Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Alton.

Welcome to today's lesson on art and design.

Today's lesson is all about manipulating photographs, and that's from the unit foundation workshops, selecting primary sources and recording observations.

So let's get started.

I hope that by the end of today's lesson, you can experiment with different ways to manipulate a photograph, exploring how to reflect personal ideas in your work.

Some keywords to look out for in today's lesson.

Distort is how to change something from its original shape or appearance.

Destroy is to completely break or ruin something so that it cannot be used or fixed.

And fragment is taking an image or an object and dividing it up so that the whole thing is not clear or complete.

The lesson today has been broken down into two learning cycles.

The first is distort and destroy photos, and the second is fragment old and new photos together.

So let's look at learning cycle one, distort and destroy photos.

What does a perfect photograph mean to you? Take a moment to think about this question.

Maybe you'd like to share your answer with the person next to you.

You'll probably find that you had very different answers.

And that's because when this idea of perfection is linked to art, the meaning is not always defined.

True or false question for you.

There is no such thing as perfection in art.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said that was true.

What's perfect for one person may not be for another.

And many artists embrace this idea of imperfections, using them to add depth and meaning to their work.

"Is a photograph just about capturing reality or can it be more artistic?" Take a look at this image here.

Maybe you might recognise the location.

Well done if you recognise this as the Millennium Bridge in London.

Is this just a realistic image or has it been manipulated in any other ways? Well done if you recognise it's been digitally manipulated.

Photos can go beyond just capturing a moment.

They can be manipulated in many ways to convey new meanings and ideas.

Artists sometimes distort and destroy photos making them look strange or unnatural by altering them to create new meanings.

How is this artist altered their images? Well done if you notice that they've been broken and torn apart, and there's been different objects that have been pressed through from the back of the image so that we get these textural surfaces.

Distort and destroy techniques can be applied to alter photos by tearing, layering, burning, collaging, cutting, stitching, painting, and bleaching.

A quick check for understanding.

See if you can remember some of those techniques and fill in the gaps.

Distort and destroy techniques can be applied to alter photos by.

Well done if you remember those two missing gaps, layering and stitching.

Alex is thinking about distort and destroy techniques in photography.

He's questioning, "How can destroying or distorting a photo change its meaning?" Let's take a look at how some artists layer meaning into their work.

Artists that use distort and destroy techniques include Rosanna Jones, who cuts, tears, scratches, and bleaches photographs.

And this is to symbolise how society and the human mind can erase life's most precious moments.

So the way she manipulates her work is this really physical process of almost wearing away the surface and changing it for all of these techniques.

We then have Lucas Simoes, who cuts, bends, layers traditional portraiture photographs into these very abstract geometric shapes.

And the idea is to force us to change the way we perceive the world or we perceive these people in places.

And even though these techniques have quite crossover in terms of distortion and destroy techniques, they have a very different approach to the way that they relate to their images and the meaning and context behind their work.

Let's take a look at this check for understanding.

Can you identify how the photo has been manipulated using distort and destroy techniques? Take a good look at this enlargement.

Well done if you notice some of these techniques.

So there's definitely been some scratching into the image and this can be done using any sharp implement, but in this case it was a needle that was just scratched into the surface.

You can also see that there's been some tearing to the images and on the white highlights or the bit where you can see some liquid that's actually bleach that's been sprayed onto the image to create these highlights and bobbled areas of the photos.

And just remember, if you do use any bleach in your photography or on your photography, you just need to take precautions to make sure the table is protected and wear gloves as well.

So when a photo is distorted or destroyed, it can shift our perspective and that can be done by highlighting specific details that weren't noticeable in the original.

So like with some of these examples, we've seen the bits that are destroyed can sometimes really bring your gaze into those areas and to shift how we might see that image.

They might change the context to challenge what we think we know.

They might create new layers of meaning or emotions, and that might be from colour changes or the way the image has been composed.

And it can make us think more deeply about the original photo and its message and allow us to consider ideas around identity, memory, and society in different ways.

True or false question.

Distorting or destroying a photograph always ruins its original meaning.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said false.

