Photography Final Essay
Photographer: Holly Andres
Date of Artist’s Life: Born 1977-Current
Photographer: Holly Andres
Date of Artist’s Life: Born 1977-Current
- Personal Background
- Holly Andres is an American born photographer based out of Portland, Oregon. Originally from Missoula, Montana, Andres started her journey at The Art Institute of Seattle. Moving back to her home state she studied painting and drawing at the University of Montana where she received her BFA. She realized that she was intrigued with, “the potential of freezing a narrative as a single frame,” and started her pursuit in the photography field. Andres then proceeded, with her newfound passion, to continue her education at Portland State University where she received her MFA in cinema studies.
- Style
- Andres uses a plethora of bright and pastel colors that work together with the subjects in the image to create a dynamic storyline. The possibility of creating a “complex narrative” is what got her started in photography. She likes when given time in advance to scout the sight and plan ahead of time what she’s going to achieve. Her staged images each give off a unique feeling based off of the lighting and colors used. Overall her style is quite fluid it terms of subject matter, but sticks to similar color schemes throughout multiple images.
- Philosophy
- As I stated previously, Andres likes to create specific narratives within her works allowing for a more layered, complex image. She creates, “abstractions of real-life events” to try and recreate the feelings and emotions that happened during that event, and there is usually a very personal story behind her images which gives it that emotional power. One of her images depicts a child’s birthday party and a mother saving her child from a burning car. The reason that image, like others she has created, is so thought provoking is because there is a real life behind the image. It creates a lot of questions for the viewer, which intrigues them and makes them want to know more.
- Influences
- Holly Andres has made me consider the emotional impact that can be had through staged photographs. Often times I try not to stage photos, because it feels like I’m forcing a photo to happen. However, taking a look at her photos and seeing how the planning came about through the emotional intent really influenced how I wanted to take my photos. I also tried to use a similar color scheme to her photos, going for lighter, even pastel, colors. This color usage brought out a vibrance in my photos that I haven’t ever seen before, it made them feel more alive.
- Holly Andres has made me consider the emotional impact that can be had through staged photographs. Often times I try not to stage photos, because it feels like I’m forcing a photo to happen. However, taking a look at her photos and seeing how the planning came about through the emotional intent really influenced how I wanted to take my photos. I also tried to use a similar color scheme to her photos, going for lighter, even pastel, colors. This color usage brought out a vibrance in my photos that I haven’t ever seen before, it made them feel more alive.
5. Sources
Pull
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Exam Season
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Girls Night
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Unnoticed
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Moving Forward
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- Compare and Contrast (the 5 images you took with the 5 images above, include description, analysis, interpretation, and judgement)
- In her image I saw a mystery and a sense of curiosity, which I tried to emulate in my photo with the hand on the book. It raises questions in the same way her image does, but places less emphasis on the hand on more on the overall image. I used a variety of colors, however I decided to use a darker scheme instead of the light, almost dainty, color scheme she implored.
- I got a feeling of business and rushed ness when I looked at Andres photo, and it seemed as if someone was hurrying to get somewhere in the morning. I tried to emulate this busy tone with my photo of studying supplies spread out across a bed. I tried to emphasize the feeling of a rushed and busy person trying to study for a last minute test.
- The photo taken by Andres shows the thought of elegance and prestige being stripped away. Therefore, I tried to mimic exactly that. I spread makeup over the floor as well as fancy clothes and handbags to help create the feeling that her image had. I believe this image I took most closely resembles the original piece because I just really enjoyed the way it was composed and wanted to recreate that.
- The image depicted by Andres features a hardworking woman who is working and doing for someone other than herself. I tried to depict this with my use of object and hand placement to showcase what work can create and achieve. That the work done may not always be seen, as it is in my photo, but the recognition of the work unseen can be powerful.
- For this image I tried to add a bit of a 21st century spin on it by having a coffee table in front of the persons knees. This has the same photographic concept as the artists photo, but I tried to add a new message on top of it. Commenting to the need for us to be more proactive instead of just tweeting when things don’t go the way we want.
- In her image I saw a mystery and a sense of curiosity, which I tried to emulate in my photo with the hand on the book. It raises questions in the same way her image does, but places less emphasis on the hand on more on the overall image. I used a variety of colors, however I decided to use a darker scheme instead of the light, almost dainty, color scheme she implored.
- Personal Artist Statement
- All of my pieces were created with a strong emotional connection, weather it be to an issue I care about or just a topic I find interesting, every photo has a personal connection. I analyzed the artists photos and tried to pull the main concepts of how she created the works to use in my pieces, but I tried to keep in interesting by giving it new meaning. I used her pastel and light colors in most of my photos and tried to position them to give each photo a level of interest and depth. I wanted the viewer to be intrigued and be inclined to ask questions to themselves about the meaning of the image, because images can often be interpreted multiple ways. Overall I think my photos combine Andres’ techniques with new personal meanings to create new, diverse images.
- All of my pieces were created with a strong emotional connection, weather it be to an issue I care about or just a topic I find interesting, every photo has a personal connection. I analyzed the artists photos and tried to pull the main concepts of how she created the works to use in my pieces, but I tried to keep in interesting by giving it new meaning. I used her pastel and light colors in most of my photos and tried to position them to give each photo a level of interest and depth. I wanted the viewer to be intrigued and be inclined to ask questions to themselves about the meaning of the image, because images can often be interpreted multiple ways. Overall I think my photos combine Andres’ techniques with new personal meanings to create new, diverse images.
- Bibliography
- https://petapixel.com/2016/02/09/interview-photographer-holly-andres/
- http://www.artnet.com/artists/holly-andres/biography
- http://www.hollyandres.com/
- http://aphotoeditor.com/2013/04/25/art-producers-speak-holly-andres/