Raoul Hausmann
Hausmann was a founding member of the dadaist movement group, and was the first to develop photomontage as a tool of satire and political protest in 1915. Hausmann’s collages also had a profound influence on the European avant-garde following the aftermath of World War One. his photo-montage pieces were made up of original images and from magazines or newspapers.
Own Responses To Photo-montage
An archive is an institution designed to hold a wide range of historical documents, texts, photographs and records. Archives are important in keeping these records safe when they are no longer in active use. Archives typically group records together that follow a particular theme, or originate from a specific point in history (such as images from World War 1 being stored together, or documentation recording certain government policies from the past). In this way, an archive is often able to build a narrative of the time that the records display, with the multiple records (often hundreds of thousands) showing different perspectives and aspects of the time.
An archives main purpose is to house historical documentation, and in this way, they are very useful when it comes to reflecting on events that occurred in the past, and to allow for the education of future generations on important historical affairs. The original documentation that is kept inside of archives often encapsulate the events of the time period that they originate from; a unique perspective that would be lost if the records content was simply copied or re-created. An archive serves the purpose of both safely storing important historical documentation for future reference and research, while also providing a less formal role, in which generations to come can explore and learn about the events of the past, that shaped the present in which they live.
During our class visit to the Jersey archives (Societe Jersiaise), we were able to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the archives, and discovered how they operated and the kinds of documents that they held. Photographers from the late 19th century, such as Thomas Sutton, had a huge amount of influence over the art produced in Jersey during their time, and have helped to preserve the history of Jersey through the medium of photography. Sutton opened a photographic studio in Jersey during the 1840’s, and is well known in the world of photography for having invented the first panoramic camera with a wide angled lens, thus revolutionizing photography in his century, and for century’s to come. The original work of such an influential photographer can be found in the Jersey archives, thus stressing the importance of archives as a place where some of the the most meaningful and life-changing documents can be safely stored for future reference and education.
Another relevant example of the importance of holding historical documentation and photographs inside of archives, is the sheer number of accounts and records found in the Jersey archives, telling the story of Jerseys Occupation during WW2, from initial invasion, to liberation. Emille Guiton (born 1979) was one of the few photographers permitted to take images during the occupation of Jersey. His dedication to his craft allowed him to encapsulate the atmosphere of this uncertain time, through hundreds of images. His images depict the life of every day inhabitants of the island, as well as the influence that the Germans had over life during this time. Photographers such as Guiton have allowed current generations to understand historical events such as the occupation, from the perspective of individuals who actually lived during the period itself; a perspective that cannot be gained from simply reading a textbook. In this sense, archives allow current generations to gain an understanding of the hardships and joys felt by the people living during the time in which the photographs were taken, and allows them to experience the rich history of their nation/country/island from a new and different perspective.
During my research into archives, I have discovered that they are in fact of monumental importance when it comes to storing the works of the past, in order to better understand how out present (and future) has developed. Archives enable us to create a timeline of the past, merging different perspectives together to create a detailed, in depth story of the events that occurred hundreds of years ago, with the influence that certain individuals and groups had on the shaping of our present forever secured in the documents and photographs saved in the hundreds archives around the world. Archives act as fountains of knowledge for the current generation, allowing us to learn from the mistakes and successes of the generations before us through first hand accounts, images and factual evidence, allowing us to shape out future accordingly.
-It’s the only Kriegsmarine battery in Jersey.
-Work on it March 1941. It was completed May 1944.
-The guns were put on an elevated platform so they could directly shoot into the bay.
In 1941, the main guns in the battery were three 15cm SK L/45 naval guns. A fourth 15 cm SK L/45 installed later.
-has a depth of 40ft.
-it has two paroscopes
-has two floors .
The trip to Batterie Lothringen was really interesting because there were so many bunkers and gun positions to take images of. Although they were all different in terms of where they were and lay out, their sharp militaristic pointed look was consistent which looked really good in the photos. The weather wasn’t nice, there was a lot of clouds however that could come up looking really good in the images.
Battery Lothringen is the largest German battery on the Island with a total of four gun positions. Like its namesake, SMS Lothringen, the battery was set up similarly to that of a naval battle ship and run by the invading navy unit. The first part of the battery was completed in 1941 and continued to function until liberation on May 9th 1945.
After liberation the people of Jersey wanted all trace of Nazi rule removed or covered up. This included Battery Lothringen. In March 1946, Lothringen’s four guns and anti-aircraft guns were removed by the British Army and disposed of over the cliffs at Les Landes. These guns would later be recovered, restored and returned to the battery. Much of the bunker systems were also filled in with dirt, but were again later dug up and restored.
Tuesday 18th June 2019:
The visit to Battery Lothringen could be considered a complete success if you completely ignore that fact that it rained nearly the entire time we were there.
When were arrived at the battery we were introduced to Tony Pike of CIOS. Tony explained the history behind Lothringen and talked us through the four gun positions and the purpose of each of the bunker structures on the site. We were then given the change to wander around the site and conduct our photo shoot before meeting up in the car park to then head into one of the bunkers. Once inside we were again given free reign and allowed to look around, read the information panels and take more photographs. After lunch, it was still raining, so we requested that the coach come earlier to take us back to school.
After importing all my images into Lightroom, I began to look through my image to decide which ones were the best. To start i picked images that looked and good. I rejected images that were out of focus, over/under exposed or that I simply didn’t like.
