Outfits and props: I have painted three masks and follow the patterns of the traditional Chinese Opera Masks. The red ribbon on above is used for the hairstyle, while on the right is the dress for the photo shoot. Model: Sarah-Louise Leftly
As my previous model dropped out from this photo shoot because she has gone back to her country, I have to find another model who is available to complete this photo shoot. The reason I have found Sarah is because she has experiences in modelling and she is confident in front of the camera. My previous model is a western model with long dark hair as well and Sarah also got the characteristics that I am looking for which suits the theme of my photo shoot as I want to make relevance to the Chinese opera look through the hairstyle that I have designed (long dark hair with two strands of hair hanging down from both side of the head).
Props: On below, I have made a lantern-like object using Chinese red pocket money envelopes and the reason I created this is because I think it helps to embellish, stand out the theme of red envelopes within the photo shoot and make the photo looks more interesting. The process of making the props:
Red veil fabric
For the red veil fabric, I want to experiment and try it out by hanging the fabric on the background or on the body to make more texture on the dress. Outfit:
For the outfit, I have decided to stick two Chinese red pockets on a red dress to present the idea that the red pockets are the actual pockets on the dress. The reason I choose two is because I want to make relevance to a Chinese saying "good things come in pairs". The shape of the red envelopes do look like the shape of the pocket and it has created a connection to the surrealism theme. Model:
Mihaela Solomei (23) For this photo shoot, I have chosen Mihaela Solomei as my model as I want to convey the idea of mixing cultures by using a western model with Chinese cultural things. It could also help me to share the idea of exchanging different cultures and to make connections to my target audiences from around the world. Mihaela has experienced in modelling for photo shoots and video and I know that she is good at posing as I have worked with her on another photo shoots before.
On above, I have created a new schedule plan for this project and I will follow this schedule throughout the project.
2nd Tutorial with mentor During the second tutorial with my mentor Sebastiane, I have discussed with him about my project research and progress. After the first tutorial from last week, I have done more research on Surrealism and look into more details on the different meanings about Red Color in Chinese culture. I have explained the themes and some ideas about the photo shoots that I would like to focus on with Sebastiane. For the first photo shoot, I would like to focus on making something creative with Chinese red pockets, while the second photo shoot will be focusing on Chinese Opera. The reason I have chosen those two elements from Chinese culture because they symbolise the uniqueness of Chinese traditional culture and when those objects combine with Surrealsim idea, I could experiment and explore more possibilities, provides me opportunities to develop something innovative and interesting. For the third photo shoot's theme, I am still at the stage of gathering more research on Chinese culture and I will need to confirm the theme as soon as possible so that I could start doing test shoot.
Next Step...
Do further research on Surrealism and Chinese culture
Start designing the looks and develop concepts for the photo shoots
Think about the idea for the third photo shoot and the fashion film
Research
DIRECTOR: TRUNK XU (Surrealism in China)
I have started to do research on watching some fashion films and films to get inspirations and learn the techniques of how to film in different angles, lightings and their editing effects. On below is a fashion film, "Surrealism in China" and I found it is similar to my idea of this project since it takes inspirations from Chinese culture and Surrealism and features contemporary elements that combine with the concept of Chinese Opera. I like the way how there are irrational scenes and music playing suddenly in between two different scenes so that it helps the model to change to another look. The music is powerful while when combined with some still movements, it creates a unique and fascinating outcome.
"Red Sorghum" is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 1987. It is about a young woman's life and her experience in working on a distillery for sorghum liquor.
"Raise The Red Lantern" is a feature film in 1991 directed by Zhang Yimou. It is about several concubines of a wealthy family fight against each other and shows the tragic stories in between them during the period of the Republic of China.
Both films on above show the importance of red color in Chinese culture and it allows me to understand the camera angle, the layout of the scene and also how to present the red color within the scene.
The Last Emperor is a British- Italian epic biographical film in 1987 directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film is about the life of the last Emperor of China, Puyi and in the film, I have seen many ancient Chinese traditional costumes which will help me to understand and get inspirations for the styling of my project. The film has features many red and gold colors which show the importance of those colors in Chinese culture.
