First Iteration
This is half of the series of photos I’m going to take for this project. The final version will include photos of large things on a small scale that will then be paired with the photos of small things on a large scale as seen below. I’m using these photos as a way to gain a new perspective, see through the eyes of a camera lens, and see things at a scale in which they aren’t seen on a daily basis. Why are we always impressed by large structures and not small items even though plenty of thought was also put into them?
I want to shock the viewer with the significant size difference between the large and small photos. The amount of detail you see when viewing something small at that size and the amount of detail you lose when seeing something large at that size.
Display Example:
This is just an example of the size difference between the small and large scale. The small-sized images in this example will be replaced with the large photos on a small scale (to be taken). The black background is irrelevant. I also tested the images with a white frame around them because that’s how I invasion them in a museum exhibition setting.
This project will remain digital (at least for now) because I am currently unable to print large photos at home but I wanted the viewer to still be able to get a sense of size so I was very aware when adjusting the sizes in photoshop.
Sizes (Real lifesize comparison):
Large: 34.5×51 Inches
Small: 4×5.5 Inches
Second Iteration
For the second draft of the project, I worked on adding more photos to the project, this time I was photographing larger things instead which was a challenge mostly because it was hard to find large things I could photograph at home and also be able to manipulate with light and composition. After my critique, I thought a lot about what would be considered large since Isabella brought up that some of the things in my “smaller photos” varied in size, small lego gun < Tenis ball, I decided that anything that was at least waist height could be considered large for this project. For the second draft, I wanted to be more experimental, even though I was tilting the object slightly in the first draft so I can get some shadow definition so they didn’t appear to have flat lighting I wanted to be more open with how I used light in the second draft to create more visually striking image especially since I knew they were going to be at a smaller scale. I also attempted to abstract the images using harsh light and creating large shadows so the viewer would have to do a double-take when viewing the work, usually, they’d be able to easily identify the object but by making the photos black and white and also making them have dark shadows would help confuse the audience a little which is definitely intentional.
My project relates to my seminar essay in terms of me seeking new ways of seeing ordinary things through the use of photography similar to Vito Acconci. Being stuck at home during quarantine I’ve really begun to pay attention to smaller objects and notice all the little details and wish that these objects could always be this appreciated. This also made me devalue some larger objects which can be just as common as their smaller counterparts. I wanted to bring up the discussion of why we somehow value larger objects more, is it purely because of their scale? What if I flipped the scale and now large objects are depicted small and small objects are depicted large? This is all done to create a new narrative in the context of common objects.
Inspiration/Research
For this second draft, I was heavily inspired by photojournalistic artists such as Weegee and Alec Soth who would combine black and white photography with a flash to create striking images with harsh shadows and striking highlights. I went through many of their photos and did plenty of experimentation with the different approximations of the light and the subject, using continuous lighting or strobe lighting (flash) and playing around with the compositions. This experimentation gave me a wide variety of interesting results to choose from and was quite eye-opening.
Second version of the display
This is a second mock-up of how the final project might be like, large photos (34.5×51 Inches) alongside small photos (4×5.5 Inches) with a white frame around each photo.
I feel very confident about this second version and feel like the idea is really coming together. I want to take more photos of larger things to have options for the final selection. I think that the final version will be a collection of 4 pairs of photos (large + small). The selection of photos and displays aren’t final yet either and I will experiment more with how the photos will be placed but this version of the display is interesting to me because you’re immediately drawn to the large photo and could possibly miss the smaller print while you’re already drawn toward the next large photo.
Final Version
After a lot of thinking and discussion, I concluded that pairing the large and small photos was unnecessary, simply by placing the large photos side by side the viewer already gets a sense that the objects depicted come from smaller things. I also decided on the more common objects like the tennis ball, the eraser, and the plug because the other objects were more unique to my household and myself, they weren’t your run of the mill lighter, pocketknife and matchbox.
Display & Scale
This is an example of how I envisioned this piece being displayed. I want the photos to be 51 inches tall which allows the viewer to see all the detail I wanted to bring out in the small items. They would be displayed side by side and at an average eye-level. Every photo would be in its own white frame.
