Final Images

Image 1

This image was to show Jeanette's strong religious beliefs, her naivety, innocence and blind faith. Before any conflict within her church. I have styled my model in an over sized frumpy shirt and brown cardigan, the ill fitting clothes reflects her and mothers religious views, she would not wish to show off a figure, or have any interest in fashion. The brown cardigan helps to create a 1970's look. Brown I feel represents the 70's era, think of 1970's home decor, clothes, and 70's buildings. The fact she is on her on reading the bible on a sunny day instead of playing on the street shows her fairly solitude life.

Image 2

This image is representing Jeanettes homosexuality, and feelings towards Melanie, she is eating an apple, the 'forbidden fruit', the apple is representing her 'sins' towards the church and mother. The pink raincoat is very significant as she was wearing it the first time she saw Melanie.

Image 3

This image shows Jeanette in a reflective state, reflecting on her life, leaving the church, her relationships. I have styled her again in the pink raincoat as she was wearing it the day she saw Melanie and I feel it was the day that  changed her life. I tried to situate all three images in a 'Northern setting' against an old brick wall.

Wigs and Makeup 

Hair 

I found the most horrendous looking ginger wig in a bargain bin, well, I say bargain, it was still 20 quid, but it is perfect; the right hair colour and style, it looks very dated, and it is really going to bring Jeanettes character to life in the photographs.


Make up 

 I want to create a youthful look, Jeanette would not have been wearing makeup. The model I found is 22 and I need her to look more like 16. So the makeup needs to look like no makeup. On the face chart above I have created freckles, a rosy glow on the cheeks, full un-kempt brushed up brows and a very light pink lip. I will be using a very light foundation just to even out the skin tone a little, I definitely do not want a made up make up look.

The model I have chosen is a very good friend, I picked her as I felt she had a youthful versitile look

Products

Products I will be using :

Vaseline rosy lips

MAC ginerly blush

MAC pencil lingering

No7 brown pen eyeliner

Dior shadow quad

YSL touche eclait foundation

Camera

I want the images to look as if they are taken in the 70's. I don't want them to be shot in a studio, as I don't want the images to look staged I want them to feel real. I discovered, after watching an online fashion blog, the Holga camera. 

First designed as a 'toy camera' in Hong Kong in the 1980's, it takes unique photographs, sometimes with colour blurs or blackened edges, very popular with professional photographers. It's also dirt cheap, I purchased mine for £25! I also bought a number of different films for different affects. 

Below are some examples of photographs taken with the Holga, which I took from the Holga website.

The effects really reminded me of some of the work by Cindy Sherman. Hopefully the camera and film will give me the dated look that I am after.

Props & Image ideas 

Image 1

Throughout the book there is a strong religious theme, Even the chapters of the book are names of books in the old testemant. Jeanettes religion has dominated most of her life I want one of my images to show Jeanettes strong religious beliefs, before the conflict with her mother and the church. I found this old small bible which i thought would be good to feature in one of the images, apparently it is an antique so it will also give a dated look to my photographs.

I will most likely have my model reading the bible, or have it on her lap, I want to make it clear that this image represents Jeanette 'following the lord' and her faith.

Image 2

 

The title of the book is oranges are not the only fruit, throughout the novel Jeanettes mother always offers Jeannette an orange whenever she is troubled or questions anything. I thought that having Jeannette holding an apple, or perhaps an apple appearing in one of the shots would be fantastic symbolism in two ways. Jeannette falls in love with Melanie, and has relations with Katy, the pastor on several occassions discusses the 'issue' of unnatural passions in that homosexuality is a sin, in the story of Adam and Eve, Eve takes the forbidden fruit, which is what Melanie are Katy are; forbidden. Homosexuality is viewed as a sin so apple will represent Jeanettes sins and 'unnatural passions'

Above is a quick painting of how I visualise the composition of my model, for the final images. I definitely want a close up of her holding the apple to her face, or perhaps taking a bite, this will represent one of the three stages in the book.

Image 3

I want my third and final image showing my model in a reflective stance. It will represent Jeanette's decision to finally leave her church. I want her wearing the pink mackintosh raincoat her mother picked out for her, Jeanette describes it as 'bright pink' so obviously very garish to what she would normally wear. The same day she wore the pink mac was the same day she first saw Melanie and really it was that day changed her life forever. Therefore, my model wearing the pink coat in the final image will also show the significant change in Jeanette's life. She is leaving the church as she is no longer accepted, as well as her own disagreements with some of the church's values and beliefs.

Above is a very loud pink raincoat I found on ebay, It is a size 14, which will be great as it is too sizes to large for my model, just like in the book, over-sized and ill-fitting.

Photography & Styling 

The analysis of the following imagery will help me construct my three photographs as every aspect of the image is important.

