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The Radical Eye : Modernist Photography From Sir Elton John
Room 1 : Portraits
Modernist portraiture harnessed photography’s capacity to render an accurate likeness in clear, sharp focus and detail. But at the same time, artists and sitters pushed the conventions of portraiture with innovations in pose, composition and cropping.
Many of the portraits in this room are of artists, writers and musicians, giving a cross section of key cultural players of the time. Issues of control and collaboration arise particularly when the subject is an artist, raising the question of who is responsible for conveying the sitter’s persona. The modernist period also saw a boom of the illustrated press. Magazines reproduced photographic portraits of well-known figures which were instrumental in shaping their public images.
'They collect themselves. Carefully, as if tying a cravat, they compose their features. Insolent, serious and conscious of their looks they turn around to face the world.'
From ‘Men before the Mirror’, published alongside portraits by Man Ray, 1934
Many of the portraits in this room are of artists, writers and musicians, giving a cross section of key cultural players of the time. Issues of control and collaboration arise particularly when the subject is an artist, raising the question of who is responsible for conveying the sitter’s persona. The modernist period also saw a boom of the illustrated press. Magazines reproduced photographic portraits of well-known figures which were instrumental in shaping their public images.
'They collect themselves. Carefully, as if tying a cravat, they compose their features. Insolent, serious and conscious of their looks they turn around to face the world.'
From ‘Men before the Mirror’, published alongside portraits by Man Ray, 1934
Room 2 : Experiments
'The enemy of photography is convention, the fixed rules ‘how to do’. The salvation of photography comes from the experiment.'
László Moholy-Nagy, c.1940
This was not a period of discovery but of rediscovery. Artists were rewriting the preceding century’s rules of photographic technique, harnessing ‘mistakes’ such as distortions and double exposures, or physically manipulating the printed image, cutting, marking and recombining photographs. These interventions could occur at any point in the process, from taking the image to the final print.
Used in portraiture, such experiments allowed for more psychologically charged representations. However, the transformative power of a particular technique often becomes much more important than the particular subject of the image. Above all, the rich creative possibilities of the photographic process come to the fore. While artists were seriously investigating the medium, the results are often surprising and playful.
László Moholy-Nagy, c.1940
This was not a period of discovery but of rediscovery. Artists were rewriting the preceding century’s rules of photographic technique, harnessing ‘mistakes’ such as distortions and double exposures, or physically manipulating the printed image, cutting, marking and recombining photographs. These interventions could occur at any point in the process, from taking the image to the final print.
Used in portraiture, such experiments allowed for more psychologically charged representations. However, the transformative power of a particular technique often becomes much more important than the particular subject of the image. Above all, the rich creative possibilities of the photographic process come to the fore. While artists were seriously investigating the medium, the results are often surprising and playful.
Room 3 : Bodies
Experimental approaches to shooting, cropping and framing could transform the human body into something unfamiliar. Photographers started to focus on individual parts of the body, their unconventional crops drawing attention to shape and form, accentuating curves and angles. Fragmented limbs and flesh were depersonalised and could be treated like a landscape or still life, dissolving distinctions between different genres. Thanks to faster shutter speeds and new celluloid roll film, photographers could also freeze the body in motion outside of the studio for the first time, capturing dancers and swimmers with a clarity impossible for the naked eye.
'The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.'
Edward Weston, 1924
'The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.'
Edward Weston, 1924
Room 4 : Documents
During the 1930s, photographers refined the formula for what we now know as social documentary. To compel the public to look at less palatable aspects of contemporary society they married creative manipulation with an appeal to viewers’ trust in the photograph as an objective visual record. This combination proved itself uniquely capable of eliciting empathy but is fraught with artistic and ethical complexity. These works highlight the vexed position of documentary photographs: historical evidence, instruments of propaganda and, latterly, works of art.
