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:

• 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).

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.

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.


 

Exercise: Analyse an essay on photography

For this exercise I had to read an essay from the course reader and answer some questions. I read the essay a couple of times and made notes, paragraph by paragraph, before writing up my summary (included at the end of this post). Once I was happy I had the gist of the essay down I tackled the questions.

In one sentence what is the central argument of this essay?

That a number of different critical ideas forming in the arts, film, and particularly the genre of documentary, helped to shape the discourse on black photography in the 1980s.  

The discussion in regard to photography is set within a larger socio-political framework. Do you feel this is justified by the evidence presented?

Yes, I do. A lot of discussion around representation and the nature of the truth of the documentary genre has a big part to play in any discussion on the subject of black photography. Likewise without a discussion around 'post structuralism' the analysis of the work of Robert Mapplethorpe would be difficult to unpick. Without the theoretical tools the analysis could not take place.

To what extent is the argument limited to Britain in the 1980s, and do you think it would be useful to refer to related movements in other countries?

Although the essay discussed identity and representation of black people in Britain at a certain time period the issues raised are relevant to all people everywhere - even now. The article, written in 1990, was attempting to sum up what had gone before in the previous decade. Changes in thinking since that time are not present in the essay so research on a wider scale would need to be conducted for a balanced overview of the issues. This would include taking into account current academic analysis on the subject of representation of black people in photography and documentary practice. 

It could be useful to make a comparative assessment of what is taking place in other countries in regards to the issues raised - even if only in passing reference. This could help to place the stance on the issues and photographers mentioned at that time into a wider socio-political context.

The essay raises the issue of eligibility - in this case, whether or not a photographer of black subjects should be black themselves. What are your views on this? What are the wider implications of this issue?

My view is that the individual has many sides to their personalities - some good, some bad, some contradictory. An individual cannot lay claim to represent the whole of a culture only an aspect of themselves within a particular culture. It can be argued that Mapplethorpe (as a white, gay, male) has produced work of black male nudes that are non conformist and contest a heterosexual binary gender system. One that had been adhered to by many black photographers at the time of the essay. Mapplethorpe is highlighting the existence of the heterosexual matrix and the absence of 'other' types of black men in photography.

It could be argued that a wider range of voices with differing opinion will help to break up the hegemony of a dominant patriarchal power structure. The representation of 'others' such as women, black, gay, and disabled people in this system could be shown to be stereotyping and non representative. The wider implications are that a post structuralist approach to representation (in all its forms) could help us strive for a more equal and fair society. 

    
My summary of 'The Vertigo of Displacement' by D Bailey and S Hall.

In the 1980s black photographers challenged and pushed the boundaries of photographic practice. Their aim was to question the representation of black people and the fixed meaning of images. Documentary photography at this time was undergoing a critical re-appraisal and the notion of 'truth' was challenged. Documentary had rested upon a foundation of realist classical texts that placed the viewer/reader in the essentialist position of guaranteed knowledge. For black photographers the challenge was to use the debate to replace negative images with positive ones. A campaign was started by organisations and individuals to provide access to the means of representation.

A further key element in the debate was the discourse around cultural studies and the issue of Hegemony. Black photographers began to explore the issue of control of language, representation and its institutionalisation - attempting to open up fixed positions of spectatorship. This was a move away from the documentary image and realism to a more avant-garde approach to disrupt the naturalistic ideology of truth by unseating the spectator from their position of guaranteed knowledge.

Post Structuralist theory moved the debate around representation of black people to the notion of the decentered subject. The theory argues that plural identities are always decentered and situational. That is, skin colour is only one aspect of being black, and that for instance, a black male may consider himself in different contexts mainly black, mainly male, gay/heterosexual, young/old. That being black does not override the other identities and that they shift along an axis such as class or gender and sexuality.

The decentered subject opened the door for the debate around the black photographer using an essentialist approach to represent all of black culture. This goes against the grain of post structuralist theory, arguing that black signifies a range of experiences and an individual black photographer can only represent a partial view of black experience. This view makes it equally possible for a white photographer with only limited understanding of the black experience being able to say something of significance to a black audience.

Using the theory of the decentered subject the author re-appraises the work of Robert Mapplethorpe and Rotimi Fani-Kayode. The former has been previously dismissed by critics as a white, gay, male, crossing the boundary of the dominant/subordinate cultural divide to photograph, appropriate, and fetishise the black male body. Similarly the work of Fani-Kayode, because of its obvious Mapplethorpe influence, has been seen as limited and restricted. The author argues that to only view the work of both practitioners in this way is an essentialist approach. That in one respect, Mapplethorpe does appropriate and fetishise the black male body. But, if the critic only looks at the work from this definition they are ignoring Mapplethorpes contestation of the dominant, one-dimensional, representation of black masculinity by a lot of black photographers. By using the decentered approach fixed meanings become unglued and parallel or opposing identities can co-exist.

