City of the 21st Century

Diego Velazquez - Las Meninas

In this painting the artist has chosen to include himself in the painting as it is a viewpoint from the clients eyes, it is a staged scene that shows a wealthy family's children playing while the maids watch over them, we have been given the viewpoint of the monarch who this painting was commissioned by, we can only see them in the mirror in the background, this was a new viewpoint in photography that was not common before as artists would be showing the subjects straight on so that they could see their wealth and status portrayed.

Manet - A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

This painting was new in style as it had not been commissioned for a wealthy client to show their wealth, but it shows daily life of a woman working behind the bar. In this painting the background is a mirror reflection of the bar behind the woman so that more of the bar can be seen, the painter has chosen to angle the reflection so that we would not be seeing himself however can see the customers in the bar.

Jeff Wall

• exhibits in light boxes
• large format camera
• hybrid of staged and straight (intended to look straight)
• influenced by art and films

These photographs have been taken by Jeff Wall who creates beauty within the commonplace urban life events.

Picture for Women

This is a picture that Jeff Wall took showing himself and the model in the mirror, including himself mean that there is added context within the photograph because we can see the setup and the studio surrounding, it is an inner glimpse at how the photographer works.

Tattoos and shadows

This photograph shows people in the garden and is heavily influenced by Monet "women in garden" (shown beside), many people spend summers in their gardens and as such it is not seen as a wonderful thing but this shows the contrast between the pattern in the tattoo's and the one caused by the shadow. The inspiration for this clip was a real life scene which Jeff Wall had seen and wanted to recreate.
http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/audio/30

Eviction Struggle

In this photograph we can see a family that are being evicted, one member of the family has to be escorted away from the house with another member behind trying to protest this. The story is a modern life event which many people can relate too. I think that Jeff Wall is trying to make a point about the unfairness of the situation as the camera angle makes the viewers look down upon the situation, the distance from the scene also connotes that the viewer would not step into help but watch from a safe vantage point.

The storyteller

constructed / comment on technology integrating with society and old traditions struggling to remain

This photograph is making a point about the way that technology is advancing and becoming integrated with society and that the old traditions of storytelling are struggling to remain and have been demoted and are getting overlooked.

The old prison

This is a panorama of the city showing the differences between the old abandoned prison and the possibility of the new coming into fruition (seen by the JCB behind the lamppost).

Outburst

This picture is making a comment about the state of life that some people live in, working in a sweat shop they have long hours with very little pay in return and their boss still shouts at them for any and all mistakes. The boss is shown in a very threatening aggressive manner towering over the employee.

A sudden gust of wind

This photo-montage took over a year to complete to make a seamless effect, it is directly influenced by the Japanese woodblock printer Hokusai. The effect of this shows us it people that are changing and not nature as the wind is still affecting the people inside the frame.

Tom Hunter

• tutored by paul kennard
• Thoughts of Love and death (project)
• inf by preRaphaelites

Millais - the vale of rest

The Vale of Rest

This image is showing the outcast community and is a modern retake on the historical painting 'The Vale of Rest' by Millais.

The Way Home

inf by Ophelia

Influenced by the painting 'Ophelia' this story is a representation of a young woman that Tom Hunter heard had died in a canal, This modern version of 'Ophelia' is a staged version of reality.

What's the difference between straight and staged?

'Straight documentary' are photographs that have been taken where the photographer has not interfered with the subject in any way and it is exactly how it happened while the photographer was there. This means that the photographer has to visualise the exact scene in the few milliseconds before taking the photograph.

'Staged documentary' means that the photograph is a set up scene that the photographer has carefully chosen to show in the way they have, this means that they can omit certain elements or bring the focus to one point which they want to highlight more easily. It is certainly more easy to be able to set up the scene because with more time the scene can be rearranged and explored.

Staged photographs are often set to appear Straight and at first look they do not appear Staged, in Tom Hunters and Jeff Walls work their photographs are Staged to be Straight.

The Golden Age of Illustration

Illustrations have been used for centuries dating back to the Ancient Civilizations: the Ancient Egyptians decorated their tomb walls however this was not called illustration but called 'art work'.

 The late 19th Century became known as The Golden Age of Illustration  because as technology developed prints were easier to mass produce and more people started reading which meant that more books were being produced.


Charles Dickens 


Illustration became wide spread as artists were getting commissioned to add illustrations to books for authors such as Charles Dickens. This meant that illustration became established as a trade and more artists started to illustrate.


Charles Dickens worked closely with his illustrators, his works came out in installments and the illustrators began work before the next installment was due so they could be printed together. Dickens gave his illustrators a general summary of the chapter that he was writing so that the illustration was relevant and gave the readers a clear view of what was being narrated. Often the illustration appeared cut into the text so that the reader could see the story as they read it.

scene from "Oliver Twist" by George Cruikshank

characters from "Great Expectations"

Kelmscott Press


The Kelmscott Press was a collection of works by William Morris and some colleagues, the books featured their works. Morris was a writer and a poet who wanted his works to look good. He had worked on producing a book however he decided to create his own press company.

William Morris took influence from the Medieval and the Pre-Raphaelites and highly decorated the pages in the books. The books were designed to be read slowly and the illustrations and typography appreciated as much as the content of the words.

