What is Photography ? Most of all.. what is ART??

To many people, it all comes down to the word "vision". Which of course is true. Cause the word "photo" means "light". But in my oppinion, the Art side is much more interesting. Because, let's be honest: almost anybody can do art now a days! It's the way you do it that counts. Being different is a big thing. Artists and poets are people who distinguishable from society. They are different. And so are their ideas!
We've been through a lot of centuries to get to this open-mindness we have. There aren't any proper movements anymore, which is also quite a good thing. It gives us more freedom and less constraints.
But still, not everything is allowed. And some masterpieces are or have been censored.
So I'm more interested in the more "rebel" and outlaw side of art. The more dadaist side of it all.
Going against traditional rules and styles. Being different as I said earlier on!
I quite like abstract ideas AND concrete ones. Taking something away from a certain context and putting it in another, completely different one is pretty cool. But I also like it to LOOK good!
So there's an equilibrium to respect.
I plan on hitting that kind of style as i gradually develop experience and method. I first started off doing traditional paintings and drawing. But I want to move on to a more modern and funkier style.
These methods include collage, spray painting, graffiti, photomontage, simple photography, painting and so many others..!

This is a collage from Richard hamilton in 1956. And I just love the way it's made.
That's what I mean: coming out with ideas like these, just a decade after the Second World War! All these things that were considered as modern at the time and that we now call "vintage"!
Take the tape cassette for instance. Cool when it came out; for being a new, modern invention. And now: a cool collector's gadget!
People still like it.
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By the way, this picture is called "Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing". The title on its own is pretty original.

 "Out with old, in with the new!"

As you can see, we have two pictures that strangely look quite similar. The first, and original one is by Ingres from 1814. The second one, by Martial Raysse is from about 1963.
What Raysse did here is took the original "Grande Odalisque" painting and turned it into something different. He firstly took a photo of it (B&W), then painted over that, keeping just one part of the body.
He also added real life material (new patterns for instance, plastic flies, beads, tissue,..) and changed the name of it to "Made in Japan".
This is one of many examples of innovations to conventional and traditional art. I could say much more, but feel like putting some of my own pictures, otherwise I'll always be commenting on other people's stuff!
And the main purpose of this blog is to express MY feelings and my art.!

This is one of my latest series (I took it yesterday).

 I got the idea from another very talented photographer, who is actually working on all sorts of projects right now. Amongst many other jobs, she works for a clothes brand, taking smart looking vintagey pictures. She has a website and you need to check it out (here).

For these pictures my idea was to basically make the objects look old but nice. The close up makes them look more imposing and important. Lighting and background are also another crucial factor.
The idea of the Converse and Ben Sherman bag was taken from a film that I recently watched on the "mods and rockers" (yes, it is Quadrophenia. 1973). I found that era particularly interesting and appealing, having done some research on it and my grandad having quoted me some of his best memories. Ben Sherman was a very popular brand for the mods and was highly influenced by their period.
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By the way, don't hesitate to clik on any of these photos to enlarge them (as I know they're fairly reduced) !

 This is a series of photos that I took a few months ago. I've only chosen three of them, as I have quite a lot. These are the ones that I prefer.

 The idea is to borrow something completely banal, and to transfigure the context by changing its surroundings. Something that artists such as Magritte were doing long before I was even born. Take a look at the very famous one I'm thinking of : "La Trahison des images", 1929. Making a common object into a masterpiece.

There's numerous ways you can interprete these photos.
The way I imagine the last picture (above) is a bowl of wallnuts in a(their?) natural environment. A kind of symbol representing a return to origins.
The display of the bowl can also lead you to believe that it has always been there and was not just put there for some strange reason. Handmade pottery just arising from the ground or falling from the trees.
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Please tell me what YOU think.

This is a project I did in April. You can obviously guess the message I'm passing out in this one. There's no need being a great Walt Disney or Lewis Carol fan to do so (oh no, I think I've just given that away!).

 

So as I said above, this is a reference to Lewis Carol's very famous Alice in Wonderland, written in 1865. I find it quite of a poetic idea. To believe that all the roses in the world were white (or not very colourful) and that people had to colour them. The kind of abstract idea that generally requires imagination and originality. Just like the existence of a first man that God just "made", in the Genesis (7th century before Christ).

Reach for the Skies.

Next Stop: The Skies.

You'll need to follow the signs to get there. But please watch your step.

You can use any ways to get there. But the easiest is by foot. You can try climbing any tall object or building, but don't turn back.

Once you do get to the top, sky's the limit, but you can probably reach above if you stretch your arms out further enough. The only thing you'll need to respect is the speed limit. Be cautious of it.

Wherever you may be, there's always a limit to everything. Anything.

Complete freedom doesn't exist. This rule is also true for your utopia and dreams.