The science museum and the v&A
my images from the trip
sense impressions
This is a list of sense impressions from the trip I happened to find memorable.
Sounds
Sounds
- trains coming in to the station
- the steps of people walking down into the tube
- the echoes of the steps in the tunnel of the south kensington underground
- the shouts and chattering of the schoolchildren beside the science museum
- the whispers of those inside the gallery
- the elongated shadows of the people walking along victoria station
- the long halogen lights within the tube
- the small section of ceiling window within the tube tunnel
- the amazing directional light looking from above on people in the street
- the foil used in the space exploration area of the science museum
- the marble busts in the v&a
- the cold morning air before getting on the train
- the cool polluted air of victoria station
- the smell of carbohydrate heavy foods being cooked
- the musty and warm air of the tube
- the smell of tobacco while walking down the street
- the smooth and reflective floor of the station
- the reflective cases of the flowers and plants for sale
- the smooth concrete and pavement outside the museum
- the foil used in the moon mission area in the museum
- the marble sculptures smooth texture
alec soth
Alec Soth is an American photographer and photojournalist who conducts very large scale projects and expeditions featuring most prominently the mid-western states. His images can be associated with that of a cinematic style. His work in many ways, captures a profound commentary of what it is to be human, often due to the use of desolate landscapes and centered portraits. As well as capturing and commenting on the human condition, the work also speaks true of the tension between individualism and community.
images from the exhibition
These are the images I took while in the Alex Soth exhibition. The images I included were those that I took to personally and resonated with me. I also therefore took the text that accompanied each set of images, as the exhibition was split into three acts with different approaches and subject matter.
richard learoyd
Richard Learoyd's work heavily contrasts Soth's in its approach. He is a still life photographer who uses only the camera obscura to capture his scenes. He uses an obscura the size of a room which has a lens. The photographic paper, the size of the room is then exposed and developed. This produces an image without film grain, and with immense size and realism, also an image taken with a very large aperture, only producing a small slice of focus. Learoyd's subject matter most often are still human subjects, often with very neutral or melancholy expressions, dead animals and everyday objects, most prominently the mirror. They are incredibly emotive due to the size of the prints and their subjects.
images from the exhibition
Although the exhibition was dim in lighting, I still managed to take some photos of the images I preferred most of all within the exhibition, and that I thought were personally the most interesting, inspiring and beautiful.
similarities and differences
There are a variety of similarities and differences between the two artists body of work and process in its production. Both photographers print large images for their exhibitions. This produces a very dramatic effect and an air of importance behind the work. It has gravity. Both photographers also have a distinctive style regarding colour. Learoyd using purples and dark greys, along with dirty white, Soth using bright or dull colour schemes in each image to reflect the subject matter.
However there are many differences within their work. Learoyd for a start only shoots subjects from still life, at an incredibly slow shutter speed, with models that reflect the mood he preemptively decides before the outcome. Soth however is a documentary photographer, most likely using film in an SLR, capturing the moment with fast shutter speeds quickly and efficiently and then using the editing process with his body of work to produce a series that is powerful.
However there are many differences within their work. Learoyd for a start only shoots subjects from still life, at an incredibly slow shutter speed, with models that reflect the mood he preemptively decides before the outcome. Soth however is a documentary photographer, most likely using film in an SLR, capturing the moment with fast shutter speeds quickly and efficiently and then using the editing process with his body of work to produce a series that is powerful.
curation/display
Seeing these images in the context of a gallery is highly contrasted to the usual experience of the photographers in the everyday, on a computer or in a book. Seeing them blown up gave them their supposed and supporting context and in essence made them far more powerful. What they lacked online dissipated in life. The way in which the images are viewed is also different within a gallery. I was walking and not sitting, and therefore experienced the images as more 'real' as if they were scenery or experiences in real time.
Alec Soth's images were curated in a way that accentuated their already supposed meaning. They were printed incredibly large, drawing attention to all the details within the photo, yet most importantly also giving a power and depth to the images, represented by their size, and therefore allowing the viewer to experience that in their rather romantic and perfectly composed glory, gave a large amount of satisfaction. Soth's images communicate not just the details of the image, but the entire scene, which is their main focus. The environment and the subject take center stage, rather than the formal elements that make the image a good one. The colour in the images is also far more powerful within the gallery context also, such as the image filled with red above. It becomes overwhelming and extreme in colour, yet beautiful in that way.
Richard Learoyd's images were curated in a way that drew attention more to detail than the subject itself. Yet this did not detract from the images themselves, as this was for me, the main element in the success of the images. The horses head, for example, as a very small print, would not work as the direction of the eye would be lost, as well as the realism captured by his use of the camera obscura. It would not be as powerful.