Photography
Man Ray
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/414894184394909417/
http://www.fotogpedia.com/man-ray.htm
Man Ray was an American visual artist who was a significant contributor to Surrealist movements. The photos on above show aspects of Surrealism and I have learnt from his works that I could use different shapes of objects to combine with another object with similar shapes. This is one of the interesting facts in Surrealism that you could explore your creativity and create irrational creative art pieces.
Guy Bourdin was a French fashion photographer and artist who is best known for his provocative images. From the images on above, we could see there are elements of Surrealism within his artworks. He has used red colors a lot in his work and I like the way how he presents his creativity in an innovative way and has got his own style. From his photography, I have learnt how to use color effectively and stands out the bold red color on a photo.
Reference:
RICHARD BRODY, (2012), MO YAN AND THE POWER OF MOVIES [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/mo-yan-and-the-power-of-movies [Accessed 11 February 2017].
PETER WANG , (2015), Top 10 Best Gong Li Movies [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.chinawhisper.com/top-10-best-gong-li-movies/ [Accessed 11 February 2017].
Il Giornale, (2015), Unknown [ONLINE]. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/414894184394909417/ [Accessed 11 February 2017].
FotogPedia.com, (2014), Man Ray [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.fotogpedia.com/man-ray.htm [Accessed 11 February 2017].
fotografiska, (n.d.), Guy Bourdin Avant-Garde [ONLINE]. Available at: http://fotografiska.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/aac308988.jpg [Accessed 11 February 2017].
Candid Magazine, (2015), Guy Bourdin: Image-Maker At Somerset House [ONLINE]. Available at: https://candidmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/9.-Charles-Jourdan-Autumn-1979-%C2%A9-Guy-Bourdin.jpg [Accessed 11 February 2017].
Severin Severin , (2013), Picture of The Last Emperor [ONLINE]. Available at: http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/5311687/1118full-the-last-emperor-screenshot.jpg [Accessed 11 February 2017].
Columbia Pictures, (2013), CHINESE COSTUMES IN CINEMA: FROM MULAN TO CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER THE LAST EMPEROR [ONLINE]. Available at: http://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2015328/rs_1024x759-150428123054-1024.The-Last-Emperor-Chinesse-Costume-Film.jl.042815.jpg [Accessed 11 February 2017].
Red Sorghum, 1987 [film]. Directed by Zhang Yimou. China : Xi'an Film Studio
Raise The Red Lantern, 1991 [film]. Directed by Zhang Yimou. China: Orion Classics
The Last Emperor, 1987 [film]. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. United Kingdom: Columbia Pictures
After the PechaKucha presentation, I have received feedback from two mentors about my project. They commented that they like the idea of using Chinese Opera theme and suggested to me to develop more research on Chinese Opera. On the other hand, they have commented that I will need to do more research on Surrealism in order to create my own interpretation and more unique pieces of Surrealism work. Next Step...
Do more research on Surrealism
Start doing test shoots
Prepare and get all the props and garments ready for the photoshoot and fashion film
Model dropped out:
Since the fmp proposal, I have asked a model to take part in the photo shoot of "You, me or her?". However, because of personal reason, she is not able to participate in this project and I have to find another model to take part on this project as soon as possible.
Research:
Surreal Photography-
Ren Hang was a Chinese poet and photographer and within his works, I found that he has used red colors a lot in his works. His photographs style feature the surreal elements and I like the color of his photographs where it has got the vintage touch in it. Animals are being used quite often in his artworks to show a irrational and distorted images.
On above is a photography piece "The Unseen" by Lara Zankoul and it presents the idea of surrealism through the use of animals head combine with human body. It inspires me that I could combine my model with an unrelated object that shares similar functions to create a surrealistic outcome.