The development of new technology – particularly the portable camera and roll film – allowed photographers to capture spontaneous moments unfolding in the everyday world. Taking viewers into neighbourhoods where they might never set foot, street photography and documentary opened up new perspectives socially as much as visually.
'The documentary photographer is trying to speak to you in terms of everyone’s experience.'
Dorothea Lange, 1934
The development of new technology – particularly the portable camera and roll film – allowed photographers to capture spontaneous moments unfolding in the everyday world. Taking viewers into neighbourhoods where they might never set foot, street photography and documentary opened up new perspectives socially as much as visually.
'The documentary photographer is trying to speak to you in terms of everyone’s experience.'
Dorothea Lange, 1934
Room 5 : Objects, Perspectives, Abstractions
The subjects and approaches of modernist photography vary widely, but are united by a fascination with the medium itself. Every image asks what photography is capable of and how it can be pushed further. This final room brings together three interlinked approaches. It shows the still life genre reimagined by photographers who used the technical capabilities of the camera to reveal the beauty of everyday things. Objects captured at unconventional angles or extreme close-up become strange, even unrecognisable. A similar effect of defamiliarisation was accomplished by taking photographs from radically new perspectives, positioning a camera at the point of view of the ‘worm’s eye’ or ‘bird’s eye’. This created extreme foreshortening that transformed photographs from descriptive images of things into energetic compositions hovering between abstraction and representation. Abstraction pushes against photography’s innate ability to record objectively. Radical techniques such as cameraless image-making simplified the medium to the point of capturing the play of light on photosensitive paper. By stripping it back to its most basic components, artists celebrated photography, not as a tool for reproduction, but as a creative medium capable of producing new imagery.
'Contradictions of perspective. Contrasts of light. Contrasts of form. Points of view impossible to achieve in drawing and painting.'
Aleksandr Rodchenko, 1920s
Together, the works in this exhibition show how photography pushed the boundaries of the possible, changing the world through the ways in which it was seen and understood. ‘Knowledge of photography is just as important as that of the alphabet. The illiterates of the future will be ignorant of the use of camera and pen alike,’ wrote Moholy-Nagy in 1927, foreseeing the cultural dominance of the photographic image. This extraordinary period still impacts how we, the photo-literate future, read and create images today.
'Contradictions of perspective. Contrasts of light. Contrasts of form. Points of view impossible to achieve in drawing and painting.'
Aleksandr Rodchenko, 1920s
Together, the works in this exhibition show how photography pushed the boundaries of the possible, changing the world through the ways in which it was seen and understood. ‘Knowledge of photography is just as important as that of the alphabet. The illiterates of the future will be ignorant of the use of camera and pen alike,’ wrote Moholy-Nagy in 1927, foreseeing the cultural dominance of the photographic image. This extraordinary period still impacts how we, the photo-literate future, read and create images today.
Structure In Nature
MYOUNG HO LEE
Myoung Ho Lee is a young and upcoming artist from South Korea, who photographs solitary trees framed against white canvas backdrops in the middle of natural landscapes. The elaborate set of photos pose unusual questions about representation, sight, nature and reality, and are complex in execution yet simple in concept. He makes us look at the trees structure in its natural surroundings, whilst also separating the tree from nature by placing a white, blank canvas behind it, as if it is a painting.
Response
Personally, I think that the idea of these images is to capture works of art in nature that we would otherwise ignore. This is done shutting out the background, replacing it with a white canvas to make the viewer see the detail and structure of natural objects (a branch or plant) more vividly. I think that my framing of these photos could have used some work, as some of the images shown above don't quite work as I intended them to. My response also lacks the grand scale of Myoung Ho Lee's photos, instead opting for more intimate images of smaller works of nature.
