Hey everyone, I was hoping you all might help me out with some ideas for my digital photography project. I can't use photoshop for any assignments, but here's the text of the assignment:
"
Assignment #4. Photographs as Fiction. (Digital Photography, Color Prints, but black and white can be utilitzed.)
Traditional Documentary photography practice stands at a crossroads. Not only are its claims of objectivity under attack – we are now very aware of the many ways in which photographs lie – but also the digital age makes the truth and value of photographs highly questionable, since any photograph can be seamlessly altered. In addition, television has virtually eliminated the old outlets for documentary work, such as the old Life Magazine. The decisive moment described by Cartier-Bresson in the 50s has given way to the Constructed Moment of the 80s and 90s. This transition has been influenced not only by the exhaustion of traditional documentary practice but also by the influx of artists who use photography, who come from a tradition of "making" as opposed to "taking." Thus Cindy Sherman makes herself into different personas for her photo works, Laurie Simmons creates and photographs miniature worlds inhabited by dolls, and Joel-Peter Witkin recreates bizarre tableaux filled with midgets and cadavers.
The form these photographs take is usually similar to a pseudo-documentary, that is, we pretend that their elaborate constructions are really a real moment, just like the movies.
The emphasis of this assignment is to construct a picture, that is, to make something to be photographed. It could be a pseudo-documentary, that is, a scene photographed to look like a documentary moment, except that the moment is staged. Think of typical moments you find yourself with your friends, and recreate those moments in photographs. It could be a sequence of events, staged for the camera. It could be a constructed environment, designed for the camera. It could be a series of pictures with a strong narrative content. You'll be exposed to samples of this kind of work in the Friday lectures and by your instructors."
Basically, I'm supposed to make a photo that lies. If I do something that involves cutouts, I have to break out the exacto knife and photograph the constructed image. The TA made it sound like she wants something more extreme than a constructed scene, like optical illusions with depth of field or stuff cutout and put into other photos.
My best idea right now is to photograph Columbus' skyline, photograph a lego guy and maybe ask some people here for some fighter jet photos and put them all together with a huge lego guy overtop of Columbus like Godzilla. I could do the same thing with downtown Cincinnati to add to the project.
Any other ideas? What do you think?
Thanks for your time,
skew
