Childhood photograph

Exercise
Recreate a childhood memory in a photograph. Think carefully about the memory
you choose and how you’ll recreate it. You’re free to approach this task in any way
you wish.
• Does the memory involve you directly or is it something you witnessed?
• Will you include your adult self in the image (for example, to ‘stand in’ for your
childhood self) or will you ask a model to represent you? Or will you be absent
from the image altogether? (You’ll look at the work of some artists who have
chosen to depict some aspect of their life without including themselves in the
image in the next project.)
• Will you try and recreate the memory literally or will you represent it in a more
metaphorical way, as you did in Part Two?
• Will you accompany your image with some text?
• In your learning log, reflect on the final outcome. How does the photograph
resemble your memory? Is it different from what you expected? What does it
communicate to the viewer? How?
It might be interesting to show your photograph to friends or family members –
perhaps someone who was there at the time and someone who wasn’t – and see
what the image conveys to them

When I embarked on this exercise I was in France.  I had no access to my immediate family and my initial thoughts was to re-create a shot on the beach with my siblings and their grandchildren.  However, I then decided to make the best of what I had.  So agreeing with friends we met at the beach and I posed the dad and his daughter, who were substitutes for my father and youngest sister.  My memory is of my father playing with my youngest sister at the beach while I and other siblings played on the sand behind the camera.  I actually took the original photograph when I was about 9 years old.  We were on Tynemouth beach which is never as crowded as this beach these days.  The pose struck me as such a cute one with my sister in her hat and sunglasses and my dad looking on even if he was in an awkward position.

When I returned home I showed the photo to my youngest sister and she had a little difficulty making the connection when I asked her if it reminded her of anything.  But then she remembered the original, which we both set about trying to find – to no avail.

I actually think this shot is a little better composed than the one I originally took.

Masquerades

Exercise
• Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or even
exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group identity of the
people she photographs, or both?
• Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the beach
with your family? If not, why not?
• Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven and The Failed
Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your learning log.

Is there any sense in which Lee’s work could be considered voyeuristic or even
exploitative? Is she commenting on her own identity, the group identity of the
people she photographs, or both?

The English definition of masquerade is:

A false show or pretence (noun)

The wearing of disguise (dressing up, role playing and masquerade)

Pretend to be someone one is not (verb)

Be disguised or passed of as something else https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/masquerade

Using this definition Nikki Lee’s work “Projects” falls into this genre of photography.  http://www.tonkonow.com/lee_projects_9.html 

Lee worked with her subjects over a period of time getting to know them and then dressing like them or taking on an appearance similar to them that renders her identifiable as part of the group.  She then asks a friend to take a photo with a  point and shoot camera to “authentically” capture a snap As in the images below captioned “The Punk Project” and “Skateboarders”.

The Skateboarders Project (6), © Nikki S. Lee 2000

The Punk Project (7), © Nikki S. Lee 1997

Lee started this project whilst still at school and was an attempt at her trying to understand her identity because she felt out of place and not belonging to different groups.  I personally use “different” imaginary hats or uniforms when I feel that I need to be in a role in certain groups.

Lee on the other hand is using a manipulated situation to allow her to fit into the group. She is actually a director and not a photographer and she confessed this in an interview with The Creators Project https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/aejxy5/nikki-s-lee-5899ce1739030a4f1e96acc9.

In the same interview Lee states that the photographs are about her and not her subjects.

Whilst it is blatantly obvious that Lee manipulates and one could even say exploits the groups she works with they cannot be seen as voyeuristic.  To be voyeuristic there is an element of sexual gratification involved and that is clearly not the case with her work.

• Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the beach
with your family? If not, why not

Trish Morrissey states in her biography on Lenscutlture, that her work is a study of the “language of photography” and she uses a set of tools to demonstrate this.  Even though Morrisey features in the shots she does not consider them to be self portraits. Her armoury of tools include physical props such as clothing and  objects as well as wit and humour which she says she uses to:

 disarm the viewer. https://www.lensculture.com/trish-morrissey.

 

Angela Reynish, July 31st,

Hayley Coles, June 17th, 2006 © Trish Morrissey

April 16th 1984 (2003) © Trish Morrissey

Would you agree to Morrissey’s request if you were enjoying a day on the beach
with your family? If not, why not?

