Evaluation

For this unit I have photographed portraits and used physical manipulation to make new images. These images will be used as postcards which act as the souvenirs of my project. It is a study as to how a portrait can be used in different ways and still be distinguished as a photograph.

At first I simply wanted to use black and white images and use ink or paint to colour the image. After a visit from Luke Waller I thought that monoprinting was the method to take because I really liked the style of his image. However after giving monoprinting a go I realised that it wasn't the right method to use. It was then that I was recommended to use screen printing just like Andy Warhol.

I have used a lot of equipment to complete this project. To just take the images I used an Olympus trip 35 and Bronica ETRS; the lighting was a bowens ceiling mounted lighting set with soft boxes. Since as I was using black and white film; I was using the developer, stop and fix for black and white film. To create the mono prints I had to use a board, roller and ink. Finally to make the screen print I used the printers to print and copy onto acetate, the screen, light sensitive emulsion, the light box, paint scraper and the paint.

I think the main difficulty of this unit was the time scale I had when I was actually able to start producing physical prints with the mono printing. I don't think I had enough time to experiment with screen printing, however this is something that I will continue.

One practitioner that influenced a lot of my work is Andy Warhol. The style of image production and composition is highly influential. However I have switched the colours and the black and white the opposite way around. I have also used a similar idea to how he displays his images by using multiple images in an organised shape. Another influence is Karl Lagerfeld who uses simplistic portraits, these simplistic images allows me to work with and add colour very easily. 

I am very pleased with the outcome considering the little experimentation I was able to have with screen printing. I feel that I have created a set of very strong images and researched relevant practitioners for the techniques and style in which I have photographed.

Final Images

Due to the deadline only being a couple of days away and I dont have enough time or resources to create more screen prints I have had to try and think of a way of creating the target of ten final images.

Andy Warhol often uses the same image multiple times to create a small collection of pieces with different colours. I am considering doing a similar thing with my screen print. Instead of using full images I will only use one image that will be split up into several segments. this creates a little 'game' for the viewer and makes the souvenir that is a postcard into a collectable piece of a small set of images.

This is the complete final image that I have created which will be submitted as a final piece

These images are collected to look like this.

Third Shoot

35mm

 Here are the best images from this roll with only simply edits like crop and levels in an adjustment layer.

Medium format

All of these images show strong contrast and a lot of detail. However sometimes the shirt is blending in with the background due to being the same tone. I think if I have time to shoot again I am going to use a dark backdrop which will define the model better.

Experimentation 3

Using the black and white screen print that I made I am going to colour in specific areas of the image similar to that of the Marilyn Monroe image by Andy Warhol.

This shows how the colouring is similar however due to the style of the screen print I feel that it isn't adequate for this type of colouring. This may be unsuccessful if I was to actually screen print the colours this way.

Experimentation 2

Changing colours of my screen printing:

Using the Hue and Saturation adjustment layer I was able to change the colours of the multi coloured screen print that I produced.

I selected each colour individually and changed the saturation and hue for that one colour specifically. This allowed me to make the images have more contrast however the quality deteriorates as the colours are adjusted more. This is because the orange has very distinct strong areas and weak areas of saturation.

The purples and pinks on the face are ghastly; almost blinding which is why I dislike this image. I also adjusted the saturation down however is quickly becomes a strange grey, very boring.

The same applies to this image. The colours of the face are so intense that it is almost impossible to work with this print digitally so I am going to stick with the original colours as they look natural to the image.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a method of print making. Using paints and a screen which a pattern has been exposed on to, you can slide paint across the top and through to create the image.

First I printed my image onto an A4 sheet of paper, postcard size in black and white.

This is the original template which will be flipped in the next step of the process.

 I then photo copied that image onto a piece of acetate which was then given to a technician at my college who helped my with the making of the screen. Similar to creating a photogram we used a light sensitive liquid and the acetate, the dark areas of the acetate meant that light didn't get through to the paint so it could be washed off at a later time with water.

I can now use this screen multiple times to create multiple prints with different colours on any flat surface. First create a line of paint above the image and using the slider; slide the paint down over the image, lift the slider, spin it around and slide it back over the image to the starting point. You can then lift the screen and the print will be on the surface.

I am going to start simply by using black paint and the whole template.

 Some detail is lost using this method however it has a very rough look and I can still tell what the image is meant to be of. I am going to jump straight into blocking of certain areas of the screen now in order to create a style similar to that of Andy Warhol.

First I started with the purple of the shirt which was very effective considering the original darkness of the shirt. I then moved on to the orange of the face. I covered the hair so it wouldn't get coloured; however I forgot to cover the shirt. Not realising this till afterwards I only dragged the paint half way across the image which is enough for just the face, which explains the curved line across the middle. However I think this works really well, especially as they don't match up completely and there is an orange outline. Everything but the hair was then covered and I finished it with the blue paint.

I was also offered a piece of semi transparent paper by a tutor to try it on.

The image is of similar quality to the normal paper that I have used; however the paint seems to be a lot thicker. This might be because of the papers plastic feel which prevents some of the paint being absorbed. I was going to try another print over the top of the image although I think that due to the density of the paints it would simply cover the pink, hiding it.

