Stuart Hall - Reception Theory -FALLING-

Reception Theory

I first heard about him during my media studies lesson in which we spoke about his reception theory and the way it works. "Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes each particular reader's reception or interpretation in making meaning from a literary text. Reception theory is generally referred to as audience reception in the analysis of communications models."(1)

This idea came to me during a media class in which we explore reception theory. I began thinking this could be suitable for other topic such as photography and looked closely into how we perceive photography. We use the same theory as suggested by Stuart Hall. We explore images and look at them in a way that is personal, if we believe the image is good and has a interesting technique, story or idea it is said we take a preferred reading of this image. We can also have a negotiated and a oppositional reading to the image.

This made me think about the way my project is panning out and what I am looking at. I am taking lots of research about narrative photography which is allowing me to use my camera to tell stories. I believe similar to the English idiom "every image can speak a thousand words. This quote, although cheesy, allow the audience to interpret the images however they want and allows them to take there ideas further.
This is something I will look at further to explore some more narratives and stories.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=reception+theory&filters=ufn%3a%22reception+theory%22+sid%3a%22a1f8349d-ebbc-64c2-eac4-927e90ff5524%22&FORM=SNAPST

The Lovers (1928) Rene Magritte -FALLING-

The Lovers - Rene Magritte

The Lovers is a painting by French surrealist Rene Magritte, created in 1928.  

The painting depicts a veiled couple embracing and kissing. Obviously symbolic, many have speculated about why the couple is veiled. Many have also interpreted the painting in different ways – the common interpretation being “Love is blind”.  

The image at first glance stimulates the audiences mind and allows the to take in their first impression. At a glance, it simply looks like a man and woman kissing under some cloth. Yet as the audience look closer it may reveal underlying messages that are either personal or universal. 

Its link to my project i found is through the idea of finding inspiration through narrative. Although this image is an individual as in, it stands alone, it also allows an open interpretation and for the audience to take from it what they want. A personal response to this may questioning the reason they are under the cloth. To me, I see a couple who want to be together but are too scared to reveal their true selves. As a couple, you work together and you help each other grow and through covering your face it reduces the risk of getting hurt or revealing something you don't want too. The cloth also looks as though it is preventing them from kissing which could make the audience look to it as a barrier in their relationship such as a problem. As this is my personal response to this piece of art it can change varying from person to person. there is no real definition and no 'right' answer to what this painting is about. I want to take this from this piece of work and develop it into my own. There is never a set reason or 'right' answer and that is what I want my images to also portray. 

http://www.renemagritte.org/the-lovers-2.jsp

Theory of love- FALLING-

LOVE DEFINITION; "a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person. : attraction that includes sexual desire : the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship. : a person you love in a romantic way"(1)

Exploring a deeper aspect of this project I have started to research into psychology and the effects of love. I have found a psychologist who has researched into the different types of love. I looked closely at my project and decided to explore the route of falling in love with some one. I would love to be able to capture love within some shots and see if they are universal for all the audience. This is a challenge I have set myself:  

This being said I want to also explore the science behind love and possibly look at some of the ways we express love. Whilst researching I came across this website:  http://psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/a/theoriesoflove.htm   
which looks at the psychologist who explore what love is and have created a theory related to love. I started to read about it and really enjoyed reading it. I like the way they have used colours to explain love and believe it would be a great way to explore this further through images.


The image above is Elaine Hatfield who is American social psychologist. She has been credited, alongside Ellen S. Berscheid, as one of the pioneers of relationship science. She is employed as a professor in the psychology department of the University of Hawaii (2)She suggested 

"there are two basic types of love: compassionate love and passionate love. Compassionate love is characterized by mutual respect, attachment, affection, and trust. Compassionate love usually develops out of feelings of mutual understanding and shared respect for one another.

Passionate love is characterized by intense emotions, sexual attraction, anxiety, and affection. When these intense emotions are reciprocated, people feel elated and fulfilled. Unreciprocated love leads to feelings of despondence and despair. Hatfield suggests that passionate love is transitory, usually lasting between 6 and 30 months"

Below is another theory by a man named

The Color Wheel Model of Love

"In his 1973 book The Colors of Love, John Lee compared styles of love to the color wheel. Just as there are three primary colors, Lee suggested that there are three primary styles of love. These three styles of love are: (1) Eros, (2) Ludos and (3) Storge.

Continuing the color wheel analogy, Lee proposed that just as the primary colors can be combined to create complementary colors, these three primary styles of love could be combined to create nine different secondary love styles. For example, a combination of Eros and Ludos results in Mania, or obsessive love"

Lee’s 6 Styles of Loving

Three primary styles:

1. Eros – Loving an ideal person

2. Ludos – Love as a game

3. Storge – Love as friendship

Three secondary styles:

1. Mania (Eros + Ludos) – Obsessive love

2. Pragma (Ludos + Storge) – Realistic and practical love

3. Agape (Eros + Storge) – Selfless love

Although this is not research exploring a photographer or a photography project, I feel it has helped open up the possibilities when exploring my project of FALLING but falling in love. From this not only have I explored love and the psychology behind it, but I feel I have enough to continue my studies into love and possibly look at different types of love such as passionate love, familial love or friendly love.


REFERENCES:

(1)- http://www.dictionary.com/browse/love?o=O
(2)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Hatfield
(3)- 

My Pinterest page for inspiration -FALLING-

At the moment I am really enjoying using my Pinterest and feel it is the most effective at me finding research.

