Modernism/ Post modernism Identity - The ways of portraying

        

     Here is a poster of aftershave in 90's (Shave with Barbasol,1950), and perfume in today's time by Dolce and Gabbana ( J.T, 2009)  it has a subliminal message behind it that if you use that then a women would be after you. women has been made to publish in use of object even back then women were the one to attract men even till today, however the only difference today is that men are equally published in way of object to look at. The cultural diversity has been changed. The aftershave men's expression on the face looks happy and so does the women, they both are dressed.  on the other hand the photograph of Dolce and Gabbana, it shows that they both are intimate and  both are naked shows the fact that today people are more confident  and bold of showing who they are. The photograph is trying to suggest that the models in photograph are very attractive, the man obviously has been working out, and as for the women they tried to go for the most good looking and sexy, to attract the costumers into buying the product. however in 90's there wasn't any subliminal message like today's , like showing naked photograph.

J.T. (2009). D&G FRAGRANCE ANTHOLOGY CAMPAIGN. Available: http://stylerumor.com/blog/2009/07/27/dolce-gabbana-fragrances-anthology-campaign/. Last accessed 26th April 2014.

Shave with Barbasol (1950). VINTAGE AD BROWSER. Available: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/shaving-ads-1950s. Last accessed 26th April 2014.

Susan Sontag

                                                     

    As I borrowed the book 'on photography' by Susan Sontag, 1977, from the library, I chose the oldest looking one on the shelf, as i wanted to feel I was reading the first edition that she ever did. I started opening the first page and as i was reading along her style of writing and her use of words got me hooked! The first chapter of the book 'In plato's cave' explains the means on photography, she believes in looking through an photograph, and explains in the book that photography is by means far more advanced and useful then any other media i.e television, as it cannot store any elements as for photography it challenges that idea and forms an instrument that captures an certain object or person or memories that has happened in past.

'Photographs furnish evidence'  she explains that a photograph is something  that shows  evidence, it gives the hint of what's real in from of an evidence.  she talks about different terms of photography, from being of general family photo album to fashion photography. she also talks about Alfred Stieglitz to Dorothea Lange's photography. She talks about Diane Arbus how she likes to take photograph of nudity. 

Sontag, S, 1977, On Photography. penguin books.

Robert Frank

He is one of the influential man in photography. He is a Swiss photographer and film maker,When he was on a two year trip across America he took over 28,000 photographs in which about eighty- three of them was in his best collection to what he is best known for was 'The Americans' which the introduction was written by Jack Kerouac. He began his career in photography in the mid-1940s before emigrating to America in 1947.By 1960s he had all his attention to film and not returning to still photography until 1970s. His last gallery show was at Pace Macgill in 2009. Today frank lives and works quielty in New York. Also his show ''looking in: Robert Frank's The Americans'' opened at National gallery in Washigton D.C in 2009.

                                                 

                                              

      

One hour book by Robert frank  is happened in New York City, 26th of july 1990 between 15:45 PM -16:45 PM he single shot the movie in that time. Its original title for french tv was ''C'EST VRAI''.Robert Frank'f Film one hour is a single- take between Frank and actor Kevin O' Connor what seems like walking a blocks of Manhattan's lower side east. The book had transcript of dialogue but also two pages of credits, half a dozen crew workers and 27 actors.

Frank R (2007),one hour,Steidl,Germany

Robert Frank . (2005). Robert Frank Biography. Available: http://www.danzigergallery.com/artists/robert-frank. Last accessed 25th April 2014.

Identity ( gender, race )

Fascination Perfumery (2014): Fig 1

      

Fascination Perfumery(2014) : Fig 2

What is identity? its the sense of who you are and what you are, it changes in terms of events and experiences. 

Female has always been the key in advertising, they are taken as an 'object'. As for today's society you could say there has been an improvement, today men are also in someway taken as 'object'.  In the photograph above (fig1), it is shown an ideal advert of an perfume for men. The image conveys the message of ' if you use the product then women come after you' not just any women the way she is portrayed, it makes her look sexy and attractive. Its the same for the men, he is shown masculine and with the tattoo representing his masculinity, and women with her bracelets showing the feminine side of her. The man in the image looks like he is not showing much of an interested in the women as she moreover looks desperately trying to get the man's attention. It goes the same for the other advert of 'Gucci' they are both naked, as if its their trademark for men and women being naked in an perfume advert! the women you can see has bit of blond hair blue eyes, is known as a 'perfect women' to be idealized by many men, to attract more costumers.  to sum this up I would say that today's advertisement has been about naked female and male, to attract our attention, in terms of gender, women are still being used for an eye as an object.

Fascination Perfumery (2014). Gucci Guilty Intense for Her. Available: http://www.fascination-perfumery.co.uk/acatalog/Gucci_Guilty_Intense__Female_.html. Last accessed 9th May 2014

Thomas Schutte Exhibition Serpentine gallery

                                          
                                           Thomas Schütte(2012)

I went to see Thomas Schutte in Serpentine gallery, his work has been mainly based on portrait; he has done several self portrait, sculpture and photographs. The self portrait painting of ‘mirror drawing’ he experiments with not only water colour but with ink and crayon, although seen as a simply drawn, there is a sharp hesitant lines which gives out boldness in his eyes, in one of his water colour with him adding the colour red it makes the portrait look even livid and fearless because he just has half of the image, and even with just part of his face showing, the first thing we look at is eyes and it is as if his eyes are speaking all, and gives the portrait control. It also give the feeling of eye following you, or asking you question with the hitch of anger. ‘you don’t make art you find it’ as the word of schutte, explains he explore the means of representation and creating the space of accident to happen.  Self portrait could be taken as a way of showing persons inner self, their identity. His sculpture portrait on ‘Memorial for unknown artist 2011’ raises the issue of emotionally stimulated, yet self-reliant because of the both hands being included and as an artist your hands are the most significant. The sculpture also confers the meaning behind isolation, yet helpless, his eye makes it look like he is tired, and the beard ages sculpture making it look even more helpless and powerless.  His work ‘united enemies’ which schutte make in the early nineties, gives out the vibe of being dystopia in context to the distorted human form, these photographs also has sense of concern with human figure. His work has meaning of unknown power emerging in one, yet they have a glimpse of comical surface with poetic and dysfunctional figure, you get the feeling of the sculpture being yourself and the darker side of human nature, or it could be challenging the meaning behind life and death. Many of his work are like a art of surreal and as if being in a dystopian world, the world of imagination. Schutte shows the conceptual art to be imaginative at the same time meaningful and give out the feeling of trying to show the darker side of the human nature.

Thomas Schütte. (2012). Thomas Schütte: Faces & Figures Installation view, Serpentine Gallery, London. Available: http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/thomas-sch%C3%BCtte-faces-figures. Last accessed 11th April 2014