2.2 Internal - Art

Kaupapa

My kaupapa was originally based on cityscape/buildings. However, I realised that my portfolio may look boring if there are only pictures of buildings. Therefore, I decided that I would incorporate buildings/structures into my main theme of "isolation" instead.

Portfolio Panel 1 - #1

This is what my panel 1 looked like during early last month. I originally planned to make the colours go from cool tones to warm tones, however as can be seen from what my board looked like, I changed it to go from black & white and I wanted it to slowly gain colour. On the left side of the board, I wanted it to flow from a zoomed out angle of an object to a zoomed in angle, to sort of symbolise the emptiness of the location. When finished, I wanted panel 1 to be filled with photos of abandoned places to start off the idea of "isolation/isolated". Then the very last picture would've been 2 phones next to each other with one phone showing a person "reaching out" to nobody on one phone, while the other phone is turned off to transition into the next board where people in the photos will slowly come in. 

Portfolio Panel 1 - #2 

This is what my panel 1 looked like during late last month. The colour scheme is still black & white. I didn't continue with using some of the pictures from #1 as I believe that they weren't photographed well enough. I also added new photos that relate to each other to create a series. The series on the right side is supposed to show the flow from a zoomed in angle to a zoomed out angle to symbolise the loneliness of the location. I photographed objects by themselves to subtly symbolise loneliness. I photographed the reflection of the lamp using a phone screen as the sides of the screen act as framing, therefore the focal point would be the lamp. I used a phone instead of a mirror because I wanted it to be modern. To me, a phone symbolises loneliness because when I envision isolation in modern times, I see a person in the corner of a room filled with people using their phone or a person that chooses to go on their phone instead of communicating with others. For the photo showing the towel, I photographed it in that angle showing the door to symbolise the isolation of one thing - opening the door and immediately seeing only one towel. I haven't finished my panel 1 during this time, but I was thinking of adding another series to complete it. 

Portfolio Panel 1 - #3

This is what my panel 1 looks like now. As can be seen, the black & white colour still remains. I chose to keep this colour scheme as I feel that it will give my panel the "dramatic" effect. The panel is filled with multiple pictures that relate to each other. For example, the first 3 pictures are related as they all show a lamp, the bottom 3 pictures are related as they all show an arch etc. As I mentioned previously, I wanted it to flow from a zoomed out angle of an object to a zoomed in angle to symbolise the emptiness of the location - this can be seen in the 3 photos of the railing on the right side of the panel and the bottom 3 photos. On #1 of this panel, I mentioned that this panel would be filled with abandoned places. However, I decided to fill it up with pictures that showed one object around the home to symbolise loneliness. Lastly, I mentioned that the very last picture would be 2 phones next to each other with one phone showing a person "reaching out" to nobody on one phone, while the other phone is turned off to transition into the next board where people in the photos will slowly come in. I changed this as this could be too "out there". I didn't want to showcase being alone obviously but wanted to do it subtly. The 3 bottom photos will transition smoothly to the next board as the first few photos on the next board will also be zoomed in and out. 

Plan for Final Layout of Panel 1 - #4

Artist Model - William Eggleston, Martin Parr & Ans Westra

Most of my building/structural photos are inspired by William Eggleston. William Eggleston uses daily life/daily structures in his photographs to show the beauty in daily life. I love the idea of this idea and wanted to also incorporate it with my main theme of "isolation". To connect these, these structural photographs show how beautiful daily life is but also shows how beautiful it is despite being "isolated" - there's only one object in each photo. Martin Parr works with colour photography. 

Due to this, I was inspired to add colour to my portfolio (will be seen on panel 2) as it symbolises how adding a touch of colour will make what seems to be a normal day/scenery beautiful. Ans Westra works with lifestyle photography. Lifestyle photography is a portrait photography that captures real life situations. My photographs on panel 1 aren't portraits, however, Ans Westra has influenced these photographs because of the idea of capturing real life moments. I used objects to show someone's lifestyle "behind the scenes". These artists' are my model because all 3 of them use daily life in their photographs and show how beautiful this can be. My kaupapa was inspired by them because I wanted to showcase an isolated person's lifestyle and finding beauty in it. 

Inspiration Photos

Final Layout for Panel 1 - #5

Portfolio Panel 2 - #1

This is my current layout plan for panel 2. This panel would be filled with surrealism edits using photos I photographed beforehand. Panel 2 will still mostly be black & white, except for some photos that I plan to put colour in. I will also keep the idea of putting pictures in that relate to each other and the idea of going from a zoomed out angle to a zoomed in angle. To connect panel 2 and panel 1, I am thinking of making my last 3 pictures the pictures of the lamp again. However, this time colour will be added to the very last photo of the lamp - show colour of the light to symbolise "hope". To connect the surrealism edits and adding colour, my surrealism edits will be related to "hope" and some of these edits will show colour. 

Contact Sheets

2.2 Photography Criteria

Portfolio Board Panel 2 - #1

How many series of works are you planning?

- Right now I plan to do 4 ( all blue boxes and pink boxes) series of works. On the blue boxes, I plan to do photography of a person through the trees, shadows, buildings, and or mirror reflection. While on the pink boxes I plan to do an over the shoulder shot of a person. 

What can you tell me about how they extend upon your kaupapa?