A similar desire and contestation of the black male form can be found in Fani-Kayodes work. We can see that Mapplethorpe and Fani-Kayode both contest the dominant representation of black male masculinity while at the same time fetishising the male form. But, as a black photographer, Fani-Kayode cannot be accused of crossing the dominant/subordinate divide. So, if Fani-Kayode's work is to be assessed as valid from a decentered viewpoint then so must Mapplethorpes.

Ultimately the struggle for the means of representation still remain. If the representation of black society is controlled by a dominant power hierarchy and access to places where photographic work can be exhibited and discussed is restricted then you are 'not even in the game'. For those black photographers that make it through the gallery door it is necessary to ask what these photographers are doing in relation to discursive practices. There has to be a wide and diverse community that interrogates, evaluates and reconstructs histories that have previously ignored or misrepresented black society and there is a danger that the door will be closed after a small elite has gone through. (Bailey, 1990).



Reference:
Bailey, DA and Hall, S. (1990) 'The Vertigo of Displacement' in Bailey and Hall (eds) Critical Decade, Ten.8 Vo. 2/3. Birmingham: Ten.8.

Heaven is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens - experimental video

I've been working on a short piece of experimental film lately. I've always wanted to try out the recording facilities on my Nikon DSLR and also pick up some film editing skills. My first attempt used the cameras auto focus system. When I previewed the recording I noticed that the lens tracking can be quite plainly heard on the soundtrack - that seems a bit daft to me. What is the point in being able to record in HD quality video with a sound recording limitation like that? Perhaps I'm missing something. Anyway, I switched off the autofocus and tried again.

I made a short film on the south coast at Hastings and also incorporated some of my Holga stills from the same area. (using the Holga is my parallel artistic foray into using film cameras too!) I'm using iMovie for the post production and it seems quite intuitive for the sort of work I produced here.


 
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.mov from ammoniteM on Vimeo.


I wanted to encapsulate in my film some of the dreariness of the south coast at this time of year - where there never seems to be much going on. Although I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing - actually, I much prefer it really. Sometimes the coastal towns are far too crowded for my liking. I just think the place feels very different when there's hardly anyone about and most of the tourist businesses are closed. There is an air of melancholy that can be quite attractive and, as a photographer, I really enjoy having the time and space to explore when the towns are quieter. As I mentioned earlier I have also been experimenting with film for the first time with a Holga camera. The still images are of found objects and scenes that I felt compelled to record. I enjoyed sequencing them and working out how to include them in the film.

The films title is from a sign that I spotted on a Folkestone rooftop and I found the sentiment intriguing so I photographed it. It wasn't until later when I began to put the images together to make some kind of order out of my thoughts that I realised that the sign was actually an art installation that had been erected for the Folkestone Triennial. The work is called "Heaven is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens" by Nathan Coley and my film could be considered an artistic response to the sentiment expressed in his work.

This film is a work in progress and I will be listing experimental pieces here under a new link on the right-hand sidebar of this blog so that I can keep them together and outside of the course assignments.

Edit: 4th December

The learning curve for just getting this film processed and uploaded has been high. There are so many settings to think about that are totally alien to me - bit rate for example. The first thing I noticed is that when the embedded video on this page is enlarged it becomes more pixelated. At first I thought I had made an error in one of my upload settings but when I go to the video's own page on YouTube it looks fine. In one way it's good that I haven't made an error, in another the quality of the film from this Blogger pages is not so good. I will now investigate Vimeo (my first choice anyway but had upload problems) to see if their embedded option is any better quality.

Edit:

New attempt using Vimeo to test quality of embedded video.

Photography in a Connected Age - Study Day

I recently attended Photography in a Connected Age. A workshop consisting of lectures from practitioners of photography relating to photography in the digital age.

This event was attended by a number of OCA students as part of an official study day. We had a presentation from Roger Hargreaves who talked about the controlled use of social media by the Obama campaign using small compact cameras. He argued that it was an awareness of the importance of social media that helped Obama to win the election. The images shown during the talk gave an interesting behind the scenes insight into how much effort goes into American politics.

One of the lectures by Alexandra Moschovi seemed to revolve mostly around the use of the forthcoming Google Glass, a technology that intrigues me a little - but only a little...

