Inspiration for ‘The Commons / My Skin’

Jon Duenas

One of the artists that has being giving me inspiration whilst I am finalising my thoughts of how I want to present and develop my project is Jon Duenas, who makes clever use of the double exposure effect.

I like the work produced by Jon Duenas due to the aesthetic beauty of the images, but I also appreciate the way the images leave a lot open for the interpretation of the viewer. As an audience we are questioning what is linking the models in the photos to the landscape or object in the background of the image, and what does it mean to them.

Robert Mapplethorpe

Hand In Fire – Robert Mapplethorpe

Whilst not directly involved with my project, I believe it is worth mentioning Robert Mapplethorpe as one of my inspiring artists.

As seen in the image above, he has made clever use of double exposure, manipulating viewers minds into what he wants them to think. Whilst I am not going for this same reaction, I feel it is a method to potentially look into throughout my project.

Andre De Freitas

Another artist and photographer giving me inspiration for my project is Andre De Freitas.

De Freitas uses multiple images and over lays them using photoshop similar to Jon Duenas.

These three images are similar to what I am aiming for. I have decided to experiment with overlaying using photoshop as opposed to using the option available to myself from the camera.

Similar to Duenas’ work, I like De Freitas’ as it too leaves much for interpretation, what do these background images mean to the models?

Out of the three I feel the last two black and white images are more of the style I am aiming for. As they appear more serious, with the models having a serious pose, and also look like they are more connected to their background image than the model with flowers.

Academic Readings

I used multiple academic readings as inspiration, and for knowledge about tattoos.

One text I used was Zuzana Krystýnová’s master thesis “Tattooed & (Un)Employed” which is available at:

Click to access Master_Thesis_Upload_2013_Tattooed_Un_Employed_By_zkryst11_.pdf

I found this reading exceptional helpful as it allowed me to gain knowledge on the negative connotations behind tattoos. One main point I learnt from the text was that even a lot of people with tattoos are in agreement that facial tattoos are ‘too far’, and crossing the boundary of acceptability. This is why I placed my model’s tattoos on their face.

Another text I used was Victoria Pitt’s ‘In The Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification’.

One of the stand out chapter’s in Pitt’s book was chapter 3 ‘Visibly Queer’ which discussed how people belonging to the LGBT community used and use tattoos as a means of politically marking the body concerning struggles the community face, and how the body art is sexualised by the community. I found this interesting as two of my models, Jessica and Sarah are lesbian, and I thought it would be interesting to see if their own body art reflects Pitt’s opinion.

Available at:

 http://www.printmytattoo.com/members/ebooks/In%20the%20Flesh%20The%20Cultural%20Politics%20of%20Body%20Modification.pdf

The third is Paul Sweetman’s chapter ‘Anchoring the (Postmodern) Self? Body Modification, Fashion and Identity’ in Featherstone’s Body Modification (Theory, Culture & Society).

Sweetman notes that in “The last 20 to 30 years have seen a considerable resurgence in the popularity of tattooing and body piercing in the West” and that “The popular image of the tattooee as young, male and working class is now increasingly outdated, as more and more men and women, of various age-groups and socio-economic backgrounds, choose to enter the tattoo studio.” which is feel is reflected well in my project. In fact I would say that one of my aims in my project is to expose the fact that tattoos have become common (relating to The Commons title brief) as they’ve become increasingly accepted in society and a piece of art appreciated by people from all walks of life.

Available at (if you have accessibility): http://bod.sagepub.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/content/5/2-3/51.full.pdf+html