Photography – Karyn Easton

May 09

by Karyn in Books, Conclusion, Experimentation, Final Major Project, Final Outcomes, My Work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: Books, Conclusion, Experimentation, Final Major Project, Final Outcomes, my work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs

Book Photography

Product Photography for the Balance of Power Book – My book is now fully augmented and the whole of its contents can be viewed in the augmented reality video that I made to accompany the ‘Balance of Power Mobile. A full digital copy of the book can be found here. The next step in my process was to create an image that would represent my book – something that I could use for social media posts and head up any literature that I might like to send out. It might even form the cover of a brochure about the project as a whole. Contact Sheets from Experimental Shoots Refining the Concepts There are many references to nature in my ‘Balance of Power’ Final 5 Minute Video. Therefore, in the first instance I decided to shoot my books outdoors. One of my chosen concepts to explore was having my books with foliage or vines wrapped around it. Below are some of the concepts that I decided to refine further. The original ‘Balance of Power’ Book was a large scale book (30 x 30cm), but sadly when I came to scale the book down, the title wasn’t as prominent. […]

Mar 06

by Karyn in Little Wins, Mentions, My Work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: Little Wins, Mentions, my work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs

Little Wins #9

The Phoblographer Magazine – I feel so lucky this year because after a shaky start things seem to be looking up at last! The ‘little wins tag’ that I set up last year seems to be getting more usage which is great. I just hope that I can keep the momentum going. It was lovely to see that the Phoblographer has mentioned me again today. Here is a link to my interview.

Feb 19

by Karyn in 3d, Final Major Project, My Work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: 3d, Final Major Project, my work, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs

Process

Another Full Day of Working – When I first began making my mobiles, I honestly hadn’t realised how much time each element would take to make. However, I am enjoying the process and I’m looking forward to seeing the end result. Today was another full day of making. My plan is to finish my second mobile by the end of this weekend so I can work out my next steps. During this process I have shot a number of time-lapse videos so I thought it would be nice to add some process stills. Process Stills

Hanging Around

Choosing a Suitable Stringing Method – Choosing suitable materials and a hanging method for my mobile has to be one of the most challenging aspects so far. I’m way beyond my comfort zone with this! Noah one of my fellow students shared a link by the creative force that once was, namely David Bowie. Im going to put what he said here so that when I struggle I’ve got a point of reference to start things moving again. Today, having produced enough mobile elements to explore hanging and stringing I started running into multiple problems. Some of these included: 1). What kind of stringing method would I like to use 2). How do I arrange the elements neatly enough so that the viewer understands them as binary. 3). What materials should I use to actually string and hang the mobile? 4). Will a smaller prototype actually translate into a much larger one? The problems above were to name only a few. I spent the evening trying to source suitable hanging materials. I managed to source a very good older pdf on the subject of mobile making which helped a lot! How to Make Mobiles How to […]

Nov 19

Epic Making Session

Yaacov Agam Inspired Work – Over many months now I have been wrestling with a myriad of ideas. In my Study Statement I was keen to develop a new form of hybrid human, digital and AI art. I also wanted to include an element of mystery and discovery whereby elements of the work were hidden. During my search for inspiration I came across two artists that particularly resonated with me, namely: Alexander Calder and Yaacov Agam. I particularly liked the idea of movement and mobile art seen in Calder’s work. Indeed I was so taken with his work that I went to visit the Tate Modern to see some of his pieces there. However, Yaacov Agam’s work really did inspire me. In his Artist’s statement he says: “My aim is to show the visible in a perpetual state of becoming”. I think this is a beautiful way in which he describes his work. However, I personally would liken it to, showing the visible in a perpetual state of change. Given the nature of the subject matter that I’m exploring, his work for me very much aligns with this notion of change as well as ‘becoming’. Below is a short […]

