Well, the results came through recently and I was over the moon with both my mark and feedback for this module. I received 83% for PWDP which is my highest mark for any of the OCA modules so far. Of course, it's all about development with any degree programme but I can't help but feel elated anyway. The assessor feedback was very encouraging, stating that I was highly creative and had a strong sense of voice. My ability to analyse and research was praised and my academic ability was also noted as strong - phew! the academic side (particularly the critical essay) was something I worried about and struggled with for ages.
Anyway, as usual I am already working on my next module. I had originally planned to take the 2nd level Landscape course but changed my mind. I think Gesture and Meaning is more suited to my style of work and interests. The link is here:
a partial moment
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Saturday 14 June 2014
Reflection
This final, reflective, post is an attempt to signpost the learning points that I have covered throughout the course. In completing this module I have developed and strengthened a way of expressing my photographic voice. I now realise that through the use of staged images and everyday found objects/scenes I can create complex scenarios and narratives that explore my ideas and emotions. Using this narrative technique I place my work in context of other photographers such as Christina De Middel. Assignments 1, 3, and 5, strongly reflect my personal approach to investigation of an archive or memory through narrative storytelling.
I've learnt how to approach a project more systematically by gathering material from the historical archive in order to thoroughly research a subject. The sourced information provides a thinking space to explore ideas and more importantly jumping off points for photographic projects. I used this technique after prompting from my tutor to 'dig deeper' on assignment 1. The research into the local history archive certainly proved fruitful in inspiring me to move my project further. I think that the revised work for assignment 1 is much stronger than my initial output. My notes on the revised project can be read here.
I've spent some time looking at practitioners that investigate hidden histories and archives. E.J. Bellocq, William E Jones and Nicky Bird have either created secret archives or re-interpreted existing ones - sometimes making new work in response. I've learnt through reading Keith Jenkins that history is only an interpretation of sources by historians and as such can be open to cultural and political bias. This has helped to strengthen my approach when reading and analysing critical texts. I've learnt how to consider both the bias of the writer and to weigh up both sides of an argument. Here I've analysed an essay on photography.
I continue to try and pre-visualise my work and often sketch out a rough shooting script for my projects. This is something that my tutor has encouraged me to keep up and the sketches for some of my assignment work can be seen here.
I learnt how to take into consideration the use of text and fonts from a design perspective. I learnt how to make magazine spreads for commercial use to a professional standard here.
I've visited a number of galleries both on official OCA study days and by myself. I have tried to review the exhibitions and reflected on how the work made me feel and if I was inspired to make any work in response. Home Truths & Omer Fast.
Looking back on this years work I can see that I have moved a long way, both creatively and academically. I feel confident about moving forward although I know that I still have a lot to learn and, in particular, I want to get a much better understanding of the language of visual culture and how this influences contemporary photography today.
I've learnt how to approach a project more systematically by gathering material from the historical archive in order to thoroughly research a subject. The sourced information provides a thinking space to explore ideas and more importantly jumping off points for photographic projects. I used this technique after prompting from my tutor to 'dig deeper' on assignment 1. The research into the local history archive certainly proved fruitful in inspiring me to move my project further. I think that the revised work for assignment 1 is much stronger than my initial output. My notes on the revised project can be read here.
I've spent some time looking at practitioners that investigate hidden histories and archives. E.J. Bellocq, William E Jones and Nicky Bird have either created secret archives or re-interpreted existing ones - sometimes making new work in response. I've learnt through reading Keith Jenkins that history is only an interpretation of sources by historians and as such can be open to cultural and political bias. This has helped to strengthen my approach when reading and analysing critical texts. I've learnt how to consider both the bias of the writer and to weigh up both sides of an argument. Here I've analysed an essay on photography.
I continue to try and pre-visualise my work and often sketch out a rough shooting script for my projects. This is something that my tutor has encouraged me to keep up and the sketches for some of my assignment work can be seen here.
I learnt how to take into consideration the use of text and fonts from a design perspective. I learnt how to make magazine spreads for commercial use to a professional standard here.
I've visited a number of galleries both on official OCA study days and by myself. I have tried to review the exhibitions and reflected on how the work made me feel and if I was inspired to make any work in response. Home Truths & Omer Fast.
Looking back on this years work I can see that I have moved a long way, both creatively and academically. I feel confident about moving forward although I know that I still have a lot to learn and, in particular, I want to get a much better understanding of the language of visual culture and how this influences contemporary photography today.
Thursday 12 June 2014
Assessment Preparation
I've spent most of the last month preparing for assessment. Pulling together all the work from the module and presenting it in a coherent and easily navigable manner is a crucial final step - one that shouldn't be taken lightly. I had a phone chat with my tutor, Keith Roberts, about my presentation plans and I explained my approach. I want to make envelopes from thick tracing paper for each of the assignment's printed output. The reasoning for this is because of the different sized formats that I used over the course of the module. They would all rattle around inside a portfolio box big enough for the largest piece of work (A3). I had two different sized photo-books for assignments 1 & 5; an A4 printed image for my assignment 2 book cover, assignment 3, as mentioned, is printed on A3 sized photo paper. Hopefully the envelopes would help to pull the visual look of the presentation together.
Each envelope and binder has a matching Polaroid indicating it's number.
I'd bought a wire binding machine earlier in the year for making these binders. All the material for each assignment is neatly held together and hopefully will be easy for the assessor to navigate. The black covers match my physical learning log which will also be submitted.
Print outs and notes from my learning log. I've also put small numbered tabs against pages which directly relate to assignments.
There is also a small navigation card to direct the assessor through the presentation and providing the URL for my blog. The fourth assignment is the critical review and the final revised version has a clear facing cover to visually connect with the opaque envelopes.
Seeing it all laid out on the table it looks quite simple and not over fussy. This is the overall look that I'd planned for. The sheer amount of work that is contained in those binders and envelopes (not to mention my blog) is quite staggering now I think back on it. I've found working at level 2 quite a jump. It was worth it though. I've really enjoyed working on this module and the help from my tutor has been exceptional. I really hope I've managed to find a path through the pitfalls and avoided overworking the presentation - time will tell.
To accompany each envelope is a wire-bound A4 binder containing my essays, original images sent to my tutor, the tutor feedback, my response, and notes and sketches for each assignment.
The whole lot was to go into a bespoke portfolio box to keep everything held in place but I was cautioned against overworking the presentation. This is good advice (I tend to tinker far too much) along with the caution to not present with material that looks like it came out of Rymans. I guess it is up to me to decide where on the spectrum my presentation will sit.
I ditched the bespoke portfolio box idea and the separate envelopes and binders will now be packaged up securely in bubble wrap and boxed for transit by courier. I'm not sure how assessment material is dealt with exactly but I'm hoping that an assessor will find all my materials laid out neatly on a table rather than having to unpack it all themselves.
I had a few false starts with the making of the envelopes but once I got into the swing of it they didn't take too long.
Each envelope and binder has a matching Polaroid indicating it's number.
I'd bought a wire binding machine earlier in the year for making these binders. All the material for each assignment is neatly held together and hopefully will be easy for the assessor to navigate. The black covers match my physical learning log which will also be submitted.
Print outs and notes from my learning log. I've also put small numbered tabs against pages which directly relate to assignments.
There is also a small navigation card to direct the assessor through the presentation and providing the URL for my blog. The fourth assignment is the critical review and the final revised version has a clear facing cover to visually connect with the opaque envelopes.
Seeing it all laid out on the table it looks quite simple and not over fussy. This is the overall look that I'd planned for. The sheer amount of work that is contained in those binders and envelopes (not to mention my blog) is quite staggering now I think back on it. I've found working at level 2 quite a jump. It was worth it though. I've really enjoyed working on this module and the help from my tutor has been exceptional. I really hope I've managed to find a path through the pitfalls and avoided overworking the presentation - time will tell.
Wednesday 21 May 2014
Berenice Abbott
I've been reading about the photographer Berenice Abbott and looking at examples of her body of work. I knew about her place in photographic history as the rescuer of the Atget archive but not much else. The two books I've managed to obtain give some very good examples of a number of portraits from her time in Paris and documenting the changing face of 1930s New York City.
The two sets of work, to me, seem quite different in style. When Abbott was in Paris she was well established, had exhibited her portraiture alongside Man Ray and Kertesz, and many famous people sat for her. The portraits do look very much of their time - quite formal. There is also an air of theatricality to them. This is probably due to the 1920s Bohemian culture in Paris at that time. As with any portrait, particularly of famous people, there is a need for the sitter to project a persona and, in Abbott's images, some very strong personalities appear to gaze back at the viewer. There is also a Modernist element creeping in with very strong shapes made by the pose, limbs, elements of the background, etc.
Julia Van Haaften, in the introduction to the book "Masters of Photography," makes a statement that is confusing to me:
Abbott permitted each personality she photographed to project outward to the viewer. Even in the studio, where a photographic artist has the most opportunity for manipulatory control, Abbott preferred realism to guide her style." (Van Haaften, 1997).
I don't really see how a famous person projecting an 'idea of themselves' for the camera, for that is all they are doing, can be called 'realism.' But, to be honest this is an issue I have with portraiture in general and probably why I sometimes crop the heads off my portraits. But, even putting the issue of projection aside, how can a staged portrait in a studio with lights and pose and composition be described as a realistic style?
Abbott eventually left Paris, closed her portrait studio, and returned to her homeland in America to set herself up in New York. She had become enamoured by the buzz in the city at that time. As neighbourhoods were torn down to make way for ever more skyscrapers Abbott hoped to make a body of work in the same way that Atget did for Paris. Abbott set up her portrait studio in the city and in her spare time would meticulously plan every element of her New York City project. As it happens, the portrait business never achieved anywhere near the success it had in Paris. Abbott had a lot of spare time on her hands (I find her lack of success with portraiture in America intriguing and the reasons are not really given in the two books that I've read so far.) Although Abbott was known to be quite scornful of the likes of the Modernists, Alfred Steiglitz, his contemporaries and proteges, who dominated the photographic art scene in New York during her crucial decades there.
Abbott's New York city work is, to my mind, easily some of the best images of the city I have seen. When I look at her work I can see the influence of Atget in some of the close-up street scenes particularly when depicting store front reflections in glass. I can also see a Modernist influence that reminds me of Rodchenko with tilted verticals on buildings or roads to create strong diagonals in her compositions. In amongst these there are also what could be called 'straight' scenes that reflect her 'realistic' approach too. From the perspective of the 2010s Abbott's work screams 'machine-age Modern'.
Again, I come back to the perplexing notion of Abbott's claim to a realistic approach to photography. It is interesting how many different perceptions of an image there can be. It is so true that once an image is made and released into the public domain the photographer's intent can no longer be the only deciding factor in its analysis. Atget himself was held in high regard by Man Ray and the Surrealists in Paris even though he claimed himself to be a maker of 'documents'. Is Abbott consciously or unconsciously taking the same artistic stance? I'd also be interested to know why Abbott has ended up in New York so vehemently opposed to the Modernists. After all didn't the American style grow out of the early Avant Garde and Surrealist movement in Europe? Abbott was close to Man Ray and his circle of friends during this time. How did she come to turn away from all that these styles represented in favour of realism? Maybe I am missing something or have misunderstood an element of the history of photographic art culture. I have ordered a biography of Abbott in the hope that it will pin down and explain some of my questions.
There is also the question of Abbott's sexuality, her life-long partner Elizabeth McCausland and her left-wing politics. I obtained most of this information from internet searches as both books are pretty sparse in regards to these areas. As a member of a minority and an 'other' I think it is pretty important that these aspects of Abbott's life are analysed in relation to her influences in her work. They may shed some light as to why she was always on the outside of the artistic establishment and rarely ever received a paid photographic commission in America - was Abbott and McCausland too Out? Too Lefty for the establishment?
references:
Van Haaften, J. (1997) Abbot, B. (1997) Berenice Abbott: Masters of Photography. London, UK: Aperture Foundation Inc. UK, Robert Hale Ltd.
Abbott, B. (2010) Berenice Abbott: Photofile. London, UK: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
The two sets of work, to me, seem quite different in style. When Abbott was in Paris she was well established, had exhibited her portraiture alongside Man Ray and Kertesz, and many famous people sat for her. The portraits do look very much of their time - quite formal. There is also an air of theatricality to them. This is probably due to the 1920s Bohemian culture in Paris at that time. As with any portrait, particularly of famous people, there is a need for the sitter to project a persona and, in Abbott's images, some very strong personalities appear to gaze back at the viewer. There is also a Modernist element creeping in with very strong shapes made by the pose, limbs, elements of the background, etc.
Julia Van Haaften, in the introduction to the book "Masters of Photography," makes a statement that is confusing to me:
Abbott permitted each personality she photographed to project outward to the viewer. Even in the studio, where a photographic artist has the most opportunity for manipulatory control, Abbott preferred realism to guide her style." (Van Haaften, 1997).
I don't really see how a famous person projecting an 'idea of themselves' for the camera, for that is all they are doing, can be called 'realism.' But, to be honest this is an issue I have with portraiture in general and probably why I sometimes crop the heads off my portraits. But, even putting the issue of projection aside, how can a staged portrait in a studio with lights and pose and composition be described as a realistic style?
Abbott eventually left Paris, closed her portrait studio, and returned to her homeland in America to set herself up in New York. She had become enamoured by the buzz in the city at that time. As neighbourhoods were torn down to make way for ever more skyscrapers Abbott hoped to make a body of work in the same way that Atget did for Paris. Abbott set up her portrait studio in the city and in her spare time would meticulously plan every element of her New York City project. As it happens, the portrait business never achieved anywhere near the success it had in Paris. Abbott had a lot of spare time on her hands (I find her lack of success with portraiture in America intriguing and the reasons are not really given in the two books that I've read so far.) Although Abbott was known to be quite scornful of the likes of the Modernists, Alfred Steiglitz, his contemporaries and proteges, who dominated the photographic art scene in New York during her crucial decades there.
Abbott's New York city work is, to my mind, easily some of the best images of the city I have seen. When I look at her work I can see the influence of Atget in some of the close-up street scenes particularly when depicting store front reflections in glass. I can also see a Modernist influence that reminds me of Rodchenko with tilted verticals on buildings or roads to create strong diagonals in her compositions. In amongst these there are also what could be called 'straight' scenes that reflect her 'realistic' approach too. From the perspective of the 2010s Abbott's work screams 'machine-age Modern'.
Again, I come back to the perplexing notion of Abbott's claim to a realistic approach to photography. It is interesting how many different perceptions of an image there can be. It is so true that once an image is made and released into the public domain the photographer's intent can no longer be the only deciding factor in its analysis. Atget himself was held in high regard by Man Ray and the Surrealists in Paris even though he claimed himself to be a maker of 'documents'. Is Abbott consciously or unconsciously taking the same artistic stance? I'd also be interested to know why Abbott has ended up in New York so vehemently opposed to the Modernists. After all didn't the American style grow out of the early Avant Garde and Surrealist movement in Europe? Abbott was close to Man Ray and his circle of friends during this time. How did she come to turn away from all that these styles represented in favour of realism? Maybe I am missing something or have misunderstood an element of the history of photographic art culture. I have ordered a biography of Abbott in the hope that it will pin down and explain some of my questions.
There is also the question of Abbott's sexuality, her life-long partner Elizabeth McCausland and her left-wing politics. I obtained most of this information from internet searches as both books are pretty sparse in regards to these areas. As a member of a minority and an 'other' I think it is pretty important that these aspects of Abbott's life are analysed in relation to her influences in her work. They may shed some light as to why she was always on the outside of the artistic establishment and rarely ever received a paid photographic commission in America - was Abbott and McCausland too Out? Too Lefty for the establishment?
references:
Van Haaften, J. (1997) Abbot, B. (1997) Berenice Abbott: Masters of Photography. London, UK: Aperture Foundation Inc. UK, Robert Hale Ltd.
Abbott, B. (2010) Berenice Abbott: Photofile. London, UK: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
Wednesday 12 March 2014
E J Bellocq - The Storyville Portraits
The Storyville Portraits are a fascinating insight into the world of New Orleans prostitution in the early 1900s. The Storyville district was designated as a legalised area for 'whorehouses' as they were usually called. A place where sex workers were gathered together usually with a madam in control of the house and earnings. The term 'whorehouses' sounds quaint to my ears and conjures up images of gaudy, tasselled, interiors with cushions and silk scarves draped over table lamps - in other words, the scenes usually depicted in TV and film. Storyville survived for about twenty years contributing much wealth to the local economy. Eventually, changing public morality and the US Navy (stationed nearby and preparing itself for the First World War) began to campaign for legalised prostitution in the district to be shutdown.
The portraits are printed from around 89 glass plate negatives discovered decades after the death of the photographer, E J Bellocq. They had mostly been kept secret and shown only to a few close friends until the plates were discovered in the drawer of a desk belonging to Bellocq. Photographer, Lee Friedlander, bought the plates from a local art dealer and printed up many of the negatives onto gold tone printing out paper. The images were finally exhibited for the world to see in the 1970s at the Museum of Modern Art. The portraits comprise of women posed nude, partly and fully clothed, or sometimes naked except for facial masks. The backgrounds are usually bedrooms or parlours (now mostly attributed to Lulu White's Mahogany Hall). The interiors are just like I imagined them to be - patterned rugs, pictures in heavy frames, fancy wallpaper and carved mirrors over mantelpieces. I can only guess at the rich colours of the interiors.
What is intriguing about the images is the relaxed manner in which the subjects pose for the camera. They lean against furniture, recline on couches or stand on temporary backdrops and appear to be completely at ease with the photographer. Bellocq was known to be a frequent visitor to the Storyville brothels although (according to the testament of one of the surviving women) apparently never for sex. It has been suggested that the images may have been intended for commercial use in one of the "Blue Books" that were in circulation at the time - a sort of directory of Storyville brothels and their occupants. This has never been proven though and the images remained hidden until after Bellocq's death.
An added mystery to the Storyville portraits is that some of the faces of the women have been scratched out. Stories had arisen that Bellocq's brother, a Jesuit priest, had done this upon finding the plates. But, if done for reasons of morality, then why scratch the faces and not the naked body? Had one of the women themselves scratched them to obscure their identity at a later stage in their life? Friedlander claims that tests on the plates show that the scratching must have occurred when they were still wet. But, how rigorous in his testing method was Friedlander? His claims could be just one of many that surround the Storyville portraits and, over time, have proven to be incorrect. Did Bellocq scratch the plates for jealous reasons? Had he quarrelled with one of the women? One of them is featured both scratched and untouched on different plates and for me the logical conclusion is that at some point in time a "selection" of the plates were discovered and scratched for whatever reason - by persons unknown. Maybe even someone connected to Bellocq in a less melodramatic manner than his religious brother; A housekeeper? I guess we will never know the answer to the scratching but it does raise again the issue of the representation of women in photography. For now though the mystery and intrigue around the Storyville portraits remains intact and somehow adds to their allure.
Friday 28 February 2014
Re-thinking History - Keith Jenkins
This book was recommended to me by my tutor in his feedback for assignment 4 - the critical essay. It has been a fascinating read. The author reminds us that 'the past' and 'history' are different things. He wants the reader to see history:
"as a 'Field of Force'; a series of ways of organising the past by and for interested parties which always comes from somewhere and for some purpose and which, in their direction, would like to carry you with them." Jenkins, (1991).
In other words history is just an interpretation of the past by someone (usually historians) who, despite their attempts to remain objective, will be unable to set aside all sorts of political, cultural, and emotional baggage. This baggage will affect the way that they review and interpret facts about the past. Ultimately there is no one 'true' objective history - just lots of people/cultures constructing their own histories for their own reasons at different times. In most cultures there is also usually one 'dominant history' that interested parties attempt to place as the 'natural' history of a people/society and one that will squash all other attempts to assert smaller, more 'marginalised histories'. The reasons for this are usually political and in an attempt to retain power.
I'm reminded of that saying by Winston Churchill, 'History is written by the Victors.' I'm also reminded how easily our nation forgets that before WWII there was a significant anti-Jewish sentiment in the country and that national newspapers like the Daily Mail openly advocated Fascism. Now that we are on the other side of the war those unpalatable views are subsumed into the national consciousness and forgotten about. I wonder how the interested parties at that time went about using history to legitimise their own views.
From a more current perspective the book is very relevant to my essay on gender representation. My essay deals with the attempt by women photographers to write their own feminist history and assert themselves in a patriarchal society. I've made quite a few notes from this book to make some changes to my essay.
references:
Jenkins, K. (2003) Re-Thinking History. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge Classics.
"as a 'Field of Force'; a series of ways of organising the past by and for interested parties which always comes from somewhere and for some purpose and which, in their direction, would like to carry you with them." Jenkins, (1991).
In other words history is just an interpretation of the past by someone (usually historians) who, despite their attempts to remain objective, will be unable to set aside all sorts of political, cultural, and emotional baggage. This baggage will affect the way that they review and interpret facts about the past. Ultimately there is no one 'true' objective history - just lots of people/cultures constructing their own histories for their own reasons at different times. In most cultures there is also usually one 'dominant history' that interested parties attempt to place as the 'natural' history of a people/society and one that will squash all other attempts to assert smaller, more 'marginalised histories'. The reasons for this are usually political and in an attempt to retain power.
I'm reminded of that saying by Winston Churchill, 'History is written by the Victors.' I'm also reminded how easily our nation forgets that before WWII there was a significant anti-Jewish sentiment in the country and that national newspapers like the Daily Mail openly advocated Fascism. Now that we are on the other side of the war those unpalatable views are subsumed into the national consciousness and forgotten about. I wonder how the interested parties at that time went about using history to legitimise their own views.
From a more current perspective the book is very relevant to my essay on gender representation. My essay deals with the attempt by women photographers to write their own feminist history and assert themselves in a patriarchal society. I've made quite a few notes from this book to make some changes to my essay.
references:
Jenkins, K. (2003) Re-Thinking History. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge Classics.
Tuesday 18 February 2014
Ruud Van Empel - Photoworks 1995 - 2010
Ruud Van Empel is a photographer that works exclusively with Photo montage. His compositions are constructed from all sorts of items that have been isolated, photographed, perfected, and finally constructed into a themed image. His earlier works such as 'The Office' series portrayed people sitting behind their desks, surrounded by over sized accouterments of their trade. The series depicts groupings such as a photographer with a collection of flash bulb reflector dishes, or a haberdasher, with fabric templates and buttons on the walls.
There is an orderliness and neatness to the compositions, A theme that has progressed into other works.
'Study for Women' is a collection where the subjects begin to look strange. This is because not only the objects are montages but the people too. Van Empel has photographed his models in the studio - taking an arm, a leg, the eyes, nose, from different subjects. Van Empel uses extensive Photoshop techniques to perfect the look of his subjects. The women appear to be posed and look vulnerable. There is an air of menace. They look directly into the (non-existent) lens as if awaiting an instruction from a fashion shoot photographer. They remind me of video game characters - empty and compliant. There is also a Shermanesque quality to them. These are types - in different clothes, settings, scenarios.
The strangeness continues in 'Study in Green.' This time the scenes are of a woodland setting thick with trees and dark shadows - all constructed from separate elements. The subjects are children with disturbing, mask-like, porcelain faces. According to The Guardian revue of the work. The children are 'Dressed in Dutch middle-class attire from the 1960s'. They look vulnerable in settings that are highly atmospheric with a dreamlike density to the images.
In the series, 'World/Moon' I am reminded of the fantastic junglescapes of the painter Henri Rousseau. Black children dressed in immaculate formal attire stand amongst exotic palms, trees, or are half submerged in lily-pad covered ponds. Most of the images are large and appear to bonded to some sort of acrylic material that gives them a luxurious gloss effect.
'A perfect tropical paradise in the style of magic realism,' states the Guardian. And continues the revue with the author's words:
'To make something with beauty. Beauty has been taboo in art for such a long time.'
When I read this comment it was very interesting to me. It chimes with something photographers Tom Hunter and Jason Evans have said at talks I've attended recently. Is there a growing backlash developing against the more mundane works of art that have made up the bulk of conceptual art until now?
In the interview Van Empel goes on to say:
'Children are born innocent into a cruel and dangerous world. I wanted to do something with that idea. But, as an effect of the photo montage technique it ended up looking strange and frightening. I like this and decided to explore it further'.
I find my interest in constructing my own images has been growing for some time now. I've tried a number of ways of going about this, using real-life models and props, constructing sets at home, etc. My last piece of work on assignment 5 has drawn its influence partly from the photo montage technique of Van Empel. Although I've used the whole of the model in my work! I've pasted him into a number of different scenes and constructed bits of interiors or added birds to certain images using Photoshop.
I like the idea of putting together scenes that have popped into my head or from long ago memories that have significant meaning to me. Whether that will be by constructing sets, Photoshop montage or even going as far as making small scale models, like the 'Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death,' by Corinne May Botz - I don't know. I am still trying to work out my thoughts on this.
There is an orderliness and neatness to the compositions, A theme that has progressed into other works.
'Study for Women' is a collection where the subjects begin to look strange. This is because not only the objects are montages but the people too. Van Empel has photographed his models in the studio - taking an arm, a leg, the eyes, nose, from different subjects. Van Empel uses extensive Photoshop techniques to perfect the look of his subjects. The women appear to be posed and look vulnerable. There is an air of menace. They look directly into the (non-existent) lens as if awaiting an instruction from a fashion shoot photographer. They remind me of video game characters - empty and compliant. There is also a Shermanesque quality to them. These are types - in different clothes, settings, scenarios.
The strangeness continues in 'Study in Green.' This time the scenes are of a woodland setting thick with trees and dark shadows - all constructed from separate elements. The subjects are children with disturbing, mask-like, porcelain faces. According to The Guardian revue of the work. The children are 'Dressed in Dutch middle-class attire from the 1960s'. They look vulnerable in settings that are highly atmospheric with a dreamlike density to the images.
In the series, 'World/Moon' I am reminded of the fantastic junglescapes of the painter Henri Rousseau. Black children dressed in immaculate formal attire stand amongst exotic palms, trees, or are half submerged in lily-pad covered ponds. Most of the images are large and appear to bonded to some sort of acrylic material that gives them a luxurious gloss effect.
'A perfect tropical paradise in the style of magic realism,' states the Guardian. And continues the revue with the author's words:
'To make something with beauty. Beauty has been taboo in art for such a long time.'
When I read this comment it was very interesting to me. It chimes with something photographers Tom Hunter and Jason Evans have said at talks I've attended recently. Is there a growing backlash developing against the more mundane works of art that have made up the bulk of conceptual art until now?
In the interview Van Empel goes on to say:
'Children are born innocent into a cruel and dangerous world. I wanted to do something with that idea. But, as an effect of the photo montage technique it ended up looking strange and frightening. I like this and decided to explore it further'.
I find my interest in constructing my own images has been growing for some time now. I've tried a number of ways of going about this, using real-life models and props, constructing sets at home, etc. My last piece of work on assignment 5 has drawn its influence partly from the photo montage technique of Van Empel. Although I've used the whole of the model in my work! I've pasted him into a number of different scenes and constructed bits of interiors or added birds to certain images using Photoshop.
I like the idea of putting together scenes that have popped into my head or from long ago memories that have significant meaning to me. Whether that will be by constructing sets, Photoshop montage or even going as far as making small scale models, like the 'Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death,' by Corinne May Botz - I don't know. I am still trying to work out my thoughts on this.
Monday 17 February 2014
Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration - William E Jones
This book brings out into the open the "killed" images from the Farm Security Administration archive. These images were classed as rejected by Roy E Stryker who was head of the FSA and who tightly controlled many of the photographers working for him. His photographic staff were provided with shooting scripts for the kinds of subjects that he wanted covered. Any images that were out of focus, deemed (by Stryker) to have bad composition or not fitting the political aims of the FSA were rejected.
Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration
Stryker was almost exclusively responsible for reviewing contact prints and used a hole punch to deface any 35mm negatives that did not meet his criteria. Many FSA photographers strongly objected to his methods and over time some did manage to have a greater say over the use of their own work. No historical reasons have been given for the rejected images - although as I flipped through the book it becomes clear that aesthetic reasons (from a 1930s/40s viewpoint) play a part. Stryker also seemed to take a dim view of wasting film. If too many shots of the same sequence appeared on a strip of negative they would get the hole punch treatment. Stryker was also known to reject images as a means of asserting control over his photographers. The book's author, William E Jones, also claims that Stryker appeared to reject perfectly composed and well focused images too. These images (according to the author) can be fitted into several groupings:
Whilst it can be said that Stryker ruled the FSA staff very firmly indeed it should also be noted that he managed to steer the FSA through a number of political controversies when under attack from members of the US congress.
In the book's accompanying essay, Jones states that his initial aim when researching the FSA archive was to look for evidence of:
eroticised images of men in the New Deal. [The] goal was to find bits of evidence, glances, gestures, attitudes - that revealed an erotic leaning. [Jones] refused to believe that there was not a trace of Homosexuality in the visible record of the Great Depression. An historical Queer presence must have been documented, if only unconsciously or accidentally, by the photographers of the FSA. Jones (2010).
Indeed a number of the images can be read in this way through their subjects body language. Although the evidence is circumstantial there are images that clearly show men who are intimate with each other. Gestures can be read - arms around necks or waists (and not just in a buddy pose) shared glances, even dancing together.
Jones also highlights the unposed portraits of young, good-looking men in (hotel) bedrooms and bathrooms, taken by the FSA photographer John Vachon. Jones asks, "Who were they to Vachon? Where they colleagues? Drinking buddies? Something else? And why was every single image rejected?"
Without any evidence how does the viewer read a photograph taken by a male photographer of a man sitting on his bed? The image can be read any number of ways. The obvious reading to me is that he is, or will be, the photographer's sexual partner. Others would seek to deny this. Obviously homosexual people must exist in FSA photographs. They will be hidden away in all images not just the rejected ones. So even if there is nothing going on between these two guys, for me, the image signifies the hidden homosexual world of 1930 and 40s America.
Does it matter that I have one interpretation and others have theirs? In a way, from the perspective of a minority, it does. Even though the hidden queer histories in most of the rejected FSA images cannot be proved (although one particular sequence has been well researched and documents the travels of a group of Gay men holidaying in California) the dominant heterosexual and paternalistic society that we live in will seek, consciously or unconsciously, to dominate all its minorities and 'others' through control of language and thinking. So, the potential queerness of the images are not read in a neutral and balanced way. We know that Gay people exist. Therefore some of the men in the archive images must be Gay. But, as in the past, if the majority view is dismissive of a theory then rightly or wrongly the view of those that hold the power will prevail. What I'm getting at is that the sexuality of people is generally assumed, by default, to be heterosexual. And because of that the majority of Homosexual people simply vanish from view. Images of them exist in the archives and records - but not in a dominant Heterosexual version of history that has been compiled from those same records.
It is also important for these hidden histories to be looked for and acknowledged in the historical record. An example that I read about recently comes to mind. In the 1920s photographer, Alice Austen, documented her life with her Lesbian lover, Gertrude Amelia Tate. Austen came from a fairly privileged background and her status accorded her an element of tolerance from the society that she moved in. She left a fairly extensive photographic archive (of which her Lesbian identity forms a part and is important for its portrayal of 1920s life outside the perceived norm). The archive is housed in her former home "Clear Comfort" and a board of trustees run the estate.
A documentary has since been made highlighting a controversy over Austen's sexuality. It seems that Gender Study researchers, looking for evidence of hidden Queer histories, found that they were restricted by the trustees from 'improper' use of the archive and it was closed off to further research in this area. The documentary is called "The Female Closet" by Barbara Hammer. I've had trouble obtaining a copy - but I would like to see it.
There is an online review of the documentary here: The Female Closet: review.
I don't know if there was a big enough outcry to make the trustees change their minds but the case is a good example of minorities or 'others' (women, black, disabled, LGBT etc) being written out of a history that does not fit with the view of the dominant power base in a society. Because we are living in a society that is aligned to the model of a dominant heterosexual binary gender system, that society will mostly always seek to re-balance any interpretation of facts in its own favour. So, it would appear that there has been an attempt to silence the rare history, of an Out, Lesbian, photographer, and put her firmly back into a closet (she rejected in her own lifetime) where she can trouble no-one.
Reference:
Jones, W, E. (2010) Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration. New York, USA: PPP Editions (2010).
Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration
Stryker was almost exclusively responsible for reviewing contact prints and used a hole punch to deface any 35mm negatives that did not meet his criteria. Many FSA photographers strongly objected to his methods and over time some did manage to have a greater say over the use of their own work. No historical reasons have been given for the rejected images - although as I flipped through the book it becomes clear that aesthetic reasons (from a 1930s/40s viewpoint) play a part. Stryker also seemed to take a dim view of wasting film. If too many shots of the same sequence appeared on a strip of negative they would get the hole punch treatment. Stryker was also known to reject images as a means of asserting control over his photographers. The book's author, William E Jones, also claims that Stryker appeared to reject perfectly composed and well focused images too. These images (according to the author) can be fitted into several groupings:
- Stryker did not like subjects to gaze directly at the camera.
- groups of men or women that appear to be lounging around
- scenes that showed signage from improper films or theatrical shows
- any kind of furtive glances or overt bodily contact between the subjects
Whilst it can be said that Stryker ruled the FSA staff very firmly indeed it should also be noted that he managed to steer the FSA through a number of political controversies when under attack from members of the US congress.
In the book's accompanying essay, Jones states that his initial aim when researching the FSA archive was to look for evidence of:
eroticised images of men in the New Deal. [The] goal was to find bits of evidence, glances, gestures, attitudes - that revealed an erotic leaning. [Jones] refused to believe that there was not a trace of Homosexuality in the visible record of the Great Depression. An historical Queer presence must have been documented, if only unconsciously or accidentally, by the photographers of the FSA. Jones (2010).
Indeed a number of the images can be read in this way through their subjects body language. Although the evidence is circumstantial there are images that clearly show men who are intimate with each other. Gestures can be read - arms around necks or waists (and not just in a buddy pose) shared glances, even dancing together.
Jones also highlights the unposed portraits of young, good-looking men in (hotel) bedrooms and bathrooms, taken by the FSA photographer John Vachon. Jones asks, "Who were they to Vachon? Where they colleagues? Drinking buddies? Something else? And why was every single image rejected?"
Without any evidence how does the viewer read a photograph taken by a male photographer of a man sitting on his bed? The image can be read any number of ways. The obvious reading to me is that he is, or will be, the photographer's sexual partner. Others would seek to deny this. Obviously homosexual people must exist in FSA photographs. They will be hidden away in all images not just the rejected ones. So even if there is nothing going on between these two guys, for me, the image signifies the hidden homosexual world of 1930 and 40s America.
Does it matter that I have one interpretation and others have theirs? In a way, from the perspective of a minority, it does. Even though the hidden queer histories in most of the rejected FSA images cannot be proved (although one particular sequence has been well researched and documents the travels of a group of Gay men holidaying in California) the dominant heterosexual and paternalistic society that we live in will seek, consciously or unconsciously, to dominate all its minorities and 'others' through control of language and thinking. So, the potential queerness of the images are not read in a neutral and balanced way. We know that Gay people exist. Therefore some of the men in the archive images must be Gay. But, as in the past, if the majority view is dismissive of a theory then rightly or wrongly the view of those that hold the power will prevail. What I'm getting at is that the sexuality of people is generally assumed, by default, to be heterosexual. And because of that the majority of Homosexual people simply vanish from view. Images of them exist in the archives and records - but not in a dominant Heterosexual version of history that has been compiled from those same records.
It is also important for these hidden histories to be looked for and acknowledged in the historical record. An example that I read about recently comes to mind. In the 1920s photographer, Alice Austen, documented her life with her Lesbian lover, Gertrude Amelia Tate. Austen came from a fairly privileged background and her status accorded her an element of tolerance from the society that she moved in. She left a fairly extensive photographic archive (of which her Lesbian identity forms a part and is important for its portrayal of 1920s life outside the perceived norm). The archive is housed in her former home "Clear Comfort" and a board of trustees run the estate.
A documentary has since been made highlighting a controversy over Austen's sexuality. It seems that Gender Study researchers, looking for evidence of hidden Queer histories, found that they were restricted by the trustees from 'improper' use of the archive and it was closed off to further research in this area. The documentary is called "The Female Closet" by Barbara Hammer. I've had trouble obtaining a copy - but I would like to see it.
There is an online review of the documentary here: The Female Closet: review.
I don't know if there was a big enough outcry to make the trustees change their minds but the case is a good example of minorities or 'others' (women, black, disabled, LGBT etc) being written out of a history that does not fit with the view of the dominant power base in a society. Because we are living in a society that is aligned to the model of a dominant heterosexual binary gender system, that society will mostly always seek to re-balance any interpretation of facts in its own favour. So, it would appear that there has been an attempt to silence the rare history, of an Out, Lesbian, photographer, and put her firmly back into a closet (she rejected in her own lifetime) where she can trouble no-one.
Reference:
Jones, W, E. (2010) Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration. New York, USA: PPP Editions (2010).
Friday 14 February 2014
Assignment 5
This assignment asks for photographic work to be undertaken at an event. I'm really not sure about this one. I have difficulty getting up any enthusiasm for this kind of activity. Event photography, wedding or otherwise, is not something that I ever intend to get involved in. Up until now I've undertaken the commercial aspect of the other assignments with a lot of enthusiasm but how to approach this assignment from my own particular angle was puzzling me.
Past assignments have required me to write a hypothetical brief as if I were the client. I decided to use this approach and 'invent an event'. I would be asked by the organisers to provide photographic artwork to be included in a programme to promote their event. It would be given away to attendees or shown on poster boards at the venue itself - or both.
I did actually have a project in mind for this. Some months before I had been away in Brussels and visited the Atomium building. I was taken with its quirky structure and 1950 design ethos. Just days before I'd also visited the comic book museum and was inspired by the amazing artwork. I wanted to make a comic strip of my own using photographs. Deciding to combine the two ideas of layout and location I did some preparatory work at the Atomium. I took a number of images, thinking of how they might be incorporated into a narrative that might suit a comic strip although at that time I had no clear story in mind.
Back home a few weeks later I planned out a sequence over the Christmas break and I approached a relative to see if she would be amenable to me photographing her young son in some outdoor locations for my project. They were both quite interested in my concept as I explained it and I was so pleased that I had moved forward - and relieved that the biggest obstacle (finding a young model) had been overcome.
Jan 10th
Now that I've found a model I can begin scouting out locations near enough to where he lives with his family. I'm looking for a neutral landscape that can conceivably be countryside close to Brussels but also have enough interesting features. Luckily the Kent countryside and coastline has some good places to look. I spent the morning driving around and found a rusting double gate that will work well for the old entrance to the Atomium. Another good find was a nature reserve fairly close that has all sorts of landscape possibilities.
Jan 12th
I think I've hit the jackpot with the nature reserve. The location is fairly quiet so the young model won't feel too self conscious. I will also need to take a number of images with a plain background so I can cut him out of the scenes and into my Atomium shots. At the reserve there is a large white painted tank-like structure. It should be plain enough to give my model a strong silhouette to make my later Photoshopping tasks easier. I can't say that a large amount of image manipulation is exactly my favourite element in photography but, in this case, I have no choice but to just get on with it.
Jan 15th
I've done loads of prep to ensure that I've covered everything and that the shoot goes smoothly.
The gist of the narrative is that a young boy wandering around in a rural landscape finds an object that leads him to the abandoned Atomium building. Once inside he is given the opportunity by an anonymous figure on a screen to manipulate some controls and take the Atomium into space. During his journey he encounters a mysterious warping of time and space and rapidly returns back to reality. The notion of reality/unreality, isolation and imagination are key concepts in this sequence of images.
There is also a subtext with single or flocks of birds in the background to some of the images. This subtext isn't fully realised in my mind at the moment. Initially they will be used to represent a sense of childhood loneliness but that meaning may develop as I work on the sequence.
I've worked on my sequence and printed out my images onto 4x6 cards. I've laid them all out on my dining table. Doing this helps me to focus on the gaps in the narrative and sometimes I get a boost of creativity and new ideas occur to me - from experience this is more likely to happen with physical images laid out on a surface than with trying to flick through them on a screen.
Jan 17th
My shoot for this assignment is planned for Sunday. I've kept my eye on the weather forecast and it's looking like the day will be dry. There has been a lot of rain the last few days so I will have to remember to take something waterproof for my model to sit on. At the moment everywhere I go the ground is saturated. I've e-mailed to confirm the model is still available.
Jan 18th
I spent most of today putting together a shooting schedule so that the images are taken in the most efficient way possible without having to move backwards and forwards around the nature reserve. My partner, Gerry, will be roped in as an assistant to keep track of the shots. I also need to make a list of the props and equipment needed so that nothing is left at home on the day - feeling a bit apprehensive now. But, as I mentioned earlier, my confidence is growing and I know that more often than not I'm able to photograph what I'm trying to visualise in a creative and successful way - to the best of my own ability anyway.
Jan 19th
The shoot went really well. We started early by picking up the model and his mum (I'm not using his name to retain his anonymity) and along with Gerry we drove the short distance to the nature reserve. The morning was dry thankfully (I'd been watching the weather forecast all week waiting for a gap in the constant rain.) It did cloud over fairly quickly at one point - meaning I had to up my ISO quite a bit. I was conscious of the boredom factor setting in with ten year old but he seemed really happy and interested to take part. I explained to him, using the postcard-sized test shots, how I wanted him to pose and described the events taking place so he could imagine the scene for himself and act out suitable expressions. This was a bit difficult at times as he was obviously enjoying himself so much it was difficult to get him to stop smiling!
The shooting script has turned out to be such a good tool for keeping track. Working with it allowed for a relaxed time and once certain of covering everything I was able to think about extra creative shots that weren't part of the original script but might come in useful. I expected to need about two hours but we were done in just under half that time. A really good day, I think.
Jan 25th
I've selected and processed images from the shoot for the past few days. I am really happy with the images taken at the nature reserve. The model is very natural and my pre-visit to the site allowed me to make sure I had backgrounds that worked visually. My planning has really paid off on this assignment. I have a lot of work to do with image manipulation though as I need to incorporate the model into the interior scenes at the Atomium. I will also be using a comicbook effect filter to pull all the images together into a unified look. I need to do decide on the strength of the filter. Do I go full out comic strip or apply a more subtle interpretation?
Jan 29th
I emailed my tutor asking for an extension to my assignment deadline. There are so many tweaks that still need doing to my images it is taking such a long time. Someone more proficient at Photoshop manipulation would probably be much faster. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment but it is what it is and I just need to plough through.
I'm also having doubts about the whole concept. Have I gone completely crazy with this idea? For the moment there has been so much planning and logistics and time put into the project that I'm sticking with it despite my doubts. I've also learnt from past projects that these feelings are fairly typical at some point. In many of my projects my tutor, Keith, has given positive feedback on the work. I think I'm increasing in confidence more and more with this degree course and beginning to recognise the doubts are all part of the creative process. I need to trust my own judgement and work through them.
Feb 1st
Whilst I still continue to work on the project my nagging doubts remain. Reflecting upon what I've made so far I can now pinpoint where the problem is. I like all the exterior nature reserve scenes and the shots of the model pasted into the exterior Atomium shots. They feel right to me. The problem is with the space images (my narrative revolves around a young boy that finds an object that leads him to the Atomium which in turn takes him out into space). They feel too "Science Fictioney' too commercial - like a book cover. They don't fit right with the images of a boy in an empty landscape with the wind and the birds and strange industrial structures. The space images somehow veer the whole project off-course. I need to think about how to address this. I don't want to abandon the project. I like more than half of the images and think they hold together well.
The other problem is I have started to look at the comicstrip style layout. I had imagined that I would have three pages with roughly nine images per page. I've done some test layouts and can see that getting them to look like a comic strip with all the different landscape, portrait and square formats will be a problem. Something else to ponder.
Feb 2nd
I've put together a couple of pages of layouts for the comic strip theme and concluded it isn't working for me. The problem is partly because the images for my layouts do not fit a uniform style. I realise now that when comic strips are drawn it is easy to fit them to a page template that makes up a page. Like the image below for example. The top three images are in portrait format and flow across the page. For visual interest the next row has a square and a portrait. The bottom row changes again and has a single image. There is a symmetry to them that is common with most comic strips. I really should have planned my photographs to fit this format in advance to fit my page design. That's a bit of a tall order on top of all the other aspects of photography. It can be done with photographs but it takes an awful lot of pre-planning and cropping to make the images fit. With drawing, the perspective can easily be changed to fit a given format.
Another problem is that unlike a drawn comic-strip the eye seems to rapidly jump around the page of photographs - taking all the images in at once. The pace and sequence are all off. I'm going to need to rethink how my images are presented - maybe a book? This was my first rough attempt. I realise that with more effort I could make it work but I am just not visualising how the final look will work. Maybe that it a limitation on my part but I definitely think it is time to explore other avenues.
Feb 3rd
I made a quick mock up of the project in book format yesterday afternoon. I used the Blurb plugin for In-Design. By using separate pages and isolating some of the images the problems with pace and sequence are resolved now and the narrative flows much better. I feel that I have partly abandoned my whole concept though and I did question whether I should also remove the comicbook filter from the images because of this. I've decided against doing that as it's the filter that pulls all the images together and provides the style for the project.
Also, the nagging doubt about the use of the space images has been resolved. I've decided to add a conceptual element to these images by printing them out and tearing or crumpling them. They will then be re-photographed. By marking the surface of the space images they will represent the warping of space and time (enhancing the dramatic element and giving a reason for the boy to leave the spaceship to return to his reality) and also be used to highlight the physical nature of the photographic print. This creates a conceptual parallel between the physical object of a 2D print that is viewed (and reality suspended to enable the viewer to gaze into its subject matter) and the real/unreal elements of the narrative. I've wanted to experiment for some time with mark making on the surface of prints so I'm glad to have the opportunity to practice with this assignment.
Feb 4th
I spent a couple of hours making marks on left-over test images to see what kind of effects I can achieve. I used a scalpel to slice and scrape and a pointed screwdriver to puncture holes. I tried folding too but it didn't work so well. I've put the test shots in my physical learning log and ordered some prints to begin working on the originals.
Feb 8th
The last few days I've been busy adding my images to Indesign using the Blurb book creator plugin. Indesign is quite an intuitive programme and I kept my planned layout quite simple. I have one or two images per spread with an introduction. Unfortunately I will not be able to share all the images on this blog. In a number of them I've used an iconic building that is copyrighted. The terms and conditions state that it can be used for non commercial purposes and on private websites only. I don't want to take the chance or be in for any aggravation.
I put to use some of the skills I've learnt so far with this book so hopefully it will come out as I've planned. I used the Blurb ICC profiles for the first time and did some extra adjustments to the images in Photoshop before adding them to my pages.
Feb 14th
I've written up all my notes and now it is just a case of waiting for my Blurb book to be delivered today. If all goes well my assignment can go in the post to my tutor and that's this module all wrapped up! That is except for my response to tutor feedback for the last two assignments. Oh and some write ups for exhibitions that need doing. Oh, I missed a couple of exercises too...
Feb 18th
I just realised looking back over this entry I haven't really mentioned enough about my influences for this assignment. To correct that I'm linking to a post I wrote about a Ruud Van Empel exhibition I visited which gave me the inspiration to do some photo montage experiments. That work played a large part when it came to my thought processes for assignment 5.
My post can be found here - Ruud Van Empel
Edit 17th March:
My tutor feedback for this assignment was good. I'm quite relieved because I really pushed outside of the brief this time and was dreading having to start again if the work was good but not suitable for the assignment. The images were put into a Blurb book and I must say that I am really pleased with the result. Quality wise it is the best book I have made yet. Because of copyright issues and for reasons of anonymity I can't put the images here - well the majority of them. It is difficult to discuss the images without displaying them though so I have uploaded just one that should be okay. This is the last image in the book and can be read a number of different ways. I like that the narrative is open ended as I do find it hard to stray from a linear storytelling approach - but I am working on it...
For me, the last image signifies a few possible endings:
1. The Atomium object is discarded by the boy after his adventure - leaving the bird to watch over it before the flock directs the next person to find it.
2. The boy has dropped the object in the process of turning into the bird before joining the flock of previous adventurers.
3. The bird is a metaphor for release and escape from personal demons.
Other points to note are that I've decided that I won't be using the overly saturated comic book effect again in further projects. I think it has worked well in this small give-away book - designed for a special relaunch event. The book feels very self contained and I have learnt a lot from making it but it feels finished now and I want to move on.
What I will take away is my attempts at mark making. I want to pursue that process in one form or another again. I think I can upload a second image without causing too many copyright problems so I will upload one of my favourite ones from the sequence below. I am also pleased that the problems with the space images that I mentioned earlier were overcome by working through what I disliked about them. By referring to my learning log I was able to come up with the mark making and in the end added another level of complexity to the sequence.
Past assignments have required me to write a hypothetical brief as if I were the client. I decided to use this approach and 'invent an event'. I would be asked by the organisers to provide photographic artwork to be included in a programme to promote their event. It would be given away to attendees or shown on poster boards at the venue itself - or both.
I did actually have a project in mind for this. Some months before I had been away in Brussels and visited the Atomium building. I was taken with its quirky structure and 1950 design ethos. Just days before I'd also visited the comic book museum and was inspired by the amazing artwork. I wanted to make a comic strip of my own using photographs. Deciding to combine the two ideas of layout and location I did some preparatory work at the Atomium. I took a number of images, thinking of how they might be incorporated into a narrative that might suit a comic strip although at that time I had no clear story in mind.
Back home a few weeks later I planned out a sequence over the Christmas break and I approached a relative to see if she would be amenable to me photographing her young son in some outdoor locations for my project. They were both quite interested in my concept as I explained it and I was so pleased that I had moved forward - and relieved that the biggest obstacle (finding a young model) had been overcome.
Jan 10th
Now that I've found a model I can begin scouting out locations near enough to where he lives with his family. I'm looking for a neutral landscape that can conceivably be countryside close to Brussels but also have enough interesting features. Luckily the Kent countryside and coastline has some good places to look. I spent the morning driving around and found a rusting double gate that will work well for the old entrance to the Atomium. Another good find was a nature reserve fairly close that has all sorts of landscape possibilities.
Jan 12th
I think I've hit the jackpot with the nature reserve. The location is fairly quiet so the young model won't feel too self conscious. I will also need to take a number of images with a plain background so I can cut him out of the scenes and into my Atomium shots. At the reserve there is a large white painted tank-like structure. It should be plain enough to give my model a strong silhouette to make my later Photoshopping tasks easier. I can't say that a large amount of image manipulation is exactly my favourite element in photography but, in this case, I have no choice but to just get on with it.
Jan 15th
I've done loads of prep to ensure that I've covered everything and that the shoot goes smoothly.
The gist of the narrative is that a young boy wandering around in a rural landscape finds an object that leads him to the abandoned Atomium building. Once inside he is given the opportunity by an anonymous figure on a screen to manipulate some controls and take the Atomium into space. During his journey he encounters a mysterious warping of time and space and rapidly returns back to reality. The notion of reality/unreality, isolation and imagination are key concepts in this sequence of images.
There is also a subtext with single or flocks of birds in the background to some of the images. This subtext isn't fully realised in my mind at the moment. Initially they will be used to represent a sense of childhood loneliness but that meaning may develop as I work on the sequence.
I've worked on my sequence and printed out my images onto 4x6 cards. I've laid them all out on my dining table. Doing this helps me to focus on the gaps in the narrative and sometimes I get a boost of creativity and new ideas occur to me - from experience this is more likely to happen with physical images laid out on a surface than with trying to flick through them on a screen.
My shoot for this assignment is planned for Sunday. I've kept my eye on the weather forecast and it's looking like the day will be dry. There has been a lot of rain the last few days so I will have to remember to take something waterproof for my model to sit on. At the moment everywhere I go the ground is saturated. I've e-mailed to confirm the model is still available.
I spent most of today putting together a shooting schedule so that the images are taken in the most efficient way possible without having to move backwards and forwards around the nature reserve. My partner, Gerry, will be roped in as an assistant to keep track of the shots. I also need to make a list of the props and equipment needed so that nothing is left at home on the day - feeling a bit apprehensive now. But, as I mentioned earlier, my confidence is growing and I know that more often than not I'm able to photograph what I'm trying to visualise in a creative and successful way - to the best of my own ability anyway.
Jan 19th
The shoot went really well. We started early by picking up the model and his mum (I'm not using his name to retain his anonymity) and along with Gerry we drove the short distance to the nature reserve. The morning was dry thankfully (I'd been watching the weather forecast all week waiting for a gap in the constant rain.) It did cloud over fairly quickly at one point - meaning I had to up my ISO quite a bit. I was conscious of the boredom factor setting in with ten year old but he seemed really happy and interested to take part. I explained to him, using the postcard-sized test shots, how I wanted him to pose and described the events taking place so he could imagine the scene for himself and act out suitable expressions. This was a bit difficult at times as he was obviously enjoying himself so much it was difficult to get him to stop smiling!
Jan 25th
I've selected and processed images from the shoot for the past few days. I am really happy with the images taken at the nature reserve. The model is very natural and my pre-visit to the site allowed me to make sure I had backgrounds that worked visually. My planning has really paid off on this assignment. I have a lot of work to do with image manipulation though as I need to incorporate the model into the interior scenes at the Atomium. I will also be using a comicbook effect filter to pull all the images together into a unified look. I need to do decide on the strength of the filter. Do I go full out comic strip or apply a more subtle interpretation?
Jan 29th
I emailed my tutor asking for an extension to my assignment deadline. There are so many tweaks that still need doing to my images it is taking such a long time. Someone more proficient at Photoshop manipulation would probably be much faster. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment but it is what it is and I just need to plough through.
I'm also having doubts about the whole concept. Have I gone completely crazy with this idea? For the moment there has been so much planning and logistics and time put into the project that I'm sticking with it despite my doubts. I've also learnt from past projects that these feelings are fairly typical at some point. In many of my projects my tutor, Keith, has given positive feedback on the work. I think I'm increasing in confidence more and more with this degree course and beginning to recognise the doubts are all part of the creative process. I need to trust my own judgement and work through them.
Feb 1st
Whilst I still continue to work on the project my nagging doubts remain. Reflecting upon what I've made so far I can now pinpoint where the problem is. I like all the exterior nature reserve scenes and the shots of the model pasted into the exterior Atomium shots. They feel right to me. The problem is with the space images (my narrative revolves around a young boy that finds an object that leads him to the Atomium which in turn takes him out into space). They feel too "Science Fictioney' too commercial - like a book cover. They don't fit right with the images of a boy in an empty landscape with the wind and the birds and strange industrial structures. The space images somehow veer the whole project off-course. I need to think about how to address this. I don't want to abandon the project. I like more than half of the images and think they hold together well.
The other problem is I have started to look at the comicstrip style layout. I had imagined that I would have three pages with roughly nine images per page. I've done some test layouts and can see that getting them to look like a comic strip with all the different landscape, portrait and square formats will be a problem. Something else to ponder.
Feb 2nd
I've put together a couple of pages of layouts for the comic strip theme and concluded it isn't working for me. The problem is partly because the images for my layouts do not fit a uniform style. I realise now that when comic strips are drawn it is easy to fit them to a page template that makes up a page. Like the image below for example. The top three images are in portrait format and flow across the page. For visual interest the next row has a square and a portrait. The bottom row changes again and has a single image. There is a symmetry to them that is common with most comic strips. I really should have planned my photographs to fit this format in advance to fit my page design. That's a bit of a tall order on top of all the other aspects of photography. It can be done with photographs but it takes an awful lot of pre-planning and cropping to make the images fit. With drawing, the perspective can easily be changed to fit a given format.
Another problem is that unlike a drawn comic-strip the eye seems to rapidly jump around the page of photographs - taking all the images in at once. The pace and sequence are all off. I'm going to need to rethink how my images are presented - maybe a book? This was my first rough attempt. I realise that with more effort I could make it work but I am just not visualising how the final look will work. Maybe that it a limitation on my part but I definitely think it is time to explore other avenues.
Feb 3rd
I made a quick mock up of the project in book format yesterday afternoon. I used the Blurb plugin for In-Design. By using separate pages and isolating some of the images the problems with pace and sequence are resolved now and the narrative flows much better. I feel that I have partly abandoned my whole concept though and I did question whether I should also remove the comicbook filter from the images because of this. I've decided against doing that as it's the filter that pulls all the images together and provides the style for the project.
Also, the nagging doubt about the use of the space images has been resolved. I've decided to add a conceptual element to these images by printing them out and tearing or crumpling them. They will then be re-photographed. By marking the surface of the space images they will represent the warping of space and time (enhancing the dramatic element and giving a reason for the boy to leave the spaceship to return to his reality) and also be used to highlight the physical nature of the photographic print. This creates a conceptual parallel between the physical object of a 2D print that is viewed (and reality suspended to enable the viewer to gaze into its subject matter) and the real/unreal elements of the narrative. I've wanted to experiment for some time with mark making on the surface of prints so I'm glad to have the opportunity to practice with this assignment.
Feb 4th
I spent a couple of hours making marks on left-over test images to see what kind of effects I can achieve. I used a scalpel to slice and scrape and a pointed screwdriver to puncture holes. I tried folding too but it didn't work so well. I've put the test shots in my physical learning log and ordered some prints to begin working on the originals.
Feb 8th
The last few days I've been busy adding my images to Indesign using the Blurb book creator plugin. Indesign is quite an intuitive programme and I kept my planned layout quite simple. I have one or two images per spread with an introduction. Unfortunately I will not be able to share all the images on this blog. In a number of them I've used an iconic building that is copyrighted. The terms and conditions state that it can be used for non commercial purposes and on private websites only. I don't want to take the chance or be in for any aggravation.
I put to use some of the skills I've learnt so far with this book so hopefully it will come out as I've planned. I used the Blurb ICC profiles for the first time and did some extra adjustments to the images in Photoshop before adding them to my pages.
Feb 14th
I've written up all my notes and now it is just a case of waiting for my Blurb book to be delivered today. If all goes well my assignment can go in the post to my tutor and that's this module all wrapped up! That is except for my response to tutor feedback for the last two assignments. Oh and some write ups for exhibitions that need doing. Oh, I missed a couple of exercises too...
Feb 18th
I just realised looking back over this entry I haven't really mentioned enough about my influences for this assignment. To correct that I'm linking to a post I wrote about a Ruud Van Empel exhibition I visited which gave me the inspiration to do some photo montage experiments. That work played a large part when it came to my thought processes for assignment 5.
My post can be found here - Ruud Van Empel
Edit 17th March:
My tutor feedback for this assignment was good. I'm quite relieved because I really pushed outside of the brief this time and was dreading having to start again if the work was good but not suitable for the assignment. The images were put into a Blurb book and I must say that I am really pleased with the result. Quality wise it is the best book I have made yet. Because of copyright issues and for reasons of anonymity I can't put the images here - well the majority of them. It is difficult to discuss the images without displaying them though so I have uploaded just one that should be okay. This is the last image in the book and can be read a number of different ways. I like that the narrative is open ended as I do find it hard to stray from a linear storytelling approach - but I am working on it...
For me, the last image signifies a few possible endings:
1. The Atomium object is discarded by the boy after his adventure - leaving the bird to watch over it before the flock directs the next person to find it.
2. The boy has dropped the object in the process of turning into the bird before joining the flock of previous adventurers.
3. The bird is a metaphor for release and escape from personal demons.
Other points to note are that I've decided that I won't be using the overly saturated comic book effect again in further projects. I think it has worked well in this small give-away book - designed for a special relaunch event. The book feels very self contained and I have learnt a lot from making it but it feels finished now and I want to move on.
What I will take away is my attempts at mark making. I want to pursue that process in one form or another again. I think I can upload a second image without causing too many copyright problems so I will upload one of my favourite ones from the sequence below. I am also pleased that the problems with the space images that I mentioned earlier were overcome by working through what I disliked about them. By referring to my learning log I was able to come up with the mark making and in the end added another level of complexity to the sequence.
Monday 6 January 2014
Women, Art, and Society - Whitney Chadwick
Women, Art and Society - Whitney Chadwick
I read this book for my research on the representation of women for assignment 4. It has been a very useful guide that looked at art from a Feminist perspective from the Middle Ages to contemporary artistic practice today. The author describes the changing role of women in society during various historical periods and how that has affected women attempting to make art. I found the notion that women artists have 'disappeared' from the historical record an intriguing one. The author partly lays the blame for this on an art market that has mis-appropriated many works by women (famous in their own time) in order to attribute their work to much more famous (and therefore valuable) male, 'master' artists. The author provides evidence for this in naming a number of works that have been re-discovered or are contentious in todays art world.
Chadwick also provides an overview on the restrictions that were placed on women as we changed from a feudal society into a capitalist one over the last few centuries - how women were assigned suitable subjects (such as flower painting) and crafts like embroidery became 'feminised' and accorded lower status in the arts.
What I like about this book is the author provides a number of women artists from various periods and movements in art history that can be noted down and used as further research. For instance I became very interested in the photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952) who, with her companion, was the first lesbian photographer to honestly depict lesbian lifestyles in her work. Incidentally, 'Clear Comfort' the Austen family home in America is now a museum and holder of the Austen archive. The board of trustees tried, in 1998, to block scholarly access to the archive for the purposes of studying Austen's sexuality.
1970s to 90s Feminist movements are covered with a number of practitioners in photography to research. Tracey Moffatt was an interesting find for me. Her work involves staged tableaux of adolescence, violence, homophobia and racism in Australia. I've not come across her work before and will definitely be looking into it further. Sophie Calle is also an artist that I have been aware of but I feel I need to do a much more in-depth look at her body of work.
This book is a useful introductory guide to the issues affecting women artists throughout history and how the feminist discourse has grown and changed in recent decades.
I read this book for my research on the representation of women for assignment 4. It has been a very useful guide that looked at art from a Feminist perspective from the Middle Ages to contemporary artistic practice today. The author describes the changing role of women in society during various historical periods and how that has affected women attempting to make art. I found the notion that women artists have 'disappeared' from the historical record an intriguing one. The author partly lays the blame for this on an art market that has mis-appropriated many works by women (famous in their own time) in order to attribute their work to much more famous (and therefore valuable) male, 'master' artists. The author provides evidence for this in naming a number of works that have been re-discovered or are contentious in todays art world.
Chadwick also provides an overview on the restrictions that were placed on women as we changed from a feudal society into a capitalist one over the last few centuries - how women were assigned suitable subjects (such as flower painting) and crafts like embroidery became 'feminised' and accorded lower status in the arts.
What I like about this book is the author provides a number of women artists from various periods and movements in art history that can be noted down and used as further research. For instance I became very interested in the photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952) who, with her companion, was the first lesbian photographer to honestly depict lesbian lifestyles in her work. Incidentally, 'Clear Comfort' the Austen family home in America is now a museum and holder of the Austen archive. The board of trustees tried, in 1998, to block scholarly access to the archive for the purposes of studying Austen's sexuality.
1970s to 90s Feminist movements are covered with a number of practitioners in photography to research. Tracey Moffatt was an interesting find for me. Her work involves staged tableaux of adolescence, violence, homophobia and racism in Australia. I've not come across her work before and will definitely be looking into it further. Sophie Calle is also an artist that I have been aware of but I feel I need to do a much more in-depth look at her body of work.
This book is a useful introductory guide to the issues affecting women artists throughout history and how the feminist discourse has grown and changed in recent decades.
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