Cyanotypes

Cyanotypes

For this task, we were asked to explore the technique of Cyanotypes and create images using this historical method of print making.  Cyanotype images are visually very appealing and this technique could be incorporated into my theme of man and nature as often the natural world is used as inspiration for the subjects of these prints together with the use of strong silhouettes.
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. The cyanotype, is one of the most recognised of all the historical methods. Dating from 1842, this classic Prussian blue process is a great technique for artists to explore and I enjoyed discovering the processes behind these images immensely. Cyanotypes are economical, permanent, have few pitfalls, and are versatile in that a variety of toning effects are possible. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints.

Artist Images

While there are a few photographers that use cyanotypes as their preferred medium, most consider it a fun side from their normal work.  The above image was created by a New York artist Christian Marclay and I liked the way that the familiar cassette tape has been given a really interesting display when using the cyanotype technique.  The bold shapes of the cases and unfurled ribbons create great interest within the image and the use of the singular blue colour enhances these shapes perfectly.  I liked the simplicity of the above image and hoped that I could create a similar striking image with my cyanotype piece.
 

The above cyanotype is a completely different style to image one, however, it is just a striking.  This image was taken by photographer Michael Witting, who experiments with faces using the cyanotype technique. With his images I liked how he dissects the images to make them different to any others which i had previously seen.The way in which this image is split into thirds allows us to focus more on the central facial portion of the piece.  The face is framed by the other segments and we find ourselves meeting the girls gaze.  I enjoyed the softer blue tomes to this piece which fitted the subject perfectly.

The above artist image is a simple, more modern cyanotype concentrating predominantly on shape. I like the way this image was composed with the plant life framing the shot.  The bright silhouettes of the human forms are very strong and worked well with this technique and the layering which has taken place has achieved a softer feel to the surrounding flowers which drew me to this image.  I like the way that various tones of blue came through on this piece and I hoped I could achieve a similar effect within my work. I think that the strong use of shape worked well and made the image one of my favourites.

The above final artist image stood out to me as it did not have a clean border.  Although the photograph of the dancer was very obvious and we could see all the details within the shot, I liked the way that the rough lines which are used within this piece help give a feel of movement.  It enhanced the overall effect and I liked the composition.



My Final Image

This is my final image which i created using the cyanotype technique.  Due to time restraints, I was only able to create one image, however, I will be using the technique in future experiments, and will even consider using it as part of my final piece.
I tried to incorporate many of the ideas collected in my research and blend them together to produce one image.  I used the cassette shapes from image one as I liked the bold, clean lines of these objects, together with plant life shapes from image three, which again fitted with my theme and produced strong contrasting softer outlines within my work.  
I experimented with the brush stroke border in order to frame my work which I think was quite successful. 
 As you may be able to see in the centre of the image there is less colour.  This is the part of the image with which I am not entirely happy and I think further development was needed in order that the true cyan colour could be achieved more successfully.