On above is a photographs created by Thomas Barbey, a Lebanese conceptual photographer. Her work demonstrates the mysteries of the human psyche, while combines with unusual elements. Through her work, I understand that I could change the objectives of one thing and look at the function of it and combines with another object's function. Film - Eight And A Half
Eight And A Half is a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama film in 1963 directed by Federico Fellini. It is acknowledge as an avant-garde film and there are scenes which features fantasy which has got the elements of Surrealism. On above is a picture from one of the fantasy scene where the protagonist leg tie with a stroke and he was flying in the sky. This presents the concept of a kite and I found it very surprising when I first watched the scene. This allows me to understand that in my film, I could experiment with different angles to shoot the scene to create a unique and surprising scene. Changes on the photographers and film makers position: At the beginning of this project, I have decided to collaborate with a photographer and a film maker for my photo shoots and fashion film. However, I have changed my mind now and I will also take part in being a photographer and filmmakers. I have experienced with taking photos and understand how to set up the lighting in the studio. I also have experience on filming fashion film as last year I have created a fashion film by myself. I know how to function Photoshop and Premiere Pro CC to edit videos and I think this time, the experience will help me to reflect back to the things that I have learnt at university and I could use this opportunity to develop my skills as well.
Face charts &Hair Designs & Styling Design 1 : "Profits Pouring From All Sides"
The design takes inspirations from a dolly make-up. The circles on the cheeks represent fulfilled as which is what Chinese people identify the shape is. I have used red glitter to create the circle shape to make the photo represent more the happiness in Chinese New Year. The make-up also features matte red lips to create a contrast to the glitter. While on the hairstyle, I have used a short black blunt wig to create a fashionable outcome and the black color hair is used to represent Chinese people's hair color. On the outfit, I want to choose something red and baggy to match the dolly make-up.
Design 2: " Who are you? My lover"
The design features an elegant look and I want to keep the make-up look clean and simple as I don't want to distract the red string within the photoshoot. Red bold lips, clean dewy make-up base and brush up brows are featured within this look. While for the hairstyle, I want to use a low ponytail with a middle parting to show an elegant look and match the red cheongsam. Design 3 - "You, me or her?"
The design takes inspirations from Chinese Opera's costumes. Chinese Opera performer's make-up features pinkish red color around the eyes and cheeks and I want to use this characteristics to create a contemporary style while I will just apply the eye shadow around the eyelid. In traditional Chinese opera, performer's eyes feature dark black color around the eyes and to make this features contemporary, I will do a winged eyeliner. The drawn eyebrows on my face chart is inspired by the Chinese face masks on the bottom left corner. The hairstyle features a high ponytail, while at the front, I have create the finger waves to reference to the Chinese Opera performer's hair at the front to create a similar shape to theirs. The high ponytail on my hair chart reminds me of the Chinese paint brush and the writing which features straight hair. For the outfit, I want to choose a garment which is red in color and flowy so to refer to the Opera performer's costume. I have also added a red ribbon on the ponytail to embellish the hairstyle. Reference:
Angie Kordic, (2016), 10 STUNNING SURREAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXAMPLES YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT![ONLINE]. Available at:http://d2jv9003bew7ag.cloudfront.net/uploads/Lara-Zankoul-The-Unseen-2013-cover-865x577.jpg[Accessed 27 February 2017].
ARTISTS , (2015), Surrealism photography by Thomas Barbèy[ONLINE]. Available at:http://iloboyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Surrealism-photography-by-Thomas-Barb%C3%A8y-artists-I-Lobo-you14.jpg[Accessed 27 February 2017].
Unknown, (n.d.), Eight And A Half / 8 1/2 / Otto E Mezzo [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.movie-film-review.com/devFilm.asp?ID=3962 [Accessed 27 February 2017].
REN HANG, (n.d.), REN HANG[ONLINE]. Available at:https://www.foam.org/userfiles/headers/museum/tentoonstellingen/3000x1800untitled_2016_c_ren_hang_courtesy_stieglitz_2.jpg[Accessed 27 February 2017].