SAnna KanNisto - Field Works
The core practice of the natural sciences is to collect in order to inspect more closely. Collecting implies taming and containment, traits shared to some extent by photography. Breaking away from the conventions of scientific documentation, which typically presents specimens in isolation and devoid of context, Kannisto’s work addresses the acts of staging and image-making. Her photographs, with their biologically correct titles, show not only the breathtaking beauty of nature, but also the tools used to achieve the would-be image at center—the velvety black drapes at each side, the difficult “neutral” lighting rig, the seamless white background.
REsponse
Like the previous task, I feel that the core purpose of these photos is to show the structure of objects in nature that we would most likely ignore during day to day life. For me, I found this task easier than the previous one due to the fact that these images were taken indoors under artificial light, so it was easier to manipulate the lighting of the image. I also found that I had more time to manipulate where the plant/ leaf would sit, subsequently giving these images better framing than the previous set. It was also easier to focus on the exact part of the plant in which I wanted to focus, something I felt I wasn't able to do in my response to Myoung Ho Lee's work.
Structure of The body
Gunther Von Hagens
Gunther Von Hagens is a German anatomist turned artist, renowned for being the creator of BODY WORLDS - The Original Exhibitions of Real Human Bodies. Hagens invented the technique known as Plastination, a method used to preserve biological tissue specimens. The bodies he preserves are then taken around the world as a form of art. The figures create an opportunity for people to see and learn how our bodies work whilst creating intrigue from an artistic perspective due to the various patterns and colours presented below the skin. Hagen also challenges societal views on death and mortality. We are often taught that respect for the dead comes in the form of removing the body and holding onto the memories, however Hagen's statues somewhat celebrate the deceased, stating that although they have died they are still very much part of life.
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Response
I am happy with the result of my images as I think that captured the unnatural, unsettling tone that Von Hagens work has whilst also giving the images an aesthetically pleasing quality. This was done by blending the structure of the skeleton onto the subjects face effectively, changing the opacity of the eraser tool on Photoshop to make sure the edges of the skeleton weren't obvious. I was also happy with the parts of the skeleton I chose not to erase, as I think that if a full skeletal structure had been blended onto the subject, then the images would have been less unnerving. However, I also feel that I could have tried more inventive, challenging photos, perhaps of the subjects hands or legs, to give the set of images more variation as opposed to being so repetitive.
I found this task a lot more difficult than the previous task due to the more complicated nature of the photos (displaying the inner muscles, tendons and organs of the body). What was difficult for me was attempting to blend the two images together in a visually pleasing way, as the different range of colours present in the innards of the human body easily stood out against the subjects black clothing, making it simple for viewers to tell where one image began and another ended. I prefer the image to the left as I feel that it looks more natural, perhaps due to the stronger opacity of the 2nd image displaying the human innards. For me, the image to the right isn't as good due to the colours being weak, and the image of the spine stands out greatly against the subjects black t shirt.
Brutalism
Brutalism architecture is a movement in architecture that flourished from the 1950's to the mid-70's, descending from the modernist architectural movement of the early 20th century. The term originates from the French word for 'raw' in the term used by Le Corbusier to describe his choice of material beton brut (raw concrete). Examples are typically massive in character (even when not large), fortress-like, with a predominance of exposed concrete construction, or in the case of the "brick brutalists," ruggedly combine detailed brickwork and concrete. There is often an emphasis on graphically expressing in the external elevations and in the whole-site architectural plan the main functions and people-flows of the buildings. Brutalism became popular for educational buildings (especially university buildings), and was favoured for many government projects, high-rise housing, and shopping centres.
Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of some 1930's and 1940's architecture. Brutalism was posited not as a style but as the expression of an atmosphere among architects of moral seriousness. 'Brutalism' as an architectural critical term was not always consistently used by critics; architects themselves usually avoided using it altogether. More recently, 'brutalism' has become used in popular discourse to refer to buildings of the late twentieth century that are large or unpopular – as a synonym for 'brutal'.
Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of some 1930's and 1940's architecture. Brutalism was posited not as a style but as the expression of an atmosphere among architects of moral seriousness. 'Brutalism' as an architectural critical term was not always consistently used by critics; architects themselves usually avoided using it altogether. More recently, 'brutalism' has become used in popular discourse to refer to buildings of the late twentieth century that are large or unpopular – as a synonym for 'brutal'.
Simon Phipps
Simon Phipps is a fine art photographer operating in the UK and has captured a wide range of subjects. In his Brutalist prints, Phipps' approach and execution to the architecture that 'communicates functionality and dynamism’ is unique and creative. To quote Phipps, 'The departure point for my photographic documentation of brutalist architecture is Reyner Banham's essay ‘The New Brutalism’. In his essay, Banham argues that great architecture derives from the correct interaction of structure, function and form whilst also requiring a necessary conceptual content in order to have 'memorability of image'. Phipps states that his intention in his Brutalist project is to 'develop a narrative that explores the dynamic sculptural and conceptual characteristics of brutalist architecture within the context of a socially engaged and progressive movement'.
Response
Responding to Brutalism and the work of Simon Phipps has been my favourite set task to photograph, as I think that Brutalism represents a part of Structure that is rarely seen; one that is harder and harsher than, for example, Myoung Ho Lee's work or Sanna Kannisto's work. I love the aesthetic of the raw concrete buildings, and find it enjoyable to photograph these pieces of architecture from unique and creative angles. Below are edits of my Brutalism shoot, grayscaled in Photoshop as I feel that this adds to the coarse, rough texture and mood that the photos present.
Thomas D Anthony
Using the Filter - Blur - Average tool on Photoshop, Thomas D Anthony uses images of Brutalist buildings (The National Theatre and Trellick Tower) and manipulates them, blocking out any background scenery with a sheet of black and colouring parts of the buildings grey. Due to the black and white colour scheme and the harsh lines and structure of the architecture, the tone and atmosphere that the images give off is one of darkness, yet the simplicity of the images also resemble the minimalist, art deco style of the 20th century, adding to the images visually pleasing look. In my response, I may look to replicate these images, however in a daytime setting as well as a nighttime setting.
Response
I feel that my response could have been better, despite using the blur tool effectively in some edits. The lines created using the polygonal lasso tool could have been straighter, and the railing that travelled across parts of the building proved difficult to remove fully or incorporate into the photo. Overall, I still like the aesthetic of the images, as they still look visually interesting to a viewer. However, when looking closely at the edits, there are some problems that could be improved upon.
Exhibition visit- Wolfgang TIllmans
During the half term, I visited the Tate Modern to see the exhibition of German born artist Wolfgang Tillmans. Tillmans' diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium's foundations. Alongside portraiture, landscape and intimate still lifes, Tillmans pushes the boundaries of the photographic form in abstract artworks that range from the sculptural to the immersive. In 2000, he became the first photographer and non British artist to receive the Turner prize. Tillmans spent many years photographing in the UK, and is currently based in Berlin. I enjoyed the exhibition, as I feel that many of his images address vital political issues in abstract and unique ways. My favourite images of Tillmans were his still lifes, due to the abstract intimacy, aesthetic and atmospheric quality that the images had.
Strands
Strand 1 - Brutalism
For my first strand, I have chosen to continue with my Brutalism work, as I feel that I responded to the powerful work of Simon Phipps well during my set tasks. The harsh, raw concrete nature of the brutalist buildings around London perhaps represent a harder, coarser part of structure, and I feel that the topic of Brutalism is a strong and accurate overall representation of structure.
Response
Photoshop Edits
Filter: Film Grain
Filter: Crosshatch
Filter: Poster Edges
For my 1st Brutalist Strand response (2nd Brutalism response overall), I travelled into Central London to shoot St Giles Hotel, a Brutalist building located near Centre Point (a previous Brutalist focus) on Tottenham Court Road. Once the images were taken, I edited some on Photoshop using the filter tools, such as film grain and cross hatch. This gives the images the feel that they have been sketched, an aesthetic that gives the images a more visually appealing quality, in contrast to regular photos of Brutalist structures. I may do some extra edits to radicalise these images even further, perhaps completely changing the structure of the architecture.
