Embedded Files
Lucas Simões (Catanduva, 1980) is a Brazilian artist currently based in São Paulo.
His work investigates the limits and unpredictability of material behaviour, and the end result is always somewhere between an act of research and a genuine art piece. Lucas Simões' use of materials such as concrete, paper, steel, and foam stems from his training as an architect. His approach to the artistic process also serves as a criticism of modern architecture's shortcomings.
His creative career began before his studies in architecture and continued until it became his definitive path.
Some of his pieces are permanently exhibited in public Brazilian collections such as the MAR (Museu de Arte do Rio), Rio de Janeiro, the MAC USP (Museu de Arte Contemporânea da cidade de São Paulo), the ITAÚ collection of Brazilian photography, São Paulo, the CCSP (Centro Cultural São Paulo), São Paulo, and the IFF (Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz), Ribeirão Preto, as well as some foreign collections, such as the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, USA and the Kablanc Otazu Foundation.
Queimaduras, Luas Simoes, 2009
In this capture by Lucas Simoes it encourporates what looks like a young child at school, the lack of the child's face, replaced only by a single visible eye, creates a strong focal point, directing the viewer's attention to the what remains of the child's identity in the middle of a scene of destruction. The burns on the paper, which are represented in vibrant tones of orange and red, evoke an emotional response, relating back to the extreme heat and emotions of misery and pain that come with that. Simoeschoice of colour enhances the emotional effect of the photo, with melting ink symbolising the child's physical and psychological suffering. The juxtaposition of the charred portion and the immaculate areas of the paper adds to the composition's feeling of contrast and tension, emphasising the clear distinction between innocence and disaster.The inclusion of an orange strip along the bottom of the image, precisely copied from the burning ink, acts as both a composing and symbolic element. It grounds the picture while emphasising the burn's relevance, resulting in a feeling of continuity and consistency across the image.
I aim to explore the connection between physical materials and visual storytelling, much like Lucas Simoes does through his intricate paper cuts and burns.
My responses
DIGITAL + SCAN INS
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0 ,Shutter speed- 1/10
Canon, ISO-200, f/11, Shutter speed- 1/80
Family photo - Edited in camera raw
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/10
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/160
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/10
Family photo - Edited in camera raw
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/13
Canon, ISO-200, f/11, Shutter speed- 1/80
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/13
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/60
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/13
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/10
Family photo - Edited in camera raw
Canon, ISO-200, f/9.0, Shutter speed- 1/10
Digital and Physical editing process
Before editing (Raw image)
After editing
I opened up my image in camera raw, depending on the image that I was using (in this case a white backdrop studio lit image) I applied a B&W filter. For this particular image I use high contrast as I thought that it resembled one of Lucas’s pretty well. Following the application of this filter I began by altering the exposure (-0.20), shadows(-22), whites(-22) and blacks (-18), doing this I was able to tone down the overpowering whiteness from the background and the subjects top, while also slightly washing out the image as if it were taken on film. In relation to that, Hazing (-8) the image added to this film like feel by making it appear flatter and subtracting unwanted contrast. Leading me to adding a slight bit of lost contrast (+12) back in to the image, until I got the desired outcome.
Coming back to a point I just made, making the image look flat, by applying both profile correction and removing chromatic aberration, helps me correct any lens distortion and colour fringing caused by chromatic aberration. Additionally, applying geometric adjustments allowed me to make the image appear flatter by manipulating its perspective slightly.
Lucas Simoes used a variety of old images of different people in different settings. When editing and taking these images, this is what I wanted to try replicate, explaining why, unlike other artists I have chosen, all the images look completely different, different tones, people and settings. After I had digitally edited all of my photos in camera raw, I printed them at Tesco on picture paper. I found this was the best option as its fast and reasonable, plus the pictures came out pretty good.
Over the course of around 2 days, I began figuring out a technique of burning each picture witch would leave me with a desirable result. I loved the pop of colour Lucas incorporated in his images and that was something I really wanted to create in my own, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I began by using a regular lighter, which just melted the ink away resulting in me being left with a white bit of picture paper, then a small gas tourch/flame thrower, witch did the same thing. Eventually using matches was my best bet, I used around 4-5 on each image (depending on the size of the burn) hovering the flame over the ink witch melted it created vibrant reds, oranges and purples. Additionally, I did use the lighters to burn holes and to melt away the back of paper making it easier for the matches to heat up the ink on the front.
Finishing all my images I moved onto actually creating them as a jpeg witch would allow me to further edit them. I scanned each burnt photograph into my computer using a Canon Lide 400, adding them to my hard drive I was then able to open then up and begin the next stage of the editorial process.
The initial thing I did here was removing the border created when scanning, also applying the same three filters as I did at the start, profile correcting, removing chromatic aberration and applying geometric adjustments. This part of the process was critical in providing me with the same/similar image I was left with after the first camera raw edit.
Some final adjustments I made started with me masking the burn, doing this I increased the Texture (+13) and clarity (+8) witch intensified its sharpness and detail, emphasizing the charred and textured aspects of the burn. Not in this particular image but in others, I altered the colours of the burn by increasing the saturation of either orange or red giving me more of a variety of colours.
Continuing, after opening my image in Adobe Photoshop, I utilized the color picker tool to select a specific hue from the burn. I then matched this color with the desired shade for the orange band using a color fill.
Making a new layer I filled the page with the colour selected previously, pressing CNT – T i altered the size of the band until I was happy with how much of the photo it covered. On each photograph I tried to stay within the hight of 610 so they didn’t all look so different and distorted on my page. Finally, I found that not applying a canvas made the images look a lot more eye catching and allowed them to gel better as a sort of series.
Page updated
Report abuse