He created three new typefaces: Golden, Troy and Chaucer.

The frontispiece to "The Wood Beyond the World"
Illustration by Edward Burne-Jones

Page from Kelmscott Chaucer
decoration by William Morris
illustration by Edward Burne-Jones

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Aesthetic Movement


This movement aimed to show that beauty was possible in everything, the artists in this movement sparked an interest in interior design and people realized they could have beauty in their everyday lives.

wallpaper by Walter Crane

wallpaper by Walter Crane

Middle Class citizens began to decorate their homes fascinated by "The House Beautiful" artists such as Walter Crane were commissioned to design works that furniture and designers could use to sell their products.

Many artists took influence from other countries such as Greece, Japan and throughout Europe, it is suggested that in the wallpaper shown above Crane has taken influence from the Greek and Japanese by using similar techniques of solid blocks of colour and black outlines.

pottery vase by Christopher Dresser

Christopher Dresser was the first European artist who went to Japan after the reopening of the border, some of his works show how the different culture has inspired his works. He created works for the interior of homes. He created a full set of tableware that was easily available for all homes as well as textile works, vases, furniture and glassworks.

Queen Anne Revival

Kate Greenway

Beatrix Potter

women accepted into art world - kids books

Useful Links

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/praf/hd_praf.htm

http://www.artsandcraftsmuseum.org.uk/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement/Emery_Walker_Library/The_Private_Press_Movement/Kelmscott_Press.aspx

http://charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations.html

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/golden-age.html

http://artofnarrative.tumblr.com/post/77570089830/edward-burne-jones-the-wood-beyond-the-world-by

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/morris/kelmscott.html

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/print/?limit_flagged=include&topic_id=612879&mode=single&cpp=6&size=5x8

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/aestheticism/

http://www.veniceclayartists.com/design-innovator-christopher-dresser/

http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/design_history/queen_anne_style.php

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/

http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/death-kate-greenaway

http://www.peterrabbit.com/en/beatrix_potter/beatrixs_life/beatrix_potters_art/landscapes

Picturing the City

Brassai

Edgar Degas "Absinthe Drinker" 1880's

Brassai "Cafe Scene" 1930's

Brassaï once summed up his photography by saying:

 "Basically, my work has been one long reportage on human life." (Here)

Brassai photographed real life people as he wanted to raise awareness of the problems that people were going through. His photograph Cafe Scene takes influence from the painting by Edgar Degas who shows a French woman in a bar drinking Absinthe, 

Brassai was one of the first photographers to photograph at night and because of this he helped to shape photography by showing a new side of the city that was not present in other photographers works, people such as hooligans and prostitutes. At the time he was photographing exposures were slow as photography was still relatively new so he used a flash gun to illuminate his scenes and estimated his exposures by trial and error.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/01/07/the-piercing-eye-of-brassai-a-brief-history-of-a-master-photographer

Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis "Bandits Roost" 1890

Jacob Riis "5 Cents a Spot" 1890

He shows how the lower classes in New York lived in poverty. Riis was a social activist and he wanted to bring light to the conditions that many people lived in, in many cases the poor were blamed for the conditions that they lived in however Riis thought that it was not their fault and they had no choice.

In the photograph "5 Cents a Spot" the men have all paid 5 cents just to be able to sleep on the floor in the crowded house. He has captured them in a candid moment as he used a new piece of technology which was being developed: the flash gun. 

http://www.tenement.org/blog/todays-other-half/
http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/jacob-august-riis-lodgers-in-bayard-street-tenement-five-cents-a-spot-1889


Thomas Annan

Thomas Annan "Glasgow Close" 1867

Thomas Annan photographed around Glasgow to show the slums before the council refurbished the areas. His work generally focused on details of the Wynds and the Tenements, his work did not focus on the people who lived in these conditions but more on showing the details in the area such as washing lines and the gutters.


http://www.ngaiopress.com/highslum.htm
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/Mar2006.html


Charles Sheeler

Criss–Crossed Conveyors, River Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Company

He photographed within the Ford plant for six weeks between 1927/28, his works focused on the impressive machinery and the American ideals of power and revolution. The project shows how times are changing in technology as humans working on a farm has evolved into machines running themselves in factories.
These works influenced some of his later works that he created with different media.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1987.1100.1

The course of urban photography is an ever changing one as attitudes are changing as times change and technology becomes more advanced. Urban photography has changed from the photographers interacting with the people they were photographing into the photographer removing the human element to create a chilling and formidable perspective on what the future could become as we as humans become dependant on machines.

Introduction to Level Five

Japanese Youth Cultures

The youth culture in Japan has a wide amount of sub-cultures which seem innocent and sweet although they have an undercurrent of a darker nature.


There are many grown adults still dressing as part of the youth culture as there as many fans of these styles.

The style of dress possibly started as an act of rebellion against the strict standards in social culture and they are seen as turning against traditional customs.

Standards in Japan are set very high and all children are expected to have the highest grades and get into top universities so that they can get the best jobs.

The youth culture is still relatively new compared to youth cultures from western societies.









Tokyofashion.com  (?)


http://www.tokyo-top-guide.com/japanese_youth_culture.html/