Further Edits
I edited some images from my two Brutalist shoots further, with the aim of distorting the structure of the architecture and destroying the harsh, straight lines that are present in Brutalist buildings. Using several distortion tools on Photoshop (shown above), I completely changed the nature of the architecture, adding a dream like, fantastical quality to the images that couldn't be present in my other edits of Brutalist structure. I really like the result (four images shown below), as they are such a stark contrast to usual Brutalist images, removing the rough, coarse texture that the images presented.
Strand 2 - 3d Shapes
The image to the left is by Arthur Lugauskas, and is a very creative and abstract representation of structure. Here, the artist takes a regular photo of an architectural structure and selects parts of the image using the quick selection tool on photoshop. He then fills in what was selected with paint, or he uses the blur tool to smooth the sides of the architecture, effectively making it a single colour. To me, this is a hugely abstract representation of structure, managing to stand out from other representations of structure whilst looking more aesthetically pleasing.
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Initial Experiment
Reusing photos from my first Brutalist response, I attempted to recreate Arthur Lugauskas's work on Photoshop, mainly using the quick selection tool and the paint bucket tool to execute my plan. I actively attempted to differentiate the sky from the architecture, using different shades of blue to fill in the sky whilst using slightly different shades of red and brown to represent the buildings. Taking away the detail of the buildings and replacing them with flat colour takes away the identity of the architecture, which is important as many people today only care about what the building houses, instead of appreciating the often amazing structure of the building itself. I feel that this initial experiment went well, as I feel I did a good job capturing a similar aesthetic as the artist, aswell as capturing a similar abstract, fantastical tone. However I feel that I could improve on these images greatly, perhaps making the lines that separate the different shades of colours neater. In future responses, I may look to only use 2 or 3 different colours and take more street level photos, as opposed to photos looking upwards at a building.
Response
I am extremely happy with my response to 3D shapes, as I feel that the images are a very abstract and unique representations of structure, whilst also looking aesthetically stunning. I did this photo shoot on the roof of the Tate Modern, as virtually all of London can be seen from up there, giving me lots of landscape, structure and architecture to edit on Photoshop. Using the blur tool, polygonal lines tool and the paint bucket filler, I created the work shown above, which shows the structure of London's skyline, with iconic landmarks featured on the skyline such as St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard and The Gherkin. I attempted to enhance the images by making the sky different shades of a particular colour, which I feel worked very well as the vivid colour palettes add to the images fantastical texture and tone. The bright lights shown in the sky almost remind me of search lights, and of London during the Blitz. This contrasts with the modern outline of the architecture featured in the image, presenting a London that juxtaposes past and present. It could also be interpreted as a grim vision of the future, due to the heated social climate and growing threat of nuclear weapons currently in the world today.
3D shapes - Tools
Strand 3 - Symmetry
The image to the left is the work of symmetry photographer Sasha Levin, whose work I find very inspiring due to the beautiful aesthetic that Levin incorporates into her work. This is my favourite piece of Levin's work, as I find the vivid, clear imagery visually stunning. The image depicts a man standing in a penthouse like building, as he stares out of a window facing a city. Beneath him, is the exact same image however it has been vertically flipped to give the impression of a reflection seen in glass or water. One aspect of the print that is effective is the range of colours Levin uses. The building the man is standing in is strongly illuminated by the sun, bringing out a light brown in the buildings ceiling, walls and pillars. This light brown contrasts neatly with the beautiful shade of blue that the sky is depicted as having, giving the viewer a sense of awe at the striking visual features present in the image.