I am not sure what my reaction to such a request would be.  As a photographer who finds it difficult to approach strangers, I may feel magnanimous and agree because I know how difficult that is to do.  However, I would not feel comfortable with it at all.  I would of course ask my family how they felt about it and the decision would be their’s as I would have been substituted by Morrissey.  I think I find this a bit weird, especially as Morrissey states she wears something belonging to the mother.  On reflection after writing this I think I would decline the request.

Although, Morrisey’s photography falls into the “masquerade” genre it is very different to the work of Lee.  The most obvious difference is the range of images.  Morrisey’s is limited compared to the work of Nikki S. Lee.  Her “Seven Years” and “Front” projects both have a vintage feel to them and both are quite family or group orientated. Some of her shots especially of family groups such as the Angela Reynish shot above makes it difficult to see that it is in fact Morrissey in the photo and it is not always immediately obvious.  One shot that caught my eye was the one entitled Julie Coles, June 17th 2006.  The most obvious thing is the ethnicity of the group, the second is the way the group is composed.  Unlike the previous image (Angela Reynish), where there is a sense of close family in this shot the people are clearly separated and look much more uncomfortable.  This particular shot is featured in The Guardian newspaper as “Trish Morrissey’s Best Photograph”  where she explains that it was not formally posed and the their position on the beach was what drew her to making the image.https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/jan/23/trish-morrissey-best-shot

 

• Morrissey uses self-portraiture in more of her work, namely Seven and The Failed
Realist. Look at these projects online and make some notes in your learning log.

DC Moore Gallery is pleased to announce The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater, a solo exhibition of photographs by 20th century photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925-1972). Meatyard, a self-taught photographer who was an optician by trade, made this photographic series in the two years prior to his death at age 46. He conceived of the series as a “photographic poem” with a deliberate sequence and captions, which form a loose narrative. A selection from this suite of work will be on view in the gallery’s project space and will be the second Ralph Eugene Meatyard exhibition at the gallery.

Trish Morrissey in an interview with Source Photographic Review http://www.source.ie/audio/Trish_Morrissey/Trish_Morrissey_11.php says she has been influenced by Ralph Eugene Meatyard’s work http://www.dcmooregallery.com/exhibitions/ralph-eugene-meatyard-the-family-album-of-lucybelle-crater  “The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater”. Meatyard thought of his series as a “photographic poem” which with captions and the order they are presented form the narrative.

Although Meatyard uses masks the influence is apparent.

The Failed Realist work is a collaboration between Morrissey and her daughter when on a rainy day they decided to do some face painting.  The child then about 5 years old wanted to paint her mother’s face.  The result is a combination of rather sweet images and rather scary ones.  The expression (or lack of it) on Morrissey’s face means that the way the collection is presented is lacking any emotion which might have been present during the session itself.

My first impressions of the images was one of intrigue, not understanding at all what I was being asked to view.  Without the text I would have been left wondering what on earth it was all about.  I feel that this is because there is an absence of any evidence of the child and after viewing images of people like Elina Brotherus who is trying to convey a particular message in her shots, I just didn’t get this.

The series seems to be more of an exploration of childhood.

References

The Creators Project: Interview with Nikki S Lee https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/aejxy5/nikki-s-lee-5899ce1739030a4f1e96acc9.

Lee N. S website http://www.tonkonow.com/lee_projects_9.html

LensCulture: Interview with Trish Morrissey https://www.lensculture.com/trish-morrissey.

Oxford Dictionaries: Definition of masquerade https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/masquerade

The Source: Interview with Trish Morrissey http://www.source.ie/audio/Trish_Morrissey/Trish_Morrissey_11.php

DC Moore Gallery:  Ralph Eugene Meatyard Exhibition http://www.dcmooregallery.com/exhibitions/ralph-eugene-meatyard-the-family-album-of-lucybelle-crater

 

Note to Assessors

Notes to Assessors

Thank you, for looking at my work.

 

I have had difficulties with my WordPress blog and although it appears to working correctly now I am not 100% confident and feel that whilst trying to correct one small error I may have created others.  I will continue to try to ensure it is all working correctly before the 31^st January deadline.

However, to make life easier, I have uploaded all of my assignments and examples of the exercises and my Learning Log to the G drive.  I hope this makes your lives easier.

The Self –evaluation sheet is included on the Gdrive as are all of my Tutor Feedback forms with reflections and actions annotated on each of them.

