Zines originated in the United States during the 1930’s. A zine is a magazine which is a small, self-publication of your original work where appropriate text and images can be added, depending on what you want to publish,. They are normally printed via a photocopier, meaning that they are pretty cheap and strait forward to produce. Many photographers have created zines and have had them published around society, some even being a series and collectible items. After looking at many different types of zines, created by different photographers, I began to get ideas of how I wanted to lay out images within my zine. Here are some visual representations of what I looked at and what inspired me;
The layout of a zine can differ, some can be landscape or portrait, along with big in different sizes, like A5 or newspaper size. This is similar with the photos that are inside, the images can range in size, some may bleed over two pages, or some pay just cover the corner of one side of the page. Some of the zines had a rhythm/sequence, one I looked as had images in alphabetical order, so the image related to the letter, creating a sequence. The visual concept of the zines can change as well, depending on what the artist is focusing on, some of them related back to the war, whereas some related to different identities. Not all zines just have images only in, a majority of zines also had text printed along side the image, giving a background or maybe writing down the meaning of this page/image.
My first montage I created was a paper version. To do this montage I gathered together different images that the JEP had printed in the newspapers from the occupation in Jersey so I could insert an image into my zine that has a connection to my life and its history. I create this I started by brain storming different ideas and came to conclusion that I wanted all my images in black and white to add a older feel to it. After picking my background, which is a page from a newspaper during the occupation in jersey which has a few standout words which I thought would bring more to my montage. I found an image of soldiers during some recreational time during the war which I decided to place towards the top of the background and adding a bold word in text which is too the point but makes it seem dramatic. I then added a few more images I found, one was of a man who was collecting his belongings before being evacuated and the other was of a family who had lost their sun, husband and father, along with this there was a piece of text next to this image talking about a soldier who had died so I cut that out as well and stuck it over the family. I then decided to add a colored image in of a poppy, which shows respect to the soldiers as the poppy is what is used during remembrance of service men and women who went or were involved in war. I then finally finished my montage buy using a cut out of a gun and coloring it in black, to just show the silhouette of the gun, to show a bold representation of what used i the war and it adds an emotion of respect and pain towards the people who were involved.
My second montage was created on Photoshop. I used an image I took when photographing bunkers, I then proceeded to add images of silhouette of soldiers and the Islands flag. I reduced the opacity of the soldiers as they are now a memory, they are acting as spirits for the people who fought in the wars for our freedom. The image acts as a piece of remembrance and respect.
Again, similar to the image above this montage I created stands as a means of respect and remembrance to the soldiers who didn’t make it to liberation day in the Channel Islands. The poppys add emotion too the image, making it more touching for a viewer to look at, as they know the sign and meaning behind the poppys.
My meaning behind my final montage, is to show respect to those who lost their lives for us, but using an image of a veteran grave yard, where everyone who lost their lives during WW2 was buried so we could all honor them together. What is very touching about this graveyard in Normandy, France is that some of the crosses don’t have names on them as soldiers where unrecognizable. I added the wall of names over the top of the images to show respect to the people who had been lost in action and where never found, this also adds a more touching emotion to the images and allows for people to make their respect to the people. Finally, but adding in two soldiers in blacked silhouette and turning down the opacity holds a gut wrenching feel and created a desolated feeling amongst us as the soldiers are creating a ghost like figure. I am thinking of place this image at the end of my Zine to create an everlasting effect of the people who look at it as it is the last image they see but one which holds the most meaning and emotion, it is also symbolizing the end of the war, so with this image as a full bleed over two pages will really finish off the Zine and images will be in the same order which everything happened during WW2 and the German Occupation
During the occupation and world war 2 many montages where made as posters, and where put up around villages and towns which had been invaded. The montages gave off messages to people and also governmental issues. There were many photographers and artists who have made montages based on the war. Two artists who I came across where Aleksander Zhitomirsky and John Heartfiled who have both made montages on the German occupation along with different wars. I like their work as it is simple yet effective as it is putting accorss a strong message to society.
Aleksander Zhiyomirsky was a Russian photographer who was boring in January 1907. After studying in Moscow he went on working as an illustrator and began making posters for magazines. Shortly after people began to realise what photo montage actually was and started to value and respect his work. Most of his montages would come from different types of culture he would experience but mainly the Soviet mass culture. After WW2 he began to find many photos based on the war and started putting them together, to show history in a different way which may have a everlasting effect on people. After this his work was published throughout Europe, Russia and the USA and it is still being viewed up to this day.
