Graffiti photo shoot.

As I've been looking at graffiti and where it comes from, I got a model, styled her accordingly to the style I have been studying, i wanted to use a Hip Hop, street style of clothing and also do a couple of wardrobe changes whilst shooting. I went out to find some graffiti and get some pictures of my model in front of the artwork. I found a great place to shoot, it was what I believe an old ink factory. There was some fantastic graffiti inside this factory. It was a very cold and dark place to work in, but I really got a feel for the environment once I got going. I would love to come back to this place in the future and do some more work here.
Here are some images I got from the factory. I have edited some of the images on the program photoshop.

Homeless graffiti advertisement.

When I was searching on the Internet for pictures of graffiti, there was a certain piece of artwork that stood out to me. It was an advertisement. This was an advertisement about the homeless. As I've studied graffiti more and where it originates from, I have grown to understand a certain element of things that are behind graffiti, a deeper meaning to this artwork, why it is done. A lot of people use this form of art to express an opinion or a feeling that they feel that can't express in any other way. They use graffiti as a way to send their message to other people, to try and be understood. I think this 'homeless' advertisement was done in a graffiti format as its target market was this culture, this is a language that only these people understand and can relate to. This advertisement is about sending a message out to the public. It's stating a lot of homeless people have moved on, but the problem is still there. This advert is reaching out to people out to highlight the fact that we have a problem, and this problem needs to be addressed. I think this is why it's been done in a graffiti style, as graffiti is used on the streets and this culture will take note of the advertisement because its presented in that way.
Within Hip Hop culture, graffiti has evolved alongside hip hop music. People may write their own lyrics on a wall. I think I can link a lot of clothing and designs with graffiti and hip hop music together as one. They all have a certain 'style' that can be linked together. A lot of graffiti photo shoots that I have looked at have adapted a 'hip hop' style on there shoot. Inspiration coming from rappers and hip hop artists. Young people now in modern times look up to a lot of these musicians and artists. Hip hop music and graffiti comes from the streets. People that are out there on the streets expressing their thoughts and feelings in different ways. Rapping and writing about their personal life's and personal experiences that have happened to them or somebody they know. It's about telling a story. People tell stories in different ways. Graffiti and HipHop being a couple of these ways amongst other ways as well. A lot of what is rapped about these days are things that are happening on our streets such as graffiti, the homeless, crime, violence, cars, the police etc. The 'hip hop' culture is a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing.
I will also look at the HipHop culture, how this links to clothing and how they both link back to graffiti.

Graffiti clothes design

I have been researching patterns and graffiti prints on clothing. I wanted to look at some music videos and photo shoots that included these types of prints on the styling of the artist. One person that I looked at was Cheryl Cole. Her recent music videos from 2012 really caught my eye. I found the styling on these videos very intriguing. A lot of bright colours, patterns, prints and graffiti were used in the clothes she wore throughout these videos. One of the Designers used to create this clothing was Roberto Cavalli. Here are some pictures of the original designs and then the final piece worn by Cheryl.

Darren Cullen Graffiti artist.

Darren Cullen is an award winning graffiti artist from London. He began his craft in the early 1980's and has painted murals across the country. Darren is regarded as one of the Kings of English graffiti and a pioneer of the 'London style' perfected by graffiti artists in the 80's and early 90's. Realising what a powerful tool the graffiti art form is, Darren set about putting his talents to good use in 2001. The first projects he became involved with we're workshops teaching young people painting techniques and how to express themselves through art in a safe environment.
Darren went onto painting murals for government funded initiatives, national train companies and local authorities across the country. Darren's work became in demand with a lot of towns and cities across England, so much so he created his own team compromising of airbrush artists, graphic designers, tattooists and youth workers. He called them the Graffiti Kings.
Darren now works with his meeting the needs of his clients through workshops, mural and street art, marketing and advertising projects. He handles any brief that is given to him that requires artists to meet a certain vision.

"We don't just paint walls, we bring walls to life"
Quote by the Graffiti Kings.

Graffiti.

Graffiti is writing or drawings that are drawn, painted or spray painted, sometimes scratched and scribbled on walls, buildings or any other surface in public places. A piece of graffiti art usually consists of written words or can elaborate to huge wall paintings. Materials that are commonly used to make graffiti markings are paint, spray paint and marker pens.
Graffiti has been around for many years dating back to the ancient times with examples from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In most countries making marks upon a wall or painting on property without the property owners consent is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/law enforcement and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. There are many different types of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested, reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.
Graffiti is about expressing underlying social and political messages and a whole genre or artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles. Within Hip Hop culture, graffiti has evolved alongside Hip Hop music, B-Boying and other elements. Gangs also use their own form of graffiti art work to mark a territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities.

Here are some pictures and examples of graffiti that I have got from the Internet.

Graham Jones Art Exhibition

I went to visit a live Art exhibition to get some thoughts and ideas together for the start of my sampling process for my 'One word project'. I took some pictures whilst I was there and had a 'One to One' with the Artist about he's designs and work. This is some of he's background information.

Graham Jones is a North West based artist who takes inspiration from he's own personal life. He was born in the year 1971 in Heswall and has lived all he's life on the Wirral Penninsular. He's artwork ranges from a very electric style of mediums, from water colours and acrylics, to photography and digital artwork.

The pictures I have added here are again in relation to my bright coloured colour pallet for my project graffiti. Graham was a wonderful inspirational artist whom I enjoyed talking to and exploring his work. I love how he has a range of different artwork and looks at photography and digital Artwork as well. That's something I have never studied before, Digital Artwork, I will definitely explore this type of artwork in future projects.

Rankin photography (interview)

Referring to my last post:
I wanted to go into a bit more depth when looking at the photographer Rankin. I wanted to look into why he took the photographs he did and the meanings and purposes behind them. Im interested in his inspirations, where they came from? He's general style of photography etc. I found an interview online that gave me the answers to some of my questions.

:-What would you say inspires you, where do you draw your inspiration from?
People inspire me. I'm really inquisitive about them, so just people, just meeting people is very inspirational.

:-How do you know when you have THE shot?
It's a gut instinct when everything comes together- you just feel it, and you know you have the shot.

:-What is or who are your major influences?
People are my major influence. I love meeting new people and getting inside their heads. The best models have great personalities and it really makes my job so much easier. In terms of photographers who have influenced me, the list is endless, but I would have to include Bailey, Avedon, Eggleston, Teller, Knight, Newton, Blumenfield, McCullin, Leibovitz, and Penn in my list.

:-How would you describe the Rankin style?
The Rankin style is that there is no style! I don't use a specific type of lighting, I don't use the same way of shooting all the time, apart from looking for the honesty in it. That's my signature really, the honest thing.

:- How do you take a good portrait?
When I'm photographing subjects, whether they are models, celebrities or regular people I always talk incessantly to the person in front of the lens. I do it mostly to get a reaction so that I can capture something about their personalities; every person will have a different reaction, a different outlook.

Having read this interview, I now have more of a clear view behind Rankin's shots and how he works in a studio. This was very helpful information for my project as I'm working towards doing a Fashion photo-shoot based around my own inspirations, my client profile, and my 'One Word'.

Rankin Photography.

I am looking at the photographer Rankin. I have studied Rankin's photography before and I loved his work so much I thought I could look at him again but in a deeper concept. Rankin is a very high profile photographer that has worked with countless amounts of actors, actresses, musicians ect. His work is very precise and his images are amazing. I can see that every image is very well thought through. The styling on his shoots are just another added positive to his work. He knows exactly what he wants from the shot and works extremely hard to get it.

As my project is based around Graffiti, which involves shape, structure, a various bright colour pallet, words, letters and numbers, I wanted to look at photo-shoots that Rankin had done that I could link with my project. I needed to get an idea of why he shot the shots he did? Was there a meaning behind them? Is there a story to look further into in a particular shoot? Does he use a particular type of model each time? Is there a certain type of client profile he uses? I am about to find the answers to these questions.

Here are some of the results from my search of photo-shoots that I can relate to with my project.

Graffiti- Online magazine.

I have just been browsing through an online magazine, ASOS, and i came across a small article about Graffiti prints. I wanted to present this as some background information to show that graffiti is still being used in the modern day. This article proves that graffiti prints are most definitely coming back around to join us again in the Fashion Culture.