Layout Research - John Baldessari

I found this series of photographs in a book of photographers and I liked the way they were laid out. I know the subject matter isn't that relevant but the layout is interesting and backs up the grid system that Sophie Calle's work is shown in.

Image taken from:
http://www.desordre.net/photographie/photographes/robert_frank/baldessari.html

Competiton

The competition I have chosen is '4 New Sensations' which is run through The Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4. I decided on this competition as the brief is quite open and as my work seems to be moving in different directions as it develops I don't want to restrict myself. 
Another reason for choosing this one is because of the potential exposure available to the winner. Channel 4 make a short film about the winner and runners up about their work. There is also a £1000 grant to fund the winner's next project.

Competition research

'4 New Sensations' http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/4ns/


I think that this competition looks good because of the potential prizes ( 2011 prize will be announced in may 2011) and also the open brief.




FOTO8 Awards & Summer Show http://www.foto8.com/new/on-display/summer-show-mainmenu-191


This competition also has an open brief and is also a possibility.




London Photographic Association http://www.london-photographic-association.com/


This competition closes in early April, I think that this may be a bit early for my work as I aim to finish the project at the end of April beginning of May.

Experiment - Time

After looking at the photographs I took in the around the house post I have started to think about time. As an experiment I timed a few activities and paired the times with the photographs.

The Numbers represent the time spent, in seconds.

Research - Walker Evans

I came across the work of Walker Evans in one of my photo-books and decided to look further into his work. I really like the way he shows simple objects and house interiors. These images are from several books which I will list at the bottom of this post.

I really like the simplicity of this photograph, the one bellow was taken at the same time from a slightly different angle. I like both of the images equally but i think that they are interesting together as the viewer gets more of an idea of what the place is like.

These two are both quite different as they are taken in very different places, the top one is furnished much more simply.

Both of these images are interesting to me as I enjoy their simplicity and the textures.

These two images have a lot more going on within the frame than the previous images.

 I think that the last photograph is most useful to my research as there are lots of personal belongings shown and this relates back to my initial idea. 

I feel that looking at Walker Evans' work has helped with the development of this project. I have found that photographing objects, which can sometimes look mundane, can be interesting. This shows me that as long as my images are strong like Evans', I can create interesting pieces of work.

The books I used are:

Walker Evans, The Hungry Eye. Giles Mora and John T. Hill

Walker Evans at Work.Jerry Thompson and John T. Hill

They can be found in the library.

Around the house

At the beginning of this project I wanted to express the feeling of not belonging, of feeling like I am always packing my bag to go somewhere else and that nowhere feels like home. I decided that this feeling is not how the project is developing. I didn't want to just do a cliche project showing me packing up my bags so I started to look into the everyday objects that I either leave behind or bring with me, the project has become about the thinks in my life and the fixtures and fittings that come with each house I frequent. 
These contact prints show some of the fittings I want to look at.

Research - Laslo Moholy-Nagy and my photograms

I found one of Moholy-Nagy's photograms while trying to find artists and photographers that photograph simple everyday objects. I decided to research further into Moholy-Nagy's works and found that it wasn't really as useful towards my project research as I had hoped from the initial image that I had found in a collective photo book. 
However, I decided to take some of the personal belongings into the darkroom to make some photograms. I thought this would be an  interesting exercise to try a different direction for my project.


Moholy-Nagy's photograms:

My Photograms:

I used objects that I used in my first photo shoot, when the idea was to photograph my belongings in different places. I enjoyed making these photograms but I feel that they are not strong enough to continue so I will continue the project in a photographic direction.

A different approach - contact sheets

As I said before, I prefer a closer photograph so while I was in Southampton for the weekend I took the opportunity to photograph some of the objects that travel with me all the time.

I also photographed things that you find in a hotel room such as the taps.

Contact Sheets

Calle Style

As I have been struggling to get started with this project I decided after researching Sophie Calle's Hotel series of work that I would recreate a similar set of images.

Although I am pleased with this its not what I am aiming for. I don't want to copy a style I want to create my own. I will take aspects of what I have learnt though. I like the way of placing several images in a grid formation. I have also been thinking about the distance of the objects from the camera, I would generally be inclined to get in closer and crop the images within the frame.

Research - Sophie Calle

I was unsure where to start with this project so I decided to start researching photographers and artists who had covered a similar subject. I found that there aren't that many that are relevant but looking through a photographic book I found Sophie Calle. I thought that her work in a series called 'The Hotel' was interesting as she had worked for a few months in a hotel and photographed the customers belongings. I like the way she approached her subject, the images show hotel rooms that could belong to anyone. they are anonymous yet personal.

I really like the way the photographs are set out in grids, this presentation is interesting and adds interest to the series. I think if these images were viewed individually they would be a bit boring. The repetition adds a little extra.

New project

Ok so it has taken me a while to get back in to the swing of things with this project this year, when I thought of the idea I  was really excited about it but I struggled to know where to start. 

My idea for this project is based on the feeling of not belonging. I always seem to be packing my back and going somewhere all the time. I wanted to show how it feels to not have a permanent place to call home. I spend most of my time either at my university house or staying with my boyfriend back home, this means that I am constantly driving between houses and always packing up my things after a few days.