And that's because artists manipulate photos to create new meaning.

So not just destroying its original one.

And this can make us think more deeply about the original photo and its message.

Jun questions, "Do all photos have to be flat?" And here's an enlargement of the image that we saw earlier, the one with the Millennium Bridge in London.

And you can see here in the ribbons, there's been some really intricate stitching.

What are you looking for? What does it look like? So there's these questions that start to really engage the view at within the image and start to read the image in a different way.

Photos can be combined with textile techniques and printed onto surfaces like fabric.

Distort and destroy methods include painting and stitching onto photographs.

Artists that stitch onto photographs to add another layer of meaning to their work include Joanna Choumali, who add stitching to her photos.

And these can be really intricate stitching, lots of embroidery.

And in her work, Kantamanto Market, she combines lots of printed images onto fabric.

So she took lots of images of the markets on the Ivory Coast and almost made like a photo collage of this really large piece of work.

And this was really to explore the global flow of products and consumerism.

So a lot of secondhand goods coming into the Ivory Coast and how these are repopulated by the communities and the flow of goods within that.

Annegret Saltau Tao is also known for photo sewings.

So in her personal identity series, she stitches her birth certificate to a photograph of her face.

So unlike Joanna Choumali, who does these very intricate stitches to add kind of texture and movement to her work, Annegret Saltau stitches are almost like haphazard and very, very noticeable, almost like surgery stitches that combine different parts of the anatomy together.

And this is to highlight how women's bodies are often treated as less important in society.

So two very different themes and reasons for their manipulation of their photography.

So over to you for our first task, we're going to select a photograph of your own or from a secondary source to manipulate using distort and destroy techniques.

So a secondary source could be an image that somebody else has taken, but it's just really to explore some of these techniques that we've talked about in this first learning cycle.

Consider the message or feeling that you want to aim to convey.

So maybe it's something within the context of the actual image that you've chosen.

And how could these techniques of distort and destroy add or maybe it will focus in on a particular part or maybe it'll change the narrative or story within your chosen photograph.

And really it's thinking about how you might alter that photograph.

So trying out these techniques, you might want to cut into it and that can be done very methodically or very randomly, or give very different results.

You could try tearing different sections or digitally manipulating or apply other techniques to distort and destroy parts of the image.

Things like crumbling and then unfolding or maybe even scratching and wearing out parts of the image.

Reflect on how these manipulations change the overall message or feeling of the photo.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

Let's take a look at what your work may have looked like.

So in this case, Izzy has selected a photograph of her own and she's tore, burned, and crumpled the photo of the flower.

She sewed parts back together and thought about the process of restoring something that is delicate and broken.

So really thinking about the context of her image and how the manipulation techniques can add to the story and the meaning.

Let's move on to learning cycle two.

Fragment old and new photos.

In art, fragmentation refers to taking an image and dividing it up so that the whole thing is not clear or complete.

And you can see in this example, this is actually two photographs that has been layered.

So you've got the original photo in the background and then an enlargement of that image, which has been cut up and fragmented and laid on top.

And that really starts to distort the image when we are looking at it together.

Why do you think artists use fragmentation in their work? Jacob comments, "It shows that images aren't set, that they can have many meanings depending on how you look at them." And Sam says that, "Breaking an image apart can change the story it tells and highlight certain details, making the viewer think about it in a new way." Many photographers use fragmentation techniques to blend old and new images, creating meaningful connections between the past and present.

Photographers who explore fragmentation through cutting, layering, and altering images include Gohar Dashti and Hamed Noori, who were Iranian American photographers often known to work collaboratively.

They are known for their cinematic and conceptual imagery that explores themes of war, displacement, and human resilience.

They use fractured geometric shapes to break apart their landscapes, exploring the complexity of belonging.

John Clang is from Singapore.

He's a contemporary artist and photographer known for his exploration of identity, memory, and the passage of time.

Richard Galpin was born in Cambridgeshire.

He's a contemporary artist and photographer known for his innovative approach to manipulating images of construction sites and urban landscapes.

His work explores themes of human ambition, the impermanence of manmade structures, and the constant evolution of cities.

How could you combine an old photo with a newer one? Jacob says, "I could weave photos that show change over time like a flower opening or a photograph of me when I was younger with a current one to show how I've changed." So taking ideas and elements from the artists we've looked at and thinking how we might apply those in his work.

Sam says, "I could use digital manipulation to merge an old photograph of a location with a more recent one to show memories of a different time." And this is really quite a fun exercise to do if you have a particular area where you grew up or in your town or where you like to visit and see if you can actually research some old photos of that location.

And then you might see if you can actually merge different elements or collage or intercut different layers so that you get this idea of different times and places merging.

So this image here actually shows that process.

So this is a photograph of a new town centre and the town center's based in Harlow in Essex.

And you can see before this town was built, there was lots of woodlands and nature.

So parts of the image have been intercut with those kind of woodlands scenes to create this idea of reflections within the glass and on the concrete floor.

So fragmenting photos from different times and places can be a way to comment on how society has changed.

It might be a way to explore memory and history, so certain locations or places or how you might have changed as a person.

It may be a way to challenge traditional ideas of photography.

So this idea that it just doesn't have to be just a realistic image, we can manipulate images in different ways to change the context and meaning of the work.

And it may be a way of recording different viewpoints at once.

So you may go into a particular location and take lots of different images and then see how could you collage those or layer them or manipulate them to show that passage of time or to show a place from lots of different angles at once.

So a quick check for understanding here.

Fill in the gaps, fragmenting photos from different times and places can be a way to.

And there's four different statements here and there's some words at the bottom which fit into those spaces.

So I'm just gonna give you a moment to consider which one fits where.

Well done if you got those correct.

That was quite a tricky one.

So comment on how society has changed.

Explore memory and history.

Challenge traditional ideas of photography.

And record different viewpoints at once.

Well done.

So as we've mentioned, there are many ways that artists manipulate photos through fragmentation.

What we haven't touched on yet is Shirin Neshat's way to use texts to break up her photographs.

So in her "Women of Allah" series, she uses Arabic writing over photos.

And this really combines the past with the present to show how women's identities and experiences in Islamic societies are complex and always changing.

And this might be a springboard for you to think about how you might add text on top of your images to change their context and meaning.

Michael Mapes also collects old photographs and maps and small objects, and he arranges them in really detailed almost scientific ways.

So he uses a board with little pins to just pin each part of the fragmented image or things that are associated with it.

It may even be from colour or shape or form.

And it creates these really interesting images of all different kind of subject matters.

And it really is to show how memories and identities can be deconstructed, so taken apart and then reconstructed again.

So let's take a moment just to recap on the different methods that artists might use to fragment an image.

Methods might include adding words or text, weaving photos, collage techniques, digital manipulation.

Can you think of any others? Well done if you've had some ideas of your own as well.

So you may want to experiment with adding words and texts like we mentioned with Shirin Neshat's work.

And in this example, you might want to find a quote or a poem or a phrase that expresses what you want to say.

So in the first example when Izzy was thinking about her original photo of a flower, she was thinking that actually that was really about this idea of fragility.

So maybe finding a poem within that context would really help to add to the meaning of this work.

You might want to experiment with different pens, markers, and colours.

And you can see on this example, there's been a red pen and highlights with white, there's also some biro.

So really thinking about what types of pens might also work really well on photographs.

So things like permanent markers and things like that, biros will work very, very well.

Trying combining capital letters with different font styles as well.

So really thinking about the size of your text that you could play around with, but also the different flow or font sizes, capital letters will have a big impact and draw the viewer in to different parts of your image.

So thinking about this idea of weaving, how you might go about weaving a photograph.

So one easy way is to fold the image in half and then cut slits into the image.

So you just need to make sure that you've left enough at the top so that when you open it up, it acts as almost a little loon that you can start weaving things through without them coming apart.

And you can see here in this demonstration that once you open the photo and you've got another image that you can then start weaving through the slits.

And really thinking about this over and under technique.

