Monday 1 November 2010

Contextual Studies: Visual Analysis

Tutor: Liz Bradshaw
Word count: 532

Contextual Studies
Visual Analysis: Francis Bacon’s 'Self Portrai't and the still taken from Director Eisenstein’s 'Battleship Potemkin
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The first piece is a still image from the film “Battleship Potemkin”. The silent film was made in 1925, the still image shows a close up of a woman who is distressed or upset. The photo suggests that she is shouting because her mouth is open and her eyes have widened. The photo is also in black and white and one side of her face is brighter than the other, I think this effect has been done to create an emotional feeling towards the image, as the scene is upsetting because the scene is of her loved one getting stood on by many people. You can see her suffering from helplessness and uselessness that she could not help. I believe this was done on purpose to create tension and dramatic impact. The film is based on a true event but it may not have happened in that way, as it was made 20 years after the event. This was not related to what was going on at the time because the event took place in 1905 and the film was made in 1925, it was made in a documentary style, with imagery to create drama.

This piece is made using two techniques, film and film photography, the film was directed by Sergei Eisenstein and the photography was done by the Ronald Grant Archive. It is called “Hear The Scream in Your Mind's Ear.” The whole film is about 75 minutes long and it is a silent film, the whole thing is in black and white.

I believe that Eisenstein did this sequence as fiction; it was to try to get a sympathetic reaction from the viewers. The film shows that common people have to fight against an oppressive ruthless government, to be able to improve their lives.

My second piece is a self-portrait painting of the artist, Francis Bacon. In the painting you can see deformed/distorted facial features. Bacon uses light but mostly dark colours on the face, on a pitch-black background. The artist was trying to show emotion through the painting, showing how he felt during that time; this is shown by the fact he didn’t paint the typical features, which doesn’t show his identity, it makes you stare and try to figure out what is happening in the painting.

The picture isn’t meant to be disturbing as the artist quoted. It was done around the time where George Dryer his lover committed suicide. Throughout this time Bacon had an unhealthy interest in images of death. The eyes of the portrait are slightly closed, the face is distorted, people may think that this face was once beautiful but distorted by the outside, society, love, hate, and events. One can put them in a person’s position and see they slowly turn into something ugly.

The only elements I can see in both pieces is that they are about loss and the emotional consequences. One image shows fear and horror and the other shows an inward feeling of depression. There is no truth in the film as it was made 20 years after the event and it was only a film, whereas Francis Bacon was showing his innermost feeling of depression and loss.

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