First Tutorial

After researching through various online sources offering help on portrait photography I started wonder what else I could do with portraits. During our first tutorial as a class we all shared our ideas with each other and then with help from our lecturer started to build a foundation for development.

In the tutorial I explained how I wanted to play with perceptions and the way the viewer looks at the work. I wanted to explore the different ways in which we physically look at it (e.g from different points in the room) and ways in which the context alters our perceptions. I was advised to look at the artist Patrick Hugues who creates pieces of work that rely on lighting and shadows to manipulate the perception of his art. Ranging from use of painting, collage, 3D installations and prints, Patrick has a vast amount of his work displayed on his website.

Hughes, P (2010) The Palace of Alice. [Oil on board construction]

From this piece of his work it can be seen how Patrick makes use of angles, lighting and shadow to create the illusions that you can go into the piece and really explore around it. He has been the subject of a published book titled 'Perverspective'. It describes how Patrick successfully makes the viewers mind animate his pieces to twist and bend to make you feel like you are on some perceptual freak-out.

Hughes, P (2005) All-out Mondrian. [Oil on board construction]

It reminds me of how portrait paintings are said to have eyes that follow you across the room, constantly looking at you. I think portraits are fun to play with because they will create a strange feeling when the perception of a face is changed by the form and creation process. A face is usually a shocking and sometimes eery thing to discover in formations of many natural occurrences.