Rut Blee Luxemburg photographs the city at night, with only the glow from street lights to illuminate the image. Her work looks at hidden areas in the city that are either abandoned or overlooked such as car parks, tower blocks and roads which makes areas that are often seen as unnoticed appear visible. Time is represented in her work because of her use of long exposures which captures time passing. It is also recognised with how she uses natural elements in her images such as tree’s and rain, Luxemburg’s use of natural elements shows the impact nature has had on the urban environment. She also explores the relationship between the city and its citizens, her work reflects on how the city affects humans and how humans have affected the city. However she doesn't include any human presence in her work just traces they have made to the urban environment such as potholes and neglected areas.
Love song (Liebeslied), 1997
The right side of this image has a threatening feel to it with how it is darker to the rest of the image and because of the red colour tone it has. The colour red signifies danger which also adds to the dark and threatening feel the photograph has. Luxemburg’s choice of location looks very neglected and abandoned because of the markings and scratches on the walls and how there isn’t any human presence in the photo. Even though there is no humans in the image the way humans have effected the landscape is fully represented in the picture with how they have changed it such as the graffiti and markings on the walls. The marks and graffiti on the wall shows what the area has been through and gives it a history. By using a slow shutter speed Luxemburg has made the street lamp the only source of light in the image which has cast an eerie glow over the urban area. Compositionally the railings in the image draw your eyes through it as they run though each side of the photo, this gives an impression that you are just passing through the area. The street lamp is illuminating the darkness as if it is trying to reveal it so the location becomes noticed. A seductive feel is given to the image by the lighting and the shadows as it looks as if the street light is pouring into the shadows and illuminating it.
Folly, 2003
For this image Luxemburg has used a slow shutter speed, this has resulted in the water appearing very soft and blurred. The effect of this has given the photo a serene feel which contradicts with the harsh artificial colouring of the image. Luxemburg has created a feeling of vastness with the emptiness of the water as it leaves you to imagine what else is around the area. The yellow tone of the artificial lighting as well as the soft blur of the water gives the image an abstract feel as the colour’s are artificial which makes the subjects hard to identify as they become almost unrecognisable. The dramatic angle adds to the abstract feel the photo has as it gives you an unusual look at the subject and makes you look at it in a new way. Lighting in the image adds an eerie glow which is enhanced by the misty water and the shadows peeking through the bottom of the photo. Luxemburg’s choice of camera angle gives the area an abandoned feel as you are looking down at it, it also feels as if the place is hidden as you are peering down at it. By photographing this area makes you look at it in a different way as it is an location that would usually go unnoticed, Luxemburg photograph gives a new way of looking at the area as the image draws you into it.
Picadilly’s Peccadiloes, 2007
‘Picadilly’s Peccadiloes’ by Rut Blees Luxemburg is a photograph of a puddle in a street with a reflection in it showing lights from a building. The long exposure used by Luxemburg to take the image allows the street light to illuminate the whole of the image, the brightness of the the lights in the reflection makes them the focal point of the image. By having natural elements amongst the city such as the puddle from the rain symbolises the relationship between nature and the urban landscape. Luxemburg has highlighted a part of the city that is usually overlooked by photographing something that is on the ground this makes this area become visible. The image has a very seductive feel with the colour tones in the image, the orange and red colours have a very warming feel which draws your into the image. The contrast between the cracked pavement, the natural element as well as the warming colours creates a very seductive but disturbing feel. It looks as if Luxemburg is highlighting the cracks in the city and how the natural elements are an important part to the landscape. Symmetry is represented in the image because of the yellow rectangle lights reflected in the puddle and the rectangle pavement slabs. The symmetrical feel the image has symbolises the structure of the city, the cracks in the pavement could represent how the city is changing.
Richard Wentworth- Making do and getting by,1999
‘Making do and getting by’ is a series of work by Richard Wentworth. He looks at everyday objects and juxtaposes them by placing them in different scenario’s such as using a boot as a door stop. By using this technique he changes the way we see the world as he documents every day items in a different way, and makes us notice the things we pay no attention to. ‘Making do and getting by’ has a humorous feel with how Wentworth places the objects in another role and gives them a new meaning. Even though he doesn’t include any human presence in his photographs, the image is still about humans and the way they have changed the city through photographing every day objects and they way they have been adapted to the world around them. Wentworth said ‘I live in a ready-made landscape and I want to put it to use’ this is represented in his series ‘Making do and getting by’ as he photographs scenes that are all over the city showing how humans have used every day objects and given them new functions.
