A Tragic Vanity

Continuation from previous post...

What is real beauty? When we look in the mirror are we blind to the way we look? A common artist practice for assessing your own work is to leave the piece of art work and look at it at another time as if you have never seen it before, then ask yourself; what is this work about? Often more times than not you won't be able to answer this question, but when you do, it could mean one of two things -- your codding yourself or you may have created something very special.

However, when relating this theory back to my original question -- 'what is real beauty?’ how is it represented? Are we dressing like others; is make-up a cover up? Is it necessary? A recent study on one particular model shows a dramatic change. See for yourself and ask what's the natural look or is this even a valid question? 

 

Narcissius - Not just a Greek Myth

The Ancient Greet story of  Narcissus - the handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus 'lay gazing enraptured into the pool, hour after hour, though eventually, through utter fatigue he fell into the water and changed into a flower that bears his name, the narcissus.


It is clear in my mind that this theory of ones self-love has certainly carried through the ages and has indeed been applied to every cultural since in some way or form. For example, if you were to look at hierarchy alone - through time, notable historical figures have come up presenting themeselves with utmost glory, proclaiming that they are who everyone should; they look the way everyone else should look; and act the way everyone should act.
 

Take the egyptians for example, their elaborate clothing and outstanding head pieces - they believed in the overwhelming no matter how expensive or strange it may have looked to the poor of society. Even there actions were riddled with vanity; 'Seth' the God of Chaos, was afraid of losing power to his brother, so he killed him.  





 

King Henry VIII
An 'Elitist' Character

This is only the eqytians, think further along time and you will meet rulers from the Roman Empire, the stately Tudors, the regal Romanseque artists and the roylal victorians --  all of whom in some way or another, have echoed the story of Narcissus.






Queen Elizabeth II
An 'Elitist' Character

Today, there is a society that perceieves this historical culture of vanity, egotism, conceit and indeed narcissism though an the indulgence of ones-self. The doctoring of ones physical features either pernamently or otherwise through the 'nip-tuc' proceedure has become extensively popular. However it is broadcasted throughout the world as if it should be or actually is accepted or tolerated. A general attitude in society today, If its in the media its ok to do it, or if she can do it, so can I. 
 



Lady Gaga

Yes, there is the few who think conceptually where fashion is their life, bringing new style ideas is very important for the development of society. However there are still cliques that become excessive when it comes to their idea of 'beauty' that we get examples of from the TV such as Essex, Jersey Shore and Dublin's own Tallafornia.



Character from TV Series
'Jersey Shore'

CCAD Year 3 Begins

We the commencement of year three at the Crawford, the amount of work is already beginning to escalate. Through the course of the summer, I have done a vast amount of experimental research. Such research included the direction and filming of a music video and also a number of individual photoshoots. However commercial orientated these may be, the experience has opened my mind to further filming technique and my skills with the editing suite have greatly improved.

Continuing on from the last college semester I believe that it is in my right mind to re-visit the overall theme of narcissism pushing it that little bit further. I also want to further develop my interest in movement and expression and how this works with the intersection of two or more people. Through this and within a non-specific environment, I want to get into the inner psyche of the performer, what s/he thinks whilst performing and how this affects the performance.

I have recently been looking at the beautiful work of William Kentridge. His charcoal drawings have such an amazing edginess that would attach that extra layer to a rare set up environment.

 

Lir (Yr2, S2)



GENERAL SYNOPSIS
‘The Children of Lir’, the classic Irish Fable traditionally tells the story of a family which is split by the tragic death of the mother who dies during child-birth of her two twins. Lir, the father, had then been left with four children. As the children grew the father became more and more lonely and then fell for his dead wife’s sister who was loving and kind at first though once married she became very jealous of the children’s love for their father. As she possessed magical spells she turned against the children and turned them into swans for 900 years.

Today there are many cases that can relate to this. This film can be interpreted in two different ways; by a death or by martial separation.

This short and silent film of this family will be presented in a monographic form through elaborated movement and the emotional expression of the performers.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRENT STUDIO PROGRESSION

As per my current Artistic Statement, the following mechanisms are brought through the film:

• Lighting
• Movement
• Gesture
• Camera Angle/Movement
• Focus

I am using the narrative, chronological structure of this timeless piece to aid my visual language.

INFLUENCES
-Herzog 'Pilgrimage'
-Maya Deren
-Carravaggio
-Welles 'Citizen Kane'
-Bergman 'Persona'
-Lars Von Trier 'Dogville'

Movement & Expression Explored - Semester 1 Yr 2

Updates

The following pages have recently been updated:
Artistic Statement
Lir

Narcissism

Narcissism is becoming increasingly important aspect of my photographic practice. My influence of which comes directly from the story of the God Narcissi which of course, is influenced again from Caravaggio.

nar·cis·sism

/ˈnɑrsəˌsɪzɛm/ [nahr-suh-siz-em]

noun

1. inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.

2. Psychoanalysis. Erotic Gratification Derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.
 

 

March 2011 to February 2012 >> Development

Click to view larger - Numbered 1 to 8 left to right

[PLEASE TAKE NOTE: IMAGES DISPLAYED ARE NOT DIRECT THE ORGINAL DIGITAL REPRESENTATION BUT PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS, FOR STUDY PURPOSES ONLY]

Over the past year I have broken through into fine art photography and this lens based medium has since become the primary focus of my studio practice. The timeline above features some of the most relevant images that I created that relate primarily to the significance in the development of my ideas and concept.

The Timeline Explained

I have always been very interested in dance, theatre and drama yet also with that a great delight in psychology and the reaction and interaction of the body and its responses to music and emotion. The images above, numbered '1' and '2' were taken in my early studio shoots. In the shoot I am dancing to a choreographed piece. The camera is positioned directly in front of the figure and taken consequetievely every 3 seconds. This released control from my power. The photographs in image '2' were then printed and layed out in a line showing the still imagery in a time lapse.

Ballet is a form of dancing that professionals perfect from a very early age through strenuous training. The beauty of the dance is what we the spectator would see at a ballet performance but what we don't see is the graduation upto that point, the imperfections that occur throughout the training process. In the image '2' we see a selection of images from one particular dance. They are layed out chronoglogically though pick out each step sub-consciously to the dancer in that he is unaware as to when the picture will be taken, pointing out the perfections as well as the imperfections.

Photography '3' shows the influence of man-made and natural objects brought into the frame and how it can influence the body language and emotional response of the model. This was also taken in a raw environment as opposed to the studio. The influence of dance is continued. Other shoots that were taken during this time featured the taking of an external dancer as opposed to self-portraiture; the presentation of these images lay particular importance - for image '3', small photographs from the entire shoot were exhibited and surrounded by the material incorporated into the shoot.

Image '4' brings us to September 2011 where I went back to using the Photography Studio as my main environment. Lighting became very important to me as is focused the voyeur to certain elements of the photograph and also creating an additional emotive to the image. When it came to the camera, technical alterations began to also hold a primary influence. Emphasising the movement in the image and the dance itelf was enhanced by this - leaving the exposure open for a longer period of time allowed me to do this. The faster the model moved the less clear the image would be - this resulted in some beautifully delicate photographs.

The idea of emotional response is clearly evident in photograph '5'. The focus and compositioning of the image along with the lighting highlight the emotion in the image.

I continued along with further emphasis of emotional response and dramatic expression of the model; light direction, positioning, strength and colour; and camera angels, positioning and direction, exposure length and focus.