Whilst reading my current book, I stumbled on the work of Max Ernst and Hannah Hoch, and have to say I found it particularly intriguing. Whilst I am by no means well versed with surrealism and or dadaist art, I can say that I found it quite stunning how far ahead of its time it now appears. To the uneducated or even educated eye it could have been drawn or painted yesterday, quite remarkable for work from the early part of the 20th century. The book I am currently reading is equally fascinating (“why it does not have to be in focus” Jackie Higgins) and I have uncovered some interesting work, along with some I am already familiar with. I have to say I found the work by Taryn Simon particularly evocative, particularly her use of light and shadow within her portraiture work. Stunning.

This particular painting by Ernst was produced in 1937 and quite profoundly summarises the identity of surrealism to my slightly uneducated eye. What is perhaps most interesting is the expression of the “subjects” face whose body seems to be made up of the limbs of various different aquatic amphibians. The subject appears to be almost dancing within the foramen a desolate landscape, engulfed by a dramatic skyline. Also interesting to see the prominence of the character right to the front of the image, which has very little foreground. There does appear to be some sort of hill in the background but this is difficult to decipher on such a small online reproduction. This type of work I would hope will eventually / ultimately fuel my photography, but it has most certainly ignited my interest in other areas of the artistic medium.

Reference – (ONLINE) – https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/why-cling-art-apocalyptic-times-max-ernst-1202688847/ (accessed 14/8/20)

Archives

I also found time to continue looking through the archives and reworked some of my images. Purely for experimental purposes, looking mainly at how the aesthetic of an image can wholly change the mood and raw emotion within the frame. Worth reiterating these (obviously) have no direct connection with my research of Ernst and Hoch.

As is evident I have largely gone for an aged, film type feel to the three images, and quite like the underexposed value of the second image. I am really struck by this type of aesthetic at the moment and it continues to creep into my work in a quite unprovoked way. These are all family snapshots taken on my iPhone 8 quite a few years ago.

I also revisited these images yesterday.

Again an aged, rustic overlay added here. The bottom image was taken on my iPhone 8, top two D800. I like the bedroom scene in this format, a real suggestion of another space, a step back in time even.

Another iPhone image, I cannot remember exactly where this was taken. I guess the monochrome edit suits the mysterious mood and abstract structure within the frame.

The overlay here seems to suggest conflict to my eye, a brief, fleeting moment heightened by a sense of frantic connoted movement.

Nothing more than exploration of linear form and tonal range. A bleak image with little meaning other than its largely uninteresting appearance and seemingly desolate setting.