gendercop3blog - Tumblr blog

[gendercop3blog]

Within my practicle responce there are many things i wish i could have done but did not get the time. i wish i got the time to do more location shoots as they can offer a whole new contextual playground of ideas. There is one particular image i have looked at and referenced within this blog of transgender swimsuits, i would have really liked to styled and set up a shoot just like this but playing on the idea of the manequin body and masculinity. 

I also wish i collaborated with more fashion photographers within my practice. despite asking some photographers to work with me our schedules never seemed to match up apart from with Harsimran Sahota, a female photographer at LAU. i didn’t really like most of these images as the models poses were too forced on the majority of the pictures. it was really hard to chose pictures and refine my practice as it was my very first shoot and i was still uncertain of the direction i wanted to take. This experience of not liking my pictures was the driving force to me photographing the rest of my shoots and not being too fussed when other photographers were not available. i am fairly proficient behind the camera from previous studies of the subjects at other institutions and the pictures i took were really nice.

With the first shoot i did with Harsimra taking the pictures i wanted to edit them like they were taken on traditional celluloid. I then went on to take pictures of Emmanuelle with my own film camera but i was not very good and didn’t want to jeopardise the rest of my project by my own personal experiments with film. i wish i could have used more film photography in my work or partnered with a photography student that was proficient in film photography. This is something i could develop through into extended practice. i decided not to carry on editing my shoots like they were taken on film because i didn’t think it fit the aesthetic of my other shoots and it worked out better for the images to be clearer.

Overall, i am extremely happy with the way my practice has developed throughout context of practice 3 as well as the editing of my images to fit within my publication and be a driving force behind the realisation that masculinity is more than just being a manly man. masculinity is a more fluid motion of acceptance to all men, women, and other defined.

ultimately, I have created images that i am proud to show to potential employers within my portfolio of work. These images could even potentially be submitted to boys by girls magazine as part of their call for submissions that is mentioned in my essay. This as well as entering my work into various GFW competitions would be a great way to expose my work.

[gendercop3blog]

Masculinity: A New Dawn /Extending my practice

My publication, masculinity: a new dawn, is a visual exploration of masculinity in its many different forms. This publication questions masculinity through the use of photoshoots, styling, and imagery. i called it Masculinity: a new dawn, to draw attention to the new era and generation of more fluid and accepting masculinity. with the use of this fluid styling, colour and concepts these images are able to relate to Jean Bulliards theory that the body is a mannequin for fashion. No matter how you want to identify yourself you can present yourself as a ‘new’ self through the way in witch you dress. This self could be presented digitally via social media or in the real world. 

i believe this work can be further explored through extended practice as i felt like i only just got going looking into gender stereotypes as children. i liked the concept of abolishing gender specific dress and making design more fluid. i could show this in the styling of images and use more gender specific clothing such as flares and hats and jewellery to emphasise boys dressed as girls. i would love to extend my practice to using child models dressed up in womens clothes in their bedrooms. this is like taking someone that hiding something and exposing it to the world, like many people do after keeping their gender complications secret for years (best example is caitlyn jenner, formally Bruce Jenner who transitioned at the age of 66 ). developing this idea from the age of a child could aid in the acceptance of gender dysmorphia at a young age. I didnt really have enough words to go into this in my essay and to really explain the point i wanted to make in regards to developing my practice.

These are pictures from my publication, Masculinity: A New Dawn. This copy was printed at hobbs repos in Leeds city center. i had the copy perfect bound. the cover was printed on 280gsm and the inner was printed on 160gsm. i think this copy looks a lot better than the copy i got printed from maxim print as the perfect bound makes it look a lot more professional and the paper stock seems to be of a higher quality. This is the copy i will be handing in to be marked.

[gendercop3blog]

Instagram screenshots of me posting work

[gendercop3blog]

Maxim Publication Printing

Maxim Print have sent me 3 copies of my magazine despite ordering 2 because they ruined one of the corners and binding is off.

Some of the colours  eg. the front cover, have come out slightly red in pigment despite changing it to CNYK. other than that i am happy with the asthetic of the magazine.

I thought the paper stock would be more of a difference, eg the cover would be in a heavyer weight but i like the finish of the paper

it will be interesting to see what the Hobbs copy will look like.

In these pictures i have shown what the dodgey copy lookes like

[gendercop3blog]

publication printing

i have sent my publication to be printed at both Hobbs and Maxim print.

i oringially sent it off at maxim print but they would not let me get it perfect bound because it needed 48 pages instead of 32 so i went to Hobbs where they could perfect bind it with 32 pages. 

