Hannah Cook

Fin

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bstraction in E

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Life

Ba (Hons) Top-up Photography

ADPH 31 Research, Experimentation and

Development

Hannah Cook

Introduction/starting point

After completing my last project, I defiantly discovered that abstraction is

the route for me. I have always enjoyed other disciplines of art, and I found

there was a lot of cross over between fine art and photography to be had with

abstraction. This reinvented photography for me and made it vibrant again when

I began to feel that the discipline wasn’t for me. Abstraction has led me to

enjoying and being proud of my work again.

Although I understand that this

project is about exploring something

new, I still feel there is a lot to be learnt

when it comes to abstraction. As of yet

I have only really explored one

technique which evolved slow shutter

speeds and movement which produced

images inspired by and reminiscent of

Rothko.

I feel the body of work pointed me in the correct direction, but with only

one style and one technique under my belt I realise how much room there is for

development and exploration. I want my photography to be solely abstract; I

feel it is a contemporary and unique way to use a camera. I want to move away

from the technique I have already learnt and try something which could be seen

as more basic, but I feel it can sometimes be quite a challenge to discover

beautiful interesting frames within everyday life, in ignored places and standard

objects we tend to ignore.

I have found the genre to be a relative niche, not only within the course,

but also I know of a handful of photographers who practice this way. I also

aspire to have a career in relation to interior design, so it is another reason for

sticking to this quite atmospherical and abstract look.

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Finding abstraction in everyday life

Moving away from abstracting a constructed scene, I want to look at finding

small areas of abstraction in everyday life, things and places that normally go

unnoticed. I feel I have a natural eye at picking out small areas of interest in the

world around us, I have always preferred looking at a rusty pole than a glorious

landscape. I like the way that an area can be abstracted by taking it out of

context by just showing small areas of interest, still recognisable, but could also

be compared to other known things with the possibility of it being not what you

think it is on first glance.

Potential areas to home in on could be decay, which I will use as a starting

point. I have always enjoyed the gritty, worn down look which has become

popular in recent years with the ‘shabby chic’ trends at its height. This is also

readily available to me, yet I feel when seen in the everyday landscape it is

greatly under-appreciated and should be showcased.

Another reason I am drawn to this idea of decay is I am a very tactile person

and I really love textural items, I feel that a piece of rust can sometimes look

like a very textured and intricate oil painting and this is also something I could

like to exaggerate in my images.

Initial ideas on what to look out for

Rust

Crumbling wood

Graffiti

Fading paint and colours

Driftwood

Stains

The bluey-green colour that metal turns

Dripping paint

Natural growth on man made

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Aaron Siskind and his relation to my own practises

Aaron Siskind is an American

photographer mostly known

for his work in the abstract

expressionist movement in

New York (post WWII). His

focus is on the details of

nature and architecture in a

similar way to what I plan to

create. He creates flat images

solely of the details that he

has discovered and claims

that they stand independent

from the original subject,

which is what I described

previously as a way of

removing the detail from its

context and showcasing something new and perhaps unseen. “When I make a

photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-

contained, whose basic condition is order (unlike the world of events and

actions whose permanent condition is change and disorder)” This quote I feel is

really relevant to me as I really want to showcase the beauty of ‘ugly’ things and

ignore the fact it might be in a

pile of rubbish or somewhere

unpleasant and remove it from

such an environment and just

focus on the elements I feel to

be beautiful and intriguing,

giving it new life and identity.

“First and emphatically, I accept

the flat picture surface as the

primary frame of reference of

the picture. The experience itself

may be described as one of

total absorption in the object.

But the object serves only a

personal need and the

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requirements of the picture. Thus rocks are sculptured forms; a section of

common decorated ironwork, springing rhythmic shapes; fragments of paper

sticking to a wall, a conversation piece. And these forms, totems, masks,

figures, shapes, images must finally take their place in the tonal field of the

picture and strictly conform to their space environment. The object has entered

the picture in a sense it has been photographed directly. But it is often

unrecognizable for it has been removed from the original context, disassociated

from its customary neighbours and forced into new relationships.”

I can very much relate to the notion that Siskind is talking about, when I look at

an image, I look at its formal and aesthetic qualities and the social and

historical context come secondary. For me, I feel that if I want to learn about a

social or historical idea, I will read about it, and I don’t look to images for this

knowledge, I look to images for colour, form, its appearance and the way it

makes me feel about these qualities. This is just what makes sense to me.

These quotes have given me a bit more direction and understanding when it

comes to decontextualizing an image. I find it refreshing than an image doesn’t

have all the pressure of holding and conveying an idea, other than that of a

visual idea for your eyes and subconscious. I feel that looking at an image and

analysing its theoretical context and meaning should be done separately to its

aesthetic qualities. Too often I have found an image that has a strong

theoretical concept, yet it lacks any awe when you look at it. To me, this seems

ridiculous, if you are going to practice in a visual medium then aesthetics must

come first, and concept second.

For the reason mentioned above, I will be focusing on the visual qualities of the

images I make, and not get overly hung up on deep meanings, I want the

images to convey colour, form, line and structure.

Hannah Cook

My experiences of exhibiting ‘Transcendent’ at The Trerise Gallery 5th-11th

October

We heard from Rita that there was an opening at the Trerise gallery where

we had previously exhibited in March. Having sold work both at Trerise and the

summer show, I had the confidence to invest in a week of exhibiting multiple

pieces, both with the hope of selling and just showing off the work that I am

most proud of. Rebecca Brown and Tony Fitzsimmons had shown an interest in

exhibiting also, and due to the three room layout, having three of us to share the

cost was the perfect opportunity to make the most of the stunning coastal

space.

In July we contacted gallery manager, Paula, and began to plan our

exhibition scheduled for October. The space cost £150 for 6 days for the three

of us, which I feel is very affordable. We found it difficult to name the exhibition

as the three of us have such diverse styles, Tony with travel, landscape and

animals, Rebecca with environmental landscapes, and my own style of abstract

expressionist photographs. We decided on the name of Transcendent, meaning

‘beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience, or

surpassing the ordinary’ which we feel is applicable to all our work. Mine in the

way it is emotive and can extract different feelings from different viewers and

the way that it is quite ethereal. Rebecca’s in a way that it describes the effect

of man on the landscape and the extraordinary power nature has over the land.

In Tony’s work it represents an other-worldly account of places he has visited.

Unfortunately, due to us being in Jersey, Plymouth and London

separately, planning reached a lull period. Because of this, during this time we

just worked individually on what work we wanted to display and thought on

pricing and layout.

Once we arrived back in Plymouth in September, most of the organisation

took place. Press releases went out through Leanne Daw and the SU, which we

wrote together about our own work, our backgrounds and our experiences at the

art college. Rebecca created the posters that were posted around college, the

university and the city centre. Rebecca also emailed several companies and

associates of the college notifying them of the exhibition and the private view

which we have planned to be on Tuesday 8th October 7-9pm.

The next stage was selecting the work that we wanted to display. I chose

work from my final major project which is based on how abstract expressionism

painting of the 20th century can be translated through the medium of

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photography. The work is made from fabric and movements of the camera on a

slow shutter speed which create unique tones and patterns that represent the

changing moods of the seasons. I got my images printed on pearl through

Creations at the college, which came to just short of £40 for 9 images. My

frames were only from the Range as I needed to keep my costs down, which

cost me £62 in total. Over the summer I also ordered an acrylic print from

Picanova via Groupon for £27 which I am really impressed with, the quality is

excellent and I think this style of display really suits my work as it is so

contemporary. Had I had the chance, I would have liked to display all my work

in this way. In preparation I also updated my website and business cards to suit

my new style of work.

One of our main issues with putting the exhibition on was that it clashed

with out timetable so we had to find stewards for the days we were in college.

We approached the first and second years and were quite disappointed by the

response, as only 3 people volunteered to help us out. This may be an issue for

us as we have to keep the gallery open at these times, but equally do not want

to fall behind with graded work.

On Friday 4th, Pracis, the previous exhibition at the Trerise was due to be

taken down so I met with Paula to collect the keys and find out procedures for

selling, opening and closing. If work sells, Trerise ask for 30% commission,

which I have factored into my costs. I have chosen to price my work at:

£20 for 12 x 16, £5.50 spent, £6.60 commission, leaving me £7.90 profit a

piece.

£60 for 67 x 47cm, £17 spent, £20 commission, leaving me £23 profit a piece.

£110 doe the acrylic print, £30 spent, £33 commission, leaving me £47 profit.

I am aware that my prices are quite low however I really want to temp

buyers with a low price in an attempt to shift the prints and allow me more

opportunities in the future.

I have chosen to print my works relatively large as I think they work well in

this format and the abstract nature of the photographs allow them to be

enlarged quite easily. The smaller ones act as more of a filler in the spaces that

I cannot fit a larger one, I also think it makes the space look quite dynamic.

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My room in Transcendent

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Tonys Room in Transcendent

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Rebeccas room in Transcendent

Private View – 8th October 2013

We had planned the private view to be on Tuesday 8th as it allowed us a

few days of having the gallery and getting a good feel of the place before we

were ready to show it off to our nearest and dearest, as well as some important

people. In regards to drinks we all clubbed together and purchased 12 bottles of

wine, some juice and I made some flapjacks which went down well. Although

the turnout wasn’t as great as we had hoped, the night was steady and there

were always people around to give a great atmosphere. I received some lovely

Hannah Cook

compliments from not only my own friends, but also tutors and people I had

never met before. Martina Rooney commented on my progress in the past year

and was really impressed at seeing how far I had come which was a great

confidence boost and made all the stresses and frustrations of not only the

exhibition, but also the past 2 years seem worthwhile. Other notable guests

included Tim Gundry, our programme leader who seemed really impressed with

what we had done. Also Martina Rooney and Teressa Grey who are our

contextual tutors, who bought photographer Robyn Woolston to the private view

which we were most grateful for. We discussed many things with Robyn and it

was a really valuable experience to speak with a practicing photographer about

our work, it’s usually the other way around so it was a special experience.