REN HANG, (2013), REN HANG [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.foam.org/userfiles/headers/museum/tentoonstellingen/3000x1800untitled_2016_c_ren_hang_courtesy_stieglitz_2.jpg [Accessed 27 February 2017].
REN HANG, (n.d.), My Mum [ONLINE]. Available at: http://payload282.cargocollective.com/1/9/294757/7940331/000039.JPG [Accessed 27 February 2017].
Eight and a half, 1963 [film]. Directed by: Federico Fellini. Italy: Cineriz (Italy)
For the photo shoot 1, I would like to take inspiration from Chinese New Year and the red pocket money envelopes. Chinese red pocket money envelopes are used during Chinese new year or Chinese weddings and it is a significant thing in traditional Chinese culture. During Chinese New Year, family and relatives will put money inside the red envelopes and give it to their kids and other family members as a gift. This traditional culture has inspired me with the name of what it has been called, Pocket money envelopes and it makes me think that I could place the envelopes on the dress to make it looks like the pocket of the dress. To make relevant to the topic Surrealism and Chinese culture, I think the idea do make a connection with surrealism as the shape of the envelopes looks like the shape of the pockets on a piece of garment.
I have created a budget list for this project, so that I am aware of the money, how much it will cost for the whole project. It is important to create a budget list as when working in the industry, a proposal of how much the project costs will be submitted before the project so that they will have the amount of money to start and progress it.
Fashion Film Research:
"Earthly Delights" is a surreal fashion film directed by Pierre Debusschere. In the fashion film, it features slow motion, flashing effect and scenes that show the close-up shot of the garments. There are actors' faces who are blurred by post production and I like the way how it helps to stand out the protagonist and her garment in the middle. The blurry effects create a powerful and shocking status which clearly demonstrates the surreal characteristics, while also combine with the movement and music, it presents the garment in an innovative way.
AW13 collection "Stalker" is a fashion film directed by SHAO YEN and within the film I found it inspiring that when the model was holding a mirror, inside the mirror is another scene where she wears another outfit. The way the model's body was in a different position at the same scene shows irrational element but also helps to make a focus on presenting the shape and texture of the garment.
Suzy "Yes No Maybe" Music Video is filmed in Hong Kong and it features 1980s hong kong style with the use of colors and tones in the film. The old dusty color creates the mood and vintage style and there is a lot of scene where red color works as the theme of the scenes. The protagonist's make-up features red lips and the style match the color tones of the scene. I like the scenes where it has got strong bold red color and it has added a powerful statement and unique style to the film.
Music choice for my fashion film:
At the moment, the music choice for the fashion film, I want to choose Chinese flute music, as I want to show the Chinese cultural characteristics to the audience. Also, I might include noises such as in a busy crowd as I want to make a contrast with the peaceful music. This could refer to how Surreal film often features shocking and irrational elements. Also, I need to be aware of the copyright problem.
Fashion films have started to become more popular in recent years due to the advancement in technology and also social media influence. On below, I have analysed four competitors which publish fashion films and fashion photography.
SHOWstudio is a fashion film website which is founded and directed by Nick Knight in November 2000.The concept of SHOWstudio is to encourage fashion to present in different forms: moving image, photography, illustration and written words, which allows the audience to see how artists and designers explore and experiment with their creativity using fashion.
‘SHOWstudio is based on the belief that showing the entire creative process – from conception to completion – is beneficial for the artist, the audience and the art itself.’
(Knight, no date)
The fashion film projects on SHOWstudio ‘s website sometimes feature behind the scenes video or images. The idea of showing the development of the artworks provides more information about the concept behind the project to the viewers. On SHOWstudio’s website, I have found the project ‘In Bloom’ in Flora series by Anna Trevelyan and Meinke Klein inspiring as the GIFs images feature moving imagery where the model stay constant and there are flowers moving on the foreground and the background.
It only features in English on SHOWstudio’s website and to make my website appeal to a wider range audience, there will have three languages provided.
Dazed & Confused is a culture magazine which was launched by Jefferson Hack and Rankin in 1991.
