(L) Personal Work Lesson

Photography_LessonTopBanner.png Personal Work

Photo20_connection.jpgWhat's the Connection?

  • Explore: Examine the work of a variety of historical and contemporary photographers and how they use light in the photographs.
  • Challenge: What is the difference between inspiration and imitation/plagiarism?
  • Application: Use components to create a digital collage inspired by the work of ______.

PHOTO_THElesson.pngFinding Your Light

We are all influenced by the things we see, hear, and experience. Our experiences form our view of the world, influence our aesthetic tastes, and the things we desire. It is no different in art. The art we see created by others influences our own creations. It can inspire us to imitate aspects of the art or perhaps spur us to go in a completely different direction.

View the video below and explore how each artist uses light in their artwork and what are the most inspiring aspects of each image.

 

Influencing or Plagiarizing?

Let’s take things further. We have explored the idea of influence. So then, what is the difference between being influenced or inspired by another artist and plagiarizing another artist?

What is the difference between inspiration and plagiarism?

Inspiration

Plagiarism
PHOTO20_inspire.png  PHOTO20_plagiarize.png 

Inspiration for an artist is anything that influences your artwork. Inspiration can fill you with a feeling that is then translated into your art; it can motivate you to create in general. Inspiration emboldens, motivates, influences, produces, sways, touches, heartens, arouses, stirs, galvanizes, excites, affects, sparks, provokes, spurs, animates, or instills.

When considering the work of other artists and its effect on our own work, inspiration can take many forms.

  • Composition – how the elements are arranged
  • Use of color
  • Use of contrast
  • Subject
  • Mood
  • Style
  • Process
  • Point of view
  • Technique
  • Use of light
  • Styling

Plagiarism in visual art is the theft of another person’s artwork or ideas. Usually, this occurs when someone steals another artist’s artwork and makes it appear to be their own work. Legally, courts recognize acts of plagiarism as violations of copyright as the theft of another person’s Intellectual Property.

When considering the work of other artists and its effect on our own work, inspiration can take many forms.

  • Composition – how the elements are arranged
  • Use of color
  • Use of contrast
  • Subject
  • Mood
  • Style
  • Process
  • Point of view
  • Technique
  • Use of light
  • S
  • tyling

In school you often see this taking the form of a student putting their name on someone else’s work and turning it in on their own. But in lawsuits, it’s not always so clear-cut. In cases of partial theft, the artwork is not an exact copy of the original. So it could be creating your own photograph that is a copy of the original photograph. In a lawsuit, the plaintiff has to show that the alleged plagiarist had access to the copyrighted artwork and there are substantial similarities between the two works. But similarity can occur without plagiarism – the same idea can occur simultaneously in different artworks.

Parody, satire, and educational use are exceptions for plagiarism.

Things get even more complicated in the world of art when the concept of appropriation is thrown in.

View this video for an in-depth exploration of appropriation in art:

 

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PHOTO_THEAPPLICATION.pngGet Inspired!

Take a look at the image below - what type of inspiration do you draw from it.

Choose your top inspiration - then see how your classmates chose to compare.

PHOTO20_PersonalWorkApplication.png 

 (Ten-Year-Old spinner in N. Carolina Cotton Mill  -  Lewis W. Hine  -  1908)

What do you find inspiring about this photograph?

  • The dramatic natural lighting
  • The meaning behind it
  • The shallow depth of field
  • The sense of place
  • The leading lines
  • The overall composition

Photography_LessonBottomBanner.png IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS