The Whole, It's Parts

Concept Statement

The whole, its parts.

Photography allows me to express myself and interpret the world I live in. No other process allows me to translate what I envisage into a visual piece so freely and comfortably.

In this piece my original aim was to find a way to represent the quote ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts' (Aristotle), using the body as an illustration. As I began researching how others had interpreted the quote, I developed my own understanding. When thinking about the body and the concept as a whole I realized that this quote outlines my perception of the world. I am very in touch with my surroundings and am continually dissecting and analyzing segments of it.

I have been inspired by the work of Shane Rozario and Howard Schatz. Rozario documents and represents the portrait as a whole, as well as single parts. Schatz uses minimal light to emphasize the body’s contours and aesthetic nature. Both artists photograph the same subject but in a distinctive way.

I chose to present my images in a less ‘constructed’ way to emphasize the unique and organic structure of the body. The title ‘The whole, its parts’ is included next to the work without an explanation so that this concept can stimulate the viewer’s thoughts without shaping their perception.

I have formed a new appreciation of the distinctive elements that make up the body as a whole; their form, texture, structure. By dissecting the body into different parts I have realized that although the body as a whole may be greater than its parts in size, its parts are no less ‘greater’ in terms of value.

Christina Nikolovski

Shoot 3

Now I'm not sure whether to do square format or full frame. In this shoot I focused on negative lighting, graduation of tones, as well as formations of the body. Also - the isolation of body parts and their abstract nature when they are not viewed with the rest of the body.

Shoot 2

Today I experimented with negative lighting, similar to the examples in the previous post (although I haven't posted these pics yet - shoot is on Tuesday).

These images are an experimentation of form, but this time with more detail than just the outline of the body. I have isolated a certain part of the body and am experimenting with displaying it so that it can almost pass as other parts. Can you guess what it is? Which is the right way up? And as an abstracted image, which do people think works the best?

More images after Tuesday

Not sure which one to choose, feedback would be appreciated:)

Shoot 3: Plan

My plan for my next shoot is to try some lighting techniques I have never actually used. Here is what I am thinking:

- Black background

- One light source, probably strip light flagged off with a card, to out line the side of my model's body

- Experiment with form again and see what effect negative lighting has on the model and how this varies to shoot 1, where I placed the light directly behind the model. What I am expecting is that although subtle, there will be more detail in these shots.

This is the lighting effect I am aiming for, although I have completely different ideas in terms of body parts and composition. Lets see how I go.

Waclaw Wantuch (http://www.waclawwantuch.com)

Week 5: Shane Rozario: The Film Mosaic Project

''The Film Mosaic Project mimics the way I observe everything everyday, seeing segments of the big picture to understand the whole."

Shane Rozario

Rozario is a finalist of the 2009 ACMP Projections competition. In his series The Film Mosaic he documents musicians. He uses photography as a medium to visually communicate the way he sees the world, 'in segments of the big picture to understand the whole.' (Rozario 2009)

What is interesting and in my opinion effective, is displaying his work in 'segments' and then as a 'whole' beneath it, so that the viewer can draw a connection between the two alternatives. I don't think I will display the 'whole' in my work, because I want the segments to become a 'whole' when they are viewed together, and I think I am aiming for a more ambiguous approach. However I do love Rozario's work, I love that it's on film and I think what makes his work stronger is that he related this quote (whether he knew it was a quote or not) to himself and his own perception in terms of the way he sees the world. I feel a connection with his work based on personal similarities in terms of perceiving.

Click on the link below to see the flash clip of his work, along with the other 5 finalists - I love the way they have made a multimedia presentation for each photographer and that you can hear them talk about themselves and their work before hand. Really grounds the work and makes you want to go and see the exhibition!

http://www.theprojections.com/finalists/2009/razio/shane_razio.html

Shoot 1: Experimenting with Light & Form

Image 1:

Experimenting with what happens when something is flipped - does it become abstract? Can viewers still tell what it is?

This is the first image - right way up.