2010-04-09

Accreditation of Understanding Art:Western Art

Received my accreditation results for the Level 1 course into the History of Western Art. I passed at Level C, respectable but not outstanding - drat! Really enjoyed this course but felt pressure throughout to put pen to paper to sketch pieces for Projects and Assignments. I must admit my limited skills in this regard made me reluctant. However, when I did venture to give it a try I found that it made me look more closely at the subject. This is something I must bear in mind as I continue my studies. I have to learn to study the subject more carefully to select the best view, cropping, light etc.

It is also clear that I was marked down because I did not adequately record my learning experience. My approach to this was haphazard. I am disappointed with this as I did explore around the subject considerably - visiting exhibitions, galleries, architectural sites. I simply did not record my reactions, thoughts, influences etc well. This has to be continuously addressed throughout the course. The principle purpose of this blog is to provide a vehicle for me to keep a record of my learning experience as I go along from now on.

On the theme of art, this is a recent photograph taken in the British Museum.I like the contrast in this photograph between the dark of the background populated by tourists and the white of the subject, the statue of Venus known as Lely's Venus, named after a previous Victorian artist who once owned the statue. When I reflect on this photograph I am happy with the composition, but not with the way the content works. The angle I chose on the Venus, hides her face and there is very little interaction between the statue and the tourists. Were I to take the shot again I would have looked for a different angle and waited around longer to try to capture more interaction between subject and audience.

Technically the image was shot as a colour Raw file with my Canon 5d mk2 and converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro. I am a great fan of this software it provides lots of creative black and white treatments which emulate the way film can be processed.

Lely's Venus, British Museum London
Posted by Keith Greenough LRPS at 4/09/2010 03:43:00 pm
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2 comments:

  1. RobTM16 April 2010 at 08:00

    Hi Keith

    I've bookmarked your blog as it looks like we're going through Landscape at the same time. I can see already that we have very different styles and it will be interesting to see how we approach the course. My blog is at www.robtm.co.uk if you wish to look and comment.

    I'm afraid I have to disagree with you comment about the photograph above. For me, there's a huge amount going on in the photograph, and it works very well. I read it as if Venus is uncomfortable in her nudity. She's placed upon the pedestal and is crouching and using her arms to protect her modesty. The fact that she is looking away from the camera towards the crowds for me adds to this unease, she's being elusive to the viewer (of the photograph). The reaction of the crowd is also significant - the majority are women and look to be passing by uninterested in her state of dress, however the single male face I can make out int he crowd is looking at her. This illustrates to me differing views on the naked female form based on gender.

    Maybe I'm reading more into this, but I guess if this were on Flickr and you asked the OCA group to comment (properly, not just "nice"), then I think you'd be pleasantly surprised what came back...

    Catch you later, Rob.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous17 April 2010 at 06:54

    I also disagree with you. The Staue looking away from the camera is moré interesting than having it looking to you. It gaves more open ends to the viewer. And puts the accent in the audience and its interaction with the Venus Maybe nex time you could spend more time there and take several shots to choose from, that way you could choose what you want the audience to tell (respect, lust, boredom, awe... They can have many reactions)
    Marta... Just a spanish thinking about enroling in OCA

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About Me

I have been taking photographs since I was young boy some 45 years ago, but only seriously since 2005 when I enrolled to study at the Open College of the Arts. I am working towards a BA in Photography. I am a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society. This log record details of my projects and assignments during my studies. It also records ideas, work by other artists/photographers, notes on books/websites/exhibitions, influences, discoveries, thoughts, research findings and observations as I work through my courses. You can contact me at keith.greenough@btinternet.com or simply leave a comment on one of my posts.

Landscape Photography Bibliography

  • Andrea G Stillman (2007), Ansel Adams 400 Photographs, Little Brown New York USA
  • Andy Grundberg (1999), Crisis of the Real, Aperture Foundation New York
  • Ansel Adams (2007), Examples The Making of 40 Photographs, Little Brown New York USA
  • Ben Maddow(1989), Edward Weston, His Life, Aperture Foundation New York USA
  • Charlie Waite (1989), Scottish Islands, Constable London
  • Charlie Waite (1992), The Making of Landscape Photographs, Collins and Brown London
  • Charlie Waite (1999), Seeing Landscapes, Collins and Brown London
  • Charlie Waite (2002), In My Minds Eye, Photographers Institute Press East Sussex UK
  • Charlie Waite (2005), Landscape, Collins and Brown London
  • Clive Minnitt and Phil Malpas(2009), Finding the Picture, Envisage Books London
  • David Noton (2008), PHOTOGRAPY ESSENTIALS: WAITING FOR THE LIGHT, David & Charles PLC, London
  • Fay Godwin(1985), Land, William Heinemann London
  • Fay Godwin(1990), Our Forbidden Land, Jonathan Cape London
  • Fay Godwin(1998), Glassworks & Secret Lives, Stella Press East Sussex UK
  • Fay Godwin(2001), Landmarks, Dewi Lewis Publishing Stockport UK
  • Galen Rowell (1995), Mountain Light, Sierra Club Books San Francisco USA
  • Galen Rowell (2001), Inner Game of Outdoor Photography, Norton & co New York USA
  • Galen Rowell (2002),Galen Rowell's Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography, University of California Press USA
  • Harry Callaghan (1993), Ansell Adams in Color, Little Brown New York USA
  • Hunter, Biver & Fuqua(2007), Light Science & Magic, Elsevier Oxford UK
  • James Bentley & Charlie Waite (1987), Languedoc, George Philip London
  • James Bentley & Charlie Waite (1987), Languedoc, George Philip London
  • Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, David Ward, Eddie Ephraums (2006), Working the Light, Argentum London
  • Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, David Ward, Eddie Ephraums (2007), Developing Style and Vision, Argentum London
  • Joel Meyerowitz (2002), Cape Light, Little Brown and Company New York USA
  • John Berger, Ways of Seeing, Penguin Modern Classics
  • John P Schaefer (2007),The Ansel Adams Guide Book 2 Basic Techniques of Photography, Little Brown New York USA
  • John P Schaefer (2007),The Ansel Adams Guide Book I Basic Techniques of Photography, Little Brown New York USA
  • John Szarkowski (1981), American Landscapes, The Museum of Modern Art New York USA
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 01 (2007), AA Publishing
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 02 (2008), AA Publishing
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 03 (2009), AA Publishing
  • Liz Wells (1996), Photography:A Critical Introduction, Routledge Oxon
  • Liz Wells (2003), The Photography Reader, Routledge Oxon
  • Marc Garanger (1989), Louisiane, Kodak
  • Robert Adams (1996), Beauty in Photography, Aperture Foundation New York USA
  • Robert Adams et al (2009), New Topographics, Steidl Germany
  • Stephen Shaw (2004), Uncommon Places The Complete Works, Thames and Hudson, London
  • Susan Sontag, On Photography, Penguin Books London
  • Terence Pitts (2008), Edward Weston (Icons Series), Taschen
  • TPOTY Awards (2010), TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Journey Three, Travel Photographer of the Year Suffolk UK

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