A few weeks ago I was walking home from a shoot with my sister and her family, I decided to walk home and instead of just going straight home with my camera in my bag I kept my camera out and made photographs as I was walking just as an experimentation of the light and how the camera picks up different light in the evening compared to in the day time. I also made images of the people walking past me to see how it looked and whether or not they were in good lighting for silhouettes. I liked this experimentation as it has helped me come up with some more ideas to add to my Film Noir inspired project. The photos I have made aren’t meant to look great or anything special I was just trying out different lighting at to see whether or not it was dark enough for the light to really stand out when it actually comes to making the Film Noir inspired night images that I want.
I think that these images look a lot better in black and white and the lighting is perfect for the experiment that I want to do. I like the idea of this shooting and making images during the night as it brings a sense of mystery and allure which is the kind of images that I want to create when my Femme Fatales are introduced. I want to experiment further with different locations for this shoot before actually going out and shooting it as I think that this will make it a lot easier when actually shooting as I will know exaclty where, how and what I want to shoot.
This is my favourite image out of all the images that I made that evening as the lighting is great and is very film noir with more of a chiaroscuro lighting feel towards it. I think that when it comes to actually shooting this might be a possible location or more likely I will definitely be using a lamppost to light my images and to make harsh lighting so that the silhouette of the Femme Fatale really stands out in the darkness and looks mysterious. This experimentation worked well for me and has given me a chance to have a look at what kind of images that I am able to create when it actually comes to making the images.
John Divola is a contemporary visual artist, who works primarily in photography. I like his work because he takes a different approach to the theme of community. Instead of photographing portraits he has captured environments or settings. I think this idea is very clever and unique because it offers another perspective of community. I particularly like this photographer because he focuses on environments and settings opposed to people and landscapes. In my previous post I wrote about the idea of environments having an effort on our memory. Simple objects it being a sofa or the material of a curtain can bring back memories we once had forgotten. I think this is very powerful and influential, therefore the photographs Divola’s produces show a different and unique approach to the idea of community and memory. I like the rawness of the image it shows destruction and anger in the way it has been composed. But then the elegant and peaceful scenery of the sea makes it calm, which confuses the photographs with mixtures of emotions. This is very clever because it invites the viewer into seeing the image as a typical room but there is so much more going on then what appears making it intriguing.
The second image also has the same effect, it has graffitied walls yet in the centre of the image is a beautiful coloured sky. I think the colour of the sky contrasts with what looks like red shattered and broken glass. I think the environment and minor details are incredibly important for an image especially one which is a narrative.
Thilde Jensen is a photographer from Denmark, in 1997 she moved to New York, six years later her life changed as she got a sudden development of severe Environmental Illness and her documentary and editorial photography was cut short. Thilde decided to make a series about Environmental Illnesses called ‘The Canaries’ these were published in The New York Times and other magazines. Thilde’s first monograph ‘The Canaries’ was published in 2013. http://thildejensen.com/ These are a set of images that Thilde Jensen took when she had Environmental Illness and she went around and photographed others who had the same to see what their lives were like. Throughout Thilde’s books there are little A5 slips of paper that have been slipped in throughout, these have writing in which shows what the people in some of these images were saying when she met them at the time she was taking the photographs, these notes of paper give an insight into the conversions that Thilde was having with these subjects but also into the mind of someone who has Environmental Illness.
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In this image this man is in his bedroom where he has a foil barrier. This man has Environmental Illness which is why he has covered his room in foil, this is to protect him. To this man, this room is his safe place. On Thilde’s website and in her book it does not say what illness this man has, so i am unsure of his condition. However, the man has no shoes on which can arguably show that he is living in some sort of state of poverty. This image documents this man’s life in this one photograph and implies the struggles that he faces on a daily basis. I think that this image is interesting because of the reflection that is on the foil, it shows the a glimpse of the outside world, which it looks like the man is missing, as you can see the sun that is coming through the windows.
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In this image this is Thilde Jensen herself, as she got Environmental Illness she had to stop taking her normal photographs that she liked to take. Instead she began taking photographs of others who had Environmental Illness while she tried to tackle it herself as well. I think that this image is interesting as Thilde’s face in this image shows the pain that she is in, and how hard it must be living with Environmental Illness.
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I think that this image out of all of the ones from the series ‘The Canaries’ this one is the most shocking as the women looks violently ill in this image. This image is of a lady called Jen, she is stuck in the bath tub as she is too fatigued to move. This portrait image is striking because of the the lady Jen’s bags that are under her eyes, they imply that she has not had sleep in a while and shows the stress that Environmental Illness is having on her.
