Project 2: Frames of Reference

CHARLOTTE RUTHERFORD

For this Project 2: Frames of Reference, I chose to research Charlotte Rutherford and create collages about her. She is a famous photographer that is well-known for her retouching and editing skills. I aspire to be able to edit photos like her in the future. She is an artist that works with a lot of celebrities. The main conceptual idea I wanted to present in this piece was her technical growth and the types of people she shot over time. I thought her works grows in skill, studio props, and the number of artists she takes pictures of and for. This project was a collage series where I represented her past, present, and future. In the objective to present her photography as constant in time, I used a pendulum. The significance of the pendulum is because it is the symbol of unity and the past, present, and future makes her who she is. To show the consistency, unity,  and coherency I kept the squares 9×9  and have the three collages made inside the circle of the pendulum. I believe that her photography and retouching skills show her personality of patience, meticulousness, creativity, and talent.

For the past, I wanted to portray her 2010 years where she was experimenting different styles and with models to figure out what she wanted to do as a photographer. In this collage, I made it by cutting out printed photos of her old work. And then I found a product photo she took and used that had as if she was reaching out to photography as a career.

 

For the present, I created a collage where I mixed Photoshop and printed photos of her work. The most recent work that I incorporated into the collage was of SAVAGE FENTY X RIHANNA photo where she is sitting on a boat with a bubble around her and then printed it out. Then to create the highlights of the bubble, I cut out shapes from a magazine that had white space. The meaning behind this piece is the level of professionalism has grown since her starting career five to eight years ago.

 

For the future, I did a digital collage that consists of her future work. In and interview in 2016 with HungerTV, she mentioned that is she could shoot anyone it would be Michael Jackson during the Dangerous era. Rutherford also stated that her favorite photographer is David LaChapelle and get “physically pumped and excited” when she sees his work. For this digital collage, I digitally manipulated a photo from David LaChapelle’s famous photo series American Jesus called “Archangel Michael”. This work is described as “a crest fallen but empowered Jackson is stood on a rocky outcrop single handedly defeating The Devil; a surrendered sword lies glimmering on the rocks below him as Archangel Michael gazes solemnly to one side, white feathered wings strapped to his back, and holy tears dripping from his remorseful eyes.”(Imitate) Even though she is unable to take photos of Michael Jackson, she can aspire to take photos of MJ’s iconic daughter Paris Jackson. From afar, it looks like Michael Jackson; however, when you take a close look I added Paris Jackson’s physical attributes (eyes, crown, and tattoos) by layering them onto him. I thought representing Jackson as a heavenly figure created an angelic vibe that I believe she would of created.

 

 

 

 

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