Photo essay - human cross

what they mean...

photographing things that present the crossover between wealth and poverty...

trying to establish what I'm doing!

So i have hit a slight wall with this brief, i am beginning to realize its incredibly hard, however perseverance is the key to this situation!!

olympic logo...

Oympic logo idea...

The big idea behind this logo design for the Surrey 2012 Olympic games is the collective of symbols to create the letter 'S' for Surrey, and other appropriate words such as success, stamina and speed. The logo is made up of symbols that represent Surrey itself, such as leaves, as this image plays an important part in the current identity of the county. There are also symbols of the 10 parts of Surrey that are identified on the map i found in my research. There is a strong sports element within the logo, as i have included imagery of the various sporting events that will be held in Surrey during the 2012 Olympic games. From my research i learnt that Surrey will be hosting a vast amount of the sailing and rowing events. There is also a badminton competitor included in the games, so a strong image of a shuttle cock in situated in the logo.

The logo design is very striking and works equally as well down sized and blown up. I have experimented with the colour, using the green to signify nature, as Surrey is a very 'green' county. It also works incredibly well on the black background and inverted, as it brings the symbols to life subsequently giving it a very powerful nature. I have purposely played on the use of sans serif style 'S' and the slogan in serif, as it gives it further variation and the symbols didnt work quite as well together in a serif style, the sans serif letter is far more suited to the image i'm trying to convey.

I can see this logo working incredibly well as a moving image on a website or as an animation as the elements could disperse and come together again. It defiantly has a powerful potential in this area of graphics. From here i want to develop the logo further in terms of the overall feel. I am going to experiment with the text and see if it could be incorporated within the 'S'.

Human Cross...

Idea...

BiG IDEA GENERATION!

STORYBOARD

Todd Hido

A situation where wealth and poverty crossover is where rich men pay for the company of hookers, this apparently occurs secretly in many top London hotels. Is this something i wish to capture in my photo essay and i perfect photographer to gain inspiration from is Todd Hido, whom has photographed many prostitutes in a very edgy and sincere manner, however they contain an incredibly powerful tone.

The Essay...

The essay shall contain 4 characters. It will present a story which shows the crossover of wealth and poverty within our society, and how they subconsciously rely on each other to carry out their day to day life. In the final concluding image, all 4 characters will be featured staring up at the typographic cross of the words wealth and poverty, representing the fact that we are all humans and all have a connection to one another and that there's hope and posterity for each and everyone of us.

Whilst thinking about this idea for my photo essay the film Crash came to mind, as its narrative is very much based around characters from all kinds of social and racial backgrounds, rich and poor, that in the end all have a connection to one another. The ending to the film is a very eye opening viewing experience, as it draws on the fact that we should all respect each other and diminish our perceptions and actions regarding racism, sexism and prejudice.

zeitgeist...

I remembered that about 3 months ago i watched Zeitgeist, a movie based around concealing the truths of iconic myths. There's a chapter within this movie that explores the historic importance of the cross and how its influenced the world we live in today. This just proves how iconic this symbol is and i believe it will be a very powerful devise within my photo essay.

P2, S1- "This is the cross of the Zodiac, one of the oldest conceptual images in human history."

The "cross" that Zeitgeist refers to is also known as a "Crux" or "Southern Cross" constellation. The earliest known Zodiac record dates back to 5th century BC but the "cross" of the Zodiac, "Crux" or "Southern Cross" constellations where not named until the 16th century BC. That dates the "cross" of Zodiac way past the life and death of Christ and therefore has nothing to do with his life.

The cross

I think i am going to go back to the cross idea, there is defiantly something simple yet powerful within the idea of combining the 2 words, wealth and poverty, to create a typographic cross and creating an essay that represents situations where there is a CROSSOVER of wealth and poverty.



The dance act Justice use a very effective cross as their brand identity, which is displayed behind when they are DJing. It gives off a very powerful and euphoric atmosphere and the crowd absolutely love it.

Michal Cala...

