Exhibition Reviews

1. Ian Potter - NGV

Exhibition Title 
Indigenous Art: Moving Backwards into the Future

(Key) Artists

William Barak
John Mawurndjul
Peter Japanangka Blacksmith
Yhonnie Scarce

Theme/Ideas

Indigenous Culture

Mediums

William Barak - pencil, wash, charcoal solution, gouache and earth pigments on paper

John Mawurndjul - earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)

Peter Japanangka Blacksmith - synthetic polymer paint and enamel paint on composition board

Yhonnie Scarce - glass, tin, colour inkjet prints

Presentation

Pinned to Wall

On Table (Scarce)

Where Are The Artists From?

William Barak - Wurundjeri

John Mawurndjul - Kuninjku 

Peter Japanangka Blacksmith - Kartangarruru

Yhonnie Scarce - Kokatha

Age Group of Artists?

Born: 1824-1973

How Established Are The Artists?

William Barak - left legacy of Indigenous cultural drawings during time of oppression

John Mawurndjul - internationally recognised for contemporary Aboriginal art 

Peter Japanangka Blacksmith - locally well-known

Yhonnie Scarce - Melbourne-based artist 

What Kind of Gallery is it? Commercial/Artist Run/Institutional?

Institutional 

How is the Gallery Funded?

Donations, Corporate Partnerships 

Gallery Location?

Federation Square

Personal Opinion on the Artwork: Ideas, Content, Materials Used, Presentation?
I loved Yhonnie Scarce's work the most. The glass jars with the inkjet prints were so differently that I was immediately drawn to them. The black & white effects on the photos also made them seem very nostalgic and treasured. 

2. Strange Neighbour

Exhibition Title
Horror Show

Artists/Curators
Adam Boyd
Danny Frommer
Linsey GosperKotoe IshiiPaula MahoneyMichael MeneghettiSimon PericichNeale StratfordThe Ryan Sisters (Natalie & Pip Ryan)Michael ValeJordan WoodJoel Zika
Linsey Gosper -  fibre based gelatin silver print stained with red wine
Kotoe Ishii - ingle channel colour video 
Paula Mahoney - archival pigment print
Michael Meneghetti - live performance 
Simon Pericich - Mirror spraypaint™, glass, pain
Neale Stratford - archival ppigment print
The Ryan Sisters (Natalie & Pip Ryan) - ax, steel, candelabra, candles, wood, fabric,
Michael Vale - oil on linen
Jordan Wood - ceramics
Joel Zika - print on canvas

Theme/Ideas
horror and conflicting emotions

Mediums
Adam Boyd - pencil on paper
Danny Frommer - beetroot, plastic bags, polystyrene Esky

Presentation
Most pinned to wall

Where Are The Artists From?
Melbourne

Age Group of Artists?
Young Adult to Middle-Aged

How Established Are The Artists?
Some new, some very established and well-known throughout Melbourne & Australia 

What Kind of Gallery is it? Commercial/Artist Run/Institutional?
Artist Run Gallery (Contemporary)

How is the Gallery Funded?
Darkroom workshops, commission on artist's work 

Gallery Location?

Fitzroy

Personal Opinion on the Artwork: Ideas, Content, Materials Used, Presentation?
My favourite piece was the beetroot head. It was crazy to see such an ordinary part of life become art. I thought it was especially creepy looking and fit into the horror theme exceptionally.

3. Art Boy Gallery

Exhibition Title
“RIDDLE ME THIS?” - A Batman Tribute Exhibition

Artists/Curators
40+ Artists
My favourite:
Jimmy Twin
Adon Wone

Theme/Ideas
Batman 

Mediums
Various mediums from acrylic to pen to digital
Jimmy Twin - ink on paper
Adon Wone - Limited digital collage print, signed & numbered

Presentation
Pinned to Wall

Where Are The Artists From?
Australia, UK, USA, France

Age Group of Artists?
Young to old

How Established Are The Artists?
Some local, some internationally recognised 

What Kind of Gallery is it? Commercial/Artist Run/Institutional?
Commercial Gallery

How is the Gallery Funded?
Commission off sales (?)

