Period 6 -- Critical Analysis #4

11/15/2019

Today you will be writing about this self-portrait image by Japanese artist Natsumi Hayashi.

Your analysis must be 5 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember to post your analysis as a comment to the blog post that corresponds to your class. If you post your analysis to the wrong class's post, it will not be graded.

If you do not complete your analysis in class, you must finish it by midnight tonight.

Refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image

Your analyses will be graded on:

meeting minimum length requirements
depth of organization
evaluation of the content
grammar/punctuation

Some things to consider:

What steps might the artist have had to take to make this photograph happen? Do you think this would be a simple or difficult image to create?
What does the perspective that this was taken from suggest about the artist?
A self-portrait tells us something about the person being photographed. What do you think this artist wants us to take away from her photograph?

10 Comments

Flint Rose

11/15/2019 12:30:06 pm

This piece shows a women mid motion flying in the air. She is carrying a bouquet of flowers. Her pose makes her look like she is more flying then falling, she has one leg knee pointing out while the other is stiff. She is on a street that is going down, this street makes the height the she is flying seem much larger than it is. There is a woman in the background walking with a sun umbrella, she is not reacting to the flying woman.

This piece is a portrait, so that means that the subject is in the middle front and center, no need for rule of thirds. The surrounding area is not in focus, leading the women to be the focus that our eyes were immediately drawn to. The point of view is eye level with the women. The piece has a large amount of negative space, the piece could cut off the houses in the back but Hayashi decided to keep that negative space. The colors of the flowers match the colors of her body, the orange flower matches her skirt, the blue flower matches her shirt, and the light yellow matches her light skin tone.

This piece has lots of motion. Her flying pose makes the viewer feel like she could lift off at any moment and this is just a quick shot of her before she leaves. The themes of this image reminds me of early magical realism anime, such as Miyazaki film. It is a very beautiful image, the vibrant colors of the girl contrast the grey tones of the background. It really makes the girl much more magical, compared to the grey and bland world around her.

This piece is amazingly well done. So well done that it made me question if it was composited or it actually happened. Only very small details like her having still hair, the shadow on the front of her shins makes us think the sun is right above her, but she is casting no shadow, and the blank reaction from the girl in the back gives away this is composited. This piece made begged me to try and find any small details that give away that its composited, an I spy puzzle, that alone brought me entertainment from the image, but the beauty of the piece adds a lot of value to it as well.

This is how I think it was made: She first took an image of the street out of focus. Then she could have either taken a photo of her in the pose in the same spot on a box for example. This would mean the light hitting her body would be the same as the surrounding area, but she would also need a bigger object to be on because of the slant. I think she took the second image in a secondary location, maybe in a green screen. Then she masked out the box, or the green. If she was in a room she also would have needed to adjust the lighting on her alone, which could have been done with a masked adjustment layer.

Isabella grossman

11/15/2019 12:32:42 pm

This photograph is taken of a woman levitating in the air on a residential street while holding a colorful bouquet of flowers. The colors in the image are greens in the trees and bright colors found in the outfit the woman is wearing as well as the bouquet of flowers she is holding. The tones are warm even in the cooler colors (greys,blues, etc.) however the lighting in the image is quite a mellow natural light, taken on a day where there was not much sun. the womans face shows little to now expression as she moves through the air in a very posed position. The buildings on the street look like a normal urban street and a truck sits behind her and a man walks on the sidewalk as if the scene was all very normal and natural. In the image the woman moves through the air quite lifeless and because she is the focal point of the image there is not much other context given besides herself.

The composition of the image is cropped and shot in a way that puts the figure in the center making her the main focus of the photograph. Lines from the street lead the eye to her body and the bright colors that she wears that contrast the background provide the eye with an easily recognizable subject. The point of view is by a person witnessing the woman move through the air, not necessarily a bystander do to the perfect construction of the image. The image reminds me of a video game character or an anime character do to the subjects clothing and pose. This image makes the viewer question who she is and why she is floating which results in a sense of mystery in the photograph. This image is noteworthy to me however not necessarily beautiful due to the work it went in to composing and compiling the image based on the difficulty it takes shooting the right shot and editing it correctly.

The theme that I found was present in the image was seeking love. This was apparent to me due to the way she was holding out the flowers to someone as if she were ready to give it to them as a way of declaration of love or a plea for forgiveness. The weary look on her face also makes me feel like she is sad and eager to correct a mistake or error. The artist made this image so that the viewer could make up an entire story up in their heads, go through a million different scenarios and conclude for themselves what the image is trying to tell or sell. The image definitely makes me think of a tv show such as Pokemon where the girl wants to confess her love to her boyfriend however is too afraid to say anything until she woke up and felt she was ready. I don’t believe that the image questions beliefs but rather gives the viewer their own freedom to figure out the image and dissect it.

Personally I do not enjoy the image because of the harsh pose that the woman is making however I respect the complexity and effort that went into making the image and time that went into making it as well. I think that the photographer was successful in making the image because she made me question who, what, when, where, and why. I respect the artist for going through the grueling process that she went to to produce a wonderful masterpiece that shows dedication and talent.

I think that the artist had to use photoshop skills and editing processes to produce this final product which is expertly done. I think that this image was extremely difficult to edit and requires lots of knowledge and practice. The image is a self portrait of the artist which means there was an added level of difficulty. The image reflects the artist in the way that it is simple and not harsh. The elements of the photo appear very natural and calm versus sharp and heavy. I enjoy her use of colors which, referring to color psychology, imply a sense of happiness and ass brightness to the image. Even though the artist is expressionless in the image, her body language and use of color imply a sense of childlike fun in her art which is very fun to analyze.

chloe clark

11/15/2019 12:33:51 pm

Natsumi Hayashi’s image is a self-portrait of her levitating over an alleyway between houses. She is holding a small bouquet of a few flowers. The flowers are bright, neon colors and they stand out with the bland houses behind her. The skirt she is wearing also stands out, because it is bright coral. It is fairly bright in this photo, but the natural light makes it seems like it is an overcast day.

Natsumi seems as if she is being framed, because the poles behind her are a square right around her, to direct your eye to look at her. The image does not crop anything out besides the houses, but they are not the key part of the image. Natsumi is the only thing in the image that is in focus, which also helps direct the eye to her. The point of view is about eye level, so it is as if you are walking down the street as well. This image is pleasing to look at because it seems very calm, but also confusing.

I feel that Natsumi created this image to show an interesting talent or skill of hers, the skill to edit her photo so well that it looks like she is levitating. This image is interesting in the sense that it challenges the basic laws of gravity. She It would make anybody wonder how she did it. I think that an underlying theme to this image could be defiance. I think this because she is defying the rules of something as great as gravity in this image, and that can symbolize rebelling and not following the rules.

I like this image because although it can be confusing, it is also interesting. It makes you think and wonder about the odd circumstances that occured to make this image. I like how, based on her pose, it seems like she is giving the flowers to someone. This image is successful because it is showing levitation, which people cannot actually do, so it is very interesting to let your mind wonder and think about how she actually did this. The process of how she created this image is interesting to think about.

I think that, to make this image, she first took a photo of the background without her in it. Then, she stood on something and took a picture of herself holding the flowers, like she is in the image. After she has those two images, she rotated the one of her and erased everything around her and placed that image on top of the background, and that is how it looks now. I think the artist wanted us to take away a sense of confidence from her image. She is defying the rules and being herself, and I think she intended for that to rub off on us.

marco

11/15/2019 12:37:10 pm

Natusumi Hayashi shot the picture in good lighting . She made sure that there weren't any vehicles in the background to ruin the picture . Natsumi also had those colorful colors instead of white and black for the flowers to pop up , she wasn't aiming for a depressed photo . In the background there is an industrial truck shipping goods out , also the lady having a good time walking to her friend’s house . In the image shows her jumping in a heroic way to give flowers to a person she loves .

This photo is pleasing to see makes me think of my family making the sacrifices to have a better life , and why its due to the positioning like if she were on the verge of success.The rule of thirds is not used due to natsumi being centered in the middle of the photo . The positive space is the person flying over and the negative is the overall other things in the photo. There are no extra spaces . The point of view would be the first person the photographer took it from a distance not close up .

The theme can be sacrifice whatever you have for the better things in life .Don't settle for less always settle for more . Cross the bridge for bad life to good life . This image reminds me of the future that I have wanted for a long time . It questions me of like what part of the bridge am i in the bad or better side .

Yes, I like it in a way that reminds me of my family No I don't hate it because even tho there needs more story to it , it brings me hope .Why does it show me my family know is because of “stress” . The game is successful because of the context .

