Visual Metaphor is the representation of a person, place, thing or idea by way of a visual image that suggests a particular association or point of similarity.
Visual Metaphor can work both ways - i.e. from writing to image or from image to writing, so Photographers can use writing or may write as a stimulus or method to make their images., and / or writers can use or take photographs to assist their idea making for their writing.
Tony Ray - Jones' notes http://we-English.co.uk/blog/?p=26
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| Pages from the notebook of Tony Ray - Jones |
- Be More aggressive
- Get more involved (talk to people)
- Stay with the subject matter (be patient)
- Take simpler pictures
- See if everything in the background relates to the subject matter
- Vary compositions and angles more
- Be more aware of composition
- Don't take boring pictures
- Get in Closer (Use 50mm less)
- Watch camera shake (shoot 250sec or above)
- Don't shoot too much
- Not all at eye level
- No middle distance
DADA - The Non-art Movement (1916 - 1923)
Dada or Dadaism is a cult movement begun in Switzerland during the First World War as a revolt against conventional theories and accepted norms of what art was. Dadaism was mainly concerned with the visual arts, but included (and not limited to ) literature, poetry, theory of art, theatre, graphics and graphic design. It was about anti war politics and a rejection of everything to do with the prevailing standard of the day in art believed to be the meaninglessness of the modern world. As well as being anti war, Dada was also anti- bourgeois (anti capitalistic) and anarchistic (undesirable and opportunistic).
The Dadaists rallied public gatherings and demonstrations, and were involved in the publication of art.literary journals, including passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture using a variety of different media. Dad is accredited as having influenced later movements such as Avant Garde (experimental/innovative), Surrealism and Pop Art amongst others. In poetry, this was often manifested itself by the reading of poems simultaneously, which meant that at once each was rendered unintelligible, and also offering an alternative abstraction of the source. By doing so, it also destroyed everyday language, which in turn acted as a METAPHOR of the destruction caused by WAR, and also a commentary on the deceitfulness of language. This also echoes the question WHAT IS ART & IS ART THE TRUTH?
Kurt Schwitters - 1887 - 1948 was a refugee living in the Lake District, and referred to by Gombrich in The Story of Art as
Dada or Dadaism is a cult movement begun in Switzerland during the First World War as a revolt against conventional theories and accepted norms of what art was. Dadaism was mainly concerned with the visual arts, but included (and not limited to ) literature, poetry, theory of art, theatre, graphics and graphic design. It was about anti war politics and a rejection of everything to do with the prevailing standard of the day in art believed to be the meaninglessness of the modern world. As well as being anti war, Dada was also anti- bourgeois (anti capitalistic) and anarchistic (undesirable and opportunistic).
The Dadaists rallied public gatherings and demonstrations, and were involved in the publication of art.literary journals, including passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture using a variety of different media. Dad is accredited as having influenced later movements such as Avant Garde (experimental/innovative), Surrealism and Pop Art amongst others. In poetry, this was often manifested itself by the reading of poems simultaneously, which meant that at once each was rendered unintelligible, and also offering an alternative abstraction of the source. By doing so, it also destroyed everyday language, which in turn acted as a METAPHOR of the destruction caused by WAR, and also a commentary on the deceitfulness of language. This also echoes the question WHAT IS ART & IS ART THE TRUTH?
Kurt Schwitters - 1887 - 1948 was a refugee living in the Lake District, and referred to by Gombrich in The Story of Art as
"one of the amiable eccentrics of the early 1020's
.......Schwitters would collect and use discarded bus tickets, newspaper cuttings, rags and other odds and ends, and glued them together to form quite tasteful and amusing bouquets. In refusing to use conventional paint and conventional canvas his attitude was connected with an extremist movement that had started in Zurich during the First World War........it was certainly the wish of these artists to become as little as children and to cock a snoot at solemnity and pomposity of Art with a capital A."
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| KURT SCHWITTERS: Invisible Ink. Collage, 1947. Estate of the artist |
Gombrich E.H., The Story of Art, 1984:14th Edition, Phaidon Press Ltd., Oxford
It could be said that the Dad movement is not entirely detached from the idea of Visual Metaphor, since it uses its basis to form its own ideas. The one suggestion leads to other ideas, and manifests itself in it own art form. In the case above, Schwitters has created a collage using his ideas of the rejection of the art of the day as the basis for his work.
In searching for my inspiration I looked into various clips and whole works from books, to music to poetry, and amongst many, chose the following pieces to work with :
I have looked at the works of W.B.Yeates and enjoyed the poem;
The Lake Isle of Innisfree:
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee loud glad.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evenings full of linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
W.B.Yeats 1888
For me, Lake Isle of Innisfree conjures up the idea of escapism. Indeed Yeates himself longed to escape from the dreary streets of London to his beloved hometown of County Sligoe in Ireland. The last lines of the work see a marked change in tone - stating his clear intention that he is to return.