As a belt and braces approach I have also submitted the complete Assignments 5 and 4 in hard copy together with examples from the other three assignments.  I have not included exercises or Learning logs as hard copy.

 

Lynda Wearn

 

Assignment 5 Contact sheets

Assignment 3 – Initial thoughts and trial

 Assignment 3

Drawing upon the examples in Part Three and your own research, you can approach
your self-portraits however you see fit. You may choose to explore your identity or masquerade as someone else, or use empty locations or objects to speak of your
experiences. However you choose to approach it, use yourself – directly or indirectly – as subject matter.
Keep a diary for a set period of time (at least two weeks). Each day write two or three pages about yourself – what you’ve been doing/thinking. This can be as specific or poetic as you wish. You may wish to pick a theme for the duration. This is an open brief designed to give you freedom to create something personal which suits you best. Use the artists you’ve looked at in Part Three or your own research for inspiration. Select the most interesting parts of the diary (which could also be the most banal or mundane) and interpret them into a photographic project. A good way to approach selection could be to ask a friend/fellow student/stranger to read it and send back a highlighted version. You could then base your project on those parts. This would take the pressure off you to find a ‘good story’.
You may choose to select a few days or phrases that spark an idea for you, or you may wish to exaggerate how you were feeling one day into a parody of yourself or the circumstance. You may wish to create a ‘document’ of that time in a re-creation of events – or direct a model to act out some of the content of the diary, making your own ‘filmstills’.

You could present your chosen diary entries as a visual diary or use it as a springboard for further exploration. You may choose to insert the pictures like snapshots into your diary and hand it all in together. You don’t have restrict yourself to the diary itself; you may decide to use it to take you into new territory.
Send your finished piece to your tutor by the method agreed together with an
introduction of around 300 words briefly setting out your rationale and how you approached this project. You should also send to your tutor the relevant pages of your
learning log or blog url.

  “All my images are self-portraits, even when I’m not in them.”
― Nuno Roque

After reading the course notes and researching the self portraits of the photographers featured.  I came to the conclusion that I hadn’t really thought about who I am.  I therefore started with a mind map of ideas and thoughts.

Self-portraits have been around for a long time.  It is thought the first self-portrait is of Jan Van Eyck in 1433.

Rembrandt, “Self Portrait” (1659)

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitsky; American, 1890–1976)

Frida Kahlo, “Fulang Chang and I,” (1937

Enrico Varrasso’s magnified selfie for Tumblr profile pic. All images submitted to selfies [at] hyperallergic [dot] com. (2013)

Beyonce’s new haircut selfie via Today.com. (2013)

One main difference seems to be that the “selfie” is usually taken with a smartphone or other similar digital device including webcams.

Behind the Scenes at the Getty (The Iris) has looked at the self-portrait over recent years.  In 2015 they acknowledged that many people had and were being observed taking selfies in the South Pavilion which houses many mirrors from the 17th and 18th century.  So they invited visitors to photograph themselves in the mirrors asking that when the visitors had finished taking their self portrait souvenirs that they reflect on the “power and symbolism of mirrors in centuries past”.  http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/mirror-selfies-and-art-history/

The question now is: What is the difference between a Selfie and a Self-Portrait?
Annelisa Stephan, Getty’s Manager for Digital Engagement asked that question of Arpad Kovacs (curator at Getty)  and writer (of the value of creative digital expression) Alli Burness.

It seems that the opinion from this interview is that their is an overlap between selfies and self-portraits.  Both are attempts to establish and define the individuality of the artist or photographer.

However, the selfie is or can be more transient than a self-portrait.  It can be disposed of.  Kovacs describes it as negating the careful decisions of artists that created self-portraits and that self portraits do not necessarily signify selfies.  He states that portraits last because they are meant to.  He also assumes that Rembrandt, were he alive today would be making both selfies and self-portraits.

Alli Burness argues that both selfies and self-portraits use technology as a means of representation.  This includes mirrors and painting as well  as cameras and smartphones.  Burness goes on to say that self-portraits are created for arts sake and to be seen in galleries and museums whereas it is risky to read selfies in the same way.   They are part of a social context and are part of a dialogue.  This she argues is not the case with an artist’s self portrait.
So although selfies are a form of communication and a vehicle for social interaction there are examples where they may also be termed as art.

I was left wondering where that now leaves self-portrait photography.

