This image shows elements of Modernism through the simplicity of the subject matter and the almost illusion that is created by the contrasting patterns of black and white. The name ‘Agave Design’, agave referring to the name of the plant, implies that through taking the photograph of this plant, it is transformed into an object of design, I think this is shown through the way the straight lines of the background join with the plant, creating a fusion of natural and man-made form. The use of shapes and lines in the photograph is similar to Steiglitz’s approach of viewing a composition simply through the shapes in the frame ('I saw shapes related to each other. I saw a picture of shapes and underlying that the feeling I had about life' - Alfred Steiglitz) The use of this draws your eye to the centre of the image, so much so that when first viewing it you can’t quite make out what it is, as the highlights and shadows create an almost black and white abstract pattern. The clean cut and simple lines in the image conforms to the ‘form follows function’ and ‘truth to materials’ ideas that define modernism; the plant isn’t shown or disguised as something else, the image simply documents what can be seen. The subject matter being quite a close up study of a plant conforms to the popular subject matter of natural form in the f64 group.
No comments:
Post a Comment