Monday, April 2, 2018

Under the Influence: Matt Sartain - Marco Di'Santi



Matt Sartain

I'm specifically focusing on Matt Sartain's conceptual series rather than his Interior photography, child photography, or advertisement work. 

His work has a certain illustrative quality to it that he himself discusses in this tutorial:
http://shootthesundown.blogspot.com/2011/03/anatomy-of-shot.html




This specific photo called to me do to the subject, flight, which is a personal favorite and fascination of mine. Has been for a LONG time.

This photo, and Sartain's conceptual art series in general, has an illustrative evocation oh sensucht and nostalgia for a time that hasn't existed. It is a feeling captured in a bottle. The atmosphere isn't even always pleasant, but this emotion persists. A basis from which the rest is drawn.

Formally, I can't speak to much. There is an emphasis on over saturation of colors but low ranges of total colors. As in, there aren't a lot of colors in the frame, but the ones that are there are rich. The overall dynamic range also feels muted and hazy without being muddy.
There is always movement along arc in these pieces as well. which probably leads to a lack of balance or stability, without being jarring. This emphasizes the atmosphere of that sensucht emotion I mention earlier.

I think this formality adds to the filmic quality of the pieces. Which are almost always narrative. The subjects taking up a third or less of the frame in their staging, allowing for a scene, rather than a thing, to be the emphasis of the piece. Several of the pieces are also either in 16x9 (or 1.77:1) or Cinema wide (2.39:1) which are two common video resolution formats. This definitely helps the work speak to me specifically with my near complete emersion in the film industry at this point. 


So (to summarize in list), Illustrative, Filmic, Fantasy elements, Narrative, Emphasis on scene over subject, saturated colors, muted range, Whimsy, Nostalgia, and Sensucht. These are the elements I need to capture and emulate to mimic Matt Sartain.

Sartain's Website:
https://www.mattsartain.com/ADVERTISING-+-CONCEPTUAL/50

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