7 Ways to Fake a Good Photograph (info)
With social media platforms like Instagram, everyone can produce an interesting image or improve a less than desirable image with the use of these predetermined visual effects (filters) without understanding how or why some are more effective than others. This led me to think of what formal qualities makes a good photograph? How do we assess what is good and bad? Successful or unsuccessful? How do we categorize what is fine art photography and what isn’t?
With social media platforms like Instagram, everyone can produce an interesting image or improve a less than desirable image with the use of these predetermined visual effects (filters) without understanding how or why some are more effective than others. This led me to think of what formal qualities makes a good photograph? How do we assess what is good and bad? Successful or unsuccessful? How do we categorize what is fine art photography and what isn’t?
7 Ways to Fake a Good Photograph is a series that humourously addresses both reoccurring trends in photo culture and conventional society while still referencing formal aspects of photography.
minimal addresses the trendy aesthetic of subdued colour, low contrast, no subject (or discrete subject) and the banality of this style. (first row of images)
cherry-bombed references Edward Muybridge’s motion photography and repetitive action yet intends to highlight the absurdity of these repetitive acts for a very particular result, that being the perfect photograph in this case, an aesthetic splash. In addition it humourously plays on the social phenomenon of photo bombing, where one unexpectedly appears into a frame. (second row of images)
Fake It ‘Til You Make It refers to a phrase that I’ve often heard when sharing my insecurities and fears of being a photographer, of suffering with Imposter syndrome as every artist does. The image playfully references the self-reflexive and the idiom “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” but when that doesn’t work, fake it ‘til you make it. (third row, first image)
Useful Terms for Discussing Photography and Other Art is a collection of art jargon I've assembled that can be used as a crutch for both the observer and the artist; to refer to if one is uncertain about how to discuss art but wants to maintain the illusion that you know what you're talking about or referenced to as an artist when writing an artist statement to give your work some semblance of legitimacy if experiencing Imposter Syndrome or suffering from an ongoing existential crisis. (third row, second image)