Photography and the Painted Image

Since I was unable to make it to any of the artists talks Danielle and I decided I would write about photography and the painted images, the difference, similarities, role in society, anything I can think about.

Looking back at why I wanted to recreate photos into paintings at the beginning of the semester, and how I feel about it now, has been quite the change. The way i view other artists who do this as well is completly different. Lets take Chuck Close as an example...

Chuck Cloes 'Big Self-Portrait' 1967-68

Look at this image above. It seems to be a black and white photograph of a man with scruffy hair, a moustache, glasses and a cigarette. Most of that is true apart from one key detail - it is a painting not a photograph. However, it is a painting based on a photograph and in some way comments on both painting and the photographic image.

Why spend countless hours painting an image like this when you could create a photograph instantly that looks the same?



Why doesn't most art today look like this and seems to lack the skill that this image would require?

To understand these question I went back to look at the very first photograph and how the invention of photography influenced the very nature of art.

One Summers day in 1826 Nicephore (Joseph) Niepce created the image above. This Grainy image above is thought to be the first permanent photograph and it had an exposure of over eight hours. It is too simple to say Niepce invented photography because the photographic process has undergone so many significant modifications since then.

The invention of a device that could allow anybody to record the world in perfect detail would revolutionize how we see ourselves, how we communicate and how we make art. Without Photography Modern art, film and the Internet would not exist; or at least not as we know them.

Another one of Niepce’s earliest images was of a table – a traditional still life. It is a time honored theme in Art that would still be revisited by future artists. During the 18^th century Chardin produced beautiful painted still lives of simple Kitchen Utensils. There is great poetry in Chardin’s ability to bring such importance to such humble things. Niepce was simply continuing a long tradition – what else would you do with a camera other than make images in the tradition of Painting?

Niepce’s image of the roofs outside his window seems to break away from the traditions of painting and point to something else. The image could be compared to a landscape painting but a painting had never been done of just roofs. There are harsh angles, strong contrast and an abstract nature to image that seems ‘Modern’ to my eye. It reminds me of a Supremacist painting by Malevich.

"We much expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in out very notion of art," Paul Valery 1928

Claude Monet 'Impression - Sunrise' 1872

The invention of photography was announced in 1839. The arrival of a machine that could capture the world in perfect detail - a landscape, a portrait or a building was in direct competition to painting. Painters started questioning how they approached their medium and the first obvious were with the Impressionists. In the painting above Claude Monet's brush marks become looser and more expressive. Color suggests the quality of light but might not be exactly what Monet saw. It is 33 years after the announcement of Photography and Monet is painting an image that could not be taken by a camera.

A photograph of a sunrise is created by light from the sun traveling and reflecting of object. This light then travels through the camera lens onto the light sensitive material. A photograph has a direct relationship to the subject.

A painting is made by matter being applied to a surface and creating areas of light and dark. The paint is applied by hand and is a subjective response by the artist to what they see.

Degas 'Dancers pink and green' 1890

It is 41 years since the announcement of photography. Traditionally paintings were set up like stage sets with the action being perfectly choreographed within the frame. Influenced by the photographic image, Degas has cropped the dancer on the right hand side of the frame as if it was poorly framed snap shot. Not only are the marks getting looser but the composition is changing.

Photography and painting have a relationship I was unaware of, or just had never thought much of before this class. It is a concept I am interesting in doing more research on and exploring even when I finish this class.

Written Critique

I would say that I got a lot of positive feedback on the progress that I have made from my first painting to my second one. Everyone in class seems to understand that I do not come from a painting background and I am glad that everyone seems to be able to tell I am working hard and improving. The larger canvas was something I enjoyed working on, as well as something that got a lot of good feedback that I was painting bigger.

As far as my technical skills go, it was brought to my attention, and I was already aware of the fact some of the proportions were a bit off. It is something I working hard in my newest painting to work on. I put a lot of work into the shirt though, which people seemed to be able to tell and enjoy. I will continue to work with a different variety of brush strokes.

More or less everything I know I need to work on, is what I was told in the critique. I am looking forward to taking what I have been told and using it and growing for my last and final piece this semester.

Recent Work

During the critique I was basically told by the class what I had already heard from Kim, Danielle, and what I was thinking. I need to work bigger. I was intimidated by working big to start with because I was so overwhelmed with the idea of even painting portraits to begin with. I also need to work on my blending within highlights and shadows in the painting. It was my first time with oils, and painting a portrait, I know I need a lot more work, but it is a start.
Currently I am now working on another portrait. I started with a much bigger canvas, and am playing around with shadows and highlights. I am not even very far along with it yet, but it feels more comfortable while painting, and I am enjoying it much more. Being able to play around with brush stroke is something I have been enjoying as well.

