Historical research of Image Manipulation

Image manipulation is the practice of taking an original image and editing it, either digitally or traditionally. It has been used for years because its an incredibly simple practice; paintings just require the artist to paint the change, film photos would be airbrushed or carefully manipulated in the darkroom, and digital images would be edited through a PC using programs such as Photoshop.

During the beginning of image manipulation, aside from occasional artistic pieces, was for political reasons instead. Here are some examples to demonstrate:

When Monarchs got their portrait painted, it was a popular option to have any blemishes (such as warts) painted out; they also changed peoples figures, face shapes, and hair/eye colours to look more appealing. Queen Elizabeth I was best known for this as she was famously covered in warts, and had bad teeth, and a strange nose. These were edited for both her own self esteem, and to boost the affection her subjects showed her.

Another famous example was used among dictators, especially Stalin. Because of the sensitive nature of dictatorship, it was important for them no to be associated with anyone that could be considered bad, or evil. This was mainly people who may have began on their side but were either discovered to be something the dictator doesn't like, or would disagree with the dictator and end up hated. A great example of this is the erasure of Nikolai Yezhov.



Nikolai as water commissar with Stalin (Before)

Once People's commissar for Internal Affairs, Nikolai was actually a valuable part of Stalins plans, he executed hundreds of thousands of people in Stalins name, and help to grow Stalins power incredibly during his career. However as soon as Stalin suspected him of disloyalty and he fell out of his favour, Stalin had him arrested, executed, and then censored from every image he was present in with Stalin.



The final picture after Nikolais execution (After)

To censor a film image in the past, they would be painted or airbrushed to help erase or correct the unwanted parts.



Historical image manipulation artists

 

To get a better grasp of true historical image manipulation, I have chosen 2 artists whose work I will be looking into to get a better grasp on techniques and styles of their time.

 

Grete Stern

Grete Stern was born in 1904 but her work was at the peak of its fame during the 1940s and 50s.

 



"Home"

Dream no 1: "Electrical appliances of the home"

Generally her photos come off as very surreal but also comment on real issues. Her pieces "Home" and "Dream No 1: "Electrical Appliances of the Home"" show women in a very superficial  light; with one being in a glass bottle, and the other being portrayed as everyday purchasable object made to look pretty. Her technique was also incredible for her time as it does look real; most other pieces of her time looked a lot faker, mostly due to them being cutouts stuck onto existing photos, but hers look much more realistic. This is due to, at least in part, the technique of developing she used which was the Gelatin Silver Print process which involved gelatin and silver salt particles being transposed onto glass or paper, its also generally made up of 4 layers to complete it.

 

 Jann Haworth

 

Jann Haworths work is probably the best known of the list because one of her pieces won her an award in the 1960s. Her work on the Beatles album "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band" is probably the most famous example of image manipulation as well. This piece was created by assembling a room full of cardboard cut outs of celebrities of the time, and then placing the real Beatles in the centre. I like the style of this work as well because its bright, simple, and very memorable. Its also the easiest to reproduce as the method does require a lot of planning and preparation but its easy to set up and quick to shoot.

 

Looking into the historic arts is a great way to see how it began and the bases that formed modern image manipulation and their artists, especially as the digital age would shake it up so much and unlock new possibilities over every style and method. So here's two more artists, from after the 60s, who I think show the strengths of image manipulation the best.

 

Christophe Gilbert

 

 

 Christophe is actually another very well known artist. He's done a lot of work for large car companies like Mercedes, and Toyota, but he's also worked for LG and PlayStation as well. But its his personal work that shines the best because he has a stunning skill for manipulating and warping liquids to his will. He uses them so perfectly and they look touchable, like you could run your hand through them which is really relaxing to view. His work is created by combining photos together in photoshop as well as digital painting and creating effects himself, which is impressive as they look stunningly realistic. His work would be fun to try reproduce, but it would take so much time that any attempt to use it in a film is pure idiocy, especially in this time frame. But apart from that, he's definitely a favourite of mine.

 

Garrigosa Studios

 

Although technically not a singular artist, Garrigosa Studios, from Spain, has won many awards for the image manipulation works it has done for famous brands like 7up, Honda, Nike and Audi. I personally adore their work because its bizarre and funny and very convincing. It's also very plain to see how its done which is very encouraging for an artists because it spurs further creativity and ideas. Their works are generally created through photoshop using photos they shoot themselves or 3d created figures which are imported and integrated with the rest on the shots in photoshop. This work is also not very realistic to use in a film, again for the realism involved, but its base techniques are simple enough and can be good inspiration for fuller pieces.

 

Looking into artists is always a good help for projects, but with one like this its crucial otherwise I would have so few techniques at my disposal, and it simply wouldn't convey the effect I would need to make a strong manipulated piece. It's also good to see the serious side of it because it is known for being goofy, but seeing its ties into politics brings a whole new element to it; the darkness of which works spectacularly with the brief of a Murder Mystery and opens a whole new world of ideas, concepts and styles to exploit, or at least explore, while planning and producing my final film.