THOMAS ALBDORF:
“THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY”
THOMAS ALBDORF: “THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY”
MAY 22-26, 2023, BOWEN ISLAND, BC
More and more of the images we see are not recorded with photographic means any more; digitally altered pictures, 3D-renderings, and software-generated images consistently force their way into our perception – often without us recognizing them as non-photographic. What place can have a lens-based artistic practice in these times, and is the photographic method still relevant? (Spoiler: yes) Enabling a discussion between images taken outside the studio and ones created inside, testing unaltered, “natural” photographs against staged, constructed and altered images, participants of “The Map and the Territory” will be enabled to create new images in the studio based on previously shot photographs, and learn how to produce work that, albeit rooted in the photographic method, is able to touch upon and discuss current developments in regard to post-photographic pictures.
Goals:
• discussing the contemporary photographic image and how it changed in the last three decades (digital photography, post-production, 3D-rendering, software-created images)
• learning how to use (artificial) light in the studio
• learning how to use existing images to create new work; how to relate the photography outside the studio – unaltered, “natural” images – to photography inside the studio – constructed, fabricated images.
What we will do:
• First day – theoretical part: we will discuss how the photographic image changed over the last three decades, how new technological developments converted our perception of it, and why the photographic method is still relevant and important.
• Second day – we will wander around Bowen Island, shooting images that will be used later on in the studio.
• Third and fourth day – we will create sets / stages using the images we shot the previous day, and will create simple sculptural arrangements that we will stage on these sets. We will use artificial light to mimic (and potentially enhance or alter) the light in the previously shot photograph. We will then use post production (mostly Adobe Photoshop) to further alter, enhance, or deconstruct the created image.
• Fifth day – we will give a form to the produced work – discussing and testing ways of physically producing it, and possibilities of distributing it digitally.
What participants need to bring:
• Own digital camera (quick turnaround of images)
• Own laptop / computer, ideally with Adobe Photoshop
Schedule: Meets in-person at FotoFilmic on Bowen Island on Monday May 26, Tuesday May 27, Wednesday May 28, Thursday May 29 and Friday May 30 from 9am to 5pm (hours subject to change).
This program is limited to 12 participants.
Banner photograph © Thomas Albdorf, 2329 Wilshire Boulevard, Part One (The Trash Can Fire), from the series and book Body Double (2022).
© Thomas Albdorf, Cav Empt for GRIND Magazine, March 2022, commission (left); Vine Street, from the series and book Body Double, 2022 (left).
© Thomas Albdorf, Approach, from the series and book I Know I will See What I have Seen Before (2015).
© Thomas Albdorf, all photographs from the series and book Body Double, 2022.
ABOUT THOMAS ALBDORF:
