Statement:
A symbol, an image, or a sculpture is considered to convey a specific meaning, but people from different positions can have various interpretations. When things with similar meanings are placed together, does this increase the understanding of the meaning conveyed by the author? How does the placement of things with opposite meanings change the viewer’s understanding? For 100 iterations, I made a collage of 15 completely different photographs, subjectively combining images according to the meanings I had given them; in the process, I experimented with different ways of combining images, and I was most interested in exploring the relations between images by zooming in on details. So for 50 iterations, I continued to work with the images by zooming in on details. I uploaded a photograph of myself in front of a mirror to Google search. The resulting image may be similar in colour or shape to the original, but it is, in fact, a completely different image. By zooming in on the details of the two images and combining them, the various resolutions give depth to the picture. The similar details cast doubt on the authenticity of the image.
Bibliography:
- A Shaking we– Liu Shiyuan
Through Shiyuan Liu’s project, The Shaking We(2018), she uses different sources of images and video clips, some of her own, some from the internet, trying to imply the circumstance that human beings are living in a globalised and hybrid situation; by placing the various images together as massive collages, she uses this method attempts to allow the viewer to make their narration and resonate with their experience in it. Same as the practice I made on the 50 iterations, how can I provide different ways of seeing through high lighting various details? The symbolic information could have different interpretations.
In most of Kensuke Koike’s works, he tends to create a connection between the images. For the Future Portraits(2010), he uses morphing to create knitted photography, tries to answer the question in a humorous way of what a parents’ baby will look like. For the State(2011), he puts together the image he took in the United State, those photographs seem to be arranged in casual order, but in reality, each image is connected graphically to the next one. This peculiar connection creates a whole new story. This method of dealing with archive images are inspiring in term of visual narration.
3. What do pictures want – W. J. T. Mitchell
Mitchell(2005) sees abstract painting as a subtle way of arousing desire in the viewer, an unobtrusive expression that is also expressive, even provocative. And in an abstract image, the atmosphere is the primary thing that can be sensed, which is shaped by form and colour. While the theories of abstract visuals apply to the graphic communication design field, the outline, the boldness, the colour, and the space all matter. Without saying specific words, graphic design could use abstract visuals to arouse desire in the viewer and sell the idea to a specific group of people.
4. In defence of poor image – Hito Steyerl
Hito(2009) argues that the high-resolution images are more seductive, but poor images blur the boundaries between consumer and producer, audience and author. They are narrowing the distinction between author and viewer. In my 50 iterations, with the blurred parts and clear parts together in the collage, the audience might be confusing the authenticity of the image and which part belongs to which image; this could be referring to the manipulation by the media. If truth has credibility only if the power establishment or capital narrates it, then are those blurred images representing the marginalized or bottom circumstance not worth seeing?
5. Rendering the Desert of The Real – Tobias Revell
As Revell(2019) states in Rendering the Desert of The Real, the high-resolution of CGI image can assure us of its authenticity; with the large format of the image, As Revell states in Rendering the Desert of The Real, the high-resolution of CGI image can assure us of its authenticity; with the large format of the image, the more clear the audience sees, the more possible the audience gets immersed in the picture, and those pictures have similar power with those edited images of Stalin’s photographs back in the time, a new way of delusive information. But is it only those clear and rich pictures that have the power to give a delusive sense? Could blur images also be delusive after showing a specific part? The key is the context itself than the visual effect.
6. Appropriation”John Stezaker – Interview with John Roberts”
The problem is, in order to find the answer to why I like finding the similarities between things, I should rather consider the connotation of using existing photos. Stezaker(2009) states that he was attracted by the surplus-value of the image because of the little function that image have yet it create a continue evoked thinking between itself and the world. Stezaker collect images because he notice the hidden culture of the image that is usually unconsciously given. By doing collages, he was revealing that hidden message. Image do have different interpretations in different perspective, should we embrace the hybridity rather than question how a specific image value?
Reference List:
Hito Steyerl (2009) In Defense of the Poor Image. Available at: https://unthinking.photography/articles/rendering-the-desert-of-the-real (Accessed: April 2022).
Kensuke Koike(2010) Future Portraits. Available at: https://www.kensukekoike.com/project/future-portraits/ (Accessed: April 2022).
Kensuke Koike(2011) State. Available at: https://www.kensukekoike.com/project/states/ (Accessed: May 2022).
Liu, S.Y. (2018) A Shaking We. Available at: http://www.shiyuanliu.com/A%20Shaking%20We-mainpage.html (Accessed: April 2022).
MItchell, W.J.T. (2005) What Do Pictures Want. 1st edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Stezaker, J. (2009) Title. 1st edn. Edited by David. E. London: Co-published by Whitechapel Gallery and The MIT press
Tobias Revell (2019) Rendering the Dessert of the Real. Available at: https://unthinking.photography/articles/rendering-the-desert-of-the-real (Accessed: April 2022).