John Heartfiled was a German visual artist who was born June 1891. He was one a small amount who used art as a political weapon, such as his well known montages includes of anti-Nazi statements. His work appeared on many magazines during the time of the war. During his time making his montages, he had to flee from the Nazi’s on many occasions and had to leave his family.
After being inspired after looking at these artists, I then began to picture and have ideas on what I wanted to produce. To create my montage, I found photos of images that had been taken back during the German occupation in the channel islands and used them to create my montage, so that it what have a bigger meaning and relate better to me. After picking the images I wanted to use, I began to cut out the sections of images that I wanted to stick onto my background, which was a copy of an old newspaper. I then places the images on top and arranged them how I saw fit. This is my final product of my montage I created.
After creating a paper base montage, I then moved on on to creating montages in Photoshop, which I preferred, this is because I could use more images, and select parts of the images with more precision. For the first montage I created, I wanted it to be simple yet effective. This is what I created and these are the steps I took;
I firstly started off with my original image that I had edited in lightroom, in the previous lesson.
I then went on and opened up a new canvas in Photoshop, where I added this image of a soldier. I then used the ‘quick selection’ took and the ‘eraser’ tool to then remove the original background of the image.
After editing the background of the previous image, I went on too add the image I was going to make the silhouette of the soldier out off, by adding a new canvas again.
After dragging on the solider to the poppy background, I then selected everything by using the ‘magic wand’ took, I then made sure that the settings were set to ‘invert’ this is so that the background would change and come onto the outline of the soldier after this I then flatten all the layers together to make it one image.
I then selected around the solider after flattening the layers and dragged it over to where I was making my montage. I then used the ‘quick selection’ tool again to removed the white background around the solider, so that I would just have them on their own. After doing that, I saved the soldier as it was, so then I could use it for any other montages I would make, so I would’ve have to remove the background again.
I then placed the soldier where I wanted it, by ‘Ctrl+T’ and then holding down shift whilst making the image bigger, this is so that everything stays within proportion of itself.
After moving around the soldier, I then went in and added some text to the image. After typing it in, I changed the text to black, made the font size bigger so viewers where able to read it at a glance, but then I changed the opacity of it, as I felt with the text being at 100% opacity, it was drawing attention away from the main aspect of the image. This is what my final first montage came out to look like;
My seconded montage I created, was completely different to my first one, I wanted there to be a relation and link to the Jersey Occupation in this one. This is what I produced and the steps I took;
As before I have started off with my original image, this image is my background for my montage.
I then created a new page, and added on a black silhouette of a soldier lying down with their gun, I then deleted the background with the ‘quick selection’ took and then saved the image as a PNG so I could then use again if I needed too.
I then dragged the image onto my background twice and enlarged them by selecting the layer they were each on, going ‘Ctrl+T’, then holding down shift whilst dragging the image outwards to make it bigger whilst keeping the proportions the same.
I then went in on downloading an image of the Jersey flag, as this allows people to connect to the image more as you have something relating to you which also defines you. I also then added this to my background image.
I then decided to ass another silhouette to my montage. But after downloading the image I realised it was the wrong way round for where I wanted to put it. So by selecting the image then going Image>Image Rotation>Flip Canvas Horizontal,I got the image to flip to the side I needed it to be. I then again removed the back ground, saved it as a PNG and then dragged it onto my background image.
After adding all my images to my background, I then went ahead and changed the opacity of each image, to give it a shadow effect. I changed the opacity of the soldiers as they aren’t alive anymore, so they are representing ghosts.
This is my third montage I created on Photoshop
In this montage I have used a war graveyard as the main background, this graveyard were for soldiers who fought in world war 2, as the German occupation happened during world war 2, so their is a link between the two. I then added a black silhouette of two soldiers walking, and lowered the opacity, so they are acting as ghosts walking around their fellow soldiers who lost their lives. And to then finally finish it off, I added an overlay of people who lost their lives in world war 2 and the occupation, I placed this over the full image, and lowered the opacity again, so you could see the image through it, this gives the image a touching emotion.