Dr Loplop spoke about the spread of cat images across social media sites - illustrating how an image can begin life online quite innocuously as someones pet photo and evolve into more and more bizarrely manipulated combinations. I learnt a new word, 'lolcats' which seems to stand for cat images with funny text written across them. The talk was a strange and surreal experience but as a past frequenter of the website cats in sinks I'll think leave it there.

Jason Evans gave, for me, the standout talk - mostly about his practice. His determined energy for his work really brought his lecture to life. He seemed almost passionate and frustrated with photography in equal measure. I had always wondered what the coloured dots in many of his images were as he explained about the conceptual interpretation of the visual sparkles on water and light in a room at a certain time of day - How he liked to catch the essence of the things he photographs. His style of photography looks very fresh to my eyes and when studying other photographers (and my own) work afterwards, it can look staid by comparison. In my own work I am often drawn to this kind of image making and then frequently pull away in favour of more formal compositions. I've mentioned this before and I need to work through this and come to some sort of conclusion. As my tutor, Keith, once said, 'less is often more.'

Snippets of Evans politics and social conscience came through during the talk - he appears to have no time for the big corporations and money grabbing institutions. The teaching of photography in academia came under fire too. Being a student of photography this was very interesting to listen to obviously.

Evans spoke about the curriculum being far too narrow in its teaching. That all the universities and colleges were teaching from a set of academic ideas and theories arising from the 1970s and 80s. That they are outdated and have not moved on in their thinking. Which appears to be true to some extent. Certainly most of the critical theory for my current PWDP course contains these texts. I would argue though that as he was presumably once a student himself, then Evans has had this same foundation from which to build upon. A place is needed from which to strike out and question the nature of photography in order to move forward. As a mature student I enjoy reading these texts - it's all new to me and I get a lot out of them. Evans also admitted that he finds himself not suited to teaching in academia. That he has no interest in teaching photography using their narrow disciplines but rather prefers to help students find a way of learning a visual language in which to view the world. I think that's what he said, I was so engrossed in his lecture I didn't take any notes.

I feel I am learning a new visual language as I progress with this degree course. So, to be honest I'm not sure what he meant by that. Maybe the teaching is very different at other places. He gave a very interesting talk.

Assignment 4

Today I began my research for Assignment 4. I will be looking at gender representation in photography. Mostly looking at it from the aspect of women as there has been much critical discussion around this subject.

I've looked at some of the relevant texts in the course reader. I decided to use the study method described in the course notes to paraphrase a paragraph at a time after a first read through. This enabled me to get to the gist of the text and has proved to be very useful.

Edit 23rd October:
Feeling a bit down today. Depression is something I have always struggled with. I've been reading essays from the course on the subject of the 'gaze' and making notes. I think I might only do a half day study today and slow down a bit to re-charge my batteries.

I've looked up some primary sources relating to the subject of gender representation and ordered them from the library.

My preparation strategy for my assignment is to do lots of research, make notes and then hope a topic or structure will somehow coalesce in my mind. This works for me visually with photography projects but I have a nagging worry that this isn't going to happen this time. Plan B is to do a bit more researching and reading and then contact my tutor with a plea for help.

That's it for now. I think a cup of coffee and a catch up with the Grayson Perry lecture on iPlayer is probably the best thing to boost my mood.

Edit 7th November:
I thought that I would be further on with my essay than I am. I had a huge amount of reading and research to do on my topic of gender representation in photography. There are so many side issues with psychoanalytic theory being one of the biggest topics to cover. I've read a number of essays including their primary sources. My tutor has also recommended a good book that really expands on a lot of the theories. It is hard going though and I'm having to stop at virtually every sentence to look up words that I've never come across before. I think I'm getting the gist of it though.

My research is mostly done and with half an eye on my end of November deadline I've begun to draw up an outline of my essay. I went back to the course notes and began by writing down a checklist of items that must be covered. Here's the list:

CHECK LIST:

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

QUOTE PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS/PHOTOGRAPHERS

EVALUATE ALL SOURCES

ASK THESE QUESTIONS:

• WHAT IS WRITERS RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORK?
• WHEN WAS THE ACCOUNT WRITTEN?
• FACT OR OPINION?
• OBJECTIVE OR BIASED?
• IN A POSITION TO WRITE AUTHORITATIVELY?
• WHAT RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE?
• WHAT IS THE AUDIENCE AND HOW MIGHT THIS INFLUENCE THE ARGUMENT?
• DON'T RELY ON WRITTEN SOURCES ONLY – EXHIBITIONS
• MUST BE REFERENCED

THREE TYPES OF WRITING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY:

