final images- assignment 5

In this image, I constructed an unusual scene. It is unclear whether the girl is coming out of the pumpkin, or if she found it as is. The emphasis is on the girl, which was cut out of a magazine and pasted onto cardboard. I used natural light and balanced the subject between the smashed pumpkin. I wanted this image to play with reality. The viewer is to determine which is normal size, the pumpkin or the girl. To create this image, I cut open a pumpkin, spread its innards everywhere, and put my subject in the middle of the scene. The background is obviously a pumpkin, so my goal was to question reality. Through this image, I was channeling many other photographers with constructed scenes. One of the artists I researched played with reality as I did by using subjects that appear to be real humans, but are not.

This image was a response to a “still life” prompt. To create this image, I set up pairs of leather boots on the floor and took pictures at different angels and depths. I wanted to have a unique perspective, since still lives are generally depicted with a straightforward viewpoint. It is hard to tell what exactly was photographed in that the boots took on an abstract shape. Since still lives are easily recognizable, it was interesting to create an abstract scene. Morandi, an Italian painter, is known for his simple still life compositions. To differ from his work, I photographed my subject in an unusual way, making the viewer question what he or she is looking at.

This image was a subtle disturbance in a place or setting. To create this one, I cut out different body parts to form the figure on the left. I glued the figure into a magazine ad and photographed it. The girl on the right is part of the original ad, while the girl on the left is not. I wanted the viewer to be unable to tell which figure is real and which is not. I tried to mimic the original girl’s body language in my composed figure, making it fit with the ad. This could also be taken as a social statement in that we change into who the world wants us to be. Especially with tools such as cosmetic surgery and airbrushing, it is hard to tell what is “real” and “fake.”

This was a narrative I created by using a magnet my friend brought back from Italy. The emphasis is solely on David and his clothes, due to the plain background. I wanted this narrative to be about why David is naked since he is such an iconic figure. I photographed him, putting him in different combinations of clothes each time. My goal for this image was simply to solve the mystery of how David got to be sculpted without clothes. I put a modern spin on this classical piece, tying in art history to today’s world.