Before the school summer holidays, I briefly looked over ‘Corinne Days Diary’. Over the summer, attending parties throughout the summer and Reading Festival at the very end of the summer. Over these events i captured some images that represented a more PG version of Corinnes images.
Here are the images –
All of the above images were taken on disposables, i took 6 disposable cameras to Reading festival as i love the style the cameras produce. They give a rough old look which i feel matches this topic perfectly. One of my favorite images is the two below. These were both taken at Reading and i love the informal feel in both.
This image was damaged by water. It rained nearly every day at Reading and water got into one of the cameras. However i feel it has benefited the image as it has given it texture and an even older look. The floor looks very worn and tired, similar to the picture and the subjects in the image. The girl photographed was heavily intoxicated, taking a surprise image turned out to be one of the best images taken.
The next image has also been damaged by water and shock. Over the course of the week i dropped the camera numerous times. This resulted in a two of the images being split and merged together. However i loved this affect as it makes the image look older again and more interesting as you have to work out what it actually is. The two subjects in the photograph are also unaware the image was being taken, sharing a hug they are unknowingly being photographed.
Photography has a variety of reasons to why it is produced; decorative, communicative, emotional etc. Humans have always used art as a forum to create images for political motives or social engagements. Imagining a society without the influences of photography, eliminates the social and educational essentials. In my opinion art can be an agent of world change and development. Through the changing of one opinion, several will change in effect, this then leads to social change. This social change is an uproar of emotion to the message the image portrays. Photography evokes a response for the viewer that being, excitement, boredom, confusion or curiosity etc. Documentary photography projects the truth to the front pages of newspapers, social media forums and news reports.
The Terror of War is an image photographed by Nick Ut. ‘When I pressed the button, I knew, this picture will stop the war.’ – Nick Ut
A Buddhist monk burned himself to death on June 11 1963. The monk was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese Government.
This selection of images are photographs that have changed opinion, challenged governments and societies and developed the way individuals view issues. For example the first image ‘The Terror of War’, is a powerful illustration of innocent civilians in danger and being terrified in their own country. The second photograph addresses a completely different topic and perhaps more philosophical. The image title is ‘Earth Rise’, it gives you perspective to how small our earth is in comparison to the universal, furthermore, how small our presence is in the world. However, I think it also represents even though we a little we can have influence and inspire others; we are capable of making a difference.
As the idea i’ve already come up with will focus more on places than people, I think I am also going to have a look at some old photos my family have. When we had the Archive competition, one thing I noticed was that there are a lot of similarities between me and my mum when she was younger, we both used to do dancing, and we both look quite similar. I also noticed that my Aunt, when she was younger, looks quite a bit like her son, and so I may to have a look at this.
I’m going to have a look at the old photo albums my Nan gave us and look at some old photos of me and see if there would be anything I would be able to do with them.
“I’ve always felt that good art has to reflect somehow on its own process of coming to be” – Jeff Wall
Jeff Wall is a Canadian photographer, conceptual artist and art historian. Wall has received high acclaim for tableau photography, seen as as a pioneer of the medium as a serious form of art. Born in Vancouver, Canada 1946, Wall develop a keen interest for photography from a young age. From 1967-1970 Wall studied Art at the University of British Columbia. He then spent numerous years as Assistant Professor at both Novia Scotia College of Art and Design, and Simon Fraiser University. Wall first came to prominence as a photographer in 1977 with his Solo Exbition entitled ‘Installation of Faking Death’, one natable piece of the series being a self portrait of him posed as if he was dead, made into a triptych. Sicne then he has had made prominent exhitibitions world-wide, icluding.
Wall’s work is very experimental and unusual, for example his technique in enlarging photographs to extreme scales in a process known as cibachrome development. Such practices have made him very influential in the world of contemporary photography and conceptual/post-conceptual art. Wall is celebrated greatly in his Native Vancouver, and throughout the rest of Canada and North America, winning accolades such as the Hasselblad Award (2002), and Audian Prize for life achievement (2008), and having many group and solo exhibitions across North America and Europe since the late 1970s.
