07: Inside and outside
Many photographers have made the observation of interior and exterior spaces a significant feature of their work. Gordon Matta-Clark recorded architectural openings in his photographs to reveal both the inside and the outside of industrial and urban spaces. In her series Frantic, Joanna Piotrowska photographed people inside structures created from personal belongings within their homes. In New Dutch Views, Marwan Bassiouni recorded both the interior spaces of mosques and the views seen looking out through the windows. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Inside and outside.
Joanna Piotrowska
Joanna Piotrowska's Frantic series is the set of photographs that I am most interested in. I really like the way that she displayed these photographs and the way that they are edited. I think that the photographs being in black and white adds a sense of nostalgia to them and helps to link them more with the idea of childhood. The way that Piotrowska displays these photographs is in big empty rooms with orange floors. I think that this way of displaying puts the photographs into a scale prospective as well as flattening the photographs and reminding us that they are indeed just photographs. In Piotrowska's photographs you can see that the person is usually inside the fort or half in half out
There are only a few photographs in this series and all are quite similar. For example, this photograph shows a blanket fort in the subjects house. In this photograph, there are two people in the fort, presumably a couple. We are unable to make out their faces and can only see their bodies together. It is difficult to tell what room they are in due to all the furniture being moved around for the photograph. The blanket fort is made up of furniture stacked on top of each other and sheets and blankets to cover the furniture up. The subject of the blanket fort represents a form of childhood. The photograph shows adults in a blanket form which they presumably made, and this shows a connection with childhood and adulthood. This can link to the idea of inside and outsides and these forts are usually made inside the house with whatever you have, and you get the inside and outside of these forts. The photograph being in black and white creates more of a nostalgic feel and more of a connect to childhood as it makes the photograph seem older. The photograph can be very personal to the subject as it was taken inside their house, of something they made with their own belongings and it has them inside. They show the thoughts and personality of the person - their insides - through these forts and photographs - the outside.
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My response
For this photoshoot, I decided to make a blanket fort like the subjects in Piotrowska's photographs. My house isn't very big so I wasn't able to capture the same aesthetic that her images do. I think this response was successful in the fact that I was able to capture the nostalgic. cozy feeling that Piotrowska has in her work. I didn't want to include people in my work as I didn't think it would fit with my view of inside and outside.
Shizuka Yokomizo
Shizuka Yokomizo is a Japanese photographer and made a project called 'Dear Stranger'. This is the project I am most interested in as I am interested in the way that she used windows as a framing for her images. In this project, she sent letters to people she didn't know saying, "Dear Stranger, I am an artist working on a photographic project which involves people I do not know… I would like to take a photograph of you standing in your front room from the street in the evening." She would ask these people to stand staring out their window for 10 minutes. In these ten minutes, she would take the photograph and would not interact with the subject and the subject wouldn't even see her. The subject and the photographer would never meet and wouldn't communicate. This project interests me as I think that the idea of not ever interacting with your subject is an interesting concept . I also like the use of windows in her work as I think that it's an interesting way in connecting the inside and outside world. Whether you're inside or outside, you can see the other from your side.
My Response
For this photoshoot I focused on windows like Yokomizo does in her work. I was able to capture many interesting reflections and objects in windows. I think that this photoshoot was successful in photographing windows and capturing inside and outside together in one image. One think that I would change is taking more photographs from the inside. I would like to do a photoshoot outside of school as I think that I will find interesting scenes inside of other peoples windows. I also would like to respond to Yokomizo's photographs by photographing people in these windows.
Response to Yokomizo
For this photoshoot, I decided to refine my images using a similar subject matter to Yokomizo. I wanted to make a response to her work, so I used the photographs I had taken previously of windows and printed them out. I then photographed my friend holding these photographs in the same locations. I think that this photoshoot was somewhat successful, as I was able to incorporate Yokomizo's practise into my work with the use of people in windows, however I think that the photographs are somewhat repetitive. For my next photoshoot, I want to focus more clearly on windows.
Photoshoot
For this photoshoot, I went around where I live and just photographed windows that I saw which I saw interesting objects in. It was difficult trying to do this photoshoot as many people had their blinds down or curtains drawn. I think that this photoshoot was successful as I managed to photograph a diverse range of windows and show of people's personalities just through the inside and outside of their home. For my next photoshoot, I want to just photograph the reflections that are in windows, as these reflections show off the outside while you are photographing inside.
Reflections
For this photoshoot, I tried to focus on the reflections in the windows rather than the windows themselves. By doing this, you are able to see both inside and outside. The second half of this photoshoot I took with my phone which allowed me to focus on these reflections more and I found it was easier to find reflections through my phone lens. I think that this photoshoot was successful as I was able to show inside and outside in an interesting way through photographs. If I were to do this photoshoot again, I would want it to be a sunny day to be able to get better reflections in the windows.
