Connecting Choices- Discarded Items

The artist that I am inspired to take photographs are the work of Eian Kantor. Eian Kantor is an artist who have the same vision with me. He does not view discarded items as a threat for the environment but an interesting facet to take photographs. Below is some photographs of Eian Kantor.

As you can see from the work of Eian Kantor, he only take photos on particular discarded items. There are no blurred background, and I cannot describe rather his works are taken in short or long exposure. I could also see that there are specific subject in photos so the audience might not get distracted from other things. When compared with other street photography topics, I think discarded items could be simple because shutter speed and exposure might not matter here since I will be taking photos based on sedentary discarded items. I think these photos can create abstract beauty for the audience, and I really liked the concept because it felt like breaking the prejudice of discarded items that it should be always dirty. Additionally, the concept of taking photos on discarded items are not common technique used by people, and for me I also did not know people can make discarded items beautiful. As I mentioned from the starting point, I am planning to take photos just like Eian Kantor does but on its presenting stage I am going to list my photographs into a line to show its abstract beauty. Eian Kantor’s photographs are like my favorite photos because he does not limit himself on one topic and continues to take pictures. In the last unit, it was a little difficult for me to take photos because the reflection project was little specific. I wanted to take photos based on a broader context, and Eian Kantor’s images will help me to work on my creating stage. Based on those reason, I will relate my vision with the global context of how lot of discarded items are spread out in many places but it can be photographed in a beautiful way.

This is the link for my Discarded Item Photography-> https://app.popplet.com/#/p/7377767

Screen Shots Below:

Inspiration from the works of others:

Although Eian Kantor’s subject specific photos in discarded items inspire me a lot, this photo also inspires me. Firstly, the black and white background sets the mood and the tone of this photo dark, and reflection upon water can be seen. There is also a pack of cigarettes and pair of gloves. By setting these various elements, this photo inspires me to combine a lot of factors while taking a photograph.

Statement of Intent

The title of this project is Garbage”?”.  I deliberately added a question mark to rectify my vision to say discarded items are not always an environmental threat but it can be portrayed as abstract and can even become beautiful. Actually, it is not that hard to make garbages to to an abstract structure as I learned a lot from last unit. The question mark also implies the feeling of the audience.

I want my audience to feel amazed. Throughout my last reflection unit, my photos were not as great as other images. For this time, I want to break many biases that discarded items are not clean. It will create a new impression and perception for the audience. My topic would be relatively not familiar, but it would be worth it to try. I also want show without any touches with the shutter speed or exposure (technical things) to express the natural discarded item.

I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that shows specific discarded items, as I am finding for a variety of kinds. Instead of planning for specific kinds of discarded items, it would be nice to present my photographs as one line to express a lot of discarded items. I will also try to take photos (that focuses on one subject) from a different angle, as the difference of the angle can create significant differences.

Mood Board:

These photos are images I collected because it inspired me a lot. The work is mostly from Eian Kantor and Anthony Gerace.