Conceptual Art Photo Assignment

Take notes from this powerpoint…. What is conceptual art? Conceptual photography is a type of photography that illustrates an idea. The 'concept' is both preconceived and, if successful, understandable in the completed image.

Conceptual photography is, first and foremost, about the concept of the photo. a conceptual photographer is trying to bring some message about to the viewer, be it a political advert or a social commentary or an emotional outcry. Conceptual photography makes healthy use of graphical symbols to represent ideas, movements, moods, anything and everything that the photographer might want to include in the message of their photograph. 

Part 1: each person must create a series of 6 pictures where models take turns interacting with their themed drawings. Drawings can be done with chalk or done on paper. You can use members of other teams to help in your poses, as long as you are included too. Themes incude: Underwater, public spaces, superhero, etc.

You either work solo or with a teammate You either work solo or with a teammate. If you work solo, you need 6 photos that follow one theme. If you work with another person, you can both share a theme, but you each must produce 6 pictures individually and have a teal total of 12. Teammates must appear in each others photos. Teamwork is a necessary part of this project.

You can simply use the chalk or use a prop to help you with your theme…..

Choose a fun theme for part 1 of this project , and then keep it simple with use of a prop for part 2 of the conceptual photo project.

Part 2 of conceptual art Project : You or a prop must interact with each other or with the environment. Here the kids interact with the moon, below she interacts with a mirror.

Objects can interact with each other and a drawing, or you can interact with the object in a creative way. You choose. Your team must create a total of 4 pictures, either all with the same prop or use 4 different props.

If you don’t want to lye down on the ground, you can use wall space and stand or sit with your interaction. BE CREATIVE!!!! Use other objects to interact with on a wall or use your own drawings to interact with on the wall. Its your choice.

If you choose to use the wall for drawings on chalk board or poster board, drawings must be interesting and a little more complex than this.

If you use a preexisting picture on a wall or use props from your surroundings, be a little more complex or interesting than these pics….

Meet Julian Beever….an artist who has made a living from creating conceptual art with chalk and photography! is a British chalk artist] who has been creating trompe-l'œil chalk drawings on pavement surfaces since the mid-1990s. He uses a projection technique called anamorphosis to create the illusion of three dimensions when viewed from the correct angle. It is often possible to position a person within the image as if they were interacting with the scene.

Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. The word "anamorphosis" is derived from the Greek prefix ana‑, meaning back or again, and the word morphe, meaning shape or form. Here we see the Swimming-Pool, drawn in Glasgow, Scotland, but viewed from the"wrong" side. These drawings only work from one viewpoint otherwise the image appears strangely distorted.

Julian Beever is known all over the world for his pavement drawings, more especially his 3D illusions, drawn in a special distortion to create an impression of 3D when seen from one particular viewpoint. In order to appear really 3 dimensional however, they need to be viewed either through a camera (which I have set up on a tripod for people to look through) or on a mobile phone, ipad or other screen. They do not look 3D to the naked eye.

This Make Poverty History drawing was requested by Live8 to support the pressure campaign on the G8 in Edinburgh. It was done in Edinburgh City Centre. Here we see the same Make Poverty History drawing from the side : it was 13m (40 feet) long.

Refer to bookmarked websites containing more fun 3D street art….