Photospace Gallery Visit

John Williams - 'Pilgrimage'

Observations:

• Just frames (no glass)
• Matte paper
• All black and white photographs
• Only four different image sizes in the whole exhibition (Panorama, square, small rectangle, large rectangle)
• Some images were grouped together (touching) if they were similar

Opinions:

• My favourite images were the ones that were more leaning towards straight portraiture rather then candid shots. I particularly was drawn to the images where the subject was standing in front of a scene/environment that helped tell the viewer something about them. 
• I liked how the frames are really textured (wood grain). I feel like this brings out the texture of the matte paper and makes the photographs feel more tangible and the subjects more real.
• I really liked when John was talking about how he had "encounters" with people - this is the feeling I want to get out of my project.

Brief

Aim:

This studio paper engages with the human form as photographic subject and examines principles of lighting. It also explores the history of representation of the human form, taking in photographic portraiture and approaches to fashion photography along with the central and sometimes controversial history of the nude.


Project Brief:

You are to select a subject (or subjects) of interest and through photographic practice explore the diverse effects of controlled lighting, props and background. You will explore how the mood created can influence the reading of the subject.


Subjects include but are not limited to;

• The performative body 
• The body in fashion 
• The body as site 
• The body as an artwork 
• The contested body 
• The idealized body 
• The political body 
• The body as document 
• The portrait