Another notable guest was Norman Holmes from the Kaya Gallery on the

Barbican, who already represents Tony in his gallery so we had already met, but

it was great talking to him surrounded by our own work and gave us a great

confidence to hear compliments from someone who see’s art every day and still

valued seeing our work.

Feedback and comments on my work

Unique and don’t look like photos.

Amazed that it was just fabric and a camera.

Bright, colourful and uplifting.

Acrylic print looks really professional.

‘The one with the red stripe is the one I could tolerate the most on my

wall, but it doesn’t mean I would by any means be happy with it there.’

(Not realising I was the artist)

Feedback and comments on the exhibition as a whole

Great space and that we made the most of the layout.

Although our work is very different, it all works together and there is a flow

throughout.

Really well executed.

Something for everyone.

Makes people want to go out with their camera and take their own

photos, even if they are only snapshots

Great to see students taking the initiative and getting their work out there.

Hannah Cook

Guest Book

Total Hours

In Preparation: 15 and a half hours

At Gallery: sat-fri 57 and a half hours

Work sold:

£100 framed

Hannah Cook

First Shoot

For the first week of the project I was quite tied to the area around the Trerise

Gallery on the Hoe whilst I found a few minutes here and there. Thankfully due

to the tide, many areas around the Hoe have a lot of erosion and decay, and

there were also lots of fading and slightly shabby signage for me to photograph.

Just out of ease I only used my Canon 500D with a 18-55mm lens as it was all I

had available to me at the time, however I plan to expand and experiment in

other cameras and lenses over the course of the project.

These two images are close up of an arrow spray painted onto a wooden sign.

In the way that it is quite horizontal and structured, it is quite reminiscent of my

last project which I quite like. Although this kind of image and composition is

right up my alley, in this project I want to get away from the Rothko style I

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picked up during the end of last year and develop a more textural style. However

I do enjoy the simplicity of these images and find it very aesthetically pleasing. I

find the bright orange colour very refreshing when you consider its bleak

location; however I feel that this element becomes lost as I am trying to take it

out of its context. As an image alone I find it is great on appearance alone, is

this enough? Or should I be conveying more than just beauty? I don’t know yet,

however I hope with more research and exploration this will become clearer to

me.

Although I feel that the composition of the image below is more dynamic, I feel

that the portrait image on the

previous page to be much more

aesthetically pleasing because it is

simpler. I feel that this is more due

to personal taste and my liking of

straight up and down composition

though. During the critique this was

one of the most talked about

images because of its vibrancy and

boldness, with comparisons drawn

to the work of Ciro Totku’s work.

Figure 1 Ciro Totku

Hannah Cook

Perhaps comparisons were made

between our work purely because of the

bright colour orange on a wooden

surface, however I feel it is also the way

that Totku transforms banal objects into

an abstract composition drawing on

colour and texture in the same way I hope

to. He tends to use similar striped

compositions like I usually do as well. I

feel that if the colours were not as bold

then the work would have far less merit,

but once again this could just be personal opinion.

This image has more of an industrial feel to it than the others, which I am

undecided if it is the direction I plan to do in, although it displays the decay

through the chipped paint and the rust on the bolts, to me it expresses more on

the topic of industrialisation and harsh man-made items than the beauty of

decay and weathering. I also feel that this is one of the weaker images as it

doesn’t contain the rich textures and colours I am so drawn to that can be seen

in the other images. Perhaps I need to use a macro lens and revisit the chipping

paint and pull more of those textures out, or with a macro lens focus more on

just one bolt and its orange hues and the textures found within these instead.

With all these elements combined I feel that it detracts from the aesthetic I am

Figure 2 Totku

Hannah Cook

aiming for, I intend to revisit this and define more my areas of specific interests.

With all of the elements found in this image combined I feel that it doesn’t take

the subject matter out of context as well as some of my own images or indeed

Siskind’s own work. Although still abstract, it still looks too much like an

abstract scene and not enough like an abstract fragment.

What strikes me most about this image are the flaky textures and how I want to

touch it. I like how delicate the textures are contrasted with how industrial and

sturdy the structure is. I didn’t want to get in any closer as I felt it would be too

similar to the other photos I took of rust, yet I feel the object is still recognisable

and doesn’t stand alone from its original source which is what I was aiming for.

However the richness of the colours I find very attractive and summarise

everything I enjoy about these hidden fragments of beauty. I think the image

also describes decay quite well with the varying colours and the blue tones of

the rust.

Hannah Cook

Besides the orange stripes, this is one of the brightest in colour, however lacks

the amount of rich texture seen in some of the others. But sometimes simplicity

can be the focal point of an image as I learnt in my project last year. As you

may have noticed from my previous project, I quite like vertical and horizontal

stripes, possibly because I like logical simplicity, or it could be because of my

love for Rothko’s work. But it’s these types of compositions that drew me to this

fragment. Although the composition is simple and logical to me, interest is

added by the stripe of colour being broken up with the cracks and

imperfections. It is only slightly removed from what I was producing before; I still

feel it is not of the same standard to it and not as enjoyable. I need to find a

way of manipulating this idea to be as successful and enjoyable as my last

project. Although it enhances the blue colour, I would have preferred the grey of

the concrete to be highly saturated in another colour to create a bolder and

more striking image.

Hannah Cook

This image contains more of the textures that I was enjoying so much in other

images however the saturation is not strong as other images, for me these

experiments need to combine the rich textures and bold colours and this image

only ticks one of those boxes. I have found that the textural qualities become

lost when the colours aren’t as strong. Perhaps it is just a matter of personal

taste and that I am attracted to bright colours with

alluring qualities and these less saturated grey tones

have no appeal to me, however in other forms of

photography these washed out colours are all the

rage, like the ‘Taylor Wessing’ aesthetic. I just don’t

think it suits my style and tastes, especially in this

project where I only want to showcase the colour and

texture independent from its source.

Figure 3 The Taylor Wessing style

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I feel this is one of the strongest images from the set as it ticks the colour and

texture boxes that I mentioned before, however also incorporate an interesting

use of focus and composition. I find it amazing how one man-made object can

create such diverse colours through a natural process, you usually only see this

type of diversity in entirely natural circumstances so this amalgamation of

natural and man-made really interests me. I don’t want the project to be solely

on nature reclaiming as I feel it has been done too many times before, even if

not in this style. Perhaps this odd diversity of colour is something I should

pursue, the relationships between 2 different colours.

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This image is quite similar to the previous in terms of colours, yet I do not feel I

captured them as well as before. In the previous shot the blue is more

prominent from where I got in closer and showcased them through the use of

depth of field, where here the image is quite flat and includes too much that the

small details and colours become lost and all mixed up. However I do like the

half and half type of composition, but it doesn’t work as well with this subject

matter. The image is quite draining and doesn’t have the vibrancy and interest

like the others, no matter how much I like the composition. I am really enjoying

these images that juxtapose blue and orange though, I can think of no other

form of nature that can combine these two colours and perhaps this is why I

find it so exciting.

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I feel that this image is the most removed from its original subject in that it is

not overly obvious what it is and can be comparable to other things, lava has

been suggested to me. Although the relationship between the colours are not as

intriguing and diverse as seen in the images of rust with blue, I feel there is a

more closer set of tones which is still bold, but more soothing than excitable.

The textures and patterns are organic and spontaneous which is one of the

reasons I am so drawn to images such as these.

Hannah Cook

This image follows a similar composition as I have previously spoken about with

the strong vertical lines, however here they are not as clean cut and show the

raw, rustic look that I am also very fond of. These are also the kind of colours

that I love to see, they are rich and both display tones seen in nature and in

industrial structures, which encapsulates the look I am going for. However this

point makes me wonder if I really am removing the image from its context if I

am using colours and shapes that can easily be representable as rust and

metal, if I were to find more unusual looks, then would it be harder to identify,

therefore making it more abstracted? I think the same applies to the narrow

depth of field used, it allows you to understand shape and form, and I want the

eye to not understand these things and pull it more from its context making it

harder to recognise.

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I feel that this image is probably the most comparable to Siskinds work, with the

natural surface (rock) with man-made material haphazardly covering it.

Although I took this image to emulate his work, I am not as happy with it as I

am with the others. Perhaps this is because of the way I am drawn to rich

colours and textures, and this image does not contain those elements. And

although it does tick the boxes of what I was looking to photograph, I do not

feel it to be anywhere near as strong. Yet, peers seemed to be fonder of this

one than I had imagined, maybe they just don’t appreciate rust in the same way

that I do! But saying that, it shouldn’t be a matter of liking or disliking the

subject matter as I am aiming to remove it from its subject matter and letting it

stand alone. On reflection, I think that this is where this image succeeds, it is

removed from its context because it isn’t as easily recognisable as the rust, yet

lacks the interest that rust does. I need to find a balance of removing it from its

context and colour/texture/detail interest..

