Questions
In my opinion, an idea cannot be a work of art, unless, it is made into a physical art piece by the artist, or if the idea is built upon by the artist.
Although art which has been well executed, is more visually appealing,good art doesn't always have to be skilful, as long as it is based on a good idea, is thought provoking or inspiring, but the skills of the artist, and how the artwork is executed, should not effect the idea behind it.
Artists Amy ask other artists to follow their instructions of the artwork for them, as It makes the artwork look more unusual and unexpected, when it is not make by the artist who's style is well known.
An instruction is interesting if it is unexpected, and makes the viewers of the artwork wonder about its purpose and meaning.
A photographer does not always have to be the one who presses the shutter. Many times, especially in a studio environment, the assistant is the one who presses the shutter, as it is a very easy step, the photographer, in many cases, sets up the whole photograph and arranges the way everything is in the photo, this is much harder than pressing the shutter, and therefore, the photographer is the one who is responsible for the outcome o the final image, and the subject in the picture.
Although art which has been well executed, is more visually appealing,good art doesn't always have to be skilful, as long as it is based on a good idea, is thought provoking or inspiring, but the skills of the artist, and how the artwork is executed, should not effect the idea behind it.
Artists Amy ask other artists to follow their instructions of the artwork for them, as It makes the artwork look more unusual and unexpected, when it is not make by the artist who's style is well known.
An instruction is interesting if it is unexpected, and makes the viewers of the artwork wonder about its purpose and meaning.
A photographer does not always have to be the one who presses the shutter. Many times, especially in a studio environment, the assistant is the one who presses the shutter, as it is a very easy step, the photographer, in many cases, sets up the whole photograph and arranges the way everything is in the photo, this is much harder than pressing the shutter, and therefore, the photographer is the one who is responsible for the outcome o the final image, and the subject in the picture.
First attempt at instruction based art
Instruction based art was first created in a Cafe in Paris, in 1993. Some of the earliest artists to create instruction base art were Richard Hamilton, David Lynch, Elaine Sturenant and Sarah Lucás. This abstract style of art can be interpreted in an unlimited number of ways, due to it being created by many different people, with different takes on art. One thing that all instruction based art has in common, is that there is someone who gives the participants instructions about what to do. Instruction based art is not limited to one interpretation, due to its abstract nature, which can be seen in many different ways. Instruction based art can be anything, such as people painting over CCTV cameras, in order to disable them, as part of the instruction they are following. Often, it has a hidden meaning, sometimes political or anti-government, such as the participants disabled the CCTV cameras, potentially symbolising that they believe the government has too much control over people, and it is a way for the people to retaliate, and show that they want their lives to be more private, and less controlled by those in power. I have not changed my opinions on instruction based art, as I first heard of it in class, and I haven't had enough experience with it to change my mind.
These are my first attempts at instruction based art. Through this process, I was following the instruction that Lucas wrote, about an image I had to take. Lucas and I both took one image following each others instructions. We also wrote a title each which was paired with the other persons image, which was unexpected, as the title did not correspond with the final images taken.
John Baldessari
John Baldessari claims to create art in order to help him understand what the universe is about. He often has ideas which seem crazy to people; Such as burning all the work in his studio and baking cookies from the ashes, representing how things are used by humans. John Baldessari claims that this is crucial for finding inspiration for him. He often makes abstract art, which gets people to focus on the artwork for a longer time than they would normally view abstract art, which to them doesn't make sense. An example of this is placing a chair next to an image of a shark, rather than an image of a table, as they are less likely to be seen together, and therefore attract more attention that way. By doing his artwork this way, he is also doing it his own unique way, therefore, making his personal style more unique and memorable. Baldessari says that what drives him, is some elusive quality of trying to get something right, he says he does this by trying over and over again. In 1968, after having done mainly painting, he began to suspect that art was more than that. this is what drove him to his unexpected act of creativity, of burning all his work, as a sign of rebirth, and a sign that he is developing as an artist.
This self portrait of John Baldessari is composed unusually as the subject, Baldessari is in the middle of the frame, instead of on one of the thirds of the frame, which is a 'rule' of photography. Baldessari only takes up a small portion of the image, which is unusual of a self portrait, and it makes it seem as though he is not the subject of the photographs, which is instead an unknown Los Angeles street. His head blends into the foliage in the background, possibly symbolising that the city he lives in, has a large influence on him and his work, to an extent to where he almost blends in, and is one which the city and its history. I believe that this is a good photograph as it is composed in an unusual way. The image also has a lot of characters as the image is not perfect in terms of quality, which makes it unclear what is exactly happening in the photograph, where it is exactly, what time of day it was, and why it was taken, making the viewer think about the context behind this photograph. Los Angeles is a warm and sunny city, however, in black and white, this doesn't fully come across. The image is given more uncertainty when taken on black and white film, making the viewer why Baldessari would want to show the city without colour, like it is portrayed most of the time.
These images were taken in a way which enables you to see subjects how you wouldn't normally see them. Many of the images were taken by looking up at the subject from down below, making them seem larger and more powerful that they really are. For many of the images, they were taken from unusual angles, to make them seem uncharacteristic. Our instruction were to take photos from down below of the back of things, to make them seem uncharacteristic, therefore pushing us and making us work harder to get abstract photos which we normally wouldn't get. I believe that most of these photos turned out successful as they are uncharacteristic, and they show the school environment in an unusual way.
I believe that this is the most successful image that I have taken in the series. It combines my favourite genre of street photography, with the abstract photographs we were supposed to take. You cam only see half of the subjects body and the picture is taken from above her. The mesh on the walkway is obscuring part o the image making it more abstract and uncharacteristic.
I believe that these 4 images are the most successful from the series of photographs that I have taken. I believe that they summaries the entire series well as they have an abstract look like many of the other images in the series. Images like the first and third image are very mysterious as you do not get a lot of information about what they are and what they depict. All of the images are colour, which is not usually how abstract photographs are taken, as black and white is more ambiguous, as it captures less of the scene, due to there being less information in the photograph.
6 most successful images
I believe that these are the 6 most successful images form the series, as they all evoke a sense of blankness in the view which is unusual as a school concourse is usually very busy, with many students. I believe that I have taken some risks but perhaps not as many as I should have. These are unusual images as they are abstract to some extent, yet they are still mostly recognisable, making the viewer wonder why they were made to look somewhat abstract. These are not the sort of images I would normally take, as they are more abstract in nature, and are also all black and white, which I don't always use.
Guess the location photography game
In my photography game, two people both say a number between 36, with the cards turned upside down. The card with the corresponding number is then observed, and the location is then guessed by the player. To make the game easier, the proximity is given to the player, some cards being harder to guess, e.g. exact location within city, whereas some places are harder to guess, e.g. city, country. I was inspired to make this photography game as I have taken photos in a number of European countries, and I believe the this game encapsulates all the places I have travelled to. It is also similar to the online game GeoGuessr, which I believe is a great game. I printed the photos for the game on Photo paper, which gives it a professional appearance. I also made a box that the game can be stored in, so that it can be transported. The box is made out of black cardboard, giving it a professional appearance, also featuring a pull tab for ease of use. I believe that the final game is successful. The box and cards, although not mass market look or feel, it has a generally professional look. Whilst the game is rather hard, It is interesting to see if anybody can guess the places right.