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Response
Edits
I am happy with my initial response to symmetry, and I also feel that I could develop this a lot further in possible future responses. I feel that I captured the similar tone of beauty that was present in Sasha Levin's work, aswell as the fantastical, unreal reflection effect that appeared in the artists work. I think that the images are great representations of structure, taking architectural structures such as Big Ben and The London Eye and distorting them into a mirror image of themselves, giving each photo a fantasy like quality and adding to the unnatural yet beautiful appeal of symmetry.
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Symmetry Process
Firstly, open up Photoshop and click File, then New. A box like this should come up:
Click OK and a blank piece of paper of will come up on your screen. Drag a photo from the desktop and place it onto the blank piece of paper.
Once the image has been moved into the correct position, drag the same image from the desktop and place it again onto the paper. Right click the image and press Flip Horizontal.
Next, do the same thing again but this time press Flip Vertical.
Then, place another image into the space in the right hand corner, before pressing Flip Horizontal and then Flip Vertical. When all the images are in the correct position, go to Layer and press Flatten Image.
Finally, select the image and crop off the rest of the paper.
The final image should look something like this:
3D Shapes - 3rd Development
For my Strand developments, I have chosen to continue with my development of 3D shapes, as I feel very inspired by the work of artists such as Arthur Lugauskas, Allan D'Arcangelo and Patrick Caulfield, whose works are aesthetically stunning and beautiful for viewers to look at. As a topic, 3D shapes is a fantastic and abstract representation of structure, and I feel that my previous response to the topic was some of my best work of the entire unit.
For my second response to 3D shapes, I travelled around my local area, taking photos of residential streets, with the subject of the images often being trees. I wanted to combine the straight edges of the 3D shapes with the natural shape of trees, juxtaposing this set of images with the heavily urbanised previous set of images, which portrayed the familiar horizons of London's architecture. I was happy with these edits, as I think they show a more nature orientated aspect of structure, whilst also maintaining the aesthetically pleasing visuals of 3D shapes. Personally, I prefer my previous response to 3D shapes, but this is only due to my general preference of urban architectural images.
3D Shapes - 4th Development
For my 4th development, I travelled to Oxford Street to shoot photos. My idea was to try to include a brand name in each edit, conveying a sense that material goods create false ideals, and to capture the idea that people don't look at architecture any more: only the brand that the architecture is home to. I thought this worked well in contrast to the 3D shapes travelling around the image, as it captures part of the real world in a world of fantasy. This time, I focused on different parts of colour theory to really choose the best suited colours which I wanted in my images. For instance, I used dark, cool colours to help give a sense of the image receding, whilst also using warm, light colours in some parts of the images in order for it to look as if it is advancing. I feel that this development went well, again switching back to urban street landscapes with urban themes found within.
%3D Shapes - 5Th development
For my 5th development, I travelled to a bridge in Westminster to shoot photos overlooking the River Thames. Again, I thoroughly thought about elements of colour theory in order to pick the most effective colours for the edits. In each edit, I used complimentary and harmonious colours to make the main parts of the background blend together effectively (the sky and the buildings) so that some parts didn't look odd or feel out of place. I then could place the orange triangles on the buildings, making them visually stand out whilst enhancing the straight lines of the buildings. I feel that I also retained the aesthetically pleasing visuals of my previous developments, whilst at the same time improving the colour theory behind my images. One of my ideas for this development was to revisit the sprawling, urban skyscraper landscape that I feel that I captured so effectively in my very first development, however this time with better experience to produce an ultimately more effective image.
Colour Theory
- In the visual arts, colour theory is a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the visual effects of a specific colour combination.
