Experimenting: Creating to photograph

We have discussed staging photos with people and staging photos of things like the food in advertisements but what about creating entire towns or worlds with photographs? 

Today I want to share the work of two photographers which I really enjoy.

Their work, on the surface, seems highly divergent; however, both photographers have developed a multi-media approach to creating the subject matter for their photos and use perspective to help create their intriguing scenes.

Michael Paul Smith, (n.d)
Retrieved from
http://themetapicture.com/photographing-a-town-that-never-was/

The first artist is Michael Paul Smith. He creates scale replicas of vintage cars and buildings then carefully aligns them in front of real buildings and  landscapes using just the right camera angles to bring the scenes to life.  His work is fun to show when discussing society and art from the mid-20th century and is a great when speaking about perspective and camera angles to budding photographers.  The work is also highly linked to memory for Smith whose replica town is based on the town he grew up in. He wants viewers to be able to connect with their own memories as well and when asked why he does not include people he says that he “want(s) viewers to put themselves into the scenes.
I’m creating a mood, something familiar in the
viewer’s mind.” (Smith, M.P.() In Koscs, J. (2010))

Michael Paul Smith, (n.d)
Retrieved from
http://themetapicture.com/photographing-a-town-that-never-was/

See more of Smith's work and images of his models and process here:

Visit Elgin Park  and Photographing a Town That Never Was.

Self Portrait from 'The Space Between'
Installation view (2004) Katrina Rane Smith
Chalk Pastel, inspired by digital photos

The second artist is Holly King.
Although she is a multi-media artist, I was lucky enough to have Holly as a drawing professor during my first degree. I was in my second year and still fairly wet behind the ears when it came to conceptual art.  Holly really helped me develop a more authentic art practice. More than any other studio professor I have had, she encouraged me to use my photographs in my work and to explore a multi-media approach that built on my strengths and interests (artistic and otherwise).  My favourite piece from my first degree was done in Holly's class. It was called "The Space Between" and it dealt with my interest in portraiture, the gaze, and the psychology behind the exchange that occurs between art and the viewer.

In Holly's own work she places the viewer at the entrance to seemingly mystical lands. She creates maquettes in a fashion similar to Smith using painted backgrounds, build up landscapes and actual water.  The viewer is often positioned in a way that really allows for them to enter into the work as a participant of the scene rather than a viewer on the outside.

Beauty (2002) Holly King
chromogenic print, 153 x 109 cm
Retrieved from:
http://www.hollykingart.com/frameoval.html

Pedagogically, I think viewing her work could be used in classroom discussions that compare contemporary work to historical art styles such as  Impressionism or the Group of Seven and contrast current work with more traditional landscape photography. There have been interesting discussions about the impact photography had on Impressionism (University of Michigan 2009, Kelly 2010) so why not look at that and then look at how Impressionism has influenced photography!

Having students create their own model landscapes would be a rich exercise in its own right; but could also be linked cross-curricularly to language arts classes where students could interpret and create a scene from a novel or poem and then photograph it. The photos could be blown up or projected and used as the backdrop for poetry readings, plays, or other performances.

Holly King stands on the escalator in the new building
Photo by Andrew Dobrowolskyj
Retrieved from: http://ctr.concordia.ca/2004-05/jun_02/02/

 
With a background in dance and performance art (Concordia's Thursday Report, June 2005)) I imagine that using this type of multi-faceted approach in a lesson that related to her work would make Ms. King very happy indeed.


 
For more of Holly's work take the EV
escalator down to the Metro level where
you can view her piece Seascape.


 For additional works you can see her website here.






Resources:

Michael Paul Smith - http://www.visitelginpark.com/
Holly King -  www.hollykingart.com

Kelly, Simon. (2010). The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting along the Normandy Coast, 1850–1874. Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide. vol9. no.1. Retrieved from: http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/spring10/the-lens-of-impressionism

Koscs, Jim.(2010) Lots of Web Traffic in Such a Tiny Town. New York Times. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/automobiles/collectibles/14SCALE.html?_r=0 

Photographing a town that never was. (March 2013). The Meta Picture. Retrieved from: http://themetapicture.com/photographing-a-town-that-never-was/ 

Seascape gives eye relief amid city traffic. (June 2, 2005). Concordia's Thursday Report.Vol. 29, No.17. Retrieved from: http://ctr.concordia.ca/2004-05/jun_02/02/

University of Michigan Museum of Art (October, 2009) Reexamining the Link between Rise of Photography and Impressionism. Montage.Retrieved from: http://www.montage.umich.edu/2009/10/reexamining-link-between-rise-of-photography-and-impressionism/