Bottlestick
By using a close up shot Richard Wentworth has made you focus on small parts of everyday life that usually you don’t take any notice of. By taking photographs of areas of the city that become unseen or forgotten Wentworth makes us have a fresh look into the city. Humans intervention upon the city has been represented in ‘Bottlestick’ through the way we have adapted and changed the city. Eventhough there is no human presence in this photography you still get a feeling that humans are involved in the picture because of the placement of the bottle as its been positioned in an unusual place. Wentworth has made the bottle the main focal point of the image by using a large aperture so the photo has a shallow depth of field, this keeps the bottle in focus and the background of of focus. The natural lighting used represents how Wentworth has taken a photograph whilst walking on the street and represents how natural the image is. A tree is running through the centre of the image, this could symbolise the importance of the the natural environment amongst the urban landscape. The contrast between the bottle and the tree is an important factor of the image as it represents how the city has changed nature, and how nature has changed the city. By cropping the image so you can just see a part of the subject leaves you to imagine why the bottle has been placed there and what it’s new function is.
Tirana
‘Tirana’ by Richard Wentworth is a photograph of six rectangular pieces of glass leaning against a building. The image has a very neglected feel because of how the pieces of glass have been left on the street. Wentworth has compositioned the image so there is a dark space on either side of the photo this makes it stand out as it almost acts as a frame around the image which draws your eye into the centre. The lighting has a vert dark and dramatic feel, the shadows give the location a very abandoned feel. This feel is also represented by the look of the location, the building behind the glass looks very dirty. By photographing this location Wentworth is documenting areas that are not usually noticed by people walking through the city because of how abandoned they look. The glass is the main focal point of the image because they are the brightest parts of the image which attracts your attention. By making the pieces of glass stand out so much makes your wonder why they have been placed there and what there function is now. As glass is seen as very fragile it contrasts against the location it has been placed in as the location looks very tough and disheveled.
Vera Lutter
Vera Lutter uses a photography technique named the camera obscura. A camera obscura is when you turn a room into a pin-hole camera this means the scene from outside is projected inverted onto the wall opposite the pin hole which then exposes a picture onto photosensitive paper that can take hours to expose. Lutter exposes her images on to paper that covers the whole of one wall this shows the scale of the subjects she photographs.The results of the camera obscura are paper negatives that means the sky looks black and the buildings appear white which is the opposite to how they should look. Lutter photographs buildings in the city and shows them amongst there surroundings. All of her images have a symmetrical feel with how she focuses on the windows and the vertical lines of the building which could represent how the city is structured and being controlled. The inverted tones of Lutters images give the city a dark and mysterious atmosphere as what should be a day time sky appears black. Lutter uses a very small aperture to keep everything in focus because of this she uses a slow shutter speed which gives the images a ghostly feel and represents the city in a dramatic way. The large size of her pictures represents the vastness of the city and the scale of all the buildings.
333 North Michigan Avenue ' Chicago ' 2001
Vera Lutter’s ‘333 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago’ image is a picture of a road leading into a city with large buildings. The road in the foreground runs through the centre of the image which draws your eye into the photo and brings your attention to the buildings. The road running through the centre of the image divides the city in halve, it also leads right through the middle which makes you wonder where it is leading to. Lutter’s technique of using negatives adds a very dramatic feel to her cityscape, the black sky looks as if a dark cloud is hanging over the city and makes it feel as if something bad is going to happen. The image has a very ghost like feel because of the photo being a negative and how it had a long exposure time. Structure is represented in the image by the symmetrical patterns in the windows of the buildings and with all the vertical lines, this symbolises the structure of the city. This image emphasises the scale of buildings in the city and how big they are compared to the rest of the city. A small aperture was used in this image as you can see all the detail throughout the city scape, this allows you too see everything that goes on in the landscape such as the cars driving through and flags flying in the wind.
San Marco, Venice XX: December 3, 2005.
This image by Lutter has a very historical feel to it because of the architecture she has photographed in Venice. The architecture looks very symmetrical with all the arches and the windows this makes the city appear very structured and controlled, the architecture also gives a romantic feel to the image. The patterns on the pavement draws your into the centre of the image as they point towards the middle. By having this image as a negative means the sky has turned completely black this gives the photograph a very dramatic feel, the dark sky also accentuates the architecture as the white buildings contrast against it which makes them stand out as you can easily see all of there detail. The brightness of the buildings and the floor catches your attention especially as they stand out compared to the dark sky. There is two markings on the foreground of the image which gives the photo a very ghostly feel, the ghostly feel is also represented through the white areas in the image. By making a print from a negative Lutter has created a winter atmosphere as the ground looks like it is covered in snow because the tonal range is reversed.
All of the three photographers I looked at don’t include human presence in there work, however all the images have a strong representation on how the city has affected its citizens and how humans have affected the city. Luxemburg and Lutter both use long exposure’s in there photography which gives there work a more fine-art feel, dissimilarly Wentworth’s photography has more of a documentary style. Wentworth photographs small areas of the city whereas Luxemburg and Lutter both focus on more large areas which gives a greater view of the city and the vastness of it. Each of the three photographers only use lighting that is at the location at the time and don’t use any external lighting, for Luxemburg and Lutter this gives there images a very dramatic feel whereas Wentworth’s images look very natural. All of the images I analyzed by the three photographers look slightly down at there subject this makes you feel that you are looking at an area that is normally overlooked by passers by.
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