Inspiration - Quentin / Betsy Vanlangen

IMAGES SOURCE: 

Betsy Vanlangen - http://www.betsyvanlangen.com/gallery.html?folio=Portfolio&gallery=Image%20Constructions

One issue that I faced in the development of my designs for Quentin was that of making the makeup itself look more disturbing and grungy. As my concept for this character is heavily based around the concept of dirt e.g. motor oil and the dark associations of phobia and the circus the makeup itself needed to reflect this concept of fear and hostility that many feel when exposed to clowns. For inspiration I took to looking at the work artist Betsy Vanlangen who is renowned for the shocking and uncomfortably beautiful nature of her work. In regards to developing the look for my Quentin design these two images are what stood out to me the most and have me a great deal of inspiration for how I could develop the look of my photography.
A key element to how the mood of Vanlangen's work is created is through how the image is photographed but also the choice of colour used within the image. All the colours are high contrast but mixed with darker tones so that they appear almost desaturated slightly, this gives the makeup a grungy and dirty undertone that creates a mood of disturbia. In addition to this is the way that lighting is used within the images, they are all shot under a harsh light which creates dramatic shadows across the face and also the background itself becomes fully darkened to the point that nothing else is visible behind it. The only elements that stand out are the ones we need to see and this creates that dark nature that is so beautiful about Vanlangen's work. Through adopting a similar method I will hopefully be able to install the same amount of horror into my own work and develop the disturbing nature of clown phobias that has inspired the concept for my Quentin.