Photography Today

Photography Today, 2014, by Mark Durden, London: Phaidon. ISBN: 978-0-7148-4563-0. This is an illustrated book examining the work of contemporary photographic artists from the 1960s to present day. The book is divided into subjects covering: The Copy: Authorship and Reproduction, The Face: The Pose and the Mask, Colour: Surface and Depth, The Street: Discord and Harmony,

Summary for Part 5 – Self Directed Project.

Shaun Mullins, Untitled, test shots, 2020. Part five was the preparation for my fifth assignment, this assignment is a pathway to my final body of work, a self directed project which will be assignment six. My inspiration lead from my essay for assignment four, and through my reading, In Our Own Image, Third Edition, 2010,

Photography A Very Short Introduction

Stephen Edwards, Photography A Very Short Introduction, 2006, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN: 978-0-19-280164-7 (Kindle Edition). In my opinion, this is a very good book and a very important book to read for any photographer. Notes/Quotes: Documentary is said to provide its viewers with direct access to truth. In his pioneering book on the subject,

Sexuality, Documents of Contemporary Art.

Amelia Jones, (ed.) (2014) Sexuality, Documents of Contemporary Art, London: Whitechapel Art Gallery. ISBN: 978-0-85488-224-3. This book is a collection of essays and interviews. Many of the artists are involved in performance art in which they will either perform in front of a live audience or video their work. Much of the discussion is in

The ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo da Vinci 1503/06 – 1517

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503/07 – 1517) This portrait is now probably the most famous portrait in the world. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci, he started painting this from around 1503 – 06 and is believed to have continued working on it until as late as 1517, close to his death. It is

My Other Half – a critical self-review.

My Other Half – A critical self-review by Shaun Mullins. The objective of this project was to create 6-10 environmental portraits and I chose to produce photographs of my wife in different locations in our home, dressed for and performing the typical activities that I often see her doing.  I wanted to convey the idea

Summary for Part 3, “Look at Me!” – The Representation of Self.

In section 3, “Look at Me!”, I studied the subject of ‘self’ and how it has and is used and interpreted in the portrait. I learned that the idea of the ‘selfie’ goes back beyond photography. Originally the early selfies where exclusively for the rich and powerful to express wealth and more importantly, power, examples

Over Her Dead Body: Death, Femininity and the Aesthetic

Elisabeth Bronfen, (1992) Over Her Dead Body: Death, Femininity and the Aesthetic, Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN:0-7190-3827-8. Written as a critical analysis of the subject of the death of a beautiful woman in western art and literature, Bronfen has examined how an apparent fascination to death and death of a beautiful muse has fascinated artists

Summary for Part 1, Looking at Them – The Representation of the Other.

I began this section with a preliminary exercise as a kind ice breaker in which I took photographs of people incognito and this really reaffirmed my discomfort of street photography which I think has become much harder to practise in our modern society that is now always under the gaze of CCTV and the world

Peter Mansell – Paralysis Unseen

https://petermansell.weebly.com This is a very interesting website created by an artist who has produced a body of work in the form of photographic essays that describes his life and feelings as a disabled person. I like his different approaches to creating portraits of his self through both objects, points-of-view and body parts.