Can a Photo lie? Photos are used for many purposes from conceptual art to documentary are often viewed d as truthful without the viewing questioning what they are seeing. In a society which is becoming more an more reliant of visual images it is hard to tell what is real and adapted. We see a good example of this on Instagram where many influencers are known to adapt their photos to make them ‘perfect’ or visually satisfying. Although we may think this is innocent it does bring up questions about how more important images can be manipulated.

My choice: I chose this image by Jeff Wall named mimic taken in 1982 due to initial impact with striking colours and intriguing narrative. At a first look I was unsure if the image was documentary or tableau. As we look closer into the image we start to understand what is happening, the caucasian man in the denim jacket and red top is making a racial slur towards the asian man walking next to him on the pavement. The scene looks as though it was around the 80’s in America where at the time racism was still a big issue. I think this image perfectly displays a familiar scene from the era and highlights problems in the society at the time.

After researching this image I have discovered that it is tableau, taken in 1882 and based on everyday situations that he has witnessed first hand. It focuses on the ‘micro- gestures’ made by people which create tension in society. he calls the ‘cinematographic photographs’ in which he constructs photos styled like street photographs which actors to re create a moment of racial abuse which he witnessed. By making these photos he can show stories which would have been tampered with by the presence of a camera, and also makes them aesthetically pleasing to catch tension and draw people in to the true meaning.

I started thinking about ownership and the various paths I could follow for this mini project, I considered using internet sources and manipulating existing image like artists such as Hey Reilly who takes famous paintings, status and photographs and manipulates them. bellow we can see a few examples of their work, none of the images are original but the way they are cleverly collaged together in a relevant way creates a new piece of work. A lot of his work can be seen as a comment on modern politics, fashion and culture but is also very open to interpretation with a comedic angle. 

Another idea I had was to use content from newspapers. I am interested in the ownership of the press and how newspapers are owned by big companies who ultimately  have all the power to publish what they want. News stories are adapted and and publicised falsely to support the views of the paper and its readers. headlines and images a a big part of how news stories are interpreted because they are the fist and sometimes only thing we see. I looked into work which has already been done using newspapers and found a variety of work from collages to drawings.

   

I wanted to use and manipulate images and text from newspapers in my own work, I chose to use a Daily Mail because of how they are known for misleading headlines  and images to draw the reader in. By using shocking and striking content the paper can make any story worth publishing. I cut out various parts of the paper that caught my attention and collages them in different ways to change their meaning.By re arranging the words and taking images out of context completely different sorties can be created, I find this concept very interesting when thinking about the modern world when relating it to problems with fakenews . 

In photography there are endless rules we are taught to follow to create successful images. These rules could be to do with technical, compositional or oven social context. Posing subjects, manipulating images and becoming over involved in the stories is often seen as wrong or unprofessional in documentary photography due to how the photos are used to inform people of real life events. in a creative context these photos have been manipulated to enhance their existing feature of even to make them into further experiments of art.

I am going to choose one of the following rules to research in detail an develop it by creating my own work which brakes the rule.

The Rule of Objectivity

The Rule of Audience

The Rule of Manipulation

The Rule of Reality

The Rule of Technicality

The Rule of Ownership

The Rule of Ownership

The Rule of the Camera

The Rule of Rule Breaking

I have chosen to look into the rule of ownership because in the age of the internet and mass media nothing is ever completely original. photographs are now taken for granted and are not as limited as they used to be meaning people can take as many photos a they want with their smart phones and share them all over the world. But once they are shared, who owns them? Around 1.8 billion digital images are uploaded to the internet every day, all for a variety of different purposes, so it is difficult to produce new, original and useful work. There is so much already out there which could be used why do we feel a need to constantly create new things. The solution could be in the change of creative attitude of the old fashioned idea of ownership and copyright.

Copyright is a legal term used to describe  the rights creators have over their work, it can include books, music, photography, paintings, copy, sculptures, logos, and many more. A copyright for original work lasts the lifetime of the artist and 70 years after their death. If someone copies a piece of copyrighted work and the original owner feel that they are making profit from their design it can become legal.

I am particularly interested in the ownership of the press (media convergence) which is where a concentrated group of people own and control the mass media. Although the news is meant to be fairly unbiased, we see it as a truth and fact distributer in society however there are many things that are missed and adapted. The Government is ultimately in controls of the media meaning they have the power to select and share what they want. newspapers can manipulate stories and bring them out of context to suit their own political views for example (daily mail very strong opinions)

I want to break the rule of ownership by reusing and manipulating existing images. I will find the images in newspapers, magazine, personal achieves and on the internet. my cutting out

this also links back to the overall theme of political landscapes because newspapers are such a big distributer of . information and are very political in their views on current topics i also want to take inspiration from a variety of places.