Fashion Photography

20 years Dolce & Gabanna

Above are images I selected from the book 20 Years: Dolce and Gabbana. I selected these seven photographs. There is a definite sense of emotion/reflection in each image. I am certain to capture Jeannette worried/upset and confused. 

Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent 

The book features some of Carine Roitfeld most noted editorials, along with interviews and personal photographs. It truly is very inspirational. Below I picked out some of my favourite images. I felt it was relevant to look at her work, one because she is one of the best and my personal favourite stylist, and two, it will help to inspire the concepts in my images. All of her work is constructed carefully and each image has an narrative.

I love this image, the woman looks to be very well styled, high class, wearing fur, expensive looking jewellery and perfect skin, with her swigging down the can of beer, creates a brilliant contrast. The concept has been well considered, it makes me think of a Russian billionaires wife.

This image basically tells me you can sell anything with the right label. The colour of the straw and red lip and nails have worked well as those colours psychologically make you think of food a drink. 

Carine noted next to this image, that she loves meat. When I first saw the photograph it did look a little controversial with the slabs of raw flesh, but it just works so well. It is definitely has a 'tough look'. The model has been given a very androgynous style with the straight brows, quiff and leather trousers, she is sat in a professional restaurant kitchen which is a predominantly a male workplace, and then meat finishes it off. Raw meat makes you think of cavemen, the fact it is on skewers makes you think of BBQ's which stereotypically makes you think of men. Again not to repeat myself, it has been carefully constructed. It has inspired me to carefully consider my location and any props I wish to feature.

A Spanish bride. Carine wrote next to this image that Spanish women are said to be tough.  This image really portrays that, strong androgynous brow, hands in pocket and the trousers under the wedding dress. The backdrop also gives it a Mediterranean feel, beautiful.

These images are about the future of cosmetic surgery, and they definitely have a futuristic feel, from the the bright pastel hair and the fake cheekbones. I love the image on the right, the model is smoking a laser pen whilst wearing a latex glove, an interpretation of an iconic vogue look, replacing the leather glove. 

This is a very clever image, and possibly one of my favourites. It immediately makes you think, must wear hand cream! This would be a fantastic campaign for hand creams, as the rest of the models skin is well groomed and looked after, so it gives the message to look after your hands, as they are a tellin sign of your age.

Fine art photography

Nan Golding 

Nan Goldings photography is very real. Her work features many images of her friends showing what she described as their ‘sub cultural lifestyles'. I have analysed a couple of her photographs to achieve an understanding of what the images are trying to say.

Above the man is getting ready  for what you would think is a 'glamorous' event or drag night, you can tell this from the rollers in the hair, the drawn on eyebrows and  pointy nails. The way the man is holding his cigarette creates a sense of attitude and ego, along with the expression on the face. The fact the image is a black and white the photograph immediately looks dated. Black and white photography is seen as quite glamorous, as many iconic photographs are in black and white, think of Marylyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Black and white images are something I will consider as I want my images to look like they were taken in the 1970's.

The women’s straggly hair, the way she holds the cigarette in a carefree way, along with the length of ash left on the cigarette gives a sense of that the character is a happy carefree, almost hippy/ bohemian individual. This idea of the character is also reflected on the 70's looking wallpaper colour and pattern. The 1970's was very much a free spirited era, with drugs, music and experimentation.

Cindy Sherman

I found Cindy Sherman's work very inspiring for this project. Her photography shows different characters, female roles and personas, including a series of unintitled film stills, movie heroine using herself as the model in every photo. Her photographs are as successful as they are believable. Everything is considered, the lighting, styling and make-up. I need to make sure that I consider all possible aspects of the narrative, to achieve a good outcome. Her work shows that through makeup and photography you can achieve any look.

Collage

Here at two collages I made to give me ideas of how I want to represent Jeanette's character and any props I may use.

The first shows an isolated girl, growing up in an industrial working class northern town, with terraced housing, all she knows is her Pentecostal religion, her hair an orange shade of the fruit she is only provided; oranges.

The second collage shows her desires for her first love Melanie she is looking from afar as these 'unnatural passions' do not coincide with her religious beliefs. Melanie is next to an apple as an apple is something almost foreign to Jeanette something new, something alluring.

Styling

In my final three images I want to make it clear that the narrative is set in the late 60's/70's Britain, therefore I want the styling to reflect that time. I bought the book 'Fashion of the 70's' which consists of fashion and beauty advertisement of the 70's, (obviously that is clear from the title). Its great to see how different advertising was 40 years ago, some very cheesy and some rather sexist imagery, but all really interesting. It helps me to get the right idea of what colours and silhouettes reflect the 70's, in that its's not all multi-coloured flares, afro's and platforms. 