I started off thinking about this assignment as a record of childhood memories and especially those that have shaped me as a person today.  The only thing I did know was that I didn’t want to appear in the shots as I am today.

I looked at Barthes, Camera Lucida (” souvenir d’enfance”) where he talks about childhood memories and where in The Photography Reader (Wells L. 2003)  Wells is less interested in meaning of one of the memories Barthes describes and the  suggestion it maybe Freudian and  psychosexual but more about the feeling and that the photo can evoke. Wells also, states that Barthes did not like “art” photos.

Taking heed of my reading and advice from my tutor I set up my shots with that intent.    My shots were to be:  Ballet lessons, Travel (not childhood but had shaped me immensely as an adult, Music (again not childhood but again forms a huge part of my life because all family members are musicians), Fell  Walking which I started as a teenager and continue to this day, Photography – I received my first camera when I was 7 and Gardening, I had my own piece of garden at my grandmother’s house when I was about 4.  I was going to make a collage of all these shots with a final shot of myself today looking upwards at the images I’d produced.

I set up each shot using an old photo and props to try to get over the memory.  I soon realised that   I had two problems, one was that not all my shots were from childhood and two, they didn’t seem to evoke much feeling.  I tried but could not  readjust my original thoughts of how to present this assignment. The outcome was more arty than feeling.  I converted the images to black and white and that worked to an extent but I still wasn’t very happy with them so  I decided to start again.

Examples of my first attempt:

My re-think and further research took me into the realms of self-portraits of me in the many hats I own.  This was disastrous, I couldn’t get the lighting right, I couldn’t get the angle right and I looked absolutely ridiculous.  There was no story, no memory and no drama to them.  This was the best of a bad bunch.

This is the look I was trying to get  – Failed.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD ONCE AGAIN

I then re-visited my diary which I’d kept for 2 weeks.  I had not really taken anything from it with that I could meaningfully include for the assignment.  It had been an untypical two weeks with visits to friends and a week long holiday.  However, I asked my husband and daughter to take a look at it.  Whilst I’d been looking for activities and actions that would fit with my original thoughts such as photography and walking they both commented on how busy and stressed we had been before the holiday.  My daughter’s comment was – ” You really did need that holiday” and my husband also commented that it was all go before we went, then relaxing whilst we were away and then it all started again when we got back.

Hurrah, I have something to work on.  It was obvious when I re-read my diary that I had too much to do and not enough time.  Attempting to recreate the drama and tension of this I put together a set of images.

Having attempted the self-portrait in “Me and my Hats”, I realised that I could identify with Barthes when he talks about the closed field of forces of the portrait photograph.  In putting ones self into the picture there are conflicts, I am that person and the person I want other people to think I am, and I am also the photographer and therefore the person I think I am and it then becomes difficult to be objective and make good use of the image as an exhibit.  Technically, I was unable to get the lighting right and the shots either ended up with my skin looking pale and sallow or too warm and pink.

 

Bibliography

Wells L. (2003) The Photography Reader, Routledge, Abingdon Oxon,

Part 5 – Project 2: Exercise – Conversation

Exercise
Record a real conversation with a friend. (It’s up to you whether you ask permission or not!)
Before listening to the recording, write your account of both sides of the conversation.
Then listen to the recording and make note of the discrepancies. Perhaps there are unfinished sentences, stammers, pauses, miscommunications etc.
Reflect upon the believability of re-enacted narratives and how this can be applied to constructed photography. What do you learn from the conversation recording process and how can you transfer what you learned into making pictures?

 

I turned this exercise on it’s head somewhat.  I recorded a meeting of the Alnwick International Music Festival Trustees.  The meeting was to discuss the way forward for the longstanding festival and the development of a Press Release.  I waited until my husband (Dave), who was taking notes of the meeting for the record and whose job it was to write the press release.

I received the draft and it contained all the essential information of time, date, changes to the festival and a request for volunteers.  I added my recall of the meeting which included the need for it  to be a dynamic piece that ensured it was included in the publications or broadcasts.

When I listened to the tape we both had missed a lot of the detail and we’d each remembered things that the other had missed. Dave had the advantage of taking notes at the meeting so remembered most of the important points.

