Plus side
- In his “Overall comments” my tutor Robert stated: "There are some really strong photographs here both in terms of visual
interest and your artistic approach to ‘seeing these spaces’ as
abandoned, tourist infested or just purely as a visual muse. I like the
intelligent way you see your guided walk through the old seminary as a
ghostly tour through an inferno – a place of testing. You must commit to a longer term, in-depth treatment
to one subject. In the St. Vincent de Paul images, there is a depth and a
potential that is not as apparent in most of the other photos. But, in
general this is mature and confident work that proves you can make an
assignment your own."
- Speaking about the "Learning Logs/Critical Essays" section Robert stated:"Your writing is good. I think you are getting more out of looking at
other photographers than you make clear. There is something in your work
that reminds me of the Dusseldorf school, but you are somewhat more
personal. You are also refreshingly honest about your own work."
- Suggested reading/viewing: "It
is clear from this work that your approach relates to a more personal
kind of documentary photography and you do need to look at photographers
of this kind of work. I could suggest Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Araki,
Paul Seawright and Paul Graham. But in the end, you must make your own
search in books and galleries."
- Robert appreciated particularly the St. Vincent de Paul College. He commented Image 2 as "A beautiful balanced composition that uses the contrast of colour and light in the other room well. The torn wallpaper suggests decay or just the battles of good and evil! It reminds me of Van Gogh’s painting of his room, the way every surface is unique and hyper-real" and Image 3 as "Another wonderful composition, like the last in that it uses layers of more than one space. This is an extremely confident arrangement of shapes and planes. So much so, that really you should immediately set to work on something that powerfully challenges your knowledge and limits with photography."
- Image 6. "This poor old bald head! I bet he didn’t know he was so photogenic! This is one of the best photos here because, like Struth’s photos that this little series resembles at times, it shows us the amusing idolatry of tourists in museums. They don’t need to like the Mona Lisa, they only need to know it is famous! It’s a great composition that is both funny and telling."
Things to improve
- Pointers for the next assignment: "I feel you should make a big jump with the next assignment"
- Image 5. "The contrast between the old and modern architecture is interesting, but I think you needed a more interesting example than this foreshortened rooftop image."
- Image 7. "This you can cut out, it doesn’t ‘work’ as your other pictures do."
- In "Caffe Fiorio" series: "The light and colour in all these pictures is beautiful and you are playing interestingly with composition. But here only Image 12 seems to stand out as a portrait of something “petit bourgeois” in French society that I imagine is falling away. This response is triggered because the woman (your mother) is out of focus and you are looking both in the mirror and at the empty tables. This gives the photo a kind of melancholy in the midst of its rustic opulence."
- Robert commented "Sacro Cuore" photos as follows: "These are searching images, but you haven’t really found anything of note here. However, Image 15 with Dali and pigeon is really amazing because of the bizarre contrast between Dali’s colourful face and the mundane ‘everyday’ world around."
- "Image 18 here is rather interesting. Some kind of optical illusion is at work on the desk. I think you needed just a touch of fill-flash here to bring out the eyes of your father. But maybe that would have ruined the optical illusion! Your use of vignettes is quite obvious in some of these photos. You need to take care not to make it look like you’re trying to make it look “vintage”. And some of these are slightly soft, so you need to keep an eye on that."
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