• DESCRIPTION
• INTERPRETATION
• JUDGEMENT

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

Once I had this down I turned back to my course notes and re-read the notes on how to construct the critical essay and transferred the information to my document:

TITLE

STATEMENT? – DEFEND

QUESTION? – ANSWER

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH - 150 WORDS

INTRODUCE THE QUESTION, STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND – 500 WORDS

DESCRIBE THE SITUATION/CONTEXT/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

OUTLINE YOUR ARGUMENT – 200 WORDS

INTRODUCE THE ARGUMENT/ANSWER QUESTION

SUMMARISE AND INDICATION OF CONCLUSION

BODY OF ARGUMENT – 1000 WORDS

DEVELOP YOUR ARGUMENT PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH

MENTION COUNTER ARGUMENTS, STATE POSITION

ANALOGIES TO PHOTOGRAPHY

CONCLUSION – 150 WORDS

RECAPITULATE AND SUMMARISE

DRAW CONCLUSION AND STATE HOW THIS AFFECTS OR IS RELEVANT TO YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY

I found that by beginning my document in this manner I tricked myself into making a start - gets me past that blank page scenario!

There is always more research that can be done and there is a danger that it becomes a displacement activity for actually getting on and writing the essay. By creating a structure I put myself into writing mode.

Edit 14th November:

I'm really struggling with this essay. I've written about 1100 of the 2000 words so far and it is really hard going. I'm still on a first draft too so there is no end in sight for the next few weeks. I don't know why it it is but I feel like my thought processes are mired in treacle. I did loads of research on a topic that I find interesting and made copious notes so it should be such an easy matter to start pulling them together. I thought it would take me a couple of days to produce this essay but the actual writing is tortuous. I've only managed a couple of hundred words a day which is pitiful. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it though. I've put in place a couple of strategies to keep me going such as rewards for making a start each day - no matter how long it takes me to get some words out I allow myself a coffee and treat break or a trip into town when the sun is shining. I think I may have to pop out and get some fresh air today as well as I can feel my depression trying to get a grip and I'm determined to keep on top of it and not let my studies slip.

Edit 27th November:

It's finished! I did a re-read of my final draft last night. I was happy with it so I printed it out and asked my partner to have a read too. My tutor, Keith, advised at the start of this assignment that I get another person to have a look. Glad that I did as I had to make a couple of amendments just for clarity.  I spent today editing to lose a few hundred words - not easy! I'm still a little bit over the word limit. Then I checked the formatting instructions in the course notes and critical essay guide. I chose a font size, wide margins and double line spacing for my images and text so that the last few lines of paragraphs and image captions are not split across pages - I hate that. I still have until Friday to meet my end of month deadline so I think I will hang on to it and do another quick check tomorrow before sending it off.

I'm so relieved to get this essay off my hands to be honest. I spent far too much time on it. The writing just didn't come together as easily as I'd hoped. I never have a problem writing about my other assignments. I think my mood had a lot to do with. I've had a few mental health problems just lately and I've struggled.

Still, at least I don't have to think about the essay for a while now and can concentrate on catching up on pulling everything else together that I will need to get this course ready for assessment. I'm yet to start my final assignment so I don't think I will be any way near ready for March assessment - so it is looking like a summer assessment for the first time. I will start my next level 2 course in January, regardless. I still want to stay on track and try to complete a module a year.

Edit 6th January:

I'm a bit late in documenting my tutor feedback here as I received it before Christmas. On the whole the response was positive with some further research to be done (I have a book on order from the library and will post my thoughts here later) and there are a few minor grammatical errors to sort out.

I've also finished some background reading on women artists that I'd started well before my essay and took me a while to finish. My thoughts on it are here.

Edit 6th March: 

Today I began the edit of my critical essay. After a good few months break and with fresh eyes I was quite pleased with what I'd initially written. With that said I took into consideration my tutor's feedback and read his book recommendations. I've removed a couple of paragraphs from my essay to make way for some new thoughts. There were also a couple of reference typos to be amended. I think the changes have definitely tightened up the essay and improved it.

Edit 12th March:

I've undertaken some further research for my essay and written about the photographer E J Bellocq and his Storyville portraits. My thoughts can be found here.

My thoughts on the photographer Berenice Abbott can be found here.

Edit 17th March:

I've finally written the last draft of my essay. I've taken into account the points mentioned on my tutor feedback and incorporated them into my argument. This took me well over the word limit so a couple of superfluous (in the light of the new draft) paragraphs have been removed - I'm still over the word limit. I had a final look today and tweaked and removed some extra words - still over the word count though. I really don't think I can tighten up the essay any more so it is done and I can move on to other outstanding exercises for this blog in preparation for assessment.