Technical Issues Abound
Tonight has been a night of fun and games; scissors that wont cut, tape that doesn’t stick, a light in my studio that turns off every 3 minutes unless I wave at it and finally a printer that refuses to print. It’s just one of those nights.
Continuing work on the Shadow Portraits, I’ve been exploring the confessional concept. I’ve taken some photos of the shadow cut outs and wallpaper tracings with wire mesh placed on top. But perhaps this is making the confessional too obvious for me. What I wanted to do tonight was print this image here back onto the wallpaper, just as I did in the work featured in posts 10 and 11. The photo would then be an image of the wallpaper tracing printed onto the same wallpaper but very small.
I’m hoping my printer gets it together tomorrow or it will be featuring in my next project in pieces.
I think that I have to wrap this project up soon, it’s in danger of becoming dull and I’m itching to work on other things… maybe the 7 day Venn Diagram Painting?
ATM Family Portraits
(a photo series of family portraits taken in unusual locations therefore out of context)
The ATM was dead quiet Sunday afternoon, no-one around; just optimum conditions. In the end I didn’t need a lumo jacket! A car of boy racers where paying too much attention so I took their photo :D.
The photos only took a few minutes, I think that was favourable to the outcome actually. It prevented the photos becoming stale. So far I’ve not done anything at all to edit the image. I’m considering if it’s needed? It’s funny though, I had an image fixated in my head about how this photo shoot would look and really it looks nothing like it; – but I’m pleased with it. Even though I’m wondering what I could have done differently.
A big thanks to my mates for helping me realise this idea. Unfortunately it has spawned more ideas along the same lines. It would be amazing to photograph this family exclusively. I’m thinking where I can snap them next? First thoughts… public/ private toilet, in front of a beery nightclub fight, a seminar… anywhere out of context, that’s crappy or weird.
Shadow Portraits
‘M’as -Tu Vue’ by Sophie Calle has arrived today – a book that I’ve been meaning to get for a long time. Her work fascinates me, she’s nosey and quirky, a brilliant combination.
I’ve been busy remaking Tom’s shadow portrait with old curtain material, it looks like a silky jacquard textile. A cut out in material is floppy (of course) and folds up well so I thought maybe it could go in a box. These photos are so simple but they’re kind of interesting in their own right (thanks for your input David Minton) I hadn’t really seen it that way before.
Other people’s impressions of the previous photos have been an eye opener. At this point in time feedback is absolutely critical to me and much appreciated.
I have to identify what is important about this project, or else it’s likely to go off at a tangent. Is that a good thing? After all, these are self imposed restrictions. Without these rules the project could go on and on and I’m eager to wrap it up. And I don’t want to be a bore.
It’s moved on now from simply being shadow portraits since involving the confessional aspect. Making these kind of decisions are crazy difficult, there’s no right or wrong.
And on with the Shadow Portraits.
This evening I took a full length shadow tracing. I asked my partner to stand next to the wallpaper and whilst I was tracing, to tell me something he hadn’t told me before. Which he did. I’ve decided a confession isn’t for sharing, it’s between myself and the shadow.
Now what to do next with the drawing… I toyed with the notion of recreating it in some way, (after all I have a template), and giving it back to the sitter. I thought of cutting it into silk but research revealed animals are harmed to produce this material (where else did I think it came from??). Browsing through Craft magazine today I noticed a garment made entirely out of spider silk. So, maybe white cotton instead. This requires some exploration.
Now I have a process. Trace the sitter, they confess, I remake their shadow out of something then I give it back to them. Maybe their shadow is some sort of effigy.
And… a genuine thankyou to everyone who has taken time out to read my posts. This blog began as a way to kick start my practice again; a daily post meant that I had to make new work. Years after an M.A, I had lost sight of any ambition or artistic direction but gradually, this blog has morphed into a replacement for a journal, it’s also become a space to work out what to do. For a long time I wondered if my words were just floating in space. It has been so rewarding to be able to engage with other artists; David Riley and Elena Thomas especially. It is difficult to put time aside to write a post everyday, read other posts and comment but it couldn’t be more worth it.
Shadow Portraits
This isn’t a great photo but I kind of like the murky quality. Tom’s shadow tracing is almost indiscernable against the cheapo chip board wallpaper. I asked him to tell me something he hadn’t told anyone else and he couldn’t confess anything save this;
The Rejected Twix or The Twix Stitch Up
“The captain yesterday, he’s a nice fella. When I served the lunch on their third sector I slipped in a Twix bar into his lunch box. Six hours later at the end of the flight at security he said “** are a bit funny about that sort of thing Tom, so I’m giving this Twix bar back to you”. So I had to go through security with this Twix bar in my pocket.”
I was hoping for something a bit juicier than that, so I will have to insist on a confession. Perhaps for each person the confession preceeds the shadow tracing which leads to a silk cut out, perhaps in exchange for secrecy? The tracing should be done whilst the person is talking and this would effect their stance…
Something I hadn’t expected; to be working things out with this blog.
Tonight I will be tracing a full body shadow onto wallpaper. This will give me the template on which to cut the fabric.
In regards to the ATM Family Portraits – I’ve spoken to a policeman and he says they have better things to do than concern themselves with some person taking arty photos next to an ATM. As long as you’re not snapping anyone’s numbers your OK. My friend has volunteered her family so all is looking good and I have a location in mind that I will check out tomorrow.
