My book is about the genre of dance and the reflection of dance through movement anticipated against emotions that each individual dancer may feel. For my book I will be using three other very different individual dancer to project my work through them, due to the connection they have created using dance. The idea of representing identity through photography techniques and specific, controlled investigation that will allows this stance to be projected. In the book I want to tell a story of each dancer working their way through each of their own stories from a child, to the dance studio, to general life and how danced is incorporated to all these aspects of their own lives. Throughout the book it is essential from me to remember my own experiences and almost place my own ideas of the controlled photographs which will allow for an even stronger demonstration of my main point.
Mood board of possible layout ideas
Narrative:
3 words that I would use to help describe my photo book
identity
reflection
movement
A sentence that would help describe my photo book- The reflection of emotional responses of individuals in terms of the genre of dance through the representation of movement.
Design:
How you want your book to look and feel
I want my to have a more simplistic feeling to it to help focus the concentration of the viewer on each individual images, and each individual story. Being a dancer myself and understanding that there is so much more than just what is being presented in the media; the idea of the hard work that goes into the genre and performance, this is what I want to present and what I want the viewer to feel is the true background process of being a dancer and the hidden secrets of the dedication and hard work that goes into being part of the industry.
Paper and ink
Through the narrative of my photo book I decided to stick to the premium lustre which will create a more glossary appearance, when looking deeper it this decision it is possible to suggest that the representation of the glossier choice of paper could be a representation of the spot light of being in the performing arts industry.
Format, size and orientation
For my book layout it will be 7 x 7 small square book (18cm x 18cm) , due to the sizes of my images I believe this to be the best possible fit for my images and layout of photographs aiding my narrative.
Title
Structure and architecture
As previously mentioned I want to take a simplistic approach and understanding to my photo book, I want to do this in order to create the best possible narrative that the viewer will understand in the best possible way. Furthermore, this means that when I was deciding on the order of my images I grouped the images in collections that would go best together and then put these collection in a new order.
Design and layout
I will mainly be using singe page spreads to help tell my narrative; the idea that each page is a new stage of each individual dance career and experiences. In addition their will also be elements of two spread sheets to show a comparison and a contrast against images or an experiences, this help create different types of views for the viewer. As well as the single and double page spreads I will also be incorporating 3/4 spreads of images of the environmental factors opposed to the actual subject which helps highlight a difference in the overall narratives.
Editing and sequencing
The first selection of my images will be archive images from each subject that present them to when they were much younger which highlights the beginning of the journey. Furthermore, the next pages will carry on the story and experiences of dance. Contrasting with the last images which is the back of the studio almost presenting the end of the journey and a start of a new beginnings, as the individual finish school and go off to university.
Images and text
I will not be adding texts or extra information to each of my images as I don’t want to depict how the viewer interoperates the overall narrative of my book.
HOW DOES GJON MILI REFLECT DANCE MOVEMENT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EMOTIONS BEING PORTRAYED THROUGH HIS PHOTOGRAPHY?
‘Questions of self and identity have long concerned artists and are intensified as digital lives become ubiquitous and an aspect of performance becomes the norm in terms of modes of behaviour’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 150).
In our lives we portray and represent ourselves among many others and highlight our passions and significant features that make us who we are, enabling to show our individualism. The world we live in is somewhat being taken over by the performing arts genre and takes up a huge amount of social and contextual importance; portrayed to our society that individuals who shine over others are one in a million, that making it to the top is a one in a billion chance, so why do people even bother trying? The dance industry is something I have always had a drive to be a part of and I believe is an area that helps me identify myself and show to others my deeper emotions and feelings that may not always be depicted through speech; along with hundreds and thousands of other people around the world that use dance to do so. To use dance and movement to tell a story, to show a feeling, to show a concept, an idea. However, the idea that dance is just a ‘performance’ or a show rather than an expression, a place to hide away rather than to flourish, a secret rather than a narrative is a consistent debate that continues to divide critics and our society. This demonstrates that within a dancer there is a front, a side that they want to show the world, the side where they put themselves forward, contrasting with their hidden deeper meanings and insecurities that they hide away from the audience when they perform. Therefore ‘The question arises: if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of photography as a reflection of reality?’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 17). This quotation is something I will keep in mind during my investigation; a reminder that I want the reality, the truth not a manipulation or a cover up to hide but the certainty of reality. For my personal study I will be investigating the idea of representing emotions that an individual may feel through dance, however I want to diverge away from the norm and look at more uncomfortable subjects rather than the stereotypical face of dance. In my photography, I want to show both sides of individuals in the dance community, I want to show the hard work that goes into it, to show the love, the relief and the drive. I want my images to represent a narrative to its viewers, for them to see my images and ask more questions but most importantly I want to use my photography to highlight each emotion that someone feels when they dance and why they feel certain way; to exit the norm of dance photography and enter a new realm of ideas that reflect more than just a pointed toe, I want to show the vehemence of a dancers response to how they truly see themselves and the industry.
When taking a closer look at my photography work it is clear to see it has connections with realism, and a documentary point of view. There is a narrative. However, it is vital to consider that realism was a rejection from the pictorialism which was a movement from the 1860s through to early 20th Century. Pictorialism is the development of photography into the reinvention of an art form placing beauty, tonality, and composition above creating an accurate visual record. This was where photography finally began to be fully accepted and began to be seen on the same line of painting and start to have it recognised as such by galleries and other artistic institutions. In the early beginnings of photography, it was mainly for scientific and representational purposes. This soon shifted in the 1850s when advocates such as the English painter William John Newton who suggested that photography could also have artistic trait.
In this case, I am looking at the genre of dance. We know that photography can create a more realistic point of view of real experiences. But, as can be seen with Cindy Sherman who exploits various tools of the everyday cinema such as costumes, makeup, stage scenery to uphold an illusion of ‘realism’ when capturing what is known as ‘iconic snapshots’ that can reflect significant pre-conceptions. Tableau and staged reality create an illusion that is fed by stereotypes, and this is something that I want to keep away from with my own work.
Cindy Sherman quoted ‘The still tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told’ (Sherman. C, 1982, Cindy Sherman) this quote itself demonstrates the sheer point of my work and why I have decided focus on this particular area.
A prime example of how this helps relate and boost the background work of my own photography can be out laid to one of her most famous self-portrait images from her series called ‘Disasters and Fairy Tales’ (1985) photo shows Sherman as a damsel in distress. Crouched on the ground, she fearfully looks away from the camera. With wetted hair and a tensed position, she appears as if she just walked off the set of a horror film. The clever and thought out use of the specific lighting helps shows how Sherman favourably evokes an old tradition, quasi-racist ‘’cheap tricks’’ represented in the movie industry. By using this particular freeze frame, it is demonstrating how Sherman portrays as a visual ‘truth serum’, a force of social change by way of its ability to stop a viewer in his/her tracks and suggests how certain assumptions are culturally inherited and therefore not necessarily ‘natural’ and cause a fake front hiding the true and deeper meaning of the ‘fairy tales’. This overall, highlights the significance of representing the correct forum of the genre of dance in favour of the realistic view contrasting with the covered-up front provided by the media. Sherman’ postmodernist approach questions gender roles and stereotypes, common in mainstream media, cinema and the performance industry. The femme fatale has come full circle now in the age of the #metoo movement.
After looking more closely and in depth into the background of my initial idea for my investigation it is essential to continue looking back at my questions and statement of intent that helps guide the study and overall investigation of my projected.
Born on November 28th, 1904 and passing away February 14th, 1984, Gjon Mili is a extensively influential photographer that was a flourishing influencer to the type of photography he produced, known for using stroboscopic instruments to help capture a sequence of actions in one photograph. Furthermore, his life dedicated to photography allowed him to be one of the first to tamper with electronic flash and stroboscopic light to create images that had a more scientific background to the creation. Many of his notable images revealed the beautiful intricacy and graceful flow of movement too rapid or complex for the naked eye to discern. Gjon Mili’s highlight of his career that aided his popularity and well-deserved credit was his work published by Life, in which he photographed artists such as world-renowned painter Pablo Picasso. Mili was a photographer I wanted to use to investigate for my study and potentially be my inspiration for my images that I produced, due his simplistic approach creating such astonishing outcomes, as well as this factor he has done a lot of photography were he has captured dancers specific movements; instead of just the specific movement he presented the steps towards and after that certain movement. Mili once said ‘Time could be truly be made to stand still. Texture could be retained despite sudden violent movement.’ To me this clearly demonstrate his approach to photography the concept of time and movement being projected in his images.
Here is one of my favourite images that he has produced using stroboscopic technique to allows each movement made to be capture and represented; this image is a multiple exposure of Alicia Alonsa (vintage sliver gelatin print). From this image, it is clear there is a deep technical consideration to be made and highlighted; firstly, there is a strong artificial lighting being produced from the left of the image and illuminating the dancer’s main features in each particular movement to be captured. In addition, the positioning of the camera is pretty much straight on which gives the illusion of being on par with the flooring which helps the ballet shoes on the dancer have a significant standout feature which additionally aids the point of the image; the image has high intensity with a strong detailed focus on each aspect of the dancer in each position.
Overall from the texture of the images it suggests a low light sensitivity due to the lack of graininess being shown in the photograph, as well as the colouring of the image which are warmer forms of black and white shades producing a more emotional point of view of the image being transformed though each aspect of each position of the dance move being captured. On the other hand, you have visual aspect of the photograph to consider as previously mentioned though the use of the black and white shades used in the image, it aids the feeling of a darker representation of the photograph to be exhibited; alongside the view of a 3D image due to the shadows of the dancers which help highlight this point. Evidently though the technique Mili used to create this image there is a visual aspect of repetition of the image, seen through the consistent repetition of the dance with a slightly different position as she moves through the whole movement. In terms of lines you have the strong lines being formed through the dancer herself through the specific positioning of her body and her gradual arm movement which creates a different point of view and overall positioning in each step and section made. Contextually the image is clearly showing the motion of a dancer, the dancer in the image is Alicia Alonsa who was Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and chorographer whose company became Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955; this additional information helps the point of the image and the actual emotion, the genuine passion that the dancer has for the movement, which is believed to be very well represented in the photograph by Mili through the specific positioning and layout of the ballerina dancer.
Overall this analysis and general research in to Gjon Mili helps to answer my questions on how photography is used to reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography; Gjon does this through the technique of using stroboscopic instruments to allow each position of the overall movement of the dancer to be seen through the image therefore reflecting the dance movement, as well as using conceptual and contextual factors to help support the emotions that are being projected and represented by the image; Finally being supported by the clever throughout camera techniques which help the end concept.
Finally, after going into depth about Gjon Mili and getting a true understanding to how his work reflects dance movement and emotions, I began to investigate myself through planning and piecing together aspects of the investigation that I wanted to incorporate that would allow for the best possible outcome; whilst still considering work produced by Gjon and other relevant artists. For my own image I began by creating a plan and making a final decision in whether I would photograph myself in the form of self-portraits or take images of other people to project the feeling and emotions of myself through the use of others through myself. In the end I decided to use other dancers for my investigation. I used three other dancers and planned four to five shoots that would help tell a story and the final result that I wanted to have by the end of project; a shoot where I photographed their baby photos, one where it was in the photography studio, dance school studio, detail shot shoot and then photographing my dance school environment. When adding all these photoshoots together to help aid my story and emotion that I wanted to project through my images relating to dancing. After finishing up on my shoots it was essential to look back at Gjon Mili’s work and reflect on how I can relate it to my own, of course unfortunately I do not have access to stroboscopic instruments in order to create the movement of the image and capture the whole layout of the dance step. Furthermore I had to come up with a way that would enable me to give off a similar effect, for this, when in the studio I used the sports mode of the camera and got each dance to perform a pattern of movement for example, a high kick or a pirouette; this meant I got a photo of each different position that happens when carrying out these motions. Next I opened the images of each dancer’s movement which consisted of about 7 images per movement in Adobe Photoshop. Firstly, I edited each image to a certain standard in this case black and white with emphasis on the costumes so it would stand out when photographed were over laid. After the images were over laid, I adjusted the opacity which would enable all the images to become slightly faded so they would become transparent; therefore, be able to see the process of the movement of doing a high kick, from start to end. This is somewhat a representation of Mili’s work as it creates the same forum when answer my question as the image represents the dance movement as long side emotional aspects presented through the colour and editing of the image; which helps tell a story when placed with other photographs that may aid this point. Overall, I am extremely happy with my final outcome and response to Gjon Mili’s work due to the technical and visual aspects that have been produced. On the other hand, it is key to consider that there are defiantly different conceptual and contextual differences between my own work and Gjon; in terms of the dance movement and emotions being projected.
In conclusion, there is over whelming evidence to suggest my investigation had guided me to answering my initial question ‘how does Gjon Mili reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography?’ I believed this to be presented through the specific camera setting and illusions created in order to give the effects of literally showing each movement through each position being captured, this is a more visual front and approach to the question. On the other hand, when looking at the emotional reflection of dance movement being portrayed in the images; for this projection I think that the temperature of the image aids this point as well as the actual face expression being reflected through. Overall, highlighting the final argument that clearly shows how Gjon Mili Mili reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography.
Photoshoot 5: Dance studio interior and exterior design
For my final shoot I decided to look at more environmental aspects of dancing, in this case photographing the studio its self and important aspect that make up the area of the studio. I felt that I have fully understood each individuals dancing experience through the different concepts that I have photographed. Furthermore, the next step of developing my ideas about my subjects dance experience was the actual location where they dance; where the ultimately spend the majority of their time. As I am a dancer myself after and during my own lessons I photographed the studio itself, where we get ready, where the dancer sit and communicate, and where we get our drinks and snack from. This is a very important part of the project as it aid the emotional and contextual aspects of the project overall. Like my other shoot I open the images up on Light room so I could see them all and select the best photographs that would go best with my photo book.
After selecting my best images I began editing them to create an even deeper meaning and aiding to the overall narrative of my photo book.
