Artist: Mike Stimpson
Name: Mike Stimpson
Dates of Life: 1979 to current Personal Background: Mike Stimpson was born and still lives in the West Midlands, England. He is currently employed as a videogame programmer, though he wishes he could work as a photographer full time. He is a fan of Lego and Starwars because he grew up with them in the 70s. One of his favourite photographers is Ansel Adams. Style: His photos have a very distinct style, almost all of the are made entirely out of lego. While many of his photos are related to his interests for example starwars there are also many pictures that recreate famous images from history such as “VJ Day in Times Square” and one of the most famous and influential images of the “Tiananmen Square Tank Man”. The majority of his pictures have a shallow depth of field and are in a square format. Philosophy: With his photographs, he was just trying to express his love for lego, star wars and, history. He not only enjoys taking the photographs but researching the images he is recreating. Another reason he does what he does is because he wants to reveal these historic images to a new audience. Overall Mike Stimpson takes the pictures he does because he enjoys taking them. Influences: Mike Stimpson has influenced my photographs in many ways. One way he influenced me was through the use of LEGO, I find it very interesting and enjoyed using it in my photos. Another way he influenced me was through the recreation of historical photographs, it was very fun to take my images and try to make them as similar to the original as possible. Compare and Contrast: My pictures are alike and different from Mike Stimpson's pictures in many ways. Both of our pictures recreate famous images, but I think his are at a much higher caliber and quality. His photos also are much better staged and produced than mine. |
Sallie GardnerApollo 11 CrewSteve JobsExamples of his work:
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Artist Statement:
My images tell the story of three different influential pictures. "Sallie Gardner" tells the story of how we discovered that horses gallop with both feet off the ground using cameras to capture every moment. "Apollo 11 Crew" recreates the famous picture of the ships crew after they arrived on earth after becoming the first to step on the moon. "Steve Jobs" is a recreation of the now famous cover of Steve's biography which has sold millions of copies. |