There were several points that were repeated more than once in the discussion most notably the need for volunteers and the fact that the festival could not run without new recruits.  We both missed this important point.  The meeting lasted for over an hour and the discussion included many unfinished ideas and comments.  In my recall of events I didn’t even think of any of these and that I assume, is because there was a job to be done and the focus was on how best to do that job.  All less important information was filtered out of my memory.  When I listened to the tape there were suggestions of workshops to include drumming workshops, circus skills and making music from junk items.  All of this might have been included in the press release to increase the level of interest.

What I learnt from listening to the tape again and transferring the learning to photography is that some part thought through ideas could bring more interest to the shot so not to ignore them completely.  Both of our thoughts were much more organised than the actual conversations that took place.  Some of my thoughts were based on memory from my working days and working with the press.  One of my problems when I have ideas for a shot is that I have all these chaotic thoughts which I try to capture in  my notebook.  It becomes very big and I then try to incorporate them all.  What this has taught me is that I can focus on the main points and produce a coherent ( based on the press release) photograph.

 

 

ASSIGNMENT 5 – REFLECTION

 

Reflection following Tutor Feedback

 

Assignment 5 – Making it up

 

If I am totally honest I am disappointed that this piece of work is simply satisfactory. I had hoped to achieve a higher level.

However, this assignment was always going to stretch me to the limit. If I’d chosen to “set up” a shot I would also have been technically challenged with lighting and equipment as it was I chose the editing technicalities for this assignment.

I have re-worked the poster with the included recommendations and agree that it is improved with the addition of a more eye catching banner.

Extending my PS skills further I have managed to tone down the text of the quote to be more in line with the colour of the bank notes.

Having researched alternative fonts I opted for one called Impact which I think works better.

I have attempted to “correct” all the points made. I think it is a better representation of what I had in mind and I hope I have now described it effectively in my write up.

My tutor asked me to ask myself how successful I had been.

I ask this question constantly in all the images I produce and the answer is usually “not quite”. The first sentence of my tutor feedback sums it up for me “satisfactory piece of work”. So, I think that this answer is the same for this submission. I was striving for more than satisfactory.

I did achieve some of my vision. The inclusion of the railway track is a reference to the railroading of planning applications across the country to meet targets, the use of the fake money signifies the ability of large, wealthy landowners and developers to beat the strapped for cash local planning authorities. The use of a scandi/ noir theme is a reference to how I feel about the planning process. I achieved all of this in the montage, However, the quality of the end product is lacking and does not have quite the impact I envisaged. I sometimes think that I over think things and that my ambition and expectation exceeds my current ability. However, I have been taken well out of my comfort zone and have developed a whole range of editing skills in the process and for that I am satisfied.

Unfortunately, the campaign failed and planning permission was granted for 270 houses (with a minimum number of affordable houses) and a totally unsatisfactory and debatably safe access.

Summary

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Les Monaghan. He has stretched me and caused me to critically assess my work, often in a political context which has made me think about how I can put my political interests into use as a photographer. Thank you.

Putting yourself in the Picture – Re-work

Putting Yourself in the Picture

Drawing upon the examples in Part Three and your own research, you can approach your self-portraits however you see fit. You may choose to explore your identity or masquerade as someone else, or use empty locations or objects to speak of your experiences. However you choose to approach it, use yourself – directly or indirectly – as subject matter.  (OCA C&N, p89)

Introduction

Following feedback from my tutor I have re-worked this assignment to incorporate his comments.

My original thoughts were to construct a collage.  Initially, my technical skills failed me but I have managed to cobble together a collage that almost meets my visualisation of this assignment.

From not wanting to appear “as myself” in the assignment I have ended up with a mixture of both portraits as I am now and photographs of my previous lives.

This set is now entitled “Who am I?” again following feedback from my tutor.

So who am I?  I am a wife, a friend, a mother, a student, a flautist, a traveller, a walker, a gardener….. and the list goes on.  I have attempted to incorporate some of these elements in my assignment

My idea for the collage came from a painting by Croation artist Vlaho Bukovac.  A rather macabre painting of his children with him and his wife looking up towards them.  The painting was Bukovac’s response to Modernism, of which he was not a fan.  I liked the composition of the painting.

 

 

I have been rather abstract in my thinking on how to present this set

Taking inspiration from Aline Smithson http://alinesmithson.com/portfolios/ ,  and Nigel Shafran http://nigelshafran.com/category/washing-up-2000-2000/. I set about using my diary entries to set up the shots.   Some images perhaps  take more interpreting than others but I am hoping that the sense of  not having enough time to get everything done comes out in the set.

