Since I am always drawn to empty spaces, small details, vibrant/bold colors, and humor, I tried to photograph people in obvious places and in black and white. Taking portraits was initially challenging but interesting as I directly engaged with the object I was photographing. I also tried to broaden my gaze and focus on the entire space before me instead of zeroing in on specific details. Here, my subjects reside within the frame while interacting with the space and forms around them. I made sure to still focus on texture and contrast, but doing so in a more general way that is more obvious to the viewer.
For my final project I am considering working with color film, possibly scanning color positives to print digitally. I want to take a series of images that are of small details, mostly unrecognizable without context and saturated with color. I want to focus on the humor of these details by blowing up my prints to huge proportions so the photograph is about the form, texture, lines, and aesthetic as opposed to knowing what it actually is in the world. I am all about abstraction.
While looking around at other photographers I discovered Uta Barth and Tim Davis. Barth’s photographs are simple, soft, and small with an emphasis on abstraction and simple moments. She also takes many of her photographs out of focus, creating a surreal space of color and shapes that often reveal a single item or thing in focus. This photograph below really resembles many of my shadow photographs. Her photography embodies my interest in abstraction, details, form, and space.
Tim Davis also struck me with his color photographs of isolated images that are bright and sterile yet patterned in such a way that reveals the beauty of abstraction. His work embodies my interest in humor with images that are absurdly disproportionate while aesthetically pleasing and vibrant.
This museum collage series is reminiscent of my statue photograph in an earlier post. I love the shadows, muted colors, and abstract forms that can be found in a concrete and understandable thing like a Greek statue. I am also intrigued by collages and photograph combination. Does this provide the context lacking in a singular image? The juxtaposition between abstraction and concretion is fascinating and challenging.
Kirsten Captures 