In this blog, I want to discuss and show knowledge of the “forefront” of my field. I have been thinking what kind of this project does belong to? Such as documentary, still life, fine art or portrait. As the clarity of my thinking, I think this project is a still life photography actually because this project has two features to prove that first is I need to set around with the objects and another one is that the objects do not move. Still, life is a very classic section of photography and has very long history, but as the social development, the still life has a new direction. I have seen a useful essay that introduces a photographic exhibition in the Media Museum that includes some discussion the development of still life in modern society.
The essay title is ART OF ARRANGEMENT’: ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE by Brian Liddy in 2012. According to the Brian Liddy note, paintings were categorized by subject within a strict hierarchy of genres. The lowliest of these genres was still life. Artistic compositions of inanimate objects were considered the lowest form of art because they were decorative, lacked gravitas and could be appreciated without any intellectual effort. in the 19th century. And he put forward a question is that with its roots in the vanitas tradition, is the genre inherently morbid? At the beginning of the photography, because of the low technology, taking one photography need to spend a long time, the still life became a good choice, and there was a controversy between painting and photography. And this categorizing gave a hit for photography. Why photography to still life is a big question.
In the modern society, the technology of photography was rapid development. The tradition has been broken. The still life has a new form to show the relationship between still life and art, especially in modern art. There is three main section that is the direction of modern still life photography.
First, creating the 3D illusion, the photographer often used a stereoscopic camera. This took two images at the same time, each from a slightly different viewpoint. Alternatively, the photographer should take two separate photographs, moving the camera by 6.5 centimeters to the left or right to capture each image.
Second, freeze the moment. These photographs fix an instant by the high camera. Enabling the viewer to see and analyses an event that would pass in the blink of an eye. For example, in the high-speed camera can help people to analyze the action of a bullet breaking through glass.
Third, I think it has a strong relation with art that require the photography has high aesthetic skills, that arrangements, objects are carefully selected and ordered to create a visually pleasing or meaningful image in traditional still life. This tradition has continued in contemporary practice, with photographers using props, designing sets and constructing elaborate scenes to photograph.
Overall, still, life has longer history from the beginning of photography and has been popularized to the public. In modern society, the still life photography is used widely. It is not only a kind of art that create a visually pleasing or meaningful image, it also is a science to help people to analyze the moment of a blink of an eye.
Reference:
Brian Liddy(2012) ART OF ARRANGEMENT’: ON THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE [Online] Available at: https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/art-of-arrangement-on-the-shortness-of-life-brian-liddy/ [Access: 3 April 2018]
Photographer Yao 