What is communitarianism? What’s the origin of communitarianism? How do religions form communities?
Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasises the connection between the individual and community and the importance this has on political life. It arose in the 1980s as a criticism of two philosophical schools. There are many strong communitarianism aspects in several modern and historical political and religious belief systems. For example, the Hebrew Bible, the Christian New Testament, Roman Catholic thoughts and social democracy. Religion involves the idea of community massively, religions become a community because they share common interest, thought or belief.
The Catholic religion has key aspects of community within it, it is about being a family and following the law of God. The foundation for Catholic social thought is the proper understanding the value of a person.
The Catholic community
Religious art
Religious art
I wanted to research into this particular study because I wanted to link the idea of community with religion. Family, community and faith are themes which can all be linked together fairly easily because all of them share qualities and similarities. Religion and in this example the Catholic faith, community is an extremely important aspect of the religion.
” He is gone. He has left orange peel in the wastebasket,the fresh eggs on the windowsill and the remains of a croissant which I polish off. I shall miss him.”
Sophie Calle who was born in 1953 is a French writer, photographer and conceptual artist. Her work often shows human vulnerability, identity and intimacy. She is well known for her ‘detective’ ability to follow strangers and investigate a photograph their private life. She is known to be strange in a good way.
One of Sophie Calle’s projects is called ‘The Hotel’, on Monday 16th February 1981 Sophie was hired for three weeks as a chambermaid in a Venetian Hotel she was assigned 12 bedrooms during this time she examined the personal belongings and observed through details the life’s of the people of who she didn’t know within the hotel rooms. She published photographs of what she found in room 26 and room 47 and what looks like a diary entry of everyday she was in the room in her book’ Sophie Calle’, she also included two smaller photographs of work being exposed in a New York museum and in a National photography center in Paris. In the book only the guests beds are in colour were as there belongings are in black and white, I think transmits their personality.
I chose to look at Sophie Calle’s project the Hotel because she incorporated work into her photography, which is linked to what I am going to do however in a different style, I am going to photograph my mum in her working environments and like Sophie Calle the belongings and surroundings within her workplace.
There are certain boundaries that define what photojournalism is. With documentary photography, the photographers have to be moral and stick to the ‘Code of Ethics’. Whilst not law, they are generally the rules people would abide by just going on moral instinct.
Documentary Photography is meant to be an honest representation of what is happening in the world, it’s meant to document it, and so dishonest photojournalism, whilst may be believed by some, is not proper photojournalism. They are meant to be impartial on situations, not showing a biased view, but the whole view of a situation.
In a way everyone sets the standards of Photojournalism, because we all have our own choices of what is and isn’t morally right or wrong.
The main, or most important points from this code of ethics for me are (to simplify the text below from NPPA):
Accuracy in representation;
Being complete and providing context;
Avoid Stereotyping;
Treating ALL subjects with respect;
Not manipulating images to alter the viewers perception of the image;
Not paying sources;
Not accepting compensation from sources;
Avoiding political involvements;
Being unobtrusive.
CODE OF ETHICS
(https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics)
Beaccurateand comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the work.
Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.
Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Do not pay sources or subjects or reward them materially for information or participation.
Do not accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists.
Ideally, visual journalists should:
Strive to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in public. Defend the rights of access for all journalists.
Think proactively, as a student of psychology, sociology, politics and art to develop a unique vision and presentation. Work with a voracious appetite for current events and contemporary visual media.
Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view.
Avoid political, civic and business involvements or other employment that compromise or give the appearance of compromising one’s own journalistic independence.
Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.
Respect the integrity of the photographic moment.
Strive by example and influence to maintain the spirit and high standards expressed in this code. When confronted with situations in which the proper action is not clear, seek the counsel of those who exhibit the highest standards of the profession. Visual journalists should continuously study their craft and the ethics that guide it.
One example of not abiding to the code of ethics is Giovanni Trioli.
Giovanni Trioli entered the World Press Photo awards, and won. However he was later revoked this award after controversy over some of the images.
One of the photographs that was part of a winning package at the World Press Photo awards. This image, and a few others came under scrutiny over whether they broke contest rules.
“The World Press Photo Contest must be based on trust in the photographers who enter their work and in their professional ethics,” Lars Boering, the managing director of World Press Photo, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We now have a clear case of misleading information and this changes the way the story is perceived. A rule has now been broken, and a line has been crossed.”
