Exhibition; Taryn Simon

Introduction

The American photographer has produced a full body of work that includes text with her images; this presents the audience with her intentions, motives and the understanding of each image. This body of work is not left to interpretation.  

‘An American index of the hidden and unfamiliar’  

http://www.dphoto.co.nz/photography-news-6900/an-american-index-of-the-hidden-and-unfamiliar-exhibition/

My work

I’m going to present my work within the style of Simon, however I’m going to be using an image I found really compelling within an exhibition that I’ve visited. I’m going to explore how they’ve created the image, the motives behind the image and the desired effect to the target audience.

Shadow catchers exhibition

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/january/shadow-catchers-camera-less-photography

Floris Neususs

Installation shot of Floris Neususs'work at the V&A's Shadow Catchers exhibition

The exhibition offered me an insight into photographic practises before the camera became the photographic medium of choice. The work was impressive considering there was nothing digital present; the cyanotypes of Susan Derges are vibrant, the photograms of Floris Neususs are inspiring and innovating. The exhibition really strips photography back to basics with bodies of work that keep the audience in awe; this is a well-equipped exhibition that will even challenge digital practitioners to explore chemical photography.     

'SHADOW CATCHERS, camera-less photography, Martin Barnes, Merrell publishers, 2010'

Here's an interesting forum that starts to discuss the exhibition but then leads to other topics;

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/36924144