1) Can an idea be a work of art? I think that ideas can be a work of art, or more a work of art in progress. The ideas and inspirations behind art pieces are the most important, and are the things that give the piece meaning. Looking at it from this perspective, it means that ideas are works of art, just not wholly developed yet. The idea for a piece is the first thing that comes in the process of creating art, in a way making it the most important element as without the idea, there would be no art. 2) Is good art always skilful? A big part of successful art is the skill that was used to create the piece, it holds a lot of value and importance as the better your work is, the more attention it is likely to get. Not all good art is skilful, there are pieces of art that are significantly worse than others, but have more success because of their relevance to something or the meaning behind them. Arguably, some people may say that historic art is not as skilful as art now, now that we have more advanced methods to create, but is regarded more highly than art created now which may be more 'skilful'. The meaning behind art can hold more significance than the skills used to create it. Opinions and interpretations of art are subjective to the person who views it, they may find more enjoyment in looking at a piece that others may find not as appealing, it's all down to the individual. 3) If you don't make good works of art, can you be an artist? I believe that you can still be an artist, as long as you have a statement to make. The way you present your ideas may not be as accurate, pleasing or successful as somebody else, but your piece might have more significance to a specific topic. Creating work that has an impact on an audience, even if it is a small impact, makes you an artist. 4) Why might artists ask other people to make work for them? Artists might ask other people to help them by making work for them because the piece they want to create might not be one of their strong points, and they seek out an artist that will be able to portray their ideas and concepts in a better way than they would be able to do themselves and in the end, this will make the piece more valuable because it has a strong idea behind it and a strong presentation. 5) What makes an instruction interesting? A set of instructions gives you a clear idea on what you should be doing and motivates the work it instructs, to take place. With a solid set of instructions, you have a clear plan for what you should be doing and this makes them interesting because you know the general direction that you should be moving in, making the piece or form of art that you have decided to create better and focused, not diverting on any tangents away from the idea or focus. Although, some people may find instructions boring, giving them less freedom to create something abstract, and instead making them create something that is thoroughly planned out, the guidelines being rigid. 6) Does a photographer always have to be the one who presses the shutter? A big part of being a photographer is being the one behind the camera, clicking the shutter for the final image, making it their own piece of art. It is an important point, the moment of capturing the image that you have constructed, of your view, of something you want to present. But, some photographers wish to be part of the photo and this means that they cannot be the one pressing the shutter and appearing in their work. The photographer wants to become part of the piece, putting a personal element into it, putting themselves into the situation. They could have another person take the photograph for them, as long as the idea behind the photograph and the editing is done by the photographer themselves, it means that the photo is still theirs. There are also ways to take the photograph without another party being involved, like an timed shutter that will take the photograph for them, there are ways to take the photograph without the photographer taking it themselves.
John Baldessari.
John Baldessari's image here depicts the back of a man, pictured standing in a road with no cars coming down. The man is central to the image and he is surrounded by the road, there are trees, power lines and a single car. The photo has been composed in a way that highlight the man as the centre focus, with the surrounding area fitting around him. Instantly, my attention is caught by the man in the middle, as the way he is positioned is in a way, abstract. Normally the main focus or 'protagonist' of the photograph would be facing the camera, but Baldessari has decided to have his subject place his back to the camera, and he does this purposefully. The reason that all attention is on the man in the middle is because he stands out. Without the man in the middle of the street, the setting would just be a normal street and this makes him stand out, he is the thing that makes the picture perplexing because you begin to question why he is in the street and what purpose it has. Combined with the fact that the image is in black and white, I feel that this drags attention back to the male in the middle. If colour were to have been used, the viewer could have been distracted by background colours, and the focus would not have been as strong. By being in black and white, the reader will choose to focus on that as they always find something to focus on. I find this photograph interesting because of the composition and the abstract nature. The viewer doesn't feel fully comfortable with the photograph because the central focus is such a mystery to them, while the background, more irrelevant details are just there, with an obvious purpose because this is a normal setting for the objects to be. The man shouldn't and wouldn't normally be there, this creates a mystery.
To recreate John Baldessari's work, I took photos of objects from unusual angles, from behind, from underneath and from angles where half of the object is not shown. I understood the brief for taking the photos but found that I was stuck for inspiration while taking the photos at school. My plan to develop my take on his work is to take some more photos in separate locations and hopefully have an outcome closer to what I have liked.
My Shoot.
Making our own games.
We were given the task of creating our own games and creating a set of instructions for them. For my game I chose to create a game of snap using photographs of the same person in slightly different positions every time and then printing two of each. This game was then displayed alongside our exhibition work at the photography exhibition that we had.