Anzeri
Maurizio Anzeri makes his portraits by sewing directly into found vintage photographs. His embroidered patterns garnish the figures like elaborate costumes, but also suggest a psychological aura, as if revealing the person’s thoughts or feelings. The antique appearance of the photographs is often at odds with the sharp lines and silky shimmer of the threads. The combined media gives the effect of a dimension where history and future converge. The image used in Round Midnight is an early 20th century ‘glamour shot’ that at the time would have been considered titillating for both the girl’s nudity and ethnicity. Anzeri’s delicately stitched veil recasts the figure with an uncomfortable modesty, overlaying a past generation’s cross-cultural anxieties with an allusion to our own.
http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/maurizio_anzeri.htm?section_name=new_britannia
In this example of Anzeri’s work, first thing I think about when looking at the image is how the colour of the sewing technique contrasts with the black and white of the image, this shows that Anzeri’s technique makes the image more interesting to the viewer and gives it texture. i like a lot of Anzeri’s work because you can see the effort of which goes into it, I think that it is a good idea how he goes beyond digital image manipulation and physically does something with the image. Especially with this image, when displaying it, it will attract more peoples attention because of the bright colours used on top of the black and white background. By analysing the image, I can see that the idea of this image is that the model enjoys reading and the bright colours which presumably represent her vision are colourful, which shows she finds herself happy and interested when reading.
This next example of Anzeri’s work inspired me because I like the idea that the stitch work actually looks like it is on someone’s hand; this gives the viewer more to think about. I would interpret that the idea of this image is that the individual can be recognised by work they do with their hands, so they could, for example, be a craftsman who is well known and their image is projected by what they do. I think that by including this stitch work into the image, it makes the image a lot more interesting and there is a lot more for the viewer to look at other than just looking at a hand. I also think this is quite a unique image as it actually looks like the sewing is going into the hand, making the image look very obsequie.
I also like this example quite a lot because the stitch work allows the shells to look like they have a lot more texture within the image and this also brings out detail in the shells, it almost makes the image look like it has been drawn and this created a good effect, which the viewer may think has been done digitally but actually Anzeri has been more creative and used stitching to create the good effects. Furthermore, this is a good example for me because it is a still life image so it is more relevant to my shoot and it has inspired me to highlight detail with the stitching in images that I am going to use this technique with. Alike a lot of these examples, the stitch work in the image allows the viewer to be more interested and it gives the image more to look at. This technique could literally link beneath the surface because the image is beneath the surface of the stitching however, each image will have its own idea which also may link with the title of Beneath the Surface.
This final example of Anzeri’s work is also a good indication of a good way to use stitch work in an image. I think that by using the stitch work in this example, it makes the image more exciting for the viewer and gives the image more of a focus. Because this image has no colour and the stitching has a lot of colour, it illustrates that this is the main focus of the image and without the manipulation the image would have no creativity or purpose. This example inspires me because it makes a dull image look like it has had a lot of time spent on it, but actually its just the stitch work that has enhanced it to a higher level. Also, I think that the idea of this image is that the stitch work represents the dancers feelings; when she is dancing, she feels happy which what the bright colours on the stitch work represent, and she also feels free from everything else, which is why the lines are straight and stretched out, to show that she feels free.