Method

I used a Canon 5D Mk3 and Lumix GX7 camera and various lenses.   Editing was done in Lightroom, Photoshop and Color Efex Pro.  Ideally, I was aiming for a shallow depth of field on most of the shots where my presence was in the background.  I also wanted to have a small focal area where I am trying to represent the sort of haze that I operate in when I am under pressure.

 

The detailed planning and research for this assignment is in a separate post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the collage I have put together in homage to Vlaho Bukovac.  It is meant to depict me in reflective mood reviewing my “other lives”.  The flowers are a nod to my gardening self.

The Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shot represents my dancing days.  Dancing formed a large part of my young life.  I did tap, ballet, Irish dancing and country dancing (which I also taught).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music has also played a major part in my life. Living in a family of three musicians,  I decided aged 40 that if I couldn’t beat them I’d join them and this is the first concert we played in as a family.  I have edited this shot in a nostalgic way because my children are now grown up with children of their own and I feel that this was a very special time of my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following a visit to a Salvador Dali exhibition, I came up with this rather surreal shot which represents my ability to take too much on and therefore, constantly struggling to meet deadlines.   I have to admit that this shot is more of a stock photo style image than the others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my planning and research I looked at the difference between selfies and self-portraits and this has been included as a reference to that research.  It also represents the time I spent during my working life living in hotel rooms.  This low resolution shot is edited in Color Efex Pro using a Midnight filter and cropped to get rid of the desk I was sitting in front of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, this playful shot shows me in American mood.  I spent a lot of time in Texas during the 1980s and I wore this outfit to a fancy dress party.

So in answer to the question “Who am I?”    I am Lynda who has many personas and who adapts to the situation with a smile and a mischievous approach to life.

Research for Assignment 5

Introduction

After completing the reading and completing research points in Part 5,  I then had several other ideas which built on the other elements of the course.  I commenced a mind map and several lists to begin to eliminate the ideas which had less appeal or relevance.

 

 

 

 

 

During the process of mind mapping I explored and researched the relevant photographers who had inspired me.

 

I really liked the Anna Fox work on My Mothers cupboards and my father’s words and did think this might be a contender.

 

Following on from Assignment 3 Putting yourself in the Picture where I wanted to explore my life through my hobbies (dating from childhood)  held appeal to re-visit through other objects important in my life.  I am the owner of well over 100 pairs of shoes and I liked the Peter Lippman use of shoes in still life.  I thought I could begin my journey of an archive of shoes placing them in a still life composition.

The final thoughts I had were of producing a family photo archive, first suggested by my tutor after Assignment 1.

However, I was constantly pulled back to this nagging political issue of planning.  My first assignment began with a political look at Remembrance pertaining to the two World Wars and how this event which destroyed so many lives is still used today to manipulate thoughts and opinions.  This is something I may well re-visit in the future.  Being the political creature that I am I decided that I could best use some of this energy to develop a poster for the campaign I and local residents have set up to fight the developer.

Research

With guidance from my tutor I researched the work of John Heartfield, Loraine Leeson, Hannah Hoch, Martha Rosler, Jo Spence, Barbara Kruger and  Kennard-Phillips.  I also looked at the work of Erik Johannsen.

John Heartfield

Heartfield was an anti- Nazi German born in Berlin, he was a visual artist who led the way of using art in political protest through photomontage.  Heartfield used satire to criticise fascism and Nazism. He found and used photos in his work which is viewed as having power in mass media campaigns against the Hitler regime.  His work is necessarily dark and disturbing often using humour and satire to get over his message.  I really liked the satire of Heartfield.

https://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/

Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler also used photo-montage as a means of bringing attention to political issues including war.  Rosler used images cut from magazines to highlight the routineness of female housework during a time of global unrest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In her essay In, Around and afterthoughts, Rosler comments that documentary photography has  been linked to moralism and that it brings old information in the images of powerless people, to the attention of a group of socially powerful people.  She argues that poverty and oppression is attributed to “natural” events and no blame apportioned unless there is evidence of our “own global enemy”.  (Rosler M. 2003 in Wells L. pp.261 – 274).

I particularly liked the way Rosler used the window and curtains to frame the shot of the soldiers.