Gallery Location?
Chapel St. 

Personal Opinion on the Artwork: Ideas, Content, Materials Used, Presentation?
I loved the ink on paper piece by Jimmy Twin. It pulled at my heartstrings to see a little Batman at the grave of his parents. The black & white nature of the ink also added a nostalgic effect on the piece. 

4. Centre for Contemporary Photography

Exhibition Title
We Told Ourselves We Needed Separate Beds to Sleep

Artists/Curators
Kiron Robinson 

Theme/Ideas
Making new images

Mediums
Altered photographs and scanned or re-photographed

Presentation
Canvas pinned on wall

Where Are The Artists From?
Melbourne

How Established Are The Artists?
Very established in Melbourne

What Kind of Gallery is it? Commercial/Artist Run/Institutional?
Commercial

How is the Gallery Funded?
Donations and commission 

Gallery Location?
Fitzroy

Personal Opinion on the Artwork: Ideas, Content, Materials Used, Presentation?
The thing I loved most about this exhibition was the use of pastel colours. It really drew my attention when I first walked in and I was compelled to look at each photograph in the series. I actually didn't realise they were mutilated photographs until I read the artist statements later on, which I thought was pretty neat.

5. Bus Projects

Exhibition Title
Moving On/Up

Artists/Curators
Grace Wood

Theme/Ideas
Reconstructing old photographs

Mediums
Colour darkroom process

Presentation
Pinned on wall

Where Are The Artists From?
Melbourne

Age Group of Artists?
Young Adult

How Established Are The Artists?
Recently completed Honours

How is the Gallery Funded?
Government funding

Gallery Location?
Fitzroy

Personal Opinion on the Artwork: Ideas, Content, Materials Used, Presentation?

I love the different kind of photography that Grace exemplifies. The green blobs in her artwork are very subtle but yet striking at the same time.

Thematic Project Artist Statement/Discussion

“Saturday”

I want to explore the theme of childhood memories for my final thematic project. We all sometimes long for the days when we had no worries or real life problems, when the only thing that mattered was the amount of time you had left to play outside before mum called you in for dinner. I want to capture the true essence of childhood in this series of photographs, and in order to do that, I will be shooting from a child’s point of view, that is, looking up at objects. I want to evoke a sense of being by viewing the photographs from such an angle that you can envision your younger self through the lens.

With the stresses of Uni life and all the real world hurdles ahead, sometimes it’s comforting to think of being 6 years old again and having no concerns. It’s important for everyone to remember back to simpler times, and to realise that life does not stop moving just because things get difficult. You still keep getting older and wiser, and the only way to freeze time is in a photograph.

This project isn’t specific to place, but rather time. I want to capture one time period: childhood. Even though this time period is different for everyone, I want it to evoke the same feelings regardless. I want to play around with the editing and give the photographs a magenta touch with lower saturation, in order to display a vintage look.

This series of photographs is geared towards anyone that needs to take a step back and think of a simpler time. This could be a Uni student that is stressed out about exams, or a middle aged businessman that is wondering how he got to this point in his life. I want my photographs to evoke a sense of calmness in people and help them remember that time passes, through the good and the bad, and that we are constantly growing.

Research:

Deborah Parkin uses her children as inspiration for her photographs. Her project, “Memory,” is shot in black and white and portrays characteristics of childhood. I particularly like the image of the wooden doll on the floor with the girl in the background walking away. It’s powerful to see the object focused with the girl walking away in the background. To me, this symbolizes the child leaving her childhood behind and abandoning her innocence to enter adulthood. I want to show this transition in my work as well.

World of Objects Discussion

For my world of objects project, I chose to observe the theme of food. Food is something that we come in contact with every single day, multiple times a day. It is something that defines us because without it, we wouldn't be able to survive. Since I have a sweet tooth, I want to capture all the desserts and sugary goods that I come into contact with. I want to use natural light to capture my photos and give it a more domestic, kitchen feel. 

