Reviewing the exam paper options.

Reviewing Exam Paper Options

01   Circles and curves 

      Many photographers and artists have used circles or curves to produce imaginative and  

      powerful work. Josef Sudek photographed shells, eggs, glasses and balls chosen for their  

      distinctive shapes and forms, in his series of still-life arrangements. Round hats, mirrors and  

      lenses act as frames or focal points in the portraits of Vivian Maier. Yayoi Kusama has used  

      complex and intense patterns of dots and spots to produce startling installations.  

*02 Writing 

    Words have been an inspiration for photographers and filmmakers, for both their appearance  

    and meaning. Nancy Hellebrand's close-up black and white photographs of handwriting are 

    abstract studies of very personal linear forms. The posters by Jacques Mahe de la Villegle are  

    created from printed lettering that is combined and juxtaposed in torn layers. The title 

    sequence for Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire shows poetry in the process of being written  

    with pen and ink, in contrast to the credits which appear as chalk on blackboards. 

03  Settings and locations 

     The locations chosen by numerous filmmakers and photographers have often proved critical in  

     creating mo. or establishing meaning. The director Yasujiro Ozu used the interiors of  

     Japanese homes to reflect the formality of domestic and family relationships that interested  

     him. When Photographing objects, Walker Evans emphasised the context of the room or  

     street in which they were located. Irving Penn severely limited the space available for his  

     models when creating his Corner Portraits series.  

*04   The sky 

     Observations of clouds and skylines have proved inspirational for many photographers and 

     filmmakers. Stephen Shore and Edward Steichen photographed clouds at various times of the  

     day. In the film Mistaken Memories of Mediaeval Manhattan, Brian Eno produced a 

     time-lapse sequence of New York filmed in a vertical format, with buildings silhouetted against  

     a drifting atmosphere sky. In the photobook Solitude of Ravens, Masahisa Fukase produced  

     evocative images of birds in flight against dramatic skies.  

05 Shops and shopping 

     Shops, shopping, buying and selling, in high streets or markets, can offer dynamic and 

     engaging opportunities for photographers and artists. Robert Adams observed customers,  

     shelves of goods and shopping trolleys in his project What We Bought. Jim Dow's Corner  

     Shops of Britain recorded the distinct colours of the interiors and exteriors of traditional family 

     businesses. The Tate's Prunella Clough archive shows how the artist used photographs of  

     multiple and repeated objects in shop window-displays as inspiration for her paintings.  

Research of options

4) The sky 

2) Writing 

Analysis of Exam Options

• I've decided between either 'The Sky' and 'Writing' for my exam as they are both options that i have already got an interest in prior to the paper.
• For writing i could explore different ways of creating letters and words and how i can manipulate them with other subjects and objects. i could also use the way words are written to added a deeper impact and meaning to an image
• whereas with the sky, i could manipulate cloud and add an almost surreal aspect to my images and i could explore how the sky changes between different times of the day. i could also use sunsets and sunrises as the themes of my images

Definitions

• Abstract - art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect.

• Linear forms - resembling, represented by, or consisting of a line or lines, having one dimension.

• Time Lapse - denoting the photographic technique of taking a sequence of frames at set intervals to record changes that take place slowly over time. When the frames are shown at normal speed the action seems much faster.

• Silhouette - the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.

• Evocative - bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.

Artist Research and images

I have decided to do The Sky as the topic for my exam.

this is due to the flexibility of the topic and the fact that i feel that i will find it easier to capture better images for this topic when in comparison to the others.