Project Seven - Surrealism and Photomontage

This first surrealism picture is the imaginative, abstract art that is commonly found in surrealism art and images. I chose to use a flower as the sun and hands as birds because they represented the real life objects well. I additionally put in a couple of people who are flying away on a bouquet of flowers to add to the strange abstraction of the photo. If I had this photo to do over again, I would do something differently with the background. I like the mountain image, but I think a posterizing effect would work well with the rest of the photograph.

This second image is a more "realistic" form of surrealism. I was inspired by the artists who put people in jars, particularly one person who put a boy sitting on the edge of the jar fishing into it. I liked the jar because it gave a sense of scale to the image. I put three people in the image playing in "snow," which is actually cherry blossom petals and flowers. When the petals fall from the trees in springtime, it always looks like snow to me, and that's how the I the inspiration to create this image. The petals are from five different photos and are repeated over one hundred times (total) in order to create the "snow storm" effect. I am happy with the final outcome of this photograph. 

Surrealism Introduction

Surrealism 

Historically Prominent Surrealist Artists

Metamorphosis of Narcissus

Salvador Dalí

The Elephant Celebes

Max Ernst

Reply to Red

Yves Tanguy

Surrealism is a type of art in which the artist creates unrealistic images. In many cases, the images appear funny or humorous because they are so strange. Images can also appear dreamlike, rather than ridiculous. Surrealism began in the 1920s, created to "release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious." Surrealism mainly dominated artists who used paint or pencil as their medium, but today surrealism extends into photography (see below for surrealist photographers). 

Surrealist Photographers

The Mind's Eye

Maurice Tabard

Untitled

Man Ray

Patti Shambles

Thomas Barbey

Kylli Sparre

Project Seven - Alternative Processes through Digital Means

Cyanotypes

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After

Cyanotypes were mostly used with still-life subjects. For this photograph, I used a photo of tree bark that I had taken for a previous project. I used deep depth of field while shooting this image, as I felt that the texture of the bark would stand out more. I like how the movement of the bark shows through the blue hues of cyanotype image. 

Before

After

In all of my cyanotype pictures, I chose to use a darker blue. I wanted to give my own spin on the cyanotyope pictures. I also felt that the bright blue didn't work with my images as well. The bright blue is not as aesthetically pleasing to me as the navy blue is. This is a picture of Mt. Adams. In addition to darkening the foothills below it, I gave the image some grain to make it look older. I felt that the grain effect paired well with the cyanotype finish.

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After

Historically. cyanotypes were commonly used with still life subjects. As infant mortality rate was high, families would choose to immortalize the dead by photographing them. I wanted to emulate this practice. I used a picture of my sister that I flipped so that she would be lying down. I edited the image to make her eyes look darker and give the photo a more deathly appearance. Even though the subject is dark, I am happy with the final outcome of the photo.

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Daguerreotype

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After

Daguerreotypes are typically portraits, so I used a picture that I had used for my emulation final. I applied a subtle texture while editing, along with a golden-brown tint. I also wanted to implement the gold framing technique which daguerreotypes were known for. I think the frame around the photo might not fit the mood, but I wanted to see what it would look like nonetheless.

Before

 After

For this second daguerreotype, I wanted to leave the frame off. I tried to give the edges a rougher look, but nothing looked right so I left it off. When editing, I wanted to give this image a more metal-like effect. I made the light part of the photo more apparent and gave it a more silvery color. I also painted over the texture I applied. The print gave the photo a distressed metal look. I came at this photo from a different angle than the first, but I think that I like my first edit more. 

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Gum Bichromates

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After

The final alternative process that I chose to try is gum bichromate. Gum bichromate photography was developed in the 1800s and typically concerned images such as landscapes, but many different subjects can be found. There is no one person who is responsible for the development of the gum bichromate process. This type of photography involves layering different colors upon one another. This is a photograph of my sister, utilizing slow shutter speed. This was my first attempt at a gum bichromate. I love the texture in the photograph, but if I was to edit this photo again, I would soften the colors, particularly the blue. 

Before

After

I liked this gum bichromate edit better than the first one. This second image still has vibrant colors, but is a bit more subdued and more painterly. Gum bichromate photographs typically have watercolor-like effects. I am very happy with how this turned out. I layered bright yellow, indigo and magenta in this image. This is an image of Christmas tree lights that I blurred by used a slow shutter speed.