ALEX ORELLANA | Simonethursbyunit2

IMAGE: Alex Orellana (American, b. 1988) (Left) Man, (Right) Woman, 2016, archival inkjet prints, 24 x 16 in. each.

ALEX ORELLANA - BREAKING GENDER NORMS

Alex Orellana is a third-year MFA student in the UW- Madison Art Department. They received a photography BFA from the University of Georgia. Orellana's work has been featured in the Chazen Museum of Art and won the 2017 Chazen Museum Prize for an Outstanding MFA student. Orellana has also been featured in "Seven Contemporary Photographers Represent Trans Communities on Their Own Terms", a piece from 'Hypoallergenic', 2018. They began taking photos for personal reasons, they started taking hormones in 2015 and wanted to document the process. They began making these photos more artistic and with their love for science and psychology knowledge, found meaning in their photos.

They thought that it was important to educate people on how gender is arbitrary and publicise their images. Their first exhibit in the Chazen Museum of Art is titled, "Middle Child" in which the centrepiece is a video of Orellana and their family members transforming into gender-bent versions of themselves. "Middle Child" also includes the photo above.

In it, you can see Orellana embodying a feminine and masculine side. I would describe this image as ambiguous and mysterious. On the left side, Orellana is dressed in a collared work shirt and a tie, short hair and stubble - a traditionally masculine look. On the right, they are dressed in a lacy top with long hair and makeup - a traditionally feminine look. The two sides are formatted together with a narrow white line down the middle. I would say that the genre of this photo is portraiture.

This photograph reminds me a lot of Cindy Sherman's work where she also changes her appearance. This image is quite naturalistic in the way that it does not distort or abstract Orellana. The shape seems important in this photo because it's very symmetrical. Both sides of the image reflect a similar silhouette. Orellana has captured the light beautifully here ensuring the whole image is well light and is spread evenly. This effect could have been achieved by shooting in natural daylight. The picture is in focus and the subject has been cropped with little headroom and shoulder-width space on either side. The image has been edited to be black and white which allows the viewers to view the image as directly as possible and interpret it without influence from other variables.

The part of the image that initially struck me as most interesting is the content of it. I was confused as to whether I was supposed to be seeing a man or a woman before learning that Orellana is neither and I believe that's the point of the image. I think you're supposed to be confused but hopefully accept and reflect on what gender really means. If I could ask Orellana questions about this picture, I would ask them, what does the process of creating an image look like for you? Also, what do you hope people take away from your photography? By knowing the answers to these questions, I feel that I would be able to further understand how to capture the essence of Alex Orellana's work and adapt it in my own way whilst staying true to their intentions.

If I were to title this image, I would title it, "Perception" because of what Orellana said in an interview, "when I go to the store with my girlfriend, I can walk in wearing all men’s clothes, but people will say, ‘Hi, lady,’ and then what do I do with that? What’s my job in that situation? There’s that social dynamic to it — do I want to try and make sure I’m not upsetting people, but then also people will treat me differently depending on if they think I’m a man or think I’m a woman? It’s such a quick judgement and such an arbitrary thing, but it decides how people are going to treat me from the moment they see me." I think that this image and most of their work is about expressing that if an androgynous person can be perceived as both a woman and a man, then it goes to show truly just how gender is whatever you want it to be and it's subjective and personal to each person. I believe that they are trying to deconstruct and eliminate the pre-conceived and concrete notions of what appearance means. When we see someone on the street in a dress, we think, oh, she's a girl, and when we see someone in a suit, we think, oh, he's a guy. While this is the case for the majority of the population, it's important to understand and consider that not everybody feels like this. Clothing, makeup, and appearance shouldn't define what our sex is, gender isn't binary and we shouldn't be so quick to judge.

One thing that I think works really well about this is the composition. This is captivating to me because it allows me to understand and better visualise the message behind the image. The black and white filter also adds to this.