 

After finding out the title for this project ‘Political Landscape’ I started to gather images that reflected my initial thoughts. Ideas of global and local issues came up, equal rights movements, economy, development and environmental.

I also created a mind map to help me develop these thoughts further.

Hoarding Installation

The unveiling of the Future of St Helier Hoarding at the International Finance Centre on the Esplanade in St Helier took place on Thursday 13 Dec 2018.

First published as a 52 page newspaper supplement in September by the Jersey Evening Post the work produced by A-Level Photography students at Hautlieu School have been transformed into a 34m outdoor installation as part of Masterplan Community Arts and Education Project

We were challenged with responding to specific areas, streets and neighbourhoods divided up along the urban vingtaines of St Helier and to explore through research, archives and photography the built-environment, urban living, diverse communities, town planning, land use and re-generation projects.

We thank all sponsors and collaborators for making this a successful contribution to the island’s cultural records and historic archives Jersey Development Company, Camerons Ltd, MJP Architects, Archisle, Lewis Bush, Photo-Archive Societe-Jersiaise, Kevin Pilley, States of Jersey and Connétable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft

Earlier today we unveiled the Masterplan Future of St Helier hoarding display at the International Finance Centre. Lots of local media interest from Jersey Evening Post, ITV Channel TV and BBC Jersey who broadcasted live on radio talking to photography students at Hautlieu School, Constable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft and sponsors Jersey Development Company, Camerons Ltd, MJP Architects about the future of the island and its capital. An excellent example of how a community arts and education project can generate a debate that affects all those who either live, work or visit St Helier.

If you are interested in our views of young people tune into BBC Radio here (listen from 3:18:30 onwards or watch the six o’clock news tonight on ITV.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06rlpdw

If you missed the news last night at ITV Channel TV you can catch up here with Hautlieu students talking (15m.12s) about their images on display at the Masterplan Future of St Helier hoarding on the International Finance Centre.

See link here

The outdoor installation on the hoarding around the construction site is a great way to engage the public in art and debates concerning the future of the island’s capital but, what we need in Jersey is a new contemporary art space that will provide a new venue to showcase art produced in the island, but equally also bring international art to Jersey for the public enjoyment of its residents and visitors alike.

The recent Culture, Arts and Heritage Strategic Review, commissioned by the Government of Jersey makes 20 new recommendations that will revitalise the island’s cultural infrastructure and achieve a wide range of social and economic objectives from tourism, to health and well being to external relations, to planning and environmental developments – in the hope that in partnership with Government it will enrich and enhance Jersey’s quality of life.

Let’s hope those in power who can make real changes to St Helier’s build environment will include such a new art space in the revised Masterplan of the Waterfront. All we need is political will and re-prioritising public funding for the arts. States of Jersey

Future of St Helier Newspaper

The outcome of students work was first published on Tuesday 18 September 2018 as a 52 page newspaper supplement, Future of St Helier that was printed in 14,000 copies and inserted into a daily edition of the Jersey Evening Post and distributed island wide.

Here is a video browser of our Future of St Helier supplement printed and distributed in today’s edition of the Jersey Evening Post. Hautlieu photography students were challenged with responding to specific areas, streets and neighbourhoods divided up along the urban vingtaines of St Helier and to explore through research, archives and photography the built-environment, urban living, diverse communities, town planning, land use and re-generation projects. Each student designed a page spread which was then split in half producing a fragmented image reflecting on the nature of experience and diversity of St Helier.

Here is a video browser of our Future of St Helier supplement printed and distributed in today’s edition of the Jersey Evening Post. Hautlieu photography students were challenged with responding to specific areas, streets and neighbourhoods divided up along the urban vingtaines of St Helier and to explore through research, archives and photography the built-environment, urban living, diverse communities, town planning, land use and re-generation projects. Each student designed a page spread which was then split in half producing a fragmented image reflecting on the nature of experience and diversity of St Helier. Make sure to get your copy before the shops close!Thanks to everyone involved in the creative process Archisle Lewis Bush, Jamie Cole, Simon Crowcroft, Kevin Pilley – States of Jersey and our sponsors Jersey Development Company and Camerons Limited.

Posted by Martin Toft on Tuesday, 18 September 2018

I went back to the same location for a third time, this helped me notice new things I had not seen the first and second time.

Below I have selected and displayed my favourite photos from my third shoot.

 For my second photoshoot I wanted to re visit the same area and go to places I may have missed the first time around.