Brassai.
Brassai uses average, everyday objects that can be seen by anyone; for example, playing cards and toothpaste. He manipulates these objects by either zooming in or increasing the contrast and brightness to alter the way it appears. This makes it difficult to see what the object is, and allows people to have their own opinions and interpretations on the images, creating a surreal effect of uncertainty. The simplicity of the objects that he chooses adds greatly to the impact that they have- something so basic can be transformed into something that plays intensely with the mind of the audience. An example of this is the picture on the left hand side which I interpreted as some kind of seed, it is in fact toothpaste- this shows how the images are open for interpretation and allow you to have your own understanding of them. This is typical of Brassai's style as he takes an ordinary object and makes it appear out of the ordinary by simply changing the way the object is captured- not changing the object itself. His work has influenced mine as I have taken four images in the style of Brassai, these images allow the audience looking at them to interpret them in a way in which they understand without becoming too unclear as to what type of object it may be.
Brassai's Influence On My Work.
I chose four images out of the 50 that I believe mimic Brassai's work. I created these images by manipulating the contrast, brighness and midtones to achieve four photographs in the style of Brassai. These images have the desired affect of appearing a lot more surreal than they did before they had been edited, with much more depth for interpretation as it is not instantly obvious to see what the object within the pictures may be.
For this brief, I took 50 photographs of an object that relate back to my chosen theme- Growth And Decay. I chose to use an old teddy bear as my object to represent my theme as this is an object that has begun to decay as I have grown and gotten older. The ear has started to fall appart and the material of the whole bear is beggning to slightly erode, creating a withered and worn effect. I chose 5 images from these 50 which appeal to me and explained why and how they do this.
One.
This image appeals to me in perticular because the detail of the decaying ear is very obvious and looks quite strange and abnormal- something that would not usually be expected on a teddy bear. It clashes with the softness of the material of the rest of the bear and creates an interesting contrast which catches my eye and grabs my attention. |
Three.
This image is one of my favourite of the 50 that I took. This is partly because of the shape that is created by the angle of the camera and the position of the bear- a very rounded and smooth shape has been captured. Also, the stitching and seames create dark grooves in the material- breaking harshly through the soft shape of the bear. The lable at the bottom also relates back to my chosen topic of growth and decay- you can see that it is beginning to fray and become dishevilled as it has aged. |
Four.
When I first saw this image, my attention was immediately drawn to the smooth curves of the folded material that cuts right through the subtle colours of the rest of the subject. These create three obvious, black shadows which stand out harshly against the other monotones of beige and pale browns. |
Five.
I love the close up of the face of the bear that has been captured here. The blank, expressionless look alows the audience to interpret it in a way in which they feel fit- it has no obvious 'purpose' and therefore makes the picture simple and yet very appealing. The simple black, plastic nose and brown stitched eye add to this effect. This also means that this childrens toy could be used by either boys or girls- there is nothing defining it as a toy for a specific gender, adding to the simplicity and effectiveness. |