interfere. This came to mind when considering The Deep. It is not so much interaction as it is interference; paying to see animals who must remain in the same tank for the rest of their lives, seeing humans pushing their faces into their "homes". I wanted to include more of this idea about how we alter the nature we live alongside.

I moved my attention away from the animals and took myself off to the man-made, looking back at the images I took at the very beginning of the project.
This led me straight to George Shaw, who works a lot with structures and also memories. I did feature Shaw in my previous project also, and still see his relevance now. Like Turner and Schiele, Shaw is an artist I seem to find influencing me wherever my projects turn.
In the post I made looking at the artist last project, I featured a video on Estate of Mine, an exhibition Shaw put on to display his home.

There is something very inspiring about the modest (possibly too much so) artist, who creates such stories and atmosphere with the locations he presents, that are so poignant to him.

Shaw uses this short documentary to explain briefly about some of the works, making them all the more appealing.

I intend to look further into the artists work again to uncover how I can work with the ideas and themes of industry.

Michael Raedecker

Michael Raedecker creates beautifully simple images, focusing mainly on very simple line, most commonly working on to canvas or linen. Raedecker doesn't just paint and draw the images however, he also sews into them in order to complete them. He will work in acrylic and use additions of thread to conclude the detail. 

The juxtaposition of the structures and the hand sewn threads make the images so interesting, as well as how they remain with the unfinished style. I am particularly fond of the third image, of how he has suggested water through the subtle gradients of coloured threads. 

This has made me consider how to work with my images from the previous post, by threading into a painting, or even into the photo itself. 

In looking at Raedecker, I also came across another artist at the same time. I found the artist as a suggested page on Instagram. Jane Carkill, who goes by the username @lamblittle produces beautifully embroidered pieces, mainly of animals, but she also paints her images. 

I was interested by her way of working, painting first and then working over the top .

Not only does this come to mind when I think of Raedecker, but it also reminds me again of Anselm Kiefer and his heavily mixed media art. 

Jane Carkill's Instagram page

It will be interesting the explore working in this manner to see what I am able to produce. 

On Location: Hull

I made a visit to Hull last weekend and took in my surroundings, exploring the location. I stopped with a friend who is at the University there so I was treated to visits to small gems I would not have found on my own and also trips to the tourist locations. I wanted to look to The Deep, with ideas of human interaction with nature, but in an obtuse sort of way. How are we really connected to the animals there when they are separated, in an unnatural environment, by thick panes of glass.
I found interest in working here, photographing and also work in my location sketchbook.
It was interesting to take myself off to a new location to explore some newer ideas.

I returned home after the weekend with new material to work with, and was interested by the ideas of developing this contrast that I found. I created studies in watercolour but had the idea of doing something more.
The following images were my favourites. I felt they were the most effective in achieving the ideas I had behind the visit.

I wanted to explore the contrast and so I feel that these are definitely the most effective images to use in order to try and achieve this. 

Schiele Study with Line

In looking at Schiele, I turned my attention to making the human figure a part of the landscape, rather than just featuring in it. I looked at line drawing again, pulling in figures and trees to make one continuous drawing across two lengths of card. I considered then drawing back Schiele, incorporating  some of his work in with my own.

First experiment, looking at the pairing of human line and
nature. 

Incorporating my Schiele fine liner studies
with another study from a photograph of
mine.

Incorporating my Schiele fine liner studies
with another study from a photograph of
mine.

The initial drawing made onto tracing paper
to sit on top of the Schiele studies.

I used the drawings featured in this post to work with on the experiments.  

Working with line and colour in a further
Schiele study from my own visuals.

Egon Schiele

Shiele is forever an inspiring artist to me and so I began to work in line and sporadic colour, inspired by his works.
In looking to Schiele, I took out two books on the artist:
"Egon Schiele Sketchbooks"  and "Egon Schiele and His Contemporaries"

#1 Egon Schiele Sketchbooks

#2 Egon Schiele and His Contemporaries  

The second was more relevant as it showed an array of works, rather than just sketches that his sketchbooks evidently served. It also showed me into the works of his contemporaries, as the title states, looking to the likes of Klimt and Kokoschka, giving me further avenues to explore.

Human Interaction

Following on from the photos and experiments produced around the landscape and the introduction of the human figure, I thought to look further into the human involvement: how much are we involved, what roles do we play and how many ways are there to indicate this?

