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Critical Image Analysis (Matt Eich)

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This post will outline a critical image analysis of a chosen photograph from Matt Eich’s diaristic project following the journey of his family through their time a time of distress and grief surrounding his parents divorce. It is entitled ‘I Love You, I’m Leaving’ and is one of two parts of my personal study for my coursework; LaToya Ruby Frazier being the other – whom I have already carried out a critical image analysis of.

Describing – FORM – What is here? What am I looking at?

The image above, which I will be analysing in detail, is taken form Matt Eich’s series entitled ‘I Love You, I’m Leaving’. The insightful project follows the life of Matt Eich and his family as he documents, as a photographer, his relationships, as he serves as a father to his children, a husband to his wife and a son to his just divorced parents. It is a poetic and diaristic expression of love and what attachment and detachment can do to a family. Eich, in his statement for the project, taken form (website) expresses that the series was “created during a time of personal domestic unease. I made this work when my parents separated after 33 years of marriage and my wife, children and I had moved to a new city.”

The photograph in question is a very simple yet well executed and elegant image full of character. The image frames one person – and this subject is actually unknown and the only part of the subject’s body that we can see, informing us that it is a photo of realism, is the subjects feet poking out of the bottom of the silk sheet which falls gracefully, and rather ghostly over the shape of the body underneath. Looking at the feet of the subject it looks like it could be a little boy’s feet due to the size of them and the body underneath the cover.

However, observing Eich’s family which is revealed in the rest of the images in the project, their son only looks very young and the size of the body looks more suited to that of the their daughter’s height.

The little girl huddles lonesomely in the corner of her bed underneath a silk sheet which drapes gracefully over her body contours. There is certain glow and glaze which provides body to the image.

It is an image I really like because it is quite eerie in its ghostly state – with the shadow of the feet casting against the wall and the silk texture of the sheet providing a certain glow and shine to the overall look. Furthermore, the head is completely covered under the sheet and the only evidence of a human body is shown in the the feet which hand out the end. The girl is curled up in a semi-ball shape as though  she is scared of something. Connotations of ghostliness is reiterated in the relationship between the way she is curled up, huddled under a cover, like a child would when scared, as well as the fact that she, in her own form looks ghostly.

Interpreting – MEANING – What is it about?

Interpreting this image beyond its face value and deeper into the psychological meaning of it, it could mean much more relating to the grief the family may be going through. Eich states that the project was made during a time of personal domestic unease; during a time where the unwelcomed separation of his parents came after 33 years of marriage and, as well, at the inconvenient time at which Eich, their son, had began to create his own family and they were ready to move to a new city to begin their lives elsewhere with his own wife, and three children. The fact that one of the children, whom we don’t know, is tucked away under the blanket, with a deliberate hidden identity may signify that they may feel quite isolated from family life at the moment with the relatives she once knew to be happy and cohesive, now broken and full of upset. Eich reiterates this feeling of unease and makes it clear that it was personal unease but this internal feeling, although tempting to keep in and hide from others, often has to be expressed. This may, in-turn affect the whole family.

Although the little girl may only be playing around with her father as she hides under the sheet in a game of hide-and-seek, it is useful to look further into it to infer and interpret another meaning that could also be realistic. The fact that we cannot see the body underneath the sheet may represent a feeling a lost identity in the new life the family leads. Eich, along with his wife has made the joint decision that it would be best to move away to start a new life, to create more memories with their new-found family. The children likely wouldn’t have got s say in this and the move may have been sprung on them at the last minute. Because of this, it likely that the children may begin to feel a sense of lost identity that the home they once lived in and begin their live sin has now been taken away. I am aware of this feeling from personal experience when I moved from house to house to visit my dad wherever he was staying st the time. After moving out of his, once known home, he had to find a place to live which came as a struggle at the time and as his son, I felt quite confused but found ways to make the most of the new surroundings I found myself in when visiting him.

As a child, you look for a certain spots in your home to act as a den-type area – where you can go to be yourself – to be a kid, sit and do nothing – like I used to – I used to make dens out sofa cushions and find nooks in the house that I could fit into and sit for the fun of it because I was young and my mind had the ability to imagine and wonder off. The image above could represent  this same concept – under the sheets on this bed – she may find comfort or enjoyment out of hiding underneath it and it could be her own way of isolating herself from the family to allow herself mental room to imagine, as a kid should.

