When researching occupation stories and information on bunkers on the island, one of the stories that stood out was Operation Hardtack 28, a commando raid to gain intelligence on defenses and to capture a German soldier to take back to England for interrogation. To successfully land on Jersey, the six commandos had to land at Petit Port as it was rarely defended. For my photoshoot I am going to record the path the commandos took from the landing site to get further inland. I will also take photographs of the Wolfs Lair shack, the storage shack was significant to the operation as it was used by the commandos to hide from any German patrols.
I believe the photoshoot was successful as the majority of images were sharp and had good lighting. I also believe that my final selection of images from the shoot will make a solid start for my photobook narrative.
For my project, I will focus on how the bunkers are currently portrayed as on Jersey as a remnant of the German occupation; I was inspired by a book by Robert Hackman called Metamorphosis which I came across while at the photo fair in Paris. This book documents Albanian bunkers from the soviet era which had been reused as homes for people, places for businesses, or abandoned. For my photoshoots I will document abandoned bunkers and island defenses which have been re-purposed for use by the Germans during the occupation. I will then make my own altered landscapes inspired by Andreas Gursky.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Making photographs look like a painting.
Artists associated: Julia Margaret Cameron, Peter Henry Emerson, Vienna camera club, linked ring brotherhood, photo-secession, Sally Mann.
Some Works:
Peter Henry Emerson
Vienna camera club
The Linked Ring
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Using petroleum jelly/ Vaseline type gel to rub on the lens of a camera to make it blurry, and make spaces in the images look like smudged charcoal. Scratching images.
REALISM / STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Time period: 1920’s – 1930’s
Key characteristics/ conventions : Reacting against pictorialism, recording things as they are; without any alterations.
Artists associated: Walker Evans, Willy Ronis, Édouard Boubat,
Some Works:
Walker Evans
Édouard Boubat
Willy Ronis
Methods/ techniques/ processes: Social Reform Photography; origins of photojournalism.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Modern Photography is distinguished by a departure from the language and constraints of traditional art, such as painting, and this change in attitude was mirrored by changes in practice. Photographers started using the camera as a direct tool rather than manipulating images to conform to traditional notions of artistic beauty; a convention associated most with pictorialism.
Artists associated: Paul Strand, Ansel Adams
Key works:
Methods/ techniques/ processes: social, political and aesthetic potential, experimenting with light, perspective and developing, as well as abstraction.
POST-MODERNISM
Time period: 1970’s – Present; A rise in consumerism.
Key characteristics/ conventions : Mix of different styles, approaches and art movements. The works favor context and refer to different areas outside of the works themselves. The idea matters more than the work of art itself. The growth of consumerism and instant gratification over the last few decades of the 20th century has also had a huge impact on visual art. Consumers now want novelty. They also want entertainment and spectacle. In response, many postmodernist artists, curators and other professionals have taken the opportunity to turn art into an “entertainment product”.
Artists associated: Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Cindy Sherman.
Key works:
Andreas Gursky
Cindy Sherman
William Eggleston
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).
Plan a response: make use of popular culture, 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
Milach uses archival imagery from 1950’s and 60’s to retell the children’s strike in Poland; with a more playful narrative with the inclusion of colourful backgrounds and geometric shapes.
I believe the presentation of the images in a zine has turned out well as this gives my final images a good structure, and allows me to show a narrative of life at my home. I believe the quality of images that I used is high throughout most of the zine, and there is an even focus on portraiture, objects and external shots of the house. One image that I believe doesn’t aesthetically fit in is the double page spread in the centre of the zine as it is warmer than the rest of the selection due to poor lighting. I, however, have still included it as it serves as a good transition point where the focus on my mum is shifted onto my dad. I believe the structure is much more linear and maintained throughout, compared to my final zine from the Bunker Archaeology unit, where the subjects and scenes were varied.