Kellen Dukatnik

11/15/2019 12:38:36 pm

The image depicts a woman levitating in the middle of a road. She is holding a couple of flowers and is dressed in an orange dress and a navy shirt. The colors include a bright orange, yellow, green, and magenta in order to make the subject stand out from the plain colors around her. The lighting is outside on a day with overcast, but is not dull. Objects in the image include trees, flowers, a city background, cars, a girl and a man, flowers, and cars.
The image is rather pleasing to look at, the vibrant colors look very nice amongst the grey background because they stand out. The rule of thirds seems to be in use because the woman lines up around to points on the right side of the photograph. The photographer is using a shallow depth of field. The lines are on the woman and the flowers, the vibrant colors sort of guide your eye because they stand out. They subject only fills a bit of the frame, there’s a lot of extra space surrounding her.
I get the idea of standing out is interesting, because of the vibrant colors amidst a vast background of boring grey. There doesn't seem to be a story being told, it seems just for entertainment. The photographer made this image to entertain and show a cool style of photography. This image reminds me of when I went longboarding down a semi-steep hill, and how I misjudged how fast I would go so I wiped out. The image doesn’t challenge anything really, it seems it’s only purpose is to entertain.
The image seems to have taken place somewhere in asia because the way the buildings look and the truck on the street. I enjoy this image, The woman seeming to be floating in the air is cool. The colors included in the image also gave me new ideas for my own photography. The photograph is very successful in creating an interesting image because of the floating effect displayed. Recreating an image like this would be cool and fun.
The steps the photographer might’ve taken were jumping in the air and looking graceful, or overlaying the subject in a different background. The image could have been very simple or a bit difficult to create, depending on if she used masking or jumped. The perspective suggests It may have been a self-portrait, or someone may have taken it. The artist might want us to takeaway it’s okay to stand out. The Vibrant colors contrasting from the boring colors help you infer this.

Nathan Harrison

11/15/2019 09:54:46 pm

This is a composite image of the photographer supposedly levitating with flowers in her hand. She is in the middle of the street and it appears as if she tripped while running with the flowers in her hand. Seeing the lighting of the photo, it can be concluded that the image was taken during the day with optimal, but not too much sunlight. In the image, there is a person that appears to be walking towards the camera. There also is a truck that is behind the photographer that is blocked by her body but is still seen and it appears it is sitting still.

The photographer is most likely adding herself from another picture and implementing it into the main photo of a street in Japan. I think that the rule of thirds is somewhat being followed in this photo as the subject does not overlap and of the intersecting line on a grid for the photo, but at the same time, the subject is not directly in the middle of the image. The subject is in the middle of the two bottom intersecting spots of a grid for the photograph. The image can obviously be seen as taken on a negative incline and is looking down the incline. There is a very shallow depth of view as the subject is the only area of the photo that is in focus and not blurry. The subject does not fill the image as there is a lot of background space showing a portion of a Japanese neighborhood.

The theme of the photo is the subject or photographer levitating in the air in the middle of the street. A possibility for her intention is to entertain the public with photos that seems impossible or improbable in a general scenario. She probably wants the public to awe in the wonder of how she created the photos herself.

I don’t like it, but I also don’t hate it or dislike it. It is interesting as to how she created the picture and what she had to do to produce the picture. I think that it is a composite image as there is no shadow underneath her, not even a very light shadow. It is still interesting as to why she likes creating these photographs, but I guess it’s something to ask her.

With the type of ground, in this case, I think what she had to do to create this photo, is take a separate photo in a controlled environment. In that controlled environment, she would hold the flowers and run and jump and she would land onto a mat to cushion her landing. But another way she could’ve done it was to be positioned by a mechanical setup because the back of her skirt seems a little too high to be in that position if she ran and jump so she could’ve been hanging by some mechanical setup and after taking the photo just crop or hide whatever was holding her in place. The second part would be taking the background picture and then pasting herself cropped into the background photo and the final image is created. This type of photographs may show that the photographer likes to give the impression that she is doing something that is abnormal and always fascinates the average mind.

Isaiah Rettig link

11/17/2019 08:56:10 pm

The image is of a woman levitating in the air presenting three flowers in her hand. The background shows a neighborhood and more houses in the distance. The woman is dressed casually as if getting ready to go on a date. The image is bright and colorful. The woman’s clothing and flowers pop out of the image. The focus is also on her while everything else is blurred.
The image is pleasing to look at as it has the style of a renaissance painting. The women is positioned in the center of the photo. The houses closest to her are cut off and can’t be seen. The image is mostly balanced symmetrically with a little more of houses showing to the right. The frame also cuts off enough to where you can’t tell where the women is going.
The story behind this is unclear, one thing that can be assumed is that the woman is going to give these flowers to someone. I’m guessing this because she is dressed nicely and if she was just perhaps going to place them in a garden she wouldn’t have dressed so carefully. It can also be inferred that the receiver of these flowers are just out of frame because her hands are reaching out with the flowers as if to give to somebody. The orange flower matches her orange skirt maybe signifying something. The piece is beautiful because of its curious nature and colorful vibe.
I like the image. Levitation in art isn’t something new to me, but I had never seen it in photography or used like this. Most levitation art I see has the subject knowing they are levitating and usually showing a surprised face or a face of awe. In this photo the lady doesn’t show any signs that she is doing something supernatural. This helps the viewer study everything else about the photo.
To make this photo the woman was photoshopped in. The woman would have to kneel on something to get that position. The hardest part about making this photo is definitely the photoshop.