Love Letters From AI

Hidden Art – When I first began my MA, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. Ultimately I knew it would be something to do with the hidden or the unseen. Initially I began looking at invisible phenomena such as sound waves and the passage of time. However, nothing captured my interest quite as much as augmented reality. It was this whole concept of a hidden unseen world (only accessible to those ‘in the know’), that intrigued me. While conducting research for my Research Paper I discovered that there is a distinct negative bias towards AI generated art. I looked at a number of strategies to help mitigate this bias. Finally, after a number of image polls, used to inform my project, I created a fictitious robot called Athena. Her name was inspired by the old Athena posters from the past. My research was suggesting that humanoid robots with a sad ‘backstory’ could help to reduce bias and win over an audience when presenting AI art. At this point I began to develop a narrative for my robot. During a visit to Barcelona, I was completely amazed by the sheer weight of graffiti adorning the city walls. I […]

Oct 27

MACBA Metamorphosis

Barcelona’s Hidden Artists – While visiting Barcelona, I became fascinated with the vast swathes of graffiti covered walls. It felt as if collectively everyone had given up on cleaning the walls. Indeed, it felt as if the walls themselves had become works of art. In stark contrast I also noted the pristine internal walls of the MACBA (One of Barcelona’s contemporary art museums). I was so ‘taken with’ the beautiful light inside of the MACBA that I decided to photograph it. I also photographed many graffiti laden walls across Barcelona. There really was a such a stark contrast between the pristine and the messy that I began to wonder what the MACBA would look like if it was plastered in graffiti? The internal walls of the MACBA were so beautifully clean that I felt an irresistible urge to ‘plaster’ them. The vibrant colours and designs found externally on the Streets of Barcelona seemed a logical choice. Unfortunately, my dream of taking spray paints to the MACBA walls was pretty much out of the question. However, I did have access to Photoshop, Ai and augmented reality. As a direct result of my thinking I managed to self publish 3 small art […]

Oct 11

by Karyn in 3d, Abstract Art, Ai, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Ideas, My Work, Photography, Risk Taking, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: 3d, Abstract Art, ai, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Ideas, my work, Photography, Risk Taking, Unit 2 Blogs

Grotto Print Ideas #2

Adding Value – I quite like the idea of ‘Killing Time’ and the oil on water re-imagined clocks. However, I do feel that there needs to be some level of interactivity with my Grotto print. I decided that since posting the video short included in the Grotto Print Ideas blog, more of the clocks needed to be shown. This is pure experimentation and the full video can be seen below. A couple of years ago I began to explore Paul’s book. I felt that the nature of the folds created within would lend themselves very well to warping the clock faces and dials even further. Killing Time – Calming Edit As well as the calming edit, I also produced a shorter more rousing video short, showing the clocks animated as they warp and destruct. This is more in keeping with the idea of ‘Killing Time’. I’m debating whether or not to include these either one or both of these digital edits as part of the print sale? At this point in time it is just a thought. I’ve a long long way to go before I make a firm decision. I’ve also had another idea regarding […]

Sep 24

A Mental Derive Part #2

Picking Up Where I Left off – Ever since my first mental derive, it was always my intention to recommence this particular project. now that the second draft of my research paper is nearing completion, I feel I am better able to return more fully to creative activities. Since part one of my mental derive, I didn’t totally abandon this project and I experimented with suspending some of the circles on a sheet of acetate between some thick heavy duty white elastic. Below is a gallery showing the results. This is a project I’d like to return to at some point, but I don’t currently have the correct materials. The acetate was far too thin and buckled under the strain of the elastic. Therefore thicker acrylic is possibly a better choice. The patterned discs/circles also had a habit of ‘pinging off’, so a better method of securing them is required. However, I do think that there is room to develop this project further. Moments in Time and Space Each black and white patterned circle/disc above, is a collage of many little moments in time. For this reason I wanted to trial another form of suspension. I am particularly […]

Aug 25

by Karyn in My Work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs 0 comments tags: my work, Photography, Unit 2 Blogs

The Fairy Garden Project

Making Something Magical – Earlier this year, I was asked if I would photograph a ‘fairy themed’ garden. As well as my part-time lecturing role I often take on commissions. I don’t advertise as people tend to contact me via word of mouth. Below are a few images that I shot for the project. The client said that she was delighted and that the images exceeded expectation. For me it’s always lovely when I receive positive feedback and makes it all worthwhile. I often question whether I should stick to photography for my project work? It’s what I know and what I think I do best, but in a way that feels sad, because then I don’t feel like I am pushing myself to do better. I also feel that I am learning so much by trying to expand my horizons. Fairy Garden Video Short Project Image Gallery