Album cover
Album cover
Album cover
Emily Lee
Exam title: Change and/or Stability
Initial play
Parallax 2.5
Injustice - the necessity for the change of attitude
Mind map
Mood board
Statement of intent
For this project, I intend to explore into the changes seen regarding social and cultural changes over time. There are many injustices present even in a contemporary society. I plan to address these issues with my work to highlight the changes that we have made, but also to demonstrate that there is still yet much to change. I hope that my work will inspire the viewer to look closer at the issues we have faced and that we still face today in order to invoke a change in attitude toward a more equal society.
Gender and race have no bearing on our worth as human beings.
We are all equal.
ALL THROUGH HISTORY WOMEN HAVE BEEN SEEN AS LESSER TO MEN. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN WORTH BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN.
Eli Rezkallah
"Untitled" by Elis Rezkallah - n.d. (Original advert Brand: Van Heusen, Origin: USA, Decade: 1940s, Image type: Magazine Advert )
After the Second World War, millions of people moved into new housing and therefore spent much on appliances, furniture, and various items for their new homes. Much of this advertising made use of psychological and subliminal tactics to manipulate consumers to compile them to buy the products in order to satisfy their desires. Sadly, that vast majority of these ads were aimed to hit a strongly patriarchal society, often featuring imagery and slogans that are derogatory of women. Despite the fact that women played a crucial role in keeping the country running by easily stepping into the roles of men, women were swept to the side and all but stripped of their rights and treated as mere objects upon the return of the men from war. This was an enormous injustice, with women being treated as far less than equal to men.
However in recent years, the rise of the feminist movement has led to more equality between men and women. Yet still there exists a pay gap and a sense of inferiority for women. Through contemporary art, we are able to more clearly express ideas of feminism in order to make the point that such a patriarchal society is outdated and attempt to invoke a change toward a more equal society.
Rezkallah's work is an example of such contemporary feminist artwork. Having shocked by the expressions of his uncle that "women are better off staying in the kitchen" Rezkallah decided to undertake a project, creating a parallel universe in which the stereotypical roles of men and women are inverted.
In this image, we see a reversal of roles where a man, clad in a silky orange robe, presenting a tray of breakfast to a woman reclining in bed. The high key lighting gives a sense of clarity and realism, juxtaposing the relatively uncommon composition. As the image is a direct copy of the original 1940s ad, the feeling of inferiority created by the lower physical position of the woman, kneeling by the side of the bed is carried through to the contemporary image, where the man is instead given the sense of lesser worth. This transposition upsets the core principles we have come to centre ourselves around, producing an atmosphere of discomfort. However, this begs the question: why does such a sight make us uncomfortable? We do not experience discomfort when we see a woman in the same position, therefore hinting at the deep rooted misogyny present in even such a contemporary society. Evidently there is still much to do before women are truly equal to men.
Always - #LikeAGirl
The phrase "like a girl" is used all too frequently as an insult to describe something as being done poorly. In a marketing campaign, Always have targeted this phrase, questioning why this phrase is used to ridicule people. They ask a range of people what it means to do something 'like a girl' and the results were truly shocking, showing that near to 100% of people are accustomed to using it to mock and to humiliate. They then asked young girls what they though the phrase referred to. The young girls replied that it meant to do something as well as you possibly can. It appears that over generations we have become desensitised to the use of such phrases and therefore we must knowingly implement a change in order that the children of the future can grow up in a world where all people, regardless of gender, are equal.
1. Re-make ads
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2. Fashion portraits of women in the workplace
3. Man x Woman mash
I created a simple 4 light set up (strip boxes on either side with a strip box hair light and a non-diffused backlight) to produce a number of 'corporate headshot' style images that I could use to merge the two faces. I initially had just the three diffused lights but I found the model was not isolated enough from the background, therefore I added a non-diffused back light to produce a halo effect around the model to highlight the edges of their form.
In lightroom, I increased the exposure slightly to lighten the image overall. I boosted the contrast and clarity to help create a greater sense of authenticity, but lifted the shadows and blacks slightly to avoid clipping in the shadows.
Of my 73 original images, I chose six as a basis to work from. I adjusted the saturation and light level in each of these images to ensure that they were as closely matched as possible before I attempted to blend them together. This would allow me to more easily combine the images without having to use too much dodging and burning to equalise the skin tone and exposure.
