Illustrated Discussion

Illusrated Discussion

Stops and Stations


Stops and Stations feature in photography and film when travel and transport are explored. Christopher Herwig documented the diversity and unusual designs of bus stops in Russia. Andre Kertesz's photographs of train platforms draw attention to location and atmosphere. Ed Ruscha's project 'Twentysix Gasoline Stations' recorded functional buildings chosen for heir everyday use and familiarity. Produce your own response, making reference to appropriate work by others.

Definitions

Diversity - a range of different things.




Atmosphere - the pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or creative work




Functional Buildings - In architecture, functionalism is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building.

Christopher Herwig

Christopher Herwig created a series of images of Russian bus stops. The main element of his work that stands out to me is the composition of his photos. He has carefully thought about the compositional elements of each of his images. The bus stops that he has photographed have very interesting shapes and textures which he has emphasised through his compositional features. Some of the photos have the bus stop as a central object in the frame of the image however some photos look at the bu stop from another perspective. I would like to use different compositional features in my photos. I will do this by looking at what I am photographing and then deciding where I will be taking the photo from. I also like the connotations that bus stops have due to the idea that people use the bus everyday and could be sitting at the bus stop for hours however it does not seem significant to them. Christopher Herwig's photos show people the hidden beauty in something that is so familiar to people.

Andre Kertesz

Andre Kertesz photographs images of train platforms. A lot of his images focus on leading lines within the photos. I like the way that his photos are taken from a range of angles and perspectives. The way that he takes his photos is interesting because he has thought a lot about the composition of the images and ensured that the photos are aesthetically pleasing to the audience. He has done this through the use of the formal element line. Each of his images are in black and white which makes them look slightly dated however I also feel as though it makes the viewer focus on the fine details within the photo because colour is not a distraction.

Ed Ruscha

Ed Ruscha completed a project which was called 'Twentysix Gasoline Stations'. Within this project Ruscha photographed different gas stations from many different angles and perspectives. I feel as though his series represents the diversty within America at the time of his phootgraphs. He completed this series in 1963 and the photos were taken along the highway between Ruscha’s home in Los Angeles and his parent’s house in Oklahoma City. The fact that this road was familiar to him could have been significant when he was shooting this series because he wanted to make the phoots feel as familiar to others as they did to him. I like the way there is a lot of space around a lot of the petrol stations. This allows you to see the entire gas station as if you were driving on the highway.