‘Today, Dazed magazine continues to champion radical fashion and youth culture, defining the times with a vanguard of next generation writers, stylists and image makers.’
Dazed & Confused
There are descriptions written about the idea of the fashion film which clearly explains what the film is about on the website. However, Dazed hasn’t got editorial images of the looks within the film, illustrations or behind the scenes pictures or videos. Therefore, to make my website more interesting, I will create editorial images for the looks within my fashion film, illustrations and behind the scenes photos.
Case Study 3 Modern Weekly (China) 周末画报 - http://www.modernweekly.com.cn/fashiontv
Modern Weekly (China) is a magazine which was founded in 1980 and is part of Modern Media Group’s publications. There is a title and a short description beside each video and on my website, I will put a more detailed description about my fashion film to covey my idea more clearly to the viewers. It is beneficial to me as my website will provide three languages for the viewers to watch my exhibition.
Xu Deqi is a Chinese contemporary Art artist and his artwork has some aspects of Surrealism featured in within. A lot of his work features a contemporary style of Chinese culture. I found his artworks very inspiring and powerful. Compare to my project, I am doing photo shoots but not paintings. Target Market: ‘Red’ will be aimed towards both men and women averagely aged between 18-30, who have got an interest in artists such as Xu Deqi and Chen Yifei as both artists’ artworks have featured strong influences on Chinese traditional cultures. Xu Deqi presents contemporary style artworks and it links to my project idea since his work also features Surrealism aspects. People who are interested in fashion designers, for instance, Guo Pei, Zhang Zhifeng and Vivienne Tam are targeted. The garment designs created by the three designers have made a strong connection in between Chinese traditional culture and modern ideas. Audiences who are interested exhibition and online exhibition are targeted and also people who have an interest in Surrealism artwork are also targeted as well.
The target audiences are also targeted on the readers of Vogue (China) and have an interest in creative make-up, hair and styling designs on the magazine because many photo shoots on the magazine features Chinese traditional and contemporary inspired editorial images. They also interest in both traditional and contemporary Chinese cultures and Surrealism. They would like to explore the way how Chinese culture and surrealism are combined together to create a new form of art and how it could influence and inspire fashion.
People who live in New York City, London, Milan, Paris, Shanghai and Hong Kong are targeted because those places are the fashion capitals and I want to reflect the contemporary cultures of city lives to build an affiliation in between myself and the viewers.
Online users who are interested in fashion films and are the viewers of SHOWstudio, Modern Weekly (China), Dazed & Confused website are targeted. Reference:
slide.collection.sina.com.cn, (n.d.), Xu De Qi - Chinese Contemporary Art [ONLINE]. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/341781059202136729/ [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Ballet Mannequin is an experimental silent film directed by Dudley Murphy and Fernand Leger. The film has inspired me to look at the editing and also the way how unrelated objects and things could be joined together. The movements of the object, the composition of the scene for instance, a lady was sitting on a swing upside down, has inspired me to experiment more about the layout of the scenes and the editing method which I could develop.
Man Ray. Le Retour A La Raison (The Return to Reason), 1923
The Return to Reason is an experimental silent short film directed by Man Ray.
After watching The Return to Reason film, it has given me the idea of how to join different scenes together through movements of objects.
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/498070040015363716/ Un Chien Aandalou
Un Chien Andalou is a silent surrealist short film in 1929, directed by a Spanish director Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali. The film chronology is disjointed and the scene jumps from time to time without any events or character's style changing very much. The film presents a series of tenuously related scenes and shows a dream like scenario. In the film, it features a famous scene where a woman's eye slit open.
In a surreal film, we could find irrational, shocking or absurd imagery through the movements of a character or an object. Within my fashion film, I could include some strange and irrational movements to present the surrealistic idea to my audience. Rene Margritte René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist who often uses common objects and transforms them into an unusual context. Through Margritte's works, I found the third photo very eye catching it challenges an impossible thing in reality where the fish and the bird is the same height as the man. This makes me feel excited about what I am going to do for my final project. The idea of placing unrelated object has fascinated me.