For my first attempt at the chimera creation I decided to go for a half and half approach, using half of each person's face in the composite. I then proceeded to alter the features, taking parts from one face or the other to create a more seamless visage. As the hair colours of the models were incredibly similar, the two hairstyles were able to blend smoothly together. I feel that I did not quite line up the faces correctly and consequently produced a disproportionate neck and shoulders. However this is not incredibly dominant in the image and the mismatched features draws the eye toward the face rather than to the shoulders so it is even less noticeable.
I feel that my second attempt worked much better as I learned from my first attempt and paid more attention to the proportions, i.e. finer detailed work in the sizes of the head and neck in relation to the shoulders.
Again the similarity in hair colour allowed for a seamless blend from one face to the other, helping to amplify the sense of disorientation felt by the viewer as the face looks overall more natural. This time I also used a blend of the features from both faces rather than taking the entire feature from one side or the other. I feel that this consequently incorporates a greater sense of femininity and masculinity within the same visage.
The combination of a man and a woman into the same body is a statement that both are equal to one another. They are both worthy of occupying the exact same space and therefore should share it equally.
I am overall reasonably pleased with this shoot however I feel that the lighting of the faces could be done better, perhaps more of a high key image to add a sense of truth, or maybe a silhouette to add drama. I also feel that the plain black t-shirt may not be quite the right attire for this shot. I would therefore like to re-attempt this shoot, altering the light and clothing of the model.
Attempt 2 - High key
In my second attempt of this shoot, I added an extra light onto the background to lighten the backdrop to make the image overall more high key. I changed out the larger soft box for a slightly smaller one, using two equally sized strip light modifiers on either side of the model to diffuse the light equally. I kept a hair light above the models to highlight the top of the head and also still used a backlight to create a halo effect around the model to create isolation from the background.
Taking the photos into lightroom I lifted the exposure to make the images as high key as possible and also increased the contrast to prevent the images becoming too flat. I also decreased the highlights and whites to avoid highlight clipping. Adding a touch of clarity, saturation, and vibrance I tried to maintain the texture and tone of the model to make the images feel more realistic.
I much prefer this edit to my previous attempts largely due to its sense of honesty produced by the higher key lighting. The use of bare skin also reduces the distraction produced by the clothes in the previous images, allowing the viewer to be drawn straight away to the face of the model.
As the skin of the two models was of different textures and colours, I had to make use of both the colour adjustment tools in lightroom (primarily the saturation of the oranges) and the levels of opacity of the brush when using layer masks in photoshop. By matching the skin tone more closely in lightroom, I was able to more easily blend the two images together using varying brush opacities to paint in the different parts of the images.
I feel that this image is a much better statement of equality, the high key lighting showing the honest opinion that men and women are both worth the same. Showing both in the same body levels them, implying a sense of equality which is furthered by the angle of the camera being level with the models so there is no sense of superiority or inferiority. If I were to print this and display it, I would have it printed to life size and have it hung so that the eyes sit at eye level to the viewer to implement an atmosphere of equality
Attempt 3 - Low key
I also decided to re-attempt my shoot with a low key variation. I this time used two strip box light modifiers (one on each side of the model) in combination with a non diffused backlight to add an extra highlight around the model. I placed the two soft boxes to the sides and slightly behind the models in order to illuminate only the sides of their bodies and faces, leaving the main visage in shadow.
I selected six images from the shoot and increased the exposure and contrast slightly in order to lighten the image but still maintain a sense of drama. I lifted the highlights slightly to make and boosted the clarity to create a more realistic image.
I think this version of lighting is perhaps the most powerful as a result of its implied drama. The diffusion of the light allows for the faces to be more softly lit, making the image more aesthetically pleasing. However the angle of the light allows for the creation of strong areas of light and shadow. This contrast eludes to a tense atmosphere, creating a dramatic portrait image. This drama draws the eye of the viewer, the central highlight on the nose pulling them to the face of the model where they are able to peer into the shadows and observe the unusual composite. The combination of more feminine and and masculine features produces a puzzling portrait, the high contrast adding to the atmosphere of confusion.
