Jeff Wall

He is a canadian photographer, he has exhibited his work internationally for 25 years. He also played a key role in establishing photography as a contemporary art form. He has done many black and white photography as well as colour.

A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) 1993 photography by Jeff Wall

 

Travellers Caught in a Sudden breeze at Ejiri. Katsushika Hokusai. ca. 1832. Woodcut

   One of his iconic image is taken to be as 'A sudden Gust of Wind( after hokusai) 1993', his recreation of hokusai is phenomenal. He has made even the paper blow out the same way, as of the painting. He sets his studio and people in a way that has been modern, but at the same time looks like the old painting. By having his people in suit and tie it conveys the message of them being tired of their work. In the old painting they were farmers which has been recreated into man who look like office workers.  He has managed to recreated even the hat in the painting by replacing it with a plastic bag. Even the lighting on the images has created the same effect as the painting.

Tate (2014). Jeff Wall Photographs 1978–2004. Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/jeff-wall. Last accessed 4th April 2014.

zoowithoutanimals. (2014). A Sudden Gust of Wind. Available: http://zoowithoutanimals.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/a-sudden-gust-of-wind/. Last accessed 28th March 2014.

Semiotics

  Semiotics means the meaning behind an object and symbol, a sign. Signs are all around us. it plays an important role as part of our daily life. It comes in many forms.

 Migrant mother, Dorothea Lange. Oxford  University Press (2009).

This is a photograph by Dorothea Lange, is an iconic photograph of an migrant mother, she is mostly known for her black and white photographs in depression era. In this picture the use of black and white adds texture and depth of field in the photograph. Black and white challenges the aspect of the modernisation making the photograph to be more effective and more realistic. If added color in an image it could have washed out the real life stories involved and created a more dull piece. The depth of the blacks contrasted with the lighter colours give emotion showing the worries and the sorrow in her eyes and between her facial lines and help to create that role of juxtaposition in work. The composition of the photograph as just showing the women's face specially her eyes which are looking into distance and her children to look away provides the message that she wanted her children to look away from the depression era and sorrow she was going through, pass through the moment in blink of a eye or perhaps the pain and suffering of the children is not as excruciating as what she has been through. however if he look deeper into the women she looks relaxed, which bring ambiguity to if she was so used to in this pain and sorrow.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (2009). Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965). Available: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=3373. Last accessed 21st March 2014.

Jacques Henri Lartigue

                  

Jacques Henri Lartigue, bibi and me in the mirror during our honeymooon.Hotel des Alpes, Chamonix, January 1920.© Ministère de la Culture-France/A.A.J.H.L.

The photograph above was that got my eye, the way that lartigue has setup this photograph, tell us more about their relationship and although it was during their honeymoon, you could feel the sense of distance between them in this photograph. to support that, it seems like there is only her clothes hung and the only chair in the shot and mainly the fact that he is the person on the mirror and whereas her,she looks like she is waiting for him.

The time when I went to see Jacques Henri Lartigue at photographers gallery, in was in the first floor. As I entered the room, the dim lights confused me to where I should start looking from, I started viewing the first one on the right and started walking into the second photograph realizing that after first few photographs this was his journey, his story about 'Bibi' his wife, in fact after a while I found out that Bibi was his first wife and mother of his only child. The exhibition was the first international showcase. It has several black and white photographs, mostly photograph of his wife Bibi and his loving days to when they had a child, and how they got separated.  

Culture24(2004). Lartigue And About Face - Contrasts At The Hayward Gallery. Available: http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/photography-and-film/art23490. Last accessed 20th March 2014.