Lens Based Photo
Title: "Emptiness"
Size: 60 cm by 90 cm
Medium: Digital Photograph on iPhone 7
Date: September 2020
This photo displays my depression through a model. The dress represents innocence, but the color represents darkness within. The rose is significant because like rose petals, there are parts of my life that fall apart. I wanted the room to look ordinary; the bathtub is a place where people go when they are depressed, whether that is to think things over during a bath, or to end their life. The model is zoning out as if she is contemplating life. My piece was inspired by Tsoku Maela.
*A special thank you to Marisa Kane for modeling*
Artistic Inspiration
My piece's theme of depression was inspired by Tsoku Maela's work. I was also very inspired by his simplistic backgrounds which heavily influenced some of my photos. I also really liked that the model wasn't looking at the camera and wanted to incorporate that into my piece to make it look as if the model is staring into nothing, contemplating life and their existence. The background looks bare as well suggesting a challenging life, which is why I liked the idea of including an old dirty bathtub.
About Tsoku Maela:
Tsoku Maela was born in South Africa on March 29, Much of his work represents African culture. His goal is to make people realize that mental health isn't just a white people problem. He said in an interview that he originally thought depression was an African people, but received emails from people with many different cultures saying they experience these issues too. His art inspired many people across the globe to get rid of the bad stigma around mental health.
Tsoku Maela was born in South Africa on March 29, Much of his work represents African culture. His goal is to make people realize that mental health isn't just a white people problem. He said in an interview that he originally thought depression was an African people, but received emails from people with many different cultures saying they experience these issues too. His art inspired many people across the globe to get rid of the bad stigma around mental health.
Planning sketches
I knew I wanted to have the model in the bathtub because it is a place where people end their lives and I thought that would convey my theme of depression. However, my planning sketches play out more than one idea. I didn't really know how I would want the model posed, but I knew the bathtub would be an important element. I also wanted the model to wear a white dress to represent the innocence of someone dealing with depression, however that was not available so black was chosen to represent the darkness of the soul.
Experimentation & Process
I knew that I really liked the idea of the model in a bathtub holding a rose so that stayed consistent in the photos above. I asked the model to sit in different poses. I took some full body shots as well as head shots. I asked her to look in different directions and look sad. Some people think that the broken toilet paper holder in the background ruins the photo, but I think it adds to the idea of having a simplistic background that doesn't look staged. I originally wanted the model to wear a white dress to better represent innocence, but we didn't have any available so we worked with a black one, which actually made the pictures look nice. I also think the darkness it represents within also goes better with the depression theme I was going with. Even though most photographers would prefer a white ring light, I liked the yellow glow in the bathroom because it makes the environment look more natural.
Because the rose was an important symbol in my final piece, I decided to get some experimental shots of it alone. In the three photos above, I had some of the petals pulled off to make them look as if they fell off, representing emotional parts of my life. I got some close ups to show the detail and layer of the petals, but I also took one of the flower in the vase because of how mysterious I thought it would make the photo look. The point was to show that even good things come to an end, but even with a few petals missing, the flower is still beautiful. This is kind of like in life, how I keep getting hurt, yet there is still room for a small amount of motivation to keep me going.
These are all photos of myself in an empty park. They show how lonely depression makes me feel, especially when I have time to think. In most of the photos, I wanted to make them look natural so I didn't look at the camera to make it look like I was thinking. In the last photo though, my goal was to make it look as if I was reaching for help from someone or something which is why I was looking at the camera. I experimented with different poses in different parts of the park, whether that be standing, sitting, or reaching towards the camera. I also chose to take these photos on a day it was supposed to rain so that the clouds would add some affect to the background and fit with my theme. I also purposely made my clothing black and white as well. I didn't end up choosing any of these photos to be my final because as much as I loved them, I felt the composition was too basic and that I should have better experimented with that instead of making everything look symmetrically centered.
