Unit 7 - S-Curves Notes

UNIT 7: Generative Art & S-Curves

Using Studio Lighting to Capture the S-Curve

& using Photoshop to create Generative Art

The Elusive S-Curve

– The S-Curve is simply a curve shaped like an elongated or exaggerated “S”

– but more importantly it is an element which immediately evokes sensuality, sexuality, sensation, and subtleness, as well creating tantalizing, titillating, tender feelings

– The S-Curve is possibly one of the most powerful elements in photography

– We will explore the S-Curve in traditional photography, in fashion photography, in generative art and in abstract photography

Joe Zeltsman– in the 1960s, a New Jersey portrait

photographer named Joe Zeltsman began formalizing portrait photography

– he went back to the classic forms in Greek sculpture and reverse engineered why they evoked particular responses

– he realized the use of precise facial angles resulted in a more balanced and flattering rendering of the human head and face, and that poses, in the broadest sense, could be categorized as "masculine" or "feminine“ • a more politically correct

categorization would be "aggressive" or "passive".

Joe Zeltsman

– Zeltsman also made the logical but brilliant observation that standing poses start by placing the feet on the ground

– how the feet are placed and the way the weight of the model is shifted from one foot or the other will create a chain reaction reflected in the hip, spine and shoulder angles

Joe Zeltsman’s Studies

The Modern S-Curve

– clayton james cubitt – he has been compared

to Avedon, Lange and other masters and his highly stylized editorial work has appeared in Surface, Rolling Stone, and The FADER, among other publications

– his fashion work marries high-art style and low-brow subjects

– he also noted for his documentation of the effects of Hurrican Katrian

clayton james cubitt & tom carden

Generative Art

– Generative Art refers to art that has been generated, composed, or constructed in an algorithmic manner through the use of systems

– Generative Art refers to art designed from the random occurrence harnessed by computing power

– Examples include: flOW, Conway’s Game of Life, Fractals, Golden Spiral Programs, Algorithmic Programs, Algebraic Solids etc.

– Contemporary artists have combined the s-curve with the generative s-curve to create a new genre

tom carden

– Tom Carden, a British design technologist based in San Francisco

– Tom is a co-founder of Bloom and was previously a designer and developer at Stamen Design

– Stamen has developed a reputation for beautiful and technologically sophisticated projects in a diverse range of commercial and cultural settings

http://bloom.io/

http://stamen.com/

Smoke Photography

– Graham Jefferey: Colored Smoke– “There is of course no right way to

photograph smoke, it is largely a matter of experimentation to find out what works for you… … What I am looking for in my own work is well composed, clearly defined line and shape with smooth transition of smoke density throughout the image. I am not trying to create pictures of smoke; I am trying to create pictures by using smoke. “I

– “I have found creating smoke art at times both frustrating and very satisfying.”

graham jefferey

Your Project: Studio S-Curves

• You will combine: studio lighting, the s-curve and generative art

• You will create images which emphasize the s-curve compositionally

• You will enhance the s-curve with generative art created in Photoshop

• You will use studio settings to take images of smoke, models and other s-curves

• Your project is your design – you determine how to incorporate these elements: DON’T JUST COPY CUBITT & CARDEN OR JEFFEREY!

Unit 7 - S-Curves Notes

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