So you do it in the opposite direction with the next piece that you weave through to create this almost checkable effect with your weaving.

And you may want to experiment with this idea of collage techniques.

So like we saw at the beginning where you're layering different images on top of each other or even cutting images into each other.

So that might be in geometric shapes and layering them on top.

Or it might be bending the cut photos to create a 3D effect.

So the part in the middle of this image here where you can see it's slightly bent and coming up, you may want to look at actually can you create these 3D textures.

And maybe you experiment with different compositions until you achieve an effect you like.

So this is a really nice thing about collage where you can really move things around.

And you might want to use your camera here so that when you get a composition you like, you can take a photo and then move things around, take another one.

And that just allows you to review all the options before maybe you stick anything down or decide which option you want to take.

So you may want to experiment with digital manipulation and your photo can be uploaded to any editing programme.

So you may want to start experimenting with colours, filters, and effects to see what type of manipulation suits the theme or the types of qualities you want to express.

And maybe again, evaluate which effects best fit your project's theme.

So you can create effects quite quickly on the digital platform.

And then save them and then have a whole collection that you can refer to and show your development of that image.

So over to you for our second task, take a photo and combine it with another photograph.

So this could be either an old photograph or a photo from a different time and place.

And we've looked at some examples within this second learning cycle of what that may look like.

It may even be as simple as taking a photo of objects on your desk, for instance, and then taking some away or moving things around and seeing if you can document that journey in some way.

Blend and fragment your photos by adding words or text to change the story of the image, weaving photos together.

And that could be a physical process like I've demonstrated in this learning task or there are options.

You can do that as a digital process as well.

You might want to apply collage techniques like the cutting or rearranging parts to make a new image.

Or use digital tools to smoothly merge or create contrast between the old and new.

So pause the video here, why you choose which way you would like to manipulate and fragment your chosen image.

So well done for all your hard work.

I hope you've had fun exploring some of those manipulation methods with your photography.

And Aisha here has written a poem about saving nature over the top of her photos.

And she's used white pen biro and markers.

And we can see here that she's changed the direction and layered some of the text within her example.

She's also chosen to weave together some of her photos and we can see here a black and white image with the colour.

So we've got this kind of contrast within the weaving itself.

She's used some collage techniques, so cutting out one of her photos in these very kind of geometric diamond shapes and layered them on top of another image.

And she's created the idea that they're slightly lifting up.

So she's thinking about the 3D effects that she can create.

And that's really inspired by the Artists Gohar Dashti and Hamed Noori.

And then she's had a go at digital editing, so she's used a programme called GIMP, which is a free editing programme.

And she's used the poster eyes and invert colour functions to really play around with the contrast, textures, and colour schemes of her image.

So over to you for our second task.

Consider and discuss how fragmenting and blending images of past and present can show ideas like identity, memory, or the link between history and today.

Reflect on how the changes you've made impact the story in the image.

So look at your collection of images and think about what's missing, what have you taken out, what's changed about the image and what has stayed the same.

Think how this has changed the narrative or story within your photograph.

Pause the video here while you complete this task.

So I hope you had some really good discussions about the outcomes of your work.

Let's take a look at what Alex said.

So he enjoyed exploring ways to blend images to show how time affects changed.

And he realised he could use simple objects like moving the items on his desk and photographing them.

So sometimes even things that are right in front of us, a really good stimulus for these types of activities.

And Aisha says that she would like to develop her flower photos further by capturing their decay over time.

And she could do this using film or digital photos and then experimenting with fragmenting, editing and blending the images.

So really reflecting on what comes next, which parts of your images are you happy with, and how might these be developed further.

Let's take a look at summary for today's lesson.

Photographs can be manipulated using various techniques like cutting, stitching, tearing, and layering to distort, destroy, and fragment the image.

Distortion of photos can reveal new meanings and messages about identity, society, and memory.

Three dimensional effects in photos can be created by adding texture, layering, stitch, and collaging.

Photo manipulation can challenge how we perceive reality and help artists express complex ideas in new ways.

Thank you for learning with me today, and I look forward to seeing you soon.