MORE WORK BY ALEX ORELLANA

ALEX ORELLANA PHOTOSHOOT - UNEDITED IMAGES

My intentions for this photoshoot were to capture images inspired by Alex Orellana's photography. This consists of using a white backdrop and taking photos from the chest up. For these photos, my mother dressed up in stereotypically masculine and feminine ways and I took photos of her making different subtle poses in front of a white sheet using natural light as lighting. One successful element of this photoshoot I believe is the framing. I think that the way she is posing inside of the image is reminiscent of this idea of ID photos or mugshots which correlates to identity and how these small photos are a topical definition of who you are. Orellana has referenced this in an interview. One unsuccessful element of this image I believe is the lighting. I took these photos at around 3 pm and therefore the sun was starting to go down as it is January. I also set up the backdrop where the window was on my left, her right, and therefore the light was not hitting her directly. This could be fixed by picking a sunnier day and shooting at around noon where we are she is facing the window directly. This would produce a better and more evenly lit image. I do believe that I have all the images I need at the moment.

EDITS - EXPERIMENTING WITH COMPOSITION AND BLACK AND WHITE IMAGERY

To begin the editing process of these black and white images. I firstly picked an image and used the crop tool to double its frame so that I could fit the other image in.

I then selected an "opposit gender" photo that had similar lighting and posing then copied and pasted it onto the original image.

After that, I moved the image so that the heads were matched and lined up to create symmetry and cohesiveness.

Next, I cropped it to get rid of all the excess space and create an even rectangular frame.

Lastly, I clicked the black and white tool to deprive the photos of colour, I then increased the brightness to make the image look more well-lit.

I edited these images to be a black and white series with a masculine and feminine side. I have done this because I have been inspired by one of Alex Orellana's images from their 'Middle Child' exhibition. This fits in with my project because it shows society's perception of gender. By representing both a male and female side, it is made clear that if you can look at one person, and perceive them as a man and a woman without any context, then it goes to show how easy it is to look at someone and assume their gender. In this way, it can also be demonstrated that gender is arbitrary and more than just men or women. One aspect that I like about these photos is the composition, when I took the photos, I didn't remain at the same camera position and I, therefore, had to fix this in editing. However, because I fixed this when editing, the "two people" in the photo are at mostly the same positions which I think makes these images look better and more cohesive. One aspect that I don't like about these photos is the lighting. Again, because I shoot too late in the day, the room was not bright enough and the light is mostly in the bottom half of the image. I tried fixing this by increasing the brightness but the light is still uneven. I can fix this by ensuring that when I take the photos, the room is bright and the light is covering the whole space. Next, I plan to make GIFs out of the images I took to show motion and add an interesting visual element.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

I think that this image is the most successful out of my edits because it correlates to themes in Alex Orellana's work. The clarity and coherence of the black and white colour scheme allows the audience to take in all the details and focus on the composition of it. The composition portrays the concept of these edits nicely - using this mugshot/ID style to imitate identification to show gender is arbitrary. I like how symmetrical it is, the "male" side and the "female" side are practically identical except for the fact that they are dressed differently; this creates a more visually compelling image for an audience to ponder.

DEVELOPMENTS - MAKING GIFS

I have made GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format) out of my photos from my Alex Orellana inspired photoshoot. I did this to create captivating visual elements and to explore themes of movement and motion in this "stop motion-Esque" technique. To do this, I couldn't just use my edits because I didn't have enough so I, therefore, had to utilise all the photos I had taken to create more fluid GIFs with more frames. I went through almost every photo I had taken and simply made them black and white. I then thought of different sequences (e.g. head turning to the right and then back or looking up and down) and added the images into a website called, "GIFmaker.me". I order the images in the way I wanted and set the speed to about 200 milliseconds and it turned them into a moving image. This fits in with my project because I'm looking at themes of sexuality and gender and seeing the female side transition into the male side correlates to the idea of gender fluidity, something that Alex Orellana explores. One aspect that I like about these GIFs is that you can see each motion and frame as the image moves. Many stationary images come together to create a small movement and I personally find it very interesting. One aspect that I do not like about these is that all the images have the subject in a different spot. Due to this, the subject seems to be going up and down and all over when ideally they should stay fixed in the centre. Also, the edge of the GIFs moves because the images are of different sizes. This could be fixed by cropping each image to be the same size and ensuring she is always in the centre of the picture. Going forward, I would like to incorporate some of my images from my Guy Bourdin photoshoots with my Alex Orellana photoshoots and create a series.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

