Further investigation of tutor recommended artists

Looking at Barry Whittaker’s work, I see some resemblance to my own. I see that I’ve a long way to go to reach his way of looking at things, but I appreciate his foresight and his skills with photography. It also pointed out another aspect of horizontal lines which can be achieved using a macro lens – simply by using the restricted focal distance of the lens will create a line which is ‘in focus’ while areas in front and behind this line are ‘out of focus’.

The Ansel Adams gallery is such a wealth of ideas. I see some which do resemble some of my images, but I’d never consider myself to be in this league. What a talent!

Andy Goldsworthy www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk uses photography to record his work which is a creditable use of photography, but you need to consider the shooting angles and techniques he has used to such effect to appreciate more fully his prowess as a photographer. Here’s an artist using photography with his artwork to excellent effect. Maybe I’ll have a dabble myself if there’s time.

I really appreciate the work of Richard Long. In particular I enjoyed the ‘Sculptures Gallery’ at www.richardlong.org Not only are his sculptures inspired, but his photography is of such a high standard too. It amazes me that so much can be achieved in such a short time, and also that he has the time and energy to do it all. Obviously some images have been taken in Infrared, which is also one of my interests – the ‘White’ Goth in assignment 1 was taken using an old Nikon D70 which has been converted for infrared.

 

While David Nash www.sculpture.org.uk/artists/DavidNash uses photography to identify and show his sculptures I feel that his skill with the camera doesn’t match that of his blades. Some of his work, particularly the stairs to nowhere have to be placed outdoors and the photograph shows this well, but I think he’s got more work to do on his composition and exposure of many of the images.

I’m afraid Fred Herzog www.equinoxgallery.com/artists/portfolio/fred-herzog doesn’t do a lot for me. While I find his subject matter generally interesting I prefer images that show more of a bent towards art, rather than his documentary style. When you consider the documentary style of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe for instance, there can be a very artistic side to documenting the lives of the working class, which I feel is lacking in the majority of Herzog’s work, although there are occasional glimpses of what could have been there.

Wolfgang Tillmans http://tillmans.co.uk is an altogether different style. His photography, albeit of a loosely documentary style is used in his artwork in a much more creative way. Here are images which can be viewed as works of art, rather than record shots of ‘this is how life was’. You need to go that extra step and be creative in your own way.