Evaluating – JUDGEMENT – How good is it?

In my personal opinion, knowing the type of photography I enjoy, I would say that this image is very good and is the exact type of image that attracts me to look at the rest if the series is I was to spot this in an exhibition etc.

Because of it obscurity, I believe that is a very attractive and intriguing image that would draw me in to know more about the photographer as well as the project.

The image would have been taken with a fixed lens in order to get a close to to the subject and the fact that it is black and white adds ot the quality, in my opinion – because it is not heavily reliant on contrasts between heavy blacks and luminant whites and instead focuses on the neutral to provide body to the photograph. Furthermore, there are several leading lines within the photograph; from the feet hanging out the end of the sheet, these lead the audiences eyes along the top of the body, over the legs and to the head which is also under the covers and on centered on a hotspot, if I was to apply the rule of thirds.

As well, I often say this with Eich’s images, each and every one, within this particular project, I believe could work on its own, in solitary from the other images because every one is so powerful and poetic in its expression. This may be why Eich puts only one image to two pages throughout his book because he feels like they would be best appreciated one at a time – as opposed to other photographers who may use two or even three to a page. The size of the images in the small portrait book also reiterate the fact that they are delicate images which hold meaning in more than one way.

Theorizing – CONTEXT – Is it art? How does it relate to the history and theory of photography, art and culture?

Eich’s image capturing this particular moment in time of his daughter’s life at home is an image which works perfectly in his series looking at the fragility of family contrasting its ability to unite a collective of people within the familial circle.

The simplicity that lies within his photography is what makes it so beautiful and captivating because it is the thought behind each and every photo as well as the tones achieved from black and white film – all aspects come together to create meaningful and natural, very organic looking documentary images – and because of this, Eich’s work lends itself to the particular art movement of realism and straight photography because it captures life it most arwwst from – the camera is used as a witness to create memories of intimate moments int time in between the hustle an bustle of daily life – a style of work I enjoy experimenting with in my own projects – the reasons being, for personal reasons and it is the same for any documentary imagery, is that it creates a very truthful and realistic sense of emotion and makes it very easy to tell a story because you are capturing people in their natural forms. Catching people off guard with your lens makes for great results to show a series or a sequence. Eich’s imagery encapsulates the whole meaning of documentary work because it focuses less on post-production and alterations to improve an image an more on the subject and content matte to create a “good” image.

Eich borrows from personal experiences to stimulate his photographic work and his artistic eye – making for a very personal insight into what we, as the audience often tend not to see because it is regarded as personal business to be kept to oneself. The state of acting as a fly-on-the-wall looking in on family life of others, in both Eich and Frazier’s projects is what intrigues the audience, myself included.

 

Analysis, Artists References, Instruction, Personal Study, Research and analysis, Written Task

Critical Image Analysis (LaToya Ruby Frazier)

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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.

Image result for latoya ruby frazier the notion of family

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.

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Photo Book Investigation (Matt Eich – I Love You I’m Leaving) – Deconstructing the Book

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For my investigation into a photo book, I will be observing in detail, then discussing the features of Matt Eich’s photo book entitled ‘I Love You I’m Leaving’. I have chosen this book to research because it is the book I will be using in my personal study and Matt Eich is a photographer I have paid close attention to throughout my project thus far. His images are so very poetic and it is a style of documentary photography I am aiming to replicate in my project. The following few blog posts will be dedicated to the research into this photo book and will include discussion surrounding the narrative and features of the book as well as who Matt Eich is and my own options on the book. 

Deconstruction of the physical and narrative features of the book:

Book in hand
The book in hand feels very light and small – it can be handled easily and doesn’t feel too heavy.
The cover has a very smooth texture yet a little rough and feels almost like plastic.
Book is a small portrait format.

Paper and ink
The paper is the same throughout – matte paper with solely black and white images printed throughout.
There is no text / captions in the book
There is a coloured image of photographers grandfather at the beginning and the end as it is dedicated to him.

Format, size and orientation
There are 64 pages and 46 photographs.
The edition is softcover with an exposed spine.
The dimensions are 22 x 17 cm.
It is portrait and features images of all sizes.

Design and layout:
Within the book, there are no captions or texts alongside the images. However, there is a poem at the end next to the image where we the wife on the floor in what seems like a breakdown as she looks very uneased by something with her hands on head. I am not certain on what the poem means or who it was written by but it describes driving away from the one you love on a 10th wedding anniversary and feeling a sense of remorse.
Neither are there any fold-outs or inserts.
Landscape Images: 18
Portrait Images: 14
Full Bleed Images: 11
Tipped In Images: 2
Blank Pages: 5

Rhythm and sequencing:
The book starts and ends with very similar images; the first image of the project is of Eich’s daughter sat at a park bench with the light reflecting on her body and she has her eyes closed as she leans on the table. This image image is again shown as the last image to conclude the book but this time with her eyes open and the shadows reduced.
The second image introduces Eich and his wife in a self-portrait where we see Eich, sat down, learning his head against his wife’s bare abdominal as she stands. This is a very powerful image to introduce the wife and husband.
From this point, it seems as though every juxtaposes one another in the sequence they have been printed. There doesn’t seem to be an order yet that all work in conjunction with one another.
It is as though we physically take a journey through the busyness of family life as the husband and wife spend time with their children and as we are introduced to new characters throughout.

Structure and architecture:
The book, unlike other photo books simply consist of solely images which often don’t seem to have nay relation to one another and so it may, at first be difficult to derive nay meaning from the imagery and decipher the story which is wanting to be represented which is what I experienced at first . However, there seems to be a running theme of finding a balance between emotions, events and feelings. It starts at an equilibrium which seems to gradually crumble and become an imbalance of emotions within all family members and this is presented in the photographs as we people confiding in one another, and more serious facial expressions, if we see any at all because often, faces are covered with hands to hide the sadness. People seem to be less involved in their familial circle and daughters, the wife and Eich’s parents seem to become isolated from what once was an equilibrium.

Narrative:
The story is told from the perspective of Eich himself as a father, son and husband and focuses on all 3 of these elements of family life to tell a narrative of love, connections and detachments. Eich, although at the centre of it all, does not make this clear and instead focuses on the presence of his family members and how this provides a base for he life they all lead. Eich himself states that the book follows his documentation of what he experiences within his own familial circle as he, on regular basis makes connections with his daughters through his love for his wife and this welcomes an interaction between himself and his parents. The narrative can also tell a story of generations and how this is, even though very broad from elderly to youth, can actually connect a family through the relationships that build over this concept of ‘knowing our place in this fragile world’ as Eich states. This is shown in the image which includes the book where we one of Eich’s daughters sat by the coffin of Eich’s grandfather and even though this man is not present in the book’s content through, it reiterates the importance of remaining close because without that knowing of belonging, people can become so easily isolated which I explore in my own project through the main body looking at belonging; it provides an underlying guilt of not being present and instead being contained within yourself, something I have recently become a victim of and I am attempting to include this emotion in my project as I have become much more aware of my own feelings since starting this book. I see my own project as an experiment of truth and showing everything as it is – by not covering anything for the lens or presenting anything false for the camera. My aim and intent is for this to make my project more raw and real by not altering things to make them more “acceptable” because then photography does not become interesting and it removes that ability to connect with imagery once the rawness of what you are capturing has been discarded.

In Eich’s project, he does not attempt to tell a story of sorrow or upset and instead looks to simply present his family and the rawness of their respect and love for each other – this what I get and feel form looking and flicking through his book.

Title:
The title is literal but it is also poetic. The title ‘I Love You I’m Leaving’ I imagine was carefully chosen by Eich but once chosen would have been easily imagined because of it’s compete literal meaning. The story follows the split of his mother and father after over 30 years of marriage and how this break-away coincides with the departure if Eich and his newly formed family to a new city. It looks forming a new identify from what Eich used to be – from his mother and father’s careful nurturing to raise Eich to the man he is now has benefitted his ability to build his own relationships, however, occurring at the time of what once was a happy family’s physical and emotional detachment as he moves away, leaving his mother and father suffering on their own, also away from one another. The title, knowing this synopsis of the project, seems very suited and it does work very well. It also connotes the popular phrase of what people say to one another if they are about to leave an event or situation etc. but don’t rally want to and it is not out of their own will – people often say ‘I’ll love you and leave you’ as they say goodbye and this essentially what Eich is doing. It does very intrigue the audience because it opens the door to what is to come. 