Some of the photos, for example the one above with the intimate scene within the car, were staged photos, (“staging is defined as something that would not have happened without the photographer’s involvement.”) which goes against the rules, as they are meant to be Contemporary Issues, photographed in a photojournalistic way, following the code of ethics etc.
“Mr. Troilo had photographed his cousin having sex with a woman in the back of a car, using a remote-control flash to illuminate the steamy back seat. By putting a flash in the car, critics had said, Mr. Troilo effectively staged the photo, violating the rules of the contest.”
It also went under scrutiny as to whether it violated the privacy of those in the images, but Trioli had said “This is not a stolen photo of a couple caught unawares” that he followed his cousin on a night when his cousin had planned to have sex and that he had his cousin’s consent.
“The decision to rescind the award came a day after a leading photojournalism festival, Visa Pour L’Image, said it would not show any World Press Photos this year to protest what it said were staged photos.”
“If they stand by what they say, that you cannot stage events in photojournalism, then this set of pictures should be disqualified.”Greg Marinovich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from South Africa who has served on the World Press Photo jury twice.
For this I am going to take inspiration from the research that I have carried out from Film Noir, Neo-Noir, Femme Fatale’s as well as take inspiration from various artists works including Claude Cahun, Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman. I think that this will interesting to do and I am also doing to incorporate some more documentary style images with real people on the streets of Jersey along with some mini interviews that I will ask them. I have a lot of ideas for this project and think that I will be able to produce a lot of work with this project. I have created some mood boards and brainstormed some new ideas into what I want to specifically focus in on with my individual study.
Film nior is the style/genre of cinematographic film in black and white. The term was originally given by a group of French critics to American thriller or detective films made in from 1944-1954. Film noir’s often have tendencies of pessimism, where they will think of the worst aspect of things with a lack of hope for the future. Another element of this genre of film is fatalism that all events are predetermined and become inevitable, it is passive acceptance. These films will aways include a menace where someone or something is very dangerous or likely to cause harm throughout. Film noir directors include, Billy Wilder [director of Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity] and Fritz Lang [director of The Big Heat, Man Hunt, Secret Beyond The Door]. Film noir uses extremes of shadows and lighting to make for more dramatic black and white scenes. I really like the idea of this as photographers are able to adopt this style and create some great, staged and dramatic photographs.
Most film noir films give men the dominant roles as at the time women were seem as housewives and that they had no real purpose outside of the house. This can also be linked with that filmmakers would make the man desirable as they believed that those watching the films would be male dominant. I think that Film Noir is very outdated in the representation of women as just something for men to look at, for the male gaze [Laura Mulvey theory] and that women will tend to identify with the beautiful woman. I think that this is outdated because nowadays women aren’t passive and are no longer there ‘to be looked at’.
Top 10 Film Noirs video:
Film Noir
Film Noir
Film Noir
Film Noir
Film Noir
Neo-Noir
Neo-Noir is the more modern version of film noir, adopting the same methods of a Noir film with the only real difference being that the films are in colour. It is the ‘New-black’. The term stems from the Greek word of neo meaning New and the French word noir meaning black. These new films use elements of old Noir films but with more updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were not seen in noir films of the 1940s and 1950s.
I find that Neo-Noir is a more up-to-date and interesting way of presenting thriller and detective films. These films include Sin City which is a neo-noir because of the pops of colour used in editing. The film is completely black and white with there only being certain objects, clothing or parts of people being in colour. This is interesting and I think that I might use this when creating my own Noir inspired images.
Top 10 Neo-Noir Films
Neo-Noir
Neo-Noir
Neo-Noir
Neo-Noir
Neo-Noir
Femme Fatale – The Noir Dame
A femme fatale is usually seen in Film Noir’s as an attractive and seductive woman, who will ultimately bring disaster to a man who becomes involved with her. I do not like this representation of women in Film Noir as it makes out as if young and attractive women are trouble makers and are only there for the male gaze. I think it is a very old-fashioned style of thinking which is why it lived and died within Film Noir films.
Femme Fatale’s to me are somewhat power yet are still primarily there for the male gaze. Women are used as objects for men to look at and are represented unfairly as if they are evil and there to lure in the men by trying to seduce them as if they are troublemakers. These are really the only women in Film Noir’s and so are portrayed as representing all women as if they are all looking for trouble and trying to get the male lead character off course and to bring disaster to him. I think this is such an out-dated perception of women and I want to make some images reflecting the roles of Femme Fatale’s as well as the lead male characters alongside them.