Loraine Leeson

Leeson was part of the campaign opposing the development of the Canary Wharf development in London.  Arguing that the loss of an historic community to make way for  a commercial district which became one of the main financial centres of the UK. Working with with a group of artists and designers she embarked on producing a series of posters supporting the opposition on the loss of the Docklands community.  i particularly liked the drama of these posters and the use of money to create buildings and give the sense of power.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/news/lansbury-micro-museum-this-wall-talks

Jo Spence

I have long admired the work of Jo Spence and completed a review of her work in Expressing Your Vision.  Her work with the Hackney Flashers was influenced by John Heartfield  (Dring 2007).  I can also see this influence in the Loraine Leeson work.  The use of a brick wall as a background is particularly familiar. Both photographers are helping voice the concerns of communities that are not often heard.

http://www.jospence.org/hackney_flashers/hackney_flashers_thumbs.html (accessed 06/01/190

I used the influence of these artists to develop my own poster.

Project 1, Exercise: Self Portraits

Exercise
Reflect on the pieces of work discussed in this project in your learning log and do
some further research of your own.
Here are a few questions you might ask yourself:
• How do these images make you feel?
• Do you think there’s an element of narcissism or self-indulgence in focusing on
your own identity in this way?
• What’s the significance of Brotherus’s nakedness?
• Can such images ‘work’ for an outsider without accompanying text?
• Do you think any of these artists are also addressing wider issues beyond the
purely personal?
Make some notes in your learning log.

Elena Brotherus

“I’m showing this series of photographs to give a visibility to those whose treatments lead nowhere. The hopeless story with an unhappy end is the story of the majority. My way of discussing the matter is to give out the pictures, not to give an interview. I’m not sure if I will be able to actually speak about this. I’m still too sad. This is the saddest thing that has happened to me since my mother’s death. Yet, I’m tired of lying and inventing excuses to this or that medication, not drinking, having to cancel trips etc. People these days aren’t ashamed of talking about sex, psychological problems, alcohol and drugs, but for some
reason involuntary childlessness is very much a taboo topic….
Elina Brotherus http://www.galleriesinparis.com/exhibitions/brotherus-gb-agency/ (accessed 5.10.2017)

This quote by Elena Brotherus sets the scene for the images that follow.  A Finnish photographer she injects a very personal view of her experiences of childlessness and failed IVF.  Brotherus is a Finnish photographed who examines the impact  on her and her relationships.

Through her work the viewer gets a strong sense of a person who appears to be very sad.  Many of her photographs are of her in a state of distress or one assumes depressiojn.  Her shots are often of her posing naked which is significant because it leaves the viewer sensing that they can see beyond her outer self.

We begin to understand through the videos available how turning forty affected her emotionally and how her images can help address subjects that make people feel uncomfortable.   In her series Annunciation (a body of work about her infertility) she attempts to impartially explore the subject but in her own words often becomes personally involved.  This is unsurprising given the huge amount of energy, thought and emotion that these ideas must evoke.  She often appears in her shots with the release cable in view or with her back to the camera.  This it seems is her trying to demonstrate a connection (between model and artist) and at other times appearing universal (a figure in a landscape).

An interesting point that Brotherus makes is that she does not immediately edit her  work but leaves it for months so that she can see it with fresh eyes.  This is something I can identify with,  often when I first look at images I have made I often think there is nothing worth editing but by chance I went back to a set of images over 12 months after I’d taken them and discovered there were many that I could make use of.  The space between the action and the review helps us to become more objective in how we feel about the shots.

The composition of Elina Brotherus’ images and her use of natural light (often quite low light) helps give a sense of contemplation or even a meditative feel to them.

When I look at these images I feel very sad, Brotherus’ own sad eyes are penetrating in many of the shots.  In using her camera when she is in a dark place is a way of helping her understand why she is feeling the same way.  In the same way as someone who is depressed my write down their feelings Brotherus is doing this through imagery.

When I first looked at the images I did think there was a touch of narcissism in them and of self pity but, as I looked more closely and began to understand the artist I do not now think that is the case. Without the narrative accompanying the images I’m not sure I would have ended up in the same place in my thinking.  I think I would have had some empathy but without the understanding.   In her nakedness Brotherus communicates her vulnerability.  I think she is communicating a subject or subjects that can be very difficult to address.  A bit like domestic violence.

