Contexual Studies AW1 - Tate modern

Having been into many different types of exhibition in the Tate today, the most attention seeking one was the Russian Revolutionary posters in room 5 set up by Matthew Gale . The subject was simple and the images was strong and clear. We were able to understand and relate to it much easier than other works in the Tate.
The theme was about the illusions which were created in the Russian revolution and the Soviet Union. The posters described and made us visualise the shock and the disaster of the first world war before and after.
The posters gave me an immediate reaction of the greed that existed in the time also the brutality of the sufferers. It illustrated very obvious how badly the place was corrupted. The colours were mainly red and black. Psychologically this creates a sign of danger for me on the other hand physically or visually the posters illustrates blood and the sense of urgency at the time. As a reader we sense the importance and the intense danger from the posters.

This is one of the strongest posters in my view.

The leader who owns the majority of the picture appears to be a strong figure due to the scale compared to the troops. The soldiers are tiny which shows how strong of a figure the leader is. The troops are heading towards where the leader is showing them. This posters shows the authority figure and how the soldiers are in their agentic state.
The colour plays a part in this too. Red. This represent to me blood and deadly. The colour shows the fearless mood which contrast with the monochromatic background.

Here is the overview of the exhibition.




Showing the women's right to elect.









There are other exhibition which was more calm.

Author's photograph by William Eggleston 

William Eggleston had a series of photos which was taken in the 1960s. His work interests me due to the modern look of the prints but the subject in the picture are classic and vintage - both opposing each other.

Eggleston used a complex and a very expensive process called "dye transfer" to create these images. This makes the images very durable and less likely to fade.

  

When Eggleston was asked what he was photographing he simply answered with "Life Today"
I like to interpret this quote as how he is telling his subject matter is just everyday things or objects or scenes.     Also from this quote i learnt that his photos are whats he sees and its always something new - each day (today) will have something new or different. He also does not like putting description or dates to his photos. This enhances how his work are natural and what happens "today" is today.


Bibliogrpahy  : 
Websites 
Kai Behrmann (2012) Taking pictures of the Banal [Online]  http://www.topphotographyfilms.com/2012/09/09/william-eggleston/ Acessed on the 17/09/2013
Exhibition           
16/09/2013 Tate modern (London) 
Books
Thames&Hudson William Eggleston Paris 2002