Second Shoot

I wanted to try the same style again however I want to see how it would work if the model wore a lighter or even white shirt.

 

None of these images met my expectations. This is because I forgot to set the aperture correctly on Olympus Trip 35,  instead of being on f16 it was still on auto. Therefore the images are all too dark and there is a minimal amount of contrast; making the images look very flat. I will have to try this again however I think I may also shoot medium format film as well to see if I can get any better results.

Mono Printing

A mono print is a form of a contact print like a pencil drawing which is contact between the pencil and paper. It is the contact between paper and ink.

To create a mono print you first place a "poo" of ink on a flat surface; I used a water based ink which will wash out if it was to spill onto clothing then it would easily be cleaned. Using a roller spread the ink across the surface to make a thin layer. Place a piece of paper on top of the ink an then the image on top of the paper and using a pencil draw over the edges which will press against the ink creating the image on the paper.

This is the first attempt at mono printing, it is somewhat successful with basic outlines and indication of areas that would be coloured if coloured if different coloured ink was available.

Here I have used the image that I used on the previous mono print and I used the left over ink to create a background, glasses and other dark areas. This was really difficult, I struggled a lot to get the ink accurately and precisely in the right areas so I would not recommend this method.

I have tried to do it again with more ink which has compromised the quality/clean edge of the actual drawing so I don't think that I will do it again.

In order to take advantage of the amount of ink that was on the surface I simply put another piece of paper over the area and used the roller which picked up the areas with more ink.

Again I have used too much ink and the lines have come out way too thick even though I was using a freshly sharpened pencil so that this would not happen.

This is the ghost print of the previous image showing that the lines are thinner and looks a lot better than the other one.
I am going to keep attempting to make a good print.

 I still feel that this image is to patchy and too much ink is being used. Maybe I lent on the paper during the print.

In this print I have used the pencil very lightly in the lower areas to create shadow on the models body, I did the same for his hair. On the left the lines are very thin and precise which is what I would like to achieve, however in other areas like the models collar the lines are very thick. This shows variation in pressures as I am drawing so I will have to work on that.

This is exactly what I have been trying to achieve. Thin lines with shadow and fairly accurate to the original image. I would also like to try using colour. Maybe I could use several copies of the original image as stencils in order to separate areas and still be able to see the details of the image.

Using the stencils, rollers and inks I was able to place colour on this image whilst still being able to see the details of the image. I dislike how rough the edges are on the face; which I think was caused by the smooth rollers and small amount of space to work with. I think that I would have had to use a lot of ink in order to fill the face fully however that would obscure the facial features.

Seeing this I think that I might be attempting this in the wrong way. I love the colours and how rough it looks however I feel that it is not good enough. I might have to learn how to screen print instead which is more like Andy Warhol's style creating the Marilyn Monroe images.

Experimentation

I wanted to add colour to the original image that I created so I initially started with digital manipulation on Photoshop.

Using the brush shape I thought that it might look very rough and bright at the same time however as shown it simply looks desaturated and contradicting to the focus that the image has.

Therefor I am not going to continue with this method.

First Photoshoot

I am going to be shooting in black and white in a studio using a white back drop and flash units. Bowens Flash units with ceiling mounting to reduce tripping hazards of wires.

I have placed a flash unit with soft boxes on either side of the models face creating a shadow down the centre of the models face. The dark shirt creates a large contrast between the model and the very clean white background.

I am very pleased with this image. There is a lot of contrast and slightly diffrent angles of the body to face creates a very appealing aesthetic to the image.

Coloured Fabric

Since as I am going to colour specific areas of my images maybe I could try using fabric over areas of the models faces to add colour to black and white images.

This is my first attempt at using fabric. I cut out the shape I wanted from the fabric and used double sided tape to stick it to the picture. I feel that the fabric looks very messy with the sides fraying. Also the fabric sticks to the paper as soon as it touches the paper and would rip it off if I had attempted to remove it, meaning that I had to get it right the first time. This turns out to be really difficult. What if I use a Stanley or craft knife to cut into the image to make the shape I need. This means it will be more like a stencil with the fabric behind the image.

For my second attempt I have very quickly cut out the models hat and shaped some glasses on to him. using the method previously mentioned I feel that it is a lot more effective. I am going to spend a little more time on the next one so that the edges are smoother and more accurate.

This one is a lot more accurate however due to the hair fraying at the ends, I found it quite hard to cut exactly to the edge. The bright colours and the positioning of the lines to the fringe and ear of the model gives the image more shape and lines to follow through the image. 

I found some silver fabric that was reflective so I decided to take influence from Back to the Future to create some futuristic glasses. The cutting of the paper was very accurate and I followed the edges of the hair, cutting into it when it was appropriate. However the pencil marks I used to make the shape are still visible which I may need to fix.

I find this style very restrictive to what can be achieved; unless a specific goal was in mind and the colour required was accessible I would not use this method. However this is the basic idea of what I would like to do with my prints, I would like to add colour to specific areas but I would like the image to still be visible.