Alec Soth's images were curated in a way that accentuated their already supposed meaning. They were printed incredibly large, drawing attention to all the details within the photo, yet most importantly also giving a power and depth to the images, represented by their size, and therefore allowing the viewer to experience that in their rather romantic and perfectly composed glory, gave a large amount of satisfaction. Soth's images communicate not just the details of the image, but the entire scene, which is their main focus. The environment and the subject take center stage, rather than the formal elements that make the image a good one. The colour in the images is also far more powerful within the gallery context also, such as the image filled with red above. It becomes overwhelming and extreme in colour, yet beautiful in that way.
Richard Learoyd's images were curated in a way that drew attention more to detail than the subject itself. Yet this did not detract from the images themselves, as this was for me, the main element in the success of the images. The horses head, for example, as a very small print, would not work as the direction of the eye would be lost, as well as the realism captured by his use of the camera obscura. It would not be as powerful.
what I respond to personally
I personally respond most, when concerning Soth's work, is his style of photographing, which is always heavily linked with the environment, especially within his colour work. The photographs are clean, precise and composed and speak true of the subject without interference or confusion. They are clear-cut and therefore easy to interpret from anyone's perspective or viewpoint, allowing more in depth appreciation for not just the event of the photograph, but the colours, textures, and other formal elements that are so beautifully pieced together.
I personally respond most, when concerning Learoyd's work, to the openness in meaning that they give way to. Simply being still lives allows the viewer to focus on the existence on one simple object or subject, subverting the usual expectation of the still life as a composition, and allowing for a deeply subjective approach to viewing of the one experiencing the photograph that resonates personally.
I personally respond most, when concerning Learoyd's work, to the openness in meaning that they give way to. Simply being still lives allows the viewer to focus on the existence on one simple object or subject, subverting the usual expectation of the still life as a composition, and allowing for a deeply subjective approach to viewing of the one experiencing the photograph that resonates personally.
what I have learnt
From Soth I have learnt to be minimal in my approach to photography of human subjects. Less is more in this respect in his process to produce his work.
From Learoyd I have learnt that attention to detail, compositionally and considering tone and lighting is important and intrinsic to the production of a good photograph.
From Learoyd I have learnt that attention to detail, compositionally and considering tone and lighting is important and intrinsic to the production of a good photograph.
contact sheet
These are the images from the trip that I consider to be the best. They are chosen through personal intuition, technical skill presented within the image in composition or otherwise, interesting subjects and the quality of light. I will now sequence these images with a specific rationale similarly to a photobook.
image refinement and sequencing
The rationale which ran through these images, is, as is most pragmatic while I am working on a photobook, a sequential one. I attempted to link each image by a simple formal element, subject, approach or compositional similarity, therefore creating a sequence of themes that change through the photographs. This in a sense is what linked all of the photographs. This leaves the viewer, in many ways hopefully trying to guess the links between in each image, and forming meaning from each relationship two images have. The sequence in many ways therefore becomes a sequence of diptychs as they are flicked through, as each image relates with the image ahead and so on independently of the rest. I shall now explain the link between each image, therefore presenting my thought process.
1-2: a large mass of individual but similar shapes
2-3: small strips and areas of brightness
3-4: the subject matter of lights
4-5: a central subject
5-6: a central person
6-7: a central, similarly toned subject
7-8: three separate subjects in the image
8-9: huge directional light streaking
9-10: central similar smoking subject matter
10-11: similar subject matter
11-12: an old man subject alone
12-13: taken of the same building
13-14: similar but contrasted lines and composition
14-15: vastly contrasted lines and angles
15-16: downward lines and a smooth gradient of tones
16-17: similar subject matter of shadows
17-18: similar subject, place and time taken
18-19: inverted in the way in which the light falls in the image
19-20: same action of smoking
20-21: similar architecture of pillars
21-22: two men together similarly
22-23: similar in oddness of angle in which the photograph was taken
1-2: a large mass of individual but similar shapes
2-3: small strips and areas of brightness
3-4: the subject matter of lights
4-5: a central subject
5-6: a central person
6-7: a central, similarly toned subject
7-8: three separate subjects in the image
8-9: huge directional light streaking
9-10: central similar smoking subject matter
10-11: similar subject matter
11-12: an old man subject alone
12-13: taken of the same building
13-14: similar but contrasted lines and composition
14-15: vastly contrasted lines and angles
15-16: downward lines and a smooth gradient of tones
16-17: similar subject matter of shadows
17-18: similar subject, place and time taken
18-19: inverted in the way in which the light falls in the image
19-20: same action of smoking
20-21: similar architecture of pillars
21-22: two men together similarly
22-23: similar in oddness of angle in which the photograph was taken