The link to my page is: https://uk.pinterest.com/Alevelcharlotte/

This is where the majority of my research alongside Lensculture comes from as I feel it is where I can use broad search terms to find great art and photographers. Through using Pinterest I have found multiple pieces of art and photographers who's ideas I am really enjoying. This is the main source of inspiration at the moment and feel it would work well alongside my blog. 

Wedding Photography -FALLING-

I myself as an aspiring photographer am really excited to begin shooting for real people in the world and one of the steps I have taken in doing so, is recently I was the photographer for my aunties wedding. Although I am amateur I felt the pressure and could't wait to plan.I started to research images or previous photographers work and started to realize something. These images are capturing the love between two people. After looking at most of the images even from a simple google search of "wedding photography" I found hundreds of images all connoting love and all these image show the love they have for each other.

Although this was a personal project and does not relate to my project of FALLING, I still felt inspired by some images and liked how we are capturing the love they have for each other. 

Kinetic Rain: Art Installation by ART+COM -FALLING-

http://theinspirationgrid.com/kinetic-rain-art-installation-by-artcom/

This is not a photographer but an installation that I came across and instantly fell in love with. The idea behind it is it promotes peace and tranquility as the kinetic rain drops move by computer generated actions.

The “Kinetic Rain” installation was commissioned as a calming centerpiece for the departure hall at Singapore’s Changi Airport.

“Suspended by steel wires, the raindrops are computer-controlled to move up and down in choreographed patterns.”

These are really eye catching and look really beautiful. I wanted to take inspiration from the way they are hung and the idea behind them. Due to the project "FALLING" I want to take this as inspiration and possibly look at this as a way of presenting my images. I also feel it would create nice images too if I was to take still images of them. The calming effect they have allows the audience to fall into peace and this is a similar idea to what I am looking to do too.

Photographer #9- ING 2016 Campaign by Ryan Romanes & Jiani Lu -FALLING-

http://theinspirationgrid.com/ing-2016-campaign-by-ryan-romanes-jiani-lu/


Art director Ryan Romanes worked in collaboration with photographer and graphic designer Jiani Lu to produce this eye-catching campaign for ING 2016, a creative festival being held in Dubai.


I really like the way these images look and what they represent. They explore the beauty and simplicity of the festival they are promoting. I love the use of simple coloured sheets to catch the eye of the audience and to grab their attention. These are also very strong images in terms of technicality as you can see the background is the same in every image. I would like to continue with the idea of these images following a narrative and the way there shape tells a story without using varied images or text. This is also open to interpretation so many people many not only see these as a advertisement for a creative festival but can interpret them in any way they want.
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Photographer #8 The Struggle to Right Oneself: Photos by Kerry Skarbakka -FALLING-

http://theinspirationgrid.com/the-struggle-to-right-oneself-photos-by-kerry-skarbakka/

The Struggle to Right Oneself: Photos by Kerry Skarbakka

Kerry Skarbakka is an American visual artist working in photography and video.
These incredible falling pictures are part of his series entitled “The Struggle to Right Oneself”. The artist explains:
Philosopher Martin Heidegger described human existence as a process of perpetual falling, and it is the responsibility of each individual to catch ourselves from our own uncertainty. This unsettling prognosis of life informs my present body of work.  

I love these images as straight away these images make you think. They make you question whether or not it is real, they make you ask how the photographer did it. I believe a photo that makes the audience think of question is a brilliant image as it gets the mind working. I want to try and use this idea of falling to question the audience and alert their minds. Using simple props like a chair maybe a person jumping would create a similar idea. This being said I need to make sure I don't make the images look cheesy and unprofessional. 

Photographer #7- Life on the Edge: Photography by Dennis Maitland -FALLING-

http://theinspirationgrid.com/life-on-the-edge-photography-by-dennis-maitland/

Life on the Edge: Photography by Dennis Maitland

‘When I started this series, in August, I was afraid of heights and I was afraid to climb ladders past 10 feet. After a few times sitting or standing on ledges, I found myself getting more comfortable with it. I soon realized how to tune everything out and just focus on getting a steady handheld shot. Now, when I go into a building, I’m always looking up and for stuff to climb. The series has pushed me out of my comfort zones and helped expand my creative boundaries. I’ve been able to concur my fear of heights and now I crave the adrenaline’.”


I really like the depth of these images and just how powerful they are. It is a perspective you would not have though about which engage the audience. The leading lines also help with creating a dramatic effect of how intense the situation is. I like the lines of these images and feel they are really effective at putting the audience on edge, quite literally.

My images inspired by Recipes: Nora Luther & Pavel Becker -FALLING-

After researching Nora Luther and Pavel Beckers images of the falling recipes, I decided i wanted to recreate them in some way. For the first images I have taken on my camera I am not pleased with the result as I feel I needed to concentrate more and focus on the settings of my camera. In order to do so, I used a manual focus to create these as due to the fall, I need to be able to use a fast shutter speed to take the image in focus. I also feel like these images were framed wrong and show amateur skill, when I am aiming for professional. In future if I was to recreate these images for a second time I would:

1. focus on the settings more. This includes using the manual setting on my camera and learning the basics again in order for me to play around and experiment. 
2. Use a variety of fruit and vegetables to ensure I have variety. 
3. try dropping more than one item to add more colour and texture to the image.