Portraits without a face, take two

Today I finally started working on an idea that I started playing around with, way back in February when I was in Auckland for the first week of study; Portraits without a face. Ever since then I've been meaning to expand on that idea and use more than one item of the individuals belongings so the photograph creates a slightly more detailed picture of what the person might be like.

I've decided 5 is a good number. I prefer odd numbers (even though even numbers are somehow prettier..) and I think 5 items might even be easier to set out aesthetically speaking, on the still life table I've borrowed from my wee lovely Daegan. So, I've asked people to give me 5 items that belong to them, items that they think define them. Whether they be some of their favourite things, things that are dear to their hearts or things that represent their hobbies etc.

Here's my first attempt: two slightly differing set ups of the same items.

Abbey Proctor, 2011, Anon I [digital photograph]

Abbey Proctor, 2011, Anon I [digital photograph]

I quite like these aesthetically, but because I know the person whose belongings these are, I can't really tell if the idea is working how I want it to. I would really appreciate some feedback about these; whether they're working, what you take from the items in terms of the individual etc.

More still life

During a critique a few weeks ago when I took my broken plates and vases in to be critiqued, one of my class mates said that they possibly weren't as strong as they could be because they weren't sitting within a specific context. They were just plates on a white background. 

That comment helped a lot because I knew that they weren't quite working but couldn't figure out what exactly it was that wasn't working (being a stubborn artist, they were photographed and turned out exactly how I originally wanted them to look and I couldn't see past that).

So, today I revisited that Fragile robustness idea. 

Abbey Proctor, 2011, Fragile robustness IV [digital photograph]

Abbey Proctor, 2011, Fragile robustness V [digital photograph]

I was a little reluctant at first as I wanted them to be purely a metaphor for the soul or self, but I finally decided that embracing the plates' original form (that being.. a plate) might be the best way to go about photographing them for a second time. So I sat them in this gorgeous wee plate / photo frame holder that sits on our coffee table in the lounge.

I haven't figured out why exactly these work a lot better than my first attempt, but I really think they do. I suppose that the 'holder' is, in a way holding the selves together so they don't fall apart? I still have some thinking to do in that area..

The reason behind the unbroken plate (or self) being added to the series plays with an idea I came up with while I was in Auckland a few weeks ago. The "whole" plate is a representation of a young, innocent self that has not yet been damaged enough by life to have broken, this is juxtaposed by the damaged plate, representing an older self that has been worn down by the harshness of life and is, in some parts, barely holding itself together.

I really love the way the two look when they are placed side by side.

But I'm not sure that the idea as a whole is strong enough to be taken further this year. At this stage these are just another series to add to my final body of work..

Definitions

I love words. They're one of my favourite things. I'm not quite sure why they are but I have always had a fondness for them. I have a slight obsession with books as well which I'm assuming is where my love for words has come from. I love how some people are so, so talented when it comes to ordering words in such a way, that the end result is a beautiful, flowing sentence, which turns into a paragraph, which turns into a story that turns into a gorgeous, bound novel. 

I also love the dictionary. I can't remember ever being someone who has sat down for the purpose of reading the dictionary, but I would much rather find out the correct spelling for a word through use of a dictionary rather than the wee digital dictionary sitting at the bottom of my screen in the dock. I especially love our dictionary we've got here. It's falling apart like all fantastic, loved books should. When I finally move out, I'm taking it with me. I don't care how much my mum protests. (Just like I'm also leaving with her Edmonds cookbook, even though I got given a new hard covered one for my 21st. She doesn't know this either.)

What I love most about a dictionary isn't that it is filled with knowledge and words and generally consists of fantastic, thin pages (I do love those thin pages!), but it's the way the definitions are set out. I have absolutely no idea why this is either.. but I have always, always loved them.

So came into being, my epiphany. 

Instead of just listing all of the words that have been written onto my cancer portraits or trying to form them into some kind of story-like format, why don't I find the definitions of each word and make a list of them?? There's three pages altogether and they look pretty cool! Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to teach myself how to manually resize images on here so I've just copied and pasted them so you can have a read. It's all of them. I didn't want to leave some out because I wouldn't know which ones not to show. Some of the definitions are actually quite lovely. When reading through them I realised that not every technical definition is exactly the same as what I thought it was (and probably the person who wrote them).

That's the end of my wee spiel. Have a wee read through them and maybe if you have some ideas on how I could display them, let me know :)

bold |bōld|

adjective

1 (of a person, action, or idea) showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous : a bold attempt to solve the crisis | he was the only one bold enough to air his dislike.

will ²

noun

• (also willpower) control deliberately exerted to do something or to restrain one's own impulses : a stupendous effort of will.

brave |brāv|

adjective

ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage : a brave soldier | he put up a brave fight before losing.

strong |strô ng |

adjective ( stronger |strô ng gər|, strongest |strô ng gist|)

2 able to withstand great force or pressure : cotton is strong, hard-wearing, and easy to handle.

• (of a person's constitution) not easily affected by disease or hardship.

healthy |ˈhelθē|

adjective ( healthier , healthiest )

in good health: : feeling fit and healthy.

neo-Nazi

noun ( pl. neo-Nazis )

a member of an organization similar to the German Nazi Party.

• a person of extreme racist or nationalist views.

alone |əˈlōn|

adjective & adverb

1 having no one else present; on one's own : [as predic. adj. ] she was alone that evening | [as adv. ] he lives alone.

• [as adj. ] isolated and lonely : she was terribly alone and exposed.

freedom |ˈfrēdəm|

noun

the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint : we do have some freedom of choice | he talks of revoking some of the freedoms. See note at liberty .

lesbian |ˈlezbēən|

noun

a homosexual woman.

cult |kəlt|

noun

a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object : the cult of St. Olaf.

honest |ˈänist|

adjective

free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere : I haven't been totally honest with you.

white supremacy

noun

the belief that white people are superior to those of all other races, esp. the black race, and should therefore dominate society.

skinhead |ˈskinˌhed|

noun

a young person with close-cropped hair, often perceived as aggressive, violent, and racist, and having neo-Nazi tendencies.

cancer |ˈkansər|

noun

the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body : he's got cancer | smoking is the major cause of lung cancer.

• a malignant growth or tumor resulting from such a division of cells : most skin cancers are curable.

 test ¹ |test|

noun

• an event or situation that reveals the strength or quality of someone or something by putting them under strain : this is the first serious test of the peace agreement.

liberated |ˈlibəˌrātid|

adjective

1 (of a person) showing freedom from social conventions or traditional ideas, esp. with regard to sexual roles : the modern image of the independent, liberated woman.

free |frē|

adjective ( freer |ˈfrēər|, freest |ˈfrēəst|)

1 not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes : I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life and be free | a free choice.

individual |ˌindəˈvijəwəl|

adjective

1 [ attrib. ] single; separate : individual tiny flowers.

journey |ˈjərnē|

noun ( pl. -neys)

an act of traveling from one place to another : she went on a long journey | figurative your journey through life.

alopecia |ˌaləˈpē sh (ē)ə|

noun Medicine

the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows; baldness.