Images and text: 

Image result for matt eich i love you i'm leaving

There is one piece of text throughout the hole book, excluding the two texts at the beginning and end which dedicates the book to Eich’s grandfather and this is the pome towards the latter of the book (shown above). It is a poem on a blank page next to a full bleed image of Eich’s wife lying on the floor. There are no captions or anything else apart from this four verse poem. I am not actually fully sure of the meaning of the pome and or what it’s intent on the audience is or who’s perspective it is actually from. However, I am imagining it is either rom Eich’s perspective to his wife or I thin that the most likely option is that it is written by Eich about his father’s divorce from his mother as it follows a story of leaving the said and feeling some sense of remorse but still a sense of love. I also believe the title of the poem is ‘X’ – most likely connoting a kiss in text talk.

 

Analysis, Artists References, Independent Study, Inspirations, Instruction, Personal Investigation, Photobook Design, Preparation, Reading, Research and analysis, Written Task

Photo Book Investigation (Matt Eich – I Love You I’m Leaving) – Research of Photo Book

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For my investigation into a photo book, I will be observing in detail, then discussing the features of Matt Eich’s photo book entitled ‘I Love You I’m Leaving’. I have chosen this book to research because it is the book I will be using in my personal study and Matt Eich is a photographer I have paid close attention to throughout my project thus far. His images are so very poetic and it is a style of documentary photography I am aiming to replicate in my project. The following few blog posts will be dedicated to the research into this photo book and will include discussion surrounding the narrative and features of the book as well as who Matt Eich is and my own options on the book. 
Research of the photo book:

I will be researching, for this task, the photo book produced by Matt Eich highlighting his project entitled ‘I Love you I’m Leaving’. This project outlines his parents split after several years pf marriage as he and his newly formed family transfer themselves form their hometown to a new city to start a new life as his parents are in a phase of vulnerability, grief and need. He feels as if he leaving in the most fragile of times and he documents this through photographing his family’s habits in in their new lease of life.

“I Love You, I’m Leaving is my meditation on familial bonds, longing, and memory. The series borrows from personal experience and the visual language of the everyday in order to create a fictional account that mirrors my reality. Made during a time of personal domestic unease, I photographed as my parents separated, and my family moved to a new city.” (ceibaeditions.com)

Image result for matt eich i love you im leaving

Throughout the book, Matt Eich sticks strictly with black and white images and focuses harshly on using shadows and light to depict a particular mood – this being quite eerie – there is a certain glow to Eich’s images and his subjects posses a certain importance highlighted through the use of light to illuminate their presence. You see the subjects consisting of his wife, two daughters and older generations through the family wearing mainly white and flaunting their hereditary blonde hair as the light Eich focuses on strictly catches and provides glow to the light colours each subject possesses.

Eich also pays close attention to providing a balanced tone spectrum in each image as you notice the whites being visibly brighter than that of the solid blacks and in between this, greys of all different tones fill the negative space to create a very tonally balanced image.

The genre Eich takes on is that of a documentary approach where he captures the still moments that take their course in between the more hectic, busier moments of life which are also captured on a more subtle level. However, the overall tone the images depict is very atmospheric as if each image is their to tell a story and work as a collective but each individual image also has the ability to stand solitary as a documentation of the fragility of their familial circle. No one image is isolated and they come together, intentionally to create a solid visual narrative of what Eich experiences as a photographer, father, husband and son.

With Eich’s imagery, he pays no attention to attempting  to romanticise life itself and as a documentary photography project, it shows life itself and the rawness and actuality of what, on an everyday basis, his family are familiarised with but as a viewer, we are getting an insight in this and become hooked on what we are shown and begin to attempt to deconstruct this when, really, Eich’s job is to show is what is front of him as he discovers his family just as much as we are when delving through the project. Each photograph has a meaning and makes no effort to depict a false reality and instead focuses on what is there – the tangible – but we are shown a sense of intangibility through the project as we attempt to sympathise and relate with something we only know fragments of. Furthermore, Eich creates this sense of belonging as he brings each and every family member together as a collective and us as the audience feel involved in this poetic representation of what family is and it’s ability, in partnership with attachment and love, to unite yet destruct the once solid family tribe.

