Photographics Precedents

Several precedents have influenced my ideas.


Peter Menzel has captured images of houses as well as their contents and the family who live there, from many locations throughout the world, in these images you can see many differences that reflect the place of origin.
Below are a small selection of these images.

Iceland

Mexico

China

California, USA

The images show differences in the surrounding landscape, different types of houses, and incredible differences in the stuff that people own.
In all of the above images there is at least one T.V. this says how effective television is at communication worldwide.
In each of the images the different amounts of stuff tells of the Availability of goods to purchase. In the USA stuff is fairly easy and cheap to come by, however in China there is neither the means to purchase or the space within the house to put copious amounts of stuff.

Images found at:
http://thechive.com/2013/07/29/peoples-home-possessions-from-around-the-world-38-photos/



Gabriele Galimberti's project Toy Story asks children to take their most precious things and display them in front of them. It is interesting that some children have one or two objects when others have a bedroom full of belongings.

Once again comparisons can be made between the children in a multitude of ways that reflect their country of origin, their influence by the media, their families morals, and even their future aspirations;
for example, based on the objects they have chosen I would assume that one of the above children wishes to be a pilot, another a musician, and another a policeman.
I can also link some of the above images with experiences from my own childhood; for example, I was never aloud to play with toy guns at my house whereas one child has a collection of toy guns at his disposal.

Images found at:
http://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/projects/toys-2/



My third precedent is a video from Campbell Live which film the contents of many children's lunchboxes to illustrate the connection between the nutrition received by children at different decile schools.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Lunchbox-differences-in-decile-1-and-decile-10-schools/tabid/817/articleID/269617/Default.aspx

Harvey Benge as Inspiration

A photographic artist whose work I have looked into is Harvey Benge. The following images are from his books Lucky Box, Killing Time In Paradise, and Four Parts Religion Six Parts Sin.

Thee first image confused me a lot, I knew it was an eggshell, but I thought the circular thing was a camera lens, it took me some time but I finally realized that it was a kitchen waste disposal. The unique close up distorts the image into something unrecognizable. A lot of Benge's photos do this, and sometimes it is the composition of these images rather than the things photographed that are the most interesting.

I have an appreciation for how he has turned such an ordinary sight into something well composed and interesting.

Another reason I like Benge's artwork is that he photographs things that are interesting, as in not seen everyday. Like this axe throwing bulls eye placed onto a tree.

Another interest of mine which Benge illustrates is photographing things usually not thought worthy of photographing, like the trash behind this building,

This trash compresser,

This wooden crate; Benge has the courage to look down to take his photos,

The corner of this pillar which has cracked off and then been painted over like nothing is wrong.

The above photos are places and objects that we rarely think about but often contribute towards.

Another reason I relate to Benge's work is that some of the things he photographs appear to be deliberately placed, whether by himself or someone else.

For example this woman underneath the tarpaulin, it seems to me that Benge has instructed her under there so he can create an image of just her legs. In these constructed images I like to construct a narrative to the scene, a reason why.

In the next image a tarpaulin is once again used, I think it creates mystery as to what may be underneath it. 

Another interesting aspect to some of Benge's photography is the use of reflection to blur two images together. This is a bit beyond my current capability but I will consider experimenting with this.

The previous image and the following image both appear to me set up by either Benge or someone else. also both images involve televisions and that is what I would like to focus on. for my upcoming set of photographs.

DSDN101 Project 1 Precedence Individual

Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist

Ape Finger Puppets