The BIG IDEA!

bill viola...

Time Plan BRIEF 5...

A rough time plan for brief 5. I have also decided that i wont be embarking on a work placement over easter, as i want to concentrate fully on my work for the hand in and i know from past experience that i get very distracted whilst doing work experience and i don't want jeopardize my work.

Week 3 - Reflection

I have spent the majority of the week running around London and various places taking photographs with several different film and digital based cameras, trying to initiate a big idea and draw inspiration for the photo essay. My understanding of wealth and poverty has also expanded and i'm thinking very differently about the two words and their perceptions and how i can use imagery to create something exciting and original. Walking around and experiencing places of wealth and poverty was a useful exercise as just observing the surroundings and people allowed me to think about building a story/narrative for the essay.

Whilst travelling around i was able to draw my ideas, as i was being inspired. Which kept everything fresh and has allowed my style to develop. I believe this week i have really focused on the theme of my story, however i still in the coming week need to focus on the big idea and how i shall be telling my story visually.

Trying to define the big idea!

Methods of illustrating >

> signs (posters, banners, paper)
> drawing on people (body, face, skin, clothes)
> drawing on walls
> drawing on surfaces (floor, glass)
> painting with light
> models/objects

Mayfair...

I made a trip to Mayfair/Park Lane today to get a look at the stereotypically wealthy side of London. Being just off the incredibly busy Bond Street, it was very quiet and tainted with a few wealthy looking people. The best and most memorable part of my visit was a quote from a rather pompous looking man walking out of the Marriott Hotel, he said to his partner that quickly linked arms with him as they strolled out onto the pavement, 'Darling, I'll give you riff raff'. I just thought it was hilarious, and really wanted to sneak behind them to hear the rest of the conversation!

The video i have upload was an accident, however it actually presents the front of two flats in Mayfair, one very well maintained one and the other looking rather derelict and out of place. When contrasting wealth and poverty this sort of presents it in a subtle manner.

Inspiring technique...

I came across this article in the Metro newspaper, about an artist that uses light to illustrate. I think its incredible and have been inspired to experiment with this technique to illustrate my idea for the photo essay. In terms of photography that presents wealth and poverty, i have yet to see a technique this creative in this genre of photograph. It gives off a rather dream like feel and as they are just line drawings you don't judge or perceive the people presented in any way. It might be quite an interesting way of telling a story through light and photography rather than the predicable photography and image we see daily of wealth and poverty. I shall investigate further how this technique can be achieved!

IDEA - Storyboard

THEME...

The theme of my photo essay is going to be ... 'POSITIVE COMMON VALUES', of wealthy and poverty stricken people.

There is a key importance of conveying ideas through pictures that express basic human values--those emotions, beliefs, traditions and knowledge that we share as human beings. The viewer/audience can appreciate, relate to and understand the values presented in the photographic story.

Human Values

This is a useful website i found whilst thinking about human values! It lists both positive and negative principles that can be directly related to people of wealth and poverty. From this website i created my own list of the common positive values that i can use in my photo essay.

In order to change peoples perceptions i believe strongly that a positive message needs to be conveyed in order to change peoples opinions and give them hope.

'A RICH MAN IS NOTHING THAN A POOR MAN WITH MONEY' w.c.fields

BiG IDEA

WHAT

A photographic story that presents the common positive values of both wealth and poverty. Values that are not affected or influenced by money, such as the ability to love, intelligence, skills/talents and companionship.

WHY

Wealth and poverty are very much categorized as two different and separate issues with clear stereotyping and opinions surrounding them. This gap needs to be bridged visually in order for these perceptions to be changed and a new way of thinking introduced.

drawings...

Discovery...

I was playing around with the words wealth and poverty and how they can be combined together as words to represent my idea of bridging the gap between them. I discovered this layout, which has created a cross, a symbol that is used across the world and is associated with many different things, such as flags, religion, early cave drawings and numerals. Generally its a representation of hope and faith and a fundamental symbol that the majority of human kind recognize and relate to.