ANALYSIS: LESLIE DAVID

This is the work done by Leslie David and is part of her 'Souvenirs de Paris'. Leslie David is a graphic designer, art director and illustrator based in Paris. The photographs are actually of different Parisian sceneries, they are in black and white and are of monuments from dated archives. The photograph is really simple in style, only with he bright block of paint which immediately captures your gaze. David stated that she wanted to associate the unexpected colours and relief of the paint with the romantic feel of the photographs.

The photograph itself has been shot in portrait and does not appear to have been taken at any 'unusual' angle. However the position of the paint has been put in the corner of the image. This I think is so that it only partially covers the photograph leaving space for the viewer to look at the photograph and identify with the monument. I do like the position of the paint as it doesn't cover too much of the photograph to the point where it no longer looks like a photograph but a painting.

I really like these series of photograph as it is taking something which looks relatively plain and simple and brining it back to life by adding some colour. I like how the colours of the paint bleed into each other forming different colours and it makes the transition from colour to colour look more seamless. 

ANALYSIS: ANNETTE MESSAGER

This is the work of Annette Messager. Messager is a French artist who was born 1943, she is mainly known for her installation work which she then incorporates photographs and various other materials. The subject matter for this installation appears to be the human body. I think this work addresses quite a taboo subject which is nudity and also the human body in itself. As of recent years society has frowned upon what is not considered to be the "perfect" body type. And in this installation Annette photographs all different body types both male and female. I think the meaning of the work is quite obvious although it can be interpreted in different ways. Some may say that it is in some aspect "celebrating" the human body whilst others may disagree. 

All of the photographs seem to be close ups of the different parts of the human body. The photographs are arranged into a circle installation. She has kept her photograph really simple with limited contrast. The photographs were taken against a black background as to not to distract the viewer from the main focus which is the body parts. Overall I really like the way she has chosen to present these series of photographs, it's very different and a lot more exciting to just simply putting them on a frame.

The photographs look as if they have been posed for example some of the mouth shots looks posed. Again she has kept her photographs quite simple as her main area is in installation. However some of the photographs seem to have more of a brown-ish tint them whereas others look more black and white.

Overall, I do like this piece of work, it's very interesting in terms of the subject she choose to photograph and also the use of an installation to display the photos works really well. I think what the artist was trying to convey here is that everyone's body is different and we all vary, and so having this displayed as a massive installation piece really helps to engage the viewer with the piece.

ANALYSIS: JEFFREY WOLIN

This is the work done by photographer Jeffrey Wolin. It is part of his 'Written in memory' series and this is one of the portraits he took for his 'Portraits of the Holocaust'. The subject matter of his photographs are survivors of the Holocaust and he depicts their story not only through photographs but he also adds to them by writing the person's account on the holocaust. These photographs address the mental state and courage of these survivors and gives them some form of 'closer' by giving them voice to speak about these memories that will forever haunt them, and finding a creative way to release them. The subject matter is treated very realistically and is no way manipulated to create some form of abstractionism. At first glance, one may not be able to understand fully the meaning behind the photograph. You can gather that it may have something to do with loss, since the subject is holding a photograph of a child and is looking down on it, however it is not until you read the text which surrounds the subject that you fully understand the photograph and its meaning. 

The photograph is a close up shot of the subject. There isn't much in the background, apart from glimpses of what seem to be windows, so I assume she is inside a house. Also the photograph gets lighter the more it comes closer to the subject, it looks as if she is radiating this light, whereas it gets darker the further it gets. The photograph is quite contrasted with the woman being lighter than her clothes and also her background being quite dark. I think this works really well, as to me it gives the impression that she has overcome so much through out her life time and all the darkness that once surrounded her is slowing fading away. 

I think the photograph, although posed it was done with true feeling form the photographer and the subject since it is dealing with such a controversial subject. The photographer seemed to have used a wide angled lens, I assume this was because he wanted the focus to be on the subject matter and also since he writes on top of his photos, if the background was too busy you wouldn't be able to make out what he had written. I am not too sure how he added the text but it does look handwritten and not something which is computerised, so I assume he wrote directly onto his photographs.

 I feel as if these people finally have the confidence and freedom to talk about something which dramatically affected their lives and having someone present it in a photograph just reinforces the idea of remembrance and the power that photographs poses. The words of the survivors are etched on the photographs like tattoos and is something that no one can remove.

PERSONAL STUDY: DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY

( These are the photos which I thought worked a little better, so 
I decided to edit them on photoshop)

For my own photographs I went down to Brick Lane and Camden to take some 'candid', street life photographs. The first few photographs I took in Brick Lane, I wasn't too sure on wether or not I was going to focus more on people or subjects such as buildings so I decided to take a few photographs of the graffiti, which were amazing works of art. For the second half I went down to Camden and took photographs of the passer-by'ers and did some more candid photography. I enjoyed taking the candid photographs as I found it fun capturing people doing different acts, however It sometimes become a little repetitive. To improve, I would like to get more face shots, rather than back shots and also I would like to take more inspiration from William Klein.