Artists References, Independent Study, Inspirations, Instruction, Personal Investigation, Photobook Design, Preparation, Reading, Research and analysis, Written Task

Photo Book Investigation (Matt Eich – I Love You I’m Leaving) – Who is Matt Eich?

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For my investigation into a photo book, I will be observing in detail, then discussing the features of Matt Eich’s photo book entitled ‘I Love You I’m Leaving’. I have chosen this book to research because it is the book I will be using in my personal study and Matt Eich is a photographer I have paid close attention to throughout my project thus far. His images are so very poetic and it is a style of documentary photography I am aiming to replicate in my project. The following few blog posts will be dedicated to the research into this photo book and will include discussion surrounding the narrative and features of the book as well as who Matt Eich is and my own options on the book. 
Who is the photographer?

Matt Eich (b. 1986) is a portrait photographer and photographic essayist working on long-form projects about the American condition. He is currently a Professional Lecturer of Photography at The George Washington University and continues to accept commissions. Matt resides in Virginia with his family.

Matt holds a BS in Photojournalism from Ohio University and an MFA in Photography from Hartford Art School’s International Limited-Residency Program.

His second book, ‘I Love You, I’m Leaving’ was published in September 2017 by Ceiba Editions and is sold out. He has three forthcoming monographs scheduled between 2018 and 2020.

‘I Love You, I’m Leaving’ is Eich’s latest photo book. The book was a finalist at the Lucie Photo Book Prize in the Limited Edition category and received a special mention at FoLa Book Awards.

Until I came across Matt Eich, I did not really enjoy looking at black and white imagery because I thought it was traditional and classic and has been too over-used and as a result of this, I felt like I couldn’t be original when using black and white images in projects etc. I also felt like I couldn’t portray the mood and tone I would wish for in black and white because there is no colour and I used to enjoy relying on heavy colours to bring my photos to life but now I feel the complete opposite to this since discovering many modern day photographers who use black and white imagery for full projects. I now find pleasure out of relying on shadows, light and contrast to create dramatic or elegant and poetic black and white photographs.

Although this book would be aimed at a more elder target audience due to its subject matter and use of nudity within, I believe it could be aimed and read with enjoyment and pleasure by a keen photographer of any age because although the subject matter it relatively mature, it is very relatable to people of my age. It looks at the fragility of your place in the world and how this is secured through family life. I have found great enjoyment out of looking at this book because of its pure ability to speak to the reader throughout it’s poetic story-telling style.

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Divorce Parties

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This blog post covers work discovered through attending my work placement at Societe Jersiaise as well as this relating to my work for my personal investigation and I will be using this information mainly as research to work in conjunction with my project regarding my parent’s divorce and how this has since shaped my own life living two different experiences, one with my mum and the other with my dad. I encounter this notion of divorce parties when at Societe Jersiaise as the database lacks any information on divorces in Jersey and instead has over 100 images relating to marriages and weddings but this interesting discovery of divorce parties intrigued me and I thought that the information found would work well in conjunction with what I produce, even I do not produce anything [images] relating to the celebration of divorce – but on a deeper level – this whole project is a celebration of divorce as I am documenting this as it happened in the past and I am also showing it now and what has come of it – a celebration in its own right because the vent has in-turn affected me and made me a different prosper to who I would have been if they stayed together – one I am proud to be. My project looks at the fragility of relationships and the intimacy that comes with all relationships in a lifetime – to me intimacy is what makes a relationship strong because knowing a person inside and out, something I feel I possess with my relationship with my mum, my girlfriend and my sister, is crucial to feeling like you have a place within this world – this fast-moving world where often you can feel very isolated and this project looks to challenge that while supporting this realism through underlying moods and tones shown through my images – as much as it about finding a balance between two oppositions, it is good for these conflict at times; for example, loneliness and acceptance or cohesion and destructiveness of familial bonds.

The information to follow covers divorce parties and what they are and what the subject of divorce parties are supposed to take from it. However, I do believe that it would be interesting to perhaps get in contact with a wedding planner on Jersey to inquire as to whether the have weer actually organised a divorce party for a local and go from there with regards to including it in my project.