Paul Virilo is a well known for his images of bunkers. He is a French photographer who was also a cultural theorist, urbanist and aesthetic philosopher. Virilo was in to taking image of the geographical surface, his book contains essays within the first half, on the history of some of his images, which set the concept behind some of the images and then the other half of his book containing mostly black and white images of bunkers within different locations around France. Some of his images I like include;
This image is one of my favorites he has produced. I love how simple the image is. It has a longer depth of field of some of his other images where he tends to just focus on the bunker. Whereas in this image he has included a pier behind the bunker, which adds more to the image. The over exposed sky works really well with this image, due to the bunker and pier being in a dark grey/black colour which allows them to stand out and be more bold, along with the over exposed sky causing a foggy/muggy look for the image which changes the emotions presented when looking at this image, to cold and mysterious as something may be able to creep over the horizon. The image is so clear that is allows you to see all the detail of the bunker even from a distance, the features of the bunker have been enhanced and made darker which again works well in his favor as it adds a more of a dramatic feel to the image.
His other images are also simple, but they incorporate different shapes and lines in different direction which makes you want to look at the image and figure out what is happening in it. In on of the images above, his image inst set straight at all, but it allows him to show the purity and untouched through his images without him manipulating them too much and just enhancing the detail of the historical artifacts. Again in his black and white images, he really focuses on making the little details of the bunkers stand out which allows people to see the marks that history has left.
With the photos taken at Noirmount I then used light room to edit them and adjust the settings. I then finally decided to change them into black and white as I feel the images look better. These are the steps I took to edit my photos
After editing my first image, I then when back to the ‘library’ view so I could see all my images, I then selected them all and clicked on the ‘sync settings’ button in the bottom right hand corner. This allows me to change all my photos into black and white, along with the same exposure, contrast, highlights, etc as the first photo I edited.
After confirming to synchronize my settings to all the same, my images are now all in black and white. But when going through them some of them look over exposed, but I can still go in and change the settings of that one image, without it then changing the rest of them.
Here using the gradient tool, and dragging down from the top of my image and stopping about half way, this allows me to select that part of my image and then only edit that specific part. I changed the exposure of the sky and made it a bit darker to give it more of a unlit look and the darker sky fits the bunker and environment I have photographed
After editing my images in lightroom, I then had to export them as a JPEG in order for me to upload them to the blog. Overall I think editing my images made a massive change in the way I now look at them. They come across as more deep and strong as they were before I edited them. These are my final images;
Noirmoint is a headland that is based in St Brelard, Jersey. It is part of the Islands war memorial as it commemorates part of the German occupation. Within this part of land lies bunkers where some of the German’s were based and where they held fire arm, the bunkers have an exceptional strong frame of concrete which have been left undisturbed for many of years
An archive is a collection of historical records or something physical, such as a document, image or object relating to a location or an event. The archive tends to contain the primary documents that have been collected over a time period of an individual/organization or an event, the things that are going to show a role of someone or something has, to have historical proof that was what happened. Some archives such as Société Jersiaise are open to the public and they are able to show the development of someone’s life, maybe even related to the visitors and watch the individuals life evolve as you are presented with evidence and images showing off their movements and evolution.
As mentioned previously, archives are repositories for historical events, as they provide relevant and reliable evidence to individual and certain events, such as WW2 or The German Occupation. A repositories is a server, which contain a set of packages similar to an archive, as they hold information and record to events, such as the Holocaust. The records tend to be bundled together depending on what they are associated with, this allows people to access all the information on that specific event.
Example of an Archive
All around the world there are many archives and museums documenting photos and certain objects relating to certain periods of time, which are put together in sections of the museums where they can be acknowledged altogether. Later on into the future archives can be used to as resources to answer questions about our past, and they may also be used to set legal claims. Historians can use this information to dive in deeper to events and times of the past and gather more information and facts, that we can later on tell the new generations of people to come, along with filmmakers using this information if their story is set around certain historical events, by using the documents and facts held at archives it makes the film more personal and makes you want to connect to the film more to understand what people really went through during events in our history. Finally, it gives people of today a change to connect with people from the past, such as family members and helps them understand what their life was like when they were alive and it may allow them to have some closure toward their loved one.
Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin said that the ‘aura’ of an object, which has been created by the historical event and what experience it had.