I don’t like the way women are presented in Film Noir films, being primarily there for the gaze of men and to look pretty for them. We are now at a stage in film where women are getting more active roles that are seen as stronger and more equal to male roles including films like The Hunger Games and Divergent. The reason I like film noir’s is simply because of the way it looks and simplicity of the story line. I like the drastic lighting that is often used to make for a more dramatic scene as well as it all being in black and white. I also like the idea of crime thrillers within this genre as it really does fit with the way the films look. The props that characters wear really interests me and again compliments the visual aspects of these films.
I love Neo-Noir as it reminds me of surrealism in photography which I really enjoy as photographers are able to create an entirely new world that they made up in their heads. I like this style as it does keep many Film Noir aspects to it but uses more up-to-date methods of representation and are able to challenge spectators and audiences. I am excited to respond to the works of Film Noir and Neo-Noir as I feel that there is a lot that I could do and it will make for interesting images of different styles of past thrillers compared to modern thrillers. I want to create new stories and be able to effectively change the way the spectator thinks and the challenge them too. This will be a challenge to be able to do it well but I think that I will be able to do it and will try to do so.
Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer and peace activist also known for her avant-garde art, music and filmmaking. Ono was married to John Lennon until he died in 1980. She was born in 1933 and is now 82 years old. Ono brings feminism into a lot of her work by focusing on the way society perceives them and tends to challenge the way her spectators think and often does performances with audience interaction.
“This society is driven by neurotic speed and force accelerated by greed, and frustration of not being able to live up to the image of men and woman we have created for ourselves; the image has nothing to do with the reality of people.” – Yoko Ono
“We’re here on this earth to unravel the mystery of this planet. The planet is asking for it.” – Yoko Ono
I like the idea of Ono’s film where she asks audience members to one by one join her on stage and cut off a part of her clothing. Eventually she is sitting basically naked. To me this represents the way society picks at women and ends up leaving them with nothing. I find this a really great concept and brings in audience participation as well as bringing to light serious issues such as the way women are treated within our society. I think that this piece is very strong and really does speak volumes. I love that Ono got the audience involved really making it an event to remember. Ono has some really great work which would be interesting to respond to as means of public participation and performance photography. One thing in particular that I enjoy about the film ‘Cut Piece’ is that Ono just has a neutral facial expression, she isn’t sharing her inner emotions with any participants or with the audience. I like that as this allows the audience and spectators to make up their own mind of what is going on and their own personal opinions and views on what is going on. This project shows the vulnerability of women with the audience cutting up her clothing piece by piece. She is motionless throughout possibly showing passiveness and how women are expected to be that way and just allow others to use them and take things away from them, more mentally than physically. This is a really strong body of work and shows true vulnerability in a completely great and artistic way which is something that I really like about Ono.
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream, A dream you dream together is reality.” – Yoko Ono
Recently I have seen quite a few videos of women going into the streets wearing nothing but underwear and a sign, holding a pen in each hand. The signs invite the public to draw a heart anywhere on her body showing that all shapes and sizes of women are beautiful no matter what society tries to imply is right. I think that these videos are very moving and really does show how accepting we can be as a society and that we just need that little push with movements such as feminism and artistic movements in order to gain support and understanding of current social issues of the way men and women are expected to be. This reminds me of Ono’s work as she completely relies on public participation and cooperation within a lot of her work. I really love these kinds of videos as they make me happy and feel less self-conscious of my body knowing that people will accept you no matter what you look like. Through public acts like these we as a society realise that focusing on the way someone looks physically is wrong and can really damage a person mentally. It’s things like these that make me happy to be a part of this generation as we have come so far, with so far to go, and are constantly finding more creative ways to show people that everyone should be accepted and self love is not something to be ashamed of.
More recent work of Yoko Ono. This is mainly to do with music but has a creative meaning and concept behind it which is actually very interesting to watch. Some of the stuff that Ono has created seems very strange and random but then she turns it almost comical and funny, I really like that about her she doesn’t take herself too seriously but does come up with good meanings behind her work with good concepts.
As previously mentioned, I am constantly getting inspiration from the works of Cindy Sherman, specifically her set of Film Stills 1977-1980. Sherman has influenced many tableaux photographers and has become iconic in the movement of feminism. Sherman is an American photographer and film director, known for her conceptual portraits. She was born in 1954 finding her feet in photography in the 70s when she produced her first set of Film Stills. Sherman works in series, usually photographing herself in a wide range of different costumes and makeup changing her identity to create a new persona for each photograph. She will often shoot alone in her studio not knowing exactly what images she wants to produce, she will assume multiple roles and is the author, director, makeup artist, hairstylist, fashion designer and model.
