Markosian is a Russian American artist of Armenian descent. She war born in Moscow and in 1996 she left to go live in California with her mother and her brother. Until the age of 23 she had no contact with her father. After 15 years of not seeing him she travelled to Armenia to see her father.
Markosian’s body of work called “inventing my father” is what I will be analysing and exploring in this post.
Throughout this project Diana explores her father’s absence throughout her life through the use of archival imagery, landscape images of important locations and also through photographing objects, letters and newspaper articles. This particular project is very personal, and the artist projects very raw emotion onto her audience through the use of black and white images and through portraits of her father.
“For most of my life, my father was nothing more than a cut out in our family album” – Diana Markosian
I have decided to use Diana as my case study, as one aspect of my family history I feel is important to incorporate into my project is my parents’ divorce. I wanted to see how the artist approached photographing and portraying the absence of a parent through images, as I will need to portray the same.
“I often wondered what it would have been like to have a father. I still do.”-Diana Markosian
Diana also has a project “mornings (with you)” which is almost a part 2 to the above photo series, where she meets her father, gets to know him, and documents it through images of them together in the mornings.
Analysis:
In this image we can see a printed photograph of Diana, her mother and we can also see that her father has been cut out of what would otherwise be a family photograph.
We then learn that Diana’s mother had cut out her father. This image is captioned “This was the closest thing I had to an image of my father: a cut out in our family album.”
Conceptually, It is clear that the absence of her father in the photo reflects his absence in her life. The lack of her father also further emphasises her mother. Which reflects the importance of her mum in her life after loosing her father figure.
The exhibition The Invisible Hands is devoted to the migrant workforce employed in Jersey farming industry, their lives, living and working conditions in Jersey. The labour of seasonal farm workers in Jersey has been an important part of the local economy for more than 150 years, yet their presence on the island is largely undocumented.
Invisible Hands offers another perspective on agricultural labour in Jersey from the workers themselves. It is a collaboration between migrant workers, the artist Alicia Rogalska and The Morning Boat.
‘I work as an artist to explore relationship and frameworks for others to respond to,’ Ms Rogalska explains. ‘I wanted the workers to have their own voice. It’s about acting as a support structure and providing the space for the workers to speak. They are often spoken about but rarely invited to speak themselves.’
The project includes a robot programmed to write a list of eight requests to improve working conditions for Polish migrants. Those eight points include reforms to the health and social security system that currently mean workers are not eligible for benefits until they have been in the Island for six months, and improvements in living conditions and wages for those undertaking the most difficult work. The robot demonstrates the increase in machinery and technology in the farming industry. This highlights that in the future, there may be no need for human labour.
Post Modernism was first discovered through ‘Pop Art’ in the 1960s which was then developed into the aspect we know now which was made in the 1970s.
Cindy sherman
Pablo Picasso
Barbera Kruger
Edgar Degas
Key Characteristics/ Conventions- Postmodernism is known to be a reaction against ideas as well as values of modernism. Modernism’s dominance in cultural theory is associated with irony and philosophical concepts of universal truths. There is a known distinction between high and low art which incorporate popular elements making the overall postmodernism. Key themes of postmodernism makes references towards outside art work which adds to the contextual work.
Methods/ Techniques/ Processes- Photographs are usually blown hip, edited, cropped etc to be used used in newspapers and billboards. Others use repetition to create emphasis on the image.
MODERNISM
Modernism is a style or movement in arts that aim to depart significantly from classical and traditional forms. It often characterises a quality of thought, expression and lots of technique.
Artists associated:
Walker Evans
Alfred Stieglitz
Alexander Rodchenko
Definition: a movement towards modifying traditional beliefs in accordance with modern ideas, especially in the Roman Catholic Church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A style or movement in the arts that aims to depart significantly from classical and traditional forms
Time period: 20th century
Key Characteristics: Common characteristics of modernist images include clean lines, sharp focus and repetition of form.
Artists associated:
Paul Strand
Alfred Steiglitz
Olive Cotton
Cecil Bostock
KEY WORKS:
Methods/ Techniques/ Processes- Black and white edits are used for emphasis, sharp focus images in order for them to be seen clearly, as well as a large frame size.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Pictorialism strived to be art by trying to make pictures that resembled paintings ie. manipulating images in the darkroom, scratching and marking their prints to imitate the texture of canvas, using soft focus, blurred and fuzzy imagery based on allegoric and spiritual subject matter, including religious scenes.
A number of different photographic groups and associations emerged that promoted pictorialism such as: The Vienna Camera Club (Austria).
Artist Associated:
Henrich Kuhn
Hugo Hunneberg
Hans Watcek
Julia Margaret Cameron
George Davidson
Peter Henry Emerson
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Experimenting with chemicals in the dark room and they also placed Vaseline on the lens to create this sinister blur in the images.
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Time period: 1920’s
Key characteristics/ conventions : Went back on photography origins because photographers believed in the intrinsic qualities of the photographic medium and its ability to provide accurate images. They wanted to produce images that were more photographic than painterly. REALISM
Artists associated:
Paul Strand
Jacob Riis
Dorathea Lange
Walker Evans
Alfred Stieglitz
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Straight photography uses a sharp focus allowing key details to shine through and draw our attention. Realism photography is used to show and capture what the world is really like. Each image reflects the life and a story for each individual .
For one of our photography trips we visited the Jersey Arts Center to take a look at the exhibition taking place showing the lives of migrant farmers in Jersey.
Invisible hands is an art exhibition which is a project between Alicja Rogalska and the Morning Boat to portray the lives of migrant workers in Jersey. This exhibition was created to bring light to these workers and the poor conditions they are forced to deal with despite all the hard work they put into their daily lives. These people and their work have been a huge part of the Island’s agriculture for over 150 years, yet this is still failed to be mentioned as much as it should.
Winning clay potato cast in bronze :: Jersey art center :: Invisible Hands
As part of the exhibition, artists were asked to create the most average potato out of clay, with the winning one being cast in bronze and displayed at the exhibition. There were also some runner ups displayed on a shelf near by.
In order to gain inspiration for out Personal Study, I attended an exhibition at the local Art Centre in which the project “Invisible Hands” was presented. A collaboration project between artist Alicja Rogalska and The Morning Boat artist labarotory, “Invisible Hands” is a project meant to draw attention to the individual lives and influence that the immigrant labour workers of Jersey have on the islands food production, while at the same time showing how little these workers are given in terms of pay, housing, and representation.
The project itself was original with it’s execution, with the artist using the personal photographs of the workers themselves, showing the lives of the workers from their own perspectives and viewpoints. This produced an interesting range of final images, showing the intimacy and relationships between workers, rather than just documenting the end results of their work (as is done by many photographers who only document fields, food produce and the workers while they work the fields). Overall, the project was meant to show the personal, intimate, human side of the lives of the labour workers in jersey; an aspect that is often ignored by those who document food (specifically potato) production in Jersey.
The above images are examples of the work displayed in the exhibition. All photographs were collated from labour workers mobile phones, and are examples of their own perspectives of their own lives/working days. A selection of the workers images were framed by artist Alicja Rogalska and a representative from The Morning Boat, Casper. The exhibition itself was displayed in such a way as to tell the story visually and through text, with the images displayed next to sections of text explaining the story of Jersey’s labour workers, and the way in which many have been exploited by farmers, forced to deal with low wages and long hours.
Many of the images were framed and arranged, but some of them were printed on larger paper and displayed around the room frameless.
The most eye-catching aspect of the exhibition was the robot on the back wall that had been programmed and designed to write out the recommended conditions provided by the labour workers, when asked what they think should change about the conditions of their work. The robot (moved by a motor, weights and string) wrote out a list of 8 of the conditions thought up by the workers, which included a pay raise and an increase in the amount of personal protection equipment. The concept of programming a computer to write out these recommendations, is metaphorical for the increase in technology and machinery in farming, which can both help to relieve the workload of labourers, while also providing the possibility that, in the future, human labour may be replaced by machinery and technology.
Overall, the exhibition allowed me to gain an insight into the use of candid photography, and the way in which political and social issues can be reflected through visual imagery (photography). Seeing these real life examples of photography where candid photography taken by the community is collaborated to produce a response to a prevalent issue in society, has allowed me to gain inspiration for the way in which context and concepts can be incorporated into imagery, and the way in which collaboration between different mediums (video, machinery and photography) can be used to portray an in-depth, detailed source of information to teach people about important social and political problems that often go un noticed.
Postmodernism is more of a reaction against the values and ideas of modernism. Described broadly, modernism is a search for the truth and answers, whereas postmodernism presents the idea that there is no set truth and is much more philosophical. Both these movements came as a result of the thinking patterns of the society during those times. Post modernism first emerged in the early 1960’s, but it wasn’t till the 1970’s till the term postmodernism started being used.
A key element of postmodernism was breaking the divide between high and low art, especially through including pop culture elements. A good example would be cubism, where Picasso, an artist who was part of the movement, often included the lyrics of popular songs in his paintings.
Above is an example of one of the most famous paintings of the postmodernist movement. More specifically it is part of the visual art movement, also known as pop art. It was painted by Andy Warhol, who i will take a lot of inspiration from in my personal study. His works incorporate large blocks of colour and are always vibrant. This is a very expressive way of showing one’s visions and ideas to the world, but it works as it attracts a large amount of attention due to the visually appealing colours, which in turn helps spread the message the artist is putting out.
Focusing back on postmodernism as a whole, its all about referencing things outside of the work (E.g. Social, political, or cultural issues) which is exactly what my project will be about. The works are always aware of and make reference to previously hidden agendas of art markets, relations to museums, dealers and critics.
Unlike modernism, postmodernism did not pay any kind of attention whatsoever to original works. They would dub them as pieces that gained popularity due to propagation. Also, due to scientific and technological advancements and other related fields,postmodernism saw no absolute truth in original works. It believed more in creating applied art. Digital media was used extensively to copy original work of the modernism period.
This is a mood board I have created of the most influential and well-known works of the pop art movement.
When looking at the subject which I am focusing on, I will be relating it to
the subject of realism as I will be capturing documentary style images. In
order to the tackle the topic of the Jersey housing crisis I will first be
visiting various sites in St.Helier and in its outskirts in order to show what
the true state of affordable housing is like and what young people like myself
can afford in the current housing market. It is a topic which I am fully
invested in as it will be a subject which will impact my own life in the
future. It also relates to the topic of occupation and immigration very closely
as the migrant population of Jersey has extremely limited housing options due
to the socioeconomic status of these people. The biggest hurdle facing these
people are housing qualifications, meaning that migrant workers are left to
rent, expensive and subpar property which is rare and highly sought after. Again
it is a topic which relates closely to myself as my own family, who are
migrants, have had to go through the struggle of finding suitable housing for
us.
Due to the documentary style photography which I will be capturing, it will
closely relate to realism. Photo realism is a genre of art that encompasses
painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies
a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically
as possible in another medium. Not only will I be capturing images of the
exterior nature of low cost housing, but also attempting to see the inside
through visiting family and friends who fall into this category. I will mostly
be focusing on the housing itself, the interior, exterior nature of these
instead of capturing subjects as I think this is quite a taboo topic which
brings a lot of shame with it. People don’t want to reveal the true state they’re
living in, yet alone be the posterchild of what unsuitable housing looks like. I
will be using both a digital camera and a disposable camera in order to play
around with the style of photography which can be produced from this topic. I
am very interested in using film as it gives a nostalgic style feel to the
images, further alluding to the raw and realistic theme of the images. If a
film style approach of photography will be unsuitable, I will revert back to
using a digital camera which is a lot more convenient and easier to use in the
overall project, saving time and resources. As a person who is wanting to get
onto the property ladder in the future, I think it is extremely important to
capture the true nature of what housing is like for the lower class citizens,
the builders the waitresses who serve and work for Jersey. Without sustainable
and affordable housing, the very society in which we live in would collapse and
force the majority of migrants and even native people out of Jersey.
