Integrating Psychedelic Effects with My Work

I was researching into different types of paper that would provide me with an effect similar to that I had created with the bleach and I discovered something called yupo paper which is water resistant. You paint water onto it and then use watercolours or inks and they spread out and bleed into one another.

Unfortunately it's not cheap and they don't seem to stock it anywhere local like Fred Aldous so I have ordered some and it is due to come later this week.

The other day I was talking to my uncle about psychedelic visuals and that I would be interested in trying my hand at them. I happened to mention something about a microscope and being the kind of uncle who has everything in the attic he kindly gave me a microscope and something that you can attach to the top which then plugs into your computer, enabling you to film and take photographs of what is happening under the microscope! However, I have had to order new eye piece for it which is also expected to arrive at some point this week. In the meantime I compiled a list of things I intend to look at under the microscope and try to integrate with my work.

Onion skin

Moss

Pond life

Kiwi

Tomato

Grape

Pebble

The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour - Michael Argyle

I found a chapter in The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour by Michael Argyle that I think explains simply how such a community would come to exist.

"The basic theory of a group is simple, there are two motivations for joining one; to carry out a task, play a game etc., and to enjoy the social interaction and sustain relationships. All groups have activities, though the balance varies. People often join a group for economic or other non-social reasons in the first place; they then become involved in group activities, find these satisfying and become attached to the group. A group of friends may want to enjoy each other's company, but they have to do something, i.e. a task must be devised; leisure groups provide a solution to this problem.
Group formation A group, by one definition, is a number of people who are attracted towards the group, either to activities or to each other, usually both. Such 'cohesiveness' can be measured by the proportion of choices, as friends, which are made of other group members, or by the frequency with which the word 'we' is used as opposed to 'I'. A group will become cohesive under the following conditions;

Physical proximity, e.g. sharing an office;
similarity of background, values, interest;
rewarding experiences in the group, including success at tasks;
activities which require co-operation;
a skilled leader, who can preserve harmony;
the absence of hostile or disturbed personalities."

The people in the psychedelic community have come together due to a love of similarity of background and interest and the rewarding experiences within the group, e.g. attending music events with one another.

Here is a link to the e-book: The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour

Yet More Portraits

Today I reshot two portraits. I'd used a lens with a fixed focal length lens so didn't have much room to take photographs at the festival as it was quite busy at the time I'd shot theirs. 

I was also told by one of the subjects when explaining more in depth about my project that I should look into Timothy Leary and his interpersonal behavioural circle. It sounded really interesting and quite relevant to my project so I am looking forward to having a read about it.

Terence McKenna's Time Wave Novelty Theory

It was also suggested by my friend that I look at Terence McKenna's Time Wave Novelty Theory as he thought it offered an explanation as to why the world is how it is and why we behave the way we do.
McKenna developed a computer model of time and he claimed that nature liked novelty and that it happened at particular times within the history of the world. His computer model showed where massive changes happened throughout history and it can apparently predict what will happen in time. The novelty factor peaks and troughs (the troughs show big changes and events such as war).
For a human, the novelty factor would be a life event or a revelation of sorts which then changes our behaviour.
This can be applicable to the behaviour of those people within this community, as before the members of it discovered the music, culture, the fashion and other people involved in the scene, they probably didn't have the mentality they did before. As much of the values and mind set of the 60s has been continued on to this generation of the community, it would create a wave effect of passing on.
As psychedelia is associated with the use of drugs, the general mindset of the community is very open minded and unprejudiced towards others. The 60s counterculture is very similar in ways to the present psychedelia scene, with the exception of most people involved protesting against war. The drug use is still a big factor within it and the attitude toward others is still the same.
Personally speaking, when I became more heavily involved with the scene, it did change many things for me. I started to dress more eccentrically than I did previously, became interested in the culture surrounding it and subsequently made friends with lots of new people through it. It has even had an impact on my photography work and any other artwork I create.
Having spoken to other members of the psychedelic community, they are in agreement that this 'novelty factor' changed and became a huge part of their lives.

Here is a video where Terence McKenna explains his theory

Framing Work

I have been thinking about how to frame my work for the exhibition. I have decided that I want to keep it relatively simple and opt for a clip frame or one with a simple black frame. For a previous exhibition I mounted my work (which I'm not very good at doing) and it fell down a few times and eventually, it looked terrible. I don't want to run that risk again as it would require me having to get new prints and trying and failing to mount my work well. I also don't want to detract from the detail that the bleach has created on my photographs.
Ideally, if money were not an issue, I would love to have a frame like in the photograph below. It is from Cox and Cox and is around £13, which would turn out quite expensive for me as I will be displaying 8 photographs. I think it is really simple, which suits what I want to go for and also looks slightly old, which could tie back to the fact that my subjects wear vintage clothing/like a genre of music that started in the 60s.

However, I have found these two simple frames, which I think would suit my work well and they are reasonably priced.

Black Photo Frame

Clip Frame

Exhibition Ideas

I wanted to have a go at placing my work in an exhibition to see what the final outcome would look like. I am not necessarily going to use these photographs as I've not yet finished bleaching etc. I decided I wanted it to have a relatively simple layout as I feel that anything too complex or a more unusual layout would detract from my work. I realise that space may be an issue for our final exhibition and although I prefer the layout where all my prints are in a straight line, I would not really mind if I had to use the other format for presentation.
I am also unsure of having titles for each individual piece. I think I would rather have just one for the entire series.

