Artist Research

Henry Callahan



This is my first response to Henry Callahan's photograph of the outside of a reflective office building. My photograph is of a building that is in construction because it shows that in order for it to be completed, people need to be present. Both photographs have been taken at a front on angle, looking up at the building to show the enormity of the architecture. Similarly, they both have dim lighting, therefore there isn't a lot of tone in the images. There is pattern within both photographs, they have horizontal and vertical lines which add texture because the lines create a grid.

This is my edited respose to Callahan's photograph. I think that it is successful in terms of angle, tone and contrast because all aspects relate to Callahan's image. However, I think the brightness of the image could be improved but if that was to happen the black of the building would not be as effective. In order to improve on this I need to pick my objects more carefully and think about the current lighting and composition of the camera.

However, I am choosing not to use Henry Callahan as a main response because I feel that my work does not respond as well to his as well as it does to Robert Frank's. This is because Frank's work portrays both contemporary and traditional ideologies of architecture.