1st idea

I tried to reproduce what I had in mind.

the final photo would be different as the background will be different, clothes and props. I might change the angle a bit as well but this time I did it on my tripod so I when I will shoot it would be easier.

Caloric content

I have thought about various scenarios for this sub theme.

1. the whole scene would be in a room with a white wall. the model will wear a dress or something of just one colour. the make up will be strong and the hair  messy but in a good way. she will be sitting at a table with a plate of fruits that have the same colour as the dress/outfit. she will eat some fruits from the plate but at the same time her other hand will stretch for some cookies/chocolate or anything else that contains more calories than her fruits and it's quite unhealthy that will be in front of her, on the table. she will have a desperate look:she wants to eat healthy but at the same tome she is craving for something "unhealthy".
2. the scene would be in a elevator. she will be dressed the same as above and her hair and make up the same. the focus will be on her and she will be on the left whilst on the right, in front of her, there is someone else whose face won't be seen but his/her right hands holding cookies will. the model will have the same desperate look:trying to eat an apple whilst craving for the cookies.
3. then I got to mirror reflection. her sitting in front of a big mirror,trying to get dressed, to put on a dress/outfit in which she should fit in as she takes care of the calories she s eating. whilst getting dressed, she can see in the on the table behind her a plait full of beautiful cupcakes and again there's that desperate look to try one even if she can't.
4. from that I got to my last idea: sitting at the table, very nicely dressed. in front of the model there is a plate with 2 cooked carrots and some peas. as she is careful with the calories the image will also show her reflection in the mirror: her again with a plate full of chips and a burger. she is obsessed with her weight so she tries to eat as healthy as possible but at the same time she is craving for some "real" food.

for my last scenario I have found a project about reflections and it is about the mirrors reflecting what the subjects feel in that moment. It's Tom Hussey's project:

I would have to take 2 images: one with the carrots and peas and one with the unhealthy food and then create the reflection in Photoshop.

other images that inspired me:

Coming back to my project

I have changed my mind a bit since my first posts. At the beginning, I wanted to work around other women's obsessions and together with them try to create a scenario where their obsession can fit in. Again, I have realized that I can't rely on people and I am not that kind of person that insists a lot and becomes annoying. I am not going to force anyone. It has to be natural.

So, my plan is now to think about obsessions that women might have, important ones and try to explore them to create a good scenario and stage everything. My models won't have to be proper models, I am not interested in that. It can even be one of my neighbours if she can act well.

The list that I have got as ideas of possible obsessions is:

• caloric content - I believe this is a new idea that came to life in the last years as there wasn't anything like that in the past. Yes, women were concerned with their body and how they look but I have never heard of someone counting calories or anything like that.
• no secrecy  - nowadays, all the media resources that exist are very nosy. You have to give a lot of details in order to do something. There's no privacy and I do believe that women are obsessed with giving everything in order to get attention. If we take Facebook we can find enough examples of that. And it's not necessarily Facebook's fault.It's its users,women especially,  who have little concern with their privacy. They need attention so they will show everything you want.
• how we look - perfection - narcissism -- this is a never ending story that will always be a problem for women. They are so obsessed with what they wear, how their hair is and so on and so forth. I think the idea of perfection comes from the Greek mythology  - Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and she is an embodiment of perfection. 
• childhood obsession converted into a career - I think this a good idea to explore because we do a lot of silly things in our childhood but those silly things tell us which path we are going to follow when we grow-up. Women are known to be more learning-oriented than men who fool around until they start university at least. 
• obsession as an interdiction - we want to do a lot of things that we shouldn't do because of various reasons but sometimes you someone says NO you will definitely say YES or the other way around. I think women are sometimes more stubborn than men so they will do anything to prove you wrong. That might be called: obsessed with being ambitious. 
• praying - this might not be the case for every woman but women are definitely more religious than men and sometimes they transform this into an obsession in order to be sure that they are going to be helped by "someone". The bad thing is when this becomes a facade rather than something that you feel in your heart.
• family - is something natural for a woman to have a family but sometimes it becomes an obsession maybe because women are afraid of being alone.
• witchcraft - jealousy and women. perfect match. So many women envy other ones for being beautiful, or having money or especially for finding their other half. So they think they need to do something to make that disappear. A bit of "magic".
• control - women need to have everything under control and to control things or people. It needs to be them who have the last say not men.
• drinking - well, this is a problem you can find almost everywhere. Men are known to be obsessed with drinking but surprise, sometimes women don't want to be lower than men so they start drinking and drinking until it becomes an obsession transformed in a pleasure for them, apparently. 
• putting things in order/cleanliness - I don't think I need to explain this one as it is the most obvious from all. If it's clean like the bright blue sky, I am sure it's not right. there is something there, for sure. 

Ian Atkinson - Memories of a childhood

I only choose this project because somehow the idea behind it resembles with one of my examples for obsessions - a childhood  obsession converted into a career. I think the one that has been exhibited at the NPG is the best of all.