Handbook of Self and Identity - Mark R. Leary and June Price Tangney

"Goffman (1959) further developed the idea that people actively attempt to create desired impressions or appraisals of themselves in the mind of the social audience. In his view, people behave in a certain way in front of others in order to illicit certain appraisals from them (in his words, to make certain impressions on them). By behaving differently in front of an audience than they might behave in private, people attempt to illicit feedback from others that is consistent with the way they would like others to see them."

This quote may be relevant to the psychedelic community in that they might behave differently in the group to on their own. Drugs could play a key part in this, namely LSD, as most people wouldn't do this on their own. Everyone seeks acceptance and the adaption of behaviour may be the key to feeling and possibly being accepted within a group.

"Denise likes to paint but doesn't think of herself as a very good painter. Because her family often jokes about her paintings, she believes they don't think she is very good, either. One day Denise's rabbi asks her to paint a mural for the synagogue wall. Denise is surprised when the rabbi tells her, "We all think you are a terrific painter. Your father and sisters brag about you all the time." When Denise realises that her family and friends think she is a good painter, she changes her view of herself and starts to think of herself as artistically talented."

If a member of a group or community was to tell you that your dress sense was really good, or that you had good music taste etc. this would make you start to change your view of yourself. I think that if this were to happen then you would start to believe it and feel that you had a place within that group or community.

New Portraits

Below are two new photographs I shot today to add to my collection of portraits.

Black and White

When I was initially experimenting with the first lot of old prints and bleach, a few of my images were in black and white.

Although they were in black and white (the top one is actually b&w, my phone just decided that it was more of a sepia colour!) the parts that were bleached somehow managed to turn colourful. I would definitely like to try my prints desaturated to see how it looks. Below I've altered all my current images to black and white:

More Photos

This weekend I went out and shot a few more photos to add to my collection. I intend to get at least 6 more portraits by the end of this week.
Here are the final edits before bleaching:

Research - Joel Sternfeld

Joel Sternfeld is an American photographer. He is best known for his production of large-format colour photographs and helping to establish colour photography.
He has produced many books, one of which is entitled "Stranger Passing". In this book he explores social class and stereotypes.
I think that the stereotypes for each subject are easily readable and I like looking at how each person presents themselves. Their poses are all typical of their stereotype, e.g. the teenager at the top looks like he doesn't really care, as I assume he's trying to be "cool" judging by his pose and the t-shirt hanging from his trouser line.
However, the man who is propped up on the trolley can be taken two ways. I am suspecting he is slightly drunk but I cannot work out if his life possessions are in the trolley as there is a sleeping bag or whether he has just been to buy it. This is confusing as he appears to be in a residential area. Either way, his pose suggests that he also does not really care and is trying to come across that he isn't bothered about the photograph being taken.

Feedback

For our feedback session other members of the group would write down on sheets what they thought worked/didn't work and other comments about our work.

These were the comments left on my work:

"I think the bleaching technique works really well, really creative and just makes the images pop. I would like to see the photos in A4 in order to see the detail more clearly. I think you have a perfect amount of images."

"I agree, I think the images need to be about A4 size but again love the effect and think there's a good amount of images."

"Perfect amount of images displayed exactly how they are now but in A4 or A3 size. Love the colours and bleaching effect."

"Bleaching works really well but would like to see them in A4 size."

"Great amount of images. Try one image different sizes before you decide to do it to them all."

"Maybe you could produce frames using materials found on this location."

"Visually very interesting. Bottom right is least strong visually (focus/lighting). I think large prints would allow us to look more at the detail in the bleaching. Plus it would be like looking at the person in the flesh!"

"Love the effect you have created and making the subject the main focus in each image is really interesting. They have quite a funky feel to them which works well with what each of the chosen subjects is wearing. I think A4 images could work quite well."

"The amount of images is perfect. Broad selection of people photographed can be seen. The bleaching technique adds colour to the images and helps the backgrounds flow as a collective series. A4 size would be perfect in showing detail."

"Really interesting series - the manipulation is really effective, but the detail would definitely be appreciated at larger scale, perhaps A4. The second from left, top and bottom, are the two strongest for me."

I found that all this feedback has really helped me with my work and deciding what to do with the final prints. I will more than likely use A4, if not ever so slightly bigger to display my work. I am also glad to know that people think that the bleaching effect works well.

Research - Tobias Tovera

I found two series by artist Tobias Tovera that reminded me of the bleaching that I had done on my prints. The colours are blurring into one another much like how the bleach altered photo colours.

Here is his personal statement from his website; http://www.tobiastovera.com/ 

As an artist I am interested in experimenting with alchemical processes in the pursuit of discovering a "third space," a zone of possibility that exists beyond the restrictive dualities.

My vision is to create transmuted spaces, places where energy shifts, changes, or renews itself. From the introduction of water and mineral to the use of science and the occult, this translates into working with opposing elements to reveal how they interact, transform, or propel each other.

Each layer I pour and each object I introduce is intuitive. The formal shape and material application is determined by the movement of the medium and its successive layers. The entire process choreographed as a ritual embodying the meditative state.

Permutations on Iron

Diffusions of Pigment