Hannah Cook

I feel that this is a kind of midpoint (regarding the dilemma mentioned on the

previous page), it contains the texture in the rock and black stripe, and the

colour (which is enhanced by being cut through with the black stripe) yet is quite

removed from the original subject matter, maybe because it contains a rock,

plaster, paint and graffiti that this mixture of elements confuse the image (in a

good way). I have once again fallen back on the stripes. . . I understand that

this project is about experimenting something new, but stripes are something I

refuse to leave behind!!

Hannah Cook

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Peter Fraser- Material 2002

Peter Fraser is a contemporary

photographer who has played a key role

in colour photography, alongside Martin

Parr and Paul Graham. His work features

his obsessive approach to the ‘stuff of

the world and all the matter and

materials that make up the universe and

everyday life. After discovering this I was

instantly drawn in and considered how

his work relates to me, I want to

showcase and appreciate all the little

things in the world with its own unique beauty that can be ignored in our

everyday lives where we tend to focus on the beauty of people and shiny, highly

consumed objects.

His photographs are all still and non-constructed scenes of enigmatic objects

he finds and wants to show the beauty and strangeness that these objects

possess. I am particularly concerned with his 2002 series called ‘Material’ which

is a study of industrial and man-made surface material. A regular theme of his

work tends to be observations of all the ‘matter’ in the universe that makes up

the world we know. He comments: “everything in the universe is made up of

small things, so small things are critical to why and how the universe actually

exists. I think small things are the key. They’re the absolute key to everything.”

Which I think is a very valid and important way of looking at things, many of us

seem to only consider the bigger picture and we consider final outcomes to be

critical, but often forget

without all the small

elements, nothing is

possible. I also agree that

every small fragment has its

own identity and qualities and

it is important we consider

these as well as the bigger

picture.

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“In around 1998, I was sitting in my studio in London on a brilliant sunny day, looking at the top of my shiny black coffee table which I had cleaned a week or so before, and couldn’t believe how covered in dust it had become in such a short time. I began to think about dust and dirt and material we try to keep at a distance in everyday life.

This became a new obsession, photographing the ‘stuff’ of my world that suddenly seemed very important. This then became the proposition of ‘Material’, that all matter ‘everywhere‘ is equal in status because of its equal improbability and beauty.”

This quote really interests me because during this project I have also suddenly

started noticing these things and began to really start appreciating them. I am

also trying to achieve this equal status for all of this ignored material that in,

albeit small ways makes up everything we know and see. The following quote on

the series also reconfirms this.

“Everything in the universe is made up of small things, so small things are

critical to why and how the universe actually exists. I think small things are the

key. They’re the absolute key to everything.”

I really respect Fraser’s use of colour; however feel that his work does lack the

vibrancy and intensity of colour that I crave in my own work. However these

tones fit the overall aesthetic of the rest of his work, so I assume this is just a

matter of taste or the film

he uses. I also feel that

form has become more

important than texture in his

images, whereas I am trying

to remove the form and

focus on the surface area

and texture to make the

object more detailed and

ambiguous.

Hannah Cook

Chloe Sells ‘Senescence’ Exhibition Review – Michael

Hoppen Gallery

Chloe Sells is an American who lives

and works between London and

Botswana, but has lived in 4

continents in recent years, this

unusual lifestyle has led to much of

her work being concentrated on

culture and how each place is

defined. The arrangements are

based on the European tradition of

still life in painting, and started

integrating photography into her

artwork in 1993. Her focus is not

solely on the act of taking the

image, but possibly more so with the

post production which is done

entirely in the darkroom.

The unusual look comes from her intense experimentation with C-Types in the

darkroom. She intricately looks at texture and the layering of detail upon detail

with colours and patterns, with each image accounting for many negatives.

Each outcome is entirely unique due to this labour intensive process.

Linked to collage, within the process itself but also

the arrangements and framing of the work, the

prints are often cut into irregular shapes and then

framed; this could be viewed as a collage within

the frame in its own sense.

The layers within the work make them interesting

for the viewer to explore and discover a new

element each time.

I really enjoy the contemporary graphical look of

her work, which really amazes me is not done

digitally and I think her work is a really asset for

21st century darkroom processes, as it is

something that I thought I didn’t really have any

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interest in, but after seeing this I can see how

the darkroom can make a revival from the last

century and reinvent itself as a contemporary

art form.

Having never been to the Michael Hoppen

gallery before and also having never seen Sells

work. I was going in with an open mind. The

first thing that struck me was the bright intense

colours, I did instantly feel out of place though,

with the gallery office in the main reception

room where the exhibition was taking place

with multiple staff pottering around and talking

amongst themselves. I feel that the exhibition

space should be separate from this kind of

work environment, but perhaps this is just

personal preference.

The works are printed relatively large, perhaps A0 in size and framed. I agree

that the work works best on a big scale as it gives you more of an opportunity to

look closely at all the small intricate details included in the image, and also

because of their graphical poster like quality that just wouldn’t have as much

emphasis on shape and colour if on a smaller scale. However I do disagree with

the use of frames, the work is so innovative and vary in shape, no necessarily

complying to rectangles, and the work would look much more contemporary

and with the

‘unfinished’

aesthetic. I

very much

enjoyed being

introduced to

this artist,

however I do

not feel the

space overly

inspiring or

with the correct

atmosphere.

Hannah Cook

Ciro Totku

Having previously mentioned his work earlier on, I

am noticing more and more similarities between

mine and his work. Ciro Totku is a Russian

abstract photographer living in Cambodia. Much

of his work is very minimalistic and focuses on

similar subject matter to me, he says: "The

dirtiest places are the most inspiring” which I feel

is really very relevant to my own work as I really

dislike polished, new looking objects and would

much rather

direct my

attention to

decaying, dirty surfaces.

He photographs these kinds of scenes for a

similar reason to me, to preserve what is

there and appreciate it whilst it still can be

appreciated, "All subjects of images will

rapidly disappear with time and will never be

decrypted. All multicolour walls will be

repainted soon." This constant cycle will

eventually wipe out styles of the past that will

be forgotten, and this is why it is important to

capture it now.

Using tightly framed shots to tell larger stories, Totku’s main focus seems to be

colour and texture. In the photo above he features only a tiny fragment of colour

which is a refreshing change in comparison to his usually quite bright, verging

on garish compositions. I find his work a

nice balance, it can still be recognised as

a photograph, but it also lends itself very

well to fine art abstraction.

Hannah Cook

Images from Saltash boats

I visited Saltash as I need to look at things with fresh eyes in order to notice

these details, and thankfully I discovered all of the old decrepit boats on the

shore, which are perfect as they offer an array of colours, with rustic textures

and patterns in a context that could not be as easily guessed as a rusty pole like

in my last set of images. I feel I achieved an abundance of varied, vibrant and

intriguing shots from this shoot and am very pleased with the outcome.

I really like this image, which is also reminiscent of Siskinds work; perhaps I

think this because of its lack of colour or the scrubby, dirty texture. Although I

usually prefer the images with much more and brighter colours, however I still

really like this one. Although the bolt does slightly put it in context, I like it being

there with the colour radiating out of it with cracks coming from out of it and

through the composition. I like its simplicity; so far I feel I have been focusing

too much on finding complex colour combinations and flaky textures and

ignoring opportunities like this which focus more of shapes. Although mostly

black and white tones, this image subtly contains blue hues which I think really

enhances the white tone and adds more dimension to this otherwise flat image.

The small elements of brown are almost, if not more effective than large plains

of colour as seen in some of my other images and is enriched due to the white.

Hannah Cook

This image is quite bold from both its flatness and its high contrast between the

black and white and the burst of horizontal colour. I find the shape of the

coloured section really interesting because although it has my typical stripe, it is

not so clean cut and the colours are layered on top of one another in a chipped,

spontaneous style. It in some ways reminds me of a sunset the way the black

goes to shades of blue and the red fading to orange. Had this stripe of colour

been on white, I don’t think it would be as strong and bold. Also without the

white scrubby paint, the image would have little merit and the black too

dominant; the white breaks the black background up. Although I like this image I

do not feel it is as sophisticated as the others and the more I look at it, the

more it reminds me of a colour by numbers and is too blocky, lacking texture.

However this image I feel stands very individual from the subject matter which is

what I set out to do. I think this is because of its abstract and unusual elements

and also because it is not easy to establish the surface material. I have realised

that flatness is one of the keys to removing it from its context.

Hannah Cook

Obviously I was drawn to this shot because of the stripes! However due to

weathering the surface has gained the rustic flaky texture I was drawn to with the

rust, but I feel that these kinds of surfaces offer more. If I was only taking

images of rust, my project would be much of the same, I’m not sure how much

variation can be made on images of rust. But by searching for similar textures in

paint on metal I think I have achieved something much stronger. I am a fan of

stripes, but clean cut ordinary stripes can become a little tiresome so here I

have focused on an area broken up with lines and cuts in other directions to

break it up to make the shapes more dynamic. However I am not as pleased

with the colours in this image as they are too washed out and I favour the more

vibrant ones with a punch. I would like to achieve a similar composition, but with

more exciting tones and not this de-saturated style that is too common with

scenes of decay.

Hannah Cook

Although this image is one of the most simple styles, however I do like it.. Most

of the composition is made up of horizontal stripes that are quite clean and

straight, unlike a lot of the more rustic images I have taken. However, these red

stripes are contrasted with the more textured blue stripe at the bottom. Once

again though this image is a bit too de-saturated for my liking, and if I am

going to showcase images of decay, I would like to do this in a way that

exaggerates these beautiful colours that we wouldn’t normally appreciate on

these objects.

