Spatial Illusions | Artistic Conventions

Representing the three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface is fascinating science. Artists have developed the rules of perspective in order to record things accurately. Perspective is the art of creating the illusion of space (3D) on a flat surface (2D) - it can be applied in conventional (painting, drawing, print-making, or photography) as well as modern (digital) or contemporary (AR, VR) art forms.

Using the below presentation serves as a great starting point to discussing these concepts central to art, namely, what is real and what is representational. And specifically in a photographic sense, what are the limitations and/or possibilities of this medium?

[https://sway.office.com/w73EO94Ct2AtAw5H?ref=Link]

Acquiring the skills to manipulate space in a photographic sense, in the digital age, is pretty straight-forward - you must engage in deliberate practice, coupled with the on-going process of critiquing and refining, to achieve what you believe to be really, really good!

Submitting a photographic portfolio in a specific format is one way of learning the craft of storytelling - visually. High school students (or should I say teachers) in Aotearoa New Zealand have long been familiar with this convention of reading from left to right, setting milestones, and breaking the journey into different 'chapters'. In fact, this format has been studied so much that some even provides templates down to the very detail of how many images on each board, and specifying the colour, size, and techniques used in each image. really.

Below are three learners I have had the privilege of working with whose photographic explorations probe into the very nature of this medium - time and space. Each learner has presented an engaging investigation into conceptual photography, and successfully incorporated artist models to help define their own style.

Learner 1

[N. Han, 2013]

Arriving at an end that makes reference to the beginning is a powerful way to synthesise. It shows a reflective practice that examines the purpose of the investigation. From a post-card photo to accentuating colours and shapes (elements of art), to creating frames within frames; this photographic investigation encourages the viewers to appreciate what is easily dismissed in a cityscape, and draws out beauty from a seemingly disorganised mess.

[N. Han, 2013]

Han shows a logical journey that incorporates techniques to manipulate space in a step-by-step fashion, demonstrating an excellent understanding of perspective and learning through using artist models.

Ella Ranfft (http://www.ellaranfft.com/)

[Ella Ranfft, 2013]

In comparison, Ella's starting point of photography being a time-based medium soon became a celebration of pictorial possibilities. Not only did she change the aspect ratio of her images, she also expanded her repertoire of drawing from light graffiti to physically drawing onto printed photographs. Methods of layering coloured transparencies, punching holes, stitching and taping images together all contributed to a purposeful investigation of space. The process created a parallel universe that almost interchanged what had been photographed. The juxtaposition allowed the viewer to see what was not there. . . Boom!

[Ella Ranfft, 2013]

Learner 3

A festival of colour that disrupts our established spatial perception of the depicted structures. Buildings are presented out of scale, distorted, and forced out of focus. Displaced into the unfamiliar, viewers then find solace in the systematic approach to format and come to enjoy the playful process. By painting on Perspex, the learner has created camera filters that have allowed them to explore into abstract photography.

🔥 The Art Bonfire

The glory of the 20th Century is well-celebrated in the way that I approach arts education, especially in the field of art photography. Coming from a painter's background, I have primarily focussed on composition and framing when I take my own photos. However, when it comes to using photography in my practice I keep coming back to the central concern of peinture - the representation of space and time.

There was a time I wondered if my learners benefitted from my painterly approach to photography. Admittedly I was well-aware of how different it was to that of those who had spent years in the dark room working with chemicals; as I too shared the same fetish for paint as a medium.

Art education should aim to equip learners the means to be artists, not technicians. That is to say, artists who are able to realise an idea using any medium, method, or process, regardless of the discipline. - Huang Rambles, 2018.

And that is why the below artists are so fascinating and relevant for learners as their work breaks boundaries and helps create new ways of seeing.

Kenneth Josephson