Concept
My concept was to capture synchronicity in mass produced items, and to bring to light the insignificance of mass produced items in a postmodern age where nothing is original. At first I struggled with actually deciding on how to create a body of work based on this concept, however when I began to contextualise different mass produced objects with the idea of synchronicity and when I actually began taking photos, I was able to build up my final project.
It all started with one essay—about some of the problems, aesthetic and moral, posed by the omnipresence of photographed images; but the more I thought about what photographs are, the more complex and suggestive they became. So one generated another, and that one (to my bemusement) another, and so on…
Sontag. May 1997. Page v11
I find this quote very interesting and relatable, before I started photography I never fully thought into the suggestiveness and symbolism within photographs too much. I also feel that upon this realisation of reading deep into photos and their contextual meaning, I can produce a chain of images, each inspired by my thought process for the first image. This appears to be a strong way of producing a body of work, as your inspiration will continue as the photos continue.
In terms of significance, or deeper understanding I wanted an audience to take away from my work is that capital consumerism is all around us so much, we don’t typically tend to question things such as; why do we have Coke Zero and Diet Coke when they are both the same product, just branded for opposite genders, Coke Zero being a masculine diet coke, and regular Diet Coke being feminine. It’s all about filling that gap in the market before a competitor does first. My photos are a way of documenting this mass consumer society we live in, and that is the great thing about Photography, you can document reality, be it in a truthful way or not, with just the click of a button
Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re shown a photograph of it. In one version of its utility, the camera record incriminates. Starting with their use by the Paris police in the murderous roundup of Communards in June 1871, photographs became a useful tool of modern states in the surveillance and control of their increasingly mobile populations. In another version of its utility, the camera record justifies. A photograph passes for incontrovertible proof that a given thing happened.
Sontag. On Photography. Page 3
This quote relates to my point about photography’s ability to document reality. It can be misleading at times, but due to the historical context of the photograph, even to this day, in an age of Photoshop and editing software’s, people will still take some form of truth from it unless they are otherwise educated on the subject, which would allow them to deny the validity of photos.
Influences
Andy Warhol. Campbell’s Soups
The influence for my collection of photos is the famous pop artist, Andy Warhol, in particular his art based on postmodernism and mass production. Andy Warhol is a painter however, so my inspiration comes less from his style and more his context and intentions behind his body of work. That being said I have paid homage to the great artist with my first image on my final project. One of Warhol’s most famous pieces is the Campbell Soup collection, where he created a collage of paintings of tins of Campbell’s soup. I attempted the same thing with Branson Baked Beans. This painting demonstrates one of the very fundamental ideas about postmodernism. This is backed up by a very iconic scene from a very renowned movie that depicts the postmodern lifestyle. This of course being Fight Club.
I also attempted to take inspiration from the way he uses colour in his Shot Marilyn’s piece. the colours in this collage are very unconventional due to how overwhelmingly saturated and vibrant they are.
Alternatives
This photo is very similar to the one I have in my final images, however it didn’t contain enough background, thus disallowing a certain aesthetic to be transferred across the images.
I actually really like the low angle on this photo, it almost makes the coke bottles look as if they are standing over you and judging you for your consumerism. Or perhaps they could represent the CEOs of Coca Cola watching down on the proletariat as they fall into line within capitalism.
I really like the synchronicity in this photo, it really fits my concept well, both aesthetically and meaningfully. However, because I was trying to produce a body of work that portrayed similar styles to one another, this photo just doesn’t fit with the range.
The reason I haven’t used this one is due to the fact that I already used these 2 cans in another image that I definitely wanted to put up, and I would much rather display a broader range of mass produced items. On top of this, I don’t feel the 2 cans on their own are enough to represent mass production.
Reflection
This Assignment has allowed me to grasp a deeper understanding to photography than just taking photos for the sake of taking photos. Art, and interest can be visualised within anything so long as you have the apt and know how to create an interesting composition. I feel I have developed exactly that skill. By just facing up to the intimidation of not knowing how to use a camera manually in order to take photos allowed me to broaden my horizons and gain a more intimate knowledge of not just how to use the camera, but how the camera actually works. For instance I can now say that I am able to take a photo of a moving object without the occurrence of motion blur, just by increasing the shutter speed. The way this works is that the camera will only let in a short burst of light and will be able to freeze the object in motion. On top of this I think my willingness to actual go out and take photographs has significantly increased, as it is quite inspiring when you manage to create a spectacle of a photograph.
References
Sontag. May 1997. Page v11
Sontag. (2002) On Photography. Page 3
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