- My kaupapa is 'isolation/being alone'. These extend upon isolation/being alone as these photographs will symbolise this person as "looking" over what they desire their life to be while feeling like they can't obtain it.

How?

- Taking photographs of a person through the trees, shadows, buildings etc. will show how the person is looking at their ideal world but they feel disconnected from it. While an over the shoulder shot of a person will show how the person desires the life they see in front of them but them being too hopeless to obtain it, therefore they are only able to watch others live the life they desire. 

What are your next steps?

- My next steps would be to go to the city and take pictures of a person as I stated above. I would also need to think about what kind of photos I should put in the other boxes or if I should stick to my original idea of how the last few boxes will indicate the person slowly finding hope to obtain their desire. 

 

Portoflio Board Panel 1 - #1

This is what board 1 currently looks like. I originally planned to make the colours go from cool tones to warm tones, however as can be seen on my board, I wanted it to go from being black & white to slowly gaining colour. On the left side of the board, I wanted it to flow from a zoomed out pov of an object to a zoomed in, to sort of symbolise the emptiness of the location. When finished, board 1 would mostly be filled with photos of abandoned places to start off the idea of "isolation/isolated'. Then the very last picture would be 2 phones next to each other with one phone showing a person "reaching out" to nobody on one phone, while the other phone is turned off to transition into the next board where people in the photos will slowly come in. 

Contact Sheet

 

Photoshoot:

My kaupapa is based on cityscape/buildings. Therefore, my focus for my next photoshoot is taking pictures of buildings in the public and using angles that will make them look more welcoming and warm. I am planning to take pictures of buildings like malls, local shops, local buildings, or cityscapes. 

Personhood

 What is a human? How do we define that?

- According to the internet, humans are a species of highly intelligent primates.

What is a person? Is this different from being a human, and if so, why?

- I believe that being a person could be different from being a human. This is because I feel that the word "human" is just a label. While our personality, experiences, memories, likes, dislikes, characteristics, etc. is what makes us a person. Therefore, a person and a human can be different.

What are your thoughts on Sandra the Orangutan receiving 'personhood'?

- I don't dislike the idea of this. If we're allowed to label or name whatever we want, then why can't an animal be able to label itself a person? For example, we called trees, well trees, we called houses, houses, etc, therefore, an animal being labeled a person should be fine too. Also, as I've said before, I believe that personality, experiences, memories, likes, dislikes, characteristics, and so on are what make us human. Hence, I don't see any excuse why Sandra shouldn't be allowed to be called a person. 

Do you think the idea of personhood will become more complicated in the future, with the rise of artificial intelligence? Explain your response.

- I think it's 50/50. This is because there will always be pros and cons to situations like this. For example, some may label AIs as 'humans' or 'people', and some might disagree with this. 

The Ship of Theseus

 The Ship of Theseus 

What is it?

- The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment. The story being, Theseus (the ship) was used by the youth of Athens to return from Crete had 30 oars. Over time as the old planks decayed, Athens replace the old planks with new planks. The questions, being would the ship still remain the same if the Athens had replaced every old plywood with a new one or if they built an entirely new ship that looks exactly the same as Theseus with the old plywood from the other ship. 

What do you think?

- I think it depends on how you would interpret "remaining the same". For instance, you may or may not have had a friend who "changed". Most would interpret it as they've changed "everything" about them, even the stuff on the "inside". However, some may interpret it as only changing the outside but the stuff on the inside stays the same (thoughts, feelings, memories, etc.). This I believe, links in with this thought experiment, as everyone could interpret "remaining the same" differently. Therefore, I wouldn't say there's an exact answer to this thought experiment as there are different ways to interpret the question. 

Does this relate to our human identity? How so?

- I believe it can relate to our human identity. What I mean by that is how someone interprets 'human identity'. Do they interpret as existing as humans? Or do they interpret it as existing as some sort of creatures called "humans"? Again, as I've said before, there are so many ways to interpret a question. Even the question above can have so many interpretations and answers. 

Art: Mood Board, Themes & Brainstorm

 Mood board & Brainstorm:

- Up above is a picture of my mood board. My board is based on cityscape/building etc.

-Up above is my brainstorm. It's my brainstorm of what story/stories I want my photos to tell. 

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Subject Matter & Kaupapa

(CI) Can you identify these themes or ideas?

- They both show Maori patterns. The bird on the left is positioned making it look it’s dead, whilst the one on the right looks like it falling, almost as if it was shot from the sky.

(CI) Are the themes of each artist different? Why?

- I believe that artists have similar themes to each other. I believe this because their portraits main focus is the person, whilst also having flowers on the background. The only difference I can see is the colour scheme. While one side is darker and is into darker colours, the other side is brighter and of course has brighter colours. 

(CI) Which work expresses the theme of calm conquest over death?

- I believe that the image on the left gives off a calmer vibe. This is because the colours used seem brighter and vibrant, also if we compared it to the image on the right, it also looks less chaotic. 

Which work expresses a painful, suffering death?

- I think that the image on the right expresses a more painful vibe. This is because the colours used are less brighter and there is also a skull on the ground. This image also looks more chaotic than the other one, therefore giving off a messy vibe. 

How does the style, colour, and form express each theme? 

- The colours used on the left image are more vibrant and bright, which gives a style of calmness. While the image on the right is the opposite and looks dull and the people in the image also look more in pain, making the image look chaotic/painful.