The dramatic contrast generates a more challenging image, raising the issue of inequality. The low key lighting with strong highlights creates a striking image that more powerfully amalgamates the man and woman into the same persona. It therefore proposes more strongly the fact that men and women are both worth the same.
Attempt 4 - low key re-attempted
I was not entirely happy with the images of the male from the low key shoot due to a large amount of shadow falling over the face which obscured the eye completely. I believe that this was largely down to the position the hair, blocking the light from reaching the face and therefore diminishing the highlights seen on the side of the face. I therefore re-attempted the images of the male with the same light set up, but this time paying closer attention to the position of the hair to ensure that it did not cast shadows on the face.
I selected the best few images and edited in the exact same manner as the previous shoot in order to maintain the best match in tonality between the images. I dropped the exposure and lifted the contrast to accentuate the low key lighting and help add a sense of drama.
As the lighting was slightly different between the two shoots, the tonality of the backdrops was slightly different and therefore I could not simply combine the previous image with the new one. Consequently, I used the first attempt as the foundations, blending in the slightly brighter eye from the second shoot in place of the darker one from the initial shoot. This allowed me to lighten the right side of the face and make clearer the bizarre amalgamation of features.
In this second edit, I also changed the composition of the chest slightly so that in included marginally more chest to add an extra sense of femininity to the chest area.
HOWEVER THERE IS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON MEN TO BE "MANLY"
Maud Fernhout
In her series "What real men cry like" Maud Fernhout captures a sense of pure distress that we have come to accept as the polar opposite of 'manliness'.
Over multitudinous generations, our society has come to associate the concept of femininity with inferiority and masculinity with a sense of toughness, and robustness. In recent years there has been a great amount of rebellion in regards to the female 'role' with the rise of feminism, yet there has been very little progress on the stereotypical role of males. The concept of 'toxic masculinity' has become increasingly prevalent, however a large proportion of society do not understand what it means. Toxic masculinity is our stereotypical representation of a man as having to be strong and aggressive and powerful. Although our acceptance is growing, there is still an immense pressure on men to be more 'manly'.
Stereotypiclly we do not see men cry. Men should be tough and resilient and never cry. It is always the woman who is 'weak' and 'emotional' that sheds a tear. Fernhout here shows the emotion of men, thus humanising them. This series is an expression of male vulnerability, counteracting the expectation of men to be these indomitable beings who do not succumb to any emotion. There is an extreme emphasis placed on the ideals of feminism, aiming to achieve equality for women by levelling their power to that of the more patriarchal society, however I feel that there should also be a focus on the overbearing sense of 'manliness' that is detrimental not only to women, but also to men.
I hope to produce a series similar to the work of Fernhout in order to expose the emotions of men. These images are slightly uncomfortable to look at due to our ingrained expectations of men, therefore are powerful representations of emotion that contrast with these ideals. These images will present a juxtaposition that directly addresses the viewer in an attempt to cause a realisation and therefore a change in attitude towards our ideals of 'masculinity'.
"Job" from "What real men cry like." by Maud Fernhout - 2016
Big boys do cry. I mean, we were all born crying, why be afraid of crying during the rest of our lives?
- Bram (19)
4. Men crying
For this shoot, I used a set up of two strip boxes placed in front and slightly to the sides of the models to provide the main light for the images. I also added a non-diffused flash unit behind the model to produce a halo effect that created separation from the background.
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Maud Fernhout
"TURQUOISE: ART / MAGIC - Roos" by Maud Fernhout - 2019
Fernhout also looked at the injustice in regards to the prejudice discrimination of members of the LGBTQ+ community. Until July of 1967, it was a criminal offence to be with another man, with many men imprisoned for their feelings. Alan Turing was almost singlehandedly responsible for breaking the enigma code (the code system used by the nazis to send messages) and therefore played a vital role in the ending of the Second World War. Yet when it was discovered that he was a gay man he was forced to undergo "chemical castration", a form of hormone therapy that caused him to grow breasts and become impotent. He endured over a year of this treatment and in 1954, killed himself as a result of this treatment, which also acted as a cerebral depressant, and the social pariah status gained from the publicity of his sexual orientation. Though we are now far more accepting than this, having legalised gay marriage in 2014, there still remains some issues with discrimination and hate crime.