I know Jeanette would not have been wearing the latest designer labels or even high street names, as she was brought up in a poverty striken area. Her mother would not have entertained the idea of fashion, as she would have thought it a vanity and probably clothed her in hand me downs.  But the material used and the style of clothing of that time would have trickled down to the mainstream, whether it been a cut of a dress, pattern or fabric. This book has given me many ideas for the styling for Jeanette. 

The colours standing out in the book to me are yellows browns and reds, I will definitely consider these colour schemes.

My paintings show my initial ideas for how I imagine the styling to look. The first idea is to show Jeannette in a very conservative look, as she is part of the Penetecostal church, the look may be something she would wear for a church service. The second will show Jeannette in something a little more youthful, she is still a teen, maybe something to show that it is set in the 70's, i'm keen to include the colour brown as I feel the colour represents the era. Finally the third will show Jeannette in the pink mackintosh her mother selects for her in the charity shop.

Film

I want to link the my three images together, and need to theme them in some way. I remember watching the two films below which have a clear photographic theme, Amelie and Drive. They both are stylistic, each having a colour tone throughout the film to create mood and character. 

Drive
























Drive is 'ultra stylish' each shot of the film is like a photograph, blue tones running throughout every shot.  The Idea was said to emulate the feeling of a 'diver in an ocean of sharks'. Blue tones do make me think of water, it is also a very violent towards the end, blue tones could also suggest calm before the storm. It is dangerous as well as beautiful, which is like Goslings character, violent but caring.

Amelie

Amelie, is as charming as it is beautiful. Again like Drive, there is a colour theme throughout the film, as you can see below if you take any one shot from the film you can immediately tell it is from Amelie. Red and Green fill up the screen; colours which I feel make you think of food and sweets. Amelie is played by French actress Audrey Tatou, her character is Innocent naive and whimsical, just like the colours very sweet and likable. 

Early 70's Pop Culture


Oranges is set in the late 60's early 70's. Unsure on the exact moments I am going to depict Jeanette's character I feel it best to show her as a teen rather than a child. So to achieve an appropriate setting, styling and possible props for my photographs, I am going to research Into the early 1970's popular culture. To get an idea of the world around Jeanette although she didn't take interest in pop culture it still would have somewhat affected her through clothing, materials, hair styling decor etc, I want my images to have a 70's feel. Below is a quick mood board I created showing early 70's popular culture in Britain.

New sound to the seventies was 'glam rock' with Bowie dominating the charts in 73, other popular bands included ABBA, Elton John and Slade. Top films in the early 70's was Rodger Moore Bond - Live and let Die, Jaws, Exorcist and a clockwork orange.

70's TV ads

Below are a small selection of some of the adverts shown on British Television at the time of when Jeannette would have been a teenager/young adult. I found a youtube page which shows hundreds of them. It really gives me the idea of what colours represented that era and again the fashions of the time.

Political Social Economic 

Above is a quick collage I made regarding the political, social and economic state of Britain in the late 60's early 1970's. You can see the two political leaders around the time, Labour Prime Minister Edward Heath 164-1970 and Conservative Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Around the time Jeanette was growing up the British economy was unstable, run practically by trade unions, with constant strikes, there was the 'oil crisis in 73' along with working week turning to a three day week in 73-74. There was also the Northern Ireland troubles hitting the headlines, with many IRA bombings and social and political unrest.

Above is another photograph by photographer John Bulmer, whose work I showed in an earlier post. The photograph shows an area of Manchester, graffiti on the wall stating 'Help us' followed by 'Harold Wilson, the enemy of the working class!' This street is how I imagine Jeanette road/ village to look when she was growing up; cobble streets, terraced housing and a bleak atmosphere.

Location

Jeanette grew up in Northern England within a working class family and community. I wanted to get a visual of what her surroundings looked like in the time in the late 1960's. I found some fantastic imagery. I researched into working class in areas such as Bradford and Manchester in 60's/70's  which links perfectly for the setting for oranges.

'The North'

Photojournalist John Bulmer captured the so called 'bleak' areas of northern England in the 1960's and 70’s which was published in many magazines at the time. His photographs were trying to show that England in the north was not always so grim. Showing real people, cleverly picking up on colour in the images. He said that previously these areas were always shown in black and white photography. There is a definite sense of humour to his work; he created a series of photographs showing coal miners and industrial workers with the title 'Northern soul'.

Northern factory girls above eating their fish and chips with rollers in their hair.

Colour has been used very cleverly in each image, the picking up of certain colours adds charm and warmth to the dreary locations. Something I will consider in my images.

Hard working housewives washing their steps, I love the cheery lemon yellow colour of the bucket, great contrast against the grey streets.

Typical children playing in the street, it also helps me to think of ideas for the styling, socks and sandals might be one of them.

Older working class mother of the north, her clothes are what I would imagine Jeanette's mother wearing.