Broadcaster David Dimbleby talks of this poem during the BBC poetry season, and of how it touched him when he was a young boy growing up. He highlights sections such as the "evenings full of linnets wings" creating an ethereal image in the mind. You can review Dimbleby's take on Yeat's poem at at the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/david-dimbleby-on-w-b-yeats/9227.html
And Inspiration form the opening preface of
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell,
July had been blown out like a candle by a biting wind that ushered in a leaden August sky. A sharp, stinging drizzle fell, billowing into an opaque grey sheet when the wind caught it. Along the Bournemouth sea - front the beach huts turned blank wooden faces towards a greeny - grey , froth veined sea that leapt eagerly at the cement bulwark of the shore. The gulls had been tumbled inland over the town, and the now drifted above the house tops on taut wings whining peevishly. It was the sort of weather calculated to try anyone's endurance.
Gerald Durrell 1956
Hope Floats On Paper Boats
I wrote u a love letter.
or mayb a love note
but instead of a cliche,
i folded a paper boat.
i wrote u a hate letter.
Or mayb a hate note.
But instead of shedding my soul,
i folded a paper boat.
so u stood beside a lone river,
and i on the other side.
And in my hands were two paper boats,
and on each my life did bide.
i set them on the water,
pushed them hard,
my paper boats.
I turned my back en walked away,
never knowing on which
my hope
did
float.
Zinzile Molewa
Feels like Heaven
You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You're just like a dream
The Cure from the Album; Kissme, kissme, kissme 1987
My main inspiration has developed from the poem above, Hope floats on Paper Boats., by Zinzile Molewa. I found this poem to have a secondary meaning running through the text. It takes the readers' imagination (or certainly mine) to water, and the idea that hope is all about what is past and what is present and what maybe in the future. From this I began to look at repetitive forms and reflections.
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| Bridget Riley. Synthetic Polymer Paint on composition board |
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| Bridget Riley. Screen print |
Riley exhibited this work known as Op Art in an exhibition The Responsive Eye. It plays tricks with the eye and the brain to try to make sense of what you are looking at.
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| Botanic Gardens Southport, Ripples on water, H.Neylan 2012 |
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| Linear reflections under bridge |
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| Linear and symmetrical reflections |
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| life form reflected |
From here, following a tutorial, whereby I acknowledged that I was trying to solve the issue, as I had added text to my reflections, like this:
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| Reflection of Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria 2012, H.Neylan I looked at one of the first images I had taken at Lake Windermere in Cumbria in the English Lakes, of boats at harbour and their reflections. Seen here, taken using my Nikon D80 SLR, 18 - 55mm short telephoto lens, NO polarising filter - as this would have taken out the reflections that I wanted to keep., f16 and 125th sec set on a tripod to avoid camera shake. |
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| Alternatively, taking a crop from the image above can achieve a result whereby the viewer will be challenged to fill in the gaps themselves., in other words DON'T try to solve the image - leave something to the imagination During my research I came across various images when searching for "reflections" Maureen Stephenson & Elisabeth Images amongst others including abstract art taken from original reflected images:       Following a re-think at this point, I decided to simply go out and take images of beautiful scenes on water, and was lucky that the early spring weather was in my favour, as I had lovely mid angle lighting - not dissimilar to magic hour lighting. I was inspired to set out and visit water based sites, including the Botanic Gardens at Southport, The Lakes in Cumbria, Hodge Close Quarry in Coniston, The Leeds Liverpool Canal Rufford link, and Latham Link.
Here are some of the images:
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| Full sized image - H.Neylan 2012 |
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| Reflection in the hull of a yacht - H.Neylan 2012 |
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| Small harbour yachts - Windermere H.Neylan Copyright 2012 |
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| Red Boats in the harbour Copyright H.Neylan 2012 Lens baby & High Pass Filter |
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| Latham Lock gates, H.Neylan 2012 |
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| Marina, Rufford Locks, Leeds Liverpool Canal H.Neylan 2012 |
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| Sluice gates, Latham Locks |
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| View from Rufford Locks along Leeds Liverpool Canal |
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| Rowing Boat on Shale, Windermere, H.Neylan 2012 Canon EOS, Lens Baby High Pass filter Photoshop     This image and the one below were starting points for 2 of my final images, which featured the 360 degree nature of the reflections to be found at this point. My images weer eventually processed in black and white to create a co-hesive set, and to focus the mind on the nature of the reflections without the distraction of colour. 
Hodge Close is a disused slate quarry in Coniston , Cumbria. The light is exceptional when the sun shines on the water creating deep blues and greens when it hits the blue slate through the water. Unfortunately when I was there it was overcast, but you can see a slight glow as described in the colours. I did however, use the stone river for one of my final images, as I liked the meandering water and the contrast.
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Taken with Nikon D80, Polarising filter off - F22 1/125 sec
70 - 150mm telephoto lens
Public Forum & Conclusion
My Final Images & Public Forum Venue
My Images were finally displayed at the Whitakers Arms on Burnley Road, Accrington, which is opposite the cemetery and seemed a fitting place and perfect venue for the purpose of reflection to be represented visually. The landlord was delighted with the finished result. I would like to thank David for allowing me to display my work.
I have enjoyed this work as it has allowed me to explore other genres of photography and means of communication on art.
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| Finished Images at the Whitakers Arms, Burnley Road, Accrington Easter 2012 |
