PROJECT TITLE
Photography and Poetry: The Photos Behind the Words
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project will be based around a poetic work(s) that I am able to take a photo to depict what I envision after reading the poem(s). Poetry and photography may seem like two very different things but they fall under the same concept of arts and expression; both give the viewer an appreciation of color, shapes, patterns, narrative, and emotion, whether visual or conceptual. Each has layers upon layers of meaning, sometimes never even seen by the artist themselves; one can read or look at a well-written poem or a well-taken photo millions of times and still spot or feel different things every time they look at it. For this project I will connect it to environmental poetry and try to take photos that either represents the thing that is being written about literally, the connotation behind it, or the feeling I get from reading it; maybe one photo of each to explore all the different ways of thinking I will be doing. I expect there to be limitations in when I can take pictures that align with my mood (i.e. wrong light of day I was picturing in my mind, not being in an inspirational mood, etc.), but I have had a lot of classes revolved around environmental writing. I think photography is a great way to express ideas having to do with the environment, both having to do with appreciation of it or showing how we are destroying it; I want to take part in outreach revolving around nature later on in life, and I think this project will allow me to explore it in a way that I may continue later on.
OUTCOMES
- Will have at least 3-5 digital photos depicting how I interpret a certain source of poetry
- Will be a normal size that the camera produces, but the pictures themselves will be taken at a small scale
- Most likely will be taken at my house or around my town; also willing to take some on-campus if the opportunity arises
METHODS AND MATERIALS
- Find a piece of poetry that I will be inspired to take pictures from
- Will need a camera and tripod
- Thinking of using either sunrise or morning light
- Edit in photoshop, possible doing black and white or dim tones
REFERENCES
- Sippanont Samchai
- Rinko Kawauchi
- How Poetry and Photography are Alike
RESEARCH JOURNAL AND SUPPORTING MATERIAL This proposal text and the above 5 sections should be posted in your Research Journal along with the journaling of your practical work: a journal of research, including documentation of your working process, to include references, sketches, ideas, notes, samples, videos, etc.
GOOD REFERENCE FOR OVERALL EXPLANATION OF PROJECT IDEA
ARTISTS I TOOK INSPIRATION FROM
Sippanont Samchai
Sippanont Samchai is a photographer and neurologist based in Thailand; though I was unable to find his date of birth, I found that Samchai has children and a wife, as well as a cute beagle he likes to take pictures of. A lover of black and white photography, Samchai uses a lot of advanced camera equipment that he lists on his website: I have listed what he uses below.
His work is very sensational to the eye though there is not much color to them, which is something I aspire to achieve in my photography. Here is a link to his Flickr profile that shows all of his work.
Equipment Used:
- Digital cameras
- Fuji X-Pro1
- Leica M Monochrom
- Film cameras
- Leica M6
- Canon EOS3
- Minolta XD7
- Hasselblad 503cw
- Minolta Lens
- Hasselblad Lens
- Carl Zeiss CFE T* 80mm f2.8 Planar
- Leica Lens
- Summilux 50mm f1.4
Rinko Kawauchi
Rinko Kawauchi was born in Shiga Prefecture in 1972. She still lives there and her photography business is based in Tokyo, Japan. She received an education at the Seian University of Art and Design (former Seian Women’s Junior College), graduating in 1993. Generally basing her work around Japan, Kawauchi’s photography has a poetic meaning, showing the simpler parts to life in a way not many have achieved. Here are some of here collections from her website:
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- Halo collection: http://rinkokawauchi.com/works/172/
- Ametsuchi collection: http://rinkokawauchi.com/works/181/
- Illuminance collection: http://rinkokawauchi.com/works/194/
- the eyes, the ears, collection: http://rinkokawauchi.com/works/241/
- murmuration collection: http://rinkokawauchi.com/works/140/
She has received many awards for her work, including: 29th Photo Town Higashikawa Award Domestic Writer Award (2012); New Artist Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2012); the 25th Infinity Awards Art Division Hosted by ICP (International Center of Photography), USA (2009); 27th Kimura Ihei Photo Award (2002); Japan Photography Association New Face Award (2002); and the 9th Hitotsubo Exhibition Grand Prix (Photos) (1997). Many agree that she has an amazing eye for photography; her art revolves around her religion Shinto, which is the main religion practiced in Japan. This is a central aspect of her work as Shintoism believes everything has a spirit, no matter how big or small it is.
Here is a good article that explains her better than I ever could: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/rinko-kawauchi-10-things-you-should-know-about-the-first-lady-of-japanese-photography/
Anjali Pinto
Anjali Pinto is an artist born in 1989 in the United States; she is based in Chicago currently. She received a B.A. in photojournalism from the University of Missouri, with special training at the Danish School of Media and Journalism. Her photography is very realistic yet dreamlike, with one of her collections entitled GONE proving that; this collection documents the unexpected loss of her husband in a raw, uncut way that you can feel the emotion she feels. The equipment she uses is not listed on her website, however, her photography has a very wide range encompassing POC, feminism, mourning, sexuality, education, food, travel, etc.
