Master of Contemporary Arts (Visual Arts) Project
This page offers an insight into my UTAS Masters project. It might give you an idea as to why I believe that staging and styling are key elements in making interesting and emotionally evocative images that will stand the test of time. Whilst I'm not adverse to using a plain backdrop, for me the beauty of photography is capturing the moment 'live'. These sorts of 'live' photoshoots are often extremely fun and pose a greater number of challenges as they involve a high degree of coordination.
Project Title
People, Place, Space: Portraiture Wears a Wig
Project Outline
The project aims to produce highly staged portraits that juxtapose people with an interesting place to create an authentically
evocative space.
The works will be theatrical, sometime even surrealist in nature – often crossing over to the absurdist – and will involve the use of overt symbolism, fantasy, irony, humour, and social commentary to engage viewers. Staging may reference fetishism, fairy tales, myths and legends, and burlesque and other performance art to undercut or reinforce the image’s interpretation.
Aims of the project
The project aims to demonstrate:
- That highly stylised portraits are an effective means to convey personality.
- That while “portrait photography inherently seeks the mask in its human subjects, the face we put on for the camera.” [Juliana Engberg, Persona Incognita in Art & Australia vol. 46, no. 4, winter 2009] it can also unmask the subject through their involvement with the staging and concept of images.
- That staging and styling of images are key elements in a portrait’s success.
- That for a portrait to be a success it needs to combine with an interesting place to produce a space that works within the frame and also within the viewers’ minds.
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Bret Salinger |
Example images
Example images will be posted during the course of the project. Come back and check out what happens when people and place collide to make a unique space.
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| Park night 2 - Hobart, 2009 |
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| Eve & Lilith 1 - Westbury, 2009 |
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| After the show, Hobart, 2009 |
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Significance of the project
The project is significant to my practice as a professional photographer, who provides portrait services to private and corporate citizens.
Much of our sense of self is tied to how we are perceived by others and so we act, dress and operate according to society’s expectations. However, operating within a fantasy world we have the freedom and opportunity to share our inner-self and the resultant images are often extremely engaging.
I have found that in my practice there is a strong desire for subjects to want to engage in the image-making process, and I want to explore what impact that has on the outcome of an image. This involvement of others – particularly in terms of styling – is a point of differentiation between my work and those of the artists mentioned below.
Outcome
Images from People, Place, Space will be exhibited as part of my Masters. The images will be displayed in both traditional and electronic formats. |