In the past I have gained a lot of inspiration from Sherman’s Film Stills and am still finding inspiration from these images. I like the idea that Sherman looks different in every image and she becomes a new persona each time. I want to use this for my own experimentation and be able to tell a story myself by becoming each character and looking different in each image. I think that her work is very strong and there is always something going on. Sherman tends to find humour in types of people and she will mimic them within her work and exaggerate certain traits that they have. I find this very interesting as Sherman does not care if she offends people and will just do to make for some good images. A theme that I’ve noticed with Sherman’s work is that she uses a lot of makeup and props to change the shape of her body as well as many wigs. I really like this as she is able to tell so many different stories within her work as a tableau photographer.
“Cindy Sherman represents everything that is wrong with the contemporary art world.” – Bloomberg Business review
I think that Sherman really stands out in the photography world and has really furthered public knowledge of the unfair advantages and disadvantages faced with men and women. Sherman tends to focus in on the stereotypes of women and she likes to recreate a persona of a person she has possibly seen and exaggerates them to make for more impact and to stand out against other photographs. I really like this concept as she is showing spectators the problems within our own society of how we treat women and how we expect them to be. I think that it is so wrong that women have one set of rules while men have another, it is unfair for both parties as we are all human we all share the same kind of emotions and yet our gender seems to have an effect on the way we show those emotions and the way we treat others. Sherman’s work is very strong and bold, she doesn’t tend to hold back at all and has many over the top nude photographs where she creates a new persona and she makes her own props of different parts of the female anatomy to make for a more interesting photograph. I believe Sherman uses nudes within her work as a way of showing what society expects of women and I can also link this to many painting where women are used as objects to be seen and painted as sexual figures.
This image really shows the cliches faced with women perfectly. The subject is looking glamorous wearing a pretty skirt and makeup while picking up the grocery shopping showing how women are, within society, expected to do all of the cooking, cleaning and household chores while still looking good. I think that this is a strong images as Sherman’s facial expression doesn’t look pleased at all, she looks very miserable as if she doesn’t want to be doing all of the household work. This image shows how society has treated women in the past and how it still treats them to this day. Spectators are able to see how women are represented unfairly and what are expected of women yet not expected of men. I really like this image as it is very strong and shows the strain put on women within our society. I just really like this image and the way it looks with all of the props and the position of the subject is really interesting to me. I love Sherman’s work showing the cliches women faced in the 70s and it shows just how many of those that women still face today. It is interesting to see how little has changed since the 70s and how women are still perceived in the same way and still face the same unfair expectations.
Another image that I find very interesting is the one above. I really like this image as Sherman is posing almost like a Femme Fatale from film Noir films. She looks like a damsel in distress and needs a man to come and save her. Sherman shows the spectator the expectation of women having to look glamorous all of the time and ready to do anything that her man wants her to. This image is very interesting as it shows the cliches faced by women, like all of Sherman’s photographs. I really like this image because it is obviously staged and something that you would expect to see when someone is mocking another person as a damsel in distress. This photograph interests me as the subject is wearing somewhat provocative clothing and posing in such a way that the spectator would think that she ‘was asking for it’ even though no matter what the woman looks like or is wearing she is never asking for it. I think that this is a strong image and interesting to look at.
I love this image. There is something about this photograph that really draws me in and makes me want to analyse it further to learn more about it. The lights in the background of this image draw me in as you would usually expect those kind of lights to be behind the camera not in front of it. I like that the subject is looking directly into the camera with only her head as the rest of her body is facing away from it, this seems as if she was possibly sitting on the floor with those big lights doing her makeup and then turned around to look because she was being disturbed. I know that Sherman makes all of her photographs without a clear plan as to what she wants but only a clear plan on who she wants to be. Sherman makes her images alone in her studio yet it doesn’t look that way and every photo is different and unique in itself. I like the subjects outfit, it looks as though she is getting ready for a night out or possibly to do a performance. One of my favourite photos from Sherman’s film stills, there is nothing specific about it I just really find it interesting to look at and I enjoy looking at it. Something that I also noticed about Sherman’s Film Stills is that they are all in black and white, much to do with the time she had a film camera in the 70s where colour hadn’t been introduced yet but they look really awesome and it just adds more atmosphere and effect to the image. The spectator is able to focus in on the subject and what she is doing rather than getting distracted by all of the lights and colours surrounding her.
