Typology Proposal

For this project, I have considered two ideas. In both, my subject would be loosely the same, however, the effect I hope to create would be quite different. The first is to photograph antique bottles. (That sounds obscure, but my dad collects them so gaining access should not be a problem.) I want to take these photographs in a controlled, precise environment that will remain consistent in every image, so that the photograph is almost reminiscent of a still life in its construction. Also, I think that I will use dramatic lighting to manipulate highlight and shadow. I am only undecided as to how I will frame the subject, if all of the bottle will be visible in the image. Ultimately, I want to achieve an effect similar, perhaps, to the pictorialists, so that the bottle is captured through photography as another artist might render it with paint. I chose this subject because I think that we have misinterpreted their purpose; we collect these things as novelties, ornaments for an empty shelf, attracted by their quaintness, their antiquity. What we tend to forget is that they were first made to satisfy a need, to perform a service, that bottles are essentially functional objects. I hope that in creating this typology, we examine them more vigorously than we otherwise might, that we consider both form and function.

My second thought was, similarly, to photograph bottles; however, in this instance I would use examples that we see every day. Unlike my first proposal, I would capture my subject in its natural environment, in a setting that we would recognize, or view as normal. I would like the bottle to dominate the image, to capture the viewer's attention; however, I also want to include elements outside of my primary subject. I hope that in doing so the viewer might begin to see how very ubiquitous this object is, that it will emphasize how often we encounter, or even use bottles without thinking.