At hobbs i picked 250gms for the front cover and 160gsm for the inside with a matt finish silk paper. i chose this paper because i think it will look professional and work best with my publications asthetic. 

other magazines ive researched such as another magazine had a laminated cover and it has started to peel. i dont want this to happen to my magazine hence why i have chosen a matt finish.

i will see witch one i like better and then hand the best copy in for hand in.

[gendercop3blog]

FINISHED PUBLICATION GETTING SENT OFF TO PRINT ON MAXIM PRINTING

[gendercop3blog]

Favorite page in my publication

i love this page in my publication because it really plays on de-gendering the playground and the drawing really cohesively fits with the photograph and gains prospective. Boys and girls should not be an enforced gender steriotypes, all inclusive attitudes should be gained when it comes to children. 

WHAT ARE LITTLE BOYS MADE OF ? snips and snails and puppy dog tails? 

[gendercop3blog]

publication decisions

i thought this page looked quite bland, as you can see from this first image, i have already previously scanned in some polaroids of flowers and i thought it would be a good idea to fill the blank space on this page as well as play on the work masculinity as flowers are considered feminine. 

i played with the colour and composition of the word masculinity and re scanned the polaroids as they were not high quality enough from my original scan and i did not want them to print pixilated in my publication.

i also changed the colour of the world masculinity to a purple because it matched the flowers and also purple is seen as a female colour so i wanted to play on the stereotype.

re scans of flowers in better quality - 400dpi

[gendercop3blog]

Decisions within my publication

Sometimes its hard to just chose a colour. in the end i chose this dark brown becasue i felt it popped the most as well as complimented Tylers skin tone.

i asked john to write what masculinity/ gender meant to him. john was one of the models within my shoots and i wanted a male perspective on masculinity and its implications as men cant really relate to what a woman is saying on masculinity when women havent experienced it. 

[gendercop3blog]

Publication: In the making

I have started making my publication to get printed, for this i have correlated the best images taken from all of my shoots that convey the correct meaning for the magazine/ publication. 

i want the magazine to be a visual journal of modern day masculinity with the caption being this... 

Masculinity: A New Dawn is a visual journal whereby the beauty of the contemporary man is explored through a female perspective. This, coupled with a strong belief that gender can move beyond the binary, allows masculinity to be deconstructed in the wake of the modern man. 

i think the shoots featured in this magazine/ publication offers a new and unique perspective on what it means to be a man, from provocative poses often associated with female models, styling and the concept behind the shoot. This paired with unique perspectives (written note on masculinity and childlike drawing) offer a cohesive publication aimed at defying gender stereotypes and offering a new perspective on masculinity within modern society.

Here are some of the stages of publication editing i went though...

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

STAGE 4

[gendercop3blog]

Mini shoot

i wanted some extra images for my publication so i sourced two models i have used previously (John and Tyler) to do a shoot. i used the same clothes that i had for the playground shoot as that shoot was initially supposed to be for two models. 

i styled Tyler in yellow pants and a yellow vest with a red jumper on top and john with black pants and a black top with a yellow jumper on top so both boys looked cohesive yet not overly colourful against the coloured backdrop. 

i was unsure weather this shoot would be publication-worthy or would just act as more of a test shoot to see how the two models would work together / how the clothing would work together but i like the images i have taken and think they make the publication really pop.

i wish both models were available when i did the playgournd shoot as i think both john and tyler could have really worked well together and their appearances would have been quite contrasting and worked well within the images.

Here are my contact sheets and refined selection of images

Here are some drawings i did to go with the playground shoot and this colourful shoot that draw back to childhood gender stereotypes...

it is supposed to represent a childs drawing even though it is drawn by me. i drew it using pastles and my non dominant hand. i wanted it to show two gender non descript/ non binary figures (are not obviously male or female). the words BOYS and GIRLS being crossed out represents the abandonment of imposing gender on children (this can go back to the poem about what little boys and little girls are made of as referenced in my essay). instead EVERYONE is inclusive and fluid and no matter what the gender EVERYONE can partake in whatever activity they want, weather that be playing with dolls or riding a bike.

i am going to put this  drawing in my publication to reference the childhood stereotyping and hopefulness of fluidity (or at least not gender imposing) at a young age.

Below is an image from the childrenslibrary.com documenting an old musical copy of the poem, what are little boys made of this poem is the main inspiration for this shoot. it is interesting seeing the next verse for this song, stating...