In this series, Fernhout delves into the concept of gay pride, looking at the relationship between queerness and glitter. Glitter has long been a symbol of femininity, but is also deeply related to queerness. The idea behind the connection being that glitter gets everywhere and is hard to rub off, much like being queer. As a result of its shimmering nature and radiant colours it is a beautiful celebration of pride.
Directly addressing the viewer, the mode almost dares them to say something. The hand under the chin and mild expression implies a sense of boredom, emulating the expression that is so familiar from our experience of schools. By simulating such a familiar expression, Fernhout juxtaposes the more unfamiliar sight that is a face covered entirely in glitter. This juxtaposition exists to challenge the idea of normality, making the viewer question their outlook and wonder about the changes that have been made to be more accepting. However the fact that some people will find the sight of such an image so absurd indicates that there is still much to do to change people's attitudes and bring about a true equality.
Keith Haring
"Silence = Death" by Keith Haring - 1988
It is commonly known that in the Second World War, the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear yellow stars of David on their arms as a label so that they could be easily identified. It is lesser known that the Nazis also had a symbol for gay men: the pink triangle. This symbol was degrading toward gay men, labelling them as being worth less than others. However, the symbol was re-appropriated by activists in the 1970s as a pro-gay symbol and as a means to fight the stigma surrounding AIDS in the 1980s.
The artwork is a large, inverted pink triangle with a chaotic arrangement of crudely drawn outlines of figures covering their eyes, ears, or mouths. These figures are representative of the idea that if we do not look, listen, or speak to one another then we cannot possibly invoke a change.
"I think everyone loves glitter, whether you're masculine of feminine or whatever, but in society it's “actually" meant for girls only. Fuck that. You can be a unicorn if you want to. So yes, there is a connection; wearing glitter if you're not obviously a girl, or in everyday life, can be perceived odd by the masses, similarly to queerness itself"
- ROOS
5. Men in pink
Darryl Terrell
Photographer Darryl Terrell
Inspired by the #MasculinitySoFragile tag, Chicago-based photographer Darryl Terrell created a visual representation of the dualities that make up so-called “masculinity”, called ‘Hive Tete’. “Masculinity”, a word used most commonly (and incorrectly) as an attribute of man/male identities. It describes physical and mental toughness, machismo, manliness blah blah, but for too many men, these tropes snowball into the realm of toxic masculinity instead. Where male strength becomes superior to the its binary counterpart, femininity, which is wrongly pegged as weakness. “During this social media conversation it was stated that real men don’t like flowers, or in that case anything deemed soft, feminine, or weak,” says Terrell. “It’s my Visual way of saying to men, but to Black men specifically that it’s ok to be fragile, it’s ok to feel weak at time, it’s ok.”
"Darryl with orchid" by Darryl Terrell - 2016
Gillette - "We Believe: The Best a man can be"
This ad by Gillette made in January of 2019 takes a stand against toxic masculinity. Although some have deemed it a 'global assault on masculinity', Gillettes message is only to encourage men to be the best they can be. The public did not take to the short film well, with almost double the amount of dislikes to likes on YouTube and outrage from the likes of television presenter Piers Morgan and other customers.
Gillette have been accused of stereotyping men, in particular in the 'boys will be boys' shot containing an infinite line of men behind a barbecue chanting the saying. This accusation is quite ironic when it is considered that the ad itself is targeted at relinquishing men's stereotyping of women and even of themselves.
I feel that this ad is extremely powerful and an excellent campaign strategy, challenging men to step up their game and step out of the stereotype of strength and aggression to become better people.
6. Before and after drag
7. Androgynous portraits - coloured lighting
HISTORICALLY WE HAVE DENOTED DIFFERENT PEOPLE AS BEING WORTH LESS THAN OTHERS. NO ONE PERSON IS WORTH MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE.
Jamiya Wilson
"#30. Ashley, Alabama" by Jamiya Wilson - n.d.
"#14. Aliah, Michigan" by Jamiya Wilson - n.d.