This image is successful because it is the most still in the way that the subject does not move around. Her body and shoulders stay in one place, with the exception, of course, being her head-turning. I have picked the appropriate images to make a sequence out of and you can see that with the way her head turns in the same direction, the lighting is the same in every frame, and the image size is consistent. I feel that this image is a captivating piece for a viewer to see; the ambiguity may lead a viewer to wonder what the message is. Overall, I like the simplicity of this GIF and how its monochrome colour palette and small motions create a sense of mystery.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS - COMBINING ARTISTS

For my further developments, I have used pictures from my Guy Bourdin photoshoot and created series with them and my Alex Orellana edits. I did this because I wanted to combine the two artists and the visual elements they hold in their photography. The bottom half of the body, the top half of the body. Contrast and little contrast. One thing that I like about these photos is the composition. I wanted to arrange these photos together and see how they connect. To do this, it was important to me that I pick images that had things in common and put those together. For example, if the legs were pointed one way, I picked faces that were looking in that direction. If the face were looking straight on, I picked a leg picture that was also facing straight-on. In this way, I feel that the series look more relevant and naturally conjoined. One thing that I don't like about these images is the lighting. when editing these photos, I put them all together and clicked the black and white setting, and increased the brightness last. As a result of this, I didn't increase the brightness as much as I wanted because it made the Alex Orellana photos too bright, therefore, the Guy Bourdin photos look too dark. It wasn't until I was editing my last two photos that I realised, if you click on the layer with the Guy Bourdin photo and increase the brightness, it will only increase the brightness of that one part. This would have been a better thing to do when editing my photos to create more balanced lighting. The next thing that I would like to do is take a new photoshoot with possibly full body images in a similar style to my initial photoshoot.

Firstly, I selected a photo and doubled it's frame size on either side of it to allow room for the other photos I add to create a series. I used the rectangular marquee tool to draw over another photo that I think works well with the original photo and I paste it onto on side and fit it to the frame, cropping excess space if needed.

I then use the rectangular marquee tool again to copy and paste another matching photo to add to the series and I fit it into the frame.

Lastly, I make the entire image black and white and select the layer with just the legs on it and increase its brightness to match the faces.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

I believe that the image to the right is my most successful image. Firstly, I think that the lighting works well because the images have a similar brightness. This is because I clicked on the layer with the Guy Bourdin photos and increased the brightness individually so that I could make it match the Alex Orellana photos without them looking too bright. Another thing that I like is the composition, I like how the faces on the ends are looking up with the legs pointing out. The symmetry makes the arrangement feel balanced and consistent.

REDRAFT PHOTOSHOOT - UNEDITED PHOTOS

My intentions for this shoot were to capture full body portraits in a similar style to my previous photoshoot and refine it. I initially planned on doing full body photos in a well-lit room with a white backdrop. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do the photoshoot until later in the day so, the room was not as sunny as I would have liked it to have been. However, there was one small corner in the room where the sun was shining and an interesting pattern was created by the window frame. I still took some full body shots but her face was too dark so I had to change my plans and decided to try out this corner. It's not exactly what I had in mind but after taking the photos, I have to say I'm pleased with the outcome. This is one thing that I like about this photoshoot. One thing that I don't like about this photoshoot is that I wish I took more pictures with a larger variety of outfits and looks to further develop on these photos conceptually. If I were to take these photos again, I would find possibly a different location to shoot in to ensure even lighting and got those full body shots I intended on getting.

EDITS (BLACK AND WHITE)

Firstly, I made the image black and white.

I then increased the brightness and lowered the contrast.

Then, I altered the curve to look something like this.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

I really like how this image turned out because I feel that it demonstrates a good understanding of tone, value, and light. There is a nice contrast which differentiates light and dark areas; this emphasises the highlights and shadows of the structure of the image. I have been careful not to contrast the image too much as this would create too harsh of an atmosphere. I have increased the brightness slightly to make it appear as if it is even sunnier and this creates a natural glow which can be seen on areas like her cheekbones, collarbones, fabric folds, and the nose. Overall, I am pleased with the monochromatic aesthetic of this picture and I feel that it evokes a sense of sophistication and grace whilst also illustrating the conceptual elements.

