Another project on the go is one that involves using flowers, but of course for the purposes of being original and a bit ‘out there’ creatively it can’t be as simple as just flowers and needs to be an unexpected interpretation.
My thoughts are to still quite literally use flowers but along with re-appropriated images or posters of well known people, complete strangers or animals and use an appropriate flower placed in an appropriate place (or in-appropriate without being offensive perhaps) and woven through the actual image, I would then photograph the completed image.
Re-appropriated; meaning borrowing existing imagery or elements of imagery and re-contextualising or appropriating the original imagery, allowing the viewer to renegotiate the meaning of the original in a different, more relevant, or more current context.
The use of re-appropriated images in art have been used for decades but some more contemporary approaches have been from the likes of Daniel Mayrit “You Haven’t Seen Their Faces” which uses images of reportedly the top 100 most powerful people in the City of London. This book is in response to the London riots of 2011 and the Met Police distributing leaflets to houses containing CCTV images of “offenders” involved in the riots for identification, leaving recipients assuming they’re guilty because they have been captured on CCTV. The people featured in this book represent a sector which could be “assumed” as highly responsible for the current economic situation, who live in comfortable anonymity out of the public eye. The book addresses the questions in the same way that we could not possibly know if the youngsters portrayed by the police were actually criminals, we cannot assume either that the individuals here featured are all involved in the ongoing financial scandals…but aren’t they? Click link below for details on the book. Daniel Mayrit You Haven’t Seen Their Faces”
Another excellent intelligence gathering and surveillance approach to documentary photography is that of Mishka Henner who uses Google Street View to produce a voyeuristic approach to landscapes, particularly in No Man’s Land which depicts roadside prostitutes in Italy and Spain.
Whilst the above images are freely available to re-appropriate, there are copyright issues in using other artists imagery. Richard Prince is known for appropriating established works by other artists. Regarding the legal implications of his work, Prince said in 2011, according to the complaint: “Copyright has never interested me. For most of my life I owned half a stereo, so there was no point in suing me, but that’s changed now and it’s interesting … So, sometimes it’s better not to be successful and well-known and you can get away with much more. I knew what I was stealing 30 years ago but it didn’t matter because no one cared, no one was paying any attention.”
Artists like Maurizio Anzeri and Julie Cockburn use embroidery and/or painted-on effects to alter ‘found’ photographs. Using photographs of unknown individuals sourced from charity shops, house clearances, car boots sales etc. These are much more along the lines that I am hoping to take some inspiration from.
I have looked into particular flowers and a few have cause to inspire me, the fantastic Psychotria Elata aka Hot Lips which is unfortunately not the easiest flower to obtain at this time of year but I shall persevere (thinking maybe a plastic surgery theme on this one). It is interesting that all flowers also have a meaning and sentiment behind them; a yellow carnation signifies disappointment, a striped one is a symbol of refusal, Geramium is stupidity or folly, Daisy is innocence and purity, these are just a few. As my project progresses I will update my blog until then I will leave you with some hot lips!
Fiona Macphee 