Project work for Year 12 students studying photography A-Level

1. AS Photography: U1.1 Photograms Project

2. A Photogram is a photographic print made by placing objects onto light-sensitive paper and exposing it with light from above. What is a Photogram? DEFINITION LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogram FLICKR LINK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortismereartdepartment/sets/72157600624266064/ In the 1830s, William Fox Talbot , a pioneer of photography, started making photograms of plants, which he referred to as ‘Photogenic Drawings’.

3. Any object can be placed on photographic paper and exposed to light. However, transparent objects and objects with interesting silhouettes are more effective.

4. Weaving Painting with developer

5. Solarisation Stencilling

6. Photogram Artists Lazlo Maholy-Nagy Lotte Jacobi Man Ray Christian Shad Most photograms made in the 1800s were documentary experiments and it wasn’t until the Modernist movement in the 20th Century that artists started to make photograms as art works focusing on form, movement, space . Many of these artists were part of the Bauhaus movement in Germany.

7. U1.1 Photogram Project Practical Tasks All tasks to be presented in your Photo Diary (PD). Everything needs to be documented, so don’t throw away anything! Stick this sheet in your PD and tick of the tasks when complete.  Start off by collecting a number of different objects that are transparent, translucent and with interesting shapes and structures i.e. glass, plastic, water, wire, prisms, beads, grains, card, cling film, food, plants, feathers, fabric, paper, newspaper, tracing paper, etc..  Make 3 test strips that show different apertures I.e. 5 secs at f2.4, f5.6 and f16  Make 3 test strips that show different times but keep the aperture at f5.6 I.e. 2, 5 and 10 sec intervals  Illustrate the process of making a photogram using drawings and step-by-step instructions  Using your objects, create at least 5 experimental 5’x 4’ prints involving the following processes: double exposure/movement, stenciling, positive sandwich print, painting with developer, weaving and solarisation  Choose a theme that relates to your compositions and materials. E.g. Natural vs. Synthetic, Rough vs.. Smooth, Mechanical Structures, Reflections, Abstraction, Echo, etc. Write a paragraph explaining your theme in your PD  Use your theme to produce a series of 9 photograms (measuring 125mm x 175mm) mounted on card as a symmetrical grid. You will be assessed on the quality of your mounting along with the final photogram prints  Write a concluding paragraph, explaining your aims and intentions, articulating your difficulties and strengths, along with how you would refine the project further if you had time Critical & Contextual (C&C) Studies An important part of all projects is researching and understanding more about the work of others. The following tasks will be set by your teacher to complete as homework.  Find your oldest family portrait photograph and make a two copies of it. Bring one to stick up on the wall at school and stick the other one in your PD. Underneath it, write a 150-word personal statement considering: i) your personal knowledge of the person(s) and how the photograph captures their character(s) I.e. posture, clothing, props, etc. ii) the social, cultural and political period in which it was taken I.e. during WW1 or during the Suffragettes movement  Read Chapter I: Loading ‘Where did photography come from?’ p.22-26 of ‘Photography’ by John Ingledew (Laurence King 2005). In your PD, write down 10-facts about the early history of photography and, in your own words, explain the importance of Louis Jacques Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot. Present with relevant images in your PD  Research a range of photograms images and present them over four pages in your PD (ensure that your images are large and not thumbnail prints). Consider the following photographers: William Henry Fox Talbot, Man Ray, Christian Shad, Alvin Colburn, Lazslo Maholy-Nagy, Camille Corot and Jean-Francois Millet. Remember to label the images with the name of the artist and write down key words associated with the images  Read Chapter IV: This is a camera ‘Pictures without a camera’, p.204-206 of ‘Photography’ by John Ingledew, (Laurence King 2005). In your PD, write notes summarising the following processes: Photogram, Chemogram, Clich é-verre and Cyanotype. Introduction For this project, you will be working towards mounting a series of 9 photograms (measuring 125mm x 175mm) linked to a theme of your choice.