I decided to look into artists who feature the human form in their locations and landscape work and my main links came from Peter Doig, Sidney Goodman, Gerhard Richter and Constable.
Doig, Richter and Constable are three artists I have previously looked at, but I discovered Goodman only within this project, in looking for artists who pair human and nature. There is something almost harrowing about the way Goodman's figures glare out from their home environments and day-to-day lives. Incorporating the figures seems to be something that I could work with myself.

Sidney Goodman 

Sidney Goodman

Peter Doig is another interesting artist. His paintings are almost fantastical, expressing the space with colour and depth. So many of Doig's paintings feature figures as a part of the location.They are not made to be more or less important - they are equally in the piece. 

Peter Doig

Peter Doig 

Constable paints a lot of landscape scenes, but he does occasionally feature a figure or a number of people. Like Doig, they sit within an already in depth landscape, without having one element overriding the other. 

Constable

Constable

Gerhard Richter has something so very exciting about his compositions. In some cases, there is something haunting to them; how the figures sit so small in such a vast space, that is the landscape he situates them in. Even without the figures, there is something ominous about the open, empty space Richter introduces. I looked to "Gerhard Richter. Landscapes" in order to get a stronger sense of the artist and his practice. 

Gerhard Richter
Landscapes

Hockney 2.0

In considering the interesting ideas brought about by an article on David Hockney, featured and briefly discussed in my previous post, I developed on the idea of looking to eyesores myself.
I was drawn to the industrial estate situated at the end of my village.

There is something in these isolated photos of rather mundane, heavily industrialised buildings that could have the potential to become something.

On Location: A Local Village + David Hockney

Tealby. A quaint little village surrounded by extensive green fields and countryside. I took my camera along to the village I would otherwise be unaware of if I did not have family living there and photographed around. I captured images extensively of trees and land but had the occasional photo that featured something other. One was an image that featured my grandmother who was getting out the car as a took a photo of the trees behind her.
There was something in this photo that I began to explore, over all the other photography I gathered that day. I worked on a style and looked to line drawing to keep the ideas simple.

I then moved on to explore the experiment in colour and worked in oil paint. Once I was finished, the bold, blocky colour reminded me of David Hockey's wondrously coloured landscape paintings.
I began to delve more into research on the artist and came across a rather interesting article by the telegraph.

Comments such as "eyesore" and "almost industrial" are not the kind you would expect to be associated with Hockney's rainbow landscapes, and so I read on to find that in fact, the locations selected by the artist were not the glamorous, idealistic images he produced, but instead the very scenes of eyesores and industry.
This definitely puts a new perspective on the works and creates another possibility in my developing project.









http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/9054362/David-Hockney-landscapes-in-reality-more-like-rubbish-tips.html

Where to begin

My previous projects have centred around landscapes and I have looked a lot at location work, finding it very useful in relation to my practice.
I definitely intend to follow this into my final major project: documenting, visiting, exploring. I can only hope it will take me to some exciting places and provide me with the right kind of inspiration.

As of now, I have decided to take myself out to different locations to explore. I want to look close to home, for things I may have missed before, but also try and discover new areas of inspiration. As university is my next step, it is important for me to be actively out exploring all that is available to me.

I decided to begin the project by looking at the landscape, the environment around us and the way in which we live in the world and how we interact with it. Primary research was my main focus here, and I will move towards relevant artist research.
I began by looking at spaces and the colours within them, which led me to colour studies, along with exploring different textures.

ANSELM KIEFER
Anselm Kiefer is an artist I admire for his fascinating practice. Each and every artwork produced by the artist holds so much atmosphere and intensity, something I would love to try and achieve myself. I went on and experimented with the artist as reference, looking at online sources and also thumbing excitedly through "Anselm Kiefer. Salt of the Earth", a book that showed and discussed a particular exhibition of the artists, of the same name.
It is definitely exciting to view all of the work put into the exhibition, again taking note of the display and curation involved, as well as admiring the artwork I only wish I could have witnessed first hand.

Anselm Kiefer
Salt of the Earth

Artwork from the exhibition,
also featured in the book.

Artwork from the exhibition,
also featured in the book.

Exploring this artist in more depth has encouraged me to look to curation and also to ideas of texture and mixed media, which can even be included in a simple painting. 

Texture and colour definitely stand out with this artist, as well as atmosphere and intention.