Nestor Diaz - Sofia

The series is dedicated to Nestor's wife and to all women affected by breast cancer. It is an emotional series but I believe he managed to capture the dignity of the women very well.They deserve respect for being strong and even if the images might not illustrate something that is aesthetically beautiful they still are, the women are still beautiful.

I chose his project because it was interesting to see how he portrayed women with problems that will never go away.

Ji Yeo - Beauty Recovery Room

Ji Yeo has chosen to track down women that have undergone plastic surgery in Korea. Her images capture the recovery process that all the women go through after their surgeries.


What is really interesting is the fact that even if they feel the physical pain you can see in their eyes that they are happy that they chose plastic surgery and they are willing to suffer in order to look perfect, apparently.

   
                             Their obsession to be perfect is normal in their country which is outrageous. There is that wish to look very good, to have Caucasian features which is not right. I think Ji Yeo managed to capture this issue that is so common among women very well. Their is a sort of loneliness in the images. The subjects look isolated and on their own.

NPG - Taylor Wessing

I went on Tuesday to London to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. I did see some good work there but I think last year's exhibition was better. There is some work that I don't understand why it is exhibited but anyway, it's about luck as well in the end.

The first artist/image that drew my attention was Vincent Voignier with Olivia.

The image is part of a series called "Creature of the night" . Voignier asked all of his subjects, who went to the best techno club in Berlin the previous night to pose against the fence. He chose the fence because people were supposed to queue along the fence to get inside the club. 

Looking at all the images, I believe he did choose the best one. I do like the way the girl poses against a common fence. There is a bit of tension in her arms and legs. Her look also creates some tension and a atmosphere. I like the simplicity of the image and her hair blown by the wind. It creates a nice effect and some sort of mystery as we can only see one eye and her look is very intense. 

Another "Hopper"

After looking at Hopper and doing other research I have found another photographer with work inspired by Hopper's paintings. His name is Erwin Olaf.

The last one reminds me of Hopper's paining in the office.

Brian Walker

He is a digital artist who is inspired by surreal landscapes, the evolution of fashion and changing popular culture. His compositions are very complex and they are a mix of illustration with fashion. They are very surreal and I think they represent impossible elements which make the images have an air of surprise.

Chris Arnade - obsession as addiction

The first time I came across his project I just said "oh another project on addictions." But then I noticed that each image comes with a short summary of the subject. So I started reading all of them and the more I kept reading the more I realized that this project has got depth.

Hi portraits are of drug addicts and sex workers. His objective is: "I post people's stories as they tell to me. I am not a journalist. I don't try to verify, just listen," I believe that when the images are natural they appeal more to viewers.

All the stories are worth reading!   Chris Arnade

Lisa Lou

Her art is distinguished by the thousands of tiny threaded and glued beads that cover every millimetre of her life-sized sculptures and environments. This is extreme. If Olek's work was time consuming I definitely can't imagine how long and tiring this could be. Seeing all her images I believe she could be capable of beading the whole word. Wow!!

"Each piece takes years to complete, and causes her physical agony because the task is incredibly fastidious." 

What if she would start beading the world? That would be more than a simple agony. 

Olek

Olek is a Polish-born artist who has chosen to "crochet everything that enters her space." Isn't that crazy? She has got a really weird obsession and I can't image how many hours she spent crocheting all those things. But in the end it looks beautiful and I would love to go to one of her exhibitions to see all her work live!!

Isn't that pure madness? I love it!

Obsession work

If I were to go back to the idea of obsession, I remember looking at Yayoi Kusama. I have heard of her from my first year at uni and I was impressed by her work and how she illustrates her obsession with repetition, infinity and pattern. I was very impressed by her installations in her exhibitions around the word. The fact that she has a mental illness contributed to her amazing work. She is brilliant.

Richard Tuschman

Coming back to Tuschman, his images look like a modern version of Hopper's, from where he got influences. The light that he uses seems softer than Hopper's though. I love how he staged everything, every detail. Because his images are more contemporary than Hopper's, they have an air of reality. The colours and the quality of the images is very good. When I look at Tuschman's work what I have in mind is that the image of women that existed back when Hopper was alive is still present nowadays. Women appear trapped in the house, they are portrayed either alone looking outside as if they want to escape or in the presence of a man. That's the image attributed to women and I believe it's still valid nowadays in a way or another. I believe his images show a stereotyped woman who is loyal to her husband and capable of accepting her situation in order to be devoted to her man.

Edward Hopper and the "borrowers"

Hopper is one of the artists that you can always look at his work if you are interested in the representation of women. His work is really good and even if they are paintings they seem quite realistic. He portrays women in different situations. I like his work and I can always find inspiration when I look at him.

Hopper was a big influence for Crewdson or Tuschman. I can see a similarity between their work and Hopper's.

                                                                      Gregory Crewdson

                                                         Richard Tuschman