An artist that inspired me for this project is Lara Hata. She is a San Fransisco based photographer who captures both sweet and savoury food. I gained inspiration from her sweet based photography, mostly. Her photos are mostly set in the kitchen and on platters, obviously staged. She captures the texture of all her food perfectly, which gives it a mouth-watering effect. The photo I like best is of a glaze being poured on a bundt cake - it captures human interaction with food as the object.

Another artist that I found to be helpful for my project is Adam Pearson. He also specialises in food photography, although more of the savoury kind. Regardless, I like that he incorporates silverware into his shots. It adds to the human interaction feeling - you know someone was or is eating the food in the photo. The colours in his photos also pop out which adds to the composition of the shots. Adam, as well as Lara, highlights the textures of his food so prominently. I want to use that effect in my photos as well.

Sense Of Place Reshoot

I had to redo my project for sense of place. My pictures were of too well-known places and were rather boring because they were of places locals see everyday. After getting some peer criticism, I decided to still keep to the city theme, but follow a different path. I want to capture a "night out in the city" through this project. My plan is to shoot at night with a tripod and slow shutter speed. I want to capture the view of the streetlights and the glow from the neon bar signs. I want my five photos to tell a story of a night out, but with a bit of abstract. 

I researched Rut Blees Luxemburg for inspiration for this project. She captures urban landscape in a unique way. Instead of conventional tourist shots, she photographs city-life in an abstract way. She incorporates streetlights and signs into her work and that is what I plan on doing also. A lot of her work has shadows in them and I like the feel they add to the composition. I like the way that you have no idea what city she is photographing because of the abstractness. 

Another photographer I researched is Allan Coker of Australia. He has a lot of city-life pictures of Melbourne that inspire me. I would never have guessed his photos were taken in Melbourne had I not read the descriptions, and that is what my goal is for this project. I want to capture city life in an abstract manner but still providing a sense of place theme. Allan's photography is mostly shot in daylight, which I will do differently, but he does use a low shutter speed to capture blurring movement around the city. He shows various kinds of city life, but the one I am focusing on is a young, 20-something's night out in the city vibe. A lot of Allan's photographs from Melbourne are shot at Hosier Lane, which has a ton of graffiti. I think shooting there will help tie in my theme of a night out and provide a sense of place to my project as well.

Lecture Week 5

Camera Raw

• white balance
• exposure
• set image preferences 

Photoshop

• check profile - change to Adobe RGB 1998

Adjustments in Layers (able to remove layers)

• levels - most important
• curves
• color balance
• hue & saturation
• brightness & contrast
• spotting - dust on lens or small spots on image to remove

Save master file as TIFF or PSD with all layers, 16 bit & full size

Print copy

• flatten - gets rid of layers
• 8 bit
• double check profile is adobe RGB 1998
• resize/add borders if needed

Levels & Curves

• levels & channels - refer to the way digital colour is divided
• each channel represents a specific colour (red, green, blue)

Lecture Week 4

Digital Workflow

• capture images on camera
• open in Adobe Bridge
• apply metadata to sort images
• process raw files in Camera Raw
• work on images in Adobe Photoshop

RAW vs. JPEG

• raw - uncompressed file format
• jpeg - "lossy" compression

Pros/Cons of Shooting in RAW

• Pros:
• not processed in camera
• larger file = more information
• can capture in 16bit
• higher quality image in photoshop
• Cons:
• each file must be processed individually
• larger files use more memory space
• may not be necessary to always shoot RAW

Camera Raw Functions

• white balance
• clipping
• cause darkest or lightest details in image to shift to pure black or pure white
• lose all detail in that part of image
• exposure
• white clipping adjustment
• large increases = increased shadow noise
• large movements in highlight values = stretch information in shadow values
• blacks
• brightness
• contrast
• clarity, vibrance, saturation 

Work Flow Options

• space - Adobe RGB 1998
• depth - 16 bits/channel
• size - 15.1 mp
• resolution - 300 pixels/inch

Lecture Week 3

Hard light

• the sun
• single point light force
• creates sharp shadows

Soft Light

• broad light source
• difference angles of light
• soft shadows

Printing Credit

• by 10 sheets for $48
• enough for thematic projects

Human Condition Discussion

I chose to photograph a feminism theme. I want to use objects that represent the female gender such as make up, shoes, dresses, etc. I want to use bright lighting to capture the colors of my work. I also want to use a shallow depth of field for some images to be able to really focus on the feminist objects in the composition. 