Hannah Cook

This is easily one of my favourite images from the batch because it is simple,

colourful, textural and very aesthetically pleasing. Once again I am drawing

upon the blue and orange colour composition, but through entirely man-made

material. Both colours complement and enhance each other. I find the fine lines

in the orange very intriguing, without them I think the orange would fall into the

background, instead I like how the orange is almost competing with the blue

and makes for an excitable image. I feel that this image is a progression from

the orange stripe on white that I achieved as one of my first images, only

enhanced through textures. I still feel that to remove from contexts, creating a

flat image is one of the most important features, if this image was not taken

straight on with a certain area of focus then form and dimension will be given

away and the reader will be able to tell more about the surface. Yet when the

image is flat it can be compared more to an abstract painting, which rarely

focuses on the form of the surface.

Hannah Cook

This image is similar to the one before, be I wanted to see how it worked with

most of the composition made up of orange without the fine lines. I don’t think

it works anywhere near as well as the previous image; the textures make all the

difference. The importance of the vibrancy of colours is really clear when you

compare this image to the previous, here the colours don’t have the intense

relationship that can be seen in the previous image. Here the blue is too

subdued by the orange and the orange is too plain and dominant.

Hannah Cook

Hannah Cook

The images on the

previous page are also an

extension of the image I

took back at the start of

the orange stripe on the

white. I tried various

compositions, and

although I do like quite

horizontal/vertical

composition, it lacks the

rich textures seen before.

The simplicity of these

types of images lead it to

fall into a different kind of

category and do not

display the decay style I

have previously been

achieving. Although

contemporary and a great

bold composition I am

unsure how to feel about

these. I don’t feel that they

fit as well with the other

images I have taken, they

are too clean and polished

and not decayed enough. Yet they do fit in with the striped theme that has also

been running through my work. I like the above image with the inclusion of the

slight shadow underneath the white block, it creates a more moody gradient to

the orange and also adds depth and dimension to the image. For some of my

other images dimension has been something I have been trying to avoid, yet I

think without dimension here, the image would be completely boring and any

merit gained from the bold contrast in colours would be irrelevant and tiresome.

Hannah Cook

I have tried to take quite a clinical and geometric approach to this image as I

have found that being quite logical and orderly fits quite well as a contrast to the

decayed look. You expect to see jagged lines and an unpredictable composition

with images of decay but I feel that creating geometric shapes brings something

new to the table and can make something quite old have a contemporary edge.

I think the reason why this image works so well is the yellow and blue being

complimentary colours and becoming enhanced and intensified by the black

and white additions to the image. I do feel the image would have worked better

had it been the other way up so it is more grounded and bottom heavy rather

than all the weight being at the top leading down, but the shadow underneath

the blue causes the image to look very odd when it is flipped. If I am trying to

remove it from its context then perhaps upside down is a good way to do this,

yet my head just can’t get around seeing a shadow the wrong way around.

Maybe this is because I have got used to

seeing the image in its original state so much

so that I can’t adjust to seeing it in any other

way, or maybe it does just look really very odd.

Hannah Cook

This is by far my favourite image of the bunch; it just encapsulates everything I

enjoy about decay, with the inclusion of rust, natural matter, bright colours, rich

browns, flaking paint and weathering. Allthough it is still recognisable I think it

does showcase it in a way that is not often seen. There is such a diverse range

of textures and surfaces within this image, which in real life is only about

10x20xm. I like how the edges of the yellow paint can look slightly burnt and

pulled away from the surface contrasted with the soft delicate texture of the

moss and mud towards the bottom of the image. I think this sort of diversity is

why the image works so well. I believe this image could be an abstract painting

(in content) without the context of rust, which is an important quality when

considering how far removed it is from its original context and setting.

Hannah Cook

This image reminds me of landscape in some ways with the quite natural

colours running in horizontal stripes across the image. After looking at my more

bright and vibrant images, I can’t feel overly enthusiastic about these kinds of

images with the de-saturated look, now I’ve had a taste of these bright bold

compositions, I just can’t sink my teeth into more cold ones. I think without the

green moss, I wouldn’t have chosen to take this image, it completely makes the

image and adds more tone to the blues which would have been practically solid

clocks of colour without it. The more I look at this image, the more I see it

looking like a painted mural in a school (in a bad way). I think it is simple, but

not in the same way that some of the other images have worked because of

their simplicity, here there are too many elements to make this image the same

kind of minimal look, but all of these elements just lack detail and intrigue in the

same way my other images do.

Hannah Cook

I really like this image, to me it looks like two separate images juxtaposed

together and it really works. I find myself wanting to rotate it on its side again to

create more of a Barnett Newman simple, delicate striped style, and I think it

can also work this way. It takes the image

more out of context and can look a little

confusing with the orange dripping in the

other direction, which it would not naturally

do. I think by making the decay look

impossible and unrecognisable, it abstracts

it more, giving you less clues to the original

object and scene.

Hannah Cook

This is another simple composition, with the interest instead coming from colour

and texture as opposed to shape. The texture is the real asset to this image,

without it, it would simply be two block colours, but with the addition of the

wood grains running horizontally though, it complements the line of colour

dividing the image in two. I really like the peak of raw wood poking through on

the right, revealing more texture from behind the peeling paint. I would have

preferred if the blue wasn’t overcast with the grey tone as it dulls down the blue

a lot. But at the end of the day, this journey is about finding the beauty,

abstraction and colour in these scenes, and not manipulating or constructing it,

just observing what I find, so I can’t expect it to be exactly as I would have liked

it every time.

Hannah Cook

As soon as I had taken this

image I was instantly

reminded of the work of

Mondrian, where the focus

on the composition is line

and colour. However my

work differs in the way that

I intended to favour the

textures in the image, and

Mondrian’s work tended to

ignore this element and

instead work on block

colour. Without blowing my

own trumpet too much, I

think my image works just

as well, with the variety of

textures adding more and

more to the image. Without

the flaking paint I think it

would still be a strong

image, I just think with the

textures becoming more

abundant the further down the image your eye

goes, the more complex the image becomes. In

this case I don’t think less is more. I think the

most important quality of this image is the red on

the left, it draws your eye over from the solid

line, but not in a dominant way, if you can

imagine that it wasn’t there, the image would not

resemble Mondrian, and instead like 2 photos

juxtaposed together that just don’t work together,

this little piece of red ties everything together.

Hannah Cook

Although by no means my strongest image, I liked this one because of the great

contrast between the white and the brown, emphasising the paintbrush mark

pattern even more so. The horizontal line through the middle of the composition

ties it all together and completes the image, without it the image would look

unintentional and a mistake, but here it looks purposeful and brings an element

of logic and structure to an otherwise clumsy image. I find the hints of blue and

dark brown/black important in this image, without it, it runs the risk of being too

monotone, but with them included it brings it back to being a colour image and

adds more depth to the image. I think this image achieves the removal from

context that I have been thinking about and exploring quite well as it is still

aesthetically pleasing, but through abstraction, colour and its formal elements

and not its subject matter.

Hannah Cook

If you couldn’t tell already, orange is seeming to be a theme that’s running

through a lot of my images so far, which I think is a positive thing as this more

bold colour is just a different tone to the rust colours, which can work well

together. I was really attracted to this scene because of the strong directional

lines going through the image, abruptly stopped by the black horizontal stripes. I

think with the inclusion of this black line it adds more structure and a more

purposeful composition and picture, rather than just simply an observation of

pattern. I think the hints of white on the edges of the slashes are important as

they freshen the image up, and without it the black would be too dominant. This

is probably one of my favourite images, although it doesn’t feature intense

detail as is the case with some of my other images, but instead it has a strong

and structured composition and also contains an interesting and repetitive

pattern which I think really works over the large, relatively empty space.

Hannah Cook

This is a slightly different image which has white instead of black, which makes

the image much more fresh and happy looking, however I don’t believe it carries

as much of a punch as the previous image. The black causes the orange to

look more vibrant and moody, whereas here it doesn’t do that. Due to the angle

of taking the image, the slashes in the paint aren’t as exaggerated and I don’t

feel that the pattern is as effective when it is not as overstated. As an image I

like the area of focus on one part of the slashes; however I don’t know if it fits

the idea of creating more flat images to keep it out of context and make it more

reminiscent of paintings, which seldom have areas in and out of focus.

Hannah Cook

I wanted to look at the relationship between blue and orange that seems to be

working its way into my pictures more and more. This is not only witnessed in

more natural rust, but also a common combination in man-made objects to.

This could just be because they are complimentary colours (opposite one

another on the colour wheel). I like how this image is more heavy towards the

bottom in terms of composition with a lot of empty space towards the top, on

reflection of some of my other images I am finding that the images of intense

detail can look a bit overwhelming and busy, and I am favouring more simple

patterns and textures, such as this one. Although the image does not look

completely flat like I am hoping them to be, I feel the 3D effect of the flakes are

effective and add dimension against the blue.

Hannah Cook

This is probably the least colourful of all my images, with no bright colour

running through, because of this I do not feel it fits as well with my other

images, but saying that I still appreciate it as an individual image. I like the quite

centralised composition with the slash forming both vertical and horizontal

shapes. The way the paint is drooping off like fabric really interests me, as it is

starting to form drapes and shapes you would expect to see in quite an opulent

object, but instead can be seen in this quite austere scene. I also appreciate

how the wood is not a wooden colour and is instead quite a charcoal colour

which highlights the grains in the wood with a subtle white. Small cracks and

fractures give more detail to this otherwise simple composition and bring the

element of texture to the series that I had hoped to do, without making the

image too cluttered or complicated.

