Shoots

27/04/13 Andy Goldsworthy Location Shoot
Although I hadn't yet figured out what I was going to make my Andy Goldsworthy-esque lines out of, I decided to go in to Hulme and shoot locations of where I could photograph them. I rolled up a line of bin bags and secured it with tape to act as my temporary 'line' and placed it down in various places. I think the images where the lines are on a hill work best because the line naturally leads out of sight over the top, there is no sudden end to it. The hill also allows there to be part of Hulme in the background because the camera can be angled upwards. This helps to contextualise the sculpture. During this shoot I also came across a grassy patch full of dandelions. These would be perfect to use for my lines of flowers!

Contact sheets:

Ideas

Flower Idea Development
After completing artist research my favourite idea is to recreate sculptures of Andy Goldsworthy's around Hulme, using the lines of flowers as a metaphor for a 'timeline of regrowth'. The problem I have to overcome with this idea is where I am going to get the flowers from. In an ideal world there would be somewhere where I could pick them whenever I liked, however I can't think of anywhere nearby. I could buy them for quite cheap from Asda but I don't know how long they would last if I needed them for reshoots. I would also have to buy a lot so it could get quite expensive. Another idea I have had is to buy fake petals off the internet. You can buy a thousand petals for about £5 which could be a possibility, however the weather would have to be perfect for this to work or they would just blow away. My last idea is to use fruit instead of flowers. Fruit would last longer, they are more accessible to me and they also bare the same connotations of regrowth that flowers do. However, I don't think this would look as effective. Random fruit placed in Hulme wouldn't look as natural as flowers.

Ideas/Research

Ideas Artist Research
Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor and photographer. He is well known for his sculptures located in natural landscapes, made from natural materials. I selected the images above from his wide variety of work because I think they fit in really well with my theme. The line of flowers has connotations of 'timeline' along with 'regrowth': essentially, Hulme is a timeline of regrowth and redevelopment. The circle of flowers in the top image is also interesting as this could be used to refer to the cycle of growth Hulme has experienced. On Goldworthy's website he uses a diary format to show the challenges he faces when creating his work. The entry attached to the second image above reads, "Diary: 8th June Swindale. I have waited for dandelions to appear again after the ring (4th). It has been overcast/raining ever since. But today sun shining! Cloudy as well. Had to wait until almost midday for dandelions to fully open and dry out. Went off in the car searching around Brough. And change at the woods - bracken now rising about bluebells which are now past their peak - this work couldn't have been made any later in (a matter of days)."

I think it would be really interesting to recreate these images in Hulme, it is just whether I will face too many challenges when making the sculptures, especially as I am inexperienced in that field.

Ideas/Research

Idea Artist Research
Farhad Ahrarnia

Farhad Ahrarnia's collection Beautiful is the Silence of Ruins is made up of digitally manipulated photographs of famous Hollywood stars of the 30s - 60s, such as James Dean, Carole Lombard and Montgomery Clift, combined with archive images of Iranian ruins. These are then printed on to canvas and then partly embroidered. Ahrarnia raises the issue of how war is glamourised by todays media by using images of glamourous stars (some holding guns) beside images of war ruins. The embroidery links the two photographs together with the use of the darting lines across the two. Ahrarnia links the ancient monuments of Iran with the modernity represented by Hollywood, while the tight threads hint at the tension between the two countries. At first glance the shapes and lines are very colourful against the black and white images but then we notice how angular and harsh they are, which creates a sense of anger and stress.

This could relate to my own idea of Hulme and the flower quite nicely. I could get a photograph of Hulme and a photograph of a flower and put them side by side to create the link. Or alternatively I could have a black and white image of Hulme and embroider colourful flowers on top of the image. Although I think this would make a very interesting piece of work, my lack of embroidery skills may be a hindrance!

Ideas/Research

Idea Artist Research
I am going to look at different artists that could give me inspiration for a 'flower' related final outcome.

Roberta Bailey

Roberta Bailey creates these interesting images by scanning in flowers. Her work celebrates their mysterious beauty and showcases their intricate design. She explains her technique as follows. "I start by arranging the flowers in a clear container (glass or plastic) on top of the scanner (I take off the scanner lid). Then I make preliminary previews and zooms while adjusting the composition with a toothpick and tweezers before scanning... After I have made a few dozen scans of different compositions with the same elements, I select my favorite(s) to complete in Photoshop. Some images take only a few hours, while others may take a few days to complete. For me, the most important part of the process is playing with new and different scanning and Photoshop ideas." I like the way the scanner creates folds and creases in the flowers and the way this creates interesting patterns. The beautiful colours are also enticing.

I could use this idea myself by scanning in images of flowers and overlaying them with images of Hulme  in Photoshop. I could also scan in photographs of Hulme with flowers/petals already laid on top.

Ideas

Flower Idea
During the previous shoot I had the idea of using a flower as a metaphor for the regrowth of Hulme. I think Hulme can be related to the cycle of a flower as it has 'died' and 'regrown' on more than one occasion. I wondered how I could incorporate this idea in my photography. I don't want to just take photographs of flowers as I think this is a very unimaginative and boring idea. Could I incorporate flowers by overlaying images of them on top of photos of Hulme using Photoshop? Could I scan in images of Hulme with petals on top? Could I use textiles in order to embroider flowers on top of images? I think to progress this idea I need to research various artists/photographers related to this subject for inspiration.

Shoots

22/04/13 Inspiration Shoot
Week beginning the 15th April I became ill with flu and hence didn't attend Uni all week. I also didn't do any work and I feel a bit behind but am keen to catch up this week. To start with I decided to do a shoot in Hulme to gain inspiration for a new idea as my last one didn't work. During this shoot I photographed different things in Hulme which interested me. This is how I got the idea of using the flower as a metaphor for  Hulme's regrowth cycle. I want to look in to this idea further. I also want to point out the lighting in this shoot. It was shot around 8-9pm, just as the sun was setting and I think this creates a very interesting lighting affect.