Component 2: Externally Set Assignment 2024
A-level Photography ESA 2024 |
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: Light and DarkPhotographers and filmmakers can manipulate light and dark to create meaning or express ideas. In the black and white photographs of film theatres and seascapes by Hiroshi Sugimoto, the contrast and balance of light and dark can be sudden or gradual. Film noir is a cinematic genre where intense mood is evoked through the use of strong light and deep shadow. In the photograph Fig. 7, 2019, Erin Shirreff uses subtle and stark transitions from light to dark when recording the form and texture of unusual objects. Photographs by Emil Otto Hoppe of figures in front of buildings feature areas of solid black shadow and clear white illumination. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Light and Dark.
Other artists to consider might include Roy DeCarava, Ray Metzker, Aaron R. Turner, Thomas Manneke, Hanaya Kanbee, Geraldo de Barros, Fan Ho, Francis Bruguière, Vasantha Yogananthan, Bianca Sforni, Keld Helmer-Petersen, Hélène Binet, Alison Rossiter plus lots of others included in the PhotoPedagogy Language of Light resource. |
02: TableA table can be used for different purposes. Carrie Mae Weems explored storytelling in The Kitchen Table Series. In 30 Disposable Place Mats, Stephen Shore photographed place mats and food on tabletops. In the series Tellerbild, Floris Neususs created photograms of table items such as plates, including the work Tablecloth which is printed on light-sensitive fabric. Every day for five years, Hayahisa Tomiyasu took photographs from his window of how people interacted with a ping pong table. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Table.
Other artists to consider might include Jan Svoboda, William Eggleston, Laura Letinsky, Irving Penn, Erin O'Keefe, Horacio Coppola |
03: UnseenSome photographers emphasise what is hidden, excluded or obscured from view rather than what is visible in their work. In still-life photographs by Celine Marchbank, the background is dark and out of focus so that details of the location remain hidden. In the photograph Viewfinder (Octavia) by Arthur Ou, a girl is seen looking through binoculars at something that is not in the picture frame. For her project In Spirit, Alison Luntz used photographs taken on location as backdrops for fantasy self-portraits that can obscure her home as the real setting. Betti Mautner often observed figures seen from a distance, their faces in darkness or turned away from view so that their identity is concealed. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Unseen.
Other artists to consider might include Lana Mesic, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Lucas Blalock, Jeff Cowen, Viviane Sassen, Akihiko Miyoshi |
04: LayersPhotographers work with layers in a variety of ways. In the series Midnight Reykjavik, Soo Kim cuts and layers photographic prints by hand. Idris Khan has combined multiple images into densely layered photographs. Michael Wesely uses unusually long exposures to create layered images of buildings and other structures. In the series Choreograph, James Welling uses a number of techniques, including photograms and digital layering. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Layers.
Other artists to consider might include Miranda Lichtenstein, Shirina Shakbazi, Dafna Talmor, Charles Wilkin, Vanessa Marsh, Anastasia Samoylova, Victoria Ahrens, Rebecca Najdowski, Julie Cockburn, Ruth Van Beek, Niko Luoma |
05: MusicMusic has inspired filmmakers and photographers investigating the connections between sound and image. In the video Dancing in Peckham by Gillian Wearing, the artist dances to music that is inaudible to the public around her. The direction and speed of movement in a musical performance is recorded in The Cellist by Anton Giulio Bragaglia. The black and white photography of Francis Wolff features many important jazz musicians with their instruments during recording sessions and rehearsals. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Music.
Other artists to consider might include Lee Friedlander, Roy DeCarava, Anton Corbijn, Christian Marclay |
06: Maps & RoutesSome photographers use maps and routes to inform their work. Eugene Atget documented the streets of old Paris, often recording the location on his photographs. A 1 - The Great North Road is a book of photographs by Paul Graham, which records a journey from London to Edinburgh. For the series Diorama Map, Sohei Nishina takes a multitude of photographs of a particular city, which are then pieced together to create a large-scale map. Mona Hatoum used scanned images of maps to explore the idea of boundaries in her work Routes II. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Maps and routes.
Other artists to consider might include Luigi Ghirri, Vito Acconci, Michael Wolf, Jon Rafman, Robin Friend, Jem Southam, Tom Wood |
07: SiblingsPhotographing brothers and sisters can provide an opportunity to explore family relationships. Thomas Struth photographed siblings sitting or standing alongside their parents, often at home and surrounded by personal belongings. In her project Sisterhood, Sophie Harris-Taylor observed relationships between sisters of different ages, in both formal and informal poses. In End of An Era, Joseph P Smith documented two brothers in their place of work, either looking at each other or the viewer. Oghale Alex uses colour, composition and body posture to express solidarity and the bond between twins in the series, The Other Brother. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Siblings.
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08: Issues and ConcernsPhotography is often used to highlight important issues and concerns. Dorothea Lange documented the struggle of migrant workers during the Great Depression. For the book The Poverty Line, Stefen Chow produced photographs over a ten-year period, exploring the issue of food poverty. Olafur Eliassen highlighted concerns about global warming in his work The glacier melt series 1999/2019. In the book HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene, Jo-Anne McArthur highlights animal welfare issues. Investigate appropriate sources and produce your own response to Issues and concerns.
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