For my artist to research, I chose Prue Stent who is a 21 year old Melbourne based photographer. She is a feminist photographer which relates to my theme. The aspect that most inspired me about Prue was her usage of the color pink. She uses pink in her photographs to resemble femininity and to connect all her photos together. Regardless of the content of the photo, the color pink always sticks out as the first thing you see. She uses different medias to create the color; for example in the pictures below, she uses pink colored water, pink paint, and pink nail polish. The different shades and mediums of pinks gives each photo a unique perspective but still help it resonate with the feminine theme. Prue's images are also very simplistic, which I like. I think it makes for a powerful image when there isn't much going on but instead there is one strong focal point. The photos I like most of Prue's are the close ups (the ones I selected below). She also does photos of women and body parts but I think the up close pictures resonate with me more.

Lecture Week 2

Transforming The World Into A Photograph

• flatness
• 3D world is transformed to 2D photograph
• photograph is a 2D representation of the 3D world
• relationships created in the image that did not exist before because photographs have no depth perception 
• opaque photos - viewer is stopped by the visual plane
• transparent - viewer is drawn into the space within the photograph
• frame
• frame encloses the content of the photograph all at once
• for some pictures, the frame is active (the structure of the picture begins with the frame & works inward)
• time
• affected by 2 factors;
• duration of the exposure
• static nature of the final image
• fluid world is stilled into photograph
• length of time that is captured is dependent on the shutter speed
• focus
• camera creates hierarchy that controls what the viewer focuses on in the image
• camera creates single plane of focus, this plane is parallel with the picture plane & gives emphasis to a part of the picture and helps distill a photograph's subject from content
• hierarchical emphasis can be minimized by increasing depth of field (focus lessening on foreground and background)

Organizing a Picture

• vantage point
• frame
• focus
• time

Sense of Place Discussion

I am choosing to explore the city theme. Being new to Melbourne, I am fascinated by all this city has to offer. I want to photograph Federation Square and Flinders Street Station because that is where I first explored Melbourne. I am planning on going during the mid-day when the sun is out. I want to get some sky-line shots and also shots that are characteristic to Melbourne. I want to alternate between small aperture for the sky lines, and large aperture for the photographs of specific things.

Lecture Week 1

• at least 5 gallery visits
• look at some theoretical works for visual journal
• select 2 artists for genre projects (300-500 words each)

DSLR Camera

• Aperture
• controls the diaphragm within the lens to let in more or less light 
• measured in f-stops
• controls depth of field
• large aperture = shallow depth of field = low f-stop number
• Shutter Speed
• amount of time the mirror is in the up position and the shutter system remains open, allowing the film plane or sensor to be exposed
• measured in terms of a second (1/60th, 1/20th)
• controls movement
• 1/60th & slower requires tripod for blurred images 
• 1/500th freeze movement 
• ISO 
• speed system derived from film manufacturers to rate their films in terms of sensitivity to light 
• higher the number, the faster, or more sensitive the speed of film
• the greater the sensitivity, the less light is needed
• best image quality by using lowest ISO
• if under exposed, use next highest 

Camera Modes

• Manual
• control over ISO, shutter speed & aperture
• AV (Aperture Priority) 
• choose aperture, with auto shutter speed & ISO
• controls depth of field
• TV (Shutter Priority)
• choose shutter speed with auto ISO & aperture
• control image quality

DSLR Settings To Adjust

• image quality = RAW
• color space = Adobe RGB
• shooting mode = manual
• white balance = auto