 

Francesca Woodman

“it is difficult not to read Woodman’s  many self-portraits – she produced over five hundred during her short lifetime – as alluding to a troubled state of mind“

(Bright, 2010. p25)

 

Francesca Woodman an American photographer took her own life at a very early age (22years).  Her work mainly in black and white and using slow shutter speeds and long exposure.  Her subjects are  either herself as a model or female models, often naked, often blurred by movement and sometimes ghostly.  Her shots are often in rooms with very little in them ( she lived and worked in an old decaying warehouse) and often with a significant amount of empty space.  She herself often appears only wearing a pair of shoes.

Much has been written in Feminist literature about “feminine space” ,

Kathleen Kirby writes that where we are in space determines a large portion of our status as subjects. Kirby K.M.  1996)

This perhaps gives us an insight into the world that Woodman was struggling with and with her use the decaying almost empty buildings has something to do with what and who she was.    This leads us to ask ourselves if she is exploring her identity and sexuality and where she fits in wider society.  However, there is some debate over the interpretation of Woodman’s work and some argue that it is surrealist in style. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/9279676/Blurred-genius-the-photographs-of-Francesca-Woodman.html.  

 

I am not sure that Woodman saw herself as a feminist.  When asked by a friend why she did self portraits she replied that she was always available.

I think without evidence of why she committed suicide and relying on anecdote from relatives and friends and the academic work written about Francesca,  it is more difficult to pigeon hole her work into either one or the other.

Her upbringing seems to have been remarkable in that her parents were artists and encouraged Francesca and her brother by giving them sketchbooks and taking them to museums and galleries.  Francesca also attended boarding school in Massachusetts followed by college in Rhode Island when she produced the majority of her work.

Is this work any more self-indulgent than that of Elina Brotherus?  Whilst Brotherus is exploring  a condition, a situation she finds herself in for Woodman it all about identity.  However, the work they both produce demonstrate disturbed women who if they were writing about their experiences and feelings we would not be asking these questions. I therefore, do not think that Woodman’s work is narcissitic.

By representing herself naked, a blurred figure and in decaying minimalist settings she is perhaps laying herself bare in a similar way to Brotherus or she may be seeking to achieve and artistic image.  This kind of imagery, partly because not many women make images of naked women (that lies in the gift of men when it is usually seen as art) can make us feel uncomfortable.  It is well known that women talk about and explore their feelings more than men and I think that these two artists are doing just that through their art.

 

“It is difficult not to read Woodman’s many self-portraits – she produced
over five hundred during her short lifetime – as alluding to a troubled
state of mind. She committed suicide at the age of twenty-two.”
(Bright, 2010, p.25)

 

We are asked in the course work if there is any evidence for Bright’s statement above.  I think there is evidence that the images are hard to read and that we may make assumptions about them because of the nature of her untimely death.

Conclusion

I find all of these images evoke an emotional reaction from me and I veer between thinking them narcissistic and that they are raising an awareness of issues pertaining to each of the artists.   I have wondered if I would have the same reaction if these women wrote about their issues and there was only text associated with the individual stories.  My answer to that would be probably not.  I would see them more as a way of the writer using this media as perhaps, a cathartic exercise where the act of writing it down also informs others of the situation and issues relating to the writer.

So in answer to the questions posed to us in the course notes about do they work without the text, I would say probably  not at first.  It would leave me wondering what the artist was trying to say.  However, after studying them for some time I think I may get the message that they are trying to get over.

 

Kirby K.M, 1996, Indifferent Boundaries:Spatial Concepts of Human Subjectivity, The Guildford Press, New York   https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6GtGDp3b3AkC&pg=PA11&dq=Kathleen+Kirby+Defining+the+Space+of+the+Subject:+Investigating+the+Boundaries+of+Feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjYkfHOqdnWAhVHAsAKHbzuCtEQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Kathleen%20Kirby%20Defining%20the%20Space%20of%20the%20Subject%3A%20Investigating%20the%20Boundaries%20of%20Feminism&f=false (Accessed 5.10.17)

Salter K (2012) Blurred genius: the photographs of Francesca Woodman,  The Telegraph, London http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/9279676/Blurred-genius-the-photographs-of-Francesca-Woodman.html  (Accessed 5.10.17)

References

Elina Brotherus http://www.galleriesinparis.com/exhibitions/brotherus-gb-agency/ (accessed 5.10.2017)