Hannah Cook

This image interests me as it has many layers of decay in it, the first state of

decay I image would be the orange vertical stain. This is so dramatic and I

imagine it comes from water dripping down from rust that is out of shot,

however I have never seen it this extreme, I think the fact it is seldom seen does

help in de-contextualising it from its original subject. The next stage of decay

would be the flakes and cracks forming on the paintwork, breaking up the

orange and offering quite a unique pattern of blue against the orange. Like

many of my pictures this blue and orange colour combination has cropped up

again, but this time in a much more subtle way. I like the large area of paint that

has flaked away on the right as I feel it balances the composition and doesn’t

make it too symmetrical which I think would look quite dull in this image. The

third stage in the decay would be the dirt climbing up from the bottom of the

image which adds more tonal variation to the image and creates this gradient

type of effect. This is another image

that I wanted to see upside down as I

think it would look quite intriguing to see

the stains moving upwards like a flame.

For the first time I think I actually prefer

it this way up and I think it does help

bring ambiguity to the image as you

don’t expect drips to move in this way.

Hannah Cook

Although probably the least ambiguous of the bunch, I find this image very

aesthetically pleasing, with the perfect circle and the perfect stripes, yet the

complete imperfect nature of the object. Although I do like the look of this

image, I feel that it looks too commercial and polished to fit in with the rest of

my work, too clinical.

However this image does look at form in a different approach to the other

images, the lines are sharp and clean cut without the typical signs of decay that

I have shown previously. I like the contrast between the circular shapes of the

pipe opening and the screw heads to the horizontal lines, it breaks the image up

and allows it to be more of a balanced composition.

I am unsure of how most of the image is made up of blue, in a lot of my

images I have featured 2 or more main colours that add contrast and on some

occasions, clash. Which I think can work very well. I find this image lacks

punch, mostly due to this.

Hannah Cook

I find this image strong because of the bright blue broken up in places by the

contrasting brown of the wood. Although the focus of this image is on the

wooden grain lines that are visible, I think this could be exaggerated in some

way, because other than the colour, I feel like this image lacks intrigue and

more texture would have given it that. I would have also enjoyed if the blue had

weathered in a way to have given multiple shades of blue so it isn’t as much of

a solid block.

Hannah Cook

This is another image I feel can be compared quite easily to Siskinds work as it

has this washed out, gritty look to it, and with graffiti which can feature quite

heavily in his work. I am unsure whether I like this image as I feel the rust is too

different a texture to the rest that it looks false and put in separately. However I

do like the organic and spontaneous shapes created by the rust and the

separation from the background only enhances the shape, so there are both

pros and cons to this quality.

Hannah Cook

I feel that this image resonates a lot with Siskind, it is what I imagine his work to

look like had it been in colour. I like the range of colours, surfaces and textures

in this image and also the range of decay. It kind of looks like a collage. I like

the line of new looking metal with an industrial look to it which lines some of the

most heavily decayed areas to give quite a diverse feel to it. I think this image

has a lot softer look to it as the colours are complimenting one another and not

fighting for attention (not that that is a bad thing in some cases) and the overall

look is more delicate, despite that the subject matter is not. The orange adds

real punch to the image but I wish I hadn’t made it so central as it looks more of

a clinical photo/observation rather than a piece of abstract art, if it was off

centre I feel it would be more inclusive of its surroundings, which are of equal

interest and not make you feel like you are only looking at the image to see the

orange. I also don’t like how the metal curves away, giving away that it is of

cylindrical shape, which is helping to add to the context, not take it away which

is not what I am aiming for.

Hannah Cook

This image instantly reminds

me of Barnett Newmans

‘Concord’, which I guess is a

good sign… if I am going to

draw any connections, I

would like it to be to abstract

painting as opposed to

subject matter. I really like

the delicate nature to this

image, it is quite refreshing

when compared to some of

my other, more brash

images. Although the image

is not sharp all over

(intentional, not me being

lazy), which in other images

leads to the eye starting to

define dimension and form

within the object and adding

context, here I feel that it

doesn’t do that and instead

adds merit to the image by

keeping it subtle and soft.

The soft lemon yellow colour works really well

with the grey and is a colour combination that is

really fashionable within interiors at the moment

and has a very contemporary feel to it. I am still

unsure as to whether I think the orange rust at

the top of the image adds or detracts from the

overall atmosphere of the image. If it were to not

be there then I think that the image could look

quite bare and lack lustre, yet when it is there I

feel that it looks out of place and takes away the

delicate nature of it.

Hannah Cook

This image is similar to the previous in terms of colour yet the effect of the

metal makes it look much more industrial. I think that the texture is really odd;

you don’t often see relatively new metal (new in comparison to the dense rust I

have been looking at) peeling in the way you would expect paint to. This is still

quite a delicate image, but not as much so as the last, yet I do enjoy the

composition of this one more. This image has a much wider depth of field than

the previous, and like I said, for this surface I do not really feel that it makes

much of a difference in regards to adding dimension. I think the subtle yellow

colour in some areas is a refreshing change to the rest of the images and I think

it complements the grey and the flaking texture very well, still speaking of decay

and hidden beauty, but in a more feminine and gentle manner.

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Review of progress so far

I am very pleased with the images I have achieved, I think my technical abilities

have grown and I have learnt more about aesthetically pleasing abstract

compositions. But as much as I like the images, I am unsure if I have had that

great of a journey, if I was to go out and shoot again, I fear it would only be

much more of the same. This was not the point of the project and I don’t want

to create a huge body of work just for the sake of it, if all the images becoming

samey and lose their impact surrounded by so many other images of the same

nature.

I feel I am making some progress towards the de-contextualisation of the

image, by focusing on pattern, texture and colour. Yet I feel I may have taken a

wrong turn by choosing to focus on areas of decay which are so easily

recognisable, no matter how they are shot.

At this point I am considering formulating a way in which I can take these

images I have already taken and abstracting them further, either by

manipulation or by processes to the print.

At the moment I feel at a dead end and hope that by further considering what I

have researched and my own images I will come to a conclusion as to how to

use this collection of colours, texture, pattern and shapes to create something

that doesn’t immediately look like rust and decay, but instead an aesthetically

pleasing piece of contemporary art that stands alone from the original subject

matter.

Hannah Cook

Contemporary Open 2013 Review – Exeter Phoenix

Although not solely photography, I visited this varied art exhibition to witness the

level and style of work entered into this international competition. I hope that in

the future to be at a standard to be judged alongside artists across the board. I

also feel that visiting mixed discipline exhibitions is as important, if not more so

as visiting photographic shows for me as my work lends very well to fine art,

with most of my inspiration taken from painters.

The Exeter contemporary open is an annual exhibition and competition, open to

all disciplines and media from contemporary artists internationally. The

intentions of the exhibition are to create a platform for emerging artists and to

display current themes and issues within contemporary art practices. Selected

artists receive cash awards to enable their practices. This year’s judges consist

of artist and curator Kevin Hunt, independent curators Day and Gluckman and

the Phoenix Gallery curator Matt Burrows.

Although there is not a set theme for the show, there was a clear interest in

materiality throughout the exhibition. Texture, surface and the physicality of

objects, images and subject matter under pin much of the work. At first I was

disappointed with most of the works complying to a house style and was hoping

for more varied approaches, however after spending some time in the gallery I

got over this disappointment and realised the show would be too eclectic and

no continuity, after all, the outcome of the competition is an exhibition and the

curation of such an exhibition must come into play when selecting finalists.

I became confused by the layout almost instantly, with 9 artists exhibiting and

their work scattered all amongst one another. It was difficult to identify whose

was whose, especially with such a house style running through. Even the name

tags were irregularly stuck to the wall and difficult to identify who’s

corresponded to the work you were looking at.

I was disappointed at the under-representation of photography in the exhibition,

with only one photographer and one video exhibit. This could simply have been

the tastes and preferences of the judges and curators and not represented the

entries made though. None the less, I did enjoy what little photography that was

on display.

Hannah Cook

Rebecca Ounstead displayed a series of 4 images

of handmade and hand painted objects in still life

compositions. It was a little disheartening to

discover that much of the photographers merit

came from her varied skills in sculpture and

installation that she had then photographed. The

work was displayed printed in what looks to be

pearl paper to the size of A3, pinned to the wall

neatly with drawing pins, with the images next to

each other. I liked the method of display as it was

not only a cost-effective way, but I feel it can lend

itself to its surroundings more, many contemporary

paintings are no longer shown in frames, so why

should photographs comply with this dated

tradition? However when choosing not to frame, I feel she could have

considered her choice of paper better, I would have gone for a more textural,

fine art paper to fit with the handmade aesthetic, however I feel contemporary

art can sometimes be quite clean and clinical so perhaps the sleek pearl was an

informed decision.

The subject matter of these images were to convey consumerism, construct,

trend, pattern and material association. I like the tactile materiality seen in the

images that show potential for physical interaction when displayed amongst

other sculptural pieces. I enjoy the fact that the objects have been suspended

and constructed and not added through digital manipulation that I feel is used

too much in contemporary photography. I think because she constructs and

creates sculptural pieces enhances her skill of understanding shape, form and

material. I would have liked to have seen her sculpture also displayed also in the

exhibition to have been at least in the same room as her photographs as you

would have been able to make associations and appreciate her skill in a greater

way.

