Monday 23 April 2012

more artist precedents

                                                              Paul Smith-Make my night
In this collection the idea is to expose the behavior of young men at parties who are under the influence of alcahol. I really liked the idea of this collection because it is quite relevant to younger people in society and the drinking culture that is becoming more popular among young people today. the idea explores masculinity and how drinking is a part of the 'Masculine identity'. "Paul rejoined the discourse with the masculine identity in Make My Night. Ostensibly a record of a very laddish night out, Paul used a similar technical method to that of the previous series combined with the use of multiple self-portraits. As before, he becomes the anonymous everyman but this time is more overtly the narrator as well as the protagonist of a frequently observed ritual.  "" This quote was taken from Smith's website, http://www.paulmsmith.co.uk/portfolio/make-my-night/make-my-night.html, and it describes how the photographer is the protagonist and narrator at the same time. i think that this is very effective because the viewer has different perspectives of the photographs, for example a viewer may judge the people and situation at first but then may relate to the situations or even feel as if it's a new way of looking at the drinking culture  that is encouraged by many young men. for me this relative to time because firstly it is a window into the more liberal and rebellious lifestyles of young people in today's modern world and secondly because it works with the idea of 'good times', and it makes me,a viewer, think back to my good times (which by the way, were not as tragic as these guys'), and this is effective because it involves the audience and makes them think.

image retrieved from: http://www.paulmsmith.co.uk/portfolio/make-my-night/images/condom.jpg
There is an element of humour in these photos, because it almost seems like a parody of the way people party and behave when they are drunk. Everyone laughs at the drunk person, who would probably never wear a condom on his head whilst sober, but as a drunk party-goer would do things he would probably regret in the morning. This helps the audience connect more with the photographs because humour keeps the viewers interested and involves them with the images.

image retrieved from: http://www.paulmsmith.co.uk/portfolio/make-my-night/images/toilet.jpg
image retrieved from: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cY0QFaFf1pI/TPhAfmsU2vI/AAAAAAAAADk/uzIln2sMrx4/s1600/sick.jpg
while the collection explores the high's of drinking and partying as a young man, it also looks at the low's and creates an undesirable outlook on excessive drinking and this almost brings more meaning into the idea of the collection, where the viewer identifies that good times can end up bad. This could even be a way of the photographer trying to portray the message that the effects of alcohol can be unpleasant, even dangerous and shows this to the audience so that they dont take the subject light heartedly






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