Thursday 14 May 2020
Tuesday 12 May 2020
Unit 31: research
Brief
For unit 31, you will create a photography 'zine, in a digital or a physical format.
A 'zine is a low budget, self published magazine. They typically thrived before the internet exploded and blogs and social media overtook them in terms of popularity and ease of production.
'Zines are awesome, because there is absolutely no barrier to entry. No matter what topic you wish to create a zine on, you can do it! And since typically only a few copies will be published or made, there are no real financial implications.
'Zines were traditionally hand constructed and duplicated using photocopiers. A zine can simply be made out of a single sheet of paper, or can be much more complicated.
For this project, you will be making a photography 'zine. You will have complete freedom as to what kind of photography you make.
Possibly my favourite photographer of all time is the Japanese Street Photographer Daido Moriyama. In the early 70's, he self-published a series of photography 'zines called Record. He did this because it was easier than getting his work in galleries.
Moriyama's photography is grainy, gritty, and super high contrast. Shooting what was available to him, with the cheapest camera he could get his hands on, he didn't care about technique or traditional ways of constructing an image. The result is filthy, challenging, dreamlike and utterly wonderful.
Moriyama worked with limitations, and this is what makes his work so amazing. His shots are frequently out of focus, 'badly' exposed, and with the contrast pushed much higher than is typically considered acceptable. His subject matter, of shop window displays, confused looking people, and grimy corners, is also highly atypical. He takes pictures because he has to, and, almost 90 years old, he can still be seen walking around Tokyo, now using an out-of-date digital camera to take images of what he loves.
For this unit, you will be working under extreme limitations, especially if you are completing it during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020. You may have a camera, but it is more likely that you will be using a camera phone. You will also legally not be able to go far from your house. You are stuck where you are. You will need to work with these limitations to produce something amazing. I don't care how 'bad' your equipment is: for this project you will embrace these limitations.
Research
You should be consistently be exposing yourself to new and challenging media. Art, be it a painting or a film or a videogame has the potential to alter the way in which we see the world and to challenge our preconceptions of life, love and society.
You will research photographers, starting with the examples below. Your goal is to find photographers that inspire you. Please spend this week researching photographers to find out what makes you tick. Your zine can be in any style and on any subject, so start off with the greats, and work from there.
Save all of your research! It will be going in to a new PowerPoint very soon.
Though the images here are all 'worksafe', please remember that when researching the artists featured, you may come across more challenging images that feature depictions of nudity.
Unlike art, there are fewer specific 'movements' in the history of photography. This is for two major reasons: photography has often been seen as a poor cousin to fine art, and has seen less classifications as a result. Additionally, photography is a relatively new medium, and has only really been viable for around 130 years.
Photography has exploded in terms of popularity, and it punctuates every aspect of our lives, from adverts, to fashion, to art, to recreation, to social media. Below you will find some examples of photographers of a range of different styles to inspire you.
Daido Moriyama
Martin Parr
Joel Meyerowitz
David Baily
Guy Bourdin
Richard Billingham
Man Ray
Wim Wenders
Steven Shore
Cindy Sherman
Barbara Kruger
Michael Collins :)
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