‘What are young men made of?... sighs and leers and crocodile tears’

The song goes on to imply that men are the less empathetic, less desirable sex. the term crocodile tears implying that these men are fake as their tears or expressions of sorrow that are insincere. Mens ‘sighs and leers’ are thier expression of impatience and compulsion to objectify others. Where as women are compared to 

‘Ribbon and lace and sweet pretty faces’.

implying that they are soft, sultry and good to look at.

How are these terms of disrespect and unadornment placed in a CHILDRENS poem? being told this at a young, formative age can only condition children in to believing that their self worth and presence is determined on things set out to them in nursery rhymes such as this. Within my publication i am challenging these gender misconceptions and developing a new attitude for gender as mentioned by other practitioners.

Theorys for this are presented in my essay.

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPage?bookid=crababy_00870024&pnum1=19&twoPage=false&route=simple_0_0_music_English_0&size=14&fullscreen=true&lang=English&ilang=English

[gendercop3blog]

Magazine Research

I have been looking at magazines for ideas of layout and composition. My favorite  of witch is KINFOLK magazine. I really like its layout choices  and think overal the magazine is really aesthetically pleasing. The magazine plays around with both tactile scans and photographic images witch i was hoping to do throughout my publication. 

I have gone through various issues of the magazine and found the pages i see the best fit for my zine. weather that be image composition to overall layout.

[gendercop3blog]

Really interesting video on the gender steriotypes of Pink and Blue. 

this could help me base a shoot

i would not have time to make a video like this ‘gender poem’ but that could be something to thin about when considering this topic for extended practice

[gendercop3blog]

Photoshoot in playground

i wanted to do this shoot with 2 models and with a photographer but 1 model and the photographer canceled last minute so i took these images myself on my friends camera.

I think ideals of gender are forced into us when we are children, being told this is what boys do or this is what girls do, with no in-between or surrounding. this ideas ultimately stems back to the poem mentioned in my essay about boys and girls. 

i wanted to remove gender from the playground whilst still keeping a sence of childishness within the images. The model choice was important for this shoot as i wanted the model to be not overly masculine or feminine. I cast John as my model, a model i have discussed using previously in this blog. He was a good choice as his hair is long for a boy and he isn't scared to be effeminate whilst modelling.

im happy with how the images turned out but i wish it was sunny! the sun went in just as we started taking these photos and loads of kids descended onto the park about half way through so it became more difficult to achieve the perfect shot.

Styled and photographed by me

Assistant, Freya Marchel

Model, John Shields

[gendercop3blog]

Playground shoot concept board

In my essay i have talked about Grayson Perry and his deduction of the nursery rhyme that compares girls to sugar and spice and all things nice and boys to snips and snales and puppy dog tales. this imposes the gender stereotypes enforced on us at a young age. i want to go back to the most natural childhood habitat of a playground. a place that holds many fond memories of freedom. i want to impose the female gaze and use fluid styling to go back to the natural state of childhood. with childlike poses and action shots. i also want the images had subtle hints of sexualisation like my other images.

I have ordered these clothes from asos, i wanted the clothing to br bright to play on the brightness and childlike fun of a playground and gender fluid in their nature - something that could be seen on both an apparent male and female without being considered stereotypically one gender. i have ordered enough clothes for 2 models in order to play on the concept of masculinity in old renesance and royal paintings

[gendercop3blog]

Collaboration

Make sure to message Jess for a collaboration over christmas!! possibly do this with the playground shoot

UPDATE: this photographer could not shoot at the last minuite  so i had to do the shoot myself

[gendercop3blog]

IDEA LIST

- Photoshoot at a park, i want this to go back to what grayson perry says about masculinity constructs being developed when we are children. by man immitating children in fluid clothing we are defying the constructs imposed on us whilst imposing the female gaze

- LOOK AT GENDER SWIMWEAR PICTURES ON THIS BLOG (SCROLL DOWN), these images are really nicly composed. i like the idea of the fruit being the feminine construct within these images. with minimal styling and over sexualise poses i could tie this in with the shoot i do with John. sexualising men in the bedroom

-Shaving shoot! what is a thing that from boyhood to manhood is almost a right of passage? shaving. i want to sexualise the act of shaving but only slightly and through facial expression not poses

-COLLAGE, make sure to make collages from your images, dont just have them as images RE- MAKE THEMMMM! challenge perception and the concept of your work