EDITS (COLOUR)

Firstly, I increased the brightness and contrast to allow the image to appear more "sunny" and well-lit.

I then increased the saturation to make the colours in the image more concentrated, making the image more colorful and alive.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

I like this image the most out of my colour edits because of how well the colours can be seen. For example, I like the way you can see all the fleshy undertones to her skin, on her cheeks and nose. You can see the different shades of brown eyeshadow on her eyelids, and the sun provided a dewy and sun-kissed glow.

After having done my redraft photoshoot, I edited these photos in the style of Alex Orellana: simple black and white. I also edited these photos in colour because I wanted to see what they would look like. These edits fit in with my project because they give a sense of minimalism which is present in Orellana's work. One thing I like about these is that the editing isn't over the top or eccentric, rather more neutral and relaxed which allows viewers to fully take in more details. This is more present in the black and white images in my opinion. Another thing that I like about these edits is the lighting. I feel that because I've created a small amount of contrast but not too much, the pattern created by the window becomes more defined but does not conceal the facial features and details that it falls on. One thing that I do not like about these edits is the full body shots. It was difficult to edit these pictures because they lack a defining factor (e.g. interesting composition, good lighting, detail) so there is not much to work off of to create a striking image. The images are therefore underwhelming and boring. This could be improved by, first of all, taking better full body shots to begin with, or maybe by increasing the contrast more. Going forward, I would like to continue with developing the black and white edits as I find them more successful than the color edits.

DEVELOPMENTS (ZOOMING IN)

I have developed my edits by cropping the image to focus on one specific part of the image. I did this because I wanted to exhibit some of the finer elements to be found in each picture. The editing for these images was very simple - all I did was decide what part of the image I thought to be the most intriguing or detailed and cropped the image to just be showing that section. Sometimes I rotated the image slightly to be straight if the section that I had selected was angled or crooked. One thing that I really like about these pictures is that you can focus more on smaller details that you otherwise may not notice too much if the image were full-size. This editing style makes the full-body edits look significantly more interesting as you can see the more compelling parts of the image rather than them being undermined by the image being boring as a whole. One thing that I would improve about these developments is the contrast; because they are much smaller portions of a bigger image, it wouldn't be as overwhelming to have just a small part with high contrast as opposed to the whole picture. Therefore, I think these would look better if they had a slightly higher contrast so that the details really stood out.

Editing these images was very easy as all I had to do was crop them. I thought about what part of each image was the most interesting or ornate and wanted to showcase just that part. I then used the crop tool to tighten the image to just that portion. For some images - like this one - I had to rotate the image ever so slightly so that it appeared more level and straight.

HIGHLIGHTING SUCCESS

This is one of my favourite images because the shadow casted on her face creates a geometric air to the image which complements the structure of her face. The sun highlights her skin and makes her hair glisten. These elements collectively provide more detail and depth to produce a more complex image for an audience to view. The ambiguity of only showing half a face leaving them wondering who the photo is of and/or why?

This is another one of my favourite developments because of the way you can see all the small details and especially the bread. It's obvious it's not real which makes the image mysterious. Only showing half a face - much like the other photo - also alludes to this enigmatic atmosphere. This links well to the concept of these photos - to not assume someone's gender identity based off of how they may dress or look because appearance should not be linked to gender which is arbitrary.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

For these further developments, I have decided to make GIFs out of my 'zooming in' developments where I focused on smaller portions of the images I took. I made GIFs because I wanted to explore movement and motion with them and showcase the images in a quick montage. I did this by ensuring every photo was of the same size and frame for the GIF that I was making because otherwise, the edges of it would move around too much creating an unnatural and unsymmetrical appearance. One element of these further developments that I like is that the images feel more alive because there is motion and movement. I have sequenced the image specifically so that the images somewhat match up and this in my opinion creates a nice cohesive effect. There isn't anything that I dislike about these GIFs except that I wish there were more photos in each one.