Complementary Colours
- Complementary colours are pairs of colours which, when combined, cancel each other out. This means that when combined, they produce a grey-scale colour like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those particular two colours. The effect that colours have upon each other had been noted since antiquity. In his essay On Colours, Aristotle observed that "when light falls upon another colour, then, as a result of this new combination, it takes on another nuance of colour." Saint Thomas Aquinas had written that purple looked different next to white than it did next to black, and that gold looked more striking against blue than it did against white; the Italian Renaissance architect and writer Leon Battista Alberti observed that there was harmony between certain colours, such as red–green and red–blue; and Leonardo da Vinci observed that the finest harmonies were those between colours exactly opposed, but no one had a convincing scientific explanation why that was so until the 18th century. In 1704, in his treatise on optics, Isaac Newton devised a circle showing a spectrum of seven colours. In this work and in an earlier work in 1672, he observed that certain colours around the circle were opposed to each other and provided the greatest contrast; he named red and blue, yellow and violet, and green and "a purple close to scarlet." In the following decades, scientists refined Newton's colour circle, eventually giving it twelve colours: the three primary colours (yellow, blue, and red); three secondary colours (green, purple and orange), made by combining primary colours; and six additional colours, made by combining the primary and secondary colours.
Complementary Colours
- Complementary colours are pairs of colours which, when combined, cancel each other out. This means that when combined, they produce a grey-scale colour like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those particular two colours. The effect that colours have upon each other had been noted since antiquity. In his essay On Colours, Aristotle observed that "when light falls upon another colour, then, as a result of this new combination, it takes on another nuance of colour." Saint Thomas Aquinas had written that purple looked different next to white than it did next to black, and that gold looked more striking against blue than it did against white; the Italian Renaissance architect and writer Leon Battista Alberti observed that there was harmony between certain colours, such as red–green and red–blue; and Leonardo da Vinci observed that the finest harmonies were those between colours exactly opposed, but no one had a convincing scientific explanation why that was so until the 18th century. In 1704, in his treatise on optics, Isaac Newton devised a circle showing a spectrum of seven colours. In this work and in an earlier work in 1672, he observed that certain colours around the circle were opposed to each other and provided the greatest contrast; he named red and blue, yellow and violet, and green and "a purple close to scarlet." In the following decades, scientists refined Newton's colour circle, eventually giving it twelve colours: the three primary colours (yellow, blue, and red); three secondary colours (green, purple and orange), made by combining primary colours; and six additional colours, made by combining the primary and secondary colours.
Harmonious colours
- In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organize, what it can not understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Colour harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.
- In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organize, what it can not understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Colour harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.
Warm and Cool colours
- Warm colours — such as red, yellow, and orange; evoke warmth because they remind us of things like the sun or fire
- Cool colours — such as blue, green, and purple (violet); evoke a cool feeling because they remind us of things like water or grass
Analogous colours
- Analogous colours are groups of three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, sharing a common colour, with one being the dominant colour, which tends to be a primary or secondary colour, and a tertiary. Red, orange, and red-orange are examples.The term analogous refers to having analogy, or corresponding to something in particular. An analogous colour scheme creates a rich, monochromatic look. It is best used with either warm or cool colours, creating a look that has a certain temperature as well as proper colour harmony. While this is true, the scheme also lacks contrast and is less vibrant than complementary schemes. Analogous colour schemes usually match well and create serene and comfortable designs. They are often found in nature and are harmonious and visually pleasing.
- Analogous colours are groups of three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, sharing a common colour, with one being the dominant colour, which tends to be a primary or secondary colour, and a tertiary. Red, orange, and red-orange are examples.The term analogous refers to having analogy, or corresponding to something in particular. An analogous colour scheme creates a rich, monochromatic look. It is best used with either warm or cool colours, creating a look that has a certain temperature as well as proper colour harmony. While this is true, the scheme also lacks contrast and is less vibrant than complementary schemes. Analogous colour schemes usually match well and create serene and comfortable designs. They are often found in nature and are harmonious and visually pleasing.
Tints, Shades and Tones
- In colour theory, a tint is the mixture of a colour with white, which increases lightness, and a shade is the mixture of a colour with black, which reduces lightness. A tone is produced either by the mixture of a colour with grey, or by both tinting and shading. Mixing a colour with any neutral colour (including black, grey and white) reduces the chroma, or colourfulness, while the hue remains unchanged.