As Danielle and I discussed, painting is something very foreign to me, and I doubt myself way too frequently, and need to remember that I am learning, and the more I paint, the better and better I will get at it.

Artists

Chuck Close is a photographer and painter who gained fame through photorealism. He took portraits of people and recreated them in paintings on a large scale. His concept behind the work is basically the same as what I am doing for my project. We both shot portraits of people and have attempted to recreate them with paint.

He worked hard to make the paintings look as if they were photographs. I have decided yet if I want my paintings to look as if they are photographs, or if they are painting recreations of a photograph. I think both are successful for different reasons.

What I found interesting about his methods of working is that he made a grid on his photos and recreated each grid individually when painting. I used the same grid style on my first piece, though I did not work one grid at a time; though I think I may try that with my next painting.


Karel Funk created realistic looking paintings, almost as if they were photographs of the backs or sides of strangers. He wanted to convey that moment when you’re forced to look intimately at the back of a stranger’s head, but I didn’t want there to be any emotional connection. He got his inspiration from spending so much time commuting on the subway in New York City. Unlike traditional portraiture, in which the subject typically locks eyes with the viewer and background details provide clues about them, Funk’s subjects face away from us or have their eyes closed, as if they’re unaware of our presence

Funk and I both possess the quality that we are interested and intrigued by people and portraiture; though we have different ways of executing this interest. Funk has focused on showing that there can be such a disconnect when all we can see the side of back of someone. By not allowing the viewer to see a face, there is no emotion that can be taken from the painting, and the question the viewer is left with, is who is that person? I personally am more interested in the emotional connection a viewer can gain from the face in portrait though.

Funk photographs his models in poses against white backgrounds, and later refers to the digital images on his computer screen while he paints, inventing as he goes until, in the home stretch, he ignores the photographs entirely. Though we have different ways of portraying people and portraits, we both use the same concept of taking photographs and turning them into paintings.

Diane Arbus was a photographer known for her black and white portrait photographs. She was known as "the photographer of the freaks." Though I could not find much information about her process of her work, she definitely had an eye for capturing portraits. All of her work that I could find was done in black and white. Though the portraits I am making are in color, I have focused on black and white photography.

She had an amazing way of being able to show such emotion and a story in just one photograph. Portrait photography aims for this, and distinguishes those whom are actually photographers and those who use their iphone to take pictures. Arbus has managed to capture people in their own settings being themselves, something I work hard to do with my photos.

Proposal

For my project this semester I will be in a way recreating a photography installation I made last semester, but with paint. I will challenge myself by painting the portraits, something that I have very little previous experience with. I focused in my photo installation on how hidden addiction is, and within my paintings I would like to focus on how addiction isn't hidden. I will be starting with smaller paintings, in order to paint numerous portraits and not just one. I want to experiment with different ways to collage, or show the addictions on the portraits.

I think combining a photo installation that I have spent six months creating and care deeply about, will allow my paintings to hold deep meaning to me. I am trying to experiment with different forms of art by working with previous photography projects I have worked on before in order to help my photography and art grow.

30 Studies

This assignment was a challenge for me, not just due to the time constraints, but also due to my lack of previous skill with painting and drawing. As I have said photo is what I have studied and what comes natural to me. I shot a few photos for the assignment, all portraits. I wanted to experiment with sketching, painting, and collaging. I had a lot of fun with working with a variety or different mediums, and combining more than one medium in a piece.
For me, the most experimental studies are the tree sketch, and anything with painting. I had never worked with oils before, so more than anything it was a lot of playing with color and brush strokes. Sketching is something I have never spent time doing, and always been told I was bad at. My tree sketch is something I am actually proud of, and made me want to sketch more.

Looking at all the experiments I created made me realize I want to use more than just one medium in my larger project. I like combining painting, photography, sketching, and collaging into a piece. As far as themes I noticed in my work; a lot of repetition, as far as color, words, objects. I am not sure why I was so big on repetition, but it something I would like to incorporate with my larger project.

Looking at the lists I wrote, a lot of the words are incorporated in my work. I didn't look at the lists much during the project, but apparently what I wrote down is what goes through my head when I make art. I had written down line, color, photo, words, and repetition. All which are shown in my works.