Paper abstraction is when you understand this aspect of the medium and emphasised the abstract qualities of photographs. This tradition of abstraction in photography continues to the present day.
What is paper abstraction?
Abstraction photography consists of photographs made using photography materials and equipment that don’t have an immediate association with the physical world.
The youtube video that is linked below demonstrates how abstraction can be seen as a way to explore the boundries of what photography can represent, In this case paper abstraction. I think that a quote that helps you to think about abstraction in art and photography is “The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of ‘how to do’. The salvation of photography comes from the experiment.” by Lazslo MoHoly – Nagy. This is because it explains to you how with abstraction and photography that you shouldn’t only try one thing and give up if it doesn’t work but you should keep trying just by doing different things until you are happy with the outcome.
Watch this Youtube which explores some famous and not-so-famous examples of photographic abstraction
a. Embed the video into your webpage and include some reflection.
Including your understanding of their work in the context of abstraction.
c. Choose a quotation that helps you to think about the meaning of abstraction in art and photography.
d. Write a short introduction explaining your understanding of abstraction in photography.
Black and White
I like these pictures because I like how the paper has been framed to show a contrast in the difference between the object and the paper. My favourite picture of these 3 is the last one with the map because i like how the paper has been framed to make it look like a square has been cut out of it.
I got these ideas for these pictures from Jaroslav Rössler who was a photographer who became known for combining different styles of modern photography including cubism, futurism, constructivism, new objectivity, and abstraction. Because of him I enjoyed experimenting with how you can place the paper in different positions making each picture have its own narrative. I enjoyed trying different things with the paper because I found it interesting that every picture looks similar but really different at the same time.
Reflect critically on your work and progress. Highlight the following:
– your research about other artists’ work and the ideas you have had
– your experiments and the way you have refined them
– the decisions you made along the way
Framing
I also like how I’ve framed these pictures to show the difference between the seperate objects. This is because i enjoyed how even by placing the paper in the most simple of ways it can still make the picture look really interesting from a photographers point of view.
This is my favourite picture from these pictures. I like this photo because I find it interesting how the paper cuts off the rest of the body except the hand which looks like its mirroring itself with the piece of paper.
Coloured pictures
I really enjoyed taking these pictures because i liked framing the paper too make it look like two seperate photos. The first photo with the sunset is my favourite out of these three because I like how the paper is really straight and just looks like it is supposed to be there. I chose to keep these pictures in colour because I felt that that could make them look more exciting than just having a plain black and white image that doesn’t show any of the colours, for example the sunset and sea in picture 1 or the colour of the sky and dog in picture 3.
Need to finish
Coloured paper abstraction
Introduce and explain.
For this task we got to go back out and experiment with coloured paper instead of a white piece of paper. These pictures were taken with two sheets of coloured paper that were held up by a rod and were taken inside a studio rather than the outside. One of the challenges we face along the way was that we only had one rod to hold up the pieces of paper so it was difficult trying to make them stay in the positions we wanted them too. However, we faced this challenge by using each-other to help keep the other paper in place while taking the pictures. I found these pictures interesting to take because I found it fascinating how shapes were formed inside of the paper because of the lighting and the positions of the paper.
I got the inspiration for these pictures from Jerry Reed. This is because he shaped two-dimensional art papers giving them edges and volumes, then lit them making use of good Fresnel lighting to showcase the papers three-dimensional forms. I also chose him as inspiration for my pictures because i liked how his looked like they wren’t taken using paper to make these shapes and patterns and found it cool how he could create shadows as well.
Below are some examples of Jerry Reed’s work.
Reflect critically on your work and progress. Highlight the following:
– your research about other artists’ work and the ideas you have had
– your experiments and the way you have refined them
– the decisions you made along the way