TITLE OF MY RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Documenting the world around us. Focusing on photo manipulation by Margot Knight and sculptures by Patricia Piccinini relating to social issues, biotechnologies, and the human body.

Margot Knight is a photographer who uses digital manipulation to create images relating to social issues, the real world and the human body. Patricia Piccinini is one of Australia’s most succesful and controversial artists, who likes to explore distinctions between the artificial and the natural relating to world issues, in particular bioethics, biotechnologies and the environment. She works with a wide range of media including sculpture, digital prints, installations, painting, sound and video.

This style of work has always interested me. I have always had an interest in digital manipulation of images relating to real life issues, which shock or make you stop and think about certain issues. I admire the work of both of the artists I have chose because they create work that is really thought provoking and strange to look at but at the same time very real and life like. I would like to bring some of these ways of thinking into some of my practical work and do something along the lines of this type of work maybe trying out something new like sculpture.

Both artist tackle similar issues in their work. They create thought provoking work based on life now in the world and in the near future, using their imagination.
I admire how both artists work is so life like and convincing. The art works by Patricia Piccinini make you wonder how artificial ‘human life’ might become in the near future because of all the advances in science and technology. Whereas Margot Knight creates work that make you think about the world now.

I find the work by these artists inspiring. In a world where our lives are being controlled more by science and technology even the food we eat contains additives or genetically modified ingredients, who knows what all this experimenting will lead to.
I would like to take this approach, using the techniques both artists use,as a basis for my practical work, and have a go at documenting how I see the world through my imagination using sculpture and image manipulation.

Margot Knight

"My photographs use fantasy to trim away the fat of reality, to expose possibilities. I examine the body as a locus for debate on social issues and as a site for the manifestation of emotions. I create props, take photographs and use digital manipulation to give phisical form to loneliness, exuberance and wonder.
However, to see the world is also to see broken places, chemicals in the water,hungry people. I want to make fantastic, painful images to talk about the real world and the miraculous human body." (http://www.margotknight.com/margot.html)

type and image

For my research project I have decided to look at how type and image is used for different effects. The reason I have chose to look at this subject is because I have always been interseted in photography and image manpulation, how you can twist the meaning of an image by combining it with another image to shock, make you look twice or make you think about a certain subject and I particularly like the work of Paul M Smith and Margot Knight. This affect can also be achieved by placeing images side by side and using appropriate text, the typeface you chose can also change the overall feel of something.
Photography, manipulating images and typography are subjects I would like to learn more about I like the idea of exploring the issues significant in our lives today like the difference between natural and artificial.

I think by researching this further I will have a better understanding of how to use type and image effectively in my own work.

http://www.margotknight.com/margot.html
http://www.paulmsmith.co.uk