My Response To Rankin Destroy Using Adobe Photoshop

Like before, I used photographs that I had taken of myself and experimented with them after looking at Rankin's work. However, this time I decided to edit my photographs on Adobe Photoshop to see what different effects could be achieved. For me, using the macs to edit my photograph took me longer than it did when I was painting onto a photograph or ripping it up.

 With this image, I played around with the hues of the image to make it look almost black and white with hints of brown seeping through. I then coped the image of the swirls into a separate Photoshop tab, used the magic wand tool to remove the white background that was on the image. I copied the swirls into the document where my photograph was in and added the swirls to the stamp tool. This allowed me to use the swirls like a pre-set stamp that are already loaded on Photoshop. Once I placed one, I rotated the other so that it matched the other swirl image like a mirror.

I firstly selected a pre-set stamp and changed the colour of it to a pale blue colour. I then clicked on 'Filters' so that I had a drop down of options to choose from. Once I had played around for a little while, I decided on choosing an effect from the 'artistic' section which was 'cartoon'. I played around with the settings so that I looked a little less real. I changed the contrast of the image also, so that the image seemed more vibrant. 

Just like the first photograph, I copied the image of the pocket watch into Photoshop and edited it so that the background could not be seen. Once I had added the clock to the stamp tool, I played around with the blending effects so that one clock looked darker than the other one. I then chose a pre-set stamp which is that of leaves as I though it would add a nice effect next to the pocket watches. I finally chose a pen tool that had a broken stroke and changed the colour to a faded red to add some colour to the image.

My Response To Rankin Destroy

After looking at Rankin's work and analysing one of his photographs, I decided to experiment with the idea of taking a photograph and 'destroying' it. I took some pictures of myself using a mac webcam and did face expressions that showed different emotions. By me doing this, it helped me come up with ideas for how I was going to 'destroy' my photographs.

 I decided to rip this image up and put it back together with gaps in-between the pieces to show the feeling of being broken. By covering my face with my hands, it allowed me to come up with that idea as usually the first thing people would think if they saw someone covering their face is that they were crying.

 This image is filled with joint emotions. On one hand it could look like blood is spurting from my mouth and head, but what the true meaning I wanted to portray was that of a memory. The red from the lips shows wearing lipstick the night before and the bronze/red colour from the hair is the blurred memory of the hair flowing about whilst dancing.

 It is quite clear when first looking at this image that the feeling is of fear. I cut a zigzag in my photograph in the middle so that when I placed it down on the painted paper, it looked like I had cracked in half. I did this represent what fear does to people, whether from a nightmare or reality.

The emotion in this photograph is that of confusion, stress, sadness and other negative emotions that can have a negative impact on a person. The erratic scribbling that I did in permanent marker represents the thought process when the mind is in a bad place. I created leaking blues and greens in the background to help build an atmosphere for the picture as blue is often seen as a 'cold colour'.

Rankin Analysis

Rankin Destroy Analysis

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In 2009, Rankin had gotten together with a variety of artists and musicians to create a new project, known as ‘Rankin Destroy’. Rankin took photographs of various musicians and then, along with other artists, ‘destroyed’ them by means of scratches, paint smudges and dripping coloured liquids. Rankin made his name in 1992 by founding and publishing with Jefferson Hack, the magazine ‘Dazed and Confused’.

This photograph is of the singer Kyle. She can be seen wearing overhead earphones and a crop top. At first glance it appears that paint or ink has been randomly splattered onto the photograph. However, to the centre of the photograph the paint or ink has been done in what seems to be various circular motions. On some parts it is clear that a lot of materials have been used as you can see the dripping effect created by this. In the upper left hand of the photograph, more paint / ink can be seen. This section is different from the paint / ink in the centre of the photograph as this section looks almost like a signature; in a very abstract way. The original photograph itself is black and white which makes the paint / ink stand out even more and make more of an impact on the overall image. The paint / ink are in hues of deep reds to light purples and pinks which draws our attention to the lines and drips made.

I was not able to find a direct meaning for this photograph but my initial thought is that the paint / ink represent music. The big, overhead earphones help with this idea as the circular lines and the drips could be the different parts of the music the model, Kyle is listening to or even her own music. From the specific colours used for the paint / ink (reds and pinks), there could be a theme to this photograph, love. The swirls and the circular lines representing the feelings felt through love and also music again, both lyric wise and instrumental wise. The paint/ink, not necessarily relating to feelings of love, but also other emotions and could represent music being used as a release. Following on from this idea, the photograph could also be attempting to show how people ‘zone out’ to music, by this I mean forgetting any troublesome factors and just enjoying the music for what it is. It could also represent when people use music to meditate.

I like what Rankin has done with this photograph as it is open to many interpretations. I like the idea that the ink / paints used on this image represent the sensations felt and created from music and adds a more dimensional effect. Personally I would have preferred a more variety of colours as it would make the piece more interesting for me but his use of texture and line thickness adds depth to the emotions that are, I’m assuming trying to be portrayed.