On the 04/07/17, we will be working with Jonny Briggs again in the studio at school. He will be coming in to work with all of us and wishes to focus on creating images to boost our personal study by forcing us to delve deeper into our own family history. We will be bringing in objects and images that have some significance to us in order for us to experimnent with and create some interesting images that reflect the work of Jonny.
We will be in the studio talking to Jonny one on one and I am really looking forward to this experience and hope to embrace it fully so I can get the best possible outcome for my own photos and own personal study for the future. I hope to get some ideas from Jonny to influence my work and I hope that he gives me some feedback on what I produce so I can improve upon it for furure reference. Jonny focuses hugely on his family in his work and how his childhood influences his current life choices. He includes family members in his work and their views and how they behaved with him when he was younger in comparison to his other siblings is a vital part to his work also. My relationship with my siblings, in my case, my younger sister of four years will also be a part of my study for year twelve as I wish to observe her childhood life and document it using my camera. This task tomorrow can kick-start my ideas and how I will go about it. I really like Jonny’s work and I think it reflects my own work in that it is abstract and different.
For tomorrorw, I plan to bring in a couple objects that has significant meaning to me. This would be things that provides a relationship between myslef and my dad in particular because he moved away from my mum when I was young, at around four years old. Therefore objects that he has given to me over the years as I grew up has a lot of meaning to me and I wish to treasure them for the memories they will hold in the future. Specific obejcts bring back nostalgic thouhgts from when I was a child and used to stay at his on the weekends – therefore I will be bringing in a blanket I slept with when I was younger if I can find it – I would take this to my dad’s house and I have kept for keepsake reasons. As well, my dad used to play cricket regualrly as a sport he was very passoinate about. When he stopped playing, he gave me his “lucky” cricket ball that he used most games. I still have this in my room and it is on display. I also wish to bring in some images of myslef and my dad from when I was younger because these have a special menaing to me and I find it amusing to look back at them because even though I can’t remember them, I notice how similar myself and my dad looked, especially when were next to each other. We have a joke about this now and still get told we look alike and this will be noticeable form the images I bring. I will bring in a teddy that my littler sister, Minnie gave to me for my birthday when I was 12 – how old I was when she was born. This is also on display in my room and holds a lot of meaning to me and I will also bring in one of my older toys from when I was a baby to see the wear in both items.
I also plan to bring in my apron that I would always wear when I did baking as a toddler. This is kept safe in my memory box and I will bring this in as well as a picture of me when I was younger wearing the apron. I think that the items and images I am bringing in set me up for an interesting hour of experimentation and will generate the ideas for my personal study.
These are the images I will be bringing in tomorrow:
myself and my dad when I was a babymyself and my dad when I was 4/5 years oldmyself when I was a toddlermyself and my little sister now
Deman is an international photographer who is known for her unusual environmental images. Similarly to Briggs, Tanja has a unique take photography. She has inherited a modern look on landscape photography which appeals greatly to me. Tanja was born in Split, Croatia. Her work is inspired by concepts of physical and emotional perceptions. Tanja uses geographical formations, architectures and specific spaces as places of inspiration. She experiments with complex ideas to reinforce her photography.
Tanja’s work includes photography, collage, film, and public art. She also investigates the relationship between man and nature. She observes modernism within the natural landscape. Her work reflects on the dynamics hidden beneath the surface of built and natural environments. The images below are both examples of Deman’s work, however they are very different in the form, perspective,and context.In each image, she is showing the beauty within the surroundings, however the images are very contrasting. One of the images are in color, whereas the other is taken in black and white. Although both the images are of the environment, one is taken underwater, and the other is of an urban scene. You can see that she is trying to portray different things within these photos.
Tanja’s work has been widely exhibited including; Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb / Kunstmuseum Bonn / 15th Venice Biennial of Architecture, 2016 / The Central House of Artists, Moscow / Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka.
LUIGI GHIRRI, BAGNO SAN VITO, MODERNLUIGI GHIRRI, SAN PIETRO IN VINCOLI VILLA JOLE, VINTAGELUIGI GHIRRI, SCARDOVARI STRADA SULL’ARGINE, VINTAGE C PRINT,LUIGI GHIRRI, SUZZARA, VINTAGE C-PRINT,
Luigi Ghirri was born in 1943 and died in 1992. He was an Italian photographer who produced colour photographs of landscape and architecture. His images always consider the balance between people and their surroundings. Ghirri works in series, photographing parks, beaches, and urban scenes. His use of colour is well known to create expression. He uses his native homeland, Italy, to produce his images.
I believe Luigi Ghirri relates to the work of Tanja Deman because they both have a slimier interest, which is considering and experimenting with the balance between Nature and Man, They both also take inspiration from their homeland to create the images that they want. For the period that each of the them are working in, they are very up to date, and like to inherit new ideas. They both also have very modern perspectives.
Both the photographers create very ascetically pleasing images. The colors that they use are also very slimier. I love they way Ghirri uses angles and shapes to create a symmetrical looking images that is pleasing to the eye. Tanja also uses this technique for a few of her images as well.
Here are the links I used to collect information about Briggs. The following sites are very helpful and full of useful facts that I used to achieve an overall description and analysis about Briggs.
Jonny Briggs was born in 1985 in London. He is a very young and influential photographer who is unique in his style and technique. Briggs brings something very different to the subject because of his personal interest. His work contains a strong link with family and his personality is represented thoroughly throughout his work. Jonny uses the search for his lost childhood as an interesting subject to base his photography on. He uses his family a lot within his projects.
Portal, 2011 — My Mother wearing an up-scaled mask of her own head, painted in black gloss 102 x 139cm Photography; C-type Lambda print, aluminium mounted and framed in black
Briggs has a wide varity of images that he has produced. All of them containing a completly seperate meaning, however based on family.
Into the Black, 126 x 121cm, 2011, Photography; C-type Lambda print aluminium mounted and framed in black. Briggs’ photos are very surreal and abstract, with each one containing form and shape in parculiar ways. He uses shadows and space to symolize different things.His images are very unusaul and unique to capture Briggs’ unusal interest.
Un-seeing, 115 x 180cm, 2012, Photography; C-type Lambda print, framed in black
Regeneration, 171 x 171cm as a diamond, 2012, Photography; C-type Lambda print mounted on aluminium.Regeneration means to be born again, and I believe this is what Briggs is trying to communicate through this photo. It is an image of Briggs’ mother curled into a foetal position. Biggs uses the blankets that he use to wrap himself in when he was young, to protectively cocoon his mother in. When Biggs is explaining the process behind the photograph, he says “I see it as again quite a religious piece, the fact that the feet are visible and that I have chosen a diamond shape references the crucifixion.” This links to the name Regeneration, because he is using the event of the crucifixion of Christ to explain the photo he has created. Briggs had used the event of Christ dying and being born again, as a template for his photo. Briggs also describes the image as flesh like, “The blanket I’ve used also reminds me of the body, it is flesh like in color and the tears in it appear wound-like. My mother’s body beneath the blanket also seems to me rather meat like, organ like, her feet the valves and her body a beating heart.” This again links to the name Regeneration because Briggs is using human like features to describe the image. It could symbolism the creation of a new born with the description of a “beating heart” and “flesh like”. The image is very austetically pleasing because of the shape and from that Briggs creates with the use of the diamond shape in the centre of the rectangle. I also really like how he used the light to eluminate his mum in the middle, whereas in contrast the rest of the images is in shadow.
Jonny Briggs Inspiration…
Here is the link that I used to collect informqtion about Francis Bacon, who I believe to be a an influence into Briggs’ work.
Francis Bacon was born on the 28th October 1909. Bacon was a homosexual and was expelled from his home in 1926. He also had a strong physical attraction towards his father which heightened the tensions between the family. At the age of 23 Bacon painted his first original painting, called the Crucifixion, 1933. The painting is very ghostly looking. The name Crucifixion suits the artwork because It looks like a human holding up their hands while standing on a platform. Here are more of Bacon’s paintings. I personally believe that Francis Bacon and Jonny Briggs are very similar in the way they work and how they use their past as an influence for their art. Briggs uses his photography as a way to get back lost time with his parents. He sees it as a way to improve the relationships within his family. Bacon uses his art to express his troubled childhood as well. He is full of Anxiety and depression and uses his art as a demonstration of what he is feeling.
Self Portrait by Francis BaconStudy for a Portrait 1952 Francis Bacon 1909-1992ntings.
The modern-day enigma of who does the archive belong to is a question ratified by the majority of people interested in the subject yet nobody has a direct and efficient response. The truth is, there is no logical reasoning to any one body possessing all calibres of archives because who has the upmost right to decide whether the archives belong to them, or the moment in time it was taken, the creator, the recipient or the inherent? Respectfully, archives withhold historical value, whether this is monetary or sentimental so efficient organisations usually possess the archives, however, on a personal level, trustworthy individuals also store the artefacts too, for example the mothers of the family. In addition, the development of technology has allowed the production and preservation of archives to maintain archival safety and their quality, particularly if they’re dated, however, it is integral to mention how technological advancements has restructured the accumulation of photographical archives as social media has experienced the developments of Instagram or Snapchat. Notably, there has been an influx in idyllic photographs that all seem to match one another as they receive the biggest praise through the ‘liking system’ on social media, or perhaps this combined with the establishment of frequent reportage has restructured modern archives into a more dull and tedious collection. Progressions within technology help document memories, whether they’re valuable or not whilst also increasing the speed of the process without taking up the physical space that previous formations of archives have done, but does this take away the nostalgia of the images? Is the sepia-esque and aged appearance of the physical copies of archival imagery the main pleasure behind archives?
First of all, an archive is a documentation or record that provides information on a specific place, institution or group of people usually of some value whether this is sentimental or monetary. Public archives have the main purpose of informing for operational or regulatory requirements, whether this is for a historian hosting an in depth study, or a family looking to depict their ancestry. Locally, Jersey has two main archival sites which include Société Jersiaise, a site that was established “for the study of Jersey archaeology, history, natural history, the ancient language and the conservation of the environment”, which has a specific department for archival photography recognised as the ‘archisle’, adding another dimension to the site. Secondly, Jersey Archives is a site funded by the States of Jersey as a sub-section of Jersey Heritage with the prime focus of allowing access to “official repository for the Island documentary heritage, can offer guidance, information and documents that relate to all aspects of the Island’s History”. Overall, the island is extremely lucky to have access to such irreplaceable sites as we our able to experience the vast and unique public history of Jersey, as well the opportunity to rummage through family records in order to find our own heritage, of course for some form of commission which helps fund the function of the site. The sites are both located in the Island’s capital of Saint Helier which makes the retrieval of information easily accessible, which promotes the public to get involved and engage. However, the beautiful concept behind archives is what stimulates my interest and participation as not only is the information that the sites can provide intriguing, but also the physical discovery of the details and their formation, whether this be an original black and white photograph or an illustration, really provides satisfaction and adds a different dimension in comparison to finding a picture of archives online. The archives found in the local sites are usually worth a large amount of money as they’re one-offs, produced by somebody prestigious or crucial for piecing together fragments of the past.
Developing on the importance and relevance of storing the actual archive in physical form, personal archives usually consist of the standard family photographs, baby pictures or seemingly meaningless memorabilia to anybody but the possessor. The complicated emotion of nostalgia urges us to keep significant milestones and memories throughout our life as people use objects as motifs for stimulating re-living the forgotten moments they once experienced and no longer can. Alternatively, the discovery of an old shoe box containing hoard and photographs when helping clear out your grandma’s attic can put you in a journey discovery of heritage or even a resurrection of their youth. The popular element to personal archives is the process of photography because the beauty of photographs is they capture a moment of an individual, a moment of a movement or culture so to re-live these signs of the times which are so relevant to our families provides a sense of nostalgia. The attraction of photographs combined with the spontaneous moments of discovery and the physical condition, for instance the dust you shake off to view an original Polaroid of your grandparents kissing on Brighton beach provides an irreplaceable factor which makes the personal archives so paramount for families and individuals. The teasing of bodily senses through physical forms of archives which contain such personal meanings exploits this unique sense of nostalgia. When I asked my mother, who is the trustworthy individual who stores the personal archives in our family, what her reason behind keeping images and small objects was, she responded that ‘As you get older, the smaller things that get forgotten about become like the big things. When you were a baby, you had loads of nice clothes and little trainers and wellies but it’s funny because I kept your baby grow that you first vomited all over me in. It is quite ironic how something at the time so revolting and disgusting, provides so many delightful memories and laughs when looking back in retrospect’. Conveniently, this links to the artist Jonny Briggs that I recently met as he said how there is some sort of relation between good and bad which is a concept I found quite enlightening for my mum to pick up upon.
With the progression of technology, particularly in the last two decades, there has been an alternative solution to creating archives to store images. Social-media sites, for example Instagram, have developed a mechanism for arranging images into an easily manipulated structure with adjustable filters and effects whilst having the ability to access other people’s ‘Instagram’s’. The idea is you update it regularly to inform people of what you’re doing, where you are and who you are with, however, since the formation of Instagram, there has been specific image criteria which seems to be the most successful which is judged through the liking system. Idyllic beach photographs which feature a blonde babe posing in a raunchy red swim suit usually acquire the best response and although I’m not complaining that the image is not appeasing to look at, due to the fame and money Instagram success can provide, everybody’s images are extremely similar which seem to plague the site and create a mundane sense about the site. Fundamentally, the concept behind Instagram is unique as despite having the ability to post a caption, the main focus is on the image rather than the text which is the main focus on Mark Zuckerburg’s Facebook, which abides by the well-known saying of ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’. Arguably the establishment of sites like Instagram allow the flourishment of archives, however, does the electronical copy of an image eradicate the personal attachment and meaning behind the image? I’m supportive of the methodology of combining creativity with technology which has become a successful mutualistic pair in modern times as technology has enabled creating to become so much more accessible.
Of paramount importance, the documentation of significant records, objects or photographs is absolutely crucial for a multitude of reasons, whether the photograph archive is using technology on a social-media site or a black and white print out has been stuck on to an aging photo album that was discovered when unveiling the Christmas decorations in the attic, it is irrelevant as long as it serves the purpose of reminiscent, nostalgia or provides crucial information for the individual or cleek who it belongs to or who are interested in retrieving data from the source. Although public archives are in the possession of a trustworthy organization, everybody has access to the sources or documents so does it matter who they belong to? In terms of personal archives, the person who would reap the benefits of such a private matter should be the possessor or somebody trustworthy as these archives are usually priceless and irreplaceable.
Background: Albert Smith is preferably the most iconic photographer for the islands early archives. Although Smith wasn’t born in Jersey, his work was sold as commercial photography in a local business that he set up in Broad Street, St. Helier. This business started in 1892 were Albert Smith employed people to capture certain locations around Jersey, as well as himself. Usually printed on postcards, this was how he presented his photography of not only scenic landscapes, but also island life and major dates of historical importance. He also worked on capturing the development of mobility and transport throughout his years on the island; photographing a range of groups on either a horse and carriage or charabanc outings.
Portrait of seated man and woman and a man in uniform with sword standing between them outside a house 1898 – 1903
In this archive, we can identify a status of hierarchy exposed through the suited attire shown; representing the couple either side of this officer as somewhat guarded in the environment. Meaning that this archive must have been taken to show wealth during the late 1800’s. The hierarchy being of a high standard, the officer framed in the center of this photograph shows general authority with his sword placed by his side. I believe this photograph was well-taken in the sense of composure, lining the individuals inside the rule of thirds can suggest Albert Smith was clearly aware of the theory within the early years of photography and in relation to culture, this photo gives off an immense sense of power between the seated couple.
View of Portelet Bay at mid-tide, with Portelet House in the distance 1898 – 1902
In this picture, Smith has captured the tide either entering or leaving the bay of Portelet. We are looking at the vast and foreseeing mist that overhangs the clifftops in the distance of Smiths view, giving us a panoramic dimension of where we was stood, which seems to be overlooking the bay at some height. I believe the meaning of this archive was very scenic, giving a pleasing impression towards the islands proximity and how grateful Smith is to witness the island. Judging this photo, I believe it’s aesthetically pleasing to gather a sense of flow within the pictures composure; how the clifftops swirl around the bottom half of the image up towards the mystic view of Portelet house. This is art, I believe the context of this archive was intended to capture the early beauty of the island.
Six men and women with horse and trap, ladies wearing elaborately decorated hats and men with neckerchiefs and cummerbunds 1900 – 1905
In this photograph, the group of people identified alongside the horse and carriage can be profiled as wealthy, with their elaborately decorated hats and neckerchiefs and cummerbunds. Showing this type of transport alongside their uniform suggest they was definitely wealthy enough to travel in luxury. Due to this, the meaning of this photograph suddenly has a sense of power that is exposed through the appearance of the individuals. However, the quality of this image is slightly washed out, giving it a faded tint; therefore the quality of this image somehow erases the power that rises from the context.
Ernest Baudoux
Born in France, Baudoux worked in Jersey from 1869 was the first significant archivist of island life in images, a role which later influenced Albert Smith, the photographer researched below.
There are 1385 photographs by Baudoux available on line from the Société’s archive. They are mainly portraits, which was the photographer’s specialty. Many of his portraits exist in two versions, one of them retouched to hide facial blemishes and wrinkles. Baudoux also undertook photographic commissions of clients’ houses and, working with his sons, he photographed views of the island.
Group portrait of 6 women with parasols and 4 men with walking sticks 1885-1890
In this photo, we can identify another group of individuals that present the middle-class environment with their presented clothing. Meaning this archive is about the working-class that existed in Jersey during the late 18th century. In reference to the theme of family and environment, I believe this archive is a perfect representation of both topics as it presents the intimacy between the individuals whereas most archives from this era are usually very formal and hard to comprehend the emotional context. I believed this occurred through the culture within this archive, due to the class of individuals we can suggest that Baudoux allowed an informal approach and therefore this archive can benefit towards the history of photography and how natural appearance developed into the theory of photography.
View across Plemont Bay at mid-tide with rock stack in background 1874 – 1876
This view across Plemont Bay demonstrates the vast scenery of the islands natural environment, capturing a moment in which the photographer – Ernest Baudoux has appreciated this enough to create an archive. Therefore suggesting this archive is an attempt of art, rather than culture; as Baudoux is not capturing an particular event taken from the islands history, nor is he revealing any family context, he is simply freezing a moment of the islands vast seafront. Evaluating this archive was easy enough to make a positive judgement of Baudoux and his ability to angle the given scenery, approaching the view across Plemont Bay with the intention to break up each element into three specific segments; starting from the intimate and textured rocks that creep from the bottom and gradually fade into the over-exposed, blank sea and then finally framing the elements below with a sharp cut of the horizon that divides the archive.
Portrait of Major John De La Taste in uniform
With no date labelled to this archive, we cannot identify the time period of this image, yet Baudoux has captured portrait rather than a memorable occasion in Jersey society. We are looking at Major John De La Taste, a man of the military and therefore importance. Wearing this significant uniform, we can also suggest this archive was taken to capture the power held by this individual, appreciating his status and authority to the people of this time period. This is definitely relevant to the viewers of today, this archive is good in which we can still appreciate the uniform of those who served for the Island proudly. In context, this archive supports the theory of photography as it follows a direct response to the formalism of portraiture, present a composed and stiff figure, it also strengthens the background of the individual, based on his given uniform.
I edited a series of photos to create a desaturated, minimalist look, with a sort of desert feeling. The sky is an off-white, and all the images have a high brightness and low saturation, to give off an old-looking vibe.
Tom Pope was part of the international Photographers in Residence in 2015 as part of the Archisle Project. This brings international photographers to Jersey to work and exhibit their photography, awarding a bursary of £10,000 for an exhibition into to the culture of the Jersey which these works enter the Archisle Collection at the Société Jersiaise Archive for the future public.
Pope was born in Bristol, in 1986. Tom Pope studied Photography at Swansea Metropolitan University and received his Masters in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2011. His works are presented around in the National Museum of Wales and National Portrait Gallery.
His artistic practice is based within performed photograph where Pope’s playful and whimsical approach develops situations using performed gestures of social interaction. Within these settings the public become entwined with the act of taking photographs as a social event where spontaneity and chance are encouraged. Pope’s work isn’t purposed for a community but essentially creates a sense of community through the act of making art through improvised events and social intervention.
This photograph I chose responding to the issue of enviornment, because to me it shows quite a strange but yet personnel relationship with the girl and her environment. Firstly, the diagonal line s created by the shadows and floor tiles, suggests that the environment isn’t necessarily that stable a place. Interestingly, the girl appears to be clinging on as if sort of her life appears to be at risk of some sort. This therefore suggests that the girl’s environment isn’t normal, and she is trying to make it as normal as possible. This is emphasised by the colour of the girls clothes which is black, and her body composure, refusing to show us, suggesting there are particular complicated emotional ties associated. This is reflected by the fact that the environment appears quite hostile and unwelcoming, for example – the fact she is sort of showing so much affection towards something so lifeless, and also the sharpened bold shadows that are displayed almost appear quite hostile. Essentially I like this photograph because it shows the complicated relationship one can have with the external environment in which it lives within.
Michelle Sank
Michelle Sank was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Leaving there in 1978, she has been living in England since 1987. Her images reflect a preoccupation with the human condition and style, and anything else that encompasses this. Therefore this can be viewed as a sort of documentary, encompassing issues around social and cultural diversity.
I like this photograph because for me, it strongly represents the idea of family quite strongly. I have personally known this pair of twins in the past, and I have come to know the similarities and differences that perfectly portray the idea of family. For example, in terms of appearance they may be very similar through looks and style. However the differences encompassing these two are arguably what brings them together. I particularly like how the composition presents the idea of a strong bond between the two. For example, the lighting isn’t too harsh but warm, and that reflects the atmosphere and feelings of each other. Furthermore I like how the background, not necessarily the most beautiful beach and buildings shows how their sister relationship, may not always be perfect, but it is what it is, and so through the fact how each other appears comfortable, this shows their relationship is special to them.
The definition for archive is: “a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.” Archives come in different forms, each having different purposes which we can use to explore others purposes, along with our own through the use of public, family and personnel archives.
The public archives are used for the study of Jersey in many forms. Publicly funded libraries from the Government are important in preserving the identity of a place in order for us and future generations to explore. Due to public archives being open to such a diverse audience, this means there is a diverse collection that can be used for a wide range of purposes. The collection of historical records compiled from a range of sources paints a picture of each differing viewpoint on the context of the world at that time.
“What is the source’s purpose, what is it trying to show and how accurate is it?” Are the questions that we can consider and allow us to delve into the uniqueness of each bit of historical material. In doing this we can assess what relevance the archive has on each person today, and how they can possibly relate to it. In this respect, the public archives purpose is to enhance our understanding of where humanity has come from, how far it has come, and how from this we can guess where we are going as a generation. This incorporates a lot of relevance as one day, our lives and memories will be locked into an archive for future generations to look at us the way we are looking at these older generations, which of course then becomes a matter of perception. Today’s ideology of perception arguably has a completely different meaning than back when the archives stated in the mid-19th century.
Regarding the features of society, when there wasn’t room for much more than the very dominating, traditional culture, now there is an encouragement for individual and freedom of expression of culture. This contradicts the culture of the archive in a sense that, we are essentially living with the opposing shadow of traditionalist culture over today’s freedom of culture. Interestingly, issues at the time of the mid 1800’s have to now show developments in areas of life and also the struggles in life. Arguably these struggles as each generation has passed have helped grow into a certain rebelliousness that has led to the free culture that we live with today. So therefore, we must in a sense be somewhat thankful for those who have preserved history in the archive, who may have documented the good’s and bad’s of their own times. For examples works depicting issues of poverty in the 19th century, and further more modern times, have evolved and essentially undermined traditionalist culture and taken us closer to where we are now. Therefore we can perhaps use todays issues, to predict how through the archive will record this and impact future generations who in turn will develop and impose their own culture on top of ours. Essentially, the role of the archive is a repeating cycle of past cultures that determine where future cultures are going.
In contrast, the purpose of a family archive is to preserve the history of our own family’s lives on a more personal basis. This leads us onto why as humans we are interested in pursuing such a task. Of course, unlike a public archive which is designed for everyone’s benefit, a family archive is of more sentimental value, designed to show the history and through this the relationships, the struggles, those special moments through time in order so that we can relive those times, and remember our feelings towards a preserved moment from a family archive. Within my own family, the family archives, represent a bind compilation of moments that show my family’s special moments. Each member of the family upon viewing these images, has a personnel emotion that is connected to that emotion, and when as a family we come together to discuss these emotional attachments towards a captured significant moment in my family’s lives, we can empathise with each other’s viewpoints.
Interestingly family archives essentially strengthen families’ bond, by enhancing our memories of the past which unites us as we enter into the future. By recording our time together as a family, apart from it strengthening our relationships, we can use family archives to show the evolution of how our own family changes. In this sense, as children grow up, become parents and have their own kids, family archives can allow us to explore the cycles of that which we go through in life. In a sense, the family is always developing and evolving; however with this idea of cycles repeating themselves, it shows that once the circle has gone on a full cycle and we come back where we started with children of our own, we can compare the changes from when we were children ourselves. In a sense, in the short term, the value of an archive is to bring a family closer together to enhance their relationships, and in the long term can be used to show the difference between each cycle of life and therefore has a purpose that repeats itself but is all the more significant.
Referring back to the point of family archives representing the sentimental side that archives hold is important. We find value in anything our family has associations with. Arguably family archives are more than just associations, they holding special, personnel and intimate memories at the heart of the family. When sometimes we don’t take into account of an individual, but of a collective group, which allows us to unlock and delve into our family secrets, that is essentially categorises the nature of our family itself within a wider context of the society in which we live in. This is comparable to the public archives which display, a wide variety of society, allowing us to paint a picture with all these. However in this sense, it shows a limited picture of wider society, with a strong perception from the family’s lives and point of view and shows rather the life of society, predominately of the family’s lives within a wider context of the bigger society.
On the issue of family archives presenting a limited perspective, interestingly we are more selective of what we include in our archives. For example, if we want to present the dynamics of the family, it hardly shows reality as each photograph trying to capture the type of family who we want to be, essentially missing the undesirable sides to the family. This means that it is important like with the public archive to recognise a sort of family identity, an especially so with a family who may have lost identities and as time goes on like with the idea of cycles, can understand the foundations of the family. An example of this is through time our imagination on past events can affect the historical side of what actually happened, and so through the family archive, its value allows us to ensure that we have a stronger grounding in our own family’s character and nature.
On the other hand, personnel archives which in a sense derive from the previous archives are originally have been much more intimate and private to most people. However nowadays the terms are changing, where personnel archives are being shared with others, and personnel archives are now about photographs which we don’t want to share. Now it seems to be a matter of how we want to appear, which strongly contradicts how public and family archives function in terms of their purpose. With private archives, now becoming more like public archives, with this, private archives are arguably taking the roles of public archives as they are being opened to everyone. Interestingly, the photos that are kept are often photographs that don’t want to be shared, are photographs that tend not to be focused on how others would perceive them and judge the, hence why they aren’t shown. Arguably unlike family and public archives which are slightly linked, with the opening of public archives this shows how society is interested in how they appear, lacking a sense of authenticity.
Furthermore, private archives are almost unintentionally stored. For example, as photographs are taken to be initially shared, and photographs that contradict how that person wants to be appear are stored and not deleted. This means that personnel archives are taking the form of photographs how we may not want to appear, but in reality aside from social media, that is how we look in person. This contrasts how a family archive works which emphasises the idea of how we can look back on memories to be rebuilding family foundations of who the family’s identity is, because nowadays a personnel archive stores the photographs representing who we are avoiding to be as perhaps it breaches the norms of society. This means that as were are essentially, hiding from ourselves of who we really are, undermining the role of a family archive in bonding who a particular family is, dictated by each individuals character, however each individuals character is being influenced by their own personnel archive resulting in a changed family life. Interestingly there appears to be a link with the idea of a public archive here, where like through time there was a certain culture barrier that restricted much than traditionalist, conservative culture that is similar today, with people only, accepting the same culture of everyone else.
On Tuesday the 20th June 2017 we went on a trip with photographer Tanja Deman to Grosnez and explored around towards L’Etacq. I was very much influenced by her style on this trip, where she explores space and her environment, which I incorporated into my work taking photographs of long and short backdrops. This way it gave me a scope to explore and capture how man has impacted the land through the various forms. For example the long shots, showed how man has impacted on the land from a wider perspective of the surrounding environment, whereas the shorter shoots show how mans inventions have been much more intrusive and invasive as we can reveal the finer areas of the land. With my work, I hope to create some photo collages relating to a series of work relating to Tanja’s guidance and instructions. I categorised my work into themes that I explored during the trip. These included:
I was heavily inspired by Tanja’s work, but strongly from this developed my own particular style. For example: I wanted to explore the historical side of mans impact on the land, and how it has changed through the years and what the aim or ambitions were of constructing these projects. For example all buildings generally had a common purpose of defence, but projects like Grosnez castle or Nazi bunkers, the surrounding context around these buildings that impacts the way they were built, I am wishing to explore and shoot. I want to mention the fact that a lot of these buildings, very brash and dominating, the contrast between the people who ran these projects who were humans with emotions, is very important to link.
Here are the links that I used to research Luigi Ghirri. http://www.matthewmarks.com/new-york/artists/luigi-ghirri/
LUIGI GHIRRI
1933. The painting is very ghostly looking. The name Crucifixion suits the artwork because It looks like a human holding up their hands while standing on a platform. Here are more of Bacon’s paintings. I personally believe that Francis Bacon and Jonny Briggs are very similar in the way they work and how they use their past as an influence for their art. Briggs uses his photography as a way to get back lost time with his parents. He sees it as a way to improve the relationships within his family. Bacon uses his art to express his troubled childhood as well. He is full of Anxiety and depression and uses his art as a demonstration of what he is feeling.