Canadian photographer Jeff Wall focuses much of his work around conceptual photography, and in doing so focuses largely on the metaphorical symbolism that can be found in photographs. Wall’s work is often brightly lit, and makes use of bold colouring, and often his work can fall into the category of tableaux, with each piece of work referencing a concept or idea that Wall witnessed in his own life. His work has been described as tackling the subject of “overt social tension and unease”, therefore emphasising the strong conceptual meaning behind many of his images. Wall’s work, at a first glance, resembles street photography, with his subjects often looking to be involved in an action, with some images seemingly taken covertly and without the subjects knowledge. However, Wall actually takes great care in staging his images, and makes sure to capture what looks to be a natural scene, while making sure to incorporate the meaning and concept behind his image.
Picture For Women: Jeff Wall (1979)
The above image is a well known example of Wall’s work. It depicts a reflection of the scene itself, with the subject, the woman, towards the left side of the image, looking at the viewer, and with Wall himself, seen to the right of the image, posed with the shutter-release cable of his camera in his hand. In the way that Wall has placed himself in his own image, he is directly placing the usually unseen face of the photographer/artist/creator in the forefront of the image, forcing the viewer to take into account the contributions and work of the photographer themselves, while allowing the viewer to associate this hard work on behalf of the photographer with the beauty and professionalism of the final product (reflected through the focused professional lighting of the female subject, in contrast with the shaded appearance of Wall). In this image, Wall is directly challenging the belief that the only subject to be witnessed in an image is the subject themselves, and is instead emphasising the role of the photographer and scenery in the creation of an image. Wall therefore focuses on the background behind the image, and emphasizes that “[Wall is] looking for ways of showing, ways of creating an appearance of something, whether its a scene of tension or of something else”. Here, Wall is emphasizing the importance of the experience and meaning of the image, and therefore the inclusion of his own figure in the image helps to emphasize the background and context of the work itself.
Overpass, 2001, Jeff Wall
Approach, 2014, Jeff Wall
The concept behind “Picture For Women” is to challenge the controversial debate of the “male gaze” in artwork; a term used to describe the way in which women in art are portrayed by men as objects, and are included in images in order to please the male viewer. In this image, Wall has taken inspiration from Édouard Manets “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère“, which depicts a bar maid looking directly at the viewer, with a male bartender gazing at her in the background. This image represents an example in which the “male gaze” is portrayed in art and culture, and therefore Wall created his final image in order to draw the viewers attention to the historical context o the “male gaze” in media and artwork, and therefore allows the viewer to question the modern implications that this way of displaying women in images has in current media and artwork. In this image specifically, Wall is able to portray his theme of causing an “Overt social tension of unease” in his imagery, by making the “male gaze” the main subject of the image, and drawing attention to it’s controversial historical context.
Through using this specific camera angle and placement of subjects, Wall allows for the viewer to witness the male gaze first hand, as they are present for the male subject viewing the female subject s her back is turned, and at the same time incorporates the viewer into the image itself, by placing the camera in the forefront of the image, allowing the for viewer to feel as if they are participating in the act of watching the women, just like Wall is in the background. This concept highlights the importance of understanding the historical context and modern implications of the “male gaze” in artwork throughout history. The decision to create this image specifically as a tableaux has made use of a studio setting, which is used to control all, variables and factors of the image, while still allowing it to seem natural. Wall himself believes that a studio “…space presents a constant set of possibilities that don’t rely on some occurrence in an unpredictable world of occurrences”, therefore allowing him to control and manipulate all aspects of the image without the possibility of unpredictable occurrences.
David Bate (2015), Art Photography, London; Tate Publishing
Quote Inside Text: David Bate says; ‘The aim of art to produce a dissemblance, rather than a resemblance, of the world is nowhere more clearly manifest than in the dialogue between the codes of photography and the values of painting.’ (Bate 2015; 29)
Online Article
Bibliography:
Noble L. (August 8th 2013); Ryan Schude; The Photographic Journal