Once I discovered this idea of divorce parties, I did some research into it in order to see if it could get me anywhere and if it intrigued me. I found an article on The Guardian Online which covered the celebration and in particular interviewing a specialist in divorce party planning and a lady who has made a living out of it. You can read the full article above in the hyperlink but for now, I am going to list the notes made from reading into divorce parties from several sources. I also got some information from the planner’s website dedicated to booking a divorce party.

Divorce Parties 
  • Attempts to allow subject to get past pain of being divorced
  • there are divorce party planners who make a living out of it
  • Idea of rituals and ingrained traditions of celebrating birth, marriage, death bit not divorce…
  • Throw a divorce party to forget and vent anger of a cheating partner
  • If you want to become the person you used to be when single – to feel more independent and free
  • It is often women who want to throw a divorce party to forget their cheating male partner
  • It is a riddance of bad memories – revenge
  • E.G. one woman burnt cheating husband’s trophy on bonfire at the party
  • E.G. another woman threw wedding ring into sea and some burn their wedding veil or wedding photos
  • “There has been a couple guys but men don’t seem to need the display of support like women do”
  • There is a divorce party handbook which outlines etiquette at parties and what the evening would consist of etc.
  • It reiterates the importance to maintain relationships with people around you – however, detachment can lead to attachment onto other things to forget what once was happy times
Personal Study, Research and analysis

Different Art Movements

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Pictorialism

Pictorialism was in the time period of the 1880s so in-between the 19th-20th century, which  was the time of the second industrial revolution. Romanticism was also extremely popular during this time as well. A pictorialism photograph was like a painting, engraving or a drawing. 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.  Artists were inspired by spiritual and allegorical motifs, which includes religious scenes. The images created in this movement reacted against the industrial revolution not accepting the modernist movement. Allegorical painting, which might include figures symbolic of different emotional states- for example love was an inspiration for this movement. The key characteristics spoken about before were used by pictorialist artists by using a slow shutter speed, or they made the lens intentionally out of focus, which resulted in the fuzzy or blurred effect. They also use the technique of manipulating images when they are being developed in the dark room, which is called photocarvoe.

One of the main artists were Julia Margaret Cameron, who was a victorian photographer in the late 19th century. She specifically worked on closely framed portraits and also illustrative allegories based on religious literary works. Her images almost look like paintings or detailed drawings, she used typical techniques such as texturing the images, scratching them and also making the outer edges of the photograph blurry, which makes the viewers focus on the centre on the image as it draws our eyes to the sharp area of the image. This is seen throughout many pieces of her work and they look like they have been inspired by allegorical paintings as they are emotive and show emotion within the image.

Realism / Straight Photography

Straight photography is sometimes known as pure photography, which refers to photography that depict a situation with sharp detail and full focus as is therefore capturing exactly what they see. It became popular as early as 1904, this was when they started to move away from pictorialism as people felt it was manipulated too much as preferred photographs having more realistic features, which focused on documenting events and every day life as they saw it. The term straight photography was used by Sadakichi Hartmann in the camera work magazine and was later promoted by the editor Alfred Stieglitz. This was seen as capturing the truth, without manipulation and was seen as a celebration of the quality of the camera at this time. 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. Key documentary or straight/realism photographers are Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Edward Weston and Philip Hyde.

Paul Strand was an influential photographer and early icon of the “straight photography”. In contrast to Pictorialism, “Straight Photography” was a move to “pure photography”, which was loosely defined as having stylistic traits that were not manipulated heavily to mimic other art forms such as painting. A modernist, Strand was highly influenced by Alfred Stieglitz and Charles Sheeler. His work had a huge impact on the f/64 school of photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. He was driven to document his city with complete photographic objectivity, he created a means of shooting his subjects candidly. He worked out that by screwing in a false lens to one side of his camera pointing ahead while concealing the real lens under his arm facing his subjects, he was able to achieve such result. Most of his portraits were shot that way, including the seminal 1916 image of a blind street beggar (Blind), now an icon of early American modernism.

