How have the photographers Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier explored themes of attachment and detachment in their own family through their work and, in particular, their most recent projects looking at family?
I began to write a couple of extra paragraphs with my personal study to add a bit more body to the while structure in which I can branch off from and begin talking in more detail about Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier’s work because to this pint, I have mainly been talking about different concepts about memory, attachment and detachment and relating this to theories surrounding the particular concocts. SAs well, I have been, in the furs few paragraphs, talking about how this relates to my project and my intentions with brief reference to Eich and Frazier.
Using the camera as a tool of documentation can provide outcomes that are very real and using these images as a way of telling a visual narrative can make for a much deeper, more meaningful story than that comprised of words, in my opinion. The work of Matt Eich shows this concept in its full affect, especially in that of his recent project ‘I Love You, I’m Leaving’. His imagery and way of comsiign and presenting images have the ability to work in conjunction with each other to create an obscure, yet very simple narrative in which the viewer is required to decode the sequencing to images to derive meaning – a beauty that I believe photography encourages. This ability to present a reportage sequence which reveals only part of the story and leaves the reader up to the audience’s imagination is something I am attempting to do in my project. By photographing inanimate states such as landscapes or still life, I can provide indirect and underlying representations of the main focus throughout the book. Much like literary stories, photographic stories can use metaphors to explain a meaning beyond the direct face value – making for very interesting outcomes. An object as simple as a car covered by a cloth (an image I will use in my book) can connote a far more captivating significance than its face value and instead, using the context of my book, it can show the affect of a lost identity; the affect of a new beginning; becoming isolated and forcing a withdrawal from the people you love because it seems easier to hide away. It is these inanimate objects that provide substance and body to fill the gaps in my book because the project is an exploration into not only the people present but of the emotions that come with the concept I am covering.
I create all photographs with the intent to create memories so that moments of importance are not forgotten. I am forever holding a camera or a smartphone to capture any point in time in which I may be present and this has come a second nature now I am a big brother to my 5-year-old sister. It fills me with joy to document with my camera the smiles and laughter which glow off my sister’s face every time I see her. As I have seen from my own archives when I was a child, it is a way of creating these important memories that, inevitably lend themselves to never be forgotten, and in-turn manufacture a life-long feeling of attachment to what may have once been forgotten or mentally thrown away. The photo albums which live in my loft are what allows me to experience my childhood again, where I can feel this magical sense of attempt at a point when it was just my mum, my dad and I. These memories, these shadows that I have near to no recollection of become illuminated when I flick through these never-ending photo albums. Mark Alice Durant, in his book ’27 Contexts, An Anecdotal History in Photography’ tells the reader of his experience when he re-lived his parent’s wedding album and quotes “in memory, colour comes alive, and for me it is only blue.” [5]. I feel very strongly about this message; the notion that an irretrievable recollection that, as the years go by, becomes a haze can be re-lived in the form of colour.
On Friday 19th I organised a photo shoot in the studio at Hautlieu to obtain images based in the concept of movement and body image. I managed to achieve a wide range of images and am happy with my result. Instead of using the studio flash lights, I decided to simply use the room lights on the ceiling because I didn’t want an extreme shadow. When preparing for the shoot, I asked two of my friends if I could paint their hands and arms with white acrylic paint. I used the paint in the art room to do this. To make sure all the skin was covered we had to do several layers.
Whilst taking images I asked my friends to create different shapes with their hands symbolizing certain emotions such as pain or struggle. The aim of this shoot was to represent emotions using the hands. This was an unusual and creative perspective of viewing the body to symbolize a hidden feeling.
I framed the images so just the painted parts of the hands and arms were showing because they were the focus of the shoot. I asked the models to make sculptural shapes with their hands. Soft delicate shapes as well as rigid harsh shapes. I am very happy with the images a managed to achieve. They work especially well with my project because they express movement as well as emotion.
I wanted to start by doing simple edits. I firstly edited the images by lowering the contrast and adding brightness and exposure. I then changed the vibrance and saturation. Although there are some shadows on the backdrop, they work really well with the image because they make it look less two dimensional. They also add another tone to the image. I made sure I got some portrait orientations and landscapes to see which style was best.
Experimental Edits using colour
I really liked the effect that the white on white created because the images were very pleasing to the eye and looked very professional. I wanted to experiment a bit more by adding some colour to the images. This made them look more contemporary and modern. The coloured images suited my project more because the colour helps to expresses the different emotions I was trying to replicate such as the red symbolizing terror.
To help generate a full-bodied and quality response to my personal study question regarding the photography of both Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier, I will need to develop a detailed analysis of one of each of their images from their recent projects looking at family. Below, I will begin to develop a critical analysis of the image taken from Frazier’s project ‘The Notion Of Family’. I will use topics such as form, meaning, judgement and context as discussion points.
Describing – FORM – What is here? What am I looking at?
This is an image taken from LaToya Ruby Frazier’s project, The Notion Of Family which is an “incisive exploration of the legacy of racism and economic decline in America’s small towns. The work also considers the impact of that decline on her communicability and her family” (taken from statement on website).
The photograph frames both Frazier as a teenager and what looks like her dad or possible step-dad. The project was completed over a period of 13 years in which, during this time, Frazier and her family grew yet declined due to the economic state of the town the were living in. We see Fraizer sat on the edge of her bed in her bedroom on the right side of the image as she is cropped to by the frame of the image and, on the left side, her dad lies, relaxed on his bed in the parents room, with his back ti the camera, she he was probably oblivious to the camera’s presence.
I would imagine that this is taken in the Frazier house and both Frazier and her dad are captured within the frame. Frazier is wearing a strappy white top with pyjama shorts and is lying on the edge of her bed. The door is wide open and hanging from the handle is a white towel drying. Underneath her bed, we see a baby doll with a dummy in its mouth, arms up, as though it is crying for help as it pokes its head from underneath the bed frame. Frazier sits there with a blank expression on her face looking away from her dad in the opposite room.
There is a physical divide between the two subjects, but, what also looks like an emotional divide. In the room on the left, her dad, styling a vest reading ‘THE SMOOTH EDGE’ on the back lies, in a relaxed manner on the end of the bed with his back to the camera. This door also wide open and the joining of the two doors is what provides the separation between the two people, giving structure to the image.
Interpreting – MEANING – What is it about?
As I mentioned just above, the visual divide we see between both subjects can also represent an emotional separation between the two of them; the relationship they have with one another may be very weak and this could be as result of the economic crisis in which the town for Braddock faces due to the ever-expanding bombardment of racism on locals. They both have their back to each other and this could represent their perhaps dislike for each other.
We can’t actually see the father’s face and instead, get a view of his back in which, in his vest, it reads ‘THE SMOOTH EDGE’ and this could be an accurate or perhaps ironical representation of him – he may in fact be the smooth edge or instead, may be a figure that causes a division between the whole family – a person who Frazier may not like and from this, the statement can be seen as ironic as he could be instead branded as ‘THE SHARP EDGE’ portraying the idea that he could in fact be a figure who provides unease to the family house. Maybe, as us as the audience cant see his face, this is how he is seen to Frazier a as teenager – as though he doesn’t show his face in the most crucial of times, like when she has been growing up – he may not have been there and instead dislocated from family life.
Looking at the setting of the image and the other objects within the photograph a,so gives an indication to how the family may live and the condition of their lives. Looking at the bedding, it looks very old fashioned and quite out of date ion its old, floral-like pattern. It doesn’t look like the beds have been made and the fact that Frazier’s towel is hanging to dry on the handle of her door indicates that perhaps they can’t afford a heated towel rail. Looking at the wall, there is nothing hanging on them, such as art or paintings or any shelves and we can see just a mirror in the parents bedroom. Also, the doors themselves look quite worn and battered, as if they are in need of a paint job but this is not a priority of the Frazier family.
In conclusion, this image could represent the breakdown of family life, shown in one image due to the crisis that Braddock face as a result of explicit and constant discrimination against the black community. They are crying for help within and it is kept this way – internal and within the four walls of their house because they are too scared to speak up. As a result, they become isolated and hurt to a point that they don’t know how to show it – detachment from social norms and distancing from society as a collective – this is Frazier’s family, dislocated from the rest of America and detached from one another because of it.
Evaluating – JUDGEMENT – How good is it?
In terms of the quality of the photograph, I would confidently say that it is a very good image – to be very basic and straight-the-point about it. And I am also sure that if you asked anyone else whether they personally liked the image or if it was a “good” image, the would say yes because of how highly regarded Frazier is as both a photographer and a motivational talker which she undertakes alongside her photography and video work to coincided with the images she produces. She is a very well-known artist and is regarded highly and this status is shown throughout her work due to the pure thought that goes behind little details such as composition and framing.
The image above is one of my favourites from the project ‘The Notion Of Family’ because of how well thought out and composed it is. She has probably used a fixed 35mm lens mounted on a tripod tp capture this self-portrait of herself and her dad. Frazier would have used a timer to allow her to get to her bed in tome for the shutter release and the framing is probably the best aspect of the image. Although the two doors take up the whole centre of the image from head to toe, it frames the split perfectly and we get sense that it si almost like a split screen with Frazier on one side looking very dull and the back of her father on the left. It gives a sense that Frazier has to live in this very enclosed space where everyone within the house is in close proximity of one another but it is against her will and she finds it difficult to grow into a young adult when she lives in a small bungalow in a town which defines and shapes her state of living.
In terms of tones and shadows, the image is black and white and the balance of tones is perfect. The whites highlight and provide a border to the subjects for the to stand out against, as the Frazier and her father are both black and the neutral tones of greys are balanced equally in the image. Overall creating a very balanced image. All elements within the photograph are in focus and therefore a deep depth of field has been used at a high aperture.
Theorizing – CONTEXT – Is it art? How does it relate to the history and theory of photography, art and culture?
The image of Frazier’s in question represents a very truthful illustration of family life. Although to some extent, it has been staged in Frazier’s positioning within the image as she lies on the bed indirect opposition to the other subject on the left, the image possesses more features of documentary than tableaux. Frazier’s intent was likely to represent her feelings towards her family, as well as the house she is confined to and the town she has to grow up in as it is ruled by racism. The image represents the project as a whole as it represent the breakdown of not only the Braddock town as a whole but it shows how it affects the families within it as they were defined by the racism that circulates North America at the time. It was time of uncertainty and fear and the image does a very good job of showing this.
The image, in its documentary form, posses features of realism photography – an art movement introduced in the early 1900s which pioneered not only art but photography as it gradually muscled its way to the forefront of visual arts throughout the 1900’s and is still in use by many photographers in the current day as we, regularly, as consumers and producers of media, create real and raw representations of life as it is in. We expose people, places etc in our photography and the truth of them is revealed through the visual we create. Straight photography is the opposite to pictorialism where the manipulation of imagery was seen as a way to improve it. With realist art, the photographer uses the camera as a witness to life itself without alerting reality to romanticise or fragment the truth. The image produced by Frazier shows exactly this but in a more poetic, and indeed staged way but to emphasis the reality of what was occurring at the time – the racist and economic decline of America. The image speaks in one sense about family life but in a whole other sense about how this detachment from the other parts of the world due to the discrimination faced about local families origins.
However, even though the image does possess features of realism, it can also lean more towards the art movement of post-modernism. This movement is defined to borrow from references of historical, cultural, social and psychological issues – which it does exactly that – as expressed above – that it is more than just an image about family life – it is an image which presents the life of family within the struggle of racism. Frazier uses references of racism and economic decline throughout the book with added reference to Bill Cosby – a household name in the American society in the mid-late 1900’s but then further allegations of sexual assault against his name was released and he became a figure of hate and remorse – as though he betrayed the black culture. Frazier uses this post-modernist approach to highlight key events in American history.
How have the photographers Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier explored themes of attachment and detachment in their own family through their work and, in particular, their most recent projects looking at family?
For my first paragraph, I will be splitting it into 3 different paragraphs separate form one another but I will treat this as my first paragraph because it all works together but of I were to include all content in one paragraph, it would become to much to intake as a reader and so I have decided to split it up. The first part talks about my interpretation of what attachment is. The second part then discuses physiological and scientific theory relating to attachment and detachment and how this relates to my relationship with both my mum and dad. The final part will then move onto to talk about the concept of memory and using a camera to capture memory. Within this I will also comment on my focus on Anders Petersen and JH Engstrom’s work to develop my ability to visually tell a story in a poetic and diaristic manner.
When I hear the word attachment, images of love surface within my mind. I visualise scenes of a girlfriend clinging lovingly to her boyfriend in moments of laughter and intimacy within their new-found romance; young love is what attachment is. Reasoning for this visualisation comes from experience. The knowledge that I am needed by someone else is what provides me with comfort. Attachment is feeling a sense of belonging within this world which can be so harsh in its unforgiving realities. Attachment and acceptance is something I long for in a life that has shown me, face-on and in a time of tenderness at the age of four, the direct implications of what love can do to two adults – unite, yet divide. I have grown up in two different lives (worlds or homes?), one with my mum and the other with my dad. Through this, I have been gently nurtured into a still-developing young man who has learnt and is still learning the meaning of romance. I have understood the sensation of sibling-love. As well, I have accepted the fact that my parents are no longer together and I will, for the rest of my life, live this life and embrace it, as I have done for the past 18 years. There is a still, however, the underlying reality of detachment which on the other hand, connotes opposing visuals; a lonesome astronaut drifting into a deep, dark existence without anything to cling on to.
Harry Harlow, an American psychologist in the mid-1900s studied, in great detail, the concept of maternal separation and dependency needs. He experimented with rhesus monkeys, an Asian species that adapts easily to living with humans [3]. He carried out an experiment in the laboratory to confirm theorist, Bowlby’s previous theory on attachment; Harlow separated the baby monkeys from their biological mothers and paired them with a surrogate mother in the form of a baby doll. He observed that, although the doll didn’t provide them with food or drink, at a time of feeling scared, the baby monkeys clung to the doll for comfort as it had adopted the roll of mother to them. Harlow used this to verify the importance of a mother-child relationship when the child is very young because it reiterates the idea of unconditional love. I feel very strongly that my own mum and I have experienced this when I was much younger and it has benefited our relationship over the last 18 years. This maternal attachment has expanded into a much more secure relationship as we have both developed into our own selves (identities) and, along the way, we have learnt to respect and trust each other, as a mother and son should. With my dad, however, he was the parental figure who was taken away from me. Oblivious to what this would mean to how I would experience future life events, I clung to my mum as a figure of comfort because the next few years of my infancy would prove to be a time of constant change as I moved from house to house to visit my dad wherever he was staying at the time. My project embraces both attachment and detachment and how I situate myself in the centre of it all as I continue to learn the lessons of life both at home and at school with the several people I interact with on a daily basis.
Furthermore, the first 20 years of your life can prove to be the most important and impactful for the years to follow. In this period of time, the most vital events which contribute to self-growth and self-confidence occur. But not everything runs smoothly, as illustrated by my parent’s separation. It is with my camera that I am able to capture memories and when I pick up my camera and release the shutter it is then that I am acknowledging a moment of significance. Joerg Colberg said, in an article published outlining memory in photography, “just like memories, photographs are created with intent” and “all photographs, when used as memories, give us something to hold on to.” [4]. It is this interpretation by Colberg that resonates with my intent as a photographer to capture, consciously, the intimate moments in life. My parents took on this role when I was younger to provide me with the endless photo albums of my 9lb 12oz-self as a baby bouncing around the house I grew up in for 10 years. It is now that I am beginning to take inspiration from my own archival imagery of myself as a young child to capture similar moments of my half-sister, Minnie. As a photographer, I use my camera to collaborate not only with my subjects, but with myself when including myself within the images. Taking inspiration from the work produced by Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier in their diaristic black and white images for projects looking at family, I have been able to change my perspective from a witness to a performer; from being a witness to the occurrences in front of the camera. I have since found reward from being an actor who performs for the camera and it has expanded my abilities to tell a visual narrative – a skill I have developed from observations of the work of Swedish photographers, JH Engstrom and Anders Petersen. Looking at the books of these artists, I have developed the ability to collate select images which can in-turn have the power to provide meaning beyond the face of the photograph to impact the viewer.
How do Phillip Toledano and Laia Abril explore notions of change, fate and absence in their work?
“Photographs are the story we fail to put into words.”- Destin Sparks
Photographs can be seen as the story-telling companions of time, they direct the gaze of the spectator to look at the past, allowing us to reflect on our own lives and the lives of others. Photographs allow the ability to communicate and capture small moments in time when particular emotions are felt. As said by Alfred Eisenstaedt “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” It is this I explore in my personal study as I consider the change, reflecting on the past and the present of my Granddad’s life after a tragic event, which has changed his life forever. I have looked at and particularly been inspired by the work of Phillip Toledano, a photographer who is probably best known for his work dedicated to his father’s final chapter.
In this essay, I will be focusing on the ways that Toledano and Abril explores change, fate and absence in their work, particularly focusing on his project entitled ‘Days with my Father’ and her project entitled ‘The Epilogue.’ I will be creating links to my own personal study, which also investigates and reflects upon the fate, absence and specifically change within my Granddad’s life. Having looked at archival photographs through my own personal family photo box, it has allowed me to discuss memories of his life, which I have used to inform my current photographs with the purpose of exploring the change and absences which have taken place. These absences and change are seen in various ways throughout the project as the two words form a relationship with the images to tell a story. Examples of the absences displayed is loved ones or friends my granddad had for many years passing; the ability to walk and the absence of his sight, shown through photographs of his glass eye and eye patch. When referring to change, my granddad as a person has changed dramatically, he doesn’t really talk much and does not have the same sense of humour, which is something we miss greatly. All of these factors were the result of growing old and the two strokes he experienced ten years ago. I am aiming to explore the similar styles of photography within the work of Phillip Toledano and cross-reference the work of Laia Abril; looking into which artist I believe represents the concept of absence and change in the best way by investigating their style and what informed their projects. The genre of work I have focused on is documentary and narrative photography due to the style of photographs I am making in my own project and both Toledano and Abril make work across both genres as visual story tellers. Laia Abril particularly looks at archival imagery as well as making new photographs of objects and people within her project. Abril inspires me as she takes a different approach to the theme of loss/absence and change, which is different to Toledano’s approach but both of which I used within my own project. She specially looks at archival images, which gives the viewers an insight of Cammy’s life previously giving us an understanding of her background. She also included images of her family and close friends while giving them a voice about the subject by including conversations she had had with them, which is a technique I have myself used. My own images will follow this style of documentary photography to give a realistic insight into my Granddad’s life. Straight Photography, which is closely related to realism is the historical context of this style, which will inform my analysis and development of my own images. It believes in the camera’s ability to record objectively the actual world as it appears in front of the lens. This veracity of the photographs has been challenged by critics, claiming that the photographer’s subjectivity challenges this idea opening up many new possibilities for both interpretation and manipulation. Photography is a medium that possesses the precious ability to influence and transcend past, present and future.
Straight photography understood today captures an image of a scene as we see it in reality, often using sharp focus, wide depth of field and refraining from image manipulation. . This movement was first publicised in the early 1900’s through a note by The New York Times on an exhibition in New York with photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn, Gertrude Kasebier, Clarence H. White and many others. In the 1904 article ‘A Plea for Straight Photography,’ A critic Sadakichi Hartmann, expressed his regrets about the excessive handwork and painterly flourishes that characterised much of what he saw in Pictorialist photography, arguing, “We expect an etching to look like an etching, and a lithograph to look like a lithograph, why then should not a photographic print look like a photographic print?” Straight photography was a result of Pictorialism. Pictorialism was in the time period of the 1880’s, which was around the time of the second industrial revolution. Romanticism was extremely popular at this time and this linked well with pictorialism photographs as they were like paintings, engravings or a drawings. It was a way of projecting an emotional intent into a viewer’s imagination. The characteristics pictorialism displayed were the blurred, fuzzy and textured images that almost look like paintings, this was through manipulating images, which is a key feature in pictorialism. This then provoked the idea of straight photography, which is completely different to Pictoralism as people felt images were being manipulated too much and therefore preferred photographs having more realistic features. They then focused on documenting events and every day life as they saw it. The key characteristic was really just true and real images, which represent elements of social, economical, political and culture and this was later named documentary photography. Similarly, realism claims to have a special relationship with reality and shows the cameras ability to record real events and real life without manipulation. Its a way in which the photographer sees the world and the way they choose to photograph it, portraying the truth. This style of photography relates to my own project that I am working on, as well as the artists’ work I am exploring. In my own photographic study of my Granddad I wanted to capture a realistic insight into his life, struggles and illness, by taking photographs in a documentary style creating a story close to the truth of his experiences showing that manipulation of images is not needed to express this. I have adopted a snapshot approach as I wanted the photographs to be raw and genuine, with hints of the vernacular present throughout. This reflects a closeness, a familiarity, intimacy and every-day connection. It is not staged.
However, some images in my book have been converted to black and white or even cropped, but these are very simple and is not manipulated enough for the image to be untrue. Realism is about giving “the observer a feeling of intrusion on privacy when looking at it.” – The guardian. This is another aim of my own project as well as the artists.
Phillip Toledano’s work for example gives outsiders a personal view of his father’s last days as he has photographed him experiencing everyday life inside his home. This notion is what inspired me to follow a similar aim in my own photographs. For example, accessing archival imagery of my granddad is something which can be seen as something very personal and as a photographer, putting these images into to my own project gives outsiders an insight of his personal life behind closed doors previously as well as showing more recent photographs of his life now, letting the viewers make a comparison and detect change between then and now. On the other hand, the photographs produced by Phillip and myself can also be seen as narrative photography as the sequence of images are made to tell a story to the viewers through the pages and images produced. Narrative photography can be both documentary style photography or tableaux photography, both myself and Toledano use narrative photography in a documentary style. This means it’s more of a story of true events and situations compared to tableaux, which are staged and made up photographs, however, they can be based on a real event. Another example of a artist who uses both documentary and narrative photography is Laia Abril, she investigated and documented how a family coped with the aftermath of losing their daughter to bulimia. Separating the work into sections allowed her to approach different aspects through different platforms, not only in the multiplicity of perspectives but also in a constantly evolving visual stimulation. All three projects ‘Days with my father’, ‘The Epilogues’ and my personal study entitled ‘The Aftermath’ all tackle emotion subjects, specifically change, absence and fate.
Photography is capable of capturing emotions and feelings which can then be understood by other people when looking at images. Photographs allow photographers to capture moments which an outsider would not be able to witness, which is a key theme of my own personal study. Feelings and emotions are subjective as each of us may feel differently when we view an image but usually there is a general message or meaning behind most photographs which can be universally read and interpreted in a similar way. The key themes running through my personal study are centred on three words, which have been introduced already: absence, fate and change.
The word absence can be defined as the state of being away from a place or person, an occasion or period of being away from a place or person or the non-existence or lack of something. Absence in my own work relates to the absence of people within my granddad’s life and the absence of a good quality life. This could be taken literally such as the absence of his eye/eye sight or the absence of friends and family he has lost. But also more metaphorical absence such as the loss of hope and lack of motivation my granddad feels or how lost he feels as a person as he recognises change. Within both Phillip Toledano’s and Laia Abril’s work, use an element of absence in their photographs and investigations. When looking at the inspirations into why Toledano decided to produce the project ‘Days with my father’ I found it was due to absence or loss of his mother, who suddenly died in 2006. After she died, he realised how much she had been shielding him from his father’s mental state. As an attempt to re-connection and develop a new relationship with his father, he made this project which shows the saddening effects of Phillip’s mother’s absence on the family, especially focusing on his father. While making the project the Toledano learnt about the illness his father faced and also what his mother had dealt with previously before her death. He realised the significance of his illness when the death of his wife was a shock to him, asking ‘Why did no one tell me?’ and ‘Why didn’t you take me to her funeral?’ After a while, he couldn’t keep reminding him about her death as he described ‘ it was killing both of us to constantly re-live her death.’ His father had short-term memory loss, so there was an absence of his memory which Toledano and his father found difficult to cope with as he was forgetting vital memories of his own life. Toledano often found notes, which his father would write to remind himself of things he could remember. He also found notes from his father explaining how he felt lost and scared, which was a coping strategy his father adopted to manage this absence. In the image we can see a A4 notebook, as well as a blue pen which is slightly diagonal. The notebook has writing on it, which I assume is his fathers as it reads “Where is Helene? Phillip? Ralph? Everybody?” The book is placed on what looks like a bedside table, which also has a photo frame containing a photograph and a lamp which projects light onto the page to reveal the text, which means the light in the photograph is artificial lighting. This image shows his father’s confusion and frustration caused my his memory loss, which gives the viewers an insight to his father’s thought processes and creates evidence of this. Personally, I really like this image as I like how we are made aware of his feelings and thoughts. This can be seen as a documentary image, which is the style of most of the images within his project. Coping strategies and showing the effects of absence is a key theme throughout my project.
Similarly, Laia Abril also tackles absence in her work, particularly in her project ‘The Epilogue.’ Again she is looking at the effects of absence on a family, who lost their daughter to Bulimia. She does this in a form of an interview or discussion with family members and close friends as they discuss Tammy and her illness, an example of this is a close friend writes “I spent so many years trying to make her better, trying to fix her.” This is her reflecting on her life with Cammy and explaining how she tried to help Cammy, however it’s too late as well as admitting coping mechanisms to help them grieve. Her father says ” I still cannot bear to listen to music: we all mourn in different ways.” Furthermore, Abril also explores memories of her presence as we all invent and reinvent our memories of the past every day of our lives as Sigmund Freud told us that “the answer to our confusion were locked in the secret drawers of our past, Photography, then,provides us with the documents.” I feel this is a strong quote relating to this as if our past is documented it can not be changed or manipulated, which means archival photographs will give an insight to Cammy’s life before she developed her illness to help draw conclusions on why or how this may of occurred. Abril does this by including archival imagery as well as taking photographs of objects, which would have belonged to Cammy such as the weighing scale, which would have been a significant part of her life as she tackled Bulimia. These archival images also act as snapshots of memories of Cammy’s life or childhood. There are also sections of text describing events, which had taken place in her life at previous periods of Cammy’s life. An example of this would be a short paragraph, which explained “As teens, I knew my atomic bomb to drop on her when she was getting after me was to call her fat, but she would never admit it hurt her.” This could have been the trigger to Bulimia, which could be seen as an absence of self-esteem and confidence within her own body, leading to her illness, which resulted in her death. This image is an archival photograph, which has been taken previously in her childhood of Cammy in a swimsuit sat next to a swimming pool, smiling. In the book the image is presented as a full bleed image, which really emphasises the image. The image itself looks like it has been taken in natural sun lighting as you can see where the sun is at its strongest as it lightens up parts of the image. This image shows Cammy as she was before her illness, which enables the viewers to make a comparison. In my own study I had also looked at the cause or trigger for the strokes as well as looking at memories.
An additional key theme is the concept of change, the word change has various different meanings such as: ‘make or become different’; ‘take or use another instead of’ and ‘an act or process through which something becomes different.’ Both Toledano and Abril develop this in very similar but also slightly different ways. Laia Abril looks at change after death and how this effects the people within Cammy’s life. This differs to Toledano’s work as he explores the change in his fathers mental state as well as referencing change after the death of his mother, which is where the two projects link.
Abril investigates the aftermath of Cammy’s death within the family showing the family life after this significant event, which has changed, smiles turning into frowns and laughter turning into silence. The project includes extracts of Cammy’s diary, which states her feelings on the specific date of the 5th of September 1995 “How i’ve felt today, let’s see it people could ignore me more, Kaky is going out w/ banks & taking Auchra & Maggie. Umph, leave me and Becky out. Bitch, she’s not cool.” (including a photograph of a crying animated face.) There is also an extract which her brother explains “She starts losing weight before college, we all thought it was a positive thing, nobody actually knew what was really going on.” This suggest this is where the crucial change in Cammy’s life began. Throughout the book there is a consistent exploration of triggers and where this change occurred in her life and when the family started noticing something was seriously wrong. This is implied through images and context developed by the family themselves. There are also images of Cammy within the project where Bulimia has not affected her and these can clearly be compared to images of her when she was distinctly unwell. This displays a change in her physical condition as well as her mental state. Finally, there is also a huge change in the family atmosphere and relationship as her brother Tommy reveals “Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are brutal holidays in our family.” However, he mother admits “I remember feeling a relief because she is in a safe place.” There is a continuous conflict in feeling grief and happiness that she is no longer in pain or miserable as she constantly tries to reach her vision of perfection. The families emotion change as well as their relationships with each other as they feel they feel the need to be closer to prevent feeling this loss again. I personally, feel the context within the book to be truly powerful and contribute to the meaning of the photographs. This specific photograph is of Cam, who is the mother of Cammy’s boyfriend Adam. The image is a portrait style image, capturing her shoulders upwards as she stares straight with a glazed over look in her eyes. Suggesting she can’t focus or feel due to her pain. Her eyes do not look at the camera but it appears she knows it is there but is feeling numb. The caption written next to the photograph reads “Everybody was waiting for Adam to propose to Cammy that fall.” This implies she feels some sort of guilt that her son was with Cammy while she was ill, also hurt and suffering to imagine her son’s grief as well as her own. This photograph refers to how future plans can be changed quickly and something/someone you love can vanish before your very eyes. As far as the quality of the image technically, I personally feel it is a strong image. The woman presented in the photograph is the main focus of the image as the background is blurred, centering our eyes to her face. The light used is natural and seems to be coming through the window, which is located behind her resulting in shadowing. The change in emotional state within this photograph reflects the effect of her death. This is something that would alter the familie’s life forever.
On the other hand, Phillip Toledano interpreted the idea of change slightly differently. Toledano explores the change in his fathers mental state as well as referencing change after the death of his mother. We observe a son, which is Phillip Toledano trying to ask the questions that never got asked in all the preceding years. It’s a tale of the mysteries and challenges of aging, the search for connection, the exposing of real selves, and the moments of love that come full circle when the roles are reversed and the child takes care of the parent. This reflects the change a person goes through as a result of getting older. In the case of this project, memory loss is explored as well as the change in their life since the death of Toledano’s mother. One of these important changes is his fathers emotions, this refers to both his confusion due to his illness and also his grief as a result of his wife’s death. Toledano explains that “Sometimes, when we’re talking, my dad will stop, and sigh, and close his eyes. It’s then that I know he knows. About my mum. About everything.” Suggesting the emotional state has changed as he starts to remember upsetting events. This could also be linked to his physical change as his father was described as ‘firm-star handsome’ when he was young and this change into “a man no longer beautiful upsets him deeply.” This implies he does not like the changes within his life but knows and has always known that these days would come. It’s outcome of aging and it cannot be stopped. The changes in his life are challenging and hard to comprehend, which often leads him to feel “it is time for him to go, that he’s been around for too long.” This suggests this is a new feeling his father expresses, the way he feels about life is altered by the experiences he is faced with and the changes which have occurred. Throughout the book there is a consistent exploration of changes and where these might of occurred in his life and due to what events or experiences. This is implied through images and context developed by Toledano himself as well as quotes taken from his father. There are only images of his father when he is ill and the changes have already occurred, these cannot be compared to what his father was like before the illness through images but can be through context provided by Toledano. This displays a change in his physical condition as well as his mental state, focusing closely on confusion and grief. The context within the project gives the audience a deeper understanding of his father’s life from the past and the present.
This image is a portrait of his father presented in a landscape format, again capturing the shoulders upwards. The main focus of the photograph is the man’s face as the background is blurred, leaving the focal point sharp and clear. He has a painful expression on his face, suggesting he is crying or hurt. This is clear as his nose is crumpled; his eyebrows frowning and his teeth clenching. His eye gaze is directed towards the floor and his back seems to be hunched over, rounding his shoulders as if he feels the pain physically. This suggests the change in his mental and emotional state, showing his frustration. This image was captioned with context which stating “Eating is often a miserable experience.” Toledano explains the one thing he did love was eggs: scrambled eggs; egg salad; egg-drop soup.” This implies he would stick to what he knew he liked and this was probably easy to make. The main reason I like this photograph is because it radiates emotion, which makes me sympathises towards him and his family. It is a painful image, which can be compared to contrasting photographs, which show times when he is happy and cheerful. The lighting of this image is dark on the viewers left side, which is contrasted with the right as it appears to have a beam of light shining on the top of his face, which I assume is coming from an artificial light. I personally feel this image is extremely strong and can be linked to straight or documentary photography as he documents his fathers emotions.
Finally, the last concept sequencing through my photographic study is the word ‘fate.’ This can also be interpreted in both Laia Abril’s and Phillip Toledo’s projects. The word fate can be described in various ways such as: ‘the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power’ or ‘be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way.’ The word fate can also be referred to the Greek and Roman mythology about the three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person was thought of as a spindle, around which the three Fates. These were Clotho, which is seen as the one who spins the thread of life, Lachesis, which determines how long one lives, and Atropos, which decides when individuals die and how. They all spin the thread of human destiny. Abril and Toledano look at fate in a alike way as it references to the fate of a person’s life.
In Toledano’s project ‘Days with my father’ he refers to the fate of his father. Memory loss frequently comes with old age, but can this be seen as fate or a result of previous life choices? Another one of Toledano’s project entitled ‘Maybe’, this where he decided to confront his fears of death and aging, by photographing his “future self” in various stages he could imagine himself experiencing at the end of his life. Toledano began by taking a DNA test to determine illnesses he was likely to get. He consulted with fortune-tellers, hypnotists, and researched insurance company statistics. He then sought the help of Adam Morrow, who specialises in makeup and prosthetics. Toledano himself feels we as humans do not have control over our fate as he admits “When my mother died, it made me realise that you don’t have any control over your destiny at all,” This is reflected in his project as he shows different ways in which his life could turn out in years to come, indicating there is a equal possibility of all of these as his fate is out of his hands. There was various versions of photograph, showing his ‘future self’ for example ‘Office job’, a photograph where he sits in a office chair with stacks of paper behind him, forming the background. This contrasts with other images made within the book such as a photograph entitled ‘plastic surgery’ where he appears to have had his facial structure modified as he stands in a suit and bow tie, suggesting he is someone important. He described this as seeing himself as an old man. “I would envision failure and loneliness. I would be invisible. Unable to walk. Obese. I would suffer a stroke. I would lose myself. I would slip sideways, into the irrelevant.I would see my own death.” Our experiences could be seen as something out of our control as our life is planned for us and supports the debate of determinism vs free will. The idea of free will is the concept which believes we make our own choices in life, these choices result in consequences and these consequences are our path in life. This juxtaposes against the belief Toledano has on the outcome of lives, but is a notion many people who don’t follow religion would adopt. This theory is supported by science, research found discovered that lifestyle and poor health choices early in life not only affect memory later in life, but also affect memory among younger adults as well. A study conducted by UCLA has shown that if you are depressed; don’t get enough exercise; have lower education levels or have high blood pressure, you may notice that memory loss is becoming an issue at any age, specially in later life. This revelation indicates life choices can in fact affect your later life. This image by Toledano entitled ‘Drunk again’ can be a interpreted in both of these ways. The background of the image is mostly dark with faded lights in the distance, which almost looks like bokeh. This is a photography technique is the way the lens renders out of focus at points of light. This background attracts the eyes naturally to the man himself, which is clearly a staged image, made to look like an action shot of a drunk man. His face and the top of his head is wet, suggesting it had been or was raining. His hair is thin, which is a sign of alcohol abuse and his left eye is bleeding, implying he has fallen over or been in a fight as a result of being drunk. He is dressed in a suit, suggesting he has a well respected or professional job. This photograph proposes that the man is not happy in his life or job and often abuses alcohol to relieve his pain and forget about how unhappy he is. He looks almost disappointed with himself but can’t stop, expressed through the word again after drunk in the title. This could be seen as a tableaux image, based on a true situation and presented as a documentary image. Was he always going to be an alcoholic or did he choose this path? The argument is if his experiences were planned, leading to this alcohol abuse, this be seen as fate, which is out of his control or did he chose what he did in his life, making decisions for himself including becoming an alcoholic? Toledano would argue it is fate and we will never know our future or what will happen to us further down the line.
“The future became a shadowed landscape, filled with uncertain paths and ruinous storms”- Phillip Toledano
Drunk Again
Similarly, Laia Abril looks at the fate of Cammy’s life and whether her death was due to fate or poor decisions throughout her life. The experiences she faced growing up might have been seen as fate, experiences Cammy herself had no control over or it could be seen as the choices and experiences within her life were chosen by Cammy. For this specific project it is up to interpretation of the viewer. After researching into eating disorders I found some shocking statistics such as: “The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.” And: “20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems”. This figures were taken from the South Carolina department of mental health. Personally, I feel it is a choice to stop eating knowing the damage being done. However, the experiences that lead to Cammy feeling like she had to do this was not Cammy’s choices but fate as no one has control over the experiences you face. But it is the way you react to these experiences which makes it a decision. An image made by Abril which I feel is immensely powerful is of an object. This object is weighing scale, which displays the weight of your body. This object could be seen as the reason for Cammy’s death as she would have never been satisfied with the number on the scales. This would have led to her neglecting her food and this resulted in her to become Bulimic. This means she would binge eat in a short amount of time and then through it up. This was in efforts to lose weight to be ‘slim’ and achieve her unrealistic goals. The scales in the photograph would have been a huge part of her daily life as she would have probably used these to track how much weight she had lost and would continue until she was happy with her weight, the sad thing about Bulimia is that it’s extremely difficult to stop when you have started. To think that her being unhappy with her body image, led to that is saddening. The lighting is clearly artificial as it has a white tone to it, which empathises the white scales, making the viewers eyes attracted to them. It is taken in a bird line view to show the scales how Cammy would have seen them as she stepped on them when weighing herself. This would be a object of Cammy’s, which the people who loved her would have hated and therefore does not provide a good memory of Cammy like other objects might have. This photograph represents her pain.
Overall, Phillip Toledano’s and Laia Abril’s work uses very similar styles of photography and they both convey similar messages in their final outcomes, although they are both referring to different topics. My question aimed to identify how both artists explore notions of change, fate and absence. Throughout my essay I have discussed my reasoning behind this, considering how the work may be interpreted in different ways, linking this to my own work. I mainly focus on how these artists explore change, fate and absence, providing only little evidence and discussion on how it may not be viewed as these ideas. I personally learnt that the way an image is interpreted is really down to the viewers ideas and concepts, so for some people they may not agree with the content of my essay but I am aware of this. Above all, photographers are able to inform viewers about social issues encouraging practical application. The public need to inform themselves and the community about issues such as eating disorders, which can be seen as a result of bully in Cammy’s case. This shows the public through a photographic approach, the affects of bullying, reinforcing the needs of policies in place to discourage bullying. This could be done through effective programmes, mostly within schools. Furthermore, by removing the opportunity for children and teenagers to bully, providing them with a stimulating environment, giving them the tools to deal with conflict appropriately. Although this will not fully eradicate bullying , however increasing the awareness of the problem and the effects will make people more aware of the damage which can be done. Similarly, when it comes to memory loss there are some negative lifestyle choices which can affect your memory at later life, by the public being aware of this also, gives individuals a decreased risk of these specific illness. These types of book can be extremely relate-able and comforting. From studying both Toledano’s and Abril’s projects, alongside creating my own, I have learnt the three concepts can create an overall theme and link together. Change and absence can be seen as a consequence of fate, something none of us can control. These changes and absences can bring us happiness but it can also result in our saddest moments, I believe both photographers have explored this factor clearly within their work. I have also attempted to show this in my own. The assumption fate is out of our control can not truly be a fact, just as the idea we make our own decisions leading us to our paths can not be proved. However, interpretation will play a significant role in your beliefs. This essay provides mine.
“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.”
An additional key theme is the concept of change, the word change has various different meanings such as: ‘make or become different’; ‘take or use another instead of’ and ‘an act or process through which something becomes different.’ Both Toledano and Abril develop this in very similar but also slightly different ways. Laia Abril looks at change after death and how this effects the people within Cammy’s life. This differs to Toledano’s work as he explores the change in his fathers mental state as well as referencing change after the death of his mother, which is where the two projects link.
Abril investigates the aftermath of Cammy’s death within the family showing the family life after this significant event, which has changed, smiles turning into frowns and laughter turning into silence. The project includes extracts of Cammy’s diary, which states her feelings on the specific date of the 5th of September 1995 “How i’ve felt today, let’s see it people could ignore me more, Kaky is going out w/ banks & taking Auchra & Maggie. Umph, leave me and Becky out. Bitch, she’s not cool.” (including a photograph of a crying animated face.) There is also an extract which her brother explains “She starts losing weight before college, we all thought it was a positive thing, nobody actually knew what was really going on.” This suggest this is where the crucial change in Cammy’s life began. Throughout the book there is a consistent exploration of triggers and where this change occurred in her life and when the family started noticing something was seriously wrong. This is implied through images and context developed by the family themselves. There are also images of Cammy within the project where Bulimia has not affected her and these can clearly be compared to images of her when she was distinctly unwell. This displays a change in her physical condition as well as her mental state. Finally, there is also a huge change in the family atmosphere and relationship as her brother Tommy reveals “Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are brutal holidays in our family.” However, he mother admits “I remember feeling a relief because she is in a safe place.” There is a continuous conflict in feeling grief and happiness that she is no longer in pain or miserable as she constantly tries to reach her vision of perfection. The families emotion change as well as their relationships with each other as they feel they feel the need to be closer to prevent feeling this loss again. I personally, feel the context within the book to be truly powerful and contribute to the meaning of the photographs. This specific photograph is of Cam, who is the mother of Cammy’s boyfriend Adam. The image is a portrait style image, capturing her shoulders upwards as she stares straight with a glazed over look in her eyes. Suggesting she can’t focus or feel due to her pain. Her eyes do not look at the camera but it appears she knows it is there but is feeling numb. The caption written next to the photograph reads “Everybody was waiting for Adam to propose to Cammy that fall.” This implies she feels some sort of guilt that her son was with Cammy while she was ill, also hurt and suffering to imagine her son’s grief as well as her own. This photograph refers to how future plans can be changed quickly and something/someone you love can vanish before your very eyes. As far as the quality of the image technically, I personally feel it is a strong image. The woman presented in the photograph is the main focus of the image as the background is blurred, centering our eyes to her face. The light used is natural and seems to be coming through the window, which is located behind her resulting in shadowing. The change in emotional state within this photograph reflects the effect of her death. This is something that would alter the familie’s life forever.
On the other hand, Phillip Toledano interpreted the idea of change slightly differently. Toledano explores the change in his fathers mental state as well as referencing change after the death of his mother. We observe a son, which is Phillip Toledano trying to ask the questions that never got asked in all the preceding years. It’s a tale of the mysteries and challenges of aging, the search for connection, the exposing of real selves, and the moments of love that come full circle when the roles are reversed and the child takes care of the parent. This reflects the change a person goes through as a result of getting older. In the case of this project, memory loss is explored as well as the change in their life since the death of Toledano’s mother. One of these important changes is his fathers emotions, this refers to both his confusion due to his illness and also his grief as a result of his wife’s death. Toledano explains that “Sometimes, when we’re talking, my dad will stop, and sigh, and close his eyes. It’s then that I know he knows. About my mum. About everything.” Suggesting the emotional state has changed as he starts to remember upsetting events. This could also be linked to his physical change as his father was described as ‘firm-star handsome’ when he was young and this change into “a man no longer beautiful upsets him deeply.” This implies he does not like the changes within his life but knows and has always known that these days would come. It’s outcome of aging and it cannot be stopped. The changes in his life are challenging and hard to comprehend, which often leads him to feel “it is time for him to go, that he’s been around for too long.” This suggests this is a new feeling his father expresses, the way he feels about life is altered by the experiences he is faced with and the changes which have occurred. Throughout the book there is a consistent exploration of changes and where these might of occurred in his life and due to what events or experiences. This is implied through images and context developed by Toledano himself as well as quotes taken from his father. There are only images of his father when he is ill and the changes have already occurred, these cannot be compared to what his father was like before the illness through images but can be through context provided by Toledano. This displays a change in his physical condition as well as his mental state, focusing closely on confusion and grief. The context within the project gives the audience a deeper understanding of his father’s life from the past and the present.
This image is a portrait of his father presented in a landscape format, again capturing the shoulders upwards. The main focus of the photograph is the man’s face as the background is blurred, leaving the focal point sharp and clear. He has a painful expression on his face, suggesting he is crying or hurt. This is clear as his nose is crumpled; his eyebrows frowning and his teeth clenching. His eye gaze is directed towards the floor and his back seems to be hunched over, rounding his shoulders as if he feels the pain physically. This suggests the change in his mental and emotional state, showing his frustration. This image was captioned with context which stating “Eating is often a miserable experience.” Toledano explains the one thing he did love was eggs: scrambled eggs; egg salad; egg-drop soup.” This implies he would stick to what he knew he liked and this was probably easy to make. The main reason I like this photograph is because it radiates emotion, which makes me sympathises towards him and his family. It is a painful image, which can be compared to contrasting photographs, which show times when he is happy and cheerful. The lighting of this image is dark on the viewers left side, which is contrasted with the right as it appears to have a beam of light shining on the top of his face, which I assume is coming from an artificial light. I personally feel this image is extremely strong and can be linked to straight or documentary photography as he documents his fathers emotions.
Straight photography understood today captures an image of a scene as we see it in reality, often using sharp focus, wide depth of field and refraining from image manipulation. . This movement was first publicised in the early 1900’s through a note by The New York Times on an exhibition in New York with photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn, Gertrude Kasebier, Clarence H. White and many others. In the 1904 article ‘A Plea for Straight Photography,’ A critic Sadakichi Hartmann, expressed his regrets about the excessive handwork and painterly flourishes that characterised much of what he saw in Pictorialist photography, arguing, “We expect an etching to look like an etching, and a lithograph to look like a lithograph, why then should not a photographic print look like a photographic print?” Straight photography was a result of Pictorialism. Pictorialism was in the time period of the 1880’s, which was around the time of the second industrial revolution. Romanticism was extremely popular at this time and this linked well with pictorialism photographs as they were like paintings, engravings or a drawings. It was a way of projecting an emotional intent into a viewer’s imagination. The characteristics pictorialism displayed were the blurred, fuzzy and textured images that almost look like paintings, this was through manipulating images, which is a key feature in pictorialism. This then provoked the idea of straight photography, which is completely different to Pictoralism as people felt images were being manipulated too much and therefore preferred photographs having more realistic features. They then focused on documenting events and every day life as they saw it. The key characteristic was really just true and real images, which represent elements of social, economical, political and culture and this was later named documentary photography. Similarly, realism claims to have a special relationship with reality and shows the cameras ability to record real events and real life without manipulation. Its a way in which the photographer sees the world and the way they choose to photograph it, portraying the truth. This style of photography relates to my own project that I am working on, as well as the artists’ work I am exploring. In my own photographic study of my Granddad I wanted to capture a realistic insight into his life, struggles and illness, by taking photographs in a documentary style creating a story close to the truth of his experiences showing that manipulation of images is not needed to express this. I have adopted a snapshot approach as I wanted the photographs to be raw and genuine, with hints of the vernacular present throughout. This reflects a closeness, a familiarity, intimacy and every-day connection. It is not staged.
However, some images in my book have been converted to black and white or even cropped, but these are very simple and is not manipulated enough for the image to be untrue. Realism is about giving “the observer a feeling of intrusion on privacy when looking at it.” – The guardian. This is another aim of my own project as well as the artists.
Phillip Toledano’s work for example gives outsiders a personal view of his father’s last days as he has photographed him experiencing everyday life inside his home. This notion is what inspired me to follow a similar aim in my own photographs. For example, accessing archival imagery of my granddad is something which can be seen as something very personal and as a photographer, putting these images into to my own project gives outsiders an insight of his personal life behind closed doors previously as well as showing more recent photographs of his life now, letting the viewers make a comparison and detect change between then and now. On the other hand, the photographs produced by Phillip and myself can also be seen as narrative photography as the sequence of images are made to tell a story to the viewers through the pages and images produced. Narrative photography can be both documentary style photography or tableaux photography, both myself and Toledano use narrative photography in a documentary style. This means it’s more of a story of true events and situations compared to tableaux, which are staged and made up photographs, however, they can be based on a real event. Another example of a artist who uses both documentary and narrative photography is Laia Abril, she investigated and documented how a family coped with the aftermath of losing their daughter to bulimia. Separating the work into sections allowed her to approach different aspects through different platforms, not only in the multiplicity of perspectives but also in a constantly evolving visual stimulation. All three projects ‘Days with my father’, ‘The Epilogues’ and my personal study entitled ‘The Aftermath’ all tackle emotion subjects, specifically change, absence and fate.
For my personal study, it is important that in my essay, I have several quotes from my included artists to provide content, body and talking points as well as evidence to discussions etc. To do this, I need several different sources of information in which I can receive direct quotes from the artist themselves. I will be using the Harvard System of Referencing to embed each quote I use into my essay when appropriate in order for the source of the quote to be known. I have previously used the Harvard System of Referencing in photography but also in English Language AS so this will benefit my ability to use it properly.
Below are the sources from which I feel I can retrieve quotes from to use in my essay to back up any comments or statements I make regarding Eich and Frazier’s photo books.
How have the photographers Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier explored themes of attachment and detachment in their own family through their work and, in particular, their most recent projects looking at family?
“As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of a space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag 1977:9)
My interest in photography derives from how raw and truthful an image or series of images are. I achieve satisfaction from photographs which show everything as it is without removing any factor of reality; it as it this point at which imagery loses my interest. I believe that this relates to the beauty that comes from images created from the insecurity from the person behind the camera. Within my own work, I attempt to do this. The space in which I am insecure encourages an emotional and physical urge and a sometimes unwanted force to venture into a neighbouring space in which I feel less comfortable but more willing to experience more challenging emotions. It is with my camera and in my project looking at the reality of feeling attached yet isolated, that I can explore this feeling of lonesomeness. I am using my mum and dad’s divorce thirteen years ago as a starting point for the generation of my series which centers around my experiences with the people closest to me. As I grow into an ever-maturing yet still sensitive man, I struggle to find myself in this fast-moving, fragile world; I find myself unknowingly becoming detached from the people who should be my most dear. I see this project as a way of building lost relationships. Using a subject close to my heart, I have been able to capture a view that feels very poetic, like that of Eich and Frazier’s work. My aim is to make the intangible, tangible by collaborating closely with my subjects to create a meaningful insight into my family with room for interpretation by the viewer – an aspect I have been focusing on heavily for my project – to create something for the audience to interact with (the book) and content the audience can relate with. Taking inspiration from photo-books of several artists, others including JH Engstrom and Anders Peterson and their use of images of several formats and styles, I have generated an immense interest in putting aside much of my time and effort to create a professional and suitedbook, paying close attention to design, font and other marginal details. My project is an exploration into my family and myself for personal satisfaction and as a visual documentation to cherish and keep, providing that very possession of a moment in time that can be so easily be forgotten. “Memory is fragile” (HARVARD SYSTEM OF REFERENCING) said Eich in his statement for recent body of work, I Love You I’m Leaving. It is with my photographs that memories become realised and documenting my own familial circle, like Eich and Frazier, I can provide a structure to my family’s memory.
Below is the same introduction paragraph as above but with some minor tweaks to improve the overall quality of how it read. After going through the paragraph with my teacher, I realised there were a few alterations I could make to improve the vocabulary and grammar. Below is the same paragraphs with those alterations, highlighted in bold.
How have the photographers Matt Eich and LaToya Ruby Frazier explored themes of attachment and detachment in their own family through their work and, in particular, their most recent projects looking at family?
“As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of a space in which they are insecure.”
My interest in photography derives from how raw and truthful an image or series of images are. I achieve satisfaction from photographs which show everything as it is without removing any factor of reality; it as it this point at which imagery loses my interest. I believe that this relates to the beauty that comes from images created from the insecurity from the person behind the camera. Within my own work, I attempt to do this. The space in which I am insecure encourages an emotional and physical urge and a sometimes unwanted force to venture into a neighbouring space in which I feel less comfortable but more willing to experience more challenging emotions. It is with my camera and in my project looking at the reality of feeling attached yet isolated, that I can explore this feeling of lonesomeness. I am using my mum and dad’s divorce thirteen years ago as a starting point for the development of my series which centers around my experiences with the people closest to me. As I grow into an ever-maturing yet still sensitive man, I struggle to find myself in this fast-moving, fragile world; I find myself unknowingly becoming detached from the people who should be my most dear. I see this project as a way of building lost relationships. Using a subject close to my heart, I have been able to capture a view that feels very poetic, like that of Eich and Frazier’s work. My aim is to make the intangible, tangible by collaborating closely with my subjects to create a meaningful insight into my family with room for interpretation by the viewer – an aspect I have been focusing on heavily for my project – to create something for the audience to interact with (the book) and content the audience can relate with. Taking inspiration from photo-books of several artists, others including JH Engstrom and Anders Peterson and their use of images of several formats and styles, I have generated an immense interest in putting aside much of my time and effort to create a book, paying close attention to design, font, concept and other marginal details. My project is an exploration into my family and myself for personal satisfaction and as a visual documentation to cherish and keep, providing that very possession of a moment in time that can be so easily be forgotten. “Memory is fragile; the moments are fleeting and have to be wrestled into a permanent state.” (Eich 2017:http://fence.photoville.com/artist/love-im-leaving/) said Eich in his statement for recent body of work, ‘I Love You I’m Leaving’. It is with my photographs that memories become realised and documenting my own familial circle, like Eich and Frazier, I can provide a structure to my family’s memory that can be built to last instead of a moment in time being brushed aside when forgotten within the busier, more active momentous of life. It is the little moments that require time to step back and appreciate that we should treasure; when I release the camera’s shutter, is an acknowledgement that a moment is significant…
To understand how to identify a narrative and understand the design process of photobook making before making my own I read varies texts and articles to see other peoples views and information.
In the article Identifying the Story: Sequencing isn’t narrative written by Colin Pantall, he focuses on creating narrative within photobooks and then sequencing the photographs and book designs to tell the story and work well with the narrative. He also explained he found it quite difficult to sequence his book as he tried lots of different approaches such as: ‘hronology, geography, family, resemblance, art history, season, colour, form, tone, flora, expression, dress, climate, mood, symbolism and material.’ He admits that sequencing was a ‘gradual process’ and he found it fairly hard, as none of these made a narrative. He explains that what actually made the narrative was identifying what the story was about. This links to creating ‘all the structures through which the story can flow and the structures plus the story creates the narrative.’ He refers to Ania Nalecka’s workshop where she asks in three words what your story is about- which to me seems extremely difficult to describe everything in just 3 words. Colin describes his book is: “the story of me going out into these environments with Isabel, it’s my identification with these places, it’s me forming a relationship in these places, and the sense of loss that I experienced as Isabel grew up.” This can be shortened to 3 words: Identification, relationships and loss. I decided to try this myself as I my 3 words would be: Change, Absence and Fate, which are 3 common words I will be referring to in my essay.
Another source I have looked at Joerg Colberg’s book, which consider the many aspects of photobook making, which is divided into 5 parts explanations online part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5. He explains that photographers looking at making a book can not done, ‘without considering its content’- this suggests that the layout and structure of the book is influenced by the subject of the book itself, which supports what Colin also mentioned in his blog. He also discusses the various properties, which book makers are ‘advised to pay careful attention to’ these are size, weight, choices of materials, type of binding, etc. In the first series of articles, he looks at production choices, in particular how a book is bound, by using more than one book for any given type of binding. He refers to the feel and smell of the book to be important as well as the look of the book (layout, the images themselves, colours, size, structure, text and title etc) given we have to touch photobooks when we look at them, we feel how that handle. We feel how they react to us turning their pages and we feel how easy or difficult the handling is, which is a key concept within his text. He ‘derives deep pleasure from photobooks where the form of the object and its intended function work together.’ Stressing that the book does not have to look fancy or have a particular layout as long as it has a correlation to the concept of the book. He feels most Photobooks tend to consist of a larger number of pictures, which are shown in a particular sequence for any number of reasons. These reasons can be incredibly complex, in particular if they’re driven by ideas of narrative, or they can be quite simple (remember, simple isn’t bad — simplistic is). This is the basic approach adopted by George Georgiou‘s Last Stop , who photographed through the windows of buses in London, the idea of the journey becomes quite obvious. In reality, there could have been quite a few separate journeys, with the presentation in the book being a fictional trip. ‘But it also doesn’t matter so much whether the presented journey is real in a documentary sense or in a metaphorical sense.’ He also refers to accordions within books, which can also be referred to as leporello or concertina books. He also discusses how to make these by hand ‘To make a very basic accordion book, all you have to do is to fold a long piece of paper into smaller sections, and you got your book. The devil, of course, is in the details, since you’ll need to fold the paper carefully, so your book won’t be irregular or even start twisting. Folding a long piece of paper is one option of making an accordion. Usually, these types of books are produced from shorter sections that are taped or glued together.’
He then continues to look at unusual binding choices, one of these is Spiral (or coil) binding he feels this looks cheap and ineffective most of the time so advises photobook makers to produce a physical dummy to make sure this is how you would like your book to turn out and to avoid mistakes, especially for this type of technique. He also mentions this might be a good way of practicing the layout of the book, making sure you are happy with the structure even if you do not use the spiral bind for your final book. There are two types of spiral binding, which are spiral/coil binding and double-loop-wire binding. Simply, a single spiral holding the book together, and the material could be either plastic or metal. On the other hand, the double-loop wire uses metal, and there are two loops going through each of the holes, this is less flexible and allows for pages to possibly escape, something that’s impossible for the single spiral, unless the page gets torn out. Much like the accordion, the spiral has its uses. Unlike the accordion, a spiral probably needs to be adopted more for the aesthetic it comes with than the function it offers. He feels ‘as the final form for a book, I quite like the spiral, but I feel that it’s a lot easier to make a bad spiral-bound book than an accordion, say. You really want to think it through before you commit to it.’ These more unusual binding types are interesting and as a viewer you notice them so much more in a busy self of books.
He tells his viewers that the simplest way to make a book is to take a piece of paper, to fold it in half. If If you want your book to have more pages, you can add them by folding more pieces of paper and inserting them. If you don’t want the book to so easily fall apart, run two or three staples through the “spine,” and you’re all set. This is how you make a simple, basic and easy book. He uses Donald Weber‘s Interrogationsas an example as he uses a pamphlet style book, which was an idea driven and inspired by a ‘basic police report.’ Pamphlets can be seen as useful and have ‘good properties’ as you can stack as many different types, styles or weights of paper as you want to create your book, this type of mixing can become difficult in other types of binding. The downside to pamphlet is that you need to plan the book carefully, he gives the example of ‘Let’s say you think early on in your book you need two pages of a very different paper. So you’ll add it. What this means, though, is that given it’s a pamphlet book, there will also be two of those pages very late in the book.’ A pamphlet can look homely and precise- this may be the feel you are going for within your project so making a pamphlet which you can sew together or staple together could reinforce the feel and story you would like to tell.
He discusses the alternatives to holding the pages together if you don’t like the idea of the binder. These could be to ‘run some staples through the stack of paper.’ This is how the 1945 abridged softcover version of Weegee’s Naked City that was produced this way. Its cover, a just very slightly heavier paper stock, wraps around the stapled stack of paper. Another technique is Stab Binding, which is described ‘ instead of a hole punch and a pre-made binder, you make a series of smaller holes through the pages, and the book is held together with binder’s thread. ‘ This is unlike other binding techniques this is using thread not plastic or metal. The limitations of this is that you lose some of the image as the holes can’t not be close to the edge as this make the book unstable. An example of an artist who uses this is Kosuke Okahara’s Vanishing existence this particular book is maybe an even better example of stab binding. He advises bookmakers to be very specific in their intent, and that the intent is made to work with the binding. ‘In a sense, stab binding is a great way to make books that are even just aesthetically intensely pleasing.’ Of all the binding types I can think of stab binding is the one that commands most attention on its own.
He then focus on aspects of photobooks, which he feels ‘appears to have commanded more attention than binding.’ This is the use of different types and sizes of paper. He uses the example of Christian Patterson’s Redheaded Peckerwood ,which showed that the pages in a book didn’t necessarily all have the same size. This is a simple way to organise information in a tactile and/or visual order, the difference in size and material might contribute to the overall narrative of the book and therefore make sense to include this technique. In Peckerwood’s book, the different sizes support the idea of the facsimile, which supports the underlying message. He admits this is probably easier to produce if their handmade books and also says if they decided to do this digitally, high costs might be involved. He looks at important questions such as ‘is what I’m thinking I should have feasible? Can it be made, and can costs be kept under control?’ Also equally important question is: ‘does this actually make sense? What purpose do these different types of paper and/or page sizes serve?’ He finishes with making a statement about a photobook designer: ‘A smart and experienced photobook designer will be able to come up with a design/production that will adhere to the budget.’