Ben Barlow

11/17/2019 10:32:45 pm

In self portraits done by Japanese artist Natsumi Hayashi, she likes to incorporate the theme of levitation. This particular image is a prime example of this since it displays herself seemingly floating off the ground whilst holding flowers. The setting this photo happens to take place in appears to be a traditional Japanese suburban town. The background is nearly completely obstructed with homes and businesses that are resting on a hill. Although the presence of greenery is hinted towards, the majority of the picture uses quite industrial colors. The lighting in this image is quite good since it is midday.

The attention of the audience is immediately brought to Natsumi herself upon first glance of the picture. Other than the fact that she is levitating, she made sure to jump in the center of the frame holding bright flowers. The depth of field of the image is quite shallow because Natsumi is the only thing in focus. She also to use the telephone posts as a frame which also brings more of the focus to her. Something I personally found interesting is how a very large hill formation was cut off at the top.

The main theme I see conveyed by this image is a feeling of the supernatural. Although I read a little bit about Natsumi’s quite ordinary technique of just using a short shutter speed, the photo itself produces a unique effect that transcends from reality. Most people viewing this image without any context will instantly become curious on how she was able to pull something like this off so naturally. I think this also tells us a little about the author, Natsumi Hayashi, as well. She clearly enjoys something about escaping reality through her artwork.

After reading a little bit about Natsumi, I learned that she likes taking pictures of herself floating off the ground because it makes her feel free of her obligations to society. In this way, Natsumi is showing others that photography can be extremely relieving. Living can often feel like a struggle, especially in a place as restless as Japan. Gravity in the same way, is something we also have to deal with everyday, whether we think of it or not. By comparing the confines which all humans are limited to, Natsumi more easily is able to illustrate how she would love to leave her busy life and fly away.

Overall, I think this image was very successful for the message it carried that was personal to the author. I’m sure everyone in some way, can share this same exact feeling that Natsumi expresses in her artwork. Besides the meaning behind it, the image was also quite interesting technically. By making the audience curious into how she constructed her image, she is successful again for getting them even more involved in the approach taken. I found that throughout her works, Natsumi Hayashi is a very talented individual that creates art everyone can connect with on a personal level.

marco perales

11/18/2019 12:19:14 pm

Mateo D

11/21/2019 09:32:02 am

This image by Natsumi Hayashi is of herself in a street falling while holding flowers. There are green bushes, green trees, green plants, a red umbrella, red flowers, red roofs, red skirts, yellow flowers, yellow houses, white houses, a blue car, and a white truck. These colors are just everyday colors you see in a city. There is natural daylight. There are houses, cars and people in the image. The houses are yellow and white with grey or red roods and one roof is blue. The cars are white and there is one blue car and they are all trucks. The woman in the image is wearing a red skirt and a navy blue shirt and the person in the background is using a red umbrella with white pants and a black shirt. The woman in a red skirt is falling in a street while holding pink, red, and yellow flowers and looking forward with both her feet in the air. The Image is pleasing to look at because of the simplicity. The point of view is from a bystander looking from the outside in. There is a shallow depth of field being used to capture the image and the woman is in focus and the background is out of focus. The subject is being framed by the street because she is in the middle of and there is nothing next to her. The lines form a box around her and guide us to look towards the center. There is some extra space in the top of the image with the out of focus background. The image crops off house to the sides and a hill towards the top of the image.
The idea behind the image is that people fall for someone and they are sometimes left disappointed and with nowhere to go. The story behind the image is that when you fall in love there are risks to it. The image was made to capture the state of mind that the author was in. This reminds me of the dreams when you keep falling and don’t stop falling and you wake up in a shock. This image is interesting because it is like you are frozen in time and it amuses me.
I like this image because of the simpleness. This image was successful in completing its goal.

Period 6 -- Critical Analysis #4

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