Modernism

Modernism rejects older movements favouring new art movements and experimental ways of producing art. It has characteristics of science saving the world, with a common trend being the ways to seek answers to important questions about the nature of art and society. One factor which shaped modernism was the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by reactions of horror to WW1. The world we are living in now is very different from the world of the past in terms of art so this makes the art movements that were popular previously, now out of date and no longer fit the world and are not popular within that generation. Another characteristic is that the view of the artist being the most important thing when producing the image or art form. Modernism is often seen as celebrating technology and machinery, this is very futuristic. The new art movements begun to question what art really is and how it supports other aspects of the world. The invention of photography was part of the step towards modernism because it deals with both machinery and technology. It is the modern way of image making, which contributed to the development of modernism and the modern society. 

A well known modernist photographer is Alexander Rodchenko. He is regarded as one of the most vibrant and progressive artists to emerge from Russia in the 20th century. With his work spanning painting, graphic design, photography and advertising, he continues to be widely recognized as one of the founders of the Constructivist movement and the father of modern Russian design. By rejecting conventional art forms, he radically contributed to the visual framework of Russia’s social and political values, influencing the development of European Modernist art. Rodchenko repeatedly manipulated angles, contrasts and tilts to achieve new perspectives and prevent passive viewing experiences. He wrote that “one has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again.” The drive for new perspectives echoed a yearning for a reformulation of aesthetics, one that was in tune with social and political developments. Modernism can be viewed as abstract, which is something you can see running through Alexander’s photographs.

Post-modernism

Postmodernism is a way of thinking about culture, philosophy, art and many other subjects. The term postmodernism has been used in many different ways at different times since it was established in the late 20th century, but there are some things in common with each way.

Postmodernism can be described in varies different ways- such as:

  1. Postmodernism states that there is no real truth. It says that knowledge is made or invented and that it is not discovered because knowledge is made by people. Because of this, a person cannot know something with certainty – all facts are therefore ‘believed’ instead of being ‘known’. When people believe that they know what the truth is, postmodernism says that they will soon think the truth is something different later.
  2. Since postmodernism says that the truth is just a thing that people invent, it therefore says that people can believe in different things and think it is the truth and it all be right. Postmodernism says that one person should not try to force someone else to believe what he believes, because it means nothing saying that one belief is right and the other is wrong. In Postmodernism, if somebody has a belief and tries to make somebody else believe it also, it means that they are just trying to gain power over the other.
  3. Something else about postmodernism is that it is very Meta, meaning it is self-aware. When it comes to this in photography, it is saying that it makes references to thing outside of the art of photography, for example things like: political, cultural, social, historical, psychological issues.

An Example of an post-modernist artist is Andy Warhol. He is someone who I actually studied in the first year of photography when looking out environment and I found his work extremely interesting. He is an American film director/producer as well as an artist, where he is the leading figure of Pop Art. He explores varies themes in his work such as linking expression, celebrity culture and advertising together in the 1960’s. He is most famous for his silk screening images, for example his Campbell’s tomato soup image, however he also explored other mediums such as photography, painting and sculpture. In photography there are always debates on whether certain images are real or they have been over-manipulated. Pop Art itself raises these questions, some people believe it is a genius idea, which expresses creativity within the postmodern era and others would argue it has been over manipulated and therefore is not true. However, Andy preferres to focus on what his work actually means and what he is trying to get across rather than whether the image is a true representation of the object or event. He also uses text to help him with this as he tries to get across messages through imagery supported by a strong statement. Andy Warhol’s work interpreted as style over substance because for what the art actually is, bold colours and simple shapes.

 

Photobook Design, Research and analysis

UNDERSTANDING PHOTO BOOK DESIGN

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UNDERSTANDING PHOTO BOOK DESIGN:
FORM, FUNCTION, SEQUENCING,  NARRATIVE, CONCEPT

Here is a link to the Personal Study Planner 2018 for the remaining 5 weeks of this module.

READ these texts to better understand how to identify a narrative and understand the design process of photobook making.

Colin Pantall: Identifying the Story: Sequencing isn’t narrative

For the die-hards here are a serious blog post by Photobook critic, Joerg Colberg which consider the many aspects of photobook making:  Understanding Photobooks: The Forms an Functions of Photobooks

This article is the first in a series of five. You can find the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

Blog: Produce a number of posts that show evidence of the following:

1. Research a photo-book and describe what story/ narrative the book is telling – its subject-matter, genre, style, approach etc.

2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, awards, legacy etc.)

E.g Robert Frank’s “The Americans” was conceived with the help of a scholarship that allowed Frank to go on road trips across America during a two year period. He wanted to portray American society in the post-war period and his book has influenced (and still influence) many photographers since and also contributed to a new poetic style and subjective approach to documentary photography. Why?

3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book such as:

  • Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
  • Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
  • Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
  • Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
  • Rhythm and sequencing: flow of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.
  • Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.
  • Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter
  • Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
  • Images and text: are they linked/ introduction/ essay/ statement by artists/ use of captions (if any.)

Here a few examples from previous students

Photobook Investigation – Lobismuller

Photobook Investigation – Sugar Paper Theories

Final Result – Photo Book Research

4. Decide if you want to make a hand-made photo book or use BLURB.

Hand-made books: You need to attend workshop on InDesign and book binding techniques after school every Tuesday in January between 3:30-5:00:

Tue 9 and Tue 16 Jan: InDesign
Tue  22 and Tue 30 Jan: Book binding techniques 

BLURB: Look at BLURB online book making website, photo books from photographers or see previous books produced by Hautlieu students on the table in class.

5. Write a book specification and describe in detail what your book will be about in terms of narrative, concept and design.  Produce a mood-board of design ideas and consider the following:

  • How you want your book to look and feel
  • Format, size and orientation
  • Design and layout
  • Rhythm and sequencing
  • Structure and architecture
  • Narrative
  • Title 
  • Images and text
  • Colour and B&W (or a mix)
  • Paper and ink

Create a BLURB account using your school email address. With Blurb you have different options on how you design your book:

a) Using Lightroom to design your book which is integrated with BLURB. Only for use on school computers, unless you have LR at home on your own laptop.

b) Download Bookwright via Blurb onto your own laptop and work offline at home and you can work indecently of school. Here you have full control of layout/ design features. Once completed, you upload photo book design to Blurb

c) Choose online option if you want to work directly online. Very limited layout/design options (not recommended!)

Preparation, Research and analysis, Written Task

Use of Quotes and Referencing

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The Harvard system of referencing, is the way in which we should reference the sources that we use to enhance our knowledge of photography, give examples of our research and back up our thoughts with written evidence.  Here is a list of all the information you need to know to reference a source:

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

General Harvards system of Referencing structure

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

Example:

In the book ‘On Photography’, art critic Susan Sontag states: ‘The picture may distort; but there is always a presumption that something exists, or did exist, which is like what’s in the picture.’ (Sontag. S 1977:5)

Bibliography:

  • Sontag. S (1977), On Photography. London: Penguin Books, Pages 5-9
Instruction, Personal Study, Preparation, Reading, Research and analysis, Written Task

Using Quotes and Referencing (Harvard Referencing System)

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The Harvard Referencing System is a style of referencing, primarily used by university students, to cite information sources and I will using it throughout my personal study I order to quote statements form artists/publishers/journalists to relate to the context of my question. 

The main type of referencing is:

In-text citations – used when directly quoting or paraphrasing a source. They are located in the body of the work and contain a fragment of the full citation.

Depending on the source type, some Harvard Reference in-text citations may look something like this:

“After that I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe…” (Fitzgerald, 2004).

Each citation in a reference list includes various pieces of information including the:

– Name of the author(s)

– Year published

– Title

– City published

– Publisher

– Pages used

Bibliography

Sontag S. (1977), On Photography. London: Penguin Books

An example of referencing from the book ‘On Photography’ by Susan Sontag

In her book, On Photography, art critic, Susan Sontag writes: ‘They [photographs] age, plagued by the usual ills of paper objects; they disappear; they become valuable, and get bought and sold; they are reproduced’ (Sontag 1977:4).

‘[Photograph images] provide most of the knowledge people have about the look of the past and the reach of the present’ (Sontag 1977:4).

‘Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re shown a photograph of it’ (Sontag 1977:5).

‘A photograph – any photograph – seems to have a more innocent, and therefore more accurate, relation to visible reality than do other mimetic objects’ (Sontag 1977:6).

‘The point of taking photographs was a vast departure from the aims of painters’ (Sontag 1977:7).

Image result for on photography susan sontag