Grosnez Castle
Grosnez Castle occupied the headland at the extreme north-west of Jersey in Saint Ouen. Nobody really knows why it was built, but it was probably constructed in the 14th century, and was in ruins by 1540 and remains so today.
This is a reconstruction of what modern day architects believe the building would like by Norman Rybot.
Using the Société Jersiaise archisle, I was able to locate this picture of a family around what is left of the castle. The building is into a similar state today despite this picture being taken by Francis George de Faye between 1890 and 1920.
Due to the symmetrical arching of the castle and the coastal view behind, the site would be able easy to create my own version of a Luigi Ghirri-esque image. The castle coincides nicely with this development on the environment as this site is very recognizable with fellow islanders.
L’Etacq
The story of L’Etacq is deeply effected by it’s environment. It’s rich nutrient filled cotils and close proximity to the sea has seen fishing and farming heavily in its history. The rocky cliff faces also add to the list of nutrients within the heart of Saint Ouen’s, as it has been subjected to quarrying, coinciding with the topic of man’s impact on land.
This image derived from the SJ archives shows the rural nature of Saint Ouen’s, dating back to between 1871 – 1873. Compared to today, L’Etacq has not expanded in quite the same way the rest of the island has due to restrictions from within the States of Jersey. Some properties have been added and some have been renovated but fundamentally, the landscape does not look too different for a 130 year difference.
A distinctive sign of continuity within L’Etacq is the notorious Fisherman’s Cottage next to Le Pulec Bay. When searching through the archives, I recognized the small jewel within Jersey’s heritage as it still stands tall today. Here is an image of the cottage against what it looks like today.
The Fisherman’s cottage at the very north of St Ouen’s Bay is surrounded by the wild in arguably the most rural sector of the island, giving it a direct link to a natural environment which coincides with our objective. The site also demonstrates continuity and resilience against man’s impact but also shows how the people of Jersey understood it is important to keep some traditional sites and prevent too much refurbishment.
Following my short and to be continued trip to the North-West coast of the island between Les Landes and L’Etacq in Saint Ouen’s, I was very pleased to see continuity through the unique aspect of the Fisherman’s Cottage. The recognizable monument still stands strong as it demonstrates a rare source of an old Jersey culture and can be interpreted as a form of an archive as it reveals information upon a different era and society. The original Jersey granite reinforces the mere fact this is a Jersey artifact and unique to the island along with the typical coast line that the building faces.
Personally, this building represents the true Jersey without all the finance buildings and prospects which now dominates the island. Previously, the islanders explored their resourceful nature as fishermans, for instance the one that inhibited a site like this in order to survive. We lived off our own grown crops from the cotils or the cattle, for example the Jersey Cow we are renown for would enable island life. It is reassuring to maintain sites like the Fisherman’s cottage as our town centre is dominated by over-powering modern buildings which dominate the Saint Helier scape. For research into an environmental theme, I believe visits to the more remote regions of the island give a more reflection of our island and who I am following my progression as a human on the island.
Next Tuesday, we are meeting back up with Croatian photographer Tanja Deman to undergo a photographic excursion along the North-West coastline of Jersey. The objective of the trip is to gain some knowledge and tips from an expert upon landscapes, which would benefit us when going into further depth into our environmental module. Our temporary focus for the day is man’s impact upon the land which was set by Deman herself, as she intends to show how our interpretations are different to hers.
Luigi Ghirri
Luigi Ghirri was an Italian artist and photographer who gained a far-reaching reputation as a pioneer and master of contemporary photography, with particular reference to its relationship between fiction and reality.
I like how Ghirri bases his simple yet effective photography upon symmetry within the natural environment. His emphasis on the sky or the sea provides an idyllic sensation to his photographs whilst also abiding by the laws of photographic linear. The series of photographs is very satisfying for me as the correlation between linear and symmetry give the images a crisp or sharp edge upon alternative images.
Thomas Struth
Thomas Struth is a German photographer who is best known for his Museum Photographs, family portraits and 1970s black and white photographs of the streets of Düsseldorf and New York. Struth’s work upon family provides relevance for the course so I’ll focus upon his family portraits.
Linking back to Jonny Briggs, Struth based his works upon the facade of the stereotypical family photo, however, Struth’s images consist of a blank-faced rather than the smile. This provides a sense of surrealism which inverts expectations within society.
Richard Misrach
Richard Misrach is an American photographer “firmly identified with the introduction of color to ‘fine’ [art] photography in the 1970s, and with the use of large-format traditional cameras”
Similarly to Ghirri, Misrach exploits the effectiveness of simple symmetry and linear, however, his photographs portray a more interesting environment in comparison to Ghirri. This artist withholds my favourite series of images, particularly for the environmental case study.
On the Tuesday 13th of June 2017 I visited the Societe Jeriaise archive presented by Karen Biddlecombe and 2 other photographers: Jonny Briggs and Tanja Damen who both base their work on Dadaism, Surrealism, Fine Art, Documentary and Narrative photography, and archival imagery both cross referencing psychology, psycho-analysis and philosophy too. Both photographers were very different in terms of the styles, methods and techniques adopted in their work.
I very much enjoyed the day, learning about the purpose and concepts of archives and how we can compare and contrast the idealized images of then and now. What I particularly found interesting was at what life was like back in the 19th/20th centuries and how it documented a realistic picture of life back then. Reinforcing this is how the unique preservation methods of these photos are used as they would of in those times giving us a sense of perspective of not just the value but more so the adoption of historical techniques in today’s world. Back then it seemed that many photographers incorporated a sense of realism in their work, contrasting with many of today’s work which takes a more varied approach. I liked how these images were so well preserved through a variety of methods that are unique to each photograph.
The Archive contains over 80 000 images all from when it started in 1840. Among these images from the decades it paints a picture of how the photographic interpretation of the island has evolved over the years, and I can put this within a wider context knowing that myself I can compare my work to older generations work.
What particularly struck me was the historical photographic methods used in processing these images. The first method was known as daguerreotype and most commonly used but was very expensive. A much cheaper alternative method was albumen from egg whites and was the first commercial method of producing a photograph. Later in 1854 the carte de visite became a populer use of albumen, rising in popularity in Paris and America.
After Tanja’s talk, she wanted us to explore eye soar buildings that stood out to us in town. Here we were starting to develop our own relationships with the environment, shooting and presenting it in a way that shows our feelings towards these ugly buildings.
With Jonny, under the idea of emotions on quite an intimate and personnel level, we made sort of adaptions of the same photographs from the occupation that we did using hand techniques. This included scratches, tears, folds etc.
PPT link that was sent by Mr Cole to you (with extra slide of instructions) Tanja Deman Grosnez Site Visit
Please note that in preparation for Tanja’s workshop on Tuesday 20th June, we would like you to complete the following:
Artist to look at include:
Robert Adams // David GoldBlatt // Thomas Struth // Super Studio // Luigi Ghirri // Richard Misrach // Werner Herzog // Richard Long // Raymond Meeks // Antonioni // Alain Resnais // Katrin Koenning // Andrei Tarkovsky
Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob or Claude Cahun was an iconic artist, particularly recognised for her photography which was considered rather peculiar for her time period but looking back retrospectively, the modern generation has agreed the French national was ahead of her time. The advanced Claude Cahun was most definitely promoting a minority as she was born into a Jewish family, an unpopular religion throughout history, however, she was also a lesbian and lived with partner Suzanne Malherbe, who renamed herself ‘Marcel Moore’. Potentially, Cahun’s underdog stature within society caused her to follow up with her surrealism production through art and literature. Cahun had a focus upon ridiculing traditional concepts of gender roles as she exploited her androgynous nature to defy society’s pretensions.
San Francisco, 1928
New York, 1920
Paris, 1920
During World War II, Cahun and her partner Moore created propaganda within the occupied Channel Island of Jersey. The two worked extensively in producing anti-German fliers and they inconspicuously crumpled up and threw their fliers into cars and windows. In many ways, Cahun and Malherbe’s resistance efforts were not only political but artistic actions, using their creative talents to manipulate and undermine the authority which they despised. However, Cahun’s subversive behaviour was a dangerous game and this led to a death sentence in 1944, fortunately her punishment was never carried out, but her health never recovered from her treatment during the war and she died in 1954.
It wasn’t until 40 years after her death that Cahun’s work became recognized, mostly thanks to Francis Leperlier despite Cahun’s wish to not become famous. To further her fame, David Bowie hosted a specific exhibition for Cahun’s work in New York in 2007.
“You could call her transgressive or you could call her a cross dressing Man Ray with surrealist tendencies. I find this work really quite mad, in the nicest way.Outside of France and now the UK she has not had the kind of recognition that, as a founding follower, friend and worker of the original surrealist movement, she surely deserves.”
Nothing could better do this, I thought, than to show her photographs through the digital technology of the 21st century and in a setting that embraces the pastoral sanctuary of her last years.
Conveniently for me, me and my dad live in Cahun’s old property in Saint Brelade’s, Jersey. Looking through her series of images, you can see where she’d taken some of her photographs on the property which is obviously an interesting and unique situation for me as a photographer and fan of Cahun’s work. We have access to a few Cahun based sources which of course are beneficial for my study into the artist. In order to further my research into the photographer, I plan to utilize the Societe Jersiaise online archives. This process will help me piece together the history of the environment me and my father live in whilst exploring a famous and relevant photographer.
Examples of Claude Cahun’s photographic surrealism…
Paris, 1915
Bifur, 1930
Paris, 1928
Paris, 1928
Paris, 1917
Paris, 1939
An image of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore’s graves with their actual names, which reinforces how their fantasy names which everybody recognizes them by, are ignored and their reputation and work is unappreciated which coincides with Claude Cahun’s involvement in the image to follow.
This image created by Claude Cahun depicts her relationship with her partner; Marcel Moore. This image was taken in 1928, long before homosexual relationships were socially acceptable, yet Claude Cahun experiments with this sense of surrealism as she photographs herself and her partner. Although Cahun and Moore maintained a low profile despite their alternative style of photography, in their death their work has been appreciated by the likes of Bowie as they’ve been deemed the founders of surrealism.
Cahun explores the use of two different mirrors to exploit two different emotions as behind closed doors the couple’s homosexual relations are acceptable which is evident through the joy of Marcel Moore. Cahun’s facial expression is more of a concern as she faces society. The intimacy of the image can be displayed by the indirect eye contact of the couple in question. Although both females, Cahun uses the mirrors to divide up the image as she exploits her androgynous physical nature. Note how Cahun (left) is looking away from the mirror and is dressed like a man to the outside world, however, Moore (right) is peering into the mirror, suggesting she prefers the side to Cahun that is not socially accepted. Marcel Moore looks into the mirror smiling as she is excited by the alternative side to Cahun, which can be fundamentally be seen as subversive which reflects the couples life as they often went against authority, for example, in Jersey during the occupation, they created anti-Nazi propaganda. Contrastingly, Cahun who faces the real world has a blank facial expression as she creates this sense of a facade as she cannot expose her feelings to society as it was not acceptable.
Although the image is not what we’d expect of a family photograph, Cahun does display the struggles her and her partner faced to be with one another as they tried to create a family, especially in the small community of Jersey.
I thoroughly enjoy the meaning of this image as a couple from the early Twentieth century challenge society’s pretensions and they act loyal to their subversive nature. The more I study on the work of Claude Cahun, the more interesting and meaningful the images become as although she started her photography over a hundred years ago, her contemporary style is very fitting to modern day society. This image also inverts expectations as we’d expect a lesbian to promote homosexuality and paint it in a pretty picture, however, Cahun focuses on the struggle she faces for being different, which fundamentally, led to global attention she has received now she’s dead.
Both photographers I was lucky enough to meet (Tanja Deman and Jonny Briggs) adopt the ‘surrealist’ approach to their photography despite the artists having different meanings and approaches.
What is surrealism?
“a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.”
Avant – garde developed in the mid 1800’s as artists produced more radical or unorthodox work which opposed mainstream society and inverted social expectations.
The driving point behind selecting the study of surrealism is the focus on the inversion of society’s expectations as photographs should be iconic and recognisable. The unique nature of the art genre allows a dynamic approach and there is no limits, an exciting factor. For me, the surrealist images I’ve studied are amongst the most interesting I’ve viewed since my thorough study of the subject.
A photographer who followed the surrealism criteria who lived locally from 1937 until her death in 1954 was Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob or more commonly known as, “Claude Cahun”.
Tuesday 13th june 2017
We spent all day at Société Jersiaise on tuesday with international photographers Tanya Deman and Jonny Briggs along with The jersey photographic archives worker Karen, the communications assistant. The day was divided up into workshops of 45 minutes were we had talks from all three and also completed small tasks relating to there work.
The first session that i did was with Tanya and she discussed with us about what shes been getting up to in jersey and what she hopes to do and link back to her photography. Tanya is a photographer from croatia who is over in the island for 6 months on a placement with the archives. She also spoke about how she has used the jersey photographic archives and then gone out and visited similar areas. One aspect of what she said about how she was going about taking her photographs was that “through key words she got to certain artists”. this seems to be something she has focused on with her photography. I also took away from the session with Tanya that “looking from above can help develop deeper ideas” and this is something i want to keep in mind throughout this project.
Tanya then got us to look through the photographic archives and began to use it to look for photographs of buildings and St Helier and chose images that inspired us or grabbed out attention. She then set us a task to capture two images of buildings around St Helier that we thought were ugly and then try to think about composition and how it could emphasise the unattractive buildings. Here are my images:
My next session was with Jonny Briggs, a contemporary photographer from London, who had some really interesting ideas about were his ideas come from. He spoke about how most of his images involve a lot of body language which he feels helps the images to tell a story and how his photographs are like “the products of private performances” i found the way Jonny spoke very inspiring the more he spoke about how he “thinks like a mindmap” and that “artwork is like an arena where there are no right or wrong answers”. His talk taking us through different pieces of his work also discussing the idea of how his images are meant to be confusing he likes that his images make people have to think deeper about what is going on and that he uses photography as “the opportunity to confuse and bruise” as he doesn’t know where the ideas come from most of the time.
Jonny then also set us a task to take one of the ARchisle photographs of a soldier and do something with the photograph which is a bit weird and abnormal and then rephotograph the image and get us to talk about the meaning of the images and how objects and manipulating the images with tears can change the message behind the photographs. Her are my images:
The final session was with Karen Biddlecombe, the communications assistant working for Archisle which was founded in 1914 and contains over 80,000 images. She spoke us through the archives and what has been done over the years to create its extensive selection of resources as well talking us through some of the images from one of the most famous photographers they have at Archisle, Henry Mullins. We also completed a task where there was 18 photographs all from different decades back until the 1840’s and we had to look at them and analyse them and put them into order from which we thought was the most recent to the oldest portrait image they had in the archive.
Overall i thought the it was a really interesting day which opened up my eyes to some really interesting new photographers but i also got a good insight into the jersey photographic archives and how i could use the archives in my future photography to create narrative and a deeper background picture to my images.
Here is the Final Image from the shoot.
