Visual Art Essay Blog

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Chosen Images for essay

Seth's Pond
‘Seth’s pond’ gives off the feeling of security, the horses are surrounding the girl almost as if to protect her, and make sure that she is kept safe from any harm. They are drinking from the water that she is floating in, as if to say that they rely on one another to stay alive and safe. Humans and animals have a connection that is the cycle of life, as well as the survival connection; animals and humans can have a special bond.

Deliverance
‘Deliverance’ shows the trust, faith and complete deliverance of all senses to the horse. The girl is sitting on a chair that is perched upon the horses back, there is no movement shown in the photo from neither the girl nor the horse. The light is dim and clouds are coming across the sky, there seems to be a storm appearing and the horse and the child both trust each other to get through.

Marwari Stallion 3
This image for me represents the trust that you put in a horse when you ride, when you sit on a horse you put your trust and weight onto the horse, knowing it will do what you want it to do. You have to trust a horse for it to trust you and do what it is capable of. If there is no trust and instead fear a horse can feel it, which means they wont work to their full potential.

Complete Essay (test block)

Tom Chambers’ images create a body of work that come together to tell a story. Photographers’ today use modern technology to enhance and create images so that a desirable outcome is made that will portray their idea or concept on a broader scale. Digital technology adds a surrealist element to any photograph, due to that fact that with technology such as Photoshop artists and photographers can create an image that does not follow reality. Chambers creates stories within his work to evoke emotional reactions from the viewer of the piece, to do this, the way he constructs, lights and places his images are vital. Surrealist devices make up a major part of Chambers’ images, they depict out of the ordinary scenarios and stories. It works to the artists’ advantage, and it adds a new dimension to the story that is being told. Art and technology go hand in hand, it enhances colour, light, shape and texture and can create emotional reactions in people when they view an image.

The artist’s intentions, and the meaning behind the images are communicated by using a range of visual elements; the use of digital technology helps enhance these elements and becomes a crucial part of the image’s formation. Lighting is one of the major elements that make Chambers’ photographs so meaningful; he uses dull lighting to convey a simple idea, yet complex concept. The lighting gives a dark, almost daunting feeling but at the same time is very warm and comforting. In images such as ‘Deliverance’ the light is dull, but the colours are warm, this evokes certain emotions when looking at the image. The colour scheme in the image is earthly and warm, the colour of the sky and water are made to work with the beautiful brown colour of the horse, thus creating an image that is cohesive and works to the artists’ advantage in portraying the story behind it. Photoshop gives photographers the chance to put their imagination onto the screen and later make it a meaningful artwork. “With digital photography I desire to move beyond documentation of the present, and rather seek to fuse reality and fantasy in musing about possibilities of the future” (Chambers, T, Burn). Chambers was a graphic designer and it was definitely a job that opened up the doors of using design technology in his works, “Without a doubt, my work as a graphic designer has enhanced my abilities for design and use of colour ” (Parallax 8).

The emotional engagement of a viewer is a critical aspect of what an artist looks at. A piece of artwork should invite the viewer to think and analyse and connect to it, whether it is be because it conjures up childhood memories or just because looking at it makes evokes certain emotions. “Through photo montage I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer ” (Burn). Chambers grew up in the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before going to the military. It is no doubt that a majority of his works are constructed from his memories as a child and his time in the military. It is possible to over-manipulate a piece and therefore it may have lost all meaning to the artist and the viewer “when it's done right, it opens the narrative field and transports the viewer into another reality where double takes are welcome” (Brooks, K, 2008). The emotional engagement of a viewer is important to an artist because if someone doesn’t engage with the image they take no interest in the meaning behind it. When an image is created in Photoshop colour, lighting, and placement of a particular person or even animal are all considered. “I would like my work to elicit an emotional response, a moment when the viewer connects, and the story unfolds from within – based on one’s identity and feelings. I am not asking my work to be believable in any literal or representational way, but I am hoping it encourages the viewer to consider my work on an emotional level.” (Chambers, Huffington Post). Chambers’ work is presented in such a way that it does create an emotional reaction, it can come across as a little sinister at times, but the lighting and the texture within some of the images create strong thoughts and feelings.

