Kitsch with a touch of Russian

Most of you perceive kitsch as something tasteless, tacky and cheap. Well, in most cases you are right, but with one notable exception. Kitsch can be used as a form of artistic expression, and photography happens to be a perfect platform for it. This is a style seldom used in people photography, yet worth mentioning. Some people possess a character that is the best shown in the environment of tacky luxury and flamboyance, and there is no reason not to use it in the portrait. You should remember, however, that travesty is not a thoughtless pileup of visual and semantic elements. It may seem tasteless and ridiculous, but everything needs to make sense and be consistent with the whole idea.

It may seem strange, but kitsch as an artistic genre requires not only impeccable taste and sense of harmony, but a great deal of self-irony. Without it the photograph executed in this style would look as naïve as devotional art of primitive tribes. It is details of the interior and their visual interaction with elements of the person’s appearance that are the instrument used by the photographer to connote his own attitude to his subject, or to intentionally ridicule himself.

Creating a photograph that is kitschy, yet artistic is like walking on the edge of good and bad taste. One tiny step in a wrong direction, and you are falling into a black pit of garishness. If you watch your step, however, results could be rewarding indeed.

The main goal of this four-day course is to develop student’s ability to create artwork intentionally full of pulpy emotions and vulgar details, but to be subtle just enough to keep it interesting from artistic standpoint.

Agenda

Day One

• Introductory lecture and a slide show Q&A over lunchBasic studio lighting techniquesDiscussion of lighting
• Computer lab (will be used to archive photos shot during the lighting session and to discuss results)

Day Two

• Impeccably tasteless studio portraiture and glamour

Day Three

• Going overboard on location (weather permissive), or
• Anti-erotic nude photography (studio)

Day Four

• Photo-theater. Pulp fiction in The Victorian House
• Discussion of workshop results with a slide show of the best student work