Moving onto the videographer (who also practices in collage and drawing), who

displayed 2 videos side by side, one of a horses feet, the other of her legs in

high heels. In both videos the same movement was made which made it quite

Hannah Cook

intriguing to watch as

neither video looked

particularly odd, but

when compared and

witnessed that they

are the same, the

comparison does

suddenly become very

strange. Her work is

said to explore the

urge to be a success, but accepting that there is a success within every failure-

usually humour. The video is described as a ‘tragi-comic’ (which I have never

heard buy does seem very apt) entitled ‘Try walking in my hooves, you poser’

and is a reflection on how she perceives herself walking in a pair of high heels,

she says “I may pose, strut and trot as gracefully as I possibly can but at the

end of the day- I walk like a horse.” Although only perhaps 15 seconds long, I

felt that the video (displayed on a mounted TV) had a surreal, magical quality to

it when both legs are still, but made small twitches and movements. It was

more like looking at a photograph from Harry Potter that can move, rather than

looking at a video. Eventually both sets of legs simultaneously walk off and it

sets to loop again. My only criticism of the piece is that it should have been

longer, even if it was only a few minutes of the same stillness as described

above.

The remainder of the exhibition was not as relevant to me, and mostly made up

of installations, however I found these small installations and 3D art to be quite

intriguing in regards to the way I should start presenting my own work. When it is

not hung on the wall and instead in your way on the floor, you begin to interact

with it more, you can walk around it, see it without glass and begin to

understand its form and other qualities in a very different way.

Overall a worthwhile exhibition and something which I feel has motivated me to

push my own photographic work into a similar environment and hope to see my

work in similar exhibitions/competitions in the future.

Hannah Cook

Abigail Reynolds talk – Exeter Phoenix

Overview of Reynolds work

I went to this talk on whim, after seeing her work exhibited in the college gallery

in March, not really understanding the work or feeling particularly engaged by

the work. But as soon as she began talking I was instantly drawn to both her

work and ethos. She made it clear from the start that she has no interest in

nostalgia, but instead in time and how it is continuously present. She draws this

inspiration from quantum physics and how she feels we are all trapped in time

and the nature of how it keeps moving and scenes and structures outlive us.

She does not use her own photographs and made it clear that she has no

intentions to do so in the future and instead uses imagery from books that she

sources second hand. She also has yet to work with digital imagery, but also

has no intentions to do so in the foreseeable future due to the joy that can be

found in tangible books. She likes paper as it is organic, manipulatable and

unstable, which pulls into the idea of time. The books she uses are typically

printed between 1890 and the 70’s, because before 1890 the imagery tends to

be etchings, which hold no interest to her, and that books during or after the

70’s tend to be bad quality paper, printing, colour and imagery. She blames

these factors on the introduction of TV which led to neglecting printed matter.

She enjoys using 40’s and 50’s books as this was when England was at its

height of the book industry, when libraries were becoming more and more

accessible and manufacturing could be done well very easily, also she favours

more golden age photographs. Her processes involve combining these images

from books to reinvent the context, question the social change and the

photographer’s agenda and to look at the nature of time.

Universal Now 2005

In this series she would take two images from

books, generally guides to London which are

made quite redundant now. She will locate two

images made in different eras but from almost

the same position and combine the two, trying

not to show more validity or importance to one

photograph over the other, presenting them of

equal worth. She uses geometric patterns that

allow each image to be folded out and flattened

to reveal more of each image, if all the flaps are

Hannah Cook

folded down then the entirety of the 40’s image will be visible and vice versa.

This image contains a photograph from 1946 in which the photographer’s

agenda was to show London as an industrial hub with the inclusion of the barge

worker, combined with a 1979 image from almost the same position. The

images work almost simultaneously together. To me this image speaks of the

long-lasting structure, and the inclusion of the man reinforces the idea that we

have short lives and the world progresses and can remain unchanged

generations on. It is likely that the man in the image is no longer alive, but there

are few changes to Tower Bridge. The technique used in this series involves

cutting flaps and inserting the image

very precisely.

This series mostly looks at London

monuments because images of them

are in abundance and also because

she was living in London at the time.

This image of the telecom tower

shows a technique that she usually

isn’t comfortable with using, but does

feel it works in this image. The blue of

the more modern image has been

extended by using blue card to pull

the blue out and extend it around the

image to make the colour more

dynamic. I find this use of colour and material exciting and feel it a shame she

has not chosen to use it in more pictures from the series. Something that she

mentioned regarding photographers agendas I found really intriguing was the

inclusion of the kebab show window on the right. The older photograph was

taken to display the tower, yet in the newer image the tower is just in the

background and the shop and street are more the focus point of the image. I

enjoy that you cannot work out where each photo ends and extends to, this

makes the image quite interactive and engaging to the viewer.

On some occasions she duplicates images, as there are often multiple matches

for any one photograph of London. She mostly buys her books in person as she

likes to feel the book, and won’t know if the paper and print quality will be of

any use until she has it in her hands.

In 2008 she left this technique behind and moved onto finding 2 images that

talk to each other, as opposed to being the same location. She also says this

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was because she had run out of guides to

London! She turned to guides of England

instead.

In this image she was very much concerned

in shape and line like I am and wanted to

form a relationship between the vertical lines

of the trees and the lines of the buildings.

Although she does work in a mostly

aesthetic way instead of conceptual, she did

say that this image was about building a

story as well as its formal elements. She

used the cuttings to in some ways resemble

a speech bubble emerging from the men as

if this is what their work is contributing

towards. She also formed a relationship

between the masculinity of the men to the

robust nature of the building.

In this image she

was concerned with

the relationship of

form, the lines and

patterns found in

tudor buildings

compared to

Centerpoint. The

geometric shapes

she creates also

contribute and

enhance this

nature. I do also

enjoy the contrast

between the garish 70’s Technicolor and the black and white which further

highlights the lines and shapes found within the buildings.

Hannah Cook

Paper Exhibition – Saatchi Gallery

Although not directly relevant to me, I wanted

to visit this exhibition as I have always had a

strong interest in craft and paper craft; no

matter how much it can be belittled in the art

community. This exhibition hosts a whole

range of art that centred on paper, I mean I

have paper in abundance, it’s totally

accessible to me, I must be able to find some

kind of connection to my work, or just

inspiration, surely?

Something I enjoyed most about the exhibition

was the tactile nature of the exhibits, how they

were not restricted by tape and barriers, how

you were free to wander around and get up close to the art which was often

suspended from the ceiling and

pinned away from the walls.

Although this style of installation I

do not feel achievable in the time

remaining of this project, it is

something that I would like to bear

in mind and possibly work into my

practices and I find the interactive

nature of installation worthwhile and

intriguing. I found it important the

way the gallery was set up to house

these often bright and structural

pieces, Usually I find these clinical spaces too bland to enhance art, but for an

exhibition like this I really think anything other than clean white walls and floor

would detract from the art on

show. I also enjoyed the lighting,

which you can see in the left

image was bright and although

clinical, allowed these sculptural

pieces to not be underappreciated

by shadows and ill light.

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Review on progress made

Having visited the Abigail Reynolds talk I feel all fired up again and full of

motivation. After hearing the talk it suddenly rounded everything together for

me, and made nothing I have done or researched irrelevant. I suddenly saw

merit in the way Chloe Sells combines images to create a semi-abstract look

and thought that I too can combine multiple of my images within one frame to

abstract it more and pull on connections I have made between my images. I

have seen relevance in the Paper exhibition at the Saatchi (which I did think

would be wholly irrelevant to me) as I have seen the potential for me to take a

more tangible approach to manipulating the images in a similar way to Abigail

Reynolds.

Although the work I have seen is a very labour intensive handmade process, I

would like to experiment digitally, as I am wary of my work becoming too craft

orientated, and also to save myself time and money, as there is only a week

and a half remaining for the project. I do also intend to take a more hands on

approach, but I think it important to iron out the creases digitally first and start

to understand which images lend well to one another.

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Experimentation Digitally

I know I want to experiment

in a more hands on way

with actual paper, having

been influenced to do so

by Abigail Reynolds and

the Paper exhibition at the

Saatchi, however to save

time and money I thought I

would try and iron out

some of the inevitable

creases digitally first and

get a few ideas out. This

was so much harder than I

expected it to be. At this

stage my experiments were

just a case of 2 layers, with

areas removed from the

top area to reveal parts of

the image underneath. My

thought process behind

this was that by breaking

up the image and throwing

in elements of others, it

would create more of a

pattern than identifiable

image decay. I knew I wanted a contemporary look so chose to use geometric

shapes, having seen such shapes in my previous research.

I don’t think I succeeded in my first attempt, it looks staged and like there was a

glitch in Photoshop that caused this mess. The images are just too different to

look effortless together.

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I think I succeeded much more with this image, I choose to pull out the blue on

the right of the top image and match it with the blue of the second image. The

hue was almost identical and I thought it might work (in the same way Reynolds

did with the Telecoms tower) if I were to extend this blue across the image. I

think that they work better together but it still looks a bit forced and fake,

although it has that graphical feel, it doesn’t look to a professional level or work

as seamlessly as I had hoped.

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In the same way as my first experiment, I feel that these images are just too

different to ever work together in this way; I think I need to stick to what I was

doing before by pulling a common colour out and pulling it through the image.

The orange image has quite a selective focus on the blue area, this means that

the triangles nearer the top are not sharp, which when separated from the rest

of the image looks very off and just doesn’t fit in. I need to use the areas of

images that are sharp, or better yet, the images with quite a wide depth of field

that allow the whole image to be used.