I would consider Jeff Wall to be an experimental photographer. Rather than being simplify a tableau photographer, the range of his work is far more complicated and diverse than this.In the past he has experimented with painting, sculptures and written text as well as his photography Wall considers the act of staging photographs to have a very open-ended meaning. He stated that he like to work in the ‘grey area’ of tableau and documentary photography. He stages elements of his photograph as a means of enhancing drama and incorporating symbolism but does not control all aspects of his photograph. He states himself that, “I control some thing and other things I don’t even try to control”. This type of style, verging on the border of different genres, is an extremely subversive way of interpreting art because the individual is not conforming to the regulations of a particular style, but instead working outside of these boundaries, and gaining influence from different interpretations.
Wall takes influence from surrealist artist such as Salvador Dali, and the Pop-Art Movement of the 1960s
I would argue that Jeff Wall’s work in tableau photography is a form of protest against traditional views of photography. This is because his work is not purely tableau and instead incorporates influence from documentary and photojournalism Wall does not believe that photography can be truly spontaneous and therefore does not attempt to create images that would be termed ‘spontaneous’. He explores the relationship between naturalness and unnaturalness, a theory that derives from the ancient Chinese ‘Ying-Yang’ theory, which explores how apparently opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary to one another. Wall’s worked is defined by this theory as he constantly explores contradictory ideas to produce interesting and thought provoking work.
This photograph was planned beforehand, but appears to be spontaneous. It was not staged to be overly dramatic, bit instead to achieve a good composition
Here is a website to Jeff talking about tableau photography
After learning about the Jersey photo archive we were assigned the task of looking into our own family archives. I decided to look into my Dad’s photo timeline and trying to collect a selection of photographs showing him through his life. After looking through mine and my grandparents selection of photographs the earliest photograph I managed to find of my dad was a picture from 7 and a half months old.
I then found some more photographs of my dad’s childhood; School Photographs, when he first got his glasses, pictures of him and his brothers ect.
7 1/2 months old.11 months old.This is my dad at the age of three, and he is wearing black leather lederhosens.My dad considers his getting glasses at the age of 4 1/2 years a big moment in his life.This is my dad and his two brothers in their primary school photo at Trinity school. My was 10 years old.This is my dad when he first met my mum, he was in his young twenties.This is my dad during his travelling years. He often talks about his days when he was travelling the world and see’s it as one of his greatest adventures.This is my Dad when he first graduated.This is my dad and his side of the family on his wedding day. With his three brother, Parents and and grandmother.My Mum and Dad on their wedding day.Our first family photo.
Corinne Day flourished in the 90’s, her photographs brought to live the ‘look’ that was going around called ‘Heroin Chic’.
Heroin chic was a look popularized in mid-1990s fashion and characterized by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes and angular bone structure. The look, characterised by emaciated features and androgyny, was a reaction against the “healthy” and vibrant look of models such as Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer. A 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times stated that the fashion industry had “a nihilistic vision of beauty” that was reflective of drug addiction and the U.S. News and World Report called the movement a “cynical trend”.
Corinne photographed people such as ‘Tara’ who is the inspiration for her book ‘Diary’, Abusing drugs over a two year period. Corinnes images are very explicit in some as they show drug prep and nudity. All of her images produced the same aesthetic of hard core party scene images.
The look ‘Heroin Chic’ was categorized for people with pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes and angular bone structure, typically female models. Corinnes images replicated this look as she photographed ‘Tara’ throughout her sober live and her drug live.
The two images above from Days book ‘Diary’, are two of my favorite. This is because they are the two photographs that have shown ‘Tara’ is her happiest state and her worst state. These images also show clearly the ‘heroin Chic Look’ as ‘Tara’ appears skinny, defined bone structure and also has dark/red circles under her eyes.
‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness’
A series of photographs made over 8 years of the quiet existence of Charles Snelling, an elderly man living alone in a small house in Portsmouth, shown alongside pages from Snelling’s own albums. Charles Albert Lucian Snelling (Charlie) spent the last years of his life absorbed in his memories of his wife, his children, his love for flowers, music and the daily pleasures of the crossword, and his albums of his own photographs. Germain’s photographs of Charlie, his home and the things he owned are a beautiful, gentle portrait of a gentleman in his twilight years.
I love his work as the photographs are so bright and colourful, even though the context is quite upsetting, the photographs represent a more positive light. My favourite photograph is the picture below because I love the colour popping in it, his old fashioned car is so cute and I love the colour. Also the expression in his face makes me smile as it portrays a positive vibe. I love the idea of how the book has memory’s from their marriage from his personal photo album, it gives it a special touch and makes it more personal to Charles which is really sweet. He has inspired me to put my own family memory’s from our personal album into my final book as it will make it more personal to me and give it that extra touch that will make it more family orientated. Also, the use of colour popping has really interested me as I would like to have a contrast of old black and white photographs and then bright colourful pictures in my final piece.
The above quotes are just some of the information i found. I feel these quotes are a description of family that is from a stereotypical view. Which is perfectly normal, and what i was expecting when researching. However, I feel as though Family can be many things. It can be a group of close friends, teaching classes, people that share a common interest, or a family of material things. Family can be described in many ways and also perceived and shown in many ways too. Blood relative families have a unique dynamic, this is because your are ‘blood related’. You fight but always forgive and love eachother no matter how severe the fight.
I can closely relate to a family in the form of a ‘Friendship Family’. Family friendships have a very similar dynamic. You fight, just like blood families and you also always make up and forgive eachother. The fights may be worse and over longer periods of time, but you always do eventually make up and forgive.
In this short reponse, I’ll be considering the question in the title. This is a very contraversial topic and many people have varied opinions on this. However, i can analyze some of the points that agree with each one.
A very famous photograph includes:
Vietnam Napalm 1972 South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong.
Nick Ut, was the man that recorded this disturbing image. It was taken in South Vietnam. At that moment, war planes had accidentally dropped bombs over their terrain, which caused an outburst of people in shock. The children are seen trying to evacuate the place and have a look of terror on their faces. The girl is left completely naked after the acidic bombs erode her clothes.
Nick Ut holding his Vietnam picture
Discussing mind-set, I think it’s extremely difficult to change someone’s. It takes a powerful and meaningful picture to get to some people. Nick Ut was asked the name of this specific image, and he said: “Terrible War.” A lot of people say “Napalm Girl” or “Napalm Photo”, but when I use the photo I say, “Terrible War.”
This is a link to a website that I found. It shows the 30 most influential photographs that people say changed the world: http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/30-photos-that-changed-the-world/
Example of a strong picture on that list:
The 9/11 attacks; New York Times, 2001 There are many haunting images of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but this one of a person standing in a gaping hole of wreckage, with no exit or hope of rescue, is one of the most wrenching.
Lewis bush, a photographer and lecturer posted an article on his blog. He talked about the topic in which I’m addressing, whether pictures have the power to change the world or people’s perceptions.
Bush’s official website: http://www.lewisbush.com/
Bush’s blog post: http://www.disphotic.com/photographs-wont-change-the-world/
In the title of his essay, Bush says: ‘Photographs won’t change the world’. He goes onto say that there’s no real evidence that an actual picture can change the world. He says: ‘photographs are just bits of paper’. Bush states that pictures do help to ‘expose’ situations for what they are. Nonetheless, he say’s it’s always ‘incomplete and fragmented’. Bush says it’s not the same, to experience the situation in real life and look at it in a picture. For example, the picture of the drowned Syrian boy. Bush quoted: ‘This is not to say that seeing a photograph of a drowned child on a beach is the same as standing on that beach over that small body. But it is about knowing that somewhere a child drowned, and that his death is the consequence of other things which might be more within our power to change. Photographs present the idea that things are happening, or exist, or are possible’.
