During the 1920’s something was stirring in the minds of artists and writers of the era something slightly unsettling and beyond the scope of culture. It was the surrealist movement seeking to channel the subconscious and engage your depths. Seeking to release taboo notions out of the imagination. These methods spurred on a profound undertaking of taping into the unconscious realms. The artists that dominate this era are the likes of Salvador Dali, Ernst Max and Andre Breton.

When i think of the word surreal its very hard to move beyond Salvador Dali while i personal don’t like his art very much on an aesthetic level i have always loved the attitude of the man. Walking an ant eater on the streets or hosting orgies weekly just to watch the happenings. He was the crown jewel of the surrealists mind. When becomes of of the most famous people in the 20th century. His antics are still talked about in artist classroom’s across the globe.

The inspiration drawn from Dali and his surrealist lifestyle has always provided a stepping stone from previous generations to became more absurd and push the limits of our imagination. I personally think that a lot of the madness we see in the world today would’ve been sparked by the surrealist groups and Dali directly. This effect seemed more influential then the art itself, instead they gave freedom of thoughts and the sovereignty of the mind.

References

https://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm

The renaissance art movement is an era of knowledge and artistic rediscovery using the unearthed knowledge of the Roman’s and Greek’s to bring about the end of the medieval art style. The artists who embody the age are renowned and world wide recognisable such as the four masters Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello.

In an age of rebirth literature and art exploded on the Italian peninsula leading to art that was creating realistic figures and magnificent religious artwork. Using the knowledge of anatomy the both sculpt and paint work we still admire today. It feels like the first through those gates of understanding still amaze us at how people could produce such phenomenal works. Such work that inspires me to this day like the Primavera Sandro Botticelli.

Work like this and the birth if Venus provide subtle hints into the world of fantasy and reality. Painting of mythical characters at event together provides me with a sense of being both ethereal incorporeal and alive. It becomes hard to escape the renaissance period  for any endeavouring to be an artists. Clarity of form and knowledge of anatomy allowed the artists of this period to shock and awe those who viewed it. It was like a religious vision.

The first sight of the art in the renaissance period had at grips with mythology and wonder. Scenes that felt beyond worldly and it made me feel like emotion. I have always felt incredible drawn the the artists of this era thinking about what an exciting time it would have been to rediscover the knowledge of the ancients and push it beyond your own perimeters. All modern day art streams from the renaissance and owes a debt.

Romanticism dominated the ideals during the 1780’s until around 1830’s with a wave of emotionalism that was a complex shift in the attitude of artists and writers of the age. Particularly the way they envisioned nature had change from the classical world view. Artist of the age became particularly fond of their relationship to nature and how they viewed and experience the world.

Romanticism created expression within the subject of nature, such notable artist in this movement were William Blake, John Constable,Francisco Goya and J.M.W turner. Expression of subject was the predominate part of the Romanticism style. Such artist like William Blake created his inner workings outward and produced his own world view onto his canvas.

The visions that were created during the area of romanticism have created lasting images that echo into the artist’s sphere of influence. From hopeful visions of nature that bounce into the soul of man and highlight the best we can envision or from Goya’s darker years during Spain’s violent era’s creating works that express debauchery that was hidden within the experience.

 

Reference

https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/other-worlds

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/romanticism

The art movement magic realism is something intently close to my heart. It merges past and present, creates spaces of perspective seen by only a few. It lets you get a glimpse of how another might experience the world. A lot of people think magical realism is like surrealism but the difference is that surrealism is conveying the subconscious inner workings of the artist, magical realism instead begins to try to show the uncanny bizarre reality of the artists actual life. Painting actually experience away from cultures gaze. A less of a critique of culture and instead a exploration of the truth of our reality.

Some of the most famous magical realism painters where people such as Frida Kahlo, Carel Willink and Marcela Donoso.

The magical realism school never had a single movement but instead had some section of different countries with pockets of its existence in full swing creating their on unique style to their own area. Some used symbolism and others relied on the odd juxtaposition of items, distortion of space and hyper realism to express the strangeness of simple reality.

 

 

Reference

https://www.theartstory.org/movement-magic-realism.htm

I find research to be the silence walking alone in the forest when it comes to any artistic endeavour whether it’s a 10 week campaign or an work all night to finish a piece. Regardless researching to find inspiration and direction can be my favourite part of the process it leads down many rabbit holes and feels wholly personal . It seems all to often people skip the subtle pieces that come together in the making of art. I found photography difficult to grasp in the beginning  it seems to hold a secret in plan sight. How much work went into something to make it feel instinctive, this brings me to this particular photographer Bear Kirkpatrick.

His work has a distinct feel of primal nature and our relationship to this wild. The figures throughout his work are both forced and guided by these natural landscapes speaking of a relation intimate and deep.

When i look upon these photo’s i see photography as a way of capturing spirit. Both in the final product and in the searching that would have taken place to create the artwork. It’s inspiring to find work that might actually affect the way i see the nature and the human relation. Though i see sometimes wish these kind of spontaneous act of connection could be common without a photographer.

Recently in photography studio we started experimenting with different kinds of lighting techniques to create unique pictures. One of the first techniques that was learnt was Rembrandt lighting which is commonly used to take portrait’s. It can be achieved by using a reflector and a light or two light’s. The techniques was then implored in the photo shoot that i took for a client.

Another  technique that was explored during photography sessions was the use of  lighting gels. Lighting gels are transparent coloured sheets used to cover the lights used during a photo shoot. This can create a range of different effects creating coloured light and coloured back drops its extremely effective in expressing a mood in a photograph.

The next lighting technique we delved into was light exposure technique uses the camera shutter speed to capture the light when using a phone or flash light to create a pattern or strobe flash this can create some incredible pieces of art making it seem magical and playful.

Some of the techniques were fun and others more insightful and useful in a professional setting but overall it gave a basic understanding of the possibilities of using lighting techniques in the photography.