The Price of Love

I am thinking of looking at how love means nothing to a tennis player, how love means everything to some people and how commercialism has put a price on love. I will produce a photography-based final piece, and may look at a stop frame animation aspect of the project. I may also look at places associated with romance but have completely contrasting objects or events as the main focus of the image. 

Valentine's Day

There are many commonalities in the ways different cultures celebrate Valentine's Day. Flowers, candy, and greeting cards are among many universal symbols of the holiday

Valentine's Day - a day that represents love and romance- is celebrated on February 14th in most English speaking countries around the world. In modern times Valentine's Day is largely considered a "Hallmark Holiday," due to the robust amount of commercialism associated with the day. But St. Valentine's Day does have religious origins at its roots.

A Brief History of Valentine's Day

It is said that Valentine's Day is named after two specific Christian martyrs, both named Valentine. The first is Valentine of Rome, and the second is Valentine of Terni. Oddly enough, there are limited connotations of romance attached to these two Christian martyrs.

Since the 19th century, Valentine's Day has been represented by the winged cupid, rather than any saints or religious icons.The association of romantic love and Valentine's Day is said to begin in England during the Middle Ages, when courtly love sprouted. And by the 1800s, Valentine's Day was widely popular among all social classes in Great Britain. It was around that time that Valentine's Day cards originated.

 
(sourced from suite101.com)

Love and Hate

It is said that there is a fine line between love and hate, as both are very strong emotions. I may look deeper into this theory to develop some ideas. I am thinking of photographing people with something/someone they love or hate.

Valentine's Day Customs in France (sourced from lost-in-france.com)

An old Valentines day custom in France and now officially banned was called the "une loterie d'amour" or "drawing for love". This entailed single people of all ages entering houses that faced opposite each other and calling out through the windows till eventually they paired off with each other. The male suitor if not particularly attracted to his partner would leave her and the women left single would build a large bonfire and ceremoniously burn images of the men that had deserted them whilst simultaneously hurling abuse and curses at the ungrateful men. Though this was probably very therapeutic for the rejected women inevitably it was a practice that soon became out of hand and was eventually banned by the French government.

In France Valentines cards are called cartes d'amities, the first recorded Valentines greeting was supposed to have been sent by the Duke of Orleans, a Frenchman who was held prisoner in the Tower of London after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During his imprisonment the young duke is said to have sent poems & love letters to his wife in France.

It is also traditional for religious pilgrims in France to travel to St Valentin a pretty village in Indre that is named after St Valentine. These days the village holds many events and ceremonies dedicated to Valentines day including marriage vow renewals.

'The Language of Love'

According to many, French is the language of love and Paris is the city most associate with love. I am going to look into this further by experimenting with using French language in early ideas and possibly basing an idea on France and French culture.

Oxford Dictionary Definition of Love

Love

noun

[mass noun]

• 1 a strong feeling of affection:babies fill parents with intense feelings of love their love for their country
• a strong feeling of affection and sexual attraction for someone: they were both in love with her we were slowly falling in love
• affectionate greetings conveyed to someone on one's behalf: give her my love
• a formula for ending an affectionate letter:take care, lots of love, Judy
• 2 a great interest and pleasure in something:his love for football we share a love of music
• 3 [count noun] a person or thing that one loves:she was the love of his life their two great loves are tobacco and whisky
• British informal a friendly form of address:it's all right, love
• (a love) informal used in affectionate requests:don‘t fret, there’s a love
• 4 (in tennis, squash, and some other sports) a score of zero; nil:love fifteen[apparently from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money); folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero]