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Week 7 Visual Response

Postmodernism

“Everything has been done before”

“Postmodernism [artwork] aimed to provoke thought rather than provoke feeling” (Abigail Solomon-Godeau)

This is a series of bags created by Louis Vuitton in collaboration with Jeff Koons, a famous postmodernist artist. This collaboration focuses on the appreciation of “things that came before us.” Jeff Koons also says, “When someone walks down the street with this bag, I would hope that they are carrying it celebrating humanity.” I’m not really sure what exactly he means by this I like how he acknowledges that he is using art made before him, putting it on these bags and these bags are presented as art but are still meant to be used as a bag. 

This is a perfect example of postmodern art. These paintings have been recreated by hand with paint on canvas, then recreated again on the bags with large type on top. The art has been changed but it is recognizable and still read as the original. I think, when someone sees these bags who might not know Jeff Koons collaborated with Loius Vuitton, they would recognize the bags as “the Van Gogh one” or “the Rubens one.”

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24. Ellen von Unwerth

A female fashion photographer known for her “sexy” approach, I am not exactly a fan of how her models are posed in many of her photos. I think that she plays into the objectification of sexualization of women and their bodies in society. But, I can still appreciate her hard work and photographing lighting choices. I enjoy her framing and compositions. I think she uses good locations to shoot her subjects. 

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23. Erika Larsen

This photographer travelled across the united states to seeking children in hunting for over a year. What I found interesting about this series is the way she wrote about it. She didn’t focus on the fact that children this young are handling deadly weapons or the number of shootings that happens in the United States related to children with access to guns... She spoke positively about these children as though they are coming of age and are mature, not glued to their screens or inside playing video games. They are carrying on a tradition that has been passed down generation by generation for centuries. 

Something interesting to note is the fact that these children are all white. There isn’t a focus on native or any other cultural hunting traditions that reside in the United States. I wish there was further exploration of this.

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22. b) Nick Knight

What I love about these is the manipulation done to these photographs. I’d like to know what was done in camera and what was done in post. I like the movement and the details that the viewer is left with. It is all very painterly. 

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22. a) Nick Knight

I wanted to include his photos of flowers because he is so well known for his fashion portraits and models. I thought keeping his photos of flowers shows another side of him and his photography. I paired the flowers with models who are posed and styled in a way that looks as organic as these flowers. I think that they connect well together. This shows that Nick Knight can take his skills as a portrait photographer and apply it to still life... Or it shows his talented exploration of photographing organic still life and applying it to his iconic fashion photographs. 

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21. Alexi Lubomirski

Week 12

I love this photogrpher’s approach to fashion. It isn’t always super serious or a huge production. I like the interesting use of light and shadow in the first and last images. The pink image is cute and simple as well. All of the photos are easy on the eyes and mostly tell some kind of story. My favourite photo is the one of the man in mid air looking down at the woman in the left side of the frame. The way she is holding her coat along with her pose and her connection to the male model in the air is so unique. 

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20. Rineke Dijkstra

This series of portraits on beach feels like a really honest documentation of adolescence. I like the use of both available light and staged light. The poses remind me of the statue of David by Michelangelo. Michelangelo sculpted David as an adolescent boy who is between the stages of child and adult. I think these images have the same look.

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19. Kitra Cahana

This photographer uses an interesting point of view. I feel emerged into the photographer’s surroundings. I like the framing and use of various compositions. I think there is a good documentation and use of shadows and available light. The connection between subject and viewer is there that tells a story. Same with the connection between the subjects too. 

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18. Stephanie Sinclair

This photographer is able to get up and close to her subjects. It feels very intimate. I feel, as the viewer, as if I am part of the experience. I feel a lot of emotions from these characters and actions. It feels very honest and it is kind of a quiet observation of the photographer’s surroundings. 

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17. Caesar Lima

I thinking photographing through glass or windows has been sone so much that it is hard to look different, but this photographer made a successful series out of it. All of his images look different from one-another and are really fun. The last photo I really liked because it reminds me of all of those two page spreads of fashion brands that include a large overall colour shot with one smaller black and white detail. It seems to be trending. 

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16. Nori

I love all of these product shots. I think that are very clean and appealing to clients and consumers. I especially like the first one. I think that is one I could work on and accomplish well if I were to recreate my own version of that.

The last shot reminds me of Irving Penn’s corner series. I don’t like how the text on the product is covered up so much by the other piece in the frame. That is the only thing I would change. I think the corner like this makes the product look really small. I think that’s because the corner is so tight and constrained. 

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15. Peter Garritano

PDN 30

I like this glimpse into another culture’s world. The photographer documented these images in a way that puts you there in the scene without immersing yourself in the activities. He stood back and observed and that is what the viewer is left with. I love the photograph of the two people walking ahead. That photo makes me feel like I am walking behind and observing up close.

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14, Amanda Ringstad

PDN 30

This photographer generally has a very clean approach. The compositions are very simple with usually one object or minimal objects in the frame. She has an overall focus on shape and uses gels and other colour modifying lights to create interesting shape in objects. I think the use of negative space works in some of the photos. In the bottom two, I am happy that she cropped in closer to really focus on the detail of the objects.

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13. Nicholas Calcott

Week 10

PDN 30

These are shots of Metropolitan museum for T magazine. I think this is a beautiful approach to the interiors of this space. He photographed the space to emphasize all of its details. I like how it isn’t super bright and focused only on the documentation of one room at a time. I like how the viewer is able to see into other rooms as the same time. The two middle images are my favourite because they go together so well while being successful images on their own. I like how you get a taste of what it is like in the public area as possibly a tourist and you also get a taste of what it looks like in a storage/archiving room. 

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12. Ian Bates (PDN 30)

I love this soft and clean approach to these photos. They are straight and easy on the eyes. They feel quite lighthearted without ending up looking tacky or stock photo-like. 

I really like the layers all of these photos have. From the foreground, to middle ground all the way to the background. There is a story to be told in all of these with enough room for the viewer to question still. 

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11. Xyza Cruz Bavani (PDN 30)

I love this photographer’s use of the decisive moment in her street photography. It reminds my very much of Cartier-Bresson’s work. I love the story told in each photo. I would love to see these in colour but I love the black and white imagery as well. The light is so beautiful in all of these shots. It isn’t a point & shoot approach but a very carefully chosen moment to capture. 

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10. Bryan Huyhn

Canadian photographer from Toronto. I love the use of shape, line and movement in his photos. The yellow on the bird really matches the yellow on the jacket. That is what makes the composition and styling so successful in the first image. The last image is a really interesting use of light painting that matches the movement of the model.