Exhibition Text |
My Vanita photography piece applies the same use of chiaroscuro, contrast, and tenebrism as vanita paintings done in the Baroque era. The piece is specifically inspired by Adam Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life painting. My piece then applies a similar take on the symbolic meaning of vanitas, but focuses on the celebration and power in human achievment rather than the fragility of human life.
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Inspiration
These normally include specific objects alluding to this meaning, such as skulls, rotting flowers, and jewelry. The symbols included in Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life are books and globes. These are meant to represent human achievements. From many works like this stems an appreciation for everyday objects that have the ability to symbolize much larger concepts. Inspired by Bernaert's work, I wanted to create a piece with a similar use of everyday objects to create symbolism. However, I wanted the implementation of the vanita genre to be slightly different. While the symbolism of books and globes in Bernaert's work allude to temporary human achievement, I wanted the symbolism in objects displayed in my work to be a celebration of achievement.
Saint Jerome is depicted as powerful, as the red color in his robes symbolize the red color of the robes of people of religious power in Italy at the time, cardinals. I was also inspired by this symbolic use of color and wanted to implement it in my own piece as well.
Planning
chiaroscuro. I also wanted to style my image in a way that reflects the Baroque era's dramaticized lighting and contrast.
authentic. I also contemplated placing a box in the image and covering it with a cloth in order to place some objects on it and further achieve contrasts in objects's heights. I then considered the symbolic meanings of the objects I planned to use. My meanings for the objects differed from the original vanita meanings. I decided instead of a skull, I would display a sculpture alluding to emphasis on human life. Also, the books and candle symbolize the celebration of human knowledge and human life.
ProcessThis is because Bernaert's vanita has the symbolic meaning of the futility of human items and achievements, whereas I wanted mine to celebrate human achievement and the idea of life. Due to this, I included a glass sculpture of a human, candles, and flowers alluding to the idea of life. Additionally, I incorporated many books to symbolize human achievement and how that is dispersed academically.
In the first two images above, I observed the way the image looked using flash vs not using it. While the second picture looked closer to the Baroque period's application of highlights and definition, it lacked the contrast and tenebrism of Bernaert's work. I decided to add a black background to the setup by hanging a black poster paper on the wall. I also then observed the different angles the image could be taken from.
I turned out the lights that had been illuminating the left side of the work previously. I continued to take pictures with flash to achieve the definition I wanted. I decided to light the candles to add a different light source to see if it made a different in the way the picture looked and its overall tone. I wanted my piece to have a more warm tone alluding to the celebration of human life, however at this point the flash was causing the image to have a way more cool-toned white balance.
This added to the warm tone balance in the piece, however the images still lacked definition without flash. I then changed the exposure settings in the camera, which fixed this issue. I adjusted the exposure composition/AEB setting in the camera to accomodate to more dimly lit scenes. I also changed the camera's iso speed, adjusting its sensitivity to light, to around 1600 for dimly lit night scenes. This produced the image to the far right above, which had the lighting and definition similar to Bernaert's work which I wanted to achieve.
Experimentation
I then used the candles as a light source for the piece and experimented with their positions to determine if their light was sufficient enough to effectively illuminate the rest of the scene. At this point, I also adjusted the exposure levels in the camera to accommodate for some of the darkness.
Because vanitas are often made to look like a natural arrangement of objects, I wanted the objects to look as if they were naturally occurring.
The image to the left consists of a more red tint while the image to the right had a more neutral tone.
CritiqueSimilarities:
One similarity between my work and "Vanitas" Still Life by Adam Bernaert is the use of contrast. In both pieces, the lighter objects such the whites of the pages of paper are contrasted with the darker tones of surrounding background objects. All objects are then contrasted with the deep black background in both Bernaert's painting and my image. The use of chiaroscuro is also similar in both works due to the large contrast between light and dark. The lighting in Bernaert's painting is similar to mine in the way it reflects on certain objects and casts shadows to create the illusion of depth and volume. In Bernaert's work, the light source illuminates the pages of the books, and the reflection of the source can be seen in the globe. In my own work, the light source is reflected in the glass sculpture of the person and illuminates the books. Both my image and Bernaert's painting also reflect the Baroque era art style. Both apply a dramatic use of light and contrast to emphasize the objects depicted. They also are also vanitas, which are pieces that comment on human life through the symbolization of different objects. The two pieces both depict books, alluding to human knowledge. Differences: The composition of the images and the use of space is different in my work and Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life. While the objects are all compiled to fit within the constraints of the frame of his painting, the objects in my work go off of the plane of the image. In addition, there is some negative space created on the left side of Bernaert's painting by the lack of objects and open space. My image consists of negative space, however the objects do not lend for open space, as they are more cluttered than in Bernaert's painting. The direction and amount of light sources are also different between works. In my work, the candles provide the main source of light in the scene. It illuminates the pages of the book and the glass sculpture. In Bernaert's painting, a source of light comes from the left side of the piece and illuminates the books and globes. The meaning of my piece and Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life also differs. While both works are vanitas, Bernaert's work acts as a reminder for the transience of human life and achievement. However, my work serves as a celebration of human achievement through the symbolization of the objects. ReflectionAs this was my first time using a camera for photography, I learned a lot about adjustments to exposure, brightness, and lighting, and how those elements impact how an image will look. At first, when I was experimenting with lighting, I found it difficult to capture an image that reflected my inspiration from Adam Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life painting from the Baroque era. I wanted the image to be heavy in contrast and differing light and dark values so a similar sense of chiaroscuro was achieved. However, it was a challenge to attempt to achieve this because using the camera without flash caused a lack of definition in the objects while using flash resulted in too much brightness in the image and a white undertone. Experimenting with the exposure levels and lenses of the camera, I learned how to adjust the brightness of the image taken. I then turned the exposure of the camera lower, and I was able to capture an image that appeared much darker and closer to my inspiration piece. Overall, I learned the how the different settings on the camera contributed to the quality of the image.
ACT QuestionsClearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
My inspiration artwork is Adam Bernaert's "Vanitas" Still Life Baroque-era painting. My piece reflects his use of chiaroscuro, contrast, and the symbolic meaning placed on objects to create vanitas. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? The approach of the author is that life is transient that the concept of mortality should be remembered. The author places symbolic meaning in objects, such as books, skulls, quills, globes, and jewelry to represent this notion. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration? People often cling to materialistic possessions, often forgetting about what they value in life. This is criticized by Baroque artists in vanita paintings, where jewelry represents this materialistic possession. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?. My inspirational research surrounds vanitas and the meaning that may be presented through this type of art. Vanitas often represent a criticization of life, but my exploration surrounds how to portray life in a celebratory way. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? I inferred that mortality was a concept more thoroughly explored in the Baroque art era because death was much more commonplace due to disease and sicknesses. Citations (MLA)“Paintings in Borghese Gallery.” Galerie Borghèse, https://borghese.gallery/collection/paintings/page/3/.
“‘Vanitas’ Still Life: The Walters Art Museum.” Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum, 1 Aug. 2022, https://art.thewalters.org/detail/369/vanitas-still-life/#item-modal. |