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter, printmaker, sculptor, ceramicist, poet, stage maker and playwright. I realised that a lot of his paintings are about humans with juxtaposed facial appearances on their face. I found this inspiring and it inspires me to do something, for instance, many overlapped faces on one photo and in order to create this effect, I could use Photoshop to achieve the effect.
wikipaintings.org, (n.d.), Untitled+-+Pablo+Picasso [ONLINE]. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/501166264753237912/ [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Pablo Picasso, (n.d.), Surrealism [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.pablo-ruiz-picasso.net/period-surrealism.php [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Carly, (n.d.), Picasso Surrealism Period [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.keywordsuggests.com/zAyu5LllWwi1fjZf3FTHr*vHCBq5aY%7CNAwLejo5TAUE6yC8evY12F3a3cbcLVIoztqhSMaXD1Xyb%7CUHv9qePbA/ [Accessed 6 February 2017].
WikiArt (WikiPaintings), (n.d.), The Double Secret [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.wikiart.org/en/rene-magritte/the-double-secret-1927 [Accessed 6 February 2017].
www.ReneMagritte.org, (n.d.), Man in a Bowler Hat, 1964 by Rene Magritte [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.renemagritte.org/man-in-a-bowler-hat.jsp [Accessed 6 February 2017].
ART EXPERTS, (n.d.), Rene Magritte (1898-1967) [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/magritte.php [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team, (2016), Salvador Dali: Biography & Surrealism [ONLINE]. Available at: https://schoolworkhelper.net/salvador-dali-biography-surrealism/ [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Sukram Ztireats, (2016), Un chien andalou [ONLINE]. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/498070040015363716/ [Accessed 6 February 2017].
Evil, rage, romance, sexy and suffocating, etc are the words which people use to describe red. Red, as a color that involves various meanings and also has been used to refer to emotional aspects and cultural connotations. In fashion, red usually presents glamour, woman's sexual power, classic and character. Take Guy Bourdin's fashion photography as an example, many of his photography pieces have involved red color to represent the seductive and weirdness theme on his works. 'The red shoes which Judy Garland clicks together, making her wish in the Land of Oz, bring GOOD LUCK - for they transport her home to Kansas. But the red shoes of Michael Powell's film dance Moira Shearer to her dealth.' (Jarman, 1994) The examples from above have suggested a reverse meaning of red color and this has made me think that red color is mysterious as you could explore various appearances of it.
The biggest reason why I choose red color as the theme of my final project is because I like the way how the color involves several meanings and has a strong association with the Chinese traditional culture. It is interesting that the meanings of red color have very different implications in Chinese culture compare to the Western culture. Red represents good luck, good fortune, blessings, happiness and popularity. In ancient China, red color gained its meaning from fire. Unlike other countries where fire has long been regarded as a symbol of danger or destruction, fire is generally considered to be a good thing in China. Nowadays, red color still remains the symbol of prosperity and happiness in Chinese culture. It is also the primary color for celebrations, especially the Lunar New Year and wedding ceremonies. Therefore, take Lunar New Year as an example, during the festival, Chinese people like to wear red clothings, decorate their house with red couplets and the streets are decorated with red lanterns. During 1949, with the founding of the People's Republic of China, red was adopted as the symbol of communism, revolution and liberation. Reference:
Jarman,D. 1994. Chroma. London: Vintage 2000.
Prettydarkhouse. 2013. Colors and Their Meanings in Chinese Culture. [Online]. Available at: https://hubpages.com/holidays/Colors-and-Their-Meanings-in-Chinese-Culture [Assessed on 05/02/17]
Ashley at Dramatis Personae, (n.d.), unknown [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.color-hex.com/palettes/9293.png [Accessed 5 February 2017].
Tony, (2015), https://www.flickr.com/photos/gillpenney/2184474275/sizes/z/ [ONLINE]. Available at: http://hungryhouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Chinese-Lanterns.jpg [Accessed 5 February 2017].
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