Barbara Kruger: Kruger’s work directly tackles the concept of stereotypes (specifically gender stereotypes, politics and economics), and the behavior of consumerism. She incorporates text over the top of original media images (therefore following the lines of post-modernism by using multiple mediums), and shows the context, concepts and ideas behind her images using a bold and catchy approach (using short, memorable slogans to make the viewer consider the meaning of the image)
Time period: Late 20th century
Key characteristics/conventions: Postmodernism focuses on the context behind images, rather than the physical structure or representation of the subjects themselves. The idea matters more than the work itself, allowing the photographer room for a lot of creative artistic freedom when it comes to the subjects, framing and overall layout of the image in a unique way, allowing the artist to mold the image to their own taste and belief. Post-modernist artwork is often produced for the novelty factor, allowing the viewer to enjoy a visually pleasing experience (incorporating bold colours, shapes, and wild concepts). Post-modernist artists therefore often create “entertainment products”, meant to entertain the viewer, while subtly hinting at a deeper context/meaning.
Cindy Sherman: Sherman’s work focuses on creating a satire/parody of female stereotypes in the media. She creates characters and portrays herself as these exaggerated figures, posing in self portraits that draw the attention of the viewer through the use of bold colours and exaggerated features. Sherman’s work challenges the presentation of women in the media, and forces the viewer to consider the ridiculous way in which many women have their features exaggerated and portrayed in social media.
Methods/techniques/processes: Incorporating elements of popular culture as the subject of the image, making use of eclecticism (using a range of sources to take inspiration/ideas from), using collaboration (multiple people working together to focus on the collective effort rather than an individuals contributions to an image), emphasizes context and concept in the subjects, rather than the physical objects, makes use of multimedia (using different medium in order to express an idea)
William Eggleston: Eggleston focuses heavily on snapshot photography, creating examples and anecdotes of a still frame of a relatable, everyday life scenes. Eggleston tends to focus on a single moment or detail, such as a facial expression, single person, or dingle object, and frames this detail with the rest of the image, using bold colouring to draw attention to the images and create contrast. His images, although seemingly simple, convey a snapshot of a relatable aspect of everyday life, something that many people can relate to, and by focusing on a single detail, offers a new perspective on an otherwise mundane scene, allowing for the viewer to see the beauty of a scene that otherwise would be regarded as boring, and would be dismissed in seconds in real life.
Artists associated: Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Cindy Sherman
Plan a response: Make use of popular culture, politics, history, social issues – use this as the context for the image – make use of a range of sources (e.g take inspiration from post-modernist artists and influences), make use of multimedia (e.g text within the image), all aspects linked together to portray a concept/emphasize the context/background of the subjects in the image, rather than just the appearance/use subjects themselves.
Andreas Gursky: Known for his large scale, digitally manipulated images, Gursky focuses on portraying as large an image as possible, incorporating a huge amount of detail and wide scale imagery into a single scene, to give the viewer the impression that they themselves are surrounded by the image. Gursky’s photography makes use of identifiable, every day objects, and blows them up to such a large scale, that the viewer begins to focus more on the geometry and shape of the image; focusing on the lines, sizes, shapes and angles of the image. This in turn allows for the viewer to see both sides of the image; they are able to admire the complexity and detail of the image, while also appreciating the simplicity of the lines, shapes and form of the image.
MODERNISM
Ansel Adams: Adams approached his work with the desire to create landscape imagery that would have the same influence on a viewer as poetry or music, mirroring the same level of contemplation, nostalgia and sentiment that these forms of art can have on a person. Adam’s work focuses on the impressiveness of landscape photography, where he takes aerial images of mountain ranges and landscapes. These images emphasise the magnificence of the setting itself, while also complimenting the keen eye and skill of the artist.
Time period: Late 19th to early 20th century
Key characteristics/conventions: Modernism as a whole was a broad movement, encompassing many avant-garde-isms (new and experimental ideas) of the early 20th century. Modernism rejected the concepts of past movements such as naturalism, classicism and academicism, and instead moved towards new, more experimental methods of art production. Modernism as a concept saw the photographer/artist as a genius, and modernism imagery was used to show the skill and ability of the artist through showing what they could create with their hands. Modernism was very visually based, with the detail and visual brilliance of the image itself being the main focal point of the image, and the concept and context behind it being slightly less important.
Margaret Bourke-White: White is best known for the modernist images she took documenting the major events of WW2, and her documentation on the social an political events of the time had its own striking style, making use of photography as a way to document in a photo-journalistic way. White travelled the world documenting social issues, and in doing so was able to create an in-depth, visual representation of social and political events around the world, while also focusing on the physical representation of these events in the image, making sure to incorporate texture, shape and pattern into her work.
Methods/techniques/processes: The development of photography saw photojournalism being seen as a form of modernity, with photography being used to document for the purpose of advertising and wide scale viewing by the public. Modernism as a movement in the photography world focused on the creation of sharp, detailed images, with the camera being used as a technical object to record images, rather than being obscured. There was great emphasis on the formal qualities of modernist photography, such as perspective, depth, light, focus, shadow and lines. The overall desire of the photographer was to take a visually “perfect” picture.
Paul Strand: Strand is best known for his pictoralist work (a movement included in the modernist movement). Strands work is meant to appear as if time has been frozen in a moment, with the viewer looking into the lives/life of the subject in that specific moment in time. Strand believe that artwork should be able to engage the viewer, and encourage them to consider spiritual and social aspects of their lives. Strands work often makes use of portraits of subjects from the shoulders up, allowing their facial expression and clothing to reinforce who they are and what they are experiencing, but leaving much of the true meaning of the photograph up to the interpretation of the viewer.
Artists associated: Paul Strand, Eadweard J. Muybridge, Margareth Bourke, Ansel Adams, Walker Evans
Plan a response: Modernist photography focuses on portraying the artist as a genius, and emphasizes their skill and ability. Therefore, the photographer would focus on taking images that would really draw the attention of any viewer, focusing on the detail within an image, and making sure that the image is original and beautiful in its nature. The camera should be used using a tripod to increase the level of detail in the image, and subjects should be chosen based on their symmetry, bold shapes, and colour contrast. The photographer could edit the final image and turn it grey-scale, and in doing so the contrast of the image, and the use of shadows and tone is emphasized.
Eadweard J. Muybridge: Muybridge was a photographer active in the late 19th century, and helped pave the way for motion photography and motion picture projection. Today, Muybridge’s work is considered the forefather of the modern motion picture, and therefore his new style of photography, and the technique of capturing still images in order to showcase motion, helped to push the 19th century towards the new and experimental movement of modernism.
Jersey seen from the perspective of migrant workers. The labor 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 remains largely undocumented. Archival representation is usually limited to marketing material created by industry representatives, or staged photo opportunities with local media. ‘Invisible Hands’ aims to offer another perspective on agricultural labor in Jersey – that of the workers themselves. A collaboration between migrant workers, the artist Alicja Rogalska and The Morning Boat, with support from: Art House Jersey, One Foundation, the Polish Cultural Institute and the Polish Embassy.