These were all taken at Mitchell Airport Park, Milwaukee. In the first four photos, they have a cloudy view. In the fifth photo, it looks as if the clouds are moving, which represents certain points in my life drifting away from my control. The last two, were me experimenting with the scene when it was darker outside. I like the last two photos because of the coloration in the sky. All of these photos were taken on different days and time time to experiment with which one would best fit my theme. All photos were also taken in different parts of the park to have some variety. I also tried different shots with and without trees, making sure it looked asymmetrical.
These photos are of a miniature windmill in my front yard. I took these photos because I thought it looked mysterious with the clouds in the background. I took them at different angles to experiment with the movement the wind had on the windmill, as well as so that the clouds could partially be in the background. The idea was that the windmill doesn't control when it moves, but the wind does kind of like how life pushes us into directions that we don't always like or want to go in.
Reflection
I am happy with my final photo. It was nice to experiment with different views and different models, but stay consistent with the theme of depression. Getting a lot of practice shots though was actually harder than I thought. I had to delete some because of how blurry they were or because I didn't like the composition. It was a challenge to manipulate space because I didn't want everything to be 100% symmetrical. It also took me awhile to think about how I wanted to represent this theme. For quite a while I thought that my final photo would be one of the pictures of myself because I thought that it would be more meaningful, but I ended up liking the pictures with the model more because of how inspired I was by Tsoku's use of simplistic backgrounds. I did purposely choose my sister to model them though, because no one in the world looks more like me than her.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities: Differences:
-The main theme is the depression of the -My photo is colored, while the other photo
photographer is in black and white
-Both have simplistic backgrounds that you -My photo hasn't been edited or altered
would find in any regular household in any way, but Tsoku's has a couple of
-In both photos, the model isn't looking edited affects
at the camera -I have a model to represent my depression,
but Tsoku is actually in his own photo
-The main theme is the depression of the -My photo is colored, while the other photo
photographer is in black and white
-Both have simplistic backgrounds that you -My photo hasn't been edited or altered
would find in any regular household in any way, but Tsoku's has a couple of
-In both photos, the model isn't looking edited affects
at the camera -I have a model to represent my depression,
but Tsoku is actually in his own photo
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I was directly inspired by Tsoku's choice of simplistic backgrounds. I was also heavily inspired by his representation of depression over artists who go overboard with editing and affects.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors who talked about Tsoku Maela, talked about how his art related to him, his past, and culture. One of the authors also interviewed Tsoku to get more accurate insight.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc, while you researched your inspiration?
Because of the way Tsoku talked about how he represented his depression in his photos during the interview, I realized that mental health is so different from what people think and that it goes deeper depending on the person. People tend to put a bad stigma on it and don't actually realize how different it looks for different people.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme was around the photographer's mental health. The photo(s) specifically represent depression and anxiety.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that Tsoku's photos have greatly impacted how many people view mental health and its stigma. I could also infer that his work has helped him cope with and better understand his mental health problems.
I was directly inspired by Tsoku's choice of simplistic backgrounds. I was also heavily inspired by his representation of depression over artists who go overboard with editing and affects.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors who talked about Tsoku Maela, talked about how his art related to him, his past, and culture. One of the authors also interviewed Tsoku to get more accurate insight.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc, while you researched your inspiration?
Because of the way Tsoku talked about how he represented his depression in his photos during the interview, I realized that mental health is so different from what people think and that it goes deeper depending on the person. People tend to put a bad stigma on it and don't actually realize how different it looks for different people.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme was around the photographer's mental health. The photo(s) specifically represent depression and anxiety.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that Tsoku's photos have greatly impacted how many people view mental health and its stigma. I could also infer that his work has helped him cope with and better understand his mental health problems.
Bibliography
"About Tsoku Maela." 2020. https://www.tsokumaela.com/about
"An Artist Photographs His Depression to Destigmatize Mental Illness." HyperAllergic, 6 July. 2016, https://hyperallergic.com/308318/an-artist-photographs-his-depression-to-destigmatize-mental-illness/
"An Artist Photographs His Depression to Destigmatize Mental Illness." HyperAllergic, 6 July. 2016, https://hyperallergic.com/308318/an-artist-photographs-his-depression-to-destigmatize-mental-illness/