Lewis simply adds that photographs can’t drastically change someone, they also won’t completely make someone a saint. Picture can influence people in both ways, bad or good. Photographs can only change the world due to one link, says Bush: ‘in the unreachable recesses of the human mind’. Bush included that: ‘To claim that photographs, and by association the act of photographing, will in themselves change the world is disingenuous, a case of letting ourselves off the hook’. I believe that this is a very powerful quote. Bush very clearly exudes that there needs to be external factors, that work to make the world a better place and that the photograph should only remind us of the deterioration as a motivation. Bush ends with a slightly alternative view: ‘To believe that photographs can’t drive us to change the world is to believe in a futile, solitary, and self-fulfilling prophecy’.
For me, I believe that photographs have the power to change people’s perceptions .You have to feel very strongly and be motivated, as a human being, to change the world. Of course, strong and powerful pictures like Vietnam one, can leave a long lasting impression on people. Therefore, I think that, that’s what causes us to want to change the world. It cannot be done without being in a certain mind-set, which photographs ignite in us. As Lewis Bush says: ‘These things (photographs) can’t change the world, but they can change people, and people can change the world’.To conclude, pictures have the power to change our views, in result we act to change the world.
War photography is a form of photojournalism recording armed conflict. It is a medium with has existed since the mid 19th Century – the American Civil War of 1861-1865 was the first war to be photographed extensively. War photography covers all ranges of armed conflict; the battle; relief effort; soldiers; civilians; weaponry; border control; landscape; and aftermath of battle.
The way we view war has been influenced greatly since the invention of photography. People have more access than ever to the events.
War photography is seen as an incredibly challenging form of photojournalism which involves great bravery, in often volatile and emotionally distressing environments. It is a highly respected role, because photography is an effective means of communicating to the general public the events of the war. Unlike radio or news reporters, a photographer is required at all times to be close to the action, and the visual evidence that photographs provide, give a much more reliable and objective viewpoint (assuming the photograph is genuine). War photographers are therefore very influential, and in the 20th Century many respected magazines such as ‘Life Magazine’ who covered conflicts such as the Korean, Vietnam and the First Indo-China War, emphasis was actually placed on the photograph, and photographs were prioritised over written reports, meaning that reporters had to base their writing around the photographs. Photographs are much easier to view and often captivate the viewers attention much easier then reports do, because they provide an instant interpretation and recognition of events. The Vietnam War in Particular was seen as a milestone for War Photojournalism. Visual journalist had complete access to cover the war. The worldwide audience were shocked and disgusted by what they witnessed.
War Photographs look at all aspects of the War, not just the battle. A good photographer will produce work that is empathetic.
Iconic Photographs like this changed how people viewed the Vietnam War. If public opinion was not influenced by what they saw, then America’s involvement in the war may have been dramatically different.
War photography is often very dangerous, and nowadays photojournalists covering war are extremely vulnerable to deliberate, politically motivated attacks. Traditionally photojournalists in war zones were considered as neutrals, similar to the medical assistants, whose role is report the war from a balanced, well-rounded perspective. However as many cases in the late 20th Century and early 21st Century show, War Photographers have since been deliberate targets of attack themselves, as military and national leaders started to appreciate the influence that photojournalists can have over the war, and can potentially obscure, or the organisation they work for, can obscure images to manipulate the events and produce a bias. Unfortunately therefore, photojournalism is now a very dangerous role to be in, and their is an extremely high death and kidnap rate. The Arab Springs of 2011 highlighted the extent of vulnerability of journalists and photojournalists alike. Many photojournalists have been kidnapped or killed since reporting on the events. This has forced journalists of all disciplines to re-evaluate their approach to conflict, as fears for safety are higher than ever.
Two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist Chris Hondros was killed whilst covering the Libyan Civil War in mortar attack by Pro-Gadaffi forces. Fellow Photojournalist Tim Hetherington was also killed. Is such a cost of modern photojournalism worth such a loss?
7 1/2 months old.