Surrealism is a concept that is greatly used within the art industry, it creates images that encourage imagination and ‘out of the box’ thinking. Chambers uses it to his advantage; it enhances not only his image’s colour and lighting, but also the stories that they tell. Without the use of Photoshop, making a surreal image would be a lot more complicated. When an image is viewed, no matter what, some sort of or emotional connection will be made between viewer and image. With the help of surrealism, that connection can be made stronger. It means that artists can express their imagination and let others see that. The literal translation of surreal is “above real” artists take this meaning and create images that are above and beyond real; the idea is that the viewer should contemplate the image on an emotional level, and think about it in a way that someone does when they think of their dreams. When a photograph is taken and it is an image that can be seen everyday with the naked eye it doesn’t leave much room for the imagination to expand and think about the possibilities of it’s meaning and the story behind it. Surrealism means that the viewer can get lost within an image and create a story and can use their emotions to create their own meaning behind it.

With the use of technology artists can create images that have strong emotional meaning, but can also tell a story while letting the viewer create a new story at the same time. Chambers’ uses surrealist visuals and technology to create something that venture far from reality. It enhances the stories that he presents within his images, the viewers are invited to look upon Chambers’ works and come to their own conclusions about what they mean based upon the images that are present.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Burn, Wordpress
Date accessed: 4th November, 2010
http://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/09/tom-chambers-improbable-dreams/

Tom R. Chambers, 1997 – 2010
Date accessed: 4th November, 2010
http://www.tomrchambers.com/

Photo – Dialogue,
Date accessed: 4th November, 2010
http://www.photo-dialogue.com/home/2010/1/19/tom-chambers-update.html

Surrealism, 1999 - 2007
Date accessed: 4th November, 2010
http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/surrealism.htm

Parallax 8, 2010
Date accessed: 7th, November 2010
http://www.parallax8.com/headline/tom-chambers

Huffington Post
Kimberley Brooks, May 3rd, 2008
Date Accessed: 11th, November 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kimberly-brooks/photographys-sex-change-t_b_99886.html

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

UPDATED ESSAY (still not complete)

Tom Chambers’ images create a body of work that come together to tell a story, photographers today use modern technology to enhance, create and model images to create a desirable outcome that will portray their idea or concept on a broader scale. Digital technology adds a surrealist element to any photograph, due to that fact that with technology such as photoshop artists and photographers can create an image that does not follow the ordinary lines of reality. Chambers creates stories within his work to evoke emotional reactions from the viewer of the piece, to do this, the way he constructs, lights and places his images are vital. “Surrealism came into being after the French poet Andre Breton 1924 published the first Manifeste du surrealisme” (HuntFor.com). Surrealism is a major part of Chambers’ images, they depict out of the ordinary scenarios and stories, it works to the artists’ advantage, it adds a new dimension to the story that is being told.

The artists’ intentions and meaning behind the images are communicated by using a range of visual elements, the use of digital technology helps enhance these elements and become a crucial part of the images formation. Lighting is one of the major elements that make Chambers’ photographs so meaningful; he uses dull lighting to convey a simple idea, yet complex concept. The lighting gives a dark, almost daunting feeling but at the same time is very warm and comforting. In images such as ‘deliverance’ the light is dull, but the colours are warm, this evokes certain emotions when looking at the image. Photoshop gives photographers the chance to put their imagination onto the screen and later make it a meaningful artwork. “With digital photography I desire to move beyond documentation of the present, and rather seek to fuse reality and fantasy in musing about possibilities of the future” (Chambers, T, Burn). Chambers was a graphic designer and it was definitely a job that opened up the doors of using design technology in his works, “Without a doubt, my work as a graphic designer has enhanced my abilities for design and use of colour ” (Parallax 8).

The emotional engagement of a viewer is a critical aspect that an artist should look at. A piece of artwork should make the viewer think and analyse and connect to it, whether is be because it conjures up childhood memories or just because looking at it makes certain emotions present within them. “Through photo montage I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer ” (Burn). Chambers grew up in the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so it is no doubt that a majority of his works are constructed from memories as a child and his time in the military. His images certainly evoke emotions when I look at them, horses are a big part of my life, so when I look at the ‘Marwari’ photo’s I instantly think of my childhood memories and my upbringing on a farm. It is possible to over-manipulate a piece and therefore it may have lost all meaning to the artist and the viewer “when it's done right, it opens the narrative field and transports the viewer into another reality where double takes are welcome” (Brooks, K).