Emptiness
Vanitas is a type of still life painting that became popular in the 1500s. They tended to be a little dark in nature, but ultimately served as reminders of the preciousness of life. Each painting was a reflection of the owner (not necessarily the painter) and their interests and values. Each object within the still life has a specific meaning, and each painting always had something to represent...
1. Death (like a skull or rotten meat)
2. Pleasure (like an instrument or jewelry)
3. The brevity of life (like a candle or flowers)
4. Vanity (something that the owner was proud of like money or books)
To better understand quality compositions, we will be creating our own VANITAS. First, we'll need to do a little research:
1.Research VANITAS still life painting.
2. Write (in your own words) at least 5 sentences about the history. What were they? Who did them? Who were they for? Post this on a new page titled VANITAS.
3. Find a VANITAS still life painting that you either love or hate. Post this on your Vanitas page. Make sure you have the name of the artist and the title.
4. Write at least 5 sentences as a critique of this painting. What is going on in the painting? Is it bright? Is it dull? Is it realistic? Why do you love it? Why do you hate it? What do you think each object means?
By the end of class, ....................., you should have this completed and posted to your Weebly site. Be sure to make your top bar related to the project.
So now you are ready to create your own VANITAS! First, you will need to create a list of at least 9 objects you will include in your VANITAS photographs. You will need to represent each of the four elementsthat are included in VANITAS paintings.
DEATH
PLEASURE
THE BREVITY OF LIFE
VANITY
Think about what objects in your life could represent these things.
Create a list of the 9 objects and post this to your VANITAS page by the end of class Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Be sure to label each object as to what element you are representing.
1. Death (like a skull or rotten meat)
2. Pleasure (like an instrument or jewelry)
3. The brevity of life (like a candle or flowers)
4. Vanity (something that the owner was proud of like money or books)
To better understand quality compositions, we will be creating our own VANITAS. First, we'll need to do a little research:
1.Research VANITAS still life painting.
2. Write (in your own words) at least 5 sentences about the history. What were they? Who did them? Who were they for? Post this on a new page titled VANITAS.
3. Find a VANITAS still life painting that you either love or hate. Post this on your Vanitas page. Make sure you have the name of the artist and the title.
4. Write at least 5 sentences as a critique of this painting. What is going on in the painting? Is it bright? Is it dull? Is it realistic? Why do you love it? Why do you hate it? What do you think each object means?
By the end of class, ....................., you should have this completed and posted to your Weebly site. Be sure to make your top bar related to the project.
So now you are ready to create your own VANITAS! First, you will need to create a list of at least 9 objects you will include in your VANITAS photographs. You will need to represent each of the four elementsthat are included in VANITAS paintings.
DEATH
PLEASURE
THE BREVITY OF LIFE
VANITY
Think about what objects in your life could represent these things.
Create a list of the 9 objects and post this to your VANITAS page by the end of class Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Be sure to label each object as to what element you are representing.
So...now you're ready to take the photos.
Now that you have your objects, you're ready to take these photographs. Here's how you'll proceed:
1. Gather your objects. Remember that you have at least 9 objects that will be included in your photographs.
2. Place your objects on a table or on the floor next to a wall. You should have a CLEAN background (there shouldn't be any random things in the background. the wall should be BARE)
3. Put a strong light source near one side of arrangement. You can move this when you take the photographs to play with the lighting.
4. Take at least 3 pictures.
5. Rearrange the objects to play with the composition. You can move the lighting as well.
6. Take at least 3 more pictures.
7. Rearrange the objects again. You can move the lighting as well.
8. Take at least 3 more pictures.
9. Rearrange the objects one last time. You can move the lighting as well.
10. Take at least 3 more pictures.
By TBD, you should have at least 12 VANITAS images. You will pick the best 3 to edit in photoshop. We will talk about how to do this in class. Part of your grade is how the editing enhances the photograph. Here are some options:
Crop
Change the colors
Enhance the colors
Mess with the levels
Blur part of the photograph to enhance another
Get rid of any unnecessary things in the background
Use the dodge tool to brighten highlights
Use the sponge tool to desaturate or saturate
By the end of class on TBD, you should post the originals and the edited versions on your VANITAS page.
1. Be sure you have a title under each edited image.
2. Be sure your top bar has related images.
3. Be sure to post each original and edited photograph at a decent size.
1. Gather your objects. Remember that you have at least 9 objects that will be included in your photographs.
2. Place your objects on a table or on the floor next to a wall. You should have a CLEAN background (there shouldn't be any random things in the background. the wall should be BARE)
3. Put a strong light source near one side of arrangement. You can move this when you take the photographs to play with the lighting.
4. Take at least 3 pictures.
5. Rearrange the objects to play with the composition. You can move the lighting as well.
6. Take at least 3 more pictures.
7. Rearrange the objects again. You can move the lighting as well.
8. Take at least 3 more pictures.
9. Rearrange the objects one last time. You can move the lighting as well.
10. Take at least 3 more pictures.
By TBD, you should have at least 12 VANITAS images. You will pick the best 3 to edit in photoshop. We will talk about how to do this in class. Part of your grade is how the editing enhances the photograph. Here are some options:
Crop
Change the colors
Enhance the colors
Mess with the levels
Blur part of the photograph to enhance another
Get rid of any unnecessary things in the background
Use the dodge tool to brighten highlights
Use the sponge tool to desaturate or saturate
By the end of class on TBD, you should post the originals and the edited versions on your VANITAS page.
1. Be sure you have a title under each edited image.
2. Be sure your top bar has related images.
3. Be sure to post each original and edited photograph at a decent size.