Question:How has Boltanski, Abril and Toroptsov represented the concept of capturing the invisible and reflecting the meaning of memory through the medium of photography?

Introduction:

‘Someone once said that you die twice: when you die the first time and when somebody finds a photo of you and no longer remembers who it shows.’

We are made up of fragmented memories and forgotten dreams. Our entirety rests in the fate of old letters, burnt photographs and meaningless possessions. We never question the invisible, it is as though we are on a relentless pursuit to try and capture the invisible.  We abide by the rules and limitations that are enforced by the concept of death. But what happens to those who become untouchable, those who are no longer part of the flux. Their existence becomes empty and lost, they are no longer perceptible to the eye. Yet we still feel impossible and unexplained connections to the spiritless. We yearn to cherish the ‘good’  memories and except the restrictions we are faced with regarding mortality. In doing so, the feeling of life is created, the tangibility of pleasure and pain enters our worlds and consumes us. But, photographs hold heritage and meaning, they have a depth of knowledge and feeling to them. Photographs capture single moments of existence. They can tell a narrative of a second in a stranger’s life in an instance. Whether it is personal, isolated, private or rare, it is has an essence of being and timelessness. The allure of time, is its youthfulness. Time is the cure for it never fails to reveal the truth. ‘Human life is embedded in time: we remember the past, we plan for the future and we live in the present. We swim in an ever-rolling stream.’ 

I am exploring how the invisible can be captured and portrayed through the medium of photography. And why memories hold such a powerful influence over our past, present and future. I want to find out what makes a photograph meaningful, what gives the photograph reality and how through photography the memory of a person can live on. My project focuses on exploring the invisible through three female generation’s memories; this includes my grandmother, my mother and myself. These distinctive view points will enable my project to become more personal and really seek the depths of my grandfather’s life. I think memory is more than simply remembering a once present thought, but it is about connecting with the past in order for the past to live on. 

Bibliography:

Boltanski, (1999), ‘Christian Boltanski: Menschlich’. KATALOG Journal of photography & video, (Vol. 11 No. 1 1999): 53-56.

Goldblatt. L. (2013), ‘Still Here‘. Germany, Hatje Cantz. 

La Grange. A. (2005), ‘Basic critical theory of photographers‘, in: Barthes. R. (Ed) (2005), ‘Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida’. Great Britain: 

1.Think of a hypothesis and list possible questions.

The use of archival photographs in photography
Describing the contrast between past and present photographs
How Sarello and Casanova’s work share similarities
How Julian Germain captures loneliness but uses bright colours in his work to show this
2.Essay Plan: make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph.

One paragraph focusing on the use of archival images in an essay
Another focusing on the type of work created by Sarello and another on the type of work created by Casanova and then compare similarities and differences
Maybe a paragraph focusing on how Germain captures moments that show his loneliness
3.Finish a draft version of your introduction (500 words) and hand in Mon 11th Jan.

essay structure

Think about an opening that will draw your reader in e.g. you can use an opening quote that sets the scene. You should include in your introduction an outline of your intention of your study e.g. what and who are you going to investigate. How does this area/ work interest you? What are you trying to prove/challenge, argument/ counter-argument? Include 1 or 2 quotes for or against. What links are there with your previous studies? What have you explored so far in your Coursework or what are you going to photograph? How did or will your work develop. What camera skills, techniques or digital processes in Photoshop have or are you going to experiment with?

Produce a photographic response to your investigation in Personal Study. You must plan and produce at least another 3 photo-shoots in the next 3 weeks (e.g. responding to photographers subject-matter, style, form, aesthetics, specific skills, techniques, methods)
Continue to review your responses and shootsand experiment with your pictures appropriate to yoru intentions Lightroom/Photoshop e.g. cropping, change colour balance/ b/w, brightness/ contrast, blurring/ movement, blending/ montage techniques.
Select your best experiments and picturesand include in your Personal Study for analysis and comparisons.
PLANNING, RESEARCH

“Harvard Referencing: Guide. Harvard is a style of referencing, primarily used by university students, to cite information sources. Two types of citations are included: In-text citations are used when directly quoting or paraphrasing a source.” ~https://www.citethisforme.com/harvard-referencing

Reference lists are created so that if readers want to look at the sources in more depth themselves, they can. To make this possible reference lists will usually include various bits of information including the:

1. Name of the author(s)
2. Year published
3. Title
4. City published
5. Publisher
6. Pages used

Generally, Harvard Reference List citations for a book by one author follow this format:

Last name, First Initial. (Year published). Title. Edition. City: Publisher, Page(s).

For a book with two or more than one author the format is as follows:

Last name, First initial. and Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title. City: Publisher, Page(s).

For example with one of the books I have been looking at, the reference would be:

Becher, B., Becher, H. and Zweite, A. (2003). Typologies. Germany: Schirmer/ Mosel München, (Page number of included quote etc.).

For Chapters in an Edited book:

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Chapter title. In: First initial. Last name, ed., Book Title, 1st ed.* City: Publisher, Page(s)

The edition for the book is only included if it isn’t the first edition.

For Print Journal Articles:

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Journal, Volume (Issue), Page(s).

For citations from a website or database:

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article Title. Journal, [online] Volume(Issue), pages. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

There are many other sources, for example blogs, court cases, conference proceedings, dissertations, DVD’s, Email’s etc, but above are the main examples of how to use the Harvard Referencing System.