Next, I took a closer look at my images and selected images that would be most useful for the ‘Bunker Archaeology’ project. I condensed my selection down to 8 images that I definitely wanted to try and use.
To capture my images I used an aperture of F/8, an ISO of 200 and a shutter speed of 1/80secs. I made all the images black and white in order to to give the images a more dramatic look and to fit with the colourless images of the 1940s.
What is Batterie – Lothringen?
Batterie-Lothringen is a WW2 coastal artillery site on Noirmont point in Jersey. It was part of Hitlers ‘Atlantic Wall’ and was built during the German Occupation of Jersey. The site was named after the SMS Lothringen, which most of the sites guns came from. The German Navy or ‘Kriegsmarine’ were the ones in charge here. In March 1946, many of the guns were tipped over the edge of the cliff at Grosnez and had to be recovered by helicopter to put them back where they are now and many of the bunkers and walkways were filled in and had to be dug out and excavated by the Jersey Occupation Society in 2009. The site after the war belonged to the Manor, however it was bought by the states for £9,000 as they believed that it would be a good memorial site.
Our Visit
Whilst at Batterie-Lothringen, German Occupation expert Tony talked us through the history and the different uses of the guns and bunkers. We then went off to take photographs of the area with certain artists and the knowledge Tony gave us in mind, trying to capture the mood of the place. Unfortunately, due to the weather, I was unable to come out with images I went into this wanting to get, which would’ve required more harsh sunlight to create shadows, however I still managed to get a lot of photos, adopting a more moody vibe. Tony then led us into to one of the underground bunkers and we looked at the displays and other artefacts there. This allowed us to understand more about Batterie-Lothringen and German fortifications to inform other photoshoots that we will do in the future.
Image Selection
Outcomes:
Archives store photos documents and memories of the past safe in a certain and secure area. For example The Photographic Archive of the Société Jersiaise contains over 100,000 images dating from the mid-1840s to the present day. Archives however are not just physical, they can be a digital store of documents, texts and photographs. These can be public or private. The Jersey Archive also contains historical artists to help people for contextual reference when inquiring about a certain photo or book that has gained attention.
Archives may be useful in the future or to just allow people to see parts of their past, relive past events or help people find long lost relatives generations can connect with the past. Archives can give better understanding of history e.g occupation of Jersey. inspire people to create art and literature and as well as this aid in the creation of knowledge and the pursuit of this knowledge.
Archives are effective in storing the memories of the past as they are open two the public which allows for keen historians to access accurate and first-hand accounts of history. It also interests the public as for example the Jersey Archive hold seminars such as ‘Whats my street story?’, where in detail photos are shown of the specific street this can be of the houses or the occupiers of those houses.
Modern archives are also temperature and moisture controlled this allows for the perfect environment to ensure the longevity of the data and records this allows the possibility of generations reconnecting as they discover there ancestors. As well as this it perseveres these pieces of history in physical form which provides a tangible connection with history instead of just seeing a photo online or on some wikipedia page. This, in some respects, is much like a museum. Société Jersaise initial aim was to be a sort of photographic museum. A gallery such as this allow you to experience the different photos individually and as a collection this shows the differences in history thought the time period but all the individualism of the photographer in his style of photo as it is compared to many of the same time period.
photographs show a clear snap shot of a time in history and can be used to represent events or people show an contrast of opinion of certain historical events the photos may have the same focus which may be a person or historical occurrence but the positioning may show the difference in the photographers views on the subject. t photographs are very useful for historical research or documentaries. they can be used to understand and help photographers emulate certain time periods by use of contextual photos for reference this helps the photographer gain insight on the trend and how it came to be as well as the influences of that trend. cultures and influential trends visually instead of through word that sometimes can’t express truly something. they can be used personally and used as a reminder of family and friends or events that may create a strong feeling of nostalgia and give off a emotional response
in David bates book thomas struth one of the mentioned artists. it says he looks at the ‘social interactions between a modern audience and historical artwork’ and examines patterns of viewing art in museum. his photos show contrast between ‘historical paintings and their modern audience’
another artist mentioned is sophie calle. sregularly uses photographic archives to influence her work and ‘creates chronicles of daily life’. ‘hotel room 28’ shows evidential like monochrome photos juxtaposed with one singular colour photo of a hotel bed. the use of archives in this work gives a viewer understanding of the photo and how to interpret this which gives calle and authoritative voice over the images.
archives will enrich my personal study as i will be able to see how the landscape of jersey has changed physically from the nepoelionic times with the seamer towers to the building of the many castles. i will also see the change in the landscape such as the occupation and the many modern construction projects happening today. i hope to capture this change on photograph or at least be able to capture in detail and focus on the change in many of my photos. i will also be able to look at personal archives of my family and find stories that i may be able to use to influence my photographs such as the site at metropole which i can use the detailed documents in its possetion archive to help me research this building an find photos of this site in the 1940s under the german occupation and contrast this to the modern building and possibly recreate some of these almost as a dedication.
it has been useful gaining insight into herseys history and therefore understanding todays society more. it all means in the future i can go back and look at the archives fo future inspiration and help me with my photographical or historical studies. i have learnt through this more about the rich and varied history of this island of jersey it has been insightful to use the archives and fin out how useful they can be in many areas including documentative, scientific, historical, artistic and personal reasearch. i have learned as well that the archives are not just physical but are everywhere on our island in the form of new digital medias.