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Aside from the blue based image previously, I think that this is the next best

image. Although there is no relationship through the colours like the blue one,

I do feel that the images talk to each other, perhaps this is because the flaky

paint texture is shared by both, but the white/orange picture is much softer

and delicate, whereas the background image is much more robust and

masculine. I was however hoping for a much successful outcome than this. I

didn’t think that finding images to combine that work well together would be

so hard.

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This image is probably the one that works the most seamlessly together, but

that is only because it is just the same image, but sections in black and white.

Although this image doesn’t convey the idea of abstracting the image more and

combining textures, it does make me question if it is the textures that are

making it difficult to match and not the colours. When the colour is removed

and the texture is the same, it works. When the colour is the same/similar and

the texture is changed, it doesn’t. I hope this doesn’t mean that my idea of

combining textures hasn’t led to a dead end.

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I feel that these manipulated images look

even more awkward than the previous

examples. I wanted to go for quite a clean

cut and modern pattern, but it looked like

my computer glitches and made an awful

mistake on the screen. I am finding it

more and more difficult to find which

images work alongside each other, and

which areas of the image to slice out and

replace with others. I thought that doing

this activity digitally rather than by hand

would be easier, yet I am finding it

increasingly difficult. I hope when I take

out a pair of scissors this combining will

feel more natural and fall together easier,

but I do feel I underestimated this task.

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I tried the geometric shapes again and

tried to pull on what I had learnt from

Abigail Reynolds, who follows the lines

created within one of the image. I tried to

create a swirl from the end of the pipe

which seems to be the focus of the

image. However, once again it just looks

really awkward. I feel I need to leave this

idea behind as it is something which I

feel can be quite limited, even if I could

get it to look good. There is only so far I

can take this idea and I don’t have the

time for it to keep going wrong in the

process. I will now try to do some

samples by hand and put photo shop on

the back burner, yet I don’t have high

hopes for these either. Abigail Reynolds

got me out of my dead end, yet I feel like

I have just reached another.

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Experimentation with paper

Admittedly, I did still find it very difficult to piece my images together in a way

that complimented both, didn’t look forced and was still relatively original. I now

see very clearly that there is not much further I can push this idea and need to

start finding alternatives.

The above image consists of physical prints and coloured acetate, which to me

looks very childish and strange and doesn’t convey the de-contextualisation I

wanted, and barely scrapes by as abstract. Back to the drawing board.

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I think there is more of a success in these images, however I do not feel like it is

a great success. The images consist of laser copy prints of various images

collaged together and then scanned. They work, but it is just not of the quality,

creativity of refinement you would come to expect from a degree student.

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Inspired by Abigail Reynold, I

created this example in a similar

way to her. I do think that by

allowing the object to become

less flat, the relationship between

the two images used becomes

more relaxed and less strict. I

think it helps that the colours are

complimentary, but I think most

of the merit comes from the

shapes that are created. I found

this is interesting only due to the

fact it was 3D and not from the

colours and textures.

Hannah Cook

Tutorial Notes with Tim

Based on the quote about all the small things making up the big things by Peter

Fraser, Tim suggested I look at the book ‘Heaven and earth’ which looks at

images at a microscopic level and from a satellite, and between these two

relatively abstract images you can begin to draw comparisons between pattern

and texture, despite the varying techniques used to create them. Although

fascinating, it is something I might wait a week or two for, and begin my new

project properly looking into this as it feel it is a bit too big of a jump for me to

work with at the moment.

I have been thinking about the use of varied materials eg matte and textured

paper to see which works best for my work and to try and incorporate them all

within one image and see if this adds to the aesthetic quality of the work. Tim

has prompted me to look at the printspace and output options available to me. I

have also booked in to see Tim before the deadline to look at printing on

textured fine art paper in 2.26 to add this element of outcome into the mix as I

think textural paper would enhance the textures I have already found/produced.

Tim bought up formalism, a movement that solely focuses on the visual and

formal qualities of a piece of art, and allows concept and context to become of

secondary importance. This idea is so relevant to what I have been trying to

achieve and can’t believe I didn’t find out about this sooner. Leading on from

this I was prompted to look at former PCA lecturer, Marcus Davies work, who

practices formalism using found objects and lightboxes. I feel that this is a

technique I can dip my toe in this project, but also has potential to be continued

into the next project.

It was agreed that there is only so far I can take the observing textures thing,

and after a while it just begins to be more of the same. I think I am more of a

creator than an observer so I need to step away from taking these observation

images and start creating my own textures and patterns, Tim suggested I use

this an opportunity to improve my photoshop skills by layering images to create

and enhance my found textures to create something new.

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Digitally layering images

Although not what I had initially imagined, I spent some time experimenting with

layers on photo shop using some of the options such as multiply, overlay,

darken etc. This combines the images in a way that just would not be possible

by hand, I would combine as many layers as necessary and would then make

adjustments to certain colours using the selective colour tool.

This image could be verging on garish, but I think that that’s a good thing. The

colours and pattern has been transformed into a mash of college, leaving the

original photographs unrecognisable. I find that it no longer looks like flaking

paint and rust, and now more as a piece of abstract art- this ambiguity was

what I was hoping for. Using selective colour, I changed the areas that were

yellow to a more orange hue to work well with the blue colours that already

existed in the image; this was drawing on the colour combination I was seeing

so often earlier in the project. I still think the combination looks good here, but

nothing can compare to the way it looks naturally in rust.

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This image was edited in a much more subtle way, with textures added to look

as though they had been embossed into it. I think this is one of the most

successful, it adds some dimension to the image and breaks up some of the

empty areas of block colour, without looking too different to the original.

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This image is the combination of 3 images. I pulled on images with strong

vertical lines. I feel that this image is a bit too much and looks over

complicated; I think the previous image works better as there are still some

empty areas which balance out the textured areas and the frame doesn’t

become cluttered. I also don’t like how the colour has become de-saturated, it

looks so drained and anaemic compared to the original photos which are

busting with bold colour.

Hannah Cook

In this image I wanted to see if I could trick the eye into thinking metal would

behave in such an odd way. You would never see metal drape and hang like

fabric or paper like this. I don’t think it looks that realistic in all, and I don’t think

the top and bottom metal images match, one is warm toned, the other cold. I

should have matched two of the same type of surface instead.

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I went a bit crazy with this image and started inverting layers whilst combining

them. It gives an interesting effect that doesn’t really resemble a photograph.

But this level of editing does not interest me much and it has become too far

removed from its original surface.

Hannah Cook

I feel like the images included in this digital collage are still recognisable and not

edited too heavily. I like how the studs give an area of focus, and although a

recognisable object and not abstracted, I do not feel as though it puts the

image back into a context. Although this form of experimentation has worked in

some respects, I feel that the original images are much stronger than any of

these edited versions.

Hannah Cook

Formalism

Formalism is the study and practice of creating and analysing art in regards to

its formal elements and aesthetics. This places the emphasis on colour, line,

shape and texture and away from iconography and its context within social

matters and history. Some formalists would say that everything necessary to

comprehend a work of art is contained within the work of art. Elements of the

piece such as the reason for its creation, the artist’s background and its place

in art history are not important, only what you see in front of you is important.

Without knowing what formalism was, I found I have spoken about it multiple

times previously.

Formalism has been discussed by art historians and theorists since the 1600’s,

but formalist artists have only gained momentum in the 20th century during the

abstract expressionist movement where the artists would react to colours and

emotions to create pieces that can only be read and reacted to in an aesthetic

way.

Often work is analysed in a formalist manner, but also in a conceptual manner,

however I feel I have been analysing my work in a purely formalist manner,

describing how the colours and shapes contribute to a visually pleasing image.

In 1890 the post-impressionist painter Maurice Denis wrote that a painting was

‘essentially a flat surface covered in colours arranged in a certain order’ arguing

that the painting/art itself gave pleasure to the mind and not the subject and

context. I definitely agree with this statement, as I can find images with a great

context and message unappealing as there are no formal elements that grab my

attention, and equally, I find myself liking images that conceptually talk of

terrible tragedy because of their visual aspects that I find appealing. I am also

very much a fan of abstract, in particular abstract expressionist, which is not

intended to convey anything, other than colour, line and form.

Sometimes I feel as though to describe work as formalist, can sometimes be

used in a negative way, as I feel many artists, particularly photographers find

content and context more valuable than making it pleasing on the eye. Before

WWI, the soviets treated the word ‘formalist’ as a dirty word and to describe ‘art

for arts sake’, which although I can understand why some might say that, if I

wanted to learn something I would look to a book or an expert, and not look for

it in a visual way. I look to visual art as a way to please my eyes with what I

cannot see in everyday life.

Hannah Cook

Marcus Davies

Following my tutorial with Tim, it was suggested that I look at Marcus Davies

work, former PCA photography lecturer who practices in the idea of formalism.

Looking at shape with various media and light boxes, I was intrigued if I could

work his style into the idea of combining images.

The above set of images forms the series ‘Elastica’ (2013) consists of elastic

bands arranged on a light box. Davies in concerned with how photographs can

have little or no artistic intention, but still has a strong artistic outcome. He finds

it refreshing how an image can investigate form rather than meaning, as do I.

Much of his work is inspired by the activities his autistic

son partakes in to break rhythm, in the following series

he took acetate shapes and found objects (in this case,

marbles) to a lightbox to observe the formal shapes

created. He introduced reels of film to the images. The

film reels were of football games, and the colours

corresponded to the colours of the winning football

teams’ shirt. To me, this notion breaks away from formalism however he states:

‘Despite the inclusion of these personal objects their primary function is to aid the formal harmony of the image, there is no political or social meaning. The only interest I have outside the actual visual balance of each individual composition is the historical precedent for this sort of imagery. To a certain

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extent one of my concerns for both contemporary fine art photography and, consequently, photography in education is the dismissal of work that does not have at its core a socio-political message or an investigation of personal narratives.’