- In colour theory, a tint is the mixture of a colour with white, which increases lightness, and a shade is the mixture of a colour with black, which reduces lightness. A tone is produced either by the mixture of a colour with grey, or by both tinting and shading. Mixing a colour with any neutral colour (including black, grey and white) reduces the chroma, or colourfulness, while the hue remains unchanged.
Final Piece
For my Final Piece, I decided to focus on a recurring structural theme in my images, something I hadn't done in previous developments. I thought about focusing on the insides of train stations, capturing the intricate architecture of St Pancras and Kings Cross. Ultimately though, I decided against this as I felt that it didn't fit with my previous developments. Therefore, I decided to focus on iconic bridges in London, mainly shooting Tower Bridge and Millennium Bridge. Whilst editing on Photoshop, I tried to incorporate all of the knowledge and techniques I have used in all of my previous developments, including the use of complimentary colours, the advancing and receding shades of colours and the use of the different filters and selection tools available to me. I wanted to juxtapose a dark foreground that included grey architecture with a bright, vibrant sky of orange, blue or red. I feel that this creates an interesting, unique, and visually beautiful aesthetic, whilst also grounding the photo in a way that some of my previous developments have failed to do. Despite this, I feel as if I have also captured the same fantastical elements of what made my previous developments of 3D shapes unique.
Whilst creating my final piece for Structure, I also focused more on the depth of field of the images, and what tools could be used in order to manipulate this aspect of the edits. It is easy to create a seemingly flat canvas of 3D shapes, which I did in my first development, however in my final piece I used darker and lighter shades of a particular colour to create a sense of depth to the image. This adds to the abstract texture and tone of the images, which therefore corresponds better to the real world, in which every shape is 3D. Another effective idea I used was to split up parts of the architecture itself and colour some parts a darker shade of whatever colour I used for that particular edit. Again, this technique adds to the 3D nature of the image, dispelling any seemingly flat shapes that take away from the uniquely abstract aesthetic of the image.
Overall, I am happy with my final development of 3D shapes, as I have taken into account all the experience I gained from the previous five developments and displayed it all in the three edits below, whilst managing to retain the same aesthetically pleasing visuals which made my first development so effective. I also think that I successfully took elements from the work of Patrick Caulfield, Arthur Lugauskas and Allan D'Arcangelo without copying their work, taking time to invent my own, unique brand of 3D shapes. I feel that this topic is a beautiful representation of structure, combining the abstract nature of man made architecture and urban landscapes with the intricate structure of the natural environment.
Whilst creating my final piece for Structure, I also focused more on the depth of field of the images, and what tools could be used in order to manipulate this aspect of the edits. It is easy to create a seemingly flat canvas of 3D shapes, which I did in my first development, however in my final piece I used darker and lighter shades of a particular colour to create a sense of depth to the image. This adds to the abstract texture and tone of the images, which therefore corresponds better to the real world, in which every shape is 3D. Another effective idea I used was to split up parts of the architecture itself and colour some parts a darker shade of whatever colour I used for that particular edit. Again, this technique adds to the 3D nature of the image, dispelling any seemingly flat shapes that take away from the uniquely abstract aesthetic of the image.
Overall, I am happy with my final development of 3D shapes, as I have taken into account all the experience I gained from the previous five developments and displayed it all in the three edits below, whilst managing to retain the same aesthetically pleasing visuals which made my first development so effective. I also think that I successfully took elements from the work of Patrick Caulfield, Arthur Lugauskas and Allan D'Arcangelo without copying their work, taking time to invent my own, unique brand of 3D shapes. I feel that this topic is a beautiful representation of structure, combining the abstract nature of man made architecture and urban landscapes with the intricate structure of the natural environment.