In her series: "100 Faces", Wilson humanises the strangers that we meet on the street. Allowing the models the freedom to pose as they wish allows them to bring their individuality, yet the use of the same crop ratio for each image allows for the images to be displayed uniformly. This produces a sense of equality across these 100 individuals. No one person is presented as being more important that another. Furthermore, the images are all monochrome. The lack of colour reduces distraction from the face of the model, allowing the viewer to focus directly on the face. This is important in the display of individuality as the face holds the eyes which are, in turn, thought to hold the secrets of the mind and therefore the character of the individual. The black and white also helps to standardise the portraits so that again, they can be seen as all on the same level so that no one person is more significant than another.
Technically these images are not all perfect. There exists a high level of blur in a number of images, with a couple being out of focus entirely. However,
this adds a sense of individuality to the images, as they are of people and people are not perfect. Using a shallow depth of field is the most likely culprit for these out of focus images however it allows for the background to be blurred out, thus isolating the person from their surroundings so we consider them as they are without the distraction of their environment. The lighting is clearly all natural light, with all of the images having been taken in an outdoor setting. Having naturally lit portraits adds a sense of reality to the images, presenting the people exactly as you would see them on the street.
With this series, Wilson hoped to present the idea that despite crowds existing as a dense mass of bodies that blur into one, each person is "more than just another face in the crowd". Wilson used this series as a means to stop and take a moment to consider the faces each as individuals, as opposed to being part of the flowing stream of bodies. By engaging for a second the stranger becomes humanised, just a small interaction allows us to build empathy toward this person who, a mere few seconds ago was entirely anonymous. It is this empathy that our contemporary society lacks. I fear that we are too caught up in our own business to spare a second to care for others.
I aim to reproduce a series similar to this though in my series, I hope to look at the different jobs that people do. I want to show clearly that each person is unique, but still equal and there is no set life laid out for anyone therefore no one should be subject to prejudice for any reason.
8. Street portraits
Martin Schoeller
Photographer Martin Schoeller is an expert in the field of studio lighting. His work is easily recognised by its high key lighting with strong vertical strip box catchlights in the eyes. In his series 'Close up' Schoeller took numerous images of a variety of different people. Taking the photographs with the same lighting set up, using the same crop and having the models all with the same relaxed facial expression creates a sense of equality. Each of the models is the same size within the frame and therefore there is no one person of greater importance than another. Having taken the images from the same angle (level with the subject) increases the sense of equality as there is no sense of inferiority or superiority from the viewer's perspective. We therefore also see ourselves as being level with the people we see.
The high key set up allows for an atmosphere of truth, with lightness being associated with goodness and purity. I therefore intend to utilise Schoeller's high key lighting set up to produce a similar series, highlighting all of the variance in our physiologies whilst showing that we are all of equal value through the crop ratio and angle of the images.
Top left: "Rhianna" by Martin Schoeller - n.d.
Top right: "Karlie Kloss" by Martin Schoeller - 2017
Bottom left: "Denzel Washington" by Martin Schoeller - 2007–2009
Bottom right: "Zlatan Ibrahimovic" by Martin Schoeller - n.d.
9. Studio portraits - Schoeller
Taryn Simon
Taryn Simon's "Black square I" is an incredibly low key image of the familiar face of Bill Gates. Gates' visage sits in the centre of the photograph in a loose crop which allows the amplification of the darkness consuming the majority of the image. The model is lit incredibly softly and faintly on the short side with a small amount of backlighting to delicately illuminate the outline of the head and shoulders to create a small amount of isolation from the background.
"Black square I." by Taryn Simon - 2008
10. Silhouettes
11. Blended people - FINAL PIECE?
Kara Walker - reclaiming black symbols
street scene mash
robert mapplethorpe
Shoot ad re-makes on colour film - continuous light
if we were all blue would things be different?
softness of masculinity
men crying + women laughing (blend men + women with emotions)
blend parts of people (final piece)
Robbie Cooper - immersion
- Re-make 60s Ads
- Portraits of women in the workplace - fashion portrait esque in stereotypical male jobs
- Stereotypical gender roles
- Typology of workers - equality
- Street portraits
- Set up portraits
- Low key, short key androgynous portraits
- Silhouettes - can't see colour
- Photomontage - splice parts of men and women together
- Men crying
- Men in pink
- Homeless portraits
- Fake homeless people
- House portraits - social status
- Bare portraits - no makeup, hair tied back
- poverty close ups
- prejudice - Kuleshov?