PAINTING2PHOTOGRAPHY Assignment : Task 3 & 5 : Examples of Photographs influenced by Art

1:

This is an example of how art has influenced photography. The photographer has copied the original painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci almost exactly. They have used a barbie to represent the Mona Lisa, fashioned her clothing in the same style and positioned it in the same pose as the original painting. I think that they have painted the background image and used it as a set to photograph the doll. The photographer has done a great job of modernising the iconic painting using the children's toy. 

2:

This photograph isn't an exact representation of the painting Crucifixion by Salvador Dali. I think the photographer has put quite a dark twist on the imitation of the painting. It is darker because the original image has quite a lot of yellows and browns in it, and this photograph by Bill Viola is mainly black with blues in it. The original painting shows how Jesus died on the cross, and this photograph could be representational of someone dying by drowning, in the same position that Jesus died. This photograph clearly shows a man jumping into water with his armed positioned like he was on a cross - this may have been the photographers intention or it may have just been a particular shot he liked and made the connection to the Crucifixion after the photoshoot.

3:

Here is an almost exact replica of the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. This was created as advertising for the film Girl with a Pearl Earring which was based on a book inspired by the painting. The book was written by Tracy Chevalier. Since they have tried so hard in making an exact representation of the original image, I think it's a shame that the model in the photograph (Scarlett Johansson) is slightly too face on to the camera and doesn't have as red lips as the girl in the original painting has. 

Here is another Barbie version of the painting.

4:

Here Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' has been adapted into a Vogue magazine photograph. It has been changed slightly as the colours are more purple than the traditional orange tones. This may have been to fit in with the fashion colours and trends that may be featured in the issue of vogue. I think this is very interesting and almost comical. Seeing this photograph makes me think that the person who originally inspired the painting by Munch could have been Asian like the model in this photograph, however, it's impossible to know and it was most likely just inspired by Munch's imagination. Like the Mona Lisa Barbie image, I think the background has been painted especially for this photograph and used as a set for the photoshoot. 

5.

Here is the 'Violin of Ingres' - another representation using the Barbie Doll. I have found from my research there are quite a few of these images around where photographers have used barbie's to imitate pieces of artwork. They are great modern representations of the timeless pieces and I find it fascinating how they seem to almost duplicate the image in modern form and manage to create almost the exact same backdrop and lighting that the original image had. I personally don't like the original image, I think it is very strange that the artist has seen the woman representational of a Violin. Oddly, I think the two images together (original painting and modern imitation photograph) work quite well.

Here is an interesting page on how Barbie has been used in a few imitations of art - called the Barbie As Muse series : 

http://dollhood.tumblr.com/tagged/barbie%20as%20muse