I wholeheartedly agree with this message, as

I have conveyed in the section here on Aaron

Siskind, how too much of photography is concerned with its conceptual

message, but as Josef Albers said “You young people believe that art should talk about society or politics. But that is wrong. Art is to dance!”

I believe Davies has a similar ethos to mine (during this project anyway), that

photography doesn’t have to be ‘about something’; it can just be beautiful,

colourful and happy. There have been some points in this project when talking

to peers about my work and have felt that my work is lacking because it lacks

it’s ‘something’, but I just have to remind myself that that is the nature of the

beast that I am exploring and experimenting within.

Hannah Cook

Varied surfaces

I think seeing your images in a physical form as opposed to just digitally can be

a very important exercise as paper and printing quality and variations can either

make or break an image.

As suggested by Tim, I looked into the printspace at some of the papers

available at a professional level. I knew the textured paper and the metallic

papers held a lot of potential after seeing peers work and samples in this

format, however when looking online, I felt the prices were just too high for me

to afford for this project, at about £10 per A5 print, I just couldn’t justify it at the

moment. However this is something I feel I really need to look into and might

just put it on hold until the following project.

I made use of the resources available to me and got a set printed on the canvas

available in creations, which cost £6.80 for 6 A5’s, which was both a relevant

output and cost effective. You can see these samples in the corresponding

sample sketchbook. I think the textural qualities of the canvas enhance the

textures in the image, but most of all, I like the tactile quality that it holds, it is

flexible easily manipulated. It doesn’t feel as clinical and precious as a super

gloss or more traditional photographic outputs. Some sharpness and image

quality is lost, but I do not feel that this is a pressing problem as I am more

concerned with the interactivity, colour and pattern of the images, not its

potential in a commercial context,

Potential ideas for a canvas printed image:

-Sewing/stitching

-Fabric decays, what would happen if I left it outdoor to weather?

-Getting the fabric wet and letting the ink run, spread and fade

Another surface I was investigating was the fine art textured paper available for

the printer in 2.26, I saw potential for the textured paper to correspond to the

textures of my images in a similar way that the canvas does, however there was

un-expectantly no ink in the printer, meaning I was unable to explore this

avenue. However I know this experimentation is going to overlap onto the next

project and I have plenty to get on with as it is.

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Another format that was

available to me within

college was printing onto a

transparent surface. I know

this can be done at a

professional photographic

level at focal point in Exeter,

but for these

experimentations (that I was

unsure if would even work) I

went for the more basic

option of printing onto

acetate and overhead

projector transparencies. I

first went to the screen

printing room in the college

to get a few done, however I

wasn’t informed they were

only able to produce them in

black and white, which at the

time was disappointing, but

you will see in the following

pages that it was actually a

happy accident. I was able

to get colour ones done a few days later at a printing shop in town. Although a

lot of the image quality is lost by doing this, as I have said before, this doesn’t

really concern me at the moment. When/if I begin following up on this technique

I will invest in better quality, but at the moment it is adequate.

I had intended to use these transparencies on a lightbox, however when I was

packing them all up to put in my bag I noticed a few layered ontop of a paper

image and saw a lot of potential in layering them. At the moment I have just

been using a scanner, but I would like to branch onto the lightbox at a later

date.

Hannah Cook

This is the combination that fell into place by accident that sparked the whole

layering idea. Although I didn’t want the transparencies to be in black and white,

it made it easier to find combinations, as problems I have been having recently

with combining photos is the colours and tones just clash (in the bad way) and

just don’t sit right together. By allowing one of the images to just consist of

black I can focus on the shape and form of the image to start creating and

enhancing textures as opposed to fighting with colours that will never look right

together. I began to see links between the shapes like the black/orange band at

the top of the image; I think by layering these it gives it more of an effortless

graphical quality in a not so overly complicated manner. I think the colours are

made more intense by the introduction of the black, which is just what I had

hoped for.

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Most of the other combinations I created were just through trial and error, I

found it easier to find combinations when I had various prints and media in front

of me and I could hold things together and get a better sense of them, this is

something that I was really struggling with when combining digitally.

In this image, rather than creating an entirely new shape, I played on the shapes

already created within the image and played on the vertical lines. Before the

inclusion of the black transparency, the image had quite a soft, fragile look.

Now I can see a more structured and robust image, which is much more to my

tastes and fits in much better to what I have been working with so far. It is also

a bit of a play on the original image, which had a yellow bar down the middle,

and the streaks in the bottom image in some way resemble this and bring a new

textural quality to what would be a metal bar.

I think this is effective at removing the original subject from its context, as it now

looks one more step removed from a photograph and leans more towards

graphics. Also by being turned into a solid black and white helps remove from

the original surface and material, and helps to confuse over what it actually is.

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The downside to using the scanner over a lightbox is you don’t get the same

luminosity and the image can appear a bit too dark, however to get the general

idea of the potential of my images will stick with scanning for the time being.

This image reminds me a lot of a stained glass window, how there are so many

colours that are quite solid and ever so lightly outlined. Although both images

are of rust, I think the combined image makes it look less like rust, which is

what I was aiming for. Colours are introduced in an ever so subtle way that add

texture and just makes the image pack that little bit more punch. Although this

isn’t the more graphical style that I was enjoying before, it is a style I now want

to investigate further.

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I feel that this image has become too complicated by applying a complex and

detail intense image to one that is also quite complex; this doesn’t work unless

just areas of the background one are showing through to give hints of colour, as

in the previous image. I chose not to crop the extra image where it isn’t all

covered by the acetate as I quite liked the effect; it has a candid, scrapbook

feel to it.

Hannah Cook

I think this image worked well, as the bottom section of the acetate was quite

clear, so the yellow of the image underneath really bought it to life, with hints of

blue that lead further up. I think the textures match in some ways, but not as

well as in other images.

The following image embraces the mix of textures in a much better way, see on

the right where the pattern joins up and ties the image together. I think the links

in the orange rust colour work harmoniously together in this example.

Hannah Cook

I just wanted to highlight the differences between the scanned acetate and the

original image. The top image is the scanned acetate, and the bottom is the

original. The acetate does lose a lot of its vibrancy and gives off a more de-

saturated tone. This could just be due to the fact it was from a different printer,

or something could be lost in the process of scanning it. I also think it holds

more of a gritty texture, but at the end of the day i am layering these with other

images so the differences are not as noticeable when combined with other

images.

Hannah Cook

Evaluation

What did I set out to achieve?

I wanted to decontextualize an image, and without knowing it until recently,

practice in formalism. Making and looking at an image based on its aesthetic

qualities alone, with disregard for its social/historical context and concepts. I

wanted to continue to work in an abstract manner and develop my own style

more, but through observing scenes rather than creating them, like I have done

so much of in the past.

To what degree have I achieved this?

I can’t help but feel I have so much more to do, although this is intended to be

an open ended project, I feel I have only brushed the surface. However saying

this, I feel I have made great progress in all the things I set out to do, and if I

could have achieved this in 4 weeks, then I would have been missing the point

of this whole module. I think what is most important to note is how enthusiastic I

am to continue this. Usually getting a project over with cannot come quick

enough, but as I type this a day before the deadline I do not feel as though the

project is coming to an end, more that it has just sparked interest into a project

that could (and should) be experimented with and explored for months on end.

What have I learnt?

I think the most important think I have learnt was what formalism was! I am

kicking myself for not knowing sooner as I think the whole notion of it is

completely critical to my practices. It has also given me reassurance and

confirmation that my photography doesn’t always need to be about something,

it is okay to just be beautiful. I feel I have developed a more acute eye to

spotting areas of interest within a scene. It was something I felt that I could do

before, but I feel like that this skill has become more refined. I feel I have stuck

my toe a bit deeper into mixed media, which has always interested me, but I

have never properly explored it. It has given me a taste of what is possible,

including, but not exclusive to photography.

Where did I come across difficulties?

Without a doubt the most difficult element of my project was matching pairs of

images to combine, it was earlier when I had the images physically in front of

me, but it was really hard to find relationships between images. I believe this

was due to me spending too much time looking at them, and becoming too

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accustomed to them. Had I looked at the images with fresh eyes, I feel that

making these links would have been much simpler. Perhaps this is the reason

Abigail Reynolds uses photographs she has found in books rather than her own,

as I have found you can be over-critical of your own work and often not sees

the potential in images because you have just spent too much time thinking

about it. I can completely understand why some people are just photographers

and others are just curators.

What more is there to do, and where can I see this developing?

I can easily see my next project being a development of practicing in formalism

as I feel it is the exact ethos I have been thinking about for the past year, but

haven’t quite wholly achieved. I can see myself working more in mixed media

and making use of alternative equipment, such as the light box. I also feel I

should think about displaying my work in a more interactive manner, such as

through installations. I do not feel that this is the end of the project and feel it

can be extended on for months and months, and this is what I intend to do!

The things I still want to do, but have run out of time to:

Cutting the acetate into pieces and reconstructing an image.

Use of a light box

Combining different media of the same image e.g. matte, glossy paper,

acetate etc.

Following the idea of ‘it’s all the small things that make up the universe)

Getting more involved in practicing in a formalist way.