Component 2: Externally Set Assignment 2023
AQA A-level Photography ESA 2023 |
Instructions
- Read the paper carefully. Before you start work, make sure you understand all the information.
- Choose one question.
- As soon as the first period of supervised time starts you must stop work on your preparatory work. You may refer to it in the supervised time but it must not be added to or amended.
- The work produced in the supervised time may take any appropriate form.
- You must show evidence of personal work relating to your chosen question.
- You must show evidence of research, and of investigating and developing ideas. This should include visual work and, if appropriate, annotations or written work. Sketchbooks, workbooks and/or journals may be included.
- Practical responses to the work of other artists, designers, craftspeople and photographers must show development in a personal way.
- The work submitted for this component must be produced unaided.
- You must not produce work for this component after the 15 hours of supervised time.
- The content should not be shared with others, either in hard copy or online.
- You should not contact any artists mentioned in this paper.
This paper will test your ability to:
- develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding
- explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops
- record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
- present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
01: Altered facesMany photographers have produced work where the faces of their subjects are completely or partly altered. In the series Opaque by Murielle Michetti, faces are altered when seen through frosted glass or behind tracing paper. Alma Haser has produced three dimensional portraits incorporating paper-folding, tearing and weaving techniques that transform the face. Rosanna Jones has used a variety of experimental darkroom techniques to change the faces of models in her portraits. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Altered faces.
Other artists to consider might include Aida Muluneh, John Stezaker, Cho Gi Seok , Timothy Pakron, Natasha Caruana, Sanja Iveković, Lina Iris Viktor, Hattie Stewart, Arnulf Rainer, Julie Cockburn, Wangechi Mutu, Pablo Thecuadro, Magda Rakita, Nicky Hirst, Lucas Simões, Kensuke Koike, Tim Tadder, Akihiko Miyoshi, Alina Frieske etc. |
02: WaterA number of photographers and filmmakers have made use of the physical, visual or symbolic properties of water in their work. Jem Southam recorded the effects of natural erosion by water in his series, Rockfalls, River Mouths and Ponds. For her project George's Bath, Corinna Kern documented the often unusual and varied uses of the bath, each time from the same vantage point. In the film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky, rain, rivers and puddles are used as reoccurring motifs to explore movement, depth and change. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Water.
Other artists to consider might include Peter Henry Emerson, Chloe Dewe Mathews, Leah Gordon, Michal Zahornacky, John Gossage, Kristine Potter, Dafna Talmor, Brett Weston, Iain Sarjeant, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Naoya Hatakeyama, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Adam Fuss, Mark Steinmetz, Ernst Haas, Yojiro Imasaka, John Grant, Fabienne Rivory, Jefferson Hayman etc. |
03: Floors, walls and ceilingsSome photographers have chosen to direct their attention down at floors, straight ahead at walls or upwards towards ceilings. In his project Art School, Paul Winstanley has recorded the structure and lighting of walls and ceilings in empty art studio spaces. In the project Supervisions by Andreas Gefeller, a wide variety of both ceilings and floors have been recorded in detail, often using collage techniques. In many of the photographs by Helen Levitt, drawings on walls, objects on pavements and the design of awnings provide distinctive elements in her observations of daily activity. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Floors, walls and ceilings.
Other artists to consider might include Joachim Brohm, Jill Quigley, Iain Sarjeant, Seth Lower, Andrea Grützner, Megan Mette, Masahisa Fukase, Guido Guidi, William Eggleston, Stephan Keppel, Peter Fraser, John Divola, Sean Scully, Aaron Siskind, Thomas Struth, Nicky Hirst, Victor Burgin etc. |
04: LensesSpecialist lenses enable photographers and filmmakers to create particular effects. Andreas Feininger made photographs of New York using telephoto lenses to flatten the view. Mathieu Stern has made recordings of Icelandic glaciers, using a lens made of ice to create a sense of mystery by blurring the view. In her self-portrait taken in 1932, Alma Lavenson shows us her camera, close-up from the front, as she focuses her lens. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Lenses.
Other artists to consider might include James Guerin, Stephen Gill, Peter Wiklund, Vivian Maier, Lee Friedlander, Bill Brandt, John Hilliard, Uta Barth etc. |
05: Parks and gardensParks and gardens have provided a rich source of inspiration for photographers throughout history. For her photobook Taken from Memory, Sheron Rupp observed people in their own gardens, often surrounded by personal belongings. Eugene Atget repeatedly visited the park in St. Cloud to record the landscape and architectural features at sunrise. In the documentary photograph Playground with three girls by Chris Killip, children climb on play equipment, which contrasts with the large industrial buildings seen in the background. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Parks and gardens.
Other artists to consider might include Irina Rozovsky, Justine Kurland, Scarlett Coten, Dewald Botha, Collier Schorr, Andrew Buurman, Luigi Ghirri, Paul Strand, Simone Nieweg, Ingrid Pollard, Keith Arnatt, Wendy McMurdo, Molly Lamb, Sophie T. Lvoff, Georgia Rhodes etc. |
06: FurnitureItems of furniture have been used as props in portraiture, as a feature in photographs of interior spaces and arranged as still-life objects. For his Grey Area series, Danny Treacy recorded a variety of domestic and commercial furniture to emphasise their shapes and positioning. John Myers has taken photographs inside furniture shops, observing the arrangement and juxtaposition of the items displayed for sale. In portraits by Hellen van Meene, figures often appear uncomfortable when photographed on chairs or beds in otherwise empty domestic settings. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Furniture.
Other artists to consider might include Csilla Klenyánski, Christopher Muller, Nigel Shafran, Helen Chadwick, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Hannah Starkey, Matthias Hoch, Gregory Crewdson, Rylan Steele, Sarah Jones, Alec Soth, Jan Svoboda etc. |
07: Inside and outsideMany photographers have made the observation of interior and exterior spaces a significant feature of their work. Gordon Matta-Clark recorded architectural openings in his photographs to reveal both the inside and the outside of industrial and urban spaces. In her series Frantic, Joanna Piotrowska photographed people inside structures created from personal belongings within their homes. In New Dutch Views, Marwan Bassiouni recorded both the interior spaces of mosques and the views seen looking out through the windows. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Inside and outside.
Other artists to consider might include Raymond Meeks, Josef Sudek, Saul Leiter, Michael Snow, Nicolò Digiorgis, Shizuka Yokomizo, Michael Wolf, Lee Friedlander etc. |
08: Body postureMany photographers have emphasised the body posture of the people being portrayed. Erwin Wurm has produced a number of One Minute Sculptures where he or a model pose in temporary and spontaneous positions to produce humorous and thought-provoking outcomes. In the project Removed by Eric Pickersgill, figures fixed in their everyday poses were photographed with their mobile phones removed. In portraits by Arielle Bobb-Willis, models holding awkward positions have been photographed in strange locations. The postures of people in the photographs by August Sander often indicate their occupation or role in society. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Body posture.
Other artists to consider might include Elina Brotherus, Melissa Schriek, Endia Beal, Peyton Fulford, John Coplans, Francesca Woodman, Beat Streuli, Ken Lum, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Agnieska Sejud, Viviane Sassen, Hayley Morris-Cafiero, Anja Niemi, Sharon Lockhart, Asger Carlsen, Isabelle Wenzel, Rebecca Horn, Wood & Harrison etc. |