Roger Fenton
Along with Benjamin, Roger Fenton being one of the first war photographers, his photographs became very well-known as they feature museum exhibitions, showing the facts of parts of life, the photos he takes aren’t necessary but they have meaning to them to show a part of history, along with the historical meaning being merged into the present. The ‘Vintage News’ said ‘his photos of the Crimean War are now considered to be the first pictoral documentation of war’ people have also commented saying his work was ‘interesting’ and ‘captivating’
Lieutenant Walter Aston Fox Strangways. – By Fenton
Men of the 4th Dragoon Guards and a woman relax by a hut. – By Fenton
Société Jersiaise was founded in 1873, its objective being ‘to create a museum and library’ and still stands today as an archive of Jersey’s history. There interest was really capturing photographic evidence as their source of recording as life could be documented visually which is said to be ‘remarkable in it insular context’ . Within this archive it holds more then 100,000 images dating back to the 1840’s. Photos within Société Jersiaise were taken by a variety of photographers, two of them being Henry Mullins and Percival Dunham.
Henry Mullins
Mullins was one of Jersey’s first photographers, producing thousands of portraits from 1848-1873 at his studio in the Royal Square, which was highly successful. Bellow are a few of his portraits which can be found by the following link; https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Henry_Mullins
Mr Aubin
Lt Egre
Mullin’s images are simple head shots of individuals from around the island, who may have been a part of war like the men above, of they could of been images of the women and children who were left on the island during the war, it also allows him to document what people wore and what was the norms during certain periods of times which he photographed.
Percival Dunham and his wife
Dunham took over one thousand glass plate negative between 1913 and 1914 and at least eight hundred where published in the daily newspaper. He began in Jersey in a boarding house at Davids Place and combined with many other occupants. Dunham’s big break came in 1910 on August 27 in the morning news where one of his images was published and credited, and after that the morning news requested more of his work to be used, whilst submitting weekly prints to win a cash prize of five shillings. He ended up being a part of the first British newspaper with illustrations. More of his history and images can be found using the following link; https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Percival_Dunham,_photojournalist
State Members arrive for a special sitting on 12 September 1914 after the declaration of war
The annual outing of newsboys of C M Brooks of King Street
Jersey Archive is a part of Jersey Heritage, which was founded back in 1981. The archive allows Jersey to hold collections of artefacts, works of art, documents and information relating to the history and culture of Jersey. The collections they have define the island as a whole and they hold evidence for events that have happened on this island, such as the occupation. During the visit to the archive, I was able to see historical objects and documents, along with images that they had been storing for years.
The two images below were taken during the German invasion in the channel island. They show soldiers in their uniform with their equipment, along with a congregation of people gathered in a small area. These two photos are only a part of the history they have on the occupation, the images still in good quality. The photos hold so much detail and history in them as you are able to see the conditions the islanders were put in.
WW2 is said to be the deadliest conflict so far in human history. The Second World War happened during the year of 1939 and 1945. The majority of the world’s countries where involved in the battle, involving over 100 million people. This threw the world completely, turning everything upside down and into chaos. This war also included the Holocaust, which relates to the German occupation that happened in the channel island, along with the rest of the world. World War Two ended up changing political alignment and global social structure as certain countries began to gain more power than others and felt they could control.
The Germans were clever about their approach to the Channel Islands, as before it began, they sent the German soldiers over in planes, where they began to machine gun and drop bombs onto the island. Two days later they invaded the Channel Islands, they were sent across the French coast and began attacking from the harbour located in St Helier on the 28th of June, along with this on the same day aircraft where arriving and landing nearby to La Rocque Harbour. From the moment the Germans landed and entered they had already killed 9 people.
The following words are from a man called Ralph Mollet and what he saw when the German’s began to invade Jersey Channel Islands – ‘Before this all even happened, two days prior the attack German planes has been flying over the Channel Islands, machine gunning which killed a man on his doorstep. Two bombs where then dropped by Mount Bingham also killing people who where nearby. They set many boats on fire along with Fort Regent’
The German occupation of the Channel Islands lasted for most of the Second World War, where during this period, thousands of islanders were evacuated from their homes to the main land to find safer places, whilst the man stayed to fight against the Germans and protect their island. Until the 9th May 1945 where the Channel Islands became liberated and shoulders where welcomed home by the Jersey community, as crowds gathered in the town centre.