Kew Gardens
For this photoshoot, I went to Kew Gardens, as it has multiple greenhouses, I thought it would be a good place to take photographs with windows. I think that this photoshoot came out successfully as I was able to take many photographs, especially with windows. However, I wasn't able to get many reflections in this photoshoot as it was a cloudy day and the windows weren't clean. So for my next photoshoot, I hope to go to a place with windows that show off reflections better.
Edited Photographs
I edited some of the photographs to be more green because I wanted to give them a brighter, more lively look. Although, this was only a subtle change to the photographs, I think that it adds to the photographs and makes them more lively, I think that it also makes them work better in a sequence as they match better.
Marwan Bassiouni
Marwan Bassiouni is a Swiss photographer who photographs inside and outside. In his project, ‘New Dutch Views’ he positions the Islamic experience as synonymous with the Dutch way of life. He also has multiple other versions of the project but in different countries, such as 'New British Views'. The photographs of the windows are so clear, focusing on both the inside and outside easily which he describes as ‘making two photographs at the same time’. He wants to replicate the experience of being in a mosque and looking outside. I wanted to look at Bassiouni's work because I like the way that he photographs windows and makes them centre of the image. He also photographs oddly shaped windows which I would like to do as well.
The photograph is a landscape photograph which shows off a window and outside the window is a street with houses and cars and a large tree in the middle. It was taken inside a mosque which creates a juxtaposition of the patterned floor and obscurely shaped window compared to the dull streets of the UK. It is not a 'truthful' depiction of its subject as the photo in the window is edited together to make a seamless photograph. Bassiouni wanted to show off mosque's in different western countries and show the contrast of the everyday life and the marginalised community. I think that the photograph achieves its original purpose as I can see the clear difference in cultures in just one photograph. I think that it has a powerful effect today as it shows the vast differences in cultures but the way that we all share one space. It displays inside and outside of these cultures.
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Photoshoot
For this photoshoot I went around London and went to Westminster Abbey in hopes of photographing stained glass windows. I wanted to do this as I wanted to show a variety of windows in my photographs. I also took more photographs with reflections showing inside and outside. I think that this photoshoot was successful as I was able to focus on reflections, which also distorts your reality as you may struggle to understand what is inside and outside. I was also able to photograph more differently shaped windows. If I had to do this photoshoot again, I would focus more on reflections.
Making Diptychs
I decided to make some diptychs as I noticed that a few of my photographs had similar colours and shapes unintentionally. I matched the photographs up based on these factors. I did this in photoshop and just put the photographs side by side. I think that this experiment was successful as it allows me to connect my photographs together and the two create an inside and outside together.
Paulina Korobkiewicz
A photographer, Paulina Korobkiewicz, came in to talk to us about her work and to give us advice on our project and what she thinks we should do for improvement. She told me that I need to focus on one type of window to narrow down my subject choice as my photographs were a broad range of windows.
Designing photobooks
I designed my photo books in photoshop before printing them out as it is easier to design and plan out where I want certain pictures to go. This gave me more control over how I wanted my photo book to look.
Photobook Experiments
I decided to make some photo books with the diptychs I had made previously as I thought that they would go well in a sequence. The photographs compliment each other. I wanted to make zines as the photographs would go next to each other and create a physically diptych rather than just a digital one. I made zines using photoshop. They're quite small as I printed them on A3 paper and folded them up. I think that this experiment was successful because they allow me to see my photographs physically, in a sequence. It went successfully and I would like to try more types of photo book for my final piece.
2nd Reflection Photoshoot
For this photoshoot, I tried to narrow down my subject area as Paulina Korobkiewicz suggested, so I focused on reflections. I mainly photographed shop windows as they are big and are the most reflective windows. I think that this photoshoot went very successfully as I focused on the reflections rather than the windows, I think that this allowed me to focus on inside and outside better with the two being shown simultaneously. I didn't photograph the entire window frame, just the window and reflection which I wanted.
Concertina Books
Concertina books have both an inside and an outside unlike normal books where it's just the cover as the outside and the inside of the book. Concertina book as both the inside and outside visible. Concertina books are usually bigger than zines and they are double sided which allows for me to show off more of my photographs and create an inside and outside through the pages.
A concertina booklet is an origami-looking pop-up book. It is called a concertina booklet because the folded structure resembles a concertina, which is an instrument similar to an accordion.
Concertina Mock-up
I decided to make a mini version of my final piece because I wanted to try out the layout and see the sequence of photographs and test out my ideas. I decided to put photographs I had taken inside on one side and photographs I had taken outside on the other side because I think that this responses back to the inside and outside prompt.
Controlled Exam Preparation
I have decided to create a concertina book with my images. On one side of the book will be photographs that I have taken from outside and on the other side will be photographs I have taken outside. I have bought a pre-made concertina book as this will be larger and give me more space to work with - 70 pages. I want to show off my concertina book by using a mirror behind it to display both sides of the pages at the same time.