For my forth shoot relating to each individual subject I decided to do more detailed shots of each dancer in the studio using an infinity background which help make the main focus of the view on each subject. For this study I used my Macro lens which means I could specifically focus on their whole face which would and could leads to a better understanding and representation of each of their emotions relation to dance and how it makes the feels. For this shoot I asked each subject to take a seat in the studio and asked them different questions relating to the type of dancers they do, why they dance, how it makes them feel and many others. Furthermore, after taking a few head shot of each individual I captured specific parts of their face for example, their eyes, eyelashes, hands feet, lips; this was basically a representation of the deeper meaning that different parts of their bodies are sued in dance, and that each component can help tell their own story when they are dancing. For a lot of these images I kept it to the original as I thought the raw emotions made the overall emotions trying to be reflected more realistic. After each shoot I opened the photos on Adobe Lightroom and allowed me to focus on the best out comes of the images.
After deciding on final images that I wanted to use for my photo book and final pieces I edited a few that I thought would benefit the overall outcome.
After going into depth about Gjon Mili and getting a true understanding to how his work reflects dance movement and emotions, I began to investigate myself through planning and piecing together aspects of the investigation that I wanted to incorporate that would allow for the best possible outcome; whilst still considering work produced by Gjon and other relevant artists. For my own image I began by creating a plan and making a final decision in whether on whether I would photograph myself in the form of self-portraits or take images of other people to project the feeling and emotions of myself through the use of others through myself. In the end I decided to use other dancers for my investigation. I used three other dancers and planned four to five shoots that would help tell a story and the final result that I wanted to have by the end of project; a shoot where I photographed their baby photos, one where it was in the photography studio, dance school studio, detail shot shoot and then photographing my dance school environment. When adding all these photoshoots together to helped aid my story and emotion that I wanted to project through my images relating to dancing. After finishing up on my shoots it was essential to look back at Gjon Mili’s work and reflect on how I can relate it to my own, of course unfortunately I do not have access to stroboscopic instruments in order to create the movement of the image and capture the whole layout of the dance step. Furthermore I had to come up with a way that would enable me to give off a similar effect, for this, when in the studio I used the sports mode of the camera and got each dance to perform a pattern of movement for example, a high kick or a pirouette; this meant I got a photo of each different position that happens when carrying out these motions. Next I opened the images of each dancer’s movement which consisted of about 7 images per movement in Adobe Photoshop. Firstly, I edited each image to a certain standard in this case black and white with emphasis on the costumes so it would stand out when photographed were over laid. After the images were over laid, I adjusted the opacity which would enable all the images to slightly fade so they would become transparent; therefore, be able to see the process of the movement of doing a high kick, from start to end. This is somewhat a representation of Mili’s work as it creates the same forum when answer my question as the image represents the dance movement as long side emotional aspects presented through the colour and editing of the image; which helps tell a story when placed with other photographs that may aid this point.
Looking more closely and in depth into the background of my initial idea for my investigation it essential to continue looking back at my questions and statement of intent that helps guide the study and overall investigation of my projected. Through this, it is now essential to note the main photographer that I got my inspiration from that aided me to follow up on the deeper meaning and genre of dance. Born on November 28th, 1904 and passing away February 14th, 1984, Gjon Mili is a extensively influential photographer that was a flourishing influencer to the type of photography he produced, known for using stroboscopic instruments to help capture a sequence of actions in one photograph. Furthermore, his life dedicated to photography allowed him to be one of the first to tamper with electronic flash and stroboscopic light to create images that had a more scientific background to the creation. Many of his notable images revealed the beautiful intricacy and graceful flow of movement too rapid or complex for the naked eye to discern. Gjon Mili’s highlight of his career that aided his popularity and well-deserved credit was his work published by Life, in which he photographed artists such as world-renowned painter Pablo Picasso. Mili was a photographer I wanted to use to investigate for my study and potentially be my inspiration for my images that I produced, due his simplistic approach creating such astonishing outcomes, as well as this factor he has done a lot of photography were his has capture dancers specific movements; instead of just the specific movement he presented the steps towards and after that certain movement. Mili once said ‘Time could be truly be made to stand still. Texture could be retained despite sudden violent movement.’ To me this clearly demonstrate his approach to photography the concept of time and movement being projected in his images. Here is one of my favourite images that he has produced using stroboscopic technique to allows each movement made to be capture and represented; this image is a multiple exposure of Alicia Alonsa (vintage sliver gelatin print).
From this image is it clear there is a deep technical consideration to be made and highlighted; firstly, there is a strong artificial lighting being produced from the left of the image and illuminating the dancing’s main features in each particular movement to be captured. In addition, the positioning of the camera is pretty much straight on which gives the illusion of being on par with the flooring which helps the ballet shows on the dancer have a significant standout feature which additionally aids the point of the images; the image has high intensity with a strong detailed focus on each aspect of the dancer in each position. Overall form the texture of the images it suggests a low light sensitivity due to the lack of graininess being shown in the photograph, as well as the colouring of the image which are warmer forms of black and white shades producing a more emotional point of view of the image being transformed though each aspect of each position of the dance move being captured. On the other hand, you have visual aspect of the photograph to consider as previously mentioned thighs the use of the black and white shades used in the image it aids the feeling of a darker representation of the photograph to be exhibited; alongside the view of a 3D image due to the shadows of the dancers which help highlight this point.
Evidently though the technique Mili used to create this image there is a visual aspect of repetition of the image, seen through the repetition of the dance with a slightly different position as she moves through the whole movement. In terms of lines you have the strong lines being formed through the dancer herself through the specific positioning of her body and her gradual arm movement which creates a different point of view and overall positioning in each step and section made.
Contextually the image is pretty clearly showing the motion of a dancer, the dancer in the image is Alicia Alonsa who was Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and chorographer whose company became Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955; this additional information aids the point of the image and the actual emotion, the genuine passion that the dancer has for the movement, which is believe to be very well represented in the image by Mili through the specific positioning and layout of the ballerina dancer. When investigating this type of photography it is very important to consider the original type of work that had been produced that would have influenced the work produced by Gjon Mili. Jules Marey (1830-1904) created an invention using simple but elegant addition to the use of his camera that allowed him to record the flow of animal and human movement on one single photographic plate; a rotating disk with small slots cut into it at regular intervals was spun in front of an open camera lens. A person walking in front of this apparatus would be in a different position each time the open slot on the disk allowed an image to register. the results showed human movement in time and space. Marey called this new type fo photography chronophotography which in terms means ‘time photography’. When looking at his work it is visually aesthetic along side puzzling however, Marey always stated that he was not focusing on the aesthetic view; he said that he was focusing on the way in which they isolated the imperceptible phrases of movement. He went on to aim to continue improving this process to begin to avoid and eliminate overlays of the moving figures. In technical terms he created a camera in which light-sensitive materials moved with each exposure. Below is an image produced by Jules Marey:
Now that I have investigated the contextual understanding of Gjon Mili’s work it is essential to begin to compare and analysis differences and comparisons of the two pieces. The two pieces definitely show a close comparison in terms of the idea of representing each different movement and seeing the idea of a movement in one whole image, much like Marey’s, Mili shows the overall dance movement and each position creating and overall picture through the genre of dancing. However one difference between the two pieces of photography is the technique used to create the illusion of the overall movement of the image, Gjon uses stroboscopic light to create this interpretation of the original work, when comparing with Marey who used a rotating disk with small slots cut into it at regular intervals was spun in front of an open camera lens to form a movement picture.
For this next shoot, I reflected on my second shoot of taking images of the dancers in the dance studio from this out come I wanted to take a more formal approach that I would hope create more defined images. At this stage I had began to reflect more on artist references while looking at the development of this studio I have been investigated Gjon Mili’s work who used suoboscopic photography which allowed each position of a movement to be presented and shown, so the photograph looked like the complete movement. For this studio I used the photography studio that has an infinity backdrop which will help benefit my images as if will create the illusion that there is no background or lines, this creates a more formal outcome. I asked each of my subjects to wear one of their favourite costumes throughout their dance career; as from personal experience a costume can either make or break a dance and by wearing their favourite costume their would be a different type of refection being represented though the image and more positive emotions. However the final outcomes doesn’t necessarily fit my hypothesis, it seemed that depending on the type of movement and turn depended on the type of emotion that each dancer subconsciously reflected. I believe this to have happened as its likely they subconsciously refereed a typical dance step with past experiences and dances that relate to the move itself. For this photoshoot I used the flash lights in the studio that linked with my camera this allowed the perfect lit up space for each dancer and created the best outcome. Overall I was happy with the photoshoot however one aspect that I would change if I were to redo this I would experiment with different types of lighting as although there is good illumination, the tone and temperature of lighting is something that would consider changing and developing. Finally when it came to editing, it was an experimental process as each type of photograph allowed for a different type of editing to create the best outcome overall. After the photoshoot I opened the images on Light room which allows me to select the best photographs and easily separate them from the worst images; this further aided the development and editing process of each image.
A few finer selections of my images however not edited yet or sorted any issue with the images.
Final edited images:
For my final images I used both balk and white editing and brightening the contrast to highlight the colours. I decided to use both technique as when it came to creating my final narrative of my phonebook it would offer different oppitunity to tell a different story overall.
For my next photoshoot I wanted to keep it fairly simple in order to begin experimenting with ideas that would help inspire my other shoots. This also gave me an opportunity to get a better understanding of each individual subject and their own style of dancing; this meant I could capture and manipulate their movement in order capture and snapshot the best type of images possible that relates to their own strongest area of genre. For this shoot it took place in our school studio which is a natural environment and a place where they all feel comfortable to perform in; they were to wear something that they might be wearing to their own dance class, this would further the idea of keeping the images as naturalist as possible. In addition, for getting the images I used both a flash setting and a plain setting, however the best type of photos produced were the photograph where flashed was used as it highlighted and illuminated each of their faces and the type of movement they were doing. After taking the images I opened them on Lightroom which enabled me to sleeted the best images to use for my photo book and final printing. Looking at my photographs I decided to edit some of the images and use black and white shades as it truly highlighted the shapes that are created as they dance and therefore shows their facial expressions when they are dancing which shows the emotion concept of the photographs. After selecting the image I wanted to concentrate on I began editing them and then further refined the selection and go to my final images that I wanted to include in my photo book and final prints.
Subject 1: (Orla)
Subject 2: (Lucy)
Subject 3: (Ellise)
These three images ended up being the final images that I wanted to incorporate this is because I believe the use of the flash from the camera on each subjects truly helps illuminate the refinement of their movements and is a fair representation of facial expressions. Furthermore, I went on to editing the images in to a black and white format and laid each original image next to the black and white form of the image, this enabled to show how the temperature and colour of the images truly provide a different in appearance.
After selecting my three individual dancers that I wanted to concentrate my photography on, I asked each of the dancers a few questions relating to their dancing experience that would enable me to get a fuller understanding of what dance means to them and essentially aided the story line that will guide my photo book. For this part I simply got baby photographs and images from when they were much younger, both relating to dancing as a child and general life again so I can init this forum to the current real life situation. To me, it was important to get achieve images from when they were much younger as it would help the overall narratives of each of their individual stories and therefore create a better overall story linking all of their images together; basically the idea of having three separate ideas and converging them together to create one end narrative. Baby pictures can help this as it shows a development from when they were all younger to have they have grown into the person they are today; showing a positive trend and how their love of dance has formed over the years and developed. As well as gathering theses images I wanted to add a little detail about each dancer which would aid the development of their own stories There are a few of the younger aged photos of each of my subjects:
Subject 1:(Orla)
Orla has been dancing since the age of 5 and therefore has been dancing for approximately 13 years, Orla enjoys dancing because she is able to show her originality and personality in way she can’t t do in aspect of normal life; also allowing her to escape from reality and her favourite genre of dancing is contemporary. Orla also enjoys other types of performing art such as singing and dancing and is hoping to go to a performing arts school for university.
Subject 2: (Lucy)
Lucy has been dancing since the age of 3 and therefore has been dancing for approximately 14 years, Lucy enjoys dancing because it is a fun way of expressing how you feel whether it be happy or sad and the concept that she is able to focus her mind, keeping on track giving a positive drive in life and her favourite genre of dancing is commercial dancing because she feels it mixes element of contemporary and jazz and that she enjoy lots of sass and expression and this is the perfect type of genre to do so. Lucy has always enjoyed dancing from a every young age and has continued to do so as she is now currently taking Dance A level and therefore also wishing to go to attending a Dance School for university where she hopes to refine her skills.
Subject 3: (Ellise)
Ellise has been dancing since the age of around 7 and therefore has been dancing for approximately 10 years, however before dancing Ellise was a gymnast which is where she developed and found her fondness of dancing. Ellise enjoys dancing because it a genuinely enjoyable experience and a positive way of expressing how she feels and her favourite genre of dancing is hip hop. Ellsie is also part of a competition team that has competed at nationals, international and worlds where her team placed an amazing seventh place.
For these images when incorporating into my book I wanted to leave the colour format opposed to turning them into black or white format or a darker temperature at that; this decision of leaving a colourful images for the younger aged images was because I wanted to keep these images as a more innocent projection of my subjects and as the photoshoots begin to develop I wanted the images to get darker and more raw; this would help provide a overall better narrative as it will show the development and growth of each individual and eventually show further emotion and improvement of their own dancing experiences and passion related to dancers and dancing. For my final printings I won’t actually be incorporating these images due to the fact that firstly they are only achieve pictures and may not deemed as technically reformed as my own reflection on how I see this topic, however for my photo book I will be using multiple images of each of the dancers to help show the development and growth of their individual dancing careers and emotions that they feel when dancing in different situations.
HOW DOES GJON MILI REFLECT DANCE MOVEMENT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EMOTIONS BEING PORTRAYED THROUGH HIS PHOTOGRAPHY?
‘Questions of self and identity have long concerned artists and are intensified as digital lives become ubiquitous and an aspect of performance becomes the norm in terms of modes of behaviour’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 150).
In our lives we portray and represent ourselves among many others and highlight our passions and significant features that make us who we are, enabling to show our individualism. The world we live in is somewhat being taken over by the performing arts genre and takes up a huge amount of social and contextual importance; portrayed to our society that individuals who shine over others are one in a million, that making it to the top is a one in a billion chance, so why do people even bother trying? The dance industry is something I have always had a drive to be a part of and I believe is an area that helps me identify myself and show to others my deeper emotions and feelings that may not always be depicted through speech; along with hundreds and thousands of other people around the world that use dance to do so. To use dance and movement to tell a story, to show a feeling, to show a concept, an idea. However, the idea that dance is just a ‘performance’ or a show rather than an expression, a place to hide away rather than to flourish, a secret rather than a narrative is a consistent debate that continues to divide critics and our society. This demonstrates that within a dancer there is a front, a side that they want to show the world, the side where they put themselves forward, contrasting with their hidden deeper meanings and insecurities that they hide away from the audience when they perform. Therefore ‘The question arises: if manipulation is the first thing someone thinks of in connection to photography, what does that say about the value of photography as a reflection of reality?’ (Bright and Van Evp, 2019; 17). This quotation is something I will keep in mind during my investigation; a reminder than I want the reality, the truth not a manipulation or a cover up to hide but the certainty of reality. For my personal study I will be investigating the idea of representing emotions that an individual feels through dance, however I want to diverge away from the norm and look at more uncomfortable subjects rather than the stereotypical face of dance. In my photography I want to show both sides of individuals in the dance community, I want to show the hard work that goes into it, to show the love, the relief and the drive. I want my images to represent a narrative to its viewers, for them to see my images and ask more questions but most importantly I want to use my photography to highlight each emotion that someone feels when they dance and why they feel certain way; to exit the norm of dance photography and enter a new realm of ideas that reflect more than just a pointed toe, I want to show the vehemence of a dancers response to how they truly see themselves and the industry.
When taking a closer look at my photography work it is clear to see it has connections with realism, and a documentary point of view. There is a narrative. However, it is vital to consider that realism was a rejection from the pictorialism which was a movement from the 1860s through to early 20th Century. Pictorialism is the development of photography into the reinvention of an art form placing beauty, tonality, and composition above creating an accurate visual record. This was where photography finally began to be fully accepted and began to be seen on the same line of painting and start to have it recognised as such by galleries and other artistic institutions. In the early beginnings of photography, it was mainly for scientific and representational purposes. This soon shifted in the 1850s when advocates such as the English painter William John Newton who suggested that photography could also have artistic trait.
In this case, I am looking at the genre of dance. We know that photography can create a more realistic point of view of real experiences. But, as can be seen with Cindy Sherman who exploits various tools of the everyday cinema such as costumes, makeup, stage scenery to uphold an illusion of ‘realism’ when capturing what is known as ‘iconic snapshots’ that can reflect significant pre-conceptions. Tableau and staged reality create an illusion that is fed by stereotypes, and this is something that I want to keep away from with my own work.
Cindy Sherman quoted ‘The still tease with the promise of a story the viewer of it itches to be told’ (Sherman. C, 1982, Cindy Sherman) this quote itself demonstrates the sheer point of my work and why I have decided focus on this particular area.
A prime example of how this helps relate and boost the background work of my own photography can be out laid to one of her most famous self-portrait images from her series called ‘Disasters and Fairy Tales’ (1985) photo shows Sherman as a damsel in distress. Crouched on the ground, she fearfully looks away from the camera. With wetted hair and a tensed position, she appears as if she just walked off the set of a horror film. The clever and thought out use of the specific lighting helps shows how Sherman favourably evokes an old tradition, quasi-racist ‘’cheap tricks’’ represented in the movie industry. By using this particular freeze frame, it is demonstrating how Sherman portrays as a visual ‘truth serum’, a force of social change by way of its ability to stop a viewer in his/her tracks and suggests how certain assumptions are culturally inherited and therefore not necessarily ‘natural’ and cause a fake front hiding the true and deeper meaning of the ‘fairy tales’. This overall, highlights the significance of representing the correct forum of the genre of dance in favour of the realistic view contrasting with the covered-up front provided by the media. Sherman’ postmodernist approach questions gender roles and stereotypes, common in mainstream media, cinema and the performance industry. The femme fatale has come full circle now in the age of the #metoo movement.
After looking more closely and in depth into the background of my initial idea for my investigation it essential to continue looking back at my questions and statement of intent that helps guide the study and overall investigation of my projected.
Born on November 28th, 1904 and passing away February 14th, 1984, Gjon Mili is a extensively influential photographer that was a flourishing influencer to the type of photography he produced, known for using stroboscopic instruments to help capture a sequence of actions in one photograph. Furthermore, his life dedicated to photography allowed him to be one of the first to tamper with electronic flash and stroboscopic light to create images that had a more scientific background to the creation. Many of his notable images revealed the beautiful intricacy and graceful flow of movement too rapid or complex for the naked eye to discern. Gjon Mili’s highlight of his career that aided his popularity and well-deserved credit was his work published by Life, in which he photographed artists such as world-renowned painter Pablo Picasso. Mili was a photographer I wanted to use to investigate for my study and potentially be my inspiration for my images that I produced, due his simplistic approach creating such astonishing outcomes, as well as this factor he has done a lot of photography were his has capture dancers specific movements; instead of just the specific movement he presented the steps towards and after that certain movement. Mili once said ‘Time could be truly be made to stand still. Texture could be retained despite sudden violent movement.’ To me this clearly demonstrate his approach to photography the concept of time and movement being projected in his images.
Here is one of my favourite images that he has produced using stroboscopic technique to allows each movement made to be capture and represented; this image is a multiple exposure of Alicia Alonsa (vintage sliver gelatin print). From this image is it clear there is a deep technical consideration to be made and highlighted; firstly, there is a strong artificial lighting being produced from the left of the image and illuminating the dancing’s main features in each particular movement to be captured. In addition, the positioning of the camera is pretty much straight on which gives the illusion of being on par with the flooring which helps the ballet shows on the dancer have a significant standout feature which additionally aids the point of the images; the image has high intensity with a strong detailed focus on each aspect of the dancer in each position.
Overall form the texture of the images it suggests a low light sensitivity due to the lack of graininess being shown in the photograph, as well as the colouring of the image which are warmer forms of black and white shades producing a more emotional point of view of the image being transformed though each aspect of each position of the dance move being captured. On the other hand, you have visual aspect of the photograph to consider as previously mentioned thighs the use of the black and white shades used in the image it aids the feeling of a darker representation of the photograph to be exhibited; alongside the view of a 3D image due to the shadows of the dancers which help highlight this point. Evidently though the technique Mili used to create this image there is a visual aspect of repetition of the image, seen through the repetition of the dance with a slightly different position as she moves through the whole movement. In terms of lines you have the strong lines being formed through the dancer herself through the specific positioning of her body and her gradual arm movement which creates a different point of view and overall positioning in each step and section made. Contextually the image is pretty clearly showing the motion of a dancer, the dancer in the image is Alicia Alonsa who was Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and chorographer whose company became Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955; this additional information aids the point of the image and the actual emotion, the genuine passion that the dancer has for the movement, which is believe to be very well represented in the image by Mili through the specific positioning and layout of the ballerina dancer.
Overall this analysis and general research in to Gjon Mili helps to answer my questions on how photography is used to reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography; to Gjon does this through the technique of using stroboscopic instruments to allow each position of the overall movement of the dancer to be seen through the image therefore reflecting the dance movement; as well as using conceptual and contextual factors to help support the emotions that are being projected and represented by the image; Finally being supported by the clever throughout camera techniques which help the end concept.
Finally, after going into depth about Gjon Mili and getting a true understanding to how his work reflects dance movement and emotions, I began to investigate myself through planning and piecing together aspects of the investigation that I wanted to incorporate that would allow for the best possible outcome; whilst still considering work produced by Gjon and other relevant artists. For my own image I began by creating a plan and making a final decision in whether on whether I would photograph myself in the form of self-portraits or take images of other people to project the feeling and emotions of myself through the use of others through myself. In the end I decided to use other dancers for my investigation. I used three other dancers and planned four to five shoots that would help tell a story and the final result that I wanted to have by the end of project; a shoot where I photographed their baby photos, one where it was in the photography studio, dance school studio, detail shot shoot and then photographing my dance school environment. When adding all these photoshoots together to helped aid my story and emotion that I wanted to project through my images relating to dancing. After finishing up on my shoots it was essential to look back at Gjon Mili’s work and reflect on how I can relate it to my own, of course unfortunately I do not have access to stroboscopic instruments in order to create the movement of the image and capture the whole layout of the dance step. Furthermore I had to come up with a way that would enable me to give off a similar effect, for this, when in the studio I used the sports mode of the camera and got each dance to perform a pattern of movement for example, a high kick or a pirouette; this meant I got a photo of each different position that happens when carrying out these motions. Next I opened the images of each dancer’s movement which consisted of about 7 images per movement in Adobe Photoshop. Firstly, I edited each image to a certain standard in this case black and white with emphasis on the costumes so it would stand out when photographed were over laid. After the images were over laid, I adjusted the opacity which would enable all the images to slightly fade so they would become transparent; therefore, be able to see the process of the movement of doing a high kick, from start to end. This is somewhat a representation of Mili’s work as it creates the same forum when answer my question as the image represents the dance movement as long side emotional aspects presented through the colour and editing of the image; which helps tell a story when placed with other photographs that may aid this point. Overall, I am extremely happy with my final outcome and response to Gjon Mili’s work due to the technical and visual aspects that have been produced. On the other hand, it is key to consider that there are defiantly different conceptual and contextual differences between my own work and Gjon; in terms of the dance movement and emotions being projected.
In conclusion, there is over whelming evidence to suggest my investigation had guided me to answering my initial question ‘how does Gjon Mili reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography?’. I believed this to be presented through the specific camera setting and illusions created in order to give the effects of literally showing each movement through each position being captured, this is a more visual front and approach to the question. On the other hand, when looking at the emotional reflection of dance movement being portrayed in the images; for this projection I think that the temperature of the image aids this point as well as the actual face expression being reflected through. Overall, highlighting the